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The Atog Lord
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« on: July 02, 2007, 01:10:31 pm » |
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Richard Shay
June 30 and July 1st
ELD 1st and Myriad Games 1st
Tournament Report and Reflection
Summary
We all have different playstyles.
Pick a deck that lets you use a playstyle with which you are comfortable.
Tune your specific deck to better match your playstyle.
Background
It was in a seaside cottage in Nantucket, away from Internet access, that I first received a phone call telling me that Gush had been unrestricted. I have loved GAT since I spent many evening crashing it into various Green-based aggro decks played by Andy Lambe in a Brown University lounge in 2003. I only moved on to Control Slaver after GAT had been torn from my hands by the DCI. So, after learning that my old favorite deck would soon be legal, I could think of nothing except how I might rekindle that old spark.
I spoke at length with ELD about how to go about building an optimal GAT list. Eric decided to make some changes to update his old list and just use that; ELD soon won a Myriad Games tournament using his build, which includes Street Wraith, no Mana Drains, and the Strip Mine he seems to include in all of his decks. Eric won a tournament with his build, and was very happy with it. He mentioned that it functioned smoothly for him, and that the pieces seemed to work properly together.
However, in my hands, ELD's build of GAT did not seem to function properly. I would fizzle when trying to go off. I would find myself running out of life at the hands of Street Wraith. I would, in general, find myself fighting the deck as much as fighting my opponent. Eric assured me that the build was good, and that I might be misusing the tutors. I continued to practice using Eric's GAT build, and was not getting very good results.
There are those who have said that The Mana Drain is no longer a source of valid information about Vintage Magic; they say that any worthwhile insights or ideas are bound up in team forums and never get public exposure. In response to any of those critics, I would like to present the recent postings of Mon regarding GAT. Mon presented a decklist, but much more important than that, he discussed how one might go about playing GAT. I read what Mon said -- that while some play GAT as an aggressive deck, he prefers to play a more controlling game with the deck. Mon built his version to play a control role, whereas other builds of GAT might be designed for different styles of play.
What Mon wrote, and my experience differing from that of ELD with his build of GAT, lead me to do some serious reflecting.
A Reflection
It has long been a matter of contention whether different players have different styles or not. Is it the case that one certain player is simply better with aggro decks than with control deck, or is it that he has learned to play aggro decks and not control decks? It has been my personal experience that different players are simply more adept with certain types of decks than others. Dave Feinstein and Mike Lydon are both two excellent players who are far more comfortable with aggressive decks than with control decks. For example, Mike Lydon has been working with Bomberman, and has found himself much more successful with the deck once he increased the creature count and reduced the control and draw elements. He made top eight at ELD's tournament on Saturday with this more aggressive design of Bomberman. Likewise, Dave Feinstein has done much better when he has played aggressive decks than when he has played other sorts of decks.
So, since it has been what I have observed, I will assume that different players will not only gravitate toward, but also find more success with, different sorts of decks. Just as two different people may have different ideas of what an ideal song would sound like, or what a perfect meal would be, two different people will have different ideas of what deck is best to play. This is likely due to different players feeling comfortable with different roles in a game of Magic.
For myself, it is fairly clear that I am a control player. I tend to think about how to win games based on preventing the opponent from winning, and accumulating resource advantage. When asked for advice about how to, for example, improve the mirror match of an aggressive deck, my first thought tends to be to make the deck more controlling; this is my own playstyle. However, you reading this are likely to have a different style, and if you have not yet identified that, it is likely worth thinking about.
How does this theory actually help you win games of Magic? Here's how. When you are thinking about which 60 cards to put in sleeves, there are two things to consider: which deck to play, and how to tune that deck. Both of these important considerations are going to be affected by how you as a player want to play this game. Sometimes a format has a best deck, and not playing that is a terrible mistake; however, this situation is rare. Most of the time, you are going to want to play a deck which is able to be played with your own playstyle. If you enjoy Mana Drain, don't play Ichorid. If you want to cast a Tendrils for 20 on the second turn of the game, then sleeving up a Fish deck might not be for you.
This is, of course, fairly obvious. What is less obvious, however, is that you must also tune and adjust your deck to fit your playstyle. You need to make sure that you have enabled yourself to use your deck in a way that you are comfortable with. This is why, for example, Mike has done well with Jotun Grunt in his Bomberman list -- it brings it more in line with how he plays Magic.
This is also why I was not doing well testing ELD's decklist. I play in a very reactive way. ELD's GAT list, however, needs to be played in a manner which is more aggressive than I tend to play. However, when I tried out Mon's list, it was much better suited to how I naturally play this game. Mana Drain over cheaper control like Duress and Misdirection slows you down, but it also makes you stronger as you enter the midgame. Playing Opt over Street Wraith is a conscious trade of speed for a more solid card selection tool. In short, ELD's build is much more explosive than Mon's build, and Mon's build is better suited to pushing the opponent into the midgame.
So, whose list is better for GAT -- ELD or Mon? If you've read what I've written above, you'll see that the question is flawed. Neither is better than the other; they are similar decks designed to be played in different ways. The better deck is whichever matches your own playstyle better.
This is the thought process that lead me to the lists I played. The most clear manifestation of this theory of tuning a deck for a certain playstyle is found in the finals of the Myriad tournament. Mike Lydon, watching my games, commented that most of my wins come after a long Yawgmoth's Will. I even cut a Dryad for a Brain Freeze for Myriad. Very seldom did I play a Dryad and grow her; most of the time, I played her after I had drawn so many cards that the game was over. Rich Meyst, my opponent in the finals of Myriad, plays his deck quite differently and built accordingly. He replaced Dryad with Tarmogoyf, and tended to be more determined to drop his creatures than I am. Goyf is a large threat early, but doesn't benefit as much from drawing a huge pile of cards. Moreover, Rich Meyst wasn't even playing Yawgmoth's Will, a card central to how I play GAT. Yet, there we were, both in the finals, and having a very close game. I think that neither of us would have done as well with the other's deck -- we both played decks that fit how we play Magic. This demonstrates that a deck can be tuned to be better at assuming a particular role.
Decklist for ELD's Tournament
Having tried the lists of ELD, Smmenen, and Mon, I found that Mon's GAT list most closely fits my style. My list for this tournament is derived from his. My general strategy is to be very reactive as a player, and having, for instance, Opt over Sleight of Hand better allows me to play Mana Drain, of which I included three copies. I didn't use the Drain mana as well as a Control Slaver deck would, and I did find myself burning at times; but the mana burn never ended up costing me a game, and having extra mana was often useful.
2 flooded strand
3 polluted delta
3 underground sea
3 tropical island
1 island
1 volcanic island
1 library of Alexandria
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black lotus
4 force of will
2 misdirection
1 echoing truth
3 mana drain
3 duress
1 cunning wish
4 brainstorm
4 merchant scroll
4 gush
3 opt
1 ancestral recall
1 regrowth
1 time walk
1 fastbond
1 yawgmoth's will
1 demonic tutor
1 vampiric tutor
1 mystical tutor
4 quirion dryad
1 psychatog
sb--
3 yixlid jailer
2 massacre
2 oxidize
1 artifact mutation
1 energy flux
1 red blast
1 berserk
1 fire/ice
2 nullrod
1 submerge
I was very happy with 3 Opt and 3 Drain. I wanted to go to 3 Duress as a metagame call. I expected that New England would be crawling with Bomberman due to its recent success. Mana Drain is much better than Duress in this match, so I went with them. As for the sideboard. The three Jailers proved insufficient for actually beating Ichorid, and I did so only with a lot of luck in the semi-finals. Berserk was strong all day. Null Rod won me a game against Long.
ELD's Mox, June 30 2007
Round 1: Micah Greenbaum with Long
Game 1: I slow him down with Duress and Force and win on my third turn. Then I decided to take better notes for the rest of the event.
Game 2: Micah casts a first-turn Ancestral on himself, then plays Mox Jet and three dark rituals. He casts Grim Tutor then Yawgmoth's Will. I Force of Will the last card, and Micah mana burns for four. I play a Tropical Island and pass. On my second turn, I resolve a Null Rod. The game continues for a while Longer, and when I eventually Duress him, I see a Mind's Desire, a Black Lotus, and a pile of artifact mana. Null Rod did its job well, and I play a Dryad who slowly grows and wins over several turns.
1-0
Round 2: Jason with Ichorid
Game One: Jason runs me over.
Game Two: I resolve a second turn Yixlid Jailer, and Jason never finds a way to remove him. Eventually, Psychatog comes down to end the game.
Game Three: Still not going below 6 cards in our match, Jason keeps. I kept a hand of Jailer, Jet, and 5 dead cards on the draw. I'm fine if I hit a first-turn land, but I don't. I kept the hand thinking it was my best chance to win, but I don't get there. That's the match.
1-1
Round 3: Jeffrey with Stax
Game One: Jeffrey has a City and a Welder. I Brainstorm and then Ancestral. I Force his Ancestral. Jeffrey strips my Tropical Island but does little else to put pressure on me; his Goblin Welder starts attacking. When he finally attempts to cast a threat, Triskelion, I have Mana Drain. On my turn I Cunning Wish for artifact Mutation, and then cast Timewalk. I'm trying to keep off pressure because I don't have much. I Mutate his welded-in Trike. Trike shoots itself in response. After a little longer, I get Mystical Tutor which finds a game-ending Yawgmoth's Will.
Game Two: Jeffrey opens with Workshop, Coalition Relic, Ancestral, and a Top. I Brainstorm and pass. Jeffrey Tops, and plays a Tangle Wire which I oxidize. I cast Demonic Tutor and pass. Jeffrey plays Sundering Titan and destroys my board. I scoop to the Trinisphere he has next turn.
Game Three: We both Mulligan. There isn't much time left on the clock. On his second or third turn, Jeffrey casts Crucible of Worlds. I cast Mana Drain just as time expires. Then I untap and win off Gushes and Yawgmoth's Will.
2-1
Round 4: Charles with Trinket Long
Game One: I resolve an early Fast Bond, and cast Duress. I see Bob, TrinketMage, Repeal, Brainstorm, and Force of Will. I take the Force, thinking I'm playing against Boberman. I mystical for Ancestral and cast it, and then I Misdirect Charles's Ancestral. Things are over shortly after that.
Game Two: Having Duressed him game one, I think Charles is playing Boberman. So, out go some Duresses for Massacres. This game, Charles Duresses me and takes Brainstorm. I play a land and pass. Charles then casts a bunch of Rituals and a Tutor and Tendrils me to death. Wow, that was unexpected.
Game Three: I reboard, now knowing what I'm playing against. I Duress Charles, taking his Duress and leaving Force, Mystical, and 3 mana sources. Charles plays a land and a Mox. I Brainstorm and Duress him again a few turns later. He has Trinket Mage and a pair of Scrolls, after I take his Force. I've bought myself time, and cast a few draw spells. Floating two, I Gush, and then resolve Psychatog. After a couple of attacks, Psychatog is lethal. Charles has a Trinket Mage who chumps for a turn, but Tog ends the game on the next turn.
3-1
For the fifth round, I'm paired against Mike Lydon, who is first in the standings with his aggressive Bomberman deck I discuss above. My tiebreakers aren't optimal from losing in the second round, and Mike and I are both sure to make Top Eight if he concedes to me. So, good teammate that he is, he concedes and we both enter the Top Eight.
Top Eight: Kowal with URPhid
Game One: I open with Duress. Ben has Phid, Volcanic, Leak, Jet, Drain, Walk, and Force. I take Jet. Ben draws for his turn and plays a land and the Emerald he just draw. Soon Ben resolves Engineered Explosives at two. Then he plays Black Lotus to resolve Meloku. I Cunning Wish for a Red Elemental Blast. On my turn, I play a Psychatog, and he resolves. Then, I attempt to REB the Meloku. Kowal has the Misdirection, and my Tog is now dead. After a few turns, despite casting two Gushes, I find no answers and die.
Game Two: Kowal Mulligans. I open with Library, pass. Ben opens with an Ophidian. I Opt. Ben draws Wasteland and shuts down my draw engine. Ben then REBs my attempt to bounce his Ophidian. He cast him off a Lotus, and couldn't replay him if bounced, being stuck at 2 mana. Then he casts Timewalk and Bloodmoon. Things look fairly grim, but I find some colored Moxen to go with my single Island. Ben plays Meloku. I Force. Ben Drains. He then enters his post-combat mainphase and makes five creatures. However, I'm not inactive. I Reb Meloku on my next turn. I play a Dryad. She resolves, and I start throwing down every Cantrip I can find to grow her. Soon, she's actually racing. Meloku Tokens start having to chump her, and slowly their numbers dwindle from 5 to 0. When Ben has no more minions to toss in front of the huge Dryad, the game ends. If Ben, drawing two cards per turn, had found an answer to the Dryad, I would have lost.
Game Three: Ben opens with Island and Pearl. I play a Mox and a land and Duress. Ben Disrupts my Duress. I tap my land. I see REB, Misdirection, Volcanic, Island, Phid. Ben plays an Ophidian. After Ben draws a turn off him, I cast brainstorm. Ben REBs it. I think, and decide that if I wait any longer I'll get buried under Ophidian. Ben has one unknown card in hand and a Misdirection. I cast Ancestral, thinking that if I wait I'll never get to draw three off it, and would lose to the active Snake. Ben doesn't have the blue card to pitch, and I draw 3. From there, I am able to keep up with Ben's draw. My first Dryad dies, but soon I Mystical Tutor for Gush and start going off.
4-1
Top Four: Jason with Ichorid Again
We all wanted to do a four-way split, except for Jason who wanted to play it out. Alright.
Game One: I live long enough to resolve a Psychatog with Wish in hand for a win next turn. Then I get killed by Hasted Zombies.
Game Two: Jason Mulligans to Five. I get down a second-turn Yixlid Jailer, and Jason can't recover.
Game Three: This game I'm very lucky. Jason plays Bazaar and passes. I play a Tropical Island, and then a Fastbond. I play a Fetchland and use that to cast Brainstorm. Brainstorm finds Gush, and Jason doesn't get another turn. That was my first and only turn one kill the entire weekend, and I was very lucky to get it there. With only three cards for this match in my sideboard, it was not in my favor.
5-1
Finals: Steve (GI) with GAT
We split the prize and decide to play for the Waterbury Bye.
Game One: I have a first turn Library. GI gets down a Dryad. I cast Opt. GI gets down a second Dryad, and then casts Gush. GI is getting in some damage with his green ladies, and if he had more spells to cast I might have died. We both toss out two Force of Wills in the next couple of turns over various spells. Finally, I rip Fastbond and go off.
Game Two: GI Duresses me turn one. We both play Draw/Go for a few turns, and GI wins the fight over Ancestral Recall. He has seven cards to my three. He buries me under card advantage, and finishes things off with Yawgmoth's Will.
Game Three: I have a first-turn Ancestral. GI Forces. I Misdirection. Next turn, I Duress to see that GI had drawn a Misdirection. In a few more turns I Gush with mana floating. I resolve Fastbond, Draining his Force. I chain more Gushes, and that's the tournament.
6-1
Decklist for Myriad Games
The Myriad Games metagame is a bit different than other New England events. It is often filled with a lot of aggro decks, and I expected a lot of Blood Moon. I decided, then, to include a second Island in my maindeck and to cut red. Red was a nice addition, but did not do very much at ELD's tournament. Fire/Ice went uncast, and Artifact Mutation might as well have been Oxidize. So, here is the list I took to Myriad.
3 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
3 Quirion Dryad
1 Psychatog
4 Force of Will
2 Misdirection
3 Duress
4 Gush
4 Brainstorm
4 Merchant Scroll
1 Cunning Wish
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Regrowth
1 Fastbond
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Yawgmoth's Will
3 Mana Drain
3 Opt
1 Echoing Truth
1 Brain Freeze
// Sideboard
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Pithing Needle
2 Energy Flux
1 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Massacre
1 Berserk
3 Yixlid Jailer
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Oxidize
The sideboard changes are the major ones. Blue Blast lets me get rid of Blood Moon more easily, especially with the second Island maindeck. I added more Ichorid hate too, as that was my only match loss in the previous day. I cut ways to remove opposing creatures in the mirror match, thinking I could just ignore their creatures and play a combo role if the need arose. In other words, short of Echoing Truth, I wouldn't bother getting removal cards for opposing Dryads and Atogs, and would instead concentrate on getting mine large enough to push through with Berserk, with help from Yawgmoth. I'm not sure if this strategy is sound, but it sure did clear up sideboard space. I faced another Gush deck in the finals of this tournament, and finished the tournament un-sideboarded.
Maindeck, the change is the addition of a Brain Freeze for a Dryad. This arose from a conversation I had with Mike Lydon (Meddling Mage on TMD). He noted that I usually played Dryad when the game was already over; that when I played her, it tended to be when I would cast Timewalk and win with her the next turn, having already drawn a huge number of cards off Yawgmoth's Will. In this case, suggested Mike, why not just play a Storm spell? I thought about this. Tendrils really offered me little that Dryad didn't. I could play Dryad and ride her to victory if needed, but Tendrils doesn't do that. Mon had already pointed this out. But Brain Freeze? That card does two things. First, it gets pitched to Force of Will, something I really wish I could do with Dryad. Second, I expected a lot of Bomberman today. Bomberman generates a huge amount of Storm, and has no answer to a Brainfreeze short of not using its combo. Excellent. So, with these two factors in mind, I decided to try a single Brain Freeze. And yes, I did get to Live the Dream once in the tournament.
Myriad Games, July 1 2007
Round One: Craig Dupre with GAT
Game One: Craig resolves Ancestral early, and I do too, Forcing mine through. Craig casts Demonic Tutor, and I do too, with Craig Forcing my Yawgmoth's Will. We both draw/go for a while, until eventually I resolve a Psychatog. Since Craig and I had both been casting a lot of draw spells, Psychatog is lethal.
Game Two: Craig Mulligans. We both do nothing but Cantrip for a couple of turns. I Merchant Scroll for Ancestral, and then Craig does too. Eventually, I Gush floating mana, and just as I cast Duress, Craig Extirpates my Gushes. I regrow my Ancestral and recast it. Once again, I resolve Psychatog. He wins this game too.
1-0
Round Two: Charles with Bomberman
Game One: Brainfreeze does its job. Charles starts to go off with Salvagers. With a draw from Spellbomb on the stack and a storm count of 33, I cast Brainfreeze for the win.
Game Two: I Force Charles's turn one Ancestral pitching Brainfreeze. Dryad can't do that either. I Brainstorm, fetch, and Force Charles's Aven Mindcensor. I Scroll for Ancestral. Demonic Tutor resolves, and I play Black Lotus and then Yawgmoth's Will.
2-0
Round Three: T00L with Bomberman
Game One: I have Black Lotus, Demonic Tutor, getting and playing Ancestral Recall off my land. I burn for one and pass. T00L has 3 Moxen and plays Engineered Explosives for two. I draw and play a land and pass. T00L has an Aven Mindcensor in resoponse to my Brainstorm. I Force. I Brainstorm again. T00L casts Ancestral Recall in response to my Gush. Then I resolve Yawgmoth's Will, finding Fastbond.
Game Two: T00L strips my land and I brainstorm in response. T00L uses land and Mox to Mana Leak my Brainstorm. Trinket Mage gets Tormod's Crypt. I Mystical for Ancestral. T00L Ancestrals, too. I Opt, then play Demonic Tutor for Fastbond. It resolves. I Gush, starting to go off, when T00L bounces my Fastbond. I Misdirect that at his Tormod's Crypt. He Crypts me, letting me return Ancestral Recall with Cunning Wish. Then Psychatog resolves. T00L plays another Tormod's Crypt and hits me with it right away. Eventually, after a few more turns, I get enough new cards in the graveyard to make Yawgmoth's Will lethal, and Brainfreeze ends it.
3-0
Round Four: Jeremiah Rudolph with Bloodmoon Control Slaver
While I could draw in, I get paired down and have to play Round Four.
Game One: Jeremiah has Library. I cast some cantrips, then have my Vampiric Tutor Drained. I Force his Drain, and on my turn Gush. I Duress him, taking Bloodmoon. Then I resolve Lotus and Yawgmoth's Will. Brain Freeze ends it.
Game Two: Jeremiah opens with Strand and Sol Ring. I have fetch, go. Jeremiah has Volcanic Island and Tormod's Crypt. He then resolves Blood Moon. This grinds my deck to a halt. I die to Platinum Angel beats.
Game Three: I open with a land. Jeremiah has a Welder. When he goes for a Thirst, I Force it. I Gush, and Scroll for Ancestral. I take Drain with a Duress, leaving one Drain, a Platinum Angel, and a Mindslaver. I Drain his Mindslaver on the next turn. If he gets another turn, I lose because he has a Welder. However, using six Drain Mana, I resolve Demonic Tutor for Yawgmoth's Will and win.
4-0
From here, I draw into the top eight.
Top Eight: Oli with Bomberman
Game One: Oli Forces my first turn Fastbond. I Scroll for Ancestral. Oli resolves Thirst, discarding another Thirst and an Aven Mindcensor. Oli Brainstorms but is still missing white mana. Oli drops Needle on Psychatog. I Brainstorm and Vamp. On my turn I have Black Lotus and Gush. Oli Drain Gush, and then Yawgmoth's Will ends things. Aven Mindcensor would have made a big difference that game.
Game Two: Oli cats two Brainstorms. He then Ancestrals, while I'm not doing much. He resolves a third turn Samurai of the Pale Curtain. I resolve a Mystical Tutor for Demonic Tutor. On my turn Demonic finds Fastbond, and Oli can't stop it. From there, Gushes chain and end the game.
5-0
Top Four: Ross with Stax
Game One: Ross wins the die roll. I Force his Welder. I resolve Ancestral and Brainstorm. I play a Fastbond, but don't go off. Ross, for his part, hasn't drawn much in the way of threats. Ross resolves Crucible and Top, and I Force his Tinker. I Opt a few times, and chain some Gushes. I resolve a Dryad, and a turn later two more Dryads. Ross still hasn't cast anything scary except Welder and Tinker this game. Eventually, my Dryads get big enough.
Game Two: Ross Mulligans and I Force a first-turn Memory Jar. I Demonic and pass. Ross passes, seeming low on gas. I play Energy Flux, dropping Ross from 4 to 1 mana in play. Ross Wastes my Library before it gets online. The back and forth continues, with Ross hitting with a Gorilla Shaman and me casting some cantrips. Ross is hurting for mana. Ross Vampiric Tutors, and I Force the Lotus he then plays. He REBs and I Drain. I then resolve a Dryad. I Vampiric Tutor for Ancestral, his Wastelands preventing me from having 3 mana for Yawgmoth's Will. I Drain Goblin Welder and Wish for a pitched Gush. Eventually, Dryad gets larger. I do resolve Yawgmoth's Will which, while not as impressive as I'd like, does get Dryad very large. She soon ends the game. Energy Flux was huge.
6-0
Finals: Rich Meyst with Gro-A-Tarmogoyf
Game One: Meyst Duresses me. With my hand having Fetch, Duress, Jet, Fastbond, Yawgmoth's Will, Brainstorm, Duress, Rich takes Duress. I resolve Fastbond, but don't have much to do with it. He both draw/go and cantrip. Tarm resolves on Meyst's side. I resolve Psychatog, but he gets REBed. I Mystical Tutor for Ancestral. Meyst Gushes, and his control prevents me from doing anything else. Eventually, a Dryad chumps one of Meyst's two Goyfs, and I die the next turn.
Game Two: I Duress Meyst: Force, Force, Scroll, Lotus, Petal, Delta, Trop. I take Scroll, removing his gas. After a while, on my fifth turn, I Force through a Yawgmoth's Will and Brainfreeze Meyst for 51.
Game Three: I Mulligan. Meyst Fetches and Duresses me. I have Sea, Dryad, Drain, Force, Vamp, and Gush. Rich takes Gush. I play land, Emerald, Dryad. Rich plays Seal of Removal. Rich has brought these in, along with Extirpate, while I didn't bring in anything this game. After a few turns, I learn about Rich's Extirpates when he Extirpates me after I cast Vampiric Tutor. So, now I have no more Gushes, and I don't get the Ancestral I Vamped for. The game sees both of us with 2 Green creatures staring at each other. My Dryads could block and kill his Goyfs, but his Goyfs could double-block and kill one of my Dryads and the one dead Goyf could be saved by his own seal, so we're at a standoff. Eventually, my Echoing Truth makes him Seal his own Goyf to prevent the Echoing effect. This slows him down while I continue casting cantrips. Rich cycles Timewalk. We both play a third creature, and I attack, taking us both back to two creatures each and lowering Meyst's life total. Eventually, I make my move. I have eight mana in play. My hand is Misdirection, Drain, Force, Timewalk. We both have 2 large Green monsters in play. I draw Duress. Rich responds to Duress by casting Ice on a Dryad. I Misdirect that to a Goyf. Rich Forces. I Drain. With a blocker of his tapped, and those new counters from the turn, I'm now lethal.
7-0
Props
Big Props to Mike Lydon. He drove both days, and patiently waited for things to finish up both times. Mike cut through the swiss at ELD's, and was a good testing partner for these events too.
Props to Dan for running a fun event at Myriad.
Props to Eld for running a fun event.
Further, props to both ELD and Mon for their work on GAT. I learned much about the deck from both of them.
Jesus, Veggies, Kowal, JR, Mike, Chris, Feinstein, Tuttle, T00L, Brassman for testing and discussing deck ideas with me.
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