Sometimes, I spend a while working on a particular deck and get to know that deck. I learn the matchups, I figure out how to sideboard, and I do a lot of playtesting with it. However, that was not at all the case with the deck I took to Waterbury on Saturday. Instead, with a few days of testing and no idea how to sideboard, I decided to run Big Fat Deck (BFD). It seemed like a fun idea at the time.
BFD is a deck posted by Rico Suave some time ago.
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16307The deck is very similar to the “7/10 Split� deck that Team Short Bus has recently done well with. Great minds think alike. The primary difference between the lists is that BFD runs Volcanic Islands, and BFD also includes a mana denial component with Trinisphere and Wastelands.
Here is the list I played:
// Creatures 4 Goblin Welder
3 Sundering Titan
2 Triskelion
1 Duplicant
1 Memnarch
// Draw 4 Brainstorm
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Memory Jar
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
// LD 4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
// Mana 1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
// Land 1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Volcanic Island
4 Shivan Reef
2 Ancient Tomb
// SideboardSB: 3 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 4 Rack and Ruin
SB: 4 Damping Matrix
SB: 4 Tormod's Crypt
Round 1: Mith with UG MadnessMith begins with a first turn Mongrel. I respond with a first turn Welder. He drops a Null Rod and I Waste one of his lands. I Workshop out a Chalice for two. Mith seems stuck at two lands, so his is unable to apply much pressure. I get a Duplicant into play and remove the lone Mongrel he has on the board. I then Waste another of his lands and resolve a Trinisphere. He concedes.
In the second game, BFD gets a very strong draw. I drop a Chalice for 2 on my first turn and resolve a Titan on my third turn. Mith Oxidizes him away, but loses all of his land in the process. I resolve a second Titan, and it’s over.
1 - 0
Round 2: Josh Ochse with TnTMy starting hand looks good. I go first and drop a Pearl, a Workshop, and Trinisphere. Josh plays a Wooded Foothills and passes. I play a Chalice for two, guessing that he is playing Food Chain Goblins. Josh soon removes my Workshop, however, and the Trinisphere is no longer favorable for me. He soon has out a Simulacrum and a Juggernaut, while I am still trying to assemble my lands. His lone Wasteland disrupted me enough to give his creatures time to win the game.
The second game is more favorable. Josh gets out an early Pyrostatic Pillar. I Tinker out a Titan, and cast a Triskelion. Josh seems unable to cast any threats and the game is over quickly.
In the third game, Josh opens with a Welder. I Lotus out a first turn Memory Jar, and a Welder of my own. Josh then makes the one play that I was hoping he would not: he Workshops out a Triskelion and shoots my own Welder, and then uses his Welder to transform my Jar into a Lotus. I am unable to dig myself out of this board situation, and Josh quickly follows with a second Triskelion. His Welder keeps my artifact removal from becoming too effective.
1 – 1
Round 3: Noam (megamanx) with Draw 7BFD maindecks eight strong hate cards against this deck, so the matchup was favorable. I start game one with a first turn Trinisphere, and follow that up with three Strip effects. Despite pitching two Elvish Spirit Guides to resolve a first turn Lotus, Noam can’t recover and the game ends soon.
In the second game, I get out an early Trinisphere again, but Noam uses Elvish Spirit Guide to Seal it. I attempt to resolve a Goblin Welder, but it gets Force of Willed. Noam then Wheel of Fortunes, plays another Seal, and passes the turn. I untap and drop another Trinisphere and a Chalice set for zero. I waste his Glimmervoid and pass the turn. Noam removes my Trinisphere, Brainstorms, and then wishes for Time Spiral. However, I Red Elemental Blast his Spiral. Noam is out of cards, and a Titan finishes things off.
2 – 1
Round 4: Tom P (Factorx) with Food Chain GoblinsThis game illustrates how the Workshop-Trinisphere opening hand is very risky. When it works, it is crushing; when an opponent can remove your Workshop, the Trinisphere can injure you as much as your opponent. That is what happened here. Tom and I both mulligan, and I start by Workshopping out a Trinisphere. Tom Stripmines the land. I Waste one of his lands. Tom Elvish Spirit Guides out a Food Chain. I do nothing. Tom then plays a Goblin Recruiter. I draw a Workshop and drop a Chalice for two on the following turn. On his turn, Tom plays out a number of Goblins. He cannot win the game that turn because his Piledrivers are uncastable. However, despite the best efforts of the Triskelion I cast the next turn, I could not overcome the goblin horde.
The second game starts off well enough for me – I play a Workshop, and use that plus a Vault to cast a Memory Jar. On his turn, however, Tom plays an Emerald and a Mountain and Naturalizes the Jar. I get out a Welder. Tom plays a goblin and Gempalms my Welder. He then plays a Goblin Tinkerer and a Recruiter. Tom now has out a Prospector, a Recruiter, another one-toughness goblin, and a Tinkerer. I Tinker up a Triskelion and pass the turn. Tom Tinkerers the Triskelion and in response I shoot the rest of his team. The board is cleared. Tom then plays a Warchief. I Thirst but find no threats. Soon Tom has comboed me out, and I haven’t drawn anything to put up resistance.
2 – 2
Round 5: Chris Kelly (Mad Rhetoric) with FishChris and I used to play at a store called Ground Zero in Norwood. Ground Zero has long since closed, and I haven’t seen Chris in a while. It was good to meet up with him again. Game one, I resolve an early Trinisphere, but Chris’ Wasteland makes it less than optimal for me. On the other hand, Chris’ triple Mishra’s Factory draw puts me on a fast clock. He has enough mana to counter my Triskelion, and after that I lose.
I win the second and third games of this match. My notes are missing for the second game, but I believe that it came down to an early Titan resolving. In the third game, Chris quickly drops me to eight life, but I manage to resolve a pair of Goblin Welders. Then, I draw Duplicant. Because I have a pair of Welders on the table. I am able to continually bring the Duplicant into play. I use this to remove all of Chris’ creatures. At one point Chris uses double Rack and Ruin to destroy all of my artifacts, but I soon draw another artifact and continue using the Duplicant.
3 – 2
Round 6: Andrew (Boas and Apes) with OStompyGoing first, Andrew gets out a Wild Mongrel. Andrew then plays a Sol Ring and a Bazaar. On my next turn I waste the Bazaar. On his turn, Andrew attacks and madnesses out an Arrogant Wurm. I play a Workshop, which brings my available mana to five. I pass the turn, wishing the creatures in my hand were not so expensive. I believe I was holding a Triskelion, a Sundering Titan, and a Memnarch. Andrew continues lowering my life total and plays a Troll, emptying his hand. I play a land and drop my Triskelion, finally thinking that I’ve stabilized. It was not to be; Andrew draws an Oxidize off the top. I lose, staring and the huge creatures in my hand.
The second game, I resolve an early Welder while Andrew Sol Rings out a Null Rod on his first turn. I play a Workshop and Chalice for two. Andrew Oxidizes it and plays a Rootwalla. Andrew amasses a large green army, while I am unable to do anything. I end the game with a Titan in my hand, three land of which one was a Workshop, two Thirsts in my hand, and two Welders in play.
3 – 3 Drop
Overall, I was not very impressed with myself on that day. I did not put in a lot of time testing BFD, and the deck is not really my style anyway. A lot of people were surprised that I was not running Control Slaver, and in all honesty, I probably should have played Control Slaver.
Despite doing badly, it was a very fun day. It was good to see everyone and hang out.
Props:Dave Feinstein (DXFiler) gets props for driving with me. He also gets props for making top eight in his fourth Type One tournament. I really hope he writes a tournament report; his last one was hilarious.
Dave Feinstein and Matt Deitz both get props for trying to talk me into playing Control Slaver. Guys, I should have listened.
Mith for giving me a pen in the first round. Thank you.
Ray for running the tournament very well. Ray conducts his events in a very professional manner, and does a very good job.
My teammates on Team Reflection for putting a lot of working into developing BFD.
Team Short Bus for their success with 7/10 Split.
Everyone at Waterbury for being fun to hang out with.
Slops:Me for playing a deck I had so little experience with.
