Strategic Scoop--2nd at the Boulder Cash Tournament

The weekend before, I had an epic spirit quest, and at it's center--right at the peak--I was turn one-ing a goldfish with a very pimp beta set of power thanks to Travis Spero.

The only thing to do was copy his deck, and play with the sb.

4 duress
1 thoughtseize
2 pact of negation
2 chain of vapor
1 hurklys recall
1 merchant scroll
1 ancestral recall

4 dark ritual
2 cabal ritual
1 mox sapphire
1 mox jet
4 chrome mox
1 sol ring
1 mana vault
1 mana crypt
1 black lotus

4 ad naseum
3 tendrils
demonic tutor
vampiric tutor
mystical tutor
yawgmoth's will
necropotence (terrible)
time vault
voltaic key
demonic consultation
sensei's diving top
ponder
brainstorm

island
2 swamp
3 underground sea
1 bayou
4 delta
1 bloodstained mire

sb
2 xantid swarm
2 yixlid jailer
2 relic of progenitius
1 tinker
1 platinum angel
2 hymn to tourach
3 pithing needle
island
swamp

Big props go to Jewlightning for the budge that got a tournament started. He and I were susposed to keep these going, but neither of us did. Due to that, I hadn't played vintage since early January.

I took up Lou's prop bet challange.
Most of the bets, if posted here, would be totally out of context and we would look like degenerate gamblers. But it was epic. I'll tell you about it, sometime.

We had 20ish players.

RD1
G1 He fires off a quick gifts for time vault, key, reconstruction, and Y-Will. I give him the Reconstruction and the key. G1 pre combo most people assume I'm on TEPS, so maybe he won't go for it if I bluff a FOW or two here. Alas, my jedi mind powers are weak today, and he just wins.
-2 ? didn't take notes
+2 xantid swarm
G2 I have an explosive hand that lets me duress him several times and drop a time vault. He is left with little, and I find the win a few turns later.
G3 He has sapphire, Island go. Urgh. I duress, and it gets mana drained. He drops a mana crypt, and a tezzeret. I try to chain the time vault with tezz on the stack, but he has the FOW.
0-1

Great start for the day.

RD2 Jewlightning
G1 I go for a turn two win, and he doesn't have the force.
- 1 chain of vapor
- 1 hurklys recall
+2 hyrmn to tourach.

G2, he imp seals first turn. I dark rit and duress and see Tvault and some other good cards. I dark ritual again, and set up a turn one Y-Will that leaves me with a time vault in play, and with him having no cards in hand and just one land thanks to hymn to tourach. Pretty good.

1-1

RD3 Misty, BGW Doran
G1 I mulligan, and then dump my hand into to leave me hellbent with 28 life. Knowing that she plays 8-12 discard effects, I wanted to just take my chances of drawing an ad nas or a y-will or some tutor effect. I don't get there before tarmogoyf does me in.
G2 I turn one her on the play. Sweet.
G3 I turn two her
2-1

RD4 Godot, on Grow
Both games I lost to demonic consultation. ONe game I was in a bad way due to his disruption and quick beats, the other I was necrolocked. Both times I had to consult for a singleton, and both times it was in the top 6.

2-2

I'm pretty sure I'm out of it, but I'll play for 8th anyway.

RD5 Lou, Dredge
G1 I turn one him, on the play.
G2 double hate, then triple hate with pithing needle doing the dirty work.

3-2

I sneak in at 8th. Nice, I certainly feel like the bad luck is behind me. Lou and I make more bets. I make a specific bet on brett winning the whole thing.

t8 Godot, on Grow
G1 sees jim fire off a Y-will, that leaves him with a turn two clock thanks to an inkwell and a bob. He shows me double counter backup, and asks me why I haven' scooped on my last possible turn. I chain a mox sappire, and he drains it. I fire a dark rit in response. He allows it. I shoot off another one, and tendrils for his life total plus 2.
I dont think I sbed anything relevant. I initially took out a hurklys and a chain two xantids.
G2 Null rod makes me pay for this decision.
I fix that mistake
G3 I go broken pretty early, thanks to duress clearing the way.

t4 wobbles, on some rogue thing
G1 sees magnus of the moon come down t1, and bone me big time. Mulligaining to five didn't help.
I side in the xantids for a hurkys and thoughtseize.
G2, Xantid swarm wins me the game, as I play through his counterbalance.
G3 I pass the turn with a time vault in play, and he trinket mages on his turn, and looks upset. I know right away he sided out pithing needle. Seems good. He grabs a grindstone and passes, with one card in hand. I dconsult for the key and win on the spot.

I'm playing vs brett in the finals. I offer a straight split, under the condition that I scoop. He agrees. Lou owes me money, cause Brett just won.