REPORT: Mox Ruby Tourney High Point, NC 1-15-05

Ok, so I slapped together an EBA variant for this tournament in high point, nc for a ruby. We took 5 guys from Raleigh to play in the tourney and it was a lot of fun. 19 people showed, josh and david from shortbus made an appearance, both doing very well. David won with stax and josh made semis with a deck i've never seen before. From what I saw he tinkered out collosus and platinum angels pretty consistently. Other than that I can't tell you what he played. I never got a chance to play him since we split for 3rd / 4th after we both lost in the semis.

so here is the deck list...

4x polluted delta
2x flooded strand
3x island
3x tundra
3x underground sea
2x city of brass
1x mox jet
1x mox sapphire
1x mox pearl
1x sol ring
1x black lotus
4x meddling mage
3x phyrexian neagator
2x exalted angel
1x yawgmoth's will
1x fact or fiction
4x mana drain
4x FOW
3x duress
1x ancesteal recall
3x swords to plowshares
1x mind twist
1x time walk
4x impulse
1x demonic tutor
1x mystical tutor
1x balance
3x chains of mephistofeles

sideboard:
1x swords to plowshares
4x sacred ground
3x energy flux
4x seal of cleansing
3x plague spitter

first off i want to say that meddling mage is really really good and won me the game on numerous occasions, especially against oath. Out of the 19 decks there, 6 people were playing oath. However, only 2 top 8'ed and none made semis. I decided to run chains in my maindeck based on all of the brainstorms, thirsts, AKs and other less played draw engines in almost every deck. However, looking back i regret running them and trying to force the obvious impulse synnergy upon them. Id much rather have brainstorm in the future and keep the chains on the board, if at all, to bring it it when needed. If I don't drop the chains turn 1 or 2, it really slows down my pace or doesn't even effect the game significantly enough for them to be good.

onto my sideboard.... I expected a heavy oath and stax environment and i was quite pleased with my sideboard options. 2 guys i came with were playing stax, the other oath, and the other one cerebral assassin. the 4 sacred grounds are SOOOOOOO good against stax that if i can get one out in the first couple of turns i win against stacks 95% of the time. so maybe 4 is overkill for one deck, but i am not going to pick up my shit to a crucible waste or strip, and smokestacks is useless with the sacred ground in play. the 3 plague spitters were there to deal with non stax welder decks, but i didnt get a chance to use them. i am going to take them out of my board since they dont work with phyrexian negator so i have to board out my negators for them. the 4 seal of cleansings on my board helped me beat up oath throughout the day and were a good choice. energy flux was there to disrupt workshop decks and the lone STP just b/c i couldnt fit it in main deck and i like have 4 against certain decks (namely oath).

sorry for the crappy report i cant rememeber everything...

round 1: VS Ryan Quick playing Stax

of course round one i have to play one of my friends from back home, but oh well thats what happended.

game 1: i play first, but he effectively gets an early trinishphere out with smokestacks following and crucible of worlds. I pick up my stuff with hardly any permanents in play. Good start im thinking to myself.

game 2: I board in 4 sacred ground and 3 energy flux. out comes time walk, 3 chains, yawgmoths will, 1 impulse 1 negator.

I am able to get out my sacred ground pretty early in the game. I know he is running rey of revelation (since we wrote out of deck lists next to each other) so i call that with my mage. i drop a negator and beat face for a few turns. he casts a tinker, which i cant counter, and i expect to see a duplicant that he has on his board, but instead he tinkers up a sundering titan. I have a city of brass in play and swords it EOT. I continue negator beats and end up winning the game. (I later found out that he somehow forgot to board in the duplicants and it could have cost him the game).

game 3: i mulligan down to 6 cards and keep my first turn lotus energy flux. ryan can never really recover from the slow down of the first turn flux and i win the game on negator beats.

1-0

Round 2 VS Andrew Polyniak playing Oath

This is my buddy from high school and teammate so we think about our options for a while and we agree to draw. We figured that if we make top 8 we will draw at some point so we might as well draw now.

1-0-1

Round 3 VS Steve ???? playing oath (sorry steve i forgot your last name)

game 1: i effectively resolve a turn 3-4 meddling mage naming oath of druids. i want to say just pick up your stuff and lets move on to game 2. however, i learned not to be so cocky. i have another meddling mage in hand, and i consider droping it naming akroma, but i feel this is overkill. I continue with mage beats and he goes land, lotus, akroma, and i dont have a counter. i was about to shoot myself for not droping the name on akroma. anyway, he swings 3 turns and i lose. im pissed.

game 2: I board in 4 seals and 1 swords. out comes 1 balance, 3 chains and 1 impulse.

i go first and go first turn duress, with meddling mage in my hand. the 3 cards than concern me were mox emereld, oath of druids, and tinker. after some thinking, i take the emerald to prevent the first turn oath and later tinker. im pretty happy seeing no force and no first turn counter. i pass the turn. he says land, go. i go meddling mage, which is forced (nice top deck steve). so, the game isnt mine anymore. i pass the turn. he drops an oath. i draw a seal of cleansing and its gone. after some counter wars i get out another meddling mage and actually win with it this time.

game 3: wow. wow. wow. i dont know how i won this game. ok so after a some more counter wars we get to the point where he hard casts a pristine angel. i begin to wonder why the deck even runs oath of druids. he swings for 2 turns.i have no cards in hand. i top deck a duress, i see FOW, FOW, time walk. after some thinking i take the time walk, but double force basicaly spells game over for me with no cards in hand. i have already accepted defeat. but then on steve's turn he swings with the pristine, and drops an oath of druids to untap hisangel (he said he was fearful of swords). im like hmmmm... ok im suddleny back in this game. i activate the oath on my turn, praying for the exalted angel to come out. however, i get a meddling mage instead name force of will since he has in hand. i top deck a swords to plowshares and sit on it since his pristine angel is untapped. he swings with the pristine angel putting me and 5 or 6 life. he then casts another oath of druids to protect his angel, but i respond with a swords and he is really mad at himself. i then top deck and exalted and he scoops. whew. that was a close one.

2-0-1

round 4: VS oath (forgot his name, sorry)

game 1 / 2: I get out an early meddling mage both games. sorry i cant say more but there was nothing really else that happended.

3-0-1

round 5: we congradulate each other on top 8ing.

3-0-2

TOP 8:

Round 1 vs food chain goblins (cant remember name)

I am surprised to play against food chains goblins and feel unprepared.

game 1: i dont remember much from this game but i never lost control of the game. i had double swords and then yawgmoths willed and double swords again. i won the game with exalted angel.

game 2: i board in 3 plague spitter, 1 swords. out comes 3 chains and 1 duress.

this game is just like game one. i establish early control and counter some creatures. i took the bate too many times and walked into an unexpected blood moon. i had some islands out but all my cards in hand required black or white. i had nothing to do but sit back and watch him beat in my face. erg....

game 3: more swords to plowshares action + negator = easy win. i swords his first turn lackey and drain a warchief into a negator. i sit back on a swords and he cant recover. he gets out a recuiter though and gets a ringleader and 4 piledrivers. i go meggling mage: piledriver. good game.

Round 2: VS wtf/R (cant remember name)

game 1: i am able to drain a spiketail and twist his hand away early game. next turn i go morped angel. fish has no chance against this and i pull out an easy win.

game 2: early man land beats hammer my life pretty hard. i keep having to tap my city and im losing life fast. i get out a plague spitter, killing his 1/1 flyers, but dealing quite a bit of damage to myself. i draw a meddling mage, naming river boa. next turn, he fires me. oh yeah, im at 2 life. i guess i should have named fire/ice.

game 3: i keep a 1 land hand with a sol ring. im not really sure what i was thinking, anywaym, i need an undergrund sea for my duress. he wastes next turn and i sit on no land for a long time. he wastes again and pulls out an easy win. i should have mulliganed but i get what i deserve.

i split with josh for $20 store credit each, a big drop from that first place mox. i had a great time at this tournament at DJs Cards in High Point and picked up some valueable lessons for star city next weekend. See you all out there.

- Cody Vinci