Void Takes First!

[Jebus]

Well, the June tournament has come and gone and somehow, I managed to pull out another victory.  I never posted a report for my previous win, but I decided I should try and write something for this one.  Please forgive me if this comes out terribly.

I managed to fight through what I consider to be a nicely competitive field.  Our metagame is normally full of power and composed of any number and combination of good decks.

Without further ado, here is my deck.  This is my build of Zherbus’s Devil’s Bile.

Void (where prohibited)

Creatures
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Nantuko Shade
4 Mishra’s Factory

Disruption
3 Nether Void
4 Sinkhole
4 Wasteland
1 Stripmine
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach

Removal
3 Diabolic Edict
2 Powder Keg

Broken/Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Mana
14 Swamp
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Sol Ring
4 Dark Ritual

Sideboard
4 Planar Void
3 Dystopia
3 Masticore
2 Engineered Plague
2 Powder Keg
1 Diabolic Edict

The real difference from Devil's Bile is in the removal department.  I love Diabolic Edict and it has really saved me in several more aggressive matchups, especially GAT.  I may change this soon, seeing as how GAT is dead (may it rest in peace).

On to the tournament.

I apologize, as I do not know the exact turnout.  We played 5 rounds of swiss to cut to top 8.

-Round 1
Jesse Driggers (Jesse Driggers) with GAT.

I feel terrible having to play Jesse, seeing as he let me borrow his Voids and this is normally an auto-loss for him.

-Game 1
I open with Dark Ritual, which is met by a Force of Will (as usual).  I am able to play my hand disruption over the next few turns while also attacking his mana.  He manages to drop a Dryad, but it is Edicted away.  I finally drop a Shade which he is unable to deal with.

I side in my extra Kegs and Edict

-Game 2
I have a decent opening, but I make a mistake I normally avoid.  I play a Hymn ,which is then Misdirected back at me.  This is only the second time I have allowed this to happen to me.  Normally I am much more careful.  I am able to recover and drop a pair of Factories.  He drops a Dryad and gets a few beats in.  He gets it up to 6/6 before I decide I need to deal with it.  

He attacks and I sacrifice my Factories to deal with it before it gets much larger.  I then drop a Shade and remove most of his mana sources.  I seal the win with a Void.

1-0.  I like to start my day this way.

-Round 2
Evil Bill (WhiteTrash) with "Goblin's Go Boom!!!"

I frown as I find I am paired with Evil Bill.  After all, he is quite Evil.  As well, I don't fare well against his goblins.

-Game 1
He gets out a Lackey (as usual) and thus drops a ton of goblins on my head.  I drop a Shade, but he gets burned away.  I'm unable to do anything relevant as Flunkies and Piledrivers give me a beating.

I side in Edict, Kegs, Plagues, and Cores.

-Game 2
I'm able to disrupt his hand a little and drop a factory in the early game.  He gets a Piledriver in play off a Lackey, but I drop the Plague on turn 3.  I'm able to keep the board clear of most threats for a few turns, but am unable to disrupt his resources enough.  He manages to drop a pair of Goons, which seal my fate.

1-1.  Ok, everything is fine.  Nothing is ruined.

-Round 3
A.J. "The Sex Machine" Fields running R/G Beats

This does not look good for Homestar Runner...

In testing, this deck was fast enough to take me out before I could respond with much anything.  I being thinking how it could still be possible to top 8 with two losses.

-Game 1
A.J. opens with Skyshroud Elite and gets in some quick beats.  I'm able to drop a Specter, but it gets Bolted away.  I drop a keg, but he refuses to commit anything else to the board.  I am unable to bring anything else to the table and am forced to blow the Keg.  He drops all the lovely 1cc creatures he was holding back and things look much worse.  A.J. then top decks Price of Progress, which he was not running main deck. He concedes the game due to the error and we move on to game 2.

I bring in the Cores, the Kegs, and the Edict.

-Game 2
He gets in couple of hits with some fast creatures, but I'm actually able to take control of the game.  I manage to destroy his hand and resources and keep some creatures of my own on the board.  I clear the way and drop a Void to win.

2-1  Looking good...

-Round 4
Wrisley with a bunch of Elves.

Wrisley appears to be running some sort of Elf/Future Sight/Intruder Alarm combo deck.  This could be interesting.

-Game 1
I keep most of his Elves off the table and he is unable to Counter my relevant spells.  He drops an Intruder Alarm and I drop Factory, Shade, and Void.  I've removed his creatures by this time, but my Shade won't untap.  My factory beats him down until he draws a Wasteland.  Now came a long wait until I drew a creature or another Factory.  He refuses to play anything, even though he has enough mana to play a 1 drop creature.  He drops a Fairy Conclave, but I drop a Keg into play.  He does not attack with the Land and I eventually Wasteland it.  All this time I'm drawing nothing but land or Rituals.  I try to play a Specter, but it gets countered.  I eventually draw another one and this time he cannot respond.  I now have an untapped lethal Shade.  He scoops.

I bring in Plagues, Kegs, and Edicts.

-Game 2
This starts out similar to the first with him dropping an Intruder Alarm.  Unfortunately he also drops Life Force!?!  Ok, I can deal with this.  I try to keep his lands and mana critters to a controllable level and attempt to bait him into tapping out so I can play relevant spells.  I play a Sinkhole which he taps out green for Life Force to counter.  I then attempt the Plague, but he had a Counterspell.  He eventually manages to start going off with Wirewood Hivemaster in play and I scoop as time is starting to run out.  I don't want to draw this game.

I decide it may be good to bring in a couple of Cores at this point.

-Game 3
Yet again he gets Intruder Alarm and Life Force out.  However, much like the first game, I manage to keep his resources under control and drop a Shade and a Void.  Once again, I am forced to top deck for a creature while he sits back and does nothing.  I eventually find enough that he can't counter them all and smash his face with the Shade for the win.

3-1 Looks like I may be able to draw into the top 8...

...Until I find I am unlucky enough to get paired down.

What is worse, this is not a good matchup for me.

-Round 5
John Spires (Gilthanos01) running Duct Tape

In testing, this is never good for me.  I normally go 1-10 vs. this and feel very doubtful about my chances for top 8.

-Game 1
I manage to do very little before he drops Tangle Wire on me.  It starts to look like I may get out when he drops another one.  He follows with Karn and animated artifacts to smash me in the face.

I side in Plagues, Kegs, and Edicts.

-Game 2
I manage some minor disruption, but he drops an early Tangle Wire from his Moxen and Mana Crypt.  I manage to keep playing lands and get a pair of Factories in play.  Meanwhile, his Crypt only once does not damage him.  He needs to deal with his Crypt before it undoes him.  He taps out to drop Karn, but I have the Edict to take it out.  He dies to Crypt.

-Game 3
I get terribly lucky and he gets terrible hands.  He has to mulligan down to 4.  He drops a Reef, but little else.  I drop a Shade which he manages to Fire.  He is unable to do anything further as a Factory slowly finishes him.

4-1

So, I manage to sneak into top 8.  I always get nervous at this point, but I try not to let things get to me.

-Top 8
Matt Hatch with Parfait

I hate Parfait.  No, I really hate Parfait.  It has been nothing but frustration for me.  I feel my only chance is the fact that Matt does not have too much experience playing it.  Like me, he normally plays decks full of Swamps.

-Game 1
I manage to start with a quick opener of heavy hand disruption and drop a Specter.  He is unable to deal with it and it finishes him off.

That was pretty painless...maybe this won't be so bad after all?

I bring in extra kegs and Dystopia.

-Game 2
He manages to get the deck running like he should with a Tax and a Rack.  I try not to let Tax get active, but I'm forced to do it.  I drop a Dystopia, but he is able to keep up with it.  He drops Ivory Towers and backs them up with Seals.  He gains a billion life and drops a Phyrexian Processor.  It is only a matter of time before Minion tokens finish me off.  At least it killed me quicker than Ponies.

-Game 3
I start with heavy disruption and a Specter on the first turn.  I follow it up by keeping his land out from under him and he is never able to recover.  Thanksfully, it ended quickly.

-Semifinals
Cullen Cox (Zombie Shakespeare) playing Keeper

This looks to be a tough match for me.  Cullen is one of the best Keeper players I know and he has a habit of coming back from the dead and turning the game around.

-Game 1
He never gets a chance to play anything relevant.  I destroy most of his hand and he never gets more than two lands in play.  He is unable to top deck anything before I drop a Shade which gets lethal very quick.

I bring in an extra keg or two and some Cores.

-Game 2
This is almost a repeat of game 1.  Cullen's deck just isn't there for him, which is quite unusual.  Once again, he only really gets to resolve a Brainstorm before my creatures finish him off.

I feel very sorry that our game did not become one of the more interesting matches we normally go through.

-Finals
Once again here's the Sex Machine, A.J. Fields!!!

I know he is not going to make a bad sideboard mistake this time, so I brace for the worst.

-Game 1
He drops several 1 drops that beat my face in for a bit.  Then I drop the Keg and clear the board.  I keep his lands off the table and drop a few creatures of my own.  I seal things with a Void.

I side in the Kegs, Edict, and Cores

-Game 2
He muligans down to 5.  He then drops a Rouge Elephant and backs it up with a pair of Rancors.  I manage to Edict it and take care of his land.  My creatures beat him down and I once again seal things with a Void.

So that's it.  I now expect everyone to completely hate me out of the metagame.

Props

John Spires - Thanks again for running yet another great tournament and not getting too mad when I somehow beat you.

John "Dad" O’Connell (e2theipi) - I wanted to see your "Blow Frog" deck do better, but great job running something original.  Good luck in basic!

A.J. - Thanks for being the Sex Machine and for being more sportsman like than usual.

Slops

Evil Bill - I hate your Goblins and I did not need to see that picture. (Don't Ask).  Slops also to A.J. for asking about said picture and making Bill get it.

Wrisely - Your Elves were more of a headache then they were worth and probably took years off my life.  Life Force!?!

Homer - Just having to overhear someone explain to him how he would draw his cards from his Arcane Denial nearly caused an aneurysm.

Thanks again to everyone for coming out and playing great!

If you got this far, thanks for reading!  Any comments would be appreciated.

[Gilthanas01]

Thanks for the props, Jebus. I'm glad you had a good day winning another of my tourneys. One note, since you don't have a whole lot of experience making top 8: if you go 3-1-1, you'll make it, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Next time, save your energy and ID in round 5; I probably won't lose to a mulligan to 4 cards for a long, long time, lol....Seriously, you did very well and the major players here in Charleston are going to have to start giving a little consideration to you running Void.

[Jebus]

I don't believe you had enough points so I don't see how I could have ID'd with you in round 5.  You probably would not have had enough points for top 8.

I figure I may see more hate now comming from everyones sideboard.  Just as long as I never see Lifeforce again, I'm ok with that.

[carl]

Thanks for the report.

You never mention using Yawgmoth's Will. Was it useful?

Why don't you use Chainer's Edict. Could be useful before you drop the Void.

[Jebus]

I never mentioned Will because it never really came up that day unless I was already winning.  In those instances, it did help seal the victory.

Earlier builds I had worked with actually dropped Will.  I saw this as something I needed to do for my environment and it had worked well in testing.  I even managed to win a tournament here previously with that build (I believe it was April).  Although I felt it was nescessary, a small part of me felt very uneasy about it.  I fit it back in and I think I will keep it there for the time being.

The Edicts were mostly there to combat GAT and did their job quite well in that respect and were helpful in other aggro matchups.  Since GAT will be less prevelent (read non-existant) I may drop one.  I'd like to do this so that I can try and get Consultation back in.

I use Diabolic over Chainer's because I prefer it's instant speed.  This can be very important when trying to remove something under a Tangle Wire lock.

[MoreFling]

how does diabolic edict combat gat? Don't you guys have misdirections over there?

[Jebus]

Quote (MoreFling @ June 10 2003,07:40)how does diabolic edict combat gat? Don't you guys have misdirections over there?

Yes, but I normally take care of MisD by destroying their hand.

Removing giant Dryads and Togs with Edict has not been at all too difficult.

GAT has never been a bad matchup for me.  I had never lost a match to it, so I'm sorry to see it go.   The Edicts dealt with any threat they may actually drop on me.