Top 8 in Breda playing GAT

Hi everybody,

On Sunday, 2nd of December, I played in a 12 proxy, Type I tournament in Breda, the Netherlands. Since I don’t have that much time anymore to thoroughly test, I’m always facing a challenge in choosing what deck to play. I have been playing UR Landstill since my last tournament (click here for more on this) and getting great results, although I’m still struggling with some of the sideboard strategies. I do still think it’s a great deck, which helps you to become a better player because it is so skill intensive. It‘s always a lesson in the fundamentals of Magic and you can only win through small plays, which slowly but surely lead you to the win. If you play very carefully and make no mistakes: it’s very unforgiving and that’s just the beauty of it. It is a very satisfying and challenging deck to play but for this tournament, I wanted something else.

Before I tried the UR Landstill deck, I played GAT a lot, so I decided to give it a try once more. I was doing great with the deck until I got fed up with gushing for the win. It just felt so straightforward to play (which it surely isn’t!!!) and you could get away with sloppy play, just because of the sheer power of the deck. Especially when people weren’t accustomed to the matchup. Since I never played it in a tournament before, I really wanted to give it a try. I just needed to come up with a good list. First thing I did was to search for a few decklists that would appeal to me. These were the lists that caught my eye: Stephen Menendian, ELD (I apologize, I don’t know your real name), Manuel Fernandez and Jimmy McCarthy.

The first big decision to make, was to decide if I was going to run three or four colours. In the end I decided on three, because it offers extra resilience against Stax. Also, I believe that you don’t need red to improve the Stax matchup, the real strength in red lies with the Red Elemental Blasts and/or Pyroblasts. Thanks to studying decklists, reading a lot of tournament reports and argumented opinions of some of the best players around, I decided on the following list:

Main Deck (60)

4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Gush
4 Merchant Scroll
3 Ponder
2 Misdirection
1 Mana Drain
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Echoing Truth
1 Cunning Wish
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Fastbond
3 Duress
2 Thoughtseize

3 Quirion Dryad
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Psychatog

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Island

Sideboard (15)

1 Hydroblast
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
2 Energy Flux
1 Berserk
1 Smother
2 Oxidize
2 Tarmogoyf
3 Yixlid Jailer
2 Pithing Needle

I’ll try to explain some of my choices but a lot of it was derived from trying to understand the choices more competent players made for their lists.
I wasn’t really sold on Mana Drain. I still think it’s a great card but I reasoned I wanted to be the aggressive player more often then not, so I needed to have extra, ‘active’ protection for my threats. That’s why I decided to run more Misdirections then Mana Drains. I still wanted to have one copy of Mana Drain for the late game, to grab it with a Merchant Scroll when necessary. I boarded it out in almost all my second games and never missed it but I think I’ll hold on to the one copy in the main nonetheless. I would appreciate your opinions on this.
Another reason to have one less Mana Drain then I had before, is that I wanted an extra Duress. Since I was running four already, this meant I needed to run Thoughtseize. In the end I decided on a 3-2 split in favour of Duress. Maybe a 4-1 split in favour of Duress is better but it felt awkward running only one Thoughtseize. As I hadn’t tried Thoughtseize before, I wanted to test it and decided on running two.
The lonesome main deck Tarmogoyf was there instead of a fourth Quirion Dryad and for the same reason I ran 2 Thoughtseizes instead of one: I wanted to test it.
Reading through the arguments posted by ELD and Stephen Menendian, I could agree with ELD that three Ponder is actually enough for the deck. This wasn’t based on play testing ‘though, because I didn’t even cast a single Ponder before putting the deck together… It just ‘felt’ right and I think it’s justified: not once did I feel I needed the fourth copy. Of course, extensive testing may still prove me wrong.
Browsing (Browse, by the way, is actually one of my all time favourite magic cards…) through deck lists, I noticed some players playing main deck Berserk. I decided on running the Cunning Wish main as I’ve done before, because of the flexibility and it being a blue instant.
The sideboard is not too surprising I think and I loved the Hydroblast tech. Not my tech ‘though, so all credit goes to the one who thought of it first.

As I’m always (trying to stay) focussed on the game, I didn’t take detailed notes. Consequently, this report will not be full of detail and as always, if you see something you remember differently, please say so. There were 41 people playing for a Mox Jet and more. I’ll post a link to the results as soon as they’re posted. At least, if I can trace the site they get posted on…

Round 1: Tom Hens with (Red) Shop Aggro

I’m up against one of the guys from the local club in Mol and he’s a nice guy with whom I (sometimes) playtest. We’re in Breda with six people from Mol and of course almost all of us have to play each other in the first round.

Game 1: Tom wins the die roll and starts of with a Juggernaut. I’m not worried at all because my hand is completely broken. I have Fastbond and Gush in my opening seven and Duress (or Thoughtseize) reveals I can go the distance unopposed. I still stall halfway through but the Quirion Dryad is big enough for the turn two kill. This was a really nice start and a confidence boost to start my tournament this way. It almost looked like my deck was happy to see me again and wanted to say thank you…

I sideboard as follows: -2 Misdirection, -3 Duress, -2 Thoughtseize, -2 Quirion Dryad, -1 Echoing Truth, +1 Hurkyl’s Recall, +2 Energy Flux, +2 Oxidize, +2 Tarmogoyf, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Hydroblast (I knew he was playing Magus of the Moon).

Game 2: I lose this game… and to a horrible play mistake on my part. I know he’s playing with Magus of the Moon, that’s why I brought in the Hydroblast, but I forget to guard against it! Here’s what happened. I’m in no trouble at all and at one point I have 1 Energy Flux in hand and one in the top two of my library (I know this because of Brainstorm or Ponder). I will be able to drop the first Energy Flux next turn. I even have Hurkyl’s Recall in my hand, I have everything except a creature. I’m holding the Hurkyl’s Recall, taking some beats from a Juggernaut, waiting for the opportune moment when all of a sudden he tries for a Magus of the Moon. In response I try to cast Brainstorm, not noticing the Chalice of the Void set on one on his side. The Brainstorm gets countered… while I’m holding Hurkyl’s Recall, with enough mana to cast it too. However, for some reason I don’t play the Recall and the Brainstorm is wasted. I’m frantically trying to dig for a solution, the Hydroblast or a Merchant Scroll will do because of the (ALPHA) Island I fetched earlier, but I just die to his lone Magus of the Moon. I end up with 2 Tarmogoyfs in hand with two Tropical Islands, an Underground Sea and an Island on the table. I’m not pleased with myself, not at all, and I decide then and there not to make such stupid plays ever again. I calm down, take the lesson and shuffle up for the final game.

Game 3: is a lot easier as I don’t make any mistakes and two Energy Fluxes are just too much for my Shop playing friend.

I win my first match of the tournament… for a change… 1-0-0

Round 2: Arjan Bos with GAT

Ok, a test to see if I can play the mirror. I’m up for it! It will be three typical GAT mirror match games. He is the tournament organizer and a very nice guy.

Game 1: I win the die roll but it’s not going to be good enough. He has the first turn Fastbond, Duress, Gush, Quirion Dryad play which doesn’t do me any good. Next turn it’s all over.

I don’t sideboard too much: -1 Mana Drain, -1 Cunning Wish, +1 Berzerk, +1 Smother.

Game 2: Now it’s my turn to go crazy with first turn Mox Sapphire, Black Lotus, Mox Emerald, Ancestral Recall, Duress taking his Ancestral Recall and then some more. This game is over, I win.

Game 3: No sideboard changes, although I pretend to sideboard two cards but I just take them out again. I think you need to do this to keep your opponent guessing but I don’t think he even noticed me doing it… This will be a really nice game for me. Because I don’t see a first turn Duress nor a creature from him, I was sure he had a very strong control hand. Over the next two turns I build up a very nice hand, thanks to double Ponder, that looks something like this: Ancestral recall (courtesy of Merchant Scroll), Force of Will, another Force of Will (courtesy of another Merchant Scroll), Gush and something else I cannot remember. I notice he has 5 cards in hand so I don’t play the Ancestral right away. He has seen me getting the Ancestral with Merchant Scroll, so he plays Vampiric Tutor at the end of my turn. I let it resolve, noticing he now has exactly 4 cards in hand. At the beginning of his next upkeep, I announce Ancestral Recall and he responds with Brainstorm. I let it resolve because he’ll still have only four cards in hand. Of course he draws the Misdirection he put there with the Vampiric Tutor and tries to redirect my Ancestral to himself. I predicted he would go for the Misdirection, I actually counted on it because now I had a chance to Mind Twist his hand away, and I play Force of Will. Again, as predicted, he has the Force of Will, which I Force in return. I’m left with 5 cards in hand, he’s left with nothing. He draws his card for his draw phase and I proceed to win over the next two turns.

We both agree that it was a great round, with both players playing at their best and making very few -if any- mistakes. We discover we have almost the exact same main deck, both playing one Mana Drain and two Misdirections main. 2-0-0

Round 3: Marijn van der Vaart with GAT

I’ve played Marijn before and I know he’s a very good player, so I’m on my guard but I do feel confident after the previous round.

Game 1: I win the die roll and we proceed to make almost the exact same plays, slowly depleting our hands with none of us getting a real advantage over the other player. Until I top deck a Gush and feel like the worlds richest king. Unfortunately, my Gush gives me nothing and in his turn, he top decks Ancestral Recall and I suddenly feel like the worlds poorest stable boy. I lose.

Sideboarding as before.

Game 2: I get Fastbond down before him and I go ‘nuts’ (there are people in this world who’ll claim that this doesn’t take too much…).

Game 3: He plays first turn Ancestral Recall, which I Misdirect to myself but of course he has the Force of Will. You can’t blame me for trying… Still, he cannot make the most of his advantage and the game goes to time and we draw. 2-1-0

Round 4: Twan Koperberg with GAT

Another mirror! But I’m confident because of the previous rounds. Twan is a very nice guy, he doesn’t own all the cards but he plays well and we have a lot of fun playing each other.

Game 1: He wins the die roll but has to take a double mulligan. We both make almost identical plays but I have two cards more then him and one of them is a Gush. I win.

Sideboarding: the same as before.

Game 2: He Duresses my Fastbond and I jokingly tell him “he’ll pay for this.” That’s exactly what happens when I get my Yawgmoth’s Will and I replay the Fastbond for the win. His life total drops from 20 to 8 to 0.

I now need just one more win and I’m thrilled! 3-1-0

And that’s when you know it has to go wrong… no? We’ll see!

Round 5: Duncan Keyzer with Deez ‘Naughts

I do seam to play only nice guys! You have to love the Type I community: competent, competitive players but also nice and friendly people, who like to spend the day playing cards.

Game 1: He wins the die roll but it doesn’t matter anyway, because I’ve decided to be an idiot this game. I keep a one land hand, Underground Sea being my only land, two Ponder, a Duress and something else. Of course I decide to Duress him first turn, seeing the Strip Mine in his hand, reminding me I cannot play like a novice at this stage and level! He punishes my obvious mistake and I’m out of the game. I’m feeling very bad for the rookie mistake. Either you Mulligan the hand or you play the Ponder. I’m still having fun ‘though and my previous tournament thought me always to stay relaxed and focused. I used to burst into flames easily when I made an idiot mistake but I’ve decide to always have fun, learn (if I have to) and just try my best. This attitude had helped me to enjoy me previous tournament better then ever before and I did ok then, so why not now or in the future?

I have no idea how I should sideboard properly but I try something like this: +2 Tarmogoyf, +1 Smother, -1 Mana Drain, -1 Psychatog, -1 Quirion Dryad. I’m almost sure it’s wrong but I have never played this matchup, although I do know the list.

Game 2: He Thoughtseizes my Ancestral Recall and I never get to a Tarmogoyf on time and I lose to his.

I didn’t mind losing too much. The first game was an obvious mistake on my part –I do actually know better… usually- and the second game I just couldn’t pull it out. My opponent was a nice guy and he deserved the win into top 8. I’m 3-1-1 and still in need of one more win.

Round 6: Remco (forgot his very ‘long’ surname) with Grim ‘Long’

Again, a friendly opponent and he has the most beautiful Beta cards I’ve ever seen. Everything was Mint/Near Mint and just looking very pretty. But pretty cards cannot hide the fact that this is a matchup I think is favourable for the GAT player. And I need this win!

Game 1: He gets the die roll and starts off. After a few turns he plays his last card in hand, a Timetwister and we draw a fresh pack of seven. I tell him I want a Force of Will among them and my deck is the nicest deck ever, giving me not only the Force of Will but also Ancestral Recall, two Duresses and a Gush and lands. He –well, actually ‘we’- get(s) the storm count up to six but my Force of Will stops the important spell –his Ancestral Recall, which he played in response to mine- and the turn passes on to me and I’m holding Yawgmoth’s Will. As I’m playing through the last phases of my Yawgmoth’s Will routine, I announce:”Fetch for Underground Sea, Duress so my Dryad grows just big enough, attack you to death,” he says,”Show me that there is an Underground Sea left in your deck and it’s ok.” … Silence… I feel a shiver up my spine and the first signs of panic. With cold hands I search through my deck and luckily there is an Underground Sea left! It wouldn’t have really mattered in the end, because I would have taken his last point of life next turn, but it’s one of those situations where you can throw away a game that’s already won, just when you’re about to win it. Stay! Focussed! Always! I take the lesson…

Sideboard: -1 Psychatog, +1 Tarmogoyf. Playing against combo decks, I learned that a very efficient way of winning this matchup is to attack their life totals. That’s why I want the Tarmogoyf instead of the Psychatog. Tarmogoyf comes down earlier and starts beating faster. As it will turn out, it’s not even relevant.

Game 2: He mulligans to… three! I feel bad for the guy but I’m psyched to make top 8! It still takes me something like five or six turns to actually win, holding Yawgmoth’s Will and fearing a top deck from my opponent, because I mess up on my black mana and because I just want to make extra completely 100% supersure I take it home. In my opinion, Grim Long has the best top deck of all and I’m nervous until the very end, until he extends his hand.

I’m sorry for my opponent for the bad luck at this stage of the tournament but I’m really happy for myself making top 8! 4-1-1

Round 7: Goswin Zeeman with Flash (Slivers)

Goswin looks like a very serious player and it’ll show, he plays perfectly and doesn’t make any mistake. At least, not that I noticed. There wasn’t much time to notice anything really…

Game 1: He gets the die roll and starts of slow: casting Duress taking my Force of Will. I try to find creatures as fast as possible but I’m light on mana. If I remember correctly, I only had a Mox Sapphire and Ponder didn’t help me. I lose to a pack of hasty Slivers, in a rush to poison me.

Sideboard: How I regret my decision to not play Leyline of the Void! The Yixlid Jailers will not do me any good here. +2 Tarmogoyf, +1 Hydroblast, -3 cards I don’t remember.

Game 2: I mulligan into nothing spectacular and my Force of Will gets countered by his Pact of Negation and again the Slivers poison me. I had the Hydroblast in my opening hand but his Duress took it away the turn before.

My opponent will go on to win the tournement, top decking a Summoner’s Pact in the deciding game against another Deez ‘Naughts player. The ‘Naughty’ player had just cast Engineered Explosives for one and looked sure to win but Goswin top decked the Summoner’s Pact just the turn after, with one mana left on the opponents side. Close but Goswin/Flash wins the Mox Jet in a three games final.

I would like to thank the organizer for a very well run tournament! It was a lot of fun and the prize support was nice. I ended up sixth out of 41 and I’m happy with it. I could have played better but I still did better then I could expect, considering the fact I didn’t play test at all.

If I remember correctly, final standings after top 8 were:

Flash (Goswin Zeeman)
Deez ‘Naughts (I forgot his name)
Deez ‘Naughts (Duncan Keyzer)
UbaStax with Juggernaughts (Steve Van de Bulck, my friend and team member)
RG Beats (I didn’t catch his name)
GAT (me, Robrecht Lenaerts)
GAT (Marijn van der Vaart)
GAT (Twan Koperberg)

Everybody was happy that the finalists played it out! I agree on splitting the prize but you have to play it out to decide a winner and luckily they did.

About the deck

GAT is a really powerful deck, especially if you know what you’re doing. One thing that bothers me is that you have to go through a lot of trouble before you can actually kill your opponent and sometimes you stall. Some have suggested to add one Tendrils of Agony over the Psychatog but I’m not sure I want to put it in. Gush with Fastbond out gives you two mana, not the four need for Tendrils of Agony. Marijn van der Vaart ran one main deck and he told me he killed more people with Tendrils of Agony then beating with Quirion Dryads.
Unless you add red to the deck for one Empty the Warrens, I think you have to live with the fact that you will be drawing and casting a lot of cards for the win. It almost sounds arrogant to complain about this ‘though…
Stephen Menendian talks about going to time with GAT in his latest article and I do have to agree: it happens more easily then you’d think!

Possible changes to the deck

I liked the main deck a lot. The lone Tarmogoyf will be replaced by the Quirion Dryad that I had before but for the rest I think I will keep it just like this, until further testing shows me I need something else.
I would like to add red only because of the extra control power of Red Elemental Blast and/or Pyroblast but this tournament seems to have indicated I don’t really need them! Not for the mirror at least, or anything else then Flash.
I would change the Yixlid Jailers in the sideboard to Leyline of the Void because of the Flash matchup, just to buy me some time to get blockers out or to combo out.
I thought about running two Trygon Predators instead of the two Energy Fluxes but decided against it, because I hadn’t played them before. I was happy with the Energy Fluxes but I think the Trygon Predators might be better, because then you decide what gets destroyed. They also kdestroy enchantments, which could be a factor playing the Oath matchup. They do suffer however from creature kill (Triskelion and friends) and die just as easy to Red Elemental Blast but they’re also an extra kill condition. It would be very nice to hear your opinion on this.
I’m still not sure if I need more Thoughtseizes. For now I think I like Duress better. If you think the deck needs more, I would be really interested in hearing your reasoning for running more copies of Thoughtseize over Duress.

That’s my tale! I hope you enjoyed it and I thank you for reading this far. I’d also like to thank the tournament organizer again for a well run tournament and all of the great players who have done a lot of hard work putting the GAT deck together. Thanks!

Robrecht