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MULocke
03-11-2009, 11:35 PM
I didn’t really do as well as I’d hoped last weekend, but I figured I’d post a report anyway as the GP was just awesome. As a legacy player, I’d obviously been planning this trip since they announced the schedule in January. 6 hours to play the best sanctioned format around? Deal! I knew what I’d be playing for just as long, because Canadian thresh is just insane. Most of you probably know the list, but here goes for reference anyway.

4 Tropical Island
4 Volcanic Island
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Wasteland

4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Tarmogoyf

4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Spell Snare
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Stifle
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Fire/Ice
1 Rushing River
1 Wipe Away

Sb:
2 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Submerge
2 Krosan Grip
3 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
3 Pyroclasm

Credit for the list goes to goobafish, of course. I’ve been playing the same 60 for over a year, and it’s served me well (especially in big tournaments). I cut disrupt from the sb because it felt weak in testing, and I had so much work the week before that I really didn’t get the chance to test other options like price of progress. So, we have a fairly cookie cutter sideboard. The one questionable choice is the REB split (I did play the disrupts in the trial, but they never came in). After talking to some friends, we decided that a split to fight against Meddling Mage was less necessary than being able to pitch one to gain threshold against combo. They were supposed to be 4 pyroblast, but I only own 3. So, we split the difference and do a really awkward split. It never came up as an issue.

The journey begins a week before the grand prix, with a trial in Columbus. The trial was clutch, as 11 people showed. It was by no means easy, as the level of competition (sourcers? I’m not sure...) was pretty high, but whenever you go into an 11-man tourney with a good deck, you feel good about your chances.

[Trial is a little hard to remember details from. Sorry.]

Round 1: Harrison Laws w/ Ugb Thresh
I lose g1 in a fairly drawn out fight where I get out-topdecked (I think?) and beat down.
Game 2, I keep a hand with 2 land, 3 goyfs, goose, and a blue spell. My turn 2 goyf meets a spell snare, and the turn 3 attempt fares no better. I fetch a second trop to cast the goose(dazed), because I’m not sure if he runs wasteland (I have no other lands, and I don’t want to get hurt on green mana with no red cards in hand). Needless to say, that would be the least of my worries. In my next draw step, goyf gets extirpated, so I manage to resolve exactly zero of the three I kept in my opened. Looks like we’re gonna have to get there with mongoose. Of course, I draw plenty of red spells to go with my two trops and no volcanic, and things go from bad to worse when I end up with a mongoose staring down two goyfs. I get hit down to a low life total, and face the prospect of needing to draw geese #3 and 4 so that I can get there. I get a ponder, but it turns out to be the most awkward top 3 ever as I see goose and two blanks. Sadly, that must get shuffled away, but then I topdeck runner-runner like a champ for my good decision. Anyway, Redblasts prevent interference, geese double-block goyfs, and the final creature left in my deck goes all the way for me. Must be nice.
We start game 3 with very little time left, and neither player blows the other out. Time is called, and we draw. The cut to top 4 instead of top 8 makes this kinda weird, but I’m not gonna argue with escaping that match with a point.

0-0-1 (1-1)

Round 2: Matt Kranstuber w/ Enchantress
Game 1, he gets a mediocre draw where his only gas is an enchantress’ presence. It gets forced and my guys get in there after stifling a sterling grove or two.
Game two is more of the same, except I have to think a lot harder about his enchantress’ presence this time. I’m worried about the sb cards he could have brought in and want to save my forces for them, but eventually I make the right call and counter the prescence in the hopes he can’t find his good stuff. It works, and I get there with my guys again. I find out after the match that chokes were in the main, so I’m very happy to have not seen them.

1-0-1 (3-1)

Round 3: Andrew Cooperfauss w/ It’s the Fear
I recognize Andrew from other events in Columbus and know he’s playing at least some version of Ugb control, so I know some help is gonna need to come my way. I get some early pressure and a fairly gassy hand, including wasteland (it taps for mana for a few turns, so he knows it’s there). I ponder, and he eot intuitions for loam, EE, and academy ruins after fetching a second trop. I waste the first, spell snare the loam, then draw the second waste off the top from ponder to deny him green mana. Brainstorm a turn or two later reveals three stifle, and it’s all but over.
Game two, he keeps a land light hand and I keep him at one land for most of the game while a guy gets there. Exactly what I needed in the matchup, and I’m pumped to have gotten a win where I shouldn’t normally.

2-0-1 (5-1)

Round 4: ID into top 4

2-0-2 (5-1)

Top 4: Mark Smith w/ R/G something?
His list is different, as it looks with goyf sligh plus lotus bloom and five-drops. The list is here: http://www.professional-events.com/WotC/GPTChicago09/Col.php4 if you want to see it. Game 1 and 2 and basically the same as I keep him off lands with wastes, bolt his guys, and get in there with goyfs that are bigger than his large guys anyway. I never got to stifle a lotus, but I’ll take it.

3-0-2 (7-1)

Finals: Rich Stachurski w/ Meathooks
Game 1, my burn and larger creatures get there. I don’t remember much, but I remember this game going well for me.
Game two, he leads with two plated slivers while I stare at the pyroclasm in my hand. He makes some more guys, and really starts to get in there when he gets a winged sliver out. A turn or two before he gets there, we have a communication issue. He plays the winged sliver, attacks, and there is a break while we record damage and such. I as if he’s done, and I thought I heard him say something to the effect of a yes. There were other people talking while this is going on, and rather than confirm, I just proceed with my turn. I’ve untapped and drawn, I’m looking down at my hand, and I hear him ask “Aether Vial?” Confused, I look up and realize he’s in his second main phase still. We talk to a judge, and I get the game loss for an extra drawn card. I was most likely going to lose anyway and it’s the correct ruling, so I just move on to the next game. The spectators are wisely asked to step back for game 3, and we don’t have any more problems.
Game 3, I spell snare a few early guys and trade a pyroclasm 1 for 1 with a crystalline to avoid plated shenanigans. He runs out of guys and I get in there with a goyf and a goose or two to get me some byes.

4-0-2 (9-2)

Now, I’m really excited. The trial went well, my deck loves me, and I don’t have to grind it out on Friday. The drive up makes me hate wastelands almost as much as my opponents, as Indiana is basically one itself. I get there, crack an eslpeth in a draft (and manage to lose anyway), and get some good sleep.
Aside: For all you suckers who stayed on site, the Holiday Inn Express down the street was awesome. Two double beds for $72 a night in a really nice room, and the free breakfast included a pile of bacon. Win.

Main Event:

Rounds 1-3, instead of sweating it out playing, I get to do cool things like meet some new people, talk to Rob Alexander, and watch some friends play. By 2:30, I’m itching to get playing and (not) make day 2.

Round 4: Geoff Smelski (sourcer, I think) with UWb Landstill
Wow, did this match bring me down to earth. I make my first play mistake before I even play a card (not mulliganing), and I get blown out by not seeing a second land for forever. It doesn’t end well.
Game 2, I make sorta the same mistake. This hand has more cantrips, but I just can’t seem to find another mana source for awhile. I finally get a goose going, but it’s too late. I try to split a FoF towards EE instead of wrath because I have stifle, and it works until he reveals wrath #2 in his hand. Bad times. I die to Elspeth tokens and an eternal dragon.

3-1 (0-2)

Ouch. After three rounds of feeling good, I come out of the gates badly and have a lot of work to do still.

Round 5: Justin Valley with DDFT
Game one, he mulls to 5. I force his top, and he’s never really in it. I see Tundra, Badlands, and Scrubland and have no idea at all what he’s playing. He decides to scoop to keep it that way after it becomes apparent he’s not coming back. His strategy ends up working in g2, as I only bring in grips (for the top I saw).
Game 2, I eventually get duressed, and he does his thing with an Ad Nauseam. Oh. It’s combo.
Game 3, thre red blasts come in. I stop a few of his early spells (brainstorm, etc), and he finds nothing off a top for a few turns. I get there in a close one.

4-1 (2-3)

Okay, a little better. It took me until ~4pm, but I finally managed to win a game of magic today.

Round 6: Matt Ferrando with Ugr Thresh (Counter/top)
Game 1, my deck decides I’m just going to win. I see three stifles on the play, and he never gets a land in play that taps for mana after we trade forces over one.
Game 2, I get a bit of the same. Counterbalance resolves and stops my first goyf, but a waste on his trop stops his creatures. His balance misses all of my other creatures (3 geese and a goyf), and I get there without him ever finding another green source. There might have been another stifle involved.

5-1 (4-3)

Round 7: Tom Raney with Ubw Faeries
He mulls, and keeps a sorta slow hand with ancestral vision. I get a goose and start attacking. He suspends two more visions over consecutive turns, but my deck nicely hands me triple stifle (again!), and none of them get to see the stack. Goose goes all the way into burn range.
Game 2, I have spell snare for a turn 2 Bitterblossom, and my creatures begin to get there again, this time with red blasts on my side as well. I waste his tundra even though I haven’t seen white cards yet in fear of swords, and a Wipe Away on his Vendilion Clique gets me there.

6-1 (6-3)

Sweet! One more win and I day two. Plus, my deck loves me again. Looking good…

Round 8: Sean Wang with Ad Nauseam Tendrils
Game 1, he duresses my force and gets the win. Not much else happened. I bring in red blasts, but don’t board out too much of the burn because of how it can pressure the ad nauseams.
Game 2, I counter some draw spells, hide force with a brainstorm against duress, and counter some spells while attacking for the win. He doesn’t see any of my burn, so he goes to bring in Confidants.
Game 3 is tense and swingy. I keep with a force, blue card, bolt and other stuff, and he plays a fist turn dark rit. I let it resolve, and he duresses me. I go nuts on the inside, turn 1 with protection? Sigh. When he sees my hand, however, he’s the one sighing. I’m really confused by this, and it takes me forever to figure it out. He finally takes force, then reluctantly plays a dark confidant. That makes more sense. He didn’t like the bolt because he thought I boarded them out. I untap, bolt bob, and start to build my position. He ends up casting a mystical tutor with an LED and two lands, and I can’t find the force in time. I brainstorm with one of my two lands, but have to let it resolve. It ends up going badly, and he’s down to two with plenty of infernal tutors and other twos, but no LED. He spends a long time thinking, and I spend basically the whole time staring at the fire/ice in my hand and the one untapped land I have. I don’t really want to say anything because of how tough the decision is, but a judge eventually gives him a slow play warning. He decides he has to flip for something else, and rips a LED right off the top. I’m a sad panda.

6-2 (7-5)

It all comes down to this. I get to hear from Ben Wienburg that he’s played tribal agro five times already, and his Vendilion Clique has even won him some games against maindeck relic. I wish I got matchups like that… or do I?

Round 9: Tomas Krejsa with Rbg Goblins
I have to mull on the draw, but I’m still happy to see the red lands. The happiness goes away fairly quickly as I force a vial but then don’t really see much, and I get run over with dudes. On to game two. The pyroclasms have sat on the bench all day, so now it’s their time to get in there and get the clincher for me.
Game 2 goes much better, as I get really good mileage out of a clasm, and goyf and goose get there for me. One more game to decide who moves on.
Game 3: another mulligan. Great, we’re in a hole and on the draw anyway. When he leads with a vial, I have to force and hope for the best. My lack of cards really hurts, and I get a few goyfs bt really can’t do anything because he has so many guys. I run out of stifles, and ringleaders and matrons start hitting. I can’t find a pyroclasm, and I get run over by little green men again.

Man, I finally get the aggro match, and I manage to lose with day 2 on the line? This is nothing against Tomas, as he was a pretty tight player (at least, from my perspective), but (used to) feel really good about my goblins matchup. I should probably stop crying about not getting the agro matchups anymore.

Final record: 6-3 (8-7 games, 3-3 in actual matches).

Well, my play was kinda weak, especially in the ANT match. I had really high hopes after 6-1, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I still had an awesome time, so no real complaints. Instead of being responsible and getting sleep for day 2, I got to cube in the hotel lobby until four in the morning with friends. Plus, Dave Caplan (and almost Wienburg) got there with the stifles and wastes, so I can’t be too disappointed (with the deck…).

Props:
-Triple stifle finding its way into my hand only when needed
-Tarmogoyf, being bigger than everything else.
-Holiday Inn Express serving piles of bacon at their breakfast
-Rob Alexander being willing to sign entire stacks of shocklands and fetches. That’s gotta suck.
-Dave Caplan! Congrats on the Top 8!
-Legacy. 1,230 people. ‘nuff said. (Are you listening, Wizards?)
-Dave Caplan! This deck rocks!

Slops:
-Basically the whole Cincinnati crew (myself included) for starting 6-1 and losing out to miss day 2. Except Ben and Mike, of course. Way to bolt your way to day 2.
-Jake’s car for not having cruise. That fucking sucked.
-Those guys stealing cards. Go back to Yugioh, please.
-Pastimes. Those 8mans had terrible prize support. Seriously, 6-4-2-2 packs for 10 bucks?
That’s all I’ve got. Chicago was awesome.

I guess I was supposed to have disrupt in my sideboard, but it always seemed mediocre in testing. Time will tell if I need more of those slots rather than submerge/threads, as they never were used.

Anyway, I enjoyed myself, and the event was awesome. I was sad I missed day 2, but I’ll get over it eventually. Wizards, we need more big legacy events. This one drew a huge crowd and rocked.

Enigma
03-12-2009, 12:05 AM
Argh, it was so close for you to get to day2. Anyway, nice job on Trial.

Thanks for report!

P-M

rockout
03-12-2009, 12:22 AM
Aside: For all you suckers who stayed on site, the Holiday Inn Express down the street was awesome. Two double beds for $72 a night in a really nice room, and the free breakfast included a pile of bacon. Win.

The on site hotel was 100 bucks a night and had flat screens in the bathroom. Seems pretty win to me.

Grats on the finish.

Jeff Kruchkow
03-12-2009, 10:27 AM
Cube in the Hotel Lobby was pretty sick.

Also, for gobs, you forgot to say that you died to the goblin king lol.

beastman
03-12-2009, 12:38 PM
Congrats on the finish, too bad about the goblin beating. I stayed on-site, and that was without doubt on of the best places I've ever stayed.

MULocke
03-12-2009, 12:59 PM
Cube in the Hotel Lobby was pretty sick.

Also, for gobs, you forgot to say that you died to the goblin king lol.

Yes, I dies to the goblin kind game three. I neglected to mention it because I forgot (on purpose?), and because I lose with or without it. Actually, if I remove/counter it, he might not have enough mana to fling guys and kill me, so it might have been bad play to cast it. He just attacks, as he has so many men I just can't block them all. Siege-Gang and Sharpshooter tend to hurt.

As for the hotel, what in the heck were you doing watching tv in the bathroom? Get your ass downstairs and play some magic! Plus, my main point was that the breakfast was rumored to be terrible and expensive, where holiday inn had a bunch of good free stuff. And put up with our 4am cube shenanigans.

goobafish
03-12-2009, 02:16 PM
Almost got there!

Sean Wang was in my car and he spoke to me about your match afterwards. That was his first legacy event, and he didn't realize you could pop LED during draw step to play Nauseam, he finally figured it out on his own when the judge warned him for slow playing.

You should have played Disrupts!

MULocke
03-12-2009, 05:22 PM
Almost got there!

Sean Wang was in my car and he spoke to me about your match afterwards. That was his first legacy event, and he didn't realize you could pop LED during draw step to play Nauseam, he finally figured it out on his own when the judge warned him for slow playing.

You should have played Disrupts!

Yeah, I talked to Sean a little bit after the match. There was one misplay on my part in g1 where he's going off and mysticals for ad nauseam, and I respond "ok" because I have no counters. Once his deck is in hand, I realize that I was supposed to ice his LED in response so he can't go off with it. Also, what do I board out for the disrupts? I'm already bringing in red blasts to fight mysticals/bs/ponder.

Did anyone read Flores today?

"That's deck runs some good cards. Moving on..."

Sigh. Sligh is more interesting than a tempo thresh list?

Nihil Credo
03-12-2009, 05:31 PM
@goobafish: It's actually during your upkeep that you need to pop LED to play an Ad Nauseam off the top. If you say you do it doing your draw step the judge will make you discard Nauseam and burn for 3 :)

@MULocke: LED doesn't tap like Black Lotus, so Icing it is useless.

jazzykat
03-16-2009, 02:21 PM
Just a question about your particular list. You seem to have the TA thing going in a way:

8 dudes where Mongoose is cool but is not Tombstalker
Cantrips
Mana Disruption (A little less)

BURN, which is where I see this getting interesting. You have 4 bolts and 4 Fire/Ice. If you cast every burn card in your deck you would do exactly 20.

Your answer to an opponents Tarmogoyf is yours+fire, which is a bit situational compared to say StP.

Do you feel that your strength lies in the ability to get under counterbalance with goose and finish a game with burn? In a way it looks like you might have some trouble against Balanced UGw Thresh and ITF decks?

MULocke
03-16-2009, 07:26 PM
Just a question about your particular list. You seem to have the TA thing going in a way:

8 dudes where Mongoose is cool but is not Tombstalker
Cantrips
Mana Disruption (A little less)

BURN, which is where I see this getting interesting. You have 4 bolts and 4 Fire/Ice. If you cast every burn card in your deck you would do exactly 20.

Your answer to an opponents Tarmogoyf is yours+fire, which is a bit situational compared to say StP.

Do you feel that your strength lies in the ability to get under counterbalance with goose and finish a game with burn? In a way it looks like you might have some trouble against Balanced UGw Thresh and ITF decks?

This deck has actually been around longer than TA, and (this is speculation) I believe the concept for it comes from this deck. It really is all about the tempo, as you get stomped if you sit there and let decks like ITF set up. Your answer to goyfs is spell snare. Spell snare is ridiculous, as almost all of the problems you have cost 2: counterbalance, goyf, chalice at 1, hymn, etc.

As for your implied argument of red splash vs white splash (the swords comment), it has been long debated. The short answer is, red has much better tools for the tempo game, and red gets the better sideboard. Burn to the face is really good for finishing control, and fire/ice can also tap stuff down. You get a better aggro matchup because of pyroclasm, and red blasts really help against blue control.

Mongoose is nuts, too. It's correct and shouldn't be even in the conversation about stuff to cut.

jazzykat
03-16-2009, 08:03 PM
@MULocke: Thanks for the reply. I really like the deck I just wanted to figure out where it fits in. My meta is complete jank so even a deck like UGw balanced thresh passes for a tempo deck. Your answers have helped me decide what to do for my metagame.