Tucson, AZ Lotus tournament Top 8 and split in finals mini-report

[snowmanmiki]

31 players attended the event, which made for a 5 rounds with cut to top 8 scenario.

The top 8 decklists:

1st/2nd Adam Prosak (tez):

Maindeck:
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
Ancestral Recall
Time Walk
Brainstorm
Ponder
Merchant Scroll
Thirst for Knowledge
Tinker
Fact or Fiction
Gifts Ungiven

Rebuild
Fire/Ice
Repeal
Trinket Mage
Gorilla Shaman
Inkwell Leviathan
Tezzeret the Seeker

Yawgmoth's Will
Vampiric Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Edict
Darkblast

2 Sensei's Divining Top
Voltaic Key
Time Vault
5 Moxen
Black Lotus
Mana Crypt
Mana Vault
Mana Crypt
Sol Ring

3 Island
3 Volcanic Island
3 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard:

4 Leyline of the Void
1 Yixid Jailer
1 Tormod's Crypt
3 Duress
1 Sundering Titan
2 Sower of Temptation
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Ingot Chewer

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1st/2nd Miklos Szidarovszky (tez):

Maindeck:

1 Tolarian Academy
2 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
1 Island
2 Snow Covered Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island

2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1  Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring

3 Dark Confidant
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Magus of the Unseen
1 Tezzeret the Seeker

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
2 Repeal
3 Thoughtsieze
1 Fire/Ice
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Thirst for Knowledge

1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll

SB
3 Ingot Chewer
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
1 Red Elemantal Blast
1 Pyroblast
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Pyroclasm
2 Goblin Bombardment

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3rd/4th Eric Richardson (TMWA):

Maindeck:

4 dark confidant
4 aven mindcensor
4 jotun grunt
2 kataki, wars wage
1 ethersworn canonist
2 gorilla shaman

4 thoughtseize
4 duress
4 pyroblast
4 hide/seek
3 diabolic edict
1 demonic tutor
1 vampiric tutor

4 marsh flats
3 bloodstained mire
3 wasteland
1 strip mine
2 scrubland
1 badlands
1 plateau
1 swamp
1 mountain
1 plains
1 mox ruby
1 mox pearl
1 mox jet
1 black lotus
1 lotus petal

Sideboard:

4 path to exile
4 extirpate
2 goblin welder
2 viashino heretic
2 dark blast
1 tormods crypt

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3rd/4th Chase Zenner (dredge)


4x Bazaar of Baghdad
4x Cephalid Coliseum
4x Undiscovered Paradise
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1x Seat of Synod
4x Golgari Grave-Troll
4x Stinkweed Imp
4x Golgari Thug
4x Fatestitcher
4x Bloodghast
4x Narcomoeba
4x Bridge from Below
4x Cabal Therapy
3x Dread Return
3x Sharuum the Hegemon
1x Altar of Dementia
1x Possessed Portal
1x Lion's Eye Diamond
1x Black Lotus
4x Serum Powder

SB: 4x Force of Will
SB: 4x Chain of Vapor
Sb: 3x Echoing Truth
SB: 2x Dakmor Salvage
SB: 1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
SB: 1x Angel of Despair

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5th-8th Quinn Higgins (dredge):

Maindeck:

4 Bazaar of Baghdad
2 City of Brass
2 Dakmor Salvage
3 Undiscovered Paradise

3 Bloodghast
3 Golgari Thug
4 Ichorid
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Narcomoeba
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Bridge from Below
4 Serum Powder
1 Darkblast
3 Dread Return
4 Unmask

Sideboard:
   
2 Ancient Grudge
3 Chain of Vapor
1 City of Brass
1 Undiscovered Paradise
2 Contagion
2 Wispmare
4 Leyline of the Void

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5th-8th Eric Melen (noble fish):

Maindeck:

2 Cold-Eyed Selkie
3 Meddling Mage
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Trygon Predator

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rebuild
3 Spell Pierce
3 Stifle

1 Time Walk

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
3 Null Rod

1 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Strip Mine
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
4 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath


Sideboard:

1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Meddling Mage
2 Trygon Predator
1 Echoing Truth
1 Ravenous Trap
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Umezawa's Jitte

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5th-8th Jacob Taylor (monored stax)

Maindeck:

4 Goblin Welder
2 Gorilla Shaman
4 Magus of the Moon
3 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sundering Titan
2 Triskelion

1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Smokestack
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Tangle Wire
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere

4 Mishra's Workshop
7 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Wasteland
60 cards

Sideboard:

2 Ingot Chewer
2 Razormane Masticore
2 Pyroblast
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Red Elemental Blast
3 Pithing Needle
2 Tormod's Crypt

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5th-8th Alex Amato (Noble Fish)

4 jotun Grunt
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Qasali Pridemage
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Cold eyed selkie
2 ninja of the deep hours
2 sower of temptation

4 Force of will
2 spell snare
3 spell pierce
1 mystical tutor
1 brainstorm
1 merchant scroll
1 hurkyls recall
1 rebuild
1 ancestral recall
1 timewalk

4 wasteland
3 misty rainforest
3 flooded straind
2 tundra
2 tropical island
1 island
1 forest
1 plains
mox pearl
mox sapphire
mox emerald
black lotus
1 strip mine

sb
2 tormods crypt
3 swords to plowshares
2 sower of temptation
1 threads of disloyalty
2 life from the loam
3 propaganda
2 energy flux

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Now, for my mini-report.

It is all from memory, so I apologize if I remember something incorrectly.  I played Tezzeret and my decklist can be seen above.

Rd 1.  Chris Zaborowski (Tezzcast)

Game 1.  I get an early vault & key with counter backup and he scoops.

Game 2.  He wrecks me with various red blasts and ancient grudges and assembles vault & key himself.

Game 3. I play early thoughtseizes and Bob.  I counter everything he does of worth but Bob has gotten me to really low life. I have a top but need 2 turns in a row with a zero CC card in the top 3 to not die and pull out the win.  I get it the 1st time, but not the 2nd.  I scoop since I am dead at upkeep.

0-1   1-2

Rd 2.  Dusty Ochoa (Iona/Tez Oath)

Game 1.  I get turn 1 Bob followed by turn 2 vault & key.  He scoops when I cast top 2 turns later, as he has less than double my life.

Game 2.  I get turn 1 Bob again, and he has a turn 2 Oath.  On my turn 2 I drop goblin bombardment, swing with Bob and sac him.  Game becomes draw-go but he resolves ancestral several times off regrowth and will, and drops vault & key with infinite counter backup.

Game 3.  I drop island, mana crypt, followed by tinker that resolves.  I do the math and figure I win the race as long as he does not have turn 1 oath and hits sphinx on turn 2 with it.  He does not and I win 3 turns later.

1-1   3-3

Rd 3.  Doug Coats (Tez)

Game 1.  An amazing back and forth game that involves many Bobs, top activations, with me getting vault & key out 1st in the end.

Game 2.  Another amazing game with lots of Bobs on both sides.  Goes at least 20 rounds before I finally resolve a tinker for leviathan and ride him to victory.

2-1   5-3

Rd 4.  Sam Allison (Tez)

   Sam and I did some play testing few days before the event, and our decks are only different by half a dozen cards or so at most.

Game 1.  I resolve turn 1 thoughtseize and see a 1 land hand with an ancestral in it.  I take it and he does not see land #2 until it is way too late.

Game 2.  I don't remember much except that we both play a lot of draw go and I win in the end.  Can't even remember how though.  This was probably cause we were paying more attention to the Bengals/Jets game than our game.

3-1   7-3

Rd 5.  Aaron Lettes (GB aggro hate)

There are many people at 3-1 and we both have terrible tie-breakers so we have to play.

Game 1.  He starts with turn 1 land, ritual, null rod go.  However, this is followed by several turns of no 2nd land.  By the time he has it I got complete control and end up repealing the null rod followed by vault & key.  I show Bob & top which prompts a scoop.

Game 2.  His deck does what it is supposed to.  His 1st 4 turns are duress, null rod, threat, threat.  Mine are 1 land, some moxen and a top. I lose.

Game 3.  I have turn 1 thoughtseize and counters for everything he plays that is relevant.  I eventually assemble vault & key and he scoops.

4-1   9-4

I end up 5th and it is off to top 8.  People decide they want to keep going.

Top 8.  Quinn Higgins (dredge)

I lent Quinn the deck he was using so he actually offered to scoop it up to me.  I told him that ain't fair to him, but if he goes all the way and wants to hook me up I won’t say no.

Game 1.  He mulls to 4 and starts to slow dredge with an unmask on himself for grave-troll.  My deck does nothing relevant and he wins about 5-6 turns later.

In comes 10 cards from the board

Game 2.  I have opening leyline followed by a turn 3 or 4 tormod's crypt without him having any answers for either in hand, so he scoops it up.

Game 3.  He mulls to 4 again with me having the turn 0 leyline.  He manages to bounce it but i just recast next turn.  I draw and cast leyline #2 before he sees a 2nd answer.  He scoops it up again.

5-1   11-5

Top 4.  Eric Richardson (TMWA)

I have played Eric at several other vintage tournaments and I was pretty sure I had not won 1 game off him ever, let alone a match.  Well, off we go.

Game 1.  I have a turn 1 Bob followed by a turn 2 Bob.  I pretty much ride them and their card advantage to victory.  I am at 1 life when I swing for lethal.

Game 2.  My opening hand is 2 land, 2 moxen, lotus, force, top.  In hindsight I should have mulled this as he has the turn 1 duress for the top and the game is pretty much over after that.  He beats me down with a canonist and a mindsensor.

Game 3.  I keep a turn 1 or two Bob, while he keeps a wasteland & plateau opener.  I do pretty much whatever as he cannot buy a black source and almost his entire hand minus blasts and 1 kataki or canonist (can’t remember) is black.  My mana crypt also decides to behave and I don't take anything for 4 turns before getting rid of it.  I end up winning with Bob beats while he can't do anything due to lack of black mana.

I'll be the 1st to admit that I pretty much luck sacked this round as his deck is designed to crush mine.

6-1   13-6

Finals.  Adam Prosak (Tez)

I am starving at this point and really need to go so I offer the prize split and he accepts.  Difference between 1st and 2nd place was too big to decide it with a coin flip since we are playing the mirror., but that is just my honest opinion.

6-1-1   13-6-1

Props:  All the people that attended, especially those that came from out of town.
            The friendliness of everyone, even though the stakes were high.
            My deck for never making me mulligan more than once in a game.
Cons:   Every round going to time.....
            Starvation by the end of the event.

Thank you for reading!!!

[smasher]

I was the 3rd/4th place finisher with TMWA

Rd.1 played against a 5c stax list which I won 2-0. Between maindeck kataki's and early dark confidants both games I stayed ahead fairly easy. Game 1 win I also attribute to getting the die roll as his opening hand was set to destroy me if he was on the play.

Rd.2 I win 2-0 against a selkie deck. I forget the details game 1.Game 2 I to mull to 6 but it was a solid 6 with turn 1 duress and canonist. At some point during the game I had waste, strip and hide on all three of his mana sources which let me take an easy win off the back just a couple small guys.

Rd. 3 I faced dredge and got the match 2-1. I went into the match not knowing what I was facing and had a really good looking hand if I was facing anything but dredge. He got the turn 2 win uncontested. Game 2 I mull to 6 and get a hand with 3 pieces of disruption, an extirpate, jotun grunt and wasteland. Between serum powders and mulls he started the game with 4 cards and multiple key pieces exiled by powders. Around turn 7 I got there through combat damage. Game 3 I kept an opener with 2x jotun grunts and a mox which would let me play grunt turn 1. I get out grunt on my turn 1 with yards empty basically to timewalk. It dies next upkeep and I get my next one down along with a canonist. I think I drew into some extirpates before the match was over but never needed them.

Rd. 4 I face another selkie deck and lost the round 1-2. I get there game 1 pretty quickly but not seeing much of his deck. Based on dual lands I saw I figured it had to be some selkie variation and boarded properly. Game 2 I answer his first tarmogoyf but he draws 2 more over the next 3 turns. I was actually 1 blocker short of getting him in the air with mindcensors. I think he was at 2 or 4 when I dropped below zero. Game 3 I get mana shafted and never really had a chance. I remember having to vamp tutor for a mana when I was already behind.

Rd.5 I face a Red shop aggro list and get manashafted 2 games in a row losing the match 0-2 I knew I was up against a shop deck and my opening hand was 6 mana sources and a thoughtseize. I was on the play and hoped the thoughtseize would slow him down long enough so i could draw into playable threats with my manabase being secure. unfortunately over the next 4 turns i draw 3 more mana sources and die to fast jug beats. The next game I was short on mana and couldnt ever resolve anything.

I make top 8 with a 3-2 record. My tiebreakers must have been pretty good because 3 of my 5 opponents where in top 8.

Rd 1 of top 8 I face off with yet another selkie deck. I get there pretty quick game 1 since I'm on the play and have the turn 1 pyroblast+ bob +bob play off lotus jet and badlands to really win the tempo war. Game 2 I had another decent opening hand but drew into none of my sideboard cards and just couldnt hold off all the creatures. (his deck had 5 more than the 17 i was running) Game 3 My hand looked really good to fight the long game and I believe the 7 cards where 2 fetch lands thoughtseize, dark confidant, diabolic edict, pyroblast, path to exile. It came down to me needing to resolve a 2nd dark confidant late at the game when i was at 5 life to stay ahead. It paid off and I won the match.

Top 4 i face my first tezz deck of the day and start out down a game after we battle back and forth until we where both at 1. Game 2 my mull to 5 was discouraging but It opened with duress and I got there eventually off canonist and mindcensor beatz. Game 3 I kept a greedy hand that definately should have been shipped back. I don't know why I thought I should keep 7 that didn't really do much since my deck packs so many 1 drops. In short I guess i was thinking my pyroblast plus wasteland would buy me a few draws to hit a black source. That black source didn't come until around turn 10. I put up almost no opposition that game and died to his dark confidant

Congrats to winners. My decklist is listed in the first post if anyone needs to see it. Changes I'd make are getting a 3rd gorilla shaman in the deck for probably 1 of the pyroblasts. I'd like to get a balance and/or perish in the sideboard to help against fish and aggro as well. Turns out the perish I debated boarding for over a week would have been very nice with me facing 3 selkie decks.

[LSD25]

whats up with prosak having 2 mana crypts?

[MEATROCKET]

Obviously he's a cheater because there's no way the list is wrong.



Anyway, great event as always!  I'll be at the next one.

[vassago]

2nd mana crypt is the new tech. obv 

Not that any one cares, but I tried using a singleton Lim Dul's Vault in my Tezz list for this tourny and was pleasantly surprised by it's performance.  The two games it resolved I won because of it.  The first time I Super-Impulsed to the other combo piece, and the other time it found Y Will.  I imagine it can level out Bob draws, which has happened in casual play, but I wasn't so lucky to reap that reward down in Tucson.

Here's my lack luster mini report, not that it matters because I didn't top 8, but it's worth mentioning.

Round 1 Belcher.  I had a phenominal hand that lead wiith turn one Bob off sol ring, mox and sea. I had key, tinker and another mana source, so I was good to go right?  Not so much because he turn oned be pretty hard. Game 2 he has triple belcher in hand with a channel. I had one Force. AWESOME!



Round two I played against Oath.  Game1 I cant remeber much other than countering the first oath and letting the second resolve due to me assembling combo. I should really start taking notes, uh? Game 2 was all about Helm and leyline. I believe it was turn two or three.


Round 3 I played against Miklos. The games were pretty good. Game one I thought I was going to win but there was that whole "oops here's my combo" thing. Happens though  Game 2 he just drew more answers than I could propose questions.  At this point I know I cannot make top 8 but I decide to play the other two roounds for funzies.

Round 4 I play against Oath. This time I was able to see which Oath the guy was playing. I saw Akroma hit the table during one of the games. I cant remember the details of this match I just knwo I won.

Round 5 I played against Ben Chamberlain. He mulls into Oblivion both games. I had pretty solid hands both games too. Unfortuantely for him he got crushed.

Even after the dust settled and the battling was done, I had a good time. I cannot wait to play again down at Dusty's store. It is always a blast.

[Bera]

Round 5 I played against Ben Chamberlain. He mulls into Oblivion both games. I had pretty solid hands both games too. Unfortuantely for him he got crushed.

You forgot how you also had t1 library both games and were on the draw for both games as well :<