[Report] 12/5, Mox Pearl, Asheville NC, *1st*

[Machinus]

There isn't a large population of Type 1 players here in Asheville, and the only real Type 1 tournaments happened several years ago, with a storeowner who doesn't support the format very much anymore. So for a few years there hasn't been a place to play here. But in August of this year, a new store opened up called Underworld Games, and they had small weekly Type 1 tournaments and wanted to plan bigger ones eventually. They tried putting up booster boxes but usually only a few people showed up, less than 5, so it wasn't enough. They decided to put up a Pearl a couple of months ago and hoped that it would attract more people. So they set the date for the fifth.

I didn't have a lot of options going into this tournament, so I decided to play the deck I have been playing for a while now, Oath. When Meandeck did so well with it I thought the anti-oath tech would catch up with me, but it hasn't yet. Anyway, only eight people showed up by 2:00 but they were definitely going to hold the tournament. We were supposed to start at 2 but they waited a little later, and one more guy came, Bobby. So we started with nine.

One more note: as far as I know there is only one powered player who comes here, Drew from Gastonia. He was here today. I am not powered.


Round 1 vs. Brian, with a prison/landstill deck with serendibs

Game 1: He gets a trinisphere out with non-worshop lands, and beats me with a factory and my own tokens. I don't get any answers.

-1 Disk, -1 Orchard
+1 Wasteland, +1 Mind Twist

Game 2: I go brainstorm turn 1, oath turn 2, swing, swing.

Game 3: I stall him out with disks and counters for a long time, and eventually get in one hit with my colossus. The next turn he dies to his mana crypt.


Round 2 vs. ? (sorry I forgot your name) with a red/blue landstill control deck

Game 1: He leads with conclave, I waste it. He plays an island, I strip it. We play draw/go, I drain a spell, intuition for AKs, and kill him.

-2 Disk
+1 Mind Twist, +1 Wasteland

Game 2: He starts off slow and I capitalize, building up mana and draining one of his spells, which I then use to mind twist him for 5, with 6 cards in his hand. He counterspells it, which I force, and I take his hand. I dig like crazy for the kill and eventually find it.


Round 3 vs Bye. After jokingly thanking one of the storeowners for the bye (they rolled a die), the other storeowner insists on reminding me that it was random, and that if it was up to him, I would definintely not have gotten a bye. Thanks Jon! Have a Merry Christmas.

After this they cut to a top four. It was no surprise that I got paired against Drew. I have been dreading this match and thinking about how to win. He is wearing his poker shades so as not to give anything away.


Top 4 vs Drew, with fully powered holistic wisdom keeper

Game 1: I win the roll. I oath turn 2 which he forces, and I force back. He tries to twist away my hand but I drain it, spending the mana on deep analysis, draw a mana drain, which I pitch to force for his balance. He scoops as the giants go into the red zone.

-2 Disk, -1 Orchard, -1 Gaea's Blessing
+2 Mana Leak, +1 Twist, +1 Wasteland

Game 2: This was a close game. I start with library, but he duresses me, so it takes a few turns before I start drawing with it. He wastes it after about 4 extra draws. I played an orchard and over the course of the game I give him way too many tokens. He takes a lot out of my life total. I have drawn the second colossus and I have no way of getting it back into my library. He attacks me with four tokens, I block and go to two, he tries to play a spell, I force and go to one. He doesn't have any more mana and I swing for the win.


Finals vs Bobby, with a B/G rock-type deck

(I left the finals notepad in the store so my notes for this match aren't very good)

Game 1: I win the roll. I drain his sinkhole, intuition for oaths, play oath, win.

-2 Disk, -3 Wasteland,
+1 Crucible, +4 Mana Leak

Game 2: He gets out birds early and uses it to mana screw me. He hymns me at one point and takes a deep and a force. I play crucible and use my strip to try to hold him off green mana but he has the llanowar wastes. I can't draw anything and he kills me with all the tokens I give him.

Game 3: I debate keeping a one land hand with brainstorm, but after consideration I throw it back for six. I get a hand with five lands and a blessing. I play a library and he duresses me, taking the blessing. He keeps my library offline, but I have a strip and draw into a crucible, and I kill a few sources of mana. He tries for a spiritmonger at one point, and I force it with oath on the board. He edicts my first colossus, but I just oath it out again and there is nothing he can do.


Here is my decklist:

powerless oath

4 Orchard
4 Undergroud Sea
3 Island
4 Delta
2 Tropical
3 Wasteland
1 Strip
1 Library
1 Sol Ring
4 Force
4 Drain
4 Brainstorm
4 Duress
2 Deep Analysis
2 Intuition
4 AK
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Disk
4 Oath
2 Blessing
2 Colossus

SB:

2 Crucible
4 Mana Leak
4 Chill (I expected a LOT of sligh, and one FCG)
1 Wasteland
1 Mind Twist
3 Tormod's Crypt


Thanks to Eric and Jon for holding a Mox Tournament with so few players. Also thanks to all the people who came to play, come more often!