[Report} Scrubbing with Hulk Flash at RIW July 15

Scrubbing with Hulk Flash
Tourney Report from RIW in Livonia, Michigan July 15, 2007

I went to the RIW Black Lotus Tourney on Sunday and washed out after Round Four at 1-2-1. There were around forty people with plenty of GAT, some Ichorid, some Stax, and lots of talent. As with the Meandeck Opens, the talent of the players is usually high at RIW. I had tried Hulk Flash with the Karmic Guide kill in one previous tourney and decided to give the Slivers version a roll:

Win (13)

4 Virulent Sliver
1 Heart Sliver
4 Protean Hulk
4 Flash

Disruption (11)

4 Force of Will
4 Pact of Negation
2 Daze
1 Chain of Vapor

Card Quality/Tutor (17)

4 Brainstorm
3 Spy Network
3 Summoner’s Pact
2 Merchant Scroll
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor

Resources (19)

4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
2 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Swamp
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Lotus Petal

Sideboard (15)

4 Leyline of the Void
3 Energy Flux
3 Reverant Silence
2 Echoing Truth
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Chain of Vapor

Card choice notes

Daze – I wanted to try this over Misdirection. MisD requires another blue in hand and I wanted to see if Daze could be more effective since Flash is usually going for the win so early. I had also seen Daze in some other lists.

Spy Network – (Chortles under breath) to save you from looking it up:

U
Instant
Look at target player's hand, the top card of that player's library, and any face-down creatures he or she controls. Look at the top four cards of your library, then put them back in any order.

This card has a couple of good aspects that work well with Flash. It is an instant and shows you what the opponent holds and their top card. Obviously, it works best during the opponents end step. After you look at their business, you get to look at the top four cards of your library and set up according to your needs. Unfortunately, if it shows they have a hand full of pitch magic, there’s not much you can do.

Sideboard – the Leylines were there for Ichorid, etc. The extra bounce and Silences were there to clear the path, although I realize I would have never brought all in at once. The Threads were there for GAT and the Flux’s were for the Stax I thought would be coming to beat GAT.

I do not think any of the other choices are too far away from similar builds. My notes were sparse, so I will try to do my best to give a good gist:

Round 1 Stewie AKA Dan w/Control Slaver

Game One - I have a hand with a turn two kill and I play Island go. Stewie counters with land, Sol Ring, and Tinkers for Sundering Titan wiping my Island. I respond with a Spy Network seeing he has Force of Will, Underground Sea, and TFK left in hand. I stack my deck to replace my island and then go. He beats me twice with the Titan and then I resolve a Flash and poison away.

Game Two – This one is kind of a blur, but I believe Stewie gets Mindslaver in play, activates it, and kills me with one of my Summoner’s Pacts.

Game Three – This one was a marathon. I remember Flashing in an Elvish Spirit Guide on the end of one of his turns and then beginning to beat with it. He resolved at least one Welder, but had to throw it in front of a hard cast Virulent Sliver. I was beating for three a turn while he was trying to get the Mindslaver active. I hardcast another Sliver and he was forced to Yawg Will for two Goblin Welders just to chump block with. Time was called and with him at one life, we drew after the fifth turn.

Round 2 PacMan w/Stax

Game One – PacMan has to mulligan once and then I fetch for an Island and pass the turn. He puts down Wasteland, Mana Vault, and then Sphere of Resistance. I have half my combo and lay another fetchland. Pac draws nothing and I Spy Network to see he is holding two more Wastelands and no business. I look at my top four and set up the kill and then Flash on my turn.

Game Two – I board out Imperial Seal and all three Spy Networks, since I don’t usually need to check the Stax player’s hand for countermagic (except REB?). I bring in an extra Chain of Vapor and Energy Flux x 3. Pac brings in Leylines and lays one on turn zero. He gets Staxish things going on, setting up lock components including a Chalice at 2. I pull one of my Chains and Vapor the Leyline. With Workshops down, Pac gets an Uba Mask out and things get interesting. Also at this point he has City of Brass x 2 in play, so he may not have been too far off trying to hardcast the Leyline. I get a few lands out and Brainstorm – always interesting under Uba. Eventually, I have the win in hand, but the Chalice for 2 is still out. Pac saves my day after a shuffle effect and cuts my deck putting an Energy Flux on top. I have the mana and Pac’s board is cleared next upkeep. He tries to Bazaar into help, but finds none and I Flash the next turn.

Round 3 Nam Tran with more Stax

Game One – Nam gets some nuts on turn one with I think Lotus, Shop, Sphere of Resistance, and Tanglewire. This game does not get any better for me and I scoop when Strip lock is down.

Game Two – (almost copied and pasted from Nam’s post) I play land, Black Lotus, Merchant Scroll for Flash, and Flash. I apologize for non-interaction.

Game Three – Nam mulls once and gets more nuts laying first turn Trinisphere and second turn Sphere of resistance. While I draw no land, he has three Shops, Barbarian Ring, and a City of Brass and can play almost anything he can draw. He dredges Darkblast to optimize his hand and I am unable to get backup for my kill. I Vampiric tutor at one point trying to decide whether I go for Energy Flux or Flash. I go for Flash to learn later it would not have mattered. He gets a Crucible down and I begin to see my mana dwindle away with Wastes and/or Strips and I go for an unprotected Flash only to meet the REB of Death. With Strip lock down, and two Spheres in play, I lose. My kingdom for an Energy Flux!

Round 4 Jeff Anand with GAT

Game One – I have a turn one Flash which is great, except that I have seen one Island from Jeff.

Game Two – I board nothing, as I have seen nothing. I mull twice and Jeff plays a land and passes, followed by me doing the same. Next, he drops Black Lotus and passes. My hand is something like Flash, Summoner’s Pact, Pact of Negation, Land, and Daze so I have my kill in hand, with protection and the second land needed. I draw another Flash. Here’s where I mess up. I decide to go for it dumbly. I play the land and Flash. Jeff sacs the Lotus for UUU and casts Mana Drain (U floating). Whoops for me. That makes my Daze particularly ineffective. I try the Pact of Negation which Jeff promptly Misdirects to my Flash. I lose to my own Pact after he draws and my upkeep arrives. Hindsight says let the Flash get Drained and the Lotus sac’ed and try again next turn. Incidentally, I still see very little of Jeff’s deck, except the Cunning Wish he pitched to the MisD.

Game Three – This one is a long drawn out affair featuring Jeff Ancestral Recalling himself and then stealing my Ancestral with a MisD two turns later. That usually equals gameover. He had to pitch his ‘Tog early to a Force, otherwise this one would have been over much quicker. Jeff digs, but cannot find a Dryad and consistently holds a hand with more countermagic than me. Eventually, Fastbond and Yawg Will allow him to combo and run me over with two big Dryads.

Record 1-2-1
Games 5-5-1

Props

Everyone I played with – all of my opponents were cool fellas who dig playing the game and they were quality opponents.
Spy Network – it worked great as a setup tool. Is it better than one or two Merchant Scrolls and an Impulse? The verdict is out, but I kinda like it.

Slops

Me for the misplay with Jeff.
Going 1-1-1 after three rounds and not electing to play in the side tourney thinking I had a chance. I lost the next round and was done.

It was a good tourney and a good time, as usually is the case up at RIW