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koxl0003
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« on: September 14, 2004, 05:09:23 am » |
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Tournament location: Dreamer’s, St. Louis Park MN
Tournament date: 9-12-2004
1st Place prize: Mox Jet
Format: Vintage, Unsanctioned, 5 Proxies allowed
This was my second Dreamer’s tournament, my first being the Black Lotus tournament held
there in June. That time, I played mono-red Goblins, and went 4-3, starting 0-3, and finishing
with 4 wins in a row. This time I decided that Goblins wasn’t good enough, and I needed
something better. I play tested U/r/w Landstill for a few months, and decided that while the
deck was good, it wasn’t what I was looking for. It’s too slow, and has trouble finishing games,
let alone within the time limit of an actual tournament. That and other problems led me to
look for a different deck to play. I read numerous message board threads, looking for a deck
I could make easily with for the 5 proxy format. I stumbled upon multiple threads with the
Auriok Salvagers/Black Lotus combo deck, or decks containing that combo. I already had the
cards I needed, minus 1 Salvagers, 1 Lion’s Eye Diamond, which I figured I could get
easily enough, so I went for it. I didn’t use any of the lists I found on the threads specifically,
instead working up my own list from scratch while at work. Here’s what I came up with:
“Digging Up Bombs�
Creatures (9):
4 Auriok Salvagers
4 Trinket Mage
1 Darksteel Colossus
Draw (8):
4 Brainstorm
3 Impulse
1 Ancestral Recall (Proxy)
Utility (5)
2 Cunning Wish
1 Time Walk (Proxy)
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Tinker
Counters (8)
4 Force of Will
4 Counterspell
non-mana Artifacts (6):
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
2 Aether Spellbomb
Mana (25):
1 Black Lotus (Proxy)
1 Lion’s Eye Diamond
1 Mox Pearl (Borrowed)
1 Mox Ruby (Proxy)
1 Mox Sapphire (Proxy)
1 Sol Ring
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tundra
4 Volcanic Island
2 Plains
2 Island
Total: 61
Sideboard:
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
2 Rack and Ruin
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Misdirection
2 Exalted Angel
The Salvagers/Lotus combo has been known about since the Auriok Salvagers were previewed.
For the benefit of those who may not know how it works, it works like this:
Have the Salvagers and a Black Lotus (or Lion’s Eye Diamond) in play. Sacrifice the Lotus for
3 White mana. Use 2 of that White mana to return the Lotus to your hand. You have a White
floating. Play the Lotus. Sacrifice the Lotus for 3 White mana. Use 2 of the White to return the
Lotus to your hand. You now have 2 White floating. This process can be repeated as many times
as necessary, and generate as much mana of whatever color is desired.
Clearly, a third card is needed to actually win the game. I chose the Pyrite Spellbomb as my
primary combo kill card, with backup from Aether Spellbombs, which could be ‘cycled’
repeatedly to draw into a Pyrite Spellbomb. Cunning Wish for Stroke of Genius
is the 3rd option, which I would then use to draw the rest of my library, drawing a Pyrite
Spellbomb in the process, and making Misdirection less of a threat, since it is easily possible
that my opponent would have less cards in his/her library than I do.
The Tinker was a natural inclusion, since the deck relies on finding artifacts. The Darksteel
Colossus was also (to me) a natural inclusion, since it is one of the better threats available,
with only a handful of answers to deal with it (Swords to Plowshares, a bigger creature, etc.).
and adds an additional win condition.
I decided that 4 Pyrite Spellbombs was the right number, leading to the inclusion of the 4
Volcanic Islands. They could be used to kill small threats, such as Goblin Welder, could be
sacrificed to Tinker, and at worst could replace themselves with another card. Between 6
Fetchlands, 4 Volcanics and the Ruby, I should have Red mana when I need it.
The draw engine is solid. I swapped out the 4th Impulse for Time Walk the day before the
tournament when my friend and play test partner decided to lend me his Unlimited Mox Pearl,
since he was playing U/B/r and didn’t need it, thus freeing up a Proxy slot.
The Trinket Mages are mostly there to find the Lotus/LED, though they can also fetch Moxen,
Spellbombs, or even the Sol Ring if necessary. They also attack for 2, which is actually relevant
against Control from time to time. The fact that they are larger than Gorilla Shamans doesn’t
hurt any either.
The Sideboard is set up as a Wishboard with basically any answer to the various matchups
available for Games 2 and 3. The Angels are additional win conditions/threats, designed mostly
to help against Aggro and Control.
Going into the tournament the two matchups I was most concerned about were Dragon and
Workshop aggro. Dragon is just plain faster than my deck, and though I do have control
elements and Swords out of the board, I still felt that it was an unfavorable matchup. Workshop
decks have (generally) Trinisphere and large creatures, meaning that they can slow me down
significantly while beating my head in with Juggernauts. Again, I have control elements, and
plenty of artifact kill out of the board, but I thought that they have more threats than I have
answers for in the short term.
On to the actual Tournament results!
(Note: This report was much harder to write than my previous report, where I was playing
Goblins, so some of the specifics, such as opening hands, will be missing, but the general
flow of the matches is captured in my notes.)
It’s an uneventful 2 hour drive from southern MN to Dreamers, and we arrive with plenty of
time to get registered, scout a bit, play a practice game, and relax. Round 1 pairings are posted,
and Jason (store owner and Judge) announces that there are 57 players, meaning 6 rounds of
Swiss before the top 8.
Round 1 I am paired up against Garret, who is playing Animal Farm (Crucible of Worlds
Combo)
Game 1 I win the roll and choose to go first.
We play ‘Land, go’ for the first 2 turns. On his third turn he plays a Crucible of Worlds,
which I respond to with Force of Will. On my fourth turn I play out the Salvagers, but don’t
have the Lotus yet, though I do have a Pyrite Spellbomb in the graveyard. He plays lands,
including Wastelanding a few of my lands. I let his Exploration and Living Wish resolve, and he
wishes for
another Wasteland, a play that I forgot about and didn’t see coming. He resolves a Memory
Jar. My Jar hand contains 2 Force of Will, but only 1 other blue card. His contains at least a
few lands and a Crucible, which he plays, and I Force again. Luckily, he had no other action,
and he passes the turn.
I attack with the Salvagers for three turns before finally finding the Black Lotus and win with the
combo.
Game 2 I sideboard as follows: -2 Aether Spellbomb, -1 Impulse, -1 Trinket Mage +2 Angel,
+2 Disenchant.
He chooses to play, and I draw an opening hand of Sol Ring, , 2 Angel and 2 Fetchlands and 2
random card that I don’t remember. I choose to keep. Sketchy? A bit. However, being familiar
(somewhat) with
the deck, I didn’t think he had any creature kill or countermagic, and the prospect of 2 early
Angels was enough for me. Had I been down a game, I probably would have Parised.
He plays first turn Fastbond, which of course I cannot counter. He plays 3 additional lands,
and passes the turn. I play first turn Fetch, fetch out a Tundra, Sol Ring, and pass the turn.
He plays a Wasteland, kills my Tundra, and plays a Crucible. Things are looking bad for me.
I draw a basic Island, play it out, play my face down Angel, and pass the turn. On his turn he
hardcasts an Elvish Spirit Guide to get in the way of my face down Angel.
On my turn I draw and play Lion’s Eye Diamond, which I
crack for White, discarding my remaining Angel and lands. I use the White and the Island to
flip my Angel face-up and attack him down to 10, with me going up to 23. He again doesn’t
manage to draw anything that will help him, and passes the turn. I attack him down to 6 and
pass the turn. He draws and plays Horn of Greed, and several additional lands, still not
finding what he is looking for, and concedes.
2-0 games, 1-0 Matches
Round 2 I am paired against Rob, playing Gro-Atog. Rob looks pretty young, but looks can be
deceiving, so I ask him if he played last month. He replies that this is his first big Vintage
tournament. I tell him that I played in June and took 27th. I win the roll again, and choose to play.
I keep a hand with at least Force of Will and Cunning Wish. I play a land, and pass the turn.
He does likewise. On my second turn, I play land go again. He plays a Quirion Dryad, which I
Force, but he Forces back and it resolves. I still have nothing significant, and on his next turn
he plays a few cheap draw spells and the Dryad is 3/3, and beats me down to 13. On my next
turn I make one of my bigger mistakes of the day. I cast Cunning Wish, and choose Mystical
Tutor over Swords to Plowshares. I Mystical for Enlightened, Enlightened for Black Lotus,
and die to a 6/6 Dryad. Whoops.
Game 2 I side in the Swords and Angels, while siding out the Aether Spellbombs, 1 Impulse, 1
Trinket Mage. I choose to play, keeping a hand with Force of Will, another Blue card, as well
as lands and Sol Ring. I play Fetchland, fetch a Tundra, Sol Ring, go. He plays land, Mox,
Dryad. I Force the Dryad., and he doesn’t have the Force this time, so passes the turn. On my
turn I decide to take the chance while he is tapped out and doesn’t have Force, to play Tinker,
sacrificing the Sol Ring. It resolves, and I go get the Colossus. He frowns. I pass the turn. He
draws, plays a land and stares at his hand. Eventually, I give him a questioning look, and he
explains that he is thinking of whether or not his sideboard has any answers to my Colossus,
meaning he has Cunning Wish in hand. A few minutes later, he decides not to Wish for anything
and passes the turn. I untap, draw my card, and move to my attack step, attacking with the
Colossus. He takes 11 and I pass the turn. On his turn, he still doesn’t have an answer to my
Colossus, though he does take a mana burn for no apparent reason. On my turn I finish him off
with Mr. Indestructible.
Game 3 I don’t change my sideboarding. He chooses to play and plays land go. I play Fetchland,
fetch a land, go. Second turn he plays Night’s Whisper, which resolves. Eventually I play
a Tinker again sacrificing a Pyrite Spellbomb, which he Forces. Soon after that I find Lion’s Eye
Diamond and Auriok Salvagers. I get the Salvagers into play, play the Lion’s Eye Diamond.
I show him the combo, and he concedes.
Games 4-1, Matches 2-0
Round 3 Vs. Tony, playing Masknought
Game 1 we play ‘Land, go’ for a few turns. I play a Trinket Mage, which resolves, and go get
a Black Lotus. He Duresses me a few times, and I lose countermagic. A few turns later I play
Auriok Salvagers, which he has to read. I have a Pyrite Spellbomb in the graveyard, and
after explaining the combo I win.
I didn’t see much of his deck, except for Duress, Impulse, and blue producing lands,
so I still didn’t know what he was playing. Despite that, I side out 2 Aether Spellbombs,
1 Impulse, 1 Trinket Mage, and side in 2 Exalted Angel, and 2 REB. Game 2 features more
‘Land, Go’ and more Duress. I have Exalted Angel in hand when he Duresses me, and I once
again lose Countermagic. He plays more lands, Brainstorm, and other non-business spells,
while I play a face-down Angel. I flip the Angel face up. I attack with the Angel 5 turns
in a row for the win. He never sees a Mask, and shows me Triple Dreadnought in his hand
at the end of the game!
Games 6-1, Matches 3-0
Round 4 Vs. Jeff (Methuselahn) playing Masknought.
I know Jeff is one of the better players, from his posts on TMD, as well as seeing him
compiling a list of what people are playing during the 1st round, using the pairing sheet, and
know I may be in for a rough time. As a side note, this is Jeff’s second round in a row playing
against a deck with the Salvagers combo, as in the previous round he played against a U/B (at
least) version. Also of note is that we are playing at Table 1.
Game 1 features me Tinkering out a Colossus, and the very next turn him Tinkering out a
Colossus. Our Colossi stare at each other for several turns, with neither of us finding any
action, until he is able to resolve a Skeletal Scrying for 6. He soon resolves a Mask, which he
promptly uses to play out a face-down Dreadnought. The following turn he swings with both of
his large guys. I block the Colossus with my Colossus, taking 12 from the Dreadnought, going
down to 6. When I draw a Mox Ruby instead of an answer, I concede.
Game 2 I once again side in the 2 Angels as well as 2 Disenchant for the usual 2 Aether
Spellbomb 1 Trinket Mage, 1 Impulse.
I choose to play, and resolve an early face-down Angel, but am lacking the 2 White to flip it
and have to attack with it face-down two turns in a row. I finally find the White I need, while
he has still not found a threat or an answer to my Angel, which brings him down to 7 over the
course of 2 turns, while bringing me up to 27. He resolves a Vampiric Tutor, going down to
5, which he then uses to play the Mask and the ‘Naught. He attacks me down to 15, while I
attack him down to 1, and finish him off with a Pyrite Spellbomb.
Game 3 I stick with my sideboard plan. This game features much ‘Land, Go’ and once again
I get Duressed a few times, though neither of us finds much action. I resolve an Auriok
Salvagers, but no Lotus but, he resolves a Tinker –> Colossus and smashes my face from 17 to 8.
I get lucky and draw the Lotus, but don’t have a Spellbomb or a Cunning Wish. At this point I
have 2 cards in my hand: Enlightened Tutor, and Exalted Angel. So here I am with ‘Arbitrary’
mana and no win condition. I have the Tutor for a win condition, but no way to draw a card.
I do some math, and realize that if I can resolve the Face-up Angel I can survive long enough
to get another draw step. I make 6 White and resolve the Angel. I make 1 more White and play
the Enlightened Tutor for Pyrite Spellbomb, leaving the Lotus in play, and pass the turn. On
his turn he attacks with the Colossus, which I block with the Angel. The Colossus takes me from
8 down to 2, and the Angel brings me back up to 6. He has no way of stopping my Combo,
and I win the match.
This was an intense match, at least from my side of the table.
Games 8-2, Matches 4-0
There are a few minutes left in the round, so I hit the restroom. The pairings get put up for
Round 5 while I am in the can, and when I get out I find I am playing Taylor Hustad. He was at
Table 2 while I was playing round 4, and I know he is playing Landstill. I head for my seat and
am headed off by Taylor and the 2 other 4-0 players. We all decide to take the Draw this round,
as it is highly likely that 4-0-2 will be guaranteed Top 8. We make the conditional agreement
to Draw in Round 6 if the pairings are as expected, and I take a needed break. Round 5 ends,
and we find pairings are as expected, and Jason confirms that 4-0-2 will indeed be guaranteed
Top 8, so I take the ID again. My Teammate has not been doing well, and has the bye for
Round 6. He plays a non-Tournament game, and as he is playing I inform him that I am in
Top 8. He finishes the game and we go for some supper before Top 8.
I get back to find that Top 8 has started 20 minutes ago, and my opponent is waiting. Jason
points out my opponent as none other than Jeff, a.k.a. Methuselahn, the same guy I played in
Round 4.
Top 8 Vs. Jeff, playing Masknaught. I remark that he is the last person I actually played, as I
had taken the ID the last 2 rounds. He remarks that I have had a long break then, which I
confirm. I realize later that by taking the ID the last two rounds I have received a lower
seed than if I had been 5-1 or 5-0-1, and am therefore playing Jeff again, which I would rather
not have done, considering that I consider the matchup to be 50/50 and know that Jeff is a
sharp player, whereas this is my first Top 8. But c’est la vie, and I am just happy to be in Top
8 at all.
We shuffle up, and I win the roll, choosing to play. Unfortunately for me, this game is over
very quickly, as he resolves a Mask and 2 face-down guys. If even 1 of them is Dreadnought
I am probably done, so I scoop. They are both Dreadnoughts. This was Turn 1. Ouch.
Game 2 I use the same sideboard plan I have used all day, siding in the Angels and Disenchant
for the Aether Spellbombs, Trinket Mage and Impulse.
I@n Degraff sits down to watch part of this game, and we chat a bit, me telling him that I am a
former Goblins player myself, and agreeing that Trinket Mages are really good. He comments
that this was not a matchup he expected to see today.
We trade lands and Force of Wills before I manage to resolve a Trinket Mage, grabbing the
Lotus.
I don’t have the Salvagers to seal the deal however. I do draw and play Tinker. His response is to
break a Fetchland and play a Skeletal Scrying for 1, which resolves, but doesn’t find an answer.
The Tinker gets me the Colossus, and I pass the turn. He is at 10 at this point from a
combination of my Trinket Mage, 2 Force of Wills, a Fetchland and the Scrying. He draws his
card for his turn, looks at his hand, and concedes.
It’s on to game 3, where I once again don’t change my sideboarding, but I believe Jeff does
change at least a card or 2 from Game 2. My notes on this game are sketchy, but I do remember
the gist of it. I Tinker a Colossus into play again and attack him from 18 to 7. He finds and
resolves a Mask, which once again gets him a face down creature with 1 counter. I am down
to 1 card in my hand, a Brainstorm, which I play at the end of his turn, seeing Auriok Salvagers
and 2 other cards, which I don’t really care about and don’t memorize, since I have the Lotus,
which I previously fetched with a Trinket Mage, as well as a Pyrite Spellbomb in play,
also fetched with a Trinket Mage. My board is at this point: About 5 lands, 2 Trinket Mages,
a Mox, Pyrite Spellbomb and Black Lotus. I untap and move to my attack step, attacking
with the Colossus. At this point, the astute reader will note something: The fact that I didn’t
draw my card for the turn. Neither I nor Jeff noticed this, but my teammate, who is sitting
nearby watching the game does, and speaks up. Jeff calls, rightly, for the Judge (Jason). I sit
being upset at myself for doing something so dumb while waiting for the Judge. Jason
arrives and we explain the situation. He takes my deck and looks at the top 2 cards. He then
takes me aside and says that he has an easy question that will ensure that the situation is
correctly solved. Since I Brainstormed at the end of Jeff’s turn, I saw three cards. One of them
was in my hand. What were the other two cards? I explain that I didn’t memorize them, saying
that they were irrelevant. He says that they aren’t, and I agree, given the situation. He takes my
teammate aside for a minute, but I don’t hear what they discuss. He comes back and tells us
that since no plays have been made since the missed draw, and the only thing that has happened
was a Phase change from Main to Combat, that the corrective action is to back up and for me
to draw the card. He untaps my Colossus, and instructs me to draw my card, which I do, the
card being a Pyrite Spellbomb to match the one already in play. Jason also tells me not to do
it (miss a draw) again, or he’ll have to give me a game loss. I tell him I understand, and he
heads back to the front of the store to mind the counter.* The rest of the game is rather tense.
I move to my Combat step and
again attack with the Colossus. He flips the Dreadnought, and I Spellbomb it for 2 damage.
He must block or lose, so he blocks and my Colossus finishes off the Dreadnought. I play the
Auriok Salvagers. Jeff ponders the situation, seeing that I have the combo if the Salvagers
resolve. He plays Demonic Consultation, naming Force of Will. There is one Force of Will
in the 1st 6 cards removed, but 15-20 cards later he finds the second one, which he plays, and
my Salvagers are countered. I pass the turn. He untaps, draws, and plays a card I did not
expect: Control Magic, targeting my Darksteel Colossus! Ouch! He passes the turn. I take my
turn and evaluate my options. I drew an Impulse, and have no other cards in hand. My outs at
this point are Impulsing into either Cunning Wish or Disenchant. I do have 2 Trinket Mages
to block, but even if I do block I go down to 12, and have no threats. I pass the turn, having
done nothing but stare at my notebook and the board for a few minutes. He takes his turn and
attacks. I quickly say ‘No blocks’ and go down to 8. I for some reason use a Fetchland, but don’t
have the mana to Impulse end of turn. I untap my stuff and draw my card for the turn. The card:
Disenchant! I Disenchant the Control Magic, taking the Colossus back. I then attack with the
Mages, bringing him down to 3 and pass the turn. He draws his card and concedes. After the
match we exchange ‘Good Match’es and he comments that next time I might not be lucky
enough to beat him twice in one day. I verbally agree and go to find my Top 4 opponent.
Games 10-3, Matches 5-0-2
Top 4 Vs. Matt, playing Dragon Combo
Matt is the owner of a gaming store himself in St. Cloud, MN. I tell him that this is the 1st time
I have played against fast combo, having only played Masknought before then. An observer
comments that Masknought can be fast. I agree, but comment that having a Dreadnought doesn’t
mean you win. Game 1 starts, and I have the Salvagers in hand, but no acceleration. The first
play of note is a Mana Crypt on his side, which he follows up with Intuition for triple Bazaar of
Baghdad. I joke that this will be a tough choice, and he jokes that he doesn’t have any foil
Bazaars. I pick one, and he plays it, then uses it, getting a Dragon in the ‘yard. On my 4th
turn I tap out to play the Salvagers, having had to use the Lotus for something, and also having
a Pyrite Spellbomb in the ‘yard, meaning that when I take my next turn I win. I never get to
take my next turn, as he gets his combo on his turn. I make him show me the kill card, which
is Ambassador Laquatus, and we move to Game 2.
Game 2 I side in 2 Swords to Plowshares and 2 Blue Elemental Blasts for 2 Aether Spellbombs
1 Trinket Mage, 1 Impulse. I thought the Angels would be too slow and the lifegain irrelevant.
Game two I keep a Force of Will hand with the Lotus and a Swords to Plowshares.
I don’t have much action beyond the Lotus in the first few turns, and he tries his combo with 3
Dragons and the Ambassador in the graveyard. I Force his Animate. He Forces back. I break the
Lotus for White and play the Swords, which resolves. Despite that, I still have no action. I
draw BEBs, Tinker, and Tolarian Academy, but I have no artifacts. The turn after I draw the
Tinker, I draw the Colossus. I manage to Brainstorm the Colossus back into my library, but still
have no other artifacts to Tinker with, and no shuffles. He gets a Bazaar and resolves an Intuition
which he uses to get
Triple Squee, Goblin Nabob. He ends up animating a Sundering Titan, which kills my Tundra,
Volcanic Island, and Plains, as well as his Bayou, leaving me with just the Tolarian Academy
in play, and 2 BEB, 2 Counterspell, as well as Tinker in my hand, and the Colossus on top of my
library, when he plays another animate effect, this time going for the Dragon and winning.
My final tally is Games: 10-5, Matches 5-1-2, and 3rd/4th place, as there was no playoff for
3rd. For my efforts I received $30 in store Credit, which I use to buy an Exalted Angel
(Both Angels were borrowed from my Teammate), a
Lion’s Eye Diamond to replace the borrowed one, and an Auriok Salvagers, also to replace
one I had borrowed , leaving $10 left over, which I save for next time.
Overall, I am very happy with my performance, and my deck’s performance. The only changes
I might make are removing the Aether Spellbombs and replacing them with Exalted Angels,
and cutting the Tolarian Academy. The Academy seemed like a good idea at the time, but
being as it’s restricted, I have no way of fetching it, and many times don’t have more than 1
artifact in play, it’s really not that good. Also, cutting it has the benefit of leaving me at 60
cards instead of 61. The Angels I sided in for every Game 2 and 3, excepting only the Dragon
matchup, where I could just as easily side them out. Exalted Angel is just so good against every
matchup that isn’t Dragon. This also has the benefit of freeing up 2 Sideboard slots, which
means I can include Stifle, among other choices. After playing a tournament with this deck,
I feel that it really plays as a control deck that happens to have a combo or 2 in it, rather than
a combo deck. It being combo-control is one of the reasons that I had as much success with it
as I did in this tournament. Will the trend continue? Tune in next month!
Props go to Jason for holding these tournaments, and to my teammate
who let me use his Mox Pearl, Exalted Angels, and Lion's Eye Diamond.
* I know why I made the mistake of not drawing, and that was because I had my plays so much
set, that I rushed. I knew I was going to attack with the Colossus, and that he had to block or
lose, and then I could finish off the Dreadnought with my Pyrite, and that after combat I could
go for the combo. So I rushed my turn, not thinking about anything other than attacking. It
was an honest mistake, and didn’t affect the outcome of the game either way, as even if it had
not been discovered, I had the Impulse, which would have found the Disenchant anyway,
as I didn’t shuffle between the Brainstorm and end of the game.
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