2nd at Knightware in Studio City California on 2/13/11 for LoA and Jace TMS

2nd at Knightware in Studio City California on 2/13/11

Today was a good day.

Caleb picked me up for the tournament and since there was an absurd amount of traffic visible on the 101 freeway, we decided to take the Scenic Route and drive the distance along Ventura Boulevard, discussing decks, strategies, the format, alcohol, burzum, and numerous other topics as we made our way towards the shop.

I very quickly brought up wanting to add Tezzeret Agent of Bolas to my deck, but that I was only running twelve artifacts and I wanted at least one more but was not sure what. We discussed my sideboard and my maindeck, and I pulled out the Planeswalker and stuck him in the Hurkyl’s Recall slot, forgetting that I already had cut to 59 cards to make room for him. I then swapped out thoughtseize number 3 (number 4 was in the board, still leaving me 3 in my 75 which what I thought I wanted) for an engineered explosives at Caleb’s suggestion (as well as from his collection, as I had just left mine back in the secret lair in Encino.) I switched back my robot to Myr Battlesphere, something I meant to do earlier in the week but had not found the time to get to, and I decided I was pretty happy with the deck for the time being.

The Deck I decided to Run:

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

1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Dark Confidant

4 Force of Will
3 Mana Drain
2 Annul
1 Spell Pierce
2 Thoughtseize

2 Jace TMS
1 Tezzeret Agent of Bolas

1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tinker
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Hurkyl’s Recall (after discovering I was at 59, it came back)

1 Tolarian Academy
4 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
4 Island
1 Swamp

Sideboard

1 Thoughtseize
1 Spell Pierce
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Darkblast
2 Doom Blade
2 Engineered Plague
2 Steel Sabotage
2 Yixlid Jailer
2 Nihil Spellbomb

We discussed his decision to run the Mountains deck again and my light dredge hate package, but also how completely awesome Engineered Plague might work out in the missing slots (it did.) Part of me wondered if he might be better off with Dredge, but his deck seemed strong and I know it served him well the last time we traveled to a vintage event together, so I didn’t push it and discussed some of his changing tech.

We made a brief side plan to start drinking whiskey if we ended up with two losses, which is typically our plan, but it didn’t prove to be the case this time. It was still nice to know the option was there, even though I had consumed well over a fifth and a pint of Jim Beam the day prior while helping a non magic friend move.

I registered my 75 and expected to have a little time to get around and talk, scout, and maybe even acquisition caffeine, but our arrival did not afford us such time and pairings were up pretty quickly. I was ready to battle, but when I saw my round one pairing I was at least somewhat discouraged, even though I love playing against Beaux if nothing more than for the interaction.

I believe there were 17 people, and we played five rounds of swiss before cutting to top 4.

Round One: Beaux with Affinity

Game one proved to be a pretty good one, in which a combination of casting a tinker for battlesphere, vampiric for hurkyl’s recall and card advantage from a dark confidant did there job.

Game two I had a solid seven but no force of will, which I really didn’t think I would need as I had solid answers to most of his plays. He lead with a turn one trinisphere and two monsters on two, and not getting to cast my mox or ancestral kept me from getting to three mana before I died.

Game three my heart sunk. I was to mul to 5. I drew my hand, which was sapphire, land, mystical tutor, dark confidant and annul. I ended up getting land off confidant and casting ancestral to set up a gifts the following turn. After a long series of events I ended up at one life with a confidant on board and a five five mox sapphire courtesy of my now dead tezzeret. I was forced to cast an engineered plague calling wizard to kill my own confidant, but the mox managed to get there the following turn.

2-1

Round Two: John with Hermit Druid

These were some pretty sloppy games, and game one I didn’t know what he was playing. I was impressed when he cast green sun’s zenith, and worried when he put out the druid. He made short work of me in the face of my battlesphere, killing me in two turns.

Game two was a little more in my favor, and I was able to slowly control him out of the game. When I had the inevitable win he scooped, and we went on to game three with about 8 minutes left and a slight time extension.

Attrition took place, and if we would have had time and I would have played a little more methodically and made a few different choices there is almost no way I would have lost game three. Instead it went to time, and one turn 4 of time I had Tezzeret that would have got me there if I could have had two more turns, but instead I cast time walk and tinker and took the turn 5. I got close anyway, but the match was a draw, and I complimented my opponent on how awesome his deck was, vaguely remembering that he top 8’d with a similar lists some months before when we played the Time Vault tournament.

1-1-1

(1-0-1 in matches)

Round Three: Kevin with The Deck

These were some pretty good games, and in the first one I used engineered explosives to kill welder, and shortly thereafter assembled the time vault key lock. I followed up with tinker and we were on to two.

Game two I had the craziest, most powerful top decks. Except for the ones he had. After out countering me on my key, my opponent untapped, drew ancestral, and assembled the vault key lock off it. I laughed and we discussed how great it was to be good, and it was on to game three.

I am pretty hazy about game three, but I am pretty sure I had jace on turn one and was slow to tinker because of the ancient grudge in his yard. I thoughtseized him at one point seeing key and hurkyl’s recall, and even though the recall was keeping me off tinker (he blew the grudge) I took the key. He top decked time vault and I seemed brilliant. I assembled the combo the following turn, then tinker, and promptly won.

2-1

(2-0-1 in matches)

Round Four: Adam with Oath

Game one was crazy. After a force of will and a drain exchange early, adam had an oath on board and I had a battlesphere in hand, with plenty of mana to cast it, but nothing to back it up or deal with anything. It took a long time and I kept ripping mana, but he got key vault together without ever drawing the orchard. He followed up with Jace and I scooped.

Game two was the Tezzeret game. I got the agent out on Turn three off drain mana, and used him to dig up artifacts for the first time. Again Adam had oath with no orchard, but I was slowly assembling card advantage and setting up. The turn he played orchard I untapped and assembled key and vault, with Tezz at 9 counters, promising to kill him with the solo orchard token from his attempted drain on my vault.

Game three was one of those ones that is why you play control. I countered everything Adam did, dug with Jace, and locked the game down with little effort. The whole time Adam and I were discussing social elements to playing the game, enjoying our usual casual and pleasant exchange, and he was very gracious in wishing me luck.

2-1

(3-0-1 in matches)

Round Five: John with MUD

This was an easy draw in, being the top 2 seats and not threatened, so we sat and traded some cards. We talked a little and I headed for food, wanting to be ready for top 4.

ID

(3-0-2 in matches)

Top 4

Weston with Bob Tendrils

Much like Adam who I played in round 4, I always seem to end up playing against Weston at some point, though usually in Legacy. He said it was his first vintage event, and starting top 4 I had no idea what he was playing, and I won the die roll and decided to keep an opening had that had turn 1 Jace off Sea, Mana Crypt and Sapphire, also sporting Lotus off Jace and keeping it up with Mana Drain and tinker in hand with Will on top. On turn two, with Drain mana from countering Necropotence, I cast tinker for vault, will, tinker again for key and assembled the win.

Game two he played turn one land mox merchant scroll for ancestral. I had turn one lotus again, casting a thoughtseize that got forced pitching jace, a second one that I drew for the turn to take the ancestral (leaving him with only nature’s claim) and then stuck a confidant. I was able to play the control game and keep things locked down, and at end of turn 4 resolve gifts. It was over from there, and I was on to the finals.

2-0

Finals

James with MUD again

James played against Liam and I knew he didn’t drop a game in the swiss, but I was not too worried about the match up, feeling prepared enough for it for it to be pretty even. I need to test more, and I know that I made quite a few mistakes today, but the Workshop decks do not scare me like they did a few months ago.

Game one have double force of will for his first two spells after we both mulliganed, and I stuck an early dark confidant that was aided by his ancient tombs for an inevitable win.

Game two I kept a sketchy hand that needed to topdeck another land, but I managed pretty well for a handful of turns. I eventually got beat to death by factories, knowing that a couple of mistakes may have bought me another turn or two, but probably not a win.

Game three is frustrating for me, as I run out turn one Jace off lotus and sapphire, but when I draw I don’t hit a land. I have a Force of will, a mana crypt (which I failed to play) an engineered Explosives, and a merchant scroll. If I played the crypt, I wouldn’t have cared much about his turn one sphere and I could have cast merchant scroll for ancestral or hyrkuls or anything, shuffling away the cards that were in the way and hopefully hitting a land to have doom blade, steel sabotage and mana drain live. Instead I cast the FOW almost instinctually pitching the scroll, and as I untap I realize how bad I failed and I decide I have to just hope for the best. I never actually see a land, even after 5 turns of jace, and I didn’t play the mana crypt turn two only to have him drop chalice and lock me out of it. I never did much except for bounce a karn a couple times, but he managed to stick it and I died without a land on board.

1-2

Second Place finish, adding another Jace the Mind Sculptor to my collection. The event was great, I was happy to see everyone out and I hope that Lori continues to support the format. It is by far my favorite, and today reminded me once again why I fell in love with it in the first place. Thanks for the great Prize support Lori, 3/4 each got 30 in store credit in addition to the LoA and the Jace.

Congrats to the other guys that made top 4, as well as everyone that had close to as much fun as I did. I have to say Tezz feels like the real deal, even in a build not built around him, so I can only imagine what is going to happen when people get him figured out and dedicate their build more to him than I did. I was happy to have him on the team, and look forward to playing him again.