beanie exchange first place 2/19

So no funny beggining for this,except for the random russian guy who tried to kill us...we beeped at him cuz his left blinker was on but he wasnt merging left, then he got out and said "dont you see my fucking flashers are on"...at which point we all said no its a left turn signal, you jackass, then he got back in his car, cuz he didnt want to let the gooch loose.... just my first tournament report from my first tournament win.

First the deck.

TPS Gifts

4x Island
1x Strip Mine
3x Polluted Delta
2x Flooded Strand
2x Underground Sea
2x Volcanic Island
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Pearl
1x Lotus Petal
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
4x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Burning Wish
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Tinker
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Rebuild
1x Echoing Truth
1x Recoup
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Time Walk
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Pithing Needle
1x Rack and Ruin

Sideboard
1x Massacre
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Sundering Titan
1x Deep Analysis
1x Darkblast
2x Rack and Ruin
1x Pyroblast
2x Red Elemental Blast
1x Pithing Needle
2x Tormod's Crypt
1x Rebuild
1x Pyroclasm

Thats the deck ive been playing for most the year now, weve made minor changes here and there but i think me and my team have pretty much found the best build of this deck for me. Im not really going to go over every card in the deck ill just explain a few and the basics. First youll notice i play 61 cards, i have been for a while, and it has never hurt me, so why stop. The deck has two basic win conditions, those being tinker for collosus, or tendrills of agony after a bunch of other spells. So the maindeck is pretty much cut and dry there are only a few cards in there im going to explain first crucible of worlds. Well i do run the strip mine crucible lock, and crucible is just good in general in the control match as always having a shuffle effect for brainstorm is pretty good. it is possibly on the chopping block though as even with it, im not usually impressed, but it does win games for me. The second card in the main deck that seems most out of place is the rack and ruin. I know believe after running one maindeck for the past three tournaments that i cannot play without one in the maindeck. It helps against your stax match, and is generally good at slowing your opponents ridiculous hands down if need be. The only card i have in the sideboard that i do not know if i like or not is the single massacre, i did use it once today against null rob, but then again i couldnt really use it more as i didnt play any fish decks. Against fish the card is very powerful, and i thank crossman for showing me the card. Ok so since ive explained a few of the more odd card choices im going to get into the matches, if you have any questions on the cards in the deck or how it plays feel free to ask me.

Round 1:
Johnny Mac, Teammate playing stax.
I really dont remember much about this match, before it started our teammate matt mcnally said oh god john you got your best matchup, but it turns out my deck can beat broken starts by stax because my deck loves me in ways it shouldnt. All i really remember in game one is him starting off kinda quick with mana accelerants and crucible, i come back with some mana and i think ancestral, he hasnt seen a welder yet so i tinker for the big guy and win two turns later.

Sideboard:
In: 2 Rack and Ruin, Darkblast, Rebuild
Out: Crucible of worlds, Echoing Truth, Gifts Ungiven, Mana Crypt

Game two:
This game was a lot like the first game except i tinkered even earlier and demonic tutored time walk up to win quick.

1-0 (2-0)

Round 2:
Null Rob, Bird Sh*t

Game one:
I came into the match thinking that he was playing flame/vault like last week at myriad, but he wasn't. Once i realized what he was playing i stripped his first tundra he got another but had no swords that would resolve. Im once again sorry that i dont have more of a rememberance of these games.

Sideboard:
In: Massacre, 2 Red Elemental Blast
Out: Crucible of worlds, Thirst for Knowledge, Gifts Ungiven,

Game two:
We are a couple turns into the game hes beat me down to about 13 or so and i am holding Dt and not much other business, so i dt, and decided not to get tinker and to get massacre to kill his board. My plan works as i kill his board. Eventually i tinker out the big guy who happens to meet the swords off null rob so i go up to 20, he beats me with a 4/4 werebear until i gifts for what i need and will for tendrills for the win.

2-0 (4-0)

Round 3:
Kyle Leith, Slaver

Game one:
This game and the next had to be the most boring games ever, i drew like crap and so did he, he had the truth for my collosus and then tinkered in his own as i had a zero for countermagic that game.

Sideboard
In: Sundering Titan, 2 Red Elemental Blast, Darkblast
Out: Crucible, Thirst for Knowledge, Gifts Ungiven, Mana Crypt

Game two:
Refer to game one except i dont even get to tinker and i have nothing to do against an 11/11 beater like that...

2-1 (4-2)

Round 4:
Outlaw, my mexican lover, with stax

Game one:
I dont remember anything from this game as he absolutely crushed my soul, i was pretty down at this point as i realized i now had to win two in a row against one of my worst matches.

Sideboard:
In: Darkblast, 2 Rack and Ruin
Out: Crucible of worlds (notice a trend), Gifts Ungiven (trendy), Thirst for Knowledge
Im just going to take a quick side here and tell you that for some reason my sideboarding does not change the cards that come out in most matches, only the cards that go in, i mean in some cases im going to board out needles, or rack and ruin, just not today.

Game two:
This game goes on forever because weve got nothing. He eventually tries to cast a choke under three sphere, but i have three mana up and the drain. Next turn i do some stuff, play a needle and name the welder who isnt in play. some more time goes by, at this point im building up for the win, i rack and ruin his 3sphere and chalice set to zero, play some moxen and tinker out the big guy. A few turns later the game is over.

Game three:
I again dont remember what happens here, i think i did some pretty broken stuff and my opponent didnt draw anything of relative consequence. I tinker up collosus he gets swords after a beat in, but i win next turn with a tendrills for more than the two outlaw was at.

3-1 (6-3)

Round 5:
Lou, Flame/Vault

Game one:
I tinker really early and he bounces only after taking eleven once, then i tendrills him for 8 when he is at seven.

Sideboard:
In: 2 Red Elemental Blast
Out: Gifts Ungiven, Thirst for Knowledge

Game two:
Nothing happens for about twenty turns, we both just play mana and set things up, eventually he gets a time vault down, ive got collosus on the table due to a tinker. he gifts for force, drain, reb, pyroblast. Im holding echoing truth and rack and ruin, so naturally i give him the pyro and reb, he takes his turn and goes for the win, i echoing truth in response to fusillade, he rebs, i rack and ruin. Fusillade resolves and i take one from a land.
4-1 (8-3)

Round 6:
I dont know my opponents name as hatch points him out to me and i ask him if hes going to draw with me and we are both in at that point.

4-1-1 (8-3)

Top 8:
Ben Kowal, Ninja Adept , Flame Vault

Game one:
Ok so by now we all know i dont remember what happened, i remember two matches, that was my top four match and my finals match. All i remember is lots of nothing happened then we fought over seemingly useless spells. Then my will resolved and he looked at my yard and scooped knowing well i had tendrils for plenty lethal.

Sideboard:
In: 2 Red Elemental Blast
Out: Gifts Ungiven, Thirst for Knowledge

Game two:
Again my memory is crap, but i do know that he wins when he has vault on table and has reb back up for his fusillade.

Game three:
Ben was forced to use his will early and for very little and in setting up he forgot to imperial seal thus giving me a turn to draw something. I drew black lotus which turned my drain mana on so i could drain his tinker, and eventually i got my own tinker.

Top 4:
Ross Merriam, Teammate, Scrubs with Jugs (another deck of ours)

Game one:
I do nothing he does everything, and he wins easily on the heels of Jugs.

Sideboard:
In: 2 Rack and Ruin, Darkblast
Out: Crucible, Gifts, Thirst

Game two:
Had to have been the best game i played all day on both sides of the table and that is why i remember it so well. We both have decent hands he has the beb for my rack and ruin, my next turn i will rack and ruin, drop artifacts, and tendrills for a measly ten, but in retrospect i was at one, he now has nothing on board, and i kno darksteel is on top of my deck and i have plenty to cast him with. Next turn cast collosus, two turns later win the game.

Game three:
My opening grip is something ridiculous of ancestral, fetch, volc, rack, rebuild, lotus petal and needle.
His opening turn goes something like this land, artifact accelerants, three spehere. He follows that up with a turn two trike, i take my four then take my third turn, i rack and ruin trike and triny, play some artifacts and proceed to take control from there as he draws absolutely nothing, we do however have a prize split worked out so its ok.

Finals:
Cyle Wajdo, Goblins but better

Game one:
This is absolutely the hardest i had to think all day, he had me down to 5 thanx to turn one lackey and goblin goon comming in off him, i was dead next turn, he casts null rod, i repond with drain. i tell him im gonna tinker and he says do it, i however dont have tinker, and thank god, he had double truth in hand. on my turn i use the drain mana to gifts, im holding demonic and will in hand so i gifts for artifact mana and tolarian, then i dt for lotus, then cast will and play a lot more spells before tendrills hits the table, i thought this play out for about a minute before realizing exactly how i had to do it so that a daze couldnt touch me.

Sideboard:
In: Darkblast
Out: Crucible

Game two:
This game wasnt even me doing anything, my deck gave me the sauce. He brainstormed turn one and played a tormods crypt i said ok. My opening hand is volc, lotus petal, fetch, mana vault, demonic tutor, mana drain, and some other card of non consequence. Im thinking to myself turn two tinker with no back up, i can deal with that though. Draw my card for turn drop Lotus, Lotus petal, volc, vault tapping volc, sac petal for black, tap vault demonic for tinker floating two colorless, pop lotus for blue tinker with two blue floating, end the game three turns later with darksteel beats and win the tournament.

We sell the ruby and half box we get for something like a drain and 200 bux, i take the drain and 50 bux and ross walks away with 150 for my and his split in top 4. I had a great day and hope to do it again sometime.

Props:
My Team for being awesome
Johnny Mac for letting me use his drains
The gg's for being great guys
Hatcher for another great tourney
Everyone who said congrats
FERDINAND MAGELLAN!!!!!!
Ross for slaying the gg's with me (5-0)
Ben Kowal for telling me to take it home before he left and before my top 4 match began

Slops:
Outlaw and Null Rob for being in the same room so i couldnt ask where the other was
Crossman for not making it
It being so late so we didnt go to chilis

thats all i got folks...thanks for everything and any questions feel free to ask.