3rd place in Breda with MUD

Hi all,

So… last time I came to Breda I got 4th place with Terastodon Oath. So sure, I would like to repeat that or do better… but I didn’t touch my cards since last tournament!

Last time I was somewhat prepared with several hours of playtesting against different decks in the hands of good opponents. Now, I barely looked at my cards or list since then. I really liked my Oath deck the last time. Since Matt’s article on Oath (and Dredge) I reworked my list to his example and wanted to try the different choices.
But I did good last time… I don’t want to scrub out now! It would be an insult to the deck that made me proud last time. So, I also prepare another deck I’ve been wanting to play for a long time: MUD! I just don't have any experience with it...

I’ve played several different versions of artifact decks in the past but never really worked on a list myself or done extensive playtesting, or actually took it to a tournament. The printing of Lodestone Golem sparked my interest once more and I’ve been looking at a lot of lists since it’s appearance. I liked Stephen’s list from his article on 2010-06-28 a lot. Even though the turnout at the tournament he won wasn’t too great, I liked the look of the list and Stephen isn’t just any player. You can agree with him or not, like him or not, but you have to admit he has some skill in playing Magic and deck building… Smile

So, Saturday evening comes around and I’m working on my Oath list for several hours and it’s decision time. I’d really hate to scrub out with my ‘untested’ new Oath list after my performance last time, so MUD it is!

Main Deck

1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Null Rod
3 Sculpting Steel
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Tangle Wire
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
4 Juggernaut
4 Lodestone Golem
1 Razormane Masticore
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard

2 Crucible Of Worlds
3 Relic of Progenitus
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Duplicant
2 Razormane Masticore

I don’t have too much to say about this list, it’s all here, from the man who constructed the list himself! I liked Stephen’s reasoning and I liked the look and feel of the list after a few goldfishes so I decided to go with it. MUD lists are not easily tuned and I felt that I didn’t have enough experience with the archetype to start meddling with the list given.

One important note: mulligan! With MUD, it’s a little bit like the Oath versus Dredge matchup: “your opening hand just needs to really be good enough. Don’t hope to draw anything, mulligan until you’re happy/confident!”

Yes, I just quoted myself…

Consider your matchup and then decide what ‘has to be in your opening hand’. If not, MULLIGAN!

BTW, when I say in the report I played ‘Spheres’, it could have been Sphere of Resistance or Thorn of Amethyst. I realize there is a big difference sometimes but I just cannot remember what they were exactly in the tournament.

I arrive at the site and meet up with some friends. I realize I’m not as well prepared as I should be so I decide to just see where it goes in the tournament. I try not to pressure myself with any top 8 expectations, although I always target a spot in the top 8. I’ll do my best, learn and see where it gets me.

Round 1: Brenda Schuerkens with Salvagers Combo

I’ve played against Brenda several times now and it’s always fun. This time I have the surprise factor on my side because, since I was there last time with Oath, she cannot fathom I passed over to the dark side and she puts me on Oath… Sorry Brenda, my schemes are more devious this time!
Last time we had the Oath mirror, this time she’s playing Salvagers Combo. It’s success last time in Breda has motivated her whole team to represent with Salvagers Combo. Nice, but it means she’s playing a list she’s not really comfortable with… although it has the bonus that I mistakenly put her on Oath as well!

Game one, she keeps a hand that should be ok against Oath but isn’t very good against MUD and I get to go first… Chalice of the Void, Sphere of Resistance and Lodestone Golem make this one of the shortest games ever.

Not constructing the deck yourself means you don’t have a clear idea what to sideboard, so I do something like this: +4 Duplicant, +2 Crucible, -2 Juggernaut, -2 Sphere of Resistance, -1 Null Rod, -1 Razormane Masticore. I didn’t know at that point she wasn’t playing Oath but the Salvagers Combo deck!
If somebody knows how I should have boarded, please let me know.

Game two goes much the same way as game one, Brenda is just never in it. It was nice seeing you again Brenda and we will be trying that ‘Ancient format’ you talked about!

(1-0)

Round 2: Bram Patelski with Salvagers Combo

Last time, I drew into top 8 with Bram and he beat me later in the semi finals. So I’m hoping for revenge!

I win game one thanks to Lodestone Golem and a lot of Spheres.

I sideboard as follows: -1 Razormane Masticore, -1 Mana Vault, +2 Crucible of Worlds because I believe I can only win this if I keep his mana locked down so he cannot cast cards like Energy Flux. One is ok but two means the end.

Game two looks to be going really well and I keep laying down Spheres until spells cost 3 more and resolve a Lodestone Golem to make nonartifact cards even more expensive. He knows the matchup well ‘though because he keeps countering my threats and keeps drawing the mana he needs to do it. He started out with Library of Alexandria ‘though, so that helped until I drew a Wasteland.
The game goes long and Hurkyl’s Recall steps in to finish the job. I just couldn’t draw any additional Wastelands or the Strip Mine.

He also wins game three on account of two Energy Fluxes. I don’t mulligan a hand I probably should have and cannot put up enough pressure.

Next time Bram…

(1-1)

Round 3: Tristan Krap with red/blue Stax

Game one I mulligan to five. I only see a Goblin Welder and a Volcanic Islands so I put him on some kind of control strategy. Turn two he goes for Tinker into Inkwell Leviathan and I know I’m in trouble. But… as I’ve noticed during testing my own version of Oath against MUD, I know it isn’t over yet! I have two tangle Wires in hand and he has exactly four permanents! I also have a Wasteland in hand and I draw another Wasteland and a Strip Mine on top of that, so my Juggernaut gets to beat him down to zero. I even have a Tangle Wire to spare as the Juggernaut deals the last points of damage. That was fun!

I don’t really know what I’m up against so I board something like: +2 Crucible of Worlds, +2 Razormane Masticore, -2 Juggernaut, -2 Thorn of Amethyst.

Game two, he opens with a Mishra’s Workshop so I’m shocked! Luckily, my sideboarding wasn’t totally off. It should have been: -4 Sphere of Resistance, -4 Thorn of the Amethyst, +4 Duplicant, +2 Razormane Masticore, +2 Crucible of Worlds. I take some damage from an Ancient Tomb but am able to stomp him with Golems and Masticores.

(2-1)

Round 4: Johan Steurs with Oath

He’ll get to go first. I tested this when I was testing my own version of Oath, so I know that whoever gets to go first has the advantage.

Nevertheless, I take the first game with Spheres, Wastelands and a Golem or two, even though I mulliganed my opening seven.

I sideboard: +4 Duplicant, +2 Crucible of Worlds for -2 Sphere of Resistance, -2 Juggernaut, -1 Razormane Masticore, -1 Null Rod.
What should I have done here?

Game two goes longer and he resolves Oath of Druids. At some point he has Inkwell Leviathan, Terastodon and 3 Elefant Tokens on his side and I have 2 Lodestone Golems, a colorless Spirit token and a Sculpting Steel on his Inkwell Leviathan in play. He doesn’t attack me at first and I’m hoping to draw another Sculpting Steel –so I can islandwalk through for the win- or Duplicant to eat his 9/9 elephant. Alas, I don’t draw any of the two before he decides he has enough of an advantage to thunder in with his army… under clearance of a top decked Rebuild.

Game three goes better and I win thanks to Spheres, Golems and Wastelands… you know, this deck’s gameplan?

(3-1)

Hmm, not to shabby! I might just get top 8 after all! Ok ok, stay calm, stay focused…

Round 5: Ilja Berukov with his version of Oath

I’ve know Ilja for a long time now, since he’s from Mol Belgium and I used to live close by. He’s a good player, even though I sometimes think he doesn’t want to see his mistakes and blame it on luck instead. Nevertheless, he’s a force to be reckoned with! Off we go…

Game one, I get to start but first I mulligan my opening hand… mulligan my six card hand… and mulligan my five card hand!
Ilja cannot believe I’ve mulliganed to four and says he would never mulligan further than 5. Me, if I don’t like my hand, I’ll mulligan as long as I need to because I know I need to make a difference in the first couple of turns or I’ll lose anyway. I wasn’t upset or anything, even going to four cards, I just mulliganed and checked if my new hand was good enough.

My four card hand is Black Lotus, an Ancient Tomb, a Wasteland and Trinisphere. That should give me a fighting chance!

I was a little bit proud of myself that I stayed calm and focused here, because a lot of players would go on tilt having to mulligan to four. I’ve done it before and strangely, until now, with success, because I won almost all of those matches!
Mulliganing is a skill, definitely with a deck like MUD. I’m definitely not saying I’m the sensei of the mulligan but at least I learned that taking a mulligan is part of the game and that it can make the difference between winning or losing. What good is a hand full of cards that don’t win you the game? Besides, it’s so much cooler to take down the game with less cards then your opponent! Smile

I opened with Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus into Trinisphere. Ilja swears because now he cannot play his Mox Sapphire and Mox Emerald. Instead he just puts down Wasteland first and the next turn he plays Strip Mine.

We draw go for some turns and eventually I get a Lodestone Golem down which goes the distance… starting off with a four card hand!

To Ilja’s defense, he didn’t draw a land in like 5 or 10 turns. I believe he should have Wastlanded my Ancient Tomb anyway because it enabled me to play mana sources under Trinisphere and develop my board while he was stuck.
Maybe he should have mulliganed his opening hand as well because MUD is very able to play a first turn Trinisphere, Null Rod or Chalice for 0. in any of those circumstances, he wouldn’t have been able to play his Moxen either.

Be that as it may, I took it down and was happy to! Sideboarding: -2 Sphere of Resistance (maybe these should stay), -1 Trinisphere (not so amazing on the draw), -2 Juggernaut, -1 Null Rod (should have been -1 Razormane Masticore), +4 Duplicant, +2 Crucible of Worlds.
Any advice?

Game two I mulligan to five! Ilja plays a land, Mana Vault and a Mox. That’s a lot of mana so I decide to tap it down with a Tangle Wire. It’ll keep his mana busy for some time and his Mana Vault tapped down. He uses the Mana Vault to play something in response. It’ll start pinging away at his life total next turn…
Looking at our life totals, it looks like I take some damage from Ancient Tomb and that I get a Lodestone Golem down to bring the beats to my opponent. Ilja plays Ancient Grudge and Nature’s Claim to prolong the fight but he cannot get out. The Mana Vault keeps pinging and I win.

(4-1)

Round 6: Steffen Van der Veen with Ad Nauseam Combo (with Preordains)

ID into top 8! I’ve exceeded my expectations for this tournament but I’m very happy to. Although I made mistakes, I played pretty well with a deck and don’t know all the ins and outs of.

(4-1 + ID)

Top 8, round 1: Jos Schreurs

Unfortunately, Jos’ father is in the hospital and he has to go visit. So… I automatically progress into top 4! Nice!

Hope your dad is ok man…

(5-1 + ID)

Top 8, semi finals: Steffen Van der Veen with Ad Nauseam Combo (with Preordains)

A very good and friendly player and a matchup where the dice roll will not decide everything but certainly a lot. Unfortunately he wins it.

Game one he goes for it turn one with Demonic Consultation into Ad Nauseam but stalls after revealing a lot of high casting cost cards but not enough mana to finish the job. So I get a turn!

I mulligan into an ok hand and I play a Sphere of Resistance off a Mishra’s Workshop with decent follow-up in Lodestone Golem for the next turn, if that turn comes…

It doesn’t because he bounces two of his Moxen with Chain of Vapour and then copies it to my Sphere of Resistance and that’s game one.

I sideboard: +3 Tormod’s Crypt (to stop Yawgmoth’s Will), -1 Razormane Masticore, -2 Juggernaut.
What should I have done here?

Game two I mulligan twice but it’s still mine thanks to a first turn Lodestone Golem, which is definitely not an insurance for winning because your opponent can still freely cast his Moxen. I took sort of a calculated risk because if I get to the second turn, I get to follow it up with a lot of Spheres. Steffen doesn’t kill me and gets buried under Spheres and a Null Rod.

Game three I take a mulligan and I end up with two Chalices of the Void, a Null Rod, a Juggernaut and enough mana to cast at least the two Chalices of the Void first turn. But Steffen gets to go first and he takes me completely by surprise as he plays a land, Chrome Mox imprinting Oath of Druids, Oath of Druids! Crap! I didn’t see that coming!

All of a sudden, my opening hand doesn’t look so hot anymore. I try to build up enough mana to cast 2 5/3’s in one turn and pray for some Tangle Wires as all my antiOath ‘tech’ is in the sideboard. I need to do it before he finds a Forbidden Orchard and forces the Oath. I don’t and my colorless Spirit token soon looks tiny against his angry Sphinx. I don’t draw a Sculpting Steel and die to the Sphinx…

(5-2 + ID), mulliganed 12 times and I end up third. Good for a Volcanic Island. Steffen ends up winning the tournament, Ilja ends up fourth and Bart (Eye of the Beholder) is also in top 8 with Oath! That’s three Belgian guys in a Dutch top 8… Smile

Too bad for that last game but I’m happy with my overall performance and certainly did better then I thought I would.
The deck plays great. It’s a great feeling to play my own Tangle Wires against turn two Tinker, yet it sucked to see my board disappear because of Hurkyl’s Recall or Rebuild.
I cannot wait to get my Leylines of Sanctity! I’m positive they’ll have some impact on Vintage.

Props
Tournament organisation and atmosphere
Opponents
MUD
3 Belgians in a Dutch top 8

Slops
None really