First and foremost I would like to take this chance to introduce myself, I’m Erik Williams I’m on the RIT magic team and I’ve been playing competitively for about a year. I picked up the original list of bomberman about 8 months ago and have been playing it off and on ever since ( I tried out pitch long for a while but I’m not ready for a deck like that yet ).
Bomberman was defiantly a fun deck to play but it was too control based and slow for me, I was always trying to combo out as fast as I could which isn’t always the right game plan. Simon McRae’s u/w/b list from SCG: Boston looked interesting so I picked it up and tested the crap out of it; the end result was the list I took to Waterbury:
Bob-bombermanArtifacts: 105 Moxen
1 Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Aether Spellbomb
Creatures: 143 Auriok Salvagers
4 Dark Confidant
3 Jotun Grunt
4 Trinket Mage
Instants: 151 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
2 Misdirection
1 Vampiric Tutor
Sorceries: 41 Demonic Tutor
2 Night’s Whisper
1 Time Walk
Land: 172 Island
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
Sideboard: 152 Darkblast
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Energy Flux
3 Trickbind
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Pithing Needle[/list]
Main deck choices:
Daze: daze was the latest addition to the deck, and mostly because I needed blue cards. The original list ran Dimir Cutpurse, I think he is a solid man but I was just unhappy with him so I cut him for Jotun Grunt and at that point I needed blue cards in place of duress, I tried extract but it was just awful so daze made the cut at last minute and turned out to be pretty insane some times and other times just getting pitched to FoW, which is fine.
Jotun Grunt: he is here for 2 reasons. 1) he is a 4/4 for 1W that hates graveyards and smashes like a champion. 2) Thrashing wumpus.
Misdirection: I think it is stronger in some situations than Erayo and I like drawing three cards that don’t belong to me. This card is house in testing and was soo good at the tourney.
Night’s Whisper: I’ve always wanted more card drawing in this deck, sometimes I found myself running my hand down quickly then never being able to build a hand back up and you can’t run 4x jotun grunt so this card made its way in to the list. I’m still not sure how good it is, I drew cards with it this weekend and I think it was good but I’m still not sure it’s the best option, I’m open for suggestions.
Sideboard: to be brief, my sideboard sucks, it sucks hardcore. The only cards that I felt pulled their weight were: darkblast, chalice, pithing needle, and maybe energy flux (I didn’t bring in E flux very often but when I did, it did its job). I’m pretty sure trickbind needs to be orim’s chant and after that I’m really not sure what its going to look like.
Round 1 vs Ross Merriam (SS/trinket fish)
Match: game one I pretty much went then combo route early and only saw U. seas and some blue stuff on his side so I thought he was playing pitch long
Sideboard (1st): -3 daze, +2 chalice of the void, +1 trickbind
He leads with fetch, mox passes the turn. I try to resolve a dark confidant which gets forced or dazed, I can’t remember. Then he resolves a trinket mage for sensei’s top. I realize I sided completely incorrectly and shortly after a counterbalance comes down I run in an a recall like a total noob and he obv. Swaps top and wrecks me, I scoop them up shortly afterwards
Sideboard (2nd): -2 chalice -1 trickbind +2 darkblast +1 pithing needle
My opening hand has land mox confidant misD a blue card and jotun grunt. I keep and aggro him out after drawing a DT and tutoring up darkblast and killing his man that draws cards in exchange for life points
Record: 2-1-0
Match record: 1-0
Round 2 vs U/W fish
Match: when I realize he’s playing u/w fish I do a mental fist pump because I have a really really hard time losing this match. I aggro him out game 1 with jotun grunt and trinket mages
Sideboard (1st): -3 daze +2 darkblast, +1 chalice of the void
I believe I made some really good trades with my grunt vs his grunt; darkblast might have had something to do with it. I assemble the combo elements and that was all she wrote
Record: 2-0
Match record: 2-0
Round 3 vs Goblins
Match: we get deck checked at the start of the match so we enjoy some of the other matches nearby, my opponent is a little worried because this was his first deck check, I inform him that its pretty random and there’s nothing to worry about. Game one I get completely blown out by the standard man plan, lackey into pile driver + siege gang, I can’t keep up.
Team mate Jeff Folinus had finished his match and came over on his side of the table and asks what’s happening I tell him I lose game one and he looks down as my opponent is siding his deck and gives me the oh crap look when he realizes that he’s playing goblins.
Sideboard (1st): -2 daze +2 darkblast (man this card rocks)
Game 2 I’m on the play with a fairly regular hand including a Tmage a grunt piece and some counter magic with fetch waste strip for sources. I run the fetch land down and pass the turn he plays bloodstained mire and cracks for volcanic island and passes, once again I throw the mental fist pump. I draw a moxen, waste his land and lay down the grunt. He plays mountain and passes the turn I drew an underground sea I strip his mountain and smash for 4 he doesn’t rip another land for a few turns and I smash the men in for the W.
Sideboard (2nd): No Change
my hand is about as good as last time except 2 wastes instead of a strip. He’s on the play and runs out a volc. Then mox into this funny UR creature that pings things that I cannot remember the name of, I force because I like my confidant.
I play a mox and a waste land targeting volc. And pass. He plays a fetch and a lackey I believe and ships it back. I run my DC out there to block lackey but he chooses not to send him in, instead he matrons for siege gang and passes I time walk at some point and find myself with salvager bob in play with darkblast in had and send my men across and pass the turn, my guys are tapped down but still lackey doesn’t come in (no clue why) I asked him if he was trying to trick me or something but he says no apparently having another plan but I blast lackey EOT anyways and smash through for some life points and win.
Record: 2-1-0
Match record: 3-0
Round 4 vs U/W vial fish
Match: . He was one of the matches I was lucky enough to observe while being deck checked. It looked savage with meddling mage voidmage prodigy in addition to the regular fishes. He dominated his opponent round three but I think I have a shot, either way he was a nice guy and we had a lot of fun during the match which is refreshing because I hate uptight players
Game one I daze an early vial then the grunt piece shows his worth yet again and gets the job done with some blue mage friends which found me some spell bombs to keep him off lots of threats
Sideboard (1st): -3 daze +2 darkblast, +1 pithing needle
he gets down an early meddling mage on salvagers when I have a lotus and spellbomb in the yard and salvager in hand I topdeck another trinket mage and find spellbomb, next turn bounce mage and play salvager then combo out.
Record: 2-0
Match record: 4-0
Round 5 vs Brian DeMars (Control Slaver)
Match: I think brian’s description pretty much sums it up so hoping he doesn’t mind ill just throw his in here
Game one. This game makes me sad. Because I thought I had it.
The early game unfolded with him having a lot and me having a little. I eventually set up a turn where I can eot mystical for Recall and use it as bait to resolve my Yawgmoth’s Will. He has two cards and I am almost positive by the way he is playing that they must be FOW and a blue card. I’m close. Misdirection and a blue card for my recall. I am completely shocked. “Are you joking me? In the maindeck? Of your deck? That is soooo Random!!!! What a beating. I Will, Tutor up a Duplicant for his new Jotun Grunt, exhaust my graveyard so that his old Jotun Grunt will die, draw some cards, and pass. The turn leaves him with four cards in hand, a Grunt that will die, and a Trinket Mage in play. However, he has beaten me down to two. I am also holding Sundering Titan in my hand with enough Mana in play to cast it if he doesn’t play a strip effect. He draws for the turn. Brainstorm, finds a Wasteland for my Academy. And Drops Bob, Bob, True Believer. I untap, Burning Wish for Pyroclasm, clear away his four guys and hit him with my 4/4 Duplicant. He is on a three turn Clock. He untaps and draws nothing. I untap and draw nothing. He untaps and draws Trinket mage for Aether Spellbomb. But does not play it. I untap, don’t draw a counterspell and lose. Damn, Misdirection in the main! Unreal.
Game two.
I keep a hand with Island a bunch of gas, no pitch counters, and Ancestral Recall.
Island -> Recall. He looks at me surprised. “Really?” “You don’t have it.” “I don’t, draw your 3.” I promptly Tendrils him out on turn three.
Game three:
I mulligan to five. Pyrite Spellbomb, Emerald, Black Lotus, Strip Mine, Sundering Titan. Yuck. Guess what? I lost.
Brian and I had been chit chatting between rounds in the smoking room (just outside the store) I tell him how I don’t want to play him this round because my worst match-ups are gifts and insanely good CS players, turns out he’s the latter of the two.
He was classy the whole time and it was a really good match until game three where he just got unlucky with the mulling
Record: 2-1-0
Match Record 5-0
Round 6 vs Crossman (Pitch long variant)
Match: somehow I’m the only X-0 at this point so I don’t get to be lazy and ID the last 2 rounds like I wish I could have but I got to observe Crossman playing one of the previous rounds, I pretty much cant lose to pitch long so I’m in good shape even though I don’t get to ID
Game one I counter some relevant spells and waste his black sources with the grunt piece doing what he does best (serving with a trinket mage on his back pretending to be a good beater)
Sideboard (1st): -3 daze, -1 Aether spellbomb / +2 chalice of the void, +2 trickbind
game two starts out really well for me, he undresses me and his jaw drops because my hand is the stone cold nuts with some lands force, misd brainstorm and the like. Eventually I send out a chalice at 0 which gets countered then go into a trinket mage for another chalice which sticks, I beat for 2 for a while then make a bad play to tap out for trinket mage when I have trickbind in hand and attempt to find the 3rd chalice which I realize I didn’t bring in. As I thought my cotv gets chained at the end of my turn and I grit my teeth a little bit, he builds up some advantage but passes the turn I rip a second trickbind and replay cotv for 1 he duresses me and sees 2x trickbind but he just cant get through the hate
Note: he duresses for my misD but I think he forgot about it so he was trying to play around it the whole game when it was in my GY which is good for me because I think he would have gone off after chaining my chalice because I pretty much had my pants down after that
it was a good match, he’s a really good player and a nice guy so it was fun
Record: 2-0
Match record: 6-0
Round 7: I get paired up against friend and teammate Mike Hetherington we ID and go to the Shell station so I can refuel on energy drinks and listen to the DOTA techno song.
TOP 8: Ross Merriam
game one: he wrecks me, I don’t really remember much of what happened but he effin wrecks me
game two: we have a pretty solid match but dark blast is champion once again
game three: It was looking really good for me but my resources are pretty much depleted I’ve got a few dorks on the table and he’s got two cutpurses then he plays a recall and I have no force left, he plays time walk then on the time walk turn plays yawg will, okay now its looking bad for me, he gets another 3 cards and a third turn finally it comes back to me he team blocks a salvager I dark blast one and kill one grunt and t mage get in. I pass he doesn’t hit anything and passes my grunt goes down but my men pull it through the rest of the way
Semi-Finals: Brian champion DeMars
once again ill barrow his match up analysis because I’m lazy and I have a routing and switching midterm in 3 hours that I haven’t studied for yet.
Semis, The rematch V Eric Williams with UBW Agro.
Game one. The details of the early game are blurry to me. All I remember is that he did not have a Force of Will for my Hard cast Sundering Titan. All of his lands went away. He also did not have a Wasteland this time to stop my Academy. I could hold off his attack long enough to play Mindslaver and make his men run into my Wall of Titan. He scoops.
I board and shuffle up. He jokes that “The only way I can beat DeMars is if he mulligans down to five again!” I reply “Hoping for your opponent to mulligan is always a good strategy!”
Of course, he keeps his grip of 7. (I’ll try it). I throw my 7 back. I throw my 6 back, and am staring at a hand of 5. “It worked!” Says, Eric Williams.
However, I like my 5 and think it can win.
I’m looking at
Polluted Delta
Polluted Delta
Mana Drain
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
As long as he doesn’t have a Stifle I’m in good shape to fight his slow aggro deck as long as I hit solid draws. (I.e., not big artifacts and garbage off the top).
He plays a land and passes. Success! We are getting there.
I draw Volcanic Island, play Delta and Pass.
He plays a Wasteland and Passes. We did it!
I draw a Black Lotus, play a Delta.
He plays a land and passes. OMG!!?? What is happening?
I draw COW off the top. I move into my second mainphase. He frowns. I play Crucible of Worlds. To my surprise it goes through. I am soooo lucky!!! I fetch for Island and play a delta.
On his turn he plays Nights Whisper and passes. I untap fetch out another Island draw another Drain and pass.
(I’ve already won this game, so I will skip the rest of the boring details of the next 10 turns)
Turn 15: I hard cast Duplicant, it resolves and I imprint his lone Jotun Grunt. Life totals are me 13 and him 16. I proceed to hard cast Sundering Titan. It comes in and blows up all of his lands. And one of my Volcanic Islands. I replay the Volcanic Island for my Crucible of Worlds. I then Cast Goblin Welder and Pass. He extends the hand.
Game two I kept a hand I probably shouldn’t have and he has answers for my 3 men that came way too late, I drew infinite lands and useless cards for some turns and its already too late.
So there you have the story of my first real top 8, hope you had fun because I sure did.
Props:
My teammates for being awesome
My opponents for being generally relaxed and friendly
The judges for doing a great job with so few people
SLOPS:
I could go on forever here but none of it would have to do with the tournament so ill spare you the details, suffice it to say that we didn’t get back to Rochester until 7 in the morning and It was freezing rain just about the whole way.
