3CB #94 Results and Discussion/3CB Tournament #95

[Godder]

I'd like to congratulate Illissius as the winner of 3CB Tournament #94! Just to rub it in, he even claimed the Quinella! It was a nice continuation from last time not having to call for more entries, and there were even more new entrants to add to the last effort. Sphere or Resistance was still really good, while Restore Balance ended up being a monster. Given the big turnout this time (14 players, 24 decks), I see little reason to change this time around at least!

3CB Tournament #94 Card list:

Mesmeric Fiend
Nezumi Shortfang
Blackmail
Cabal Therapy
Abandon Hope
Pulse of the Dross
Pox
Mind Swords
Smallpox
Coercion
Nullstone Gargoyle
Form of the Dragon
Ghost Quarter
Strip Mine
Wasteland
The Rack
Balance
Glacial Chasm
Trinisphere
Null Chamber
Any deck that can produce more than 2 mana on the first turn
Any deck that can force the opponent to discard more than one card in a turn
Any deck that can goldfish on turn 1
Any deck that can't win if the opposition does nothing e.g. Mishra's Workshop, Trinisphere, Wheel of Torture (aka The Mise Prize, given out to decks that score lots of 2-2 draws)

Decks:

1   ScrappyKid   -   Tomb the Vale Tolls   -   Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth   The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale   Hunted Horror
2   Illissius   -   CS:S   -   City of Traitors   Sphere of Resistance   Soldevi Sentry
3   OfficeShredder   -   Channel-Fireball   -   Hickory Woodlot   Channel   Darksteel Colossus
4   Franz Ferdinand   -   Pox on Milton Bradley   -   Black Lotus   Smallpox   Nether Spirit
5   Godder   -   Down on the Swamp   -   Bayou   Thallid   Duress
6   ScrappyKid   -   Death Ith Inevitable   -   Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth   Maze of Ith   Deathspore Thallid
7   Yare   -   IfOnlyMerfolkSpiritGuideExist ed.dec   -   Simian Spirit Guide   Artifact Blast   Black Lotus
8   Godder   -   MaskNought   -   City of Traitors   Illusionary Mask   Phyrexian Dreadnought
9   The Atog Lord   -   LandStill   -   Snow-covered Island   Mishra's Factory   Daze
10   Franz Ferdinand   -   Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of...   -   Undiscovered Paradise   Stormscape Apprentice   Chain of Vapor
11   Technogeek5000   -   Find the straw in the needle Stax   -   Mishra's Workshop   Sphere of Resistance   Straw Golem
12   OfficeShredder   -   +3|-| /\/\!$3 |or!--,_3   -   Hickory Woodlot   Channel   Amulet of Unmaking (Mise Prize)
13   ReAnimator   -   Salad of Doom!   -   Deathspore Thallid   Duress   Peat Bog
14   Parallax   -   Landstill   -   Mishra's Factory   Sol Ring   Sphere of Resistance
15   Technogeek5000   -   The grudge   -   Black Lotus   Deathspore Thallid   Duress
16   ReAnimator   -   <3Sphere   -   Mishra's Workshop   Trinisphere   Steel Golem
17   JebLucas   -   TTD   -   Mana Crypt   Isochron Scepter   Lightning Helix
18   HiVal   -   I went down a pants size   -   Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale   Mishra's Factory   Mishra's Factory
19   Silvernail   -   Welcome to the Ice Age   -   Saprazzan Skerry   Chronatog   Stasis
20   JebLucas   -   UG Badness   -   Tropical Island   Thallid   Chain of Vapor
21   Tragedy   -   Diabolic Death   -   Peat Bog   Diabolic Edict   Deathspore Thallid
22   Silvernail   -   Hickory Dickory Dock   -   Hickory Woodlot   Scavenger Folk   Thallid
23   Illissius   -   Balance.dec   -   Gemstone Mine   Restore Balance   Durkwood Baloth
24   Tragedy   -   Unnamed Nightmare   -   Black Lotus   Smallpox   Nether Spirit

Results:

      1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1   2   3   4   Bonus   Total   Position
1|   X   0   6   2   6   2   6   0   0   6   2   2   6   0   6   2   6   0   2   6   2   6   6   2   40   116   7
2|   6   X   6   4   3   6   6   3   2   3   2   6   6   4   3   3   6   0   6   3   6   0   2   4   40   130   2
3|   0   0   X   2   0   0   2   0   0   0   0   2   3   0   0   0   3   0   2   0   0   6   6   2   40   68   19
4|   2   1   2   X   0   6   2   6   1   0   1   6   2   1   0   1   3   2   2   2   2   2   2   2   20   68   19
5|   0   3   6   6   X   0   6   0   6   6   3   6   0   3   3   0   3   0   6   2   0   2   0   6   40   107   11
6|   2   0   6   0   6   X   6   6   2   6   2   2   3   2   0   2   0   2   6   6   0   6   0   0   40   105   12
7|   0   0   2   2   0   0   X   2   1   0   0   2   0   2   2   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   2   30   47   24
8|   6   3   6   0   6   0   2   X   3   2   3   2   6   3   3   3   6   6   2   6   0   0   6   0   40   114   8
9|   6   2   6   4   0   2   4   3   X   4   2   6   0   4   1   0   3   2   6   3   2   0   0   4   40   104   13
0|   0   3   6   6   0   0   6   2   1   X   1   4   0   1   0   1   6   0   6   0   0   0   0   6   40   89   18
1|   2   2   6   4   3   2   6   3   2   4   X   6   6   4   3   3   6   0   6   3   6   0   0   4   30   111   10
2|   2   0   2   0   0   2   2   2   0   1   0   X   1   0   0   0   2   2   2   0   2   1   0   0   30   51   23
3|   0   0   3   2   6   3   6   0   6   6   0   4   X   0   0   0   0   0   6   6   0   6   0   2   40   96   16
4|   6   1   6   4   3   2   2   3   1   4   1   6   6   X   3   3   6   2   6   3   6   0   0   4   40   118   6
5|   0   3   6   6   3   6   2   3   4   6   3   6   6   3   X   3   3   0   6   6   6   6   1   6   30   124   4
6|   2   3   6   4   6   2   6   3   6   4   3   6   6   3   3   X   6   0   6   6   6   6   6   4   20   123   5
7|   0   0   3   3   3   6   2   0   3   0   0   2   6   0   3   0   X   6   0   0   6   6   6   3   40   98   15
8|   6   6   6   2   6   2   6   0   2   6   6   2   6   2   6   6   0   X   2   6   2   6   0   2   40   128   3
9|   2   0   2   2   0   0   6   2   0   0   0   2   0   0   0   0   6   2   X   0   0   0   0   2   40   66   22
0|   0   3   6   2   2   0   6   0   3   6   3   6   0   3   0   0   6   0   6   X   0   2   0   2   40   96   16
1|   2   0   6   2   6   6   6   6   2   6   0   2   6   0   0   0   0   2   6   6   X   6   0   2   40   112   9
2|   0   6   0   2   2   0   6   6   6   6   6   4   0   6   0   0   0   0   6   2   0   X   0   2   40   100   14
3|   0   2   0   2   6   6   6   0   6   6   6   6   6   6   4   0   0   6   6   6   6   6   X   2   40   134   1
4|   2   1   2   2   0   6   2   6   1   0   1   6   2   1   0   1   3   2   2   2   2   2   2   X   20   68   19

With Thallid decks still popping up, Deathspore Thallid was still good, particularly when combined with Black Lotus, since it meant winning all the mirror matches. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is really interesting with the common 3CB lands like Tabernacle, Maze of Ith, Masques 2-mana lands, Storage lands and so on, and I look forward to seeing more innovation from Planar Chaos. Isochron Scepter + Lightning Helix is well-known, but using Mana Crypt was an interesting wrinkle that allowed the deck to beat the Smallpox and Balance decks (no land means no vulnerability), but cost it in some of the races.

For next time: The broken extravaganza continues! Entries will receive a 10 point bonus for each card in the deck that is not on the list below, and an additional 10 points if they don't breach any of the rules at the bottom (note the new rule!). Where individual cards breach a rule, I will only penalise once (e.g. Balance is on the list and will often cause decks to discard more than one card). Please note that cards must still be legal in Vintage. Also, Planar Chaos is legal!

Card list:

Mesmeric Fiend
Nezumi Shortfang
Blackmail
Cabal Therapy
Abandon Hope
Pulse of the Dross
Pox
Mind Swords
Smallpox
Coercion
Nullstone Gargoyle
Form of the Dragon
Ghost Quarter
Strip Mine
Wasteland
The Rack
Balance
Glacial Chasm
Trinisphere
Null Chamber
Any deck that can produce more than 2 mana on the first turn
Any deck that can force the opponent to discard more than one card in a turn
Any deck that can goldfish on turn 1
Any deck that can't win if the opposition does nothing e.g. Mishra's Workshop, Trinisphere, Wheel of Torture (aka The Mise Prize)

3-Card Blind (3CB) is a very unique game. With thanks to Zoneseek, the rules are as follows:

• Your deck comprises 3 cards, all of which start in your hand.
• The library starts at 0 cards and you have no sideboard (Wishes fetch nothing).
• Random effects always go in your opponent's favour.
• All hands are revealed, so you always make the best possible play.
• You don't lose as a result of not being able to draw a card. If cards are put into your library, you draw normally.
• Other than the aforementioned, normal Magic rules apply.
• Decks are played against each other deck twice by the Moderator, once going first, once going second. For each win, you score 3. For each draw, you score 1. For each loss, you score 0.
• While it may seem obvious, decks may not use cards from the 3CB Banned List. Illegal decks and decks with illegal cards will be rejected.

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

Subject: 3CB Tournament #95 Entry
Deck Name
Card #1
Card #2
Card #3

Optional Deck discussion, random sucking up, etc.

Entries close February 24. Players may enter up to two decks, but I reserve the right to restrict entries to one deck per player if sufficient entries are received, so please designate your preferred deck, just in case.

[OfficeShredder]

+3|-| /\/\!$3 |or!--,_3 won the mise prize!  Awesome  :lol: (for those who can't read it, the name is leet for the mise prize)

[technogeek5000]

incredible turnout, guess you cant win with the same deck twice... gonna have to think of something crzy for next time.

[Yare]

Wow, dead last.  Nice!  I'll try to come up with something better next time.

[silvernail]

Yare your deck doesnt do anything useful, you have plain 2/2 guy that costs 3 and an artifact only counter spell that you cant cast if you want to have a guy to win with.

[Illissius]

Yay. I was going through older 3CBs and noticed the Restore Balance deck; thought it might be decent if everyone doesn't try to explode on the first turn this time. Which turned out to be correct. Too bad no one played the original Balance; it would've been interesting to compare them.

On a more meta level, there were two interesting forces at play which I expected: The decline of Lotus (and Workshop) decks, obviously caused by the new rule; and ironically enough the proliferation of anti-Lotus decks, which are the most popular ones not affected by the rule. Trying to metagame against a metagame deck is tricky, but it appears Restore Balance was the ticket.

[Godder]

My quick and not necessarily accurate count suggests that Lotus-Rack-Balance would have scored 119 match points + 10 bonus points, which would have placed it third. The highest match point score of the decks actually entered was 103, scored by MWS-3Sphere-Golem, with several other decks scoring 90+ points.

On a more general note, Restore Balance is good when the field is a relatively slow one, as it was this time. It's also bad against 3Sphere, but not so bad against Sphere of Resistance, since you can pay the additional cost of 1, and we seem to have evolved to a SoR-dominated metagame .

Also, for people who haven't seen it, Nick Chandler-Klein aka Goblinboy's Introduction to 3CB:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Edit: Link corrected - thanks Yare!

[Hi-Val]

Yay, I had a feeling my deck would perform well for me!

And it's true! I did drop a pants size!

[Yare]

Corrected link for Part Three since the above link goes to Part Two.

[Scrappy Kid]

This is just a reminder to all those people (like me) who always submit their 3CB decks at the last minute.

There's only two more days to submit for 3CB#95!

As Godder hasn't been on requesting more decks I presume the turnout is good again

[parallax]

I think the penalty for future "Broken Extravaganza" 3CB should be 1 pt per entry rather than a flat 10 pts. Then, the success of broken decks doesn't depend as much on turnout.

[Godder]

Well, we haven't had fewer than 10 entries for a while, so if I set it at 1pt per entry, per breach, it would generally be higher than the current flat rate of 10 points per breach. If I did it at number of different players, we'd still be somewhere around the 10 mark. Still, it's not a bad concept, so what do others think?

As an aside, the more entries, generally the better the broken decks do, and not just because the 10 points becomes less relative to the total points on offer. Generally, larger fields see broken decks pick up a lot of 6s as the field expands.

[Illissius]

On the other hand, predicting turnout with the broken decks also adds another element to metagaming. But I'm biased, because I have a broken deck I thought of after the deadline which I'm rather fond of, and would like to try it out before its chances are gutted .

[parallax]

It could be 1 pt per two entries or something else. I just think that guessing how many decks are going to be submitted shouldn't be a valid form of metagaming.