3CB #77 Results and Discussion/3CB Tournament #78 (Special Formats!)

[combo_dude]

I'd like to congratulate Anusien as the winner of 3CB Tournament #77!
A very varied set of decks this week, as one might expect from such a format; in the end the deck that didn't rely on a creature took it home (of course, having tried to mix it up, Energy Field STILL won  ), despite a lot of very close competition around 5 points behind him! Congratulations!

This week was: Very Different!

In addition to the banned list, the following cards are in effect: [card]Trinisphere[/card], [card]Upwelling[/card], and [card]Leyline of Singularity[/card]. Furthermore, all nonbasic lands are legendary, (EDIT: all double discard spells are now also banned,) and all Land Destruction (including lands such as Dust Bowl) is banned.

Banned list:
Portal (in ALL its forms)
Unglued AND UNHINGED
[card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card]
[card]Nezumi Shortfang[/card]
[card]Blackmail[/card]
[card]Chain of Smog[/card]
[card]Cabal Therapy[/card]
[card]Encroach[/card]
[card]Mind Swords[/card]
[card]Anvil of Bogardan[/card]
[card]Mishra's Workshop[/card]
[card]Karakas[/card]
[card]The Rack[/card]
[card]Balance[/card]
[card]Meddling Mage[/card]
[card]Vindicate[/card]

Decks:

1.   combo_dude    -    Who needs playable cards?    -    Rath's Edge,   Tomb of Urami,   Crucible of Worlds
2.   Joblin Velder    -    Champions' Block Constructed    -    Bayou,   Kodama of the North Tree,   Hero's Demise
3.   Anusien    -    SlowFormat.dec    -    Volcanic Island,   Kaervek's Torch,   Energy Field
4.   emidln    -    (no name)    -    City of Traitors,   Eater of Days,   Maze of Ith
5.   Franz Ferdinand    -    Mox, Factory, Discard Redux    -    Swamp,   Mishra's Factory,   Coercion
6.   Matt    -    Flaming Queens    -    Taiga,   Yamabushi's Flame,   Gaea's Blessing
7.   Cross    -    (no name)    -    Scrubland,   Angel of Despair,   Scrubland
8.   ReAnimator    -    Way too slow    -    Swamp,   Nether Spirit,   Smokestack
9.   Godder    -    Dragon.dec    -    Island,   Quicksilver Dragon,   Mana Drain
10.   wonkey_donkey    -    (no name)    -    City of Traitors,   Horobi, Death's Wail,   Urborg
11.   jro    -    Hippo Paradise    -    Undiscovered Paradise,   Pygmy Hippo,   Recoil

Results:

       1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1 Total Position
1|   X   6   0   0   3   6   0   2   6   6   0   29    (4)
2|   0   X   0   6   2   6   6   0   2   6   0   28    (6)
3|   6   6   X   6   2   6   2   0   2   6   0   36    (1)
4|   6   0   0   X   4   6   2   2   6   2   2   30    (3)
5|   3   2   2   1   X   2   6   2   6   3   2   29    (4)
6|   0   0   0   0   2   X   0   2   0   0   2   6     (11)
7|   6   0   2   2   0   6   X   6   0   2   1   25    (8)
8|   2   6   6   2   2   2   0   X   0   2   6   28    (6)
9|   0   2   2   0   0   6   6   6   X   2   1   25    (8)
0|   0   0   0   2   3   6   2   2   2   X   2   15    (10)
1|   6   6   6   2   2   2   4   0   4   2   X   34    (2)


Quite an interesting tournament - I had my money on the Pygmy Hippo deck, as it gets the threat out of the way before preventing the deck from playing anything by draining their pool; for this reason maybe playing Rishadan Port would have been an idea (in fact, I expect I'd have banned it if it had appeared in a deck with a land able to produce more than 1 mana). As it was, the creature removal was immaterial against the power of the Energy Field deck - I'm not sure why the traditional Darksteel Reactor didn't turn up there, but it did the trick anyway; great metagame call! My own deck maybe should have used Gods' Eye instead, but token generators aren't that great without the recursion engine as the legend rule means you can only have one in play at once. Nice to see over 10 different decks - hopefully we can keep this up!

For the next few tournaments, I'm going to try a seriously revamped banned list, INCLUDING BLACK LOTUS BEING LEGAL. I think it'll hopefully revitalise this format, which has been flagging somewhat of late - it'll totally change the metagame, at any rate. I'm going to steal borrow this banned list from MtGSalvation.com, as it looks pretty balanced to me - I'd work out my own, but if we're only trying it a few times I'd rather not have highly unbalanced tournaments where we're still trying to work out a good list.

Banned list:
Portal (in ALL its forms)
Unglued AND UNHINGED
[card]Form of the Dragon[/card]
[card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card]
[card]Nezumi Shortfang[/card]
[card]Blackmail[/card]
[card]Ghost Quarter[/card]
[card]Cabal Therapy[/card]
[card]Abandon Hope[/card]
[card]Nullstone Gargoyle[/card]
[card]Coercion[/card]
[card]Strip Mine[/card]
[card]Wasteland[/card]
[card]The Rack[/card]
[card]Balance[/card]
[card]Meddling Mage[/card]
[card]Pulse of the Dross[/card]
[card]Leonin Squire[/card]
[card]Show and Tell[/card]
[card]Misguided Rage[/card]
[card]Abandon Hope[/card]
[card]Glacial Chasm[/card]
All decks that can force mass-discard
All decks that can goldfish on turn 1

What is 3cb?

3-Card Blind (3CB) is a very unique game. The rules are as follows

Your deck is composed of 3 cards, all of which start in your hand.
You have no library (technically, the library exists, but starts at 0 cards) and no sideboard (Wishes fetch nothing).
Random effects always go in your opponent's favour.
You can see your opponent's hand, so you can always make the best possible play.
You don't lose as a result of not being able to draw a card.
You will play each opponent twice, once going first, once going second.
For each win, you score 3.
For each draw, you score 1.
For each loss, you get nothing.
Other than the aforementioned, EVERYTHING IS HANDLED EXACTLY LIKE A REAL GAME OF MAGIC!

To make an entry, PM your deck to combo_dude in the following format:

Subject: 3cb Tournament #78 Entry or 3cb Tournament#78 Revision
Deck Name
Card #1
Card #2
Card #3

Optional Deck discussion, random sucking up, etc.

I'll close entries after 2 weeks. Get your entries in by 29th May and I'll calculate. The tournament after that will almost certainly have 3 weeks attached to it rather than 2, as that's my exam period (unless Godder or someone else can calculate in my place for that one), but after that they can run as normal. I hope this attracts people's attention - if you haven't entered before, or not for a while because you got bored, this should be a different format, so please enter.

Thanks,
Adam

EDIT: Dissension is legal (minus Ghost Quarter).

[Anusien]

So that's the second time I tried that deck.  I guess I finally found the right format for it.

[Cross]

My deck suffered from wheel of torture syndrome.

[Franz Ferdinand]

My other idea was City of Traitors, God's Eye, Smokestack. I prob should've played that one.

By the way, I really hate Lotus 3CB. Mostly because I hate Lotus.

[Cross]

Yeah, I've been trying to come up with a deck involving lotus that works, but isnt a "first turn kill." It's tough.

[jro]

Damn, the Hippo almost made it.  :lol:  Actually I think I have another 2 points from my matchup with Cross.  I think I win on the play, because Hippo hits on my turn 4 when Cross has only 5 mana max.  Angel then winds up stranded in his hand, and Hippo gallops to victory.

Anusien, don't you play Demonfire over Kaervek's Torch?  There's no reason why you shouldn't be Hellbent.

[combo_dude]

My other idea was City of Traitors, God's Eye, Smokestack. I prob should've played that one.

By the way, I really hate Lotus 3CB. Mostly because I hate Lotus.

Well, I've been running non-Lotus 3CB for ages, and I'd like a change; also, there hasn't been a lot of interest in the regular tournaments of late, so we'll try this and see what happens.

@jro: Yes, you're right - sorry. Changed. Also, he submitted Demonfire, but I wasn't allowing Dissension for the special format. It's now legal though.

Adam

[jro]

All decks that can goldfish on turn 1

Does this mean all decks that win the game outright on turn 1, or all decks that play out their hand on turn 1?

[Cross]

I'm pretty sure this includes putting your opponent in a position that they cannot win from is a turn 1 win. For example one discard effect, and then another discard effect leaving you oppnent with one card and no win condition. 

[Godder]

If you're running Black Lotus, Discard, Discard (say), you're unlikely to actually have a win condition, which would also be against the rules.

[Cross]

I'll post it when results come out.

[combo_dude]

OK, to clarify: when I say all cards that can force mass discard, I meant all decks that can force >1 discard in any given turn. Sorry. (This also means that the deck with [card]Shocker[/card] that I was sent is banned, as it breaks the multiple discard rule.)

As for the goldfish, it does mean you need to actually win turn one, but if you can come up with a deck that puts your opponent in a losing situation whilst simultaneously retaining a win condition, I'll be impressed!

Adam

[jro]

If you're running Black Lotus, Discard, Discard (say), you're unlikely to actually have a win condition, which would also be against the rules.

Black Lotus, Encroach / Duress / Ostracize / Funeral Charm, Ravenous Rats.  Let's say Funeral Charm*.  If that deck plays first, it's beatable by decks involving Basking Rootwalla, Nether Spirit, Sand Golem (:lol:) or by re-shufflers like Darksteel Colossus combined with storage lands.  It draws against Squee / Storage Land, and any deck involving Guerilla Tactics, Force of Will or Misdirection.

* Cry of Contrition might be better, if it's allowed. 

It seems to me that this format is all about making a deck that makes the game unwinnable for your opponent when you're on the play.  Even if you get stomped when you're going second, you still get 3 points per match, which beats drawing.  So the format favors decks that try to proactively screw the opponent, since the decks that can react are more likely to draw, winding up lower in the overall standings.

[combo_dude]

Maybe so, but that deck is banned under multi-discard. My experience of it is that Lotus decks win less often than not; without being able to force the double discard it's a lot less powerful, as hurting your opponent when he hasn't played anything is actually fairly tough.

Adam

[jro]

Maybe so, but that deck is banned under multi-discard.

I have no problem with that deck being banned, but the ban as worded is on "cards that can force mass discard", not "decks that can force multiple discards".  Does this mean that, for example, Black Lotus / Mind Peel / Erg Raiders would be legal as you have no way to buy back Mind Peel?  Or Black Lotus / Pox / Nether Spirit would be legal since it will never hit more than 1 of your opponent's cards?

Sorry to be a pain, but it's hard to break the format when you aren't quite sure what's legal or not.

[emidln]

Ha, Eater of Days.dec takes third. That is all.

[combo_dude]

jro: Sorry, I meant to edit it after I made my last post, but I last posted at 3am local time, just before going to bed after a night of being pretty damn drunk.
Now edited.

Adam

[combo_dude]

More decks would be good, I've not got many at the moment! Also, although it's a special format, as the rules are the same as usual, I'll accept second decks from people.

Thanks,
Adam