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Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:48 PM
Dragon Stompy Primer
Grand Prix Chicago Top 8- 3/8/2009
Fourth Place

Mink here- a bit of a lurker, but hopefully this will help you all in what you decide to play in future legacy events. As I utilized this site for much of my brainstorming for Legacy, I wanted to write for the community and give my thoughts on the format.

I’ve read quite a few tournament reports, as I’m sure all of you have too. When reading them I often find that the little bits of story involved can sometimes be boring, or outright annoying for when I simply would like to read about the ins and outs of how a deck works. I’ll try to get right into the meat of that issue, and write a bit more of my own personal experience towards the end so those who don’t care for such things can just skip it. I would however, like to say that everyone I met over the weekend was pretty awesome so say hey some time!

Here’s the build I played:

4 Arc-Slogger
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Rakdos Pit Dragon
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Taurean Mauler
4 Seething Song
2 Blood Moon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Chrome Mox
4 Trinisphere
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City Of Traitors
11 Mountain

SB
4 Boil
4 Pyroclasm
1 Blood Moon
1 Pithing Needle
3 Powder Keg
2 Umezawa’s Jitte

There are a few things to talk about here, especially the main deck- which I feel is very solid, considering I didn’t change anything about the main deck from when I won the GPT leading up to Chicago. The deck list that I won the GPT is posted on www.deckcheck.net under the legacy Dragon Stompy lists. I’ve also noticed that others who have ran my exact main deck have done well in other tournaments. I’m hoping others will try out the deck as well.

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:51 PM
The sideboard that I played at the Grand Prix was much better than the one I used for the trial, but I feel like there is a lot of room to be done about the SB. The trial’s SB was as follows: 4 Pyroclasm, 2 Threaten, 1 Blood Moon, 1 Defense Grid, 2 Pithing Needle, 3 Powder Keg, and 2 Umezawa’s Jitte. From the trial I learned that Defense Grid is useless (which is expected, considering I play 4 Trinisphere main), and that Threaten is pretty useless as well (it was in there for all of the Dreadnaughts I was expecting for the trial- that didn’t ever show up).

I believe that many have already talked about the framework of the deck, so though I’m reiterating it’s probably not a bad thing to do so- required 4-ofs: Arc-Slogger, Pit Dragon, Magus of the Moon, Raiders, Chalice of the Void, Seething Song, Chrome Mox, and Simian Spirit Guide (this guy was so good against daze, etc. that I knocked around the very bad idea of adding Elvish Spirit Guide as well) I would like to say that Arc-Slogger is the best creature in the deck. He’s the most versatile, and the fattest (lightning bolt doesn’t ruin your day when he hits). He also takes out Tarmogoyf’s (save your activations for when one hits).

Gathan Raiders also makes the deck tick- allowing yourself to discard that card and getting hellbent is sometimes all it takes to use your resources (mana) efficiently. One thing I love about the deck (especially this version) is how fluid it feels. There aren’t as many moments where you’re wondering how to get hellbent, or play everything out in your hand when everything costs three.

Speaking of using your resources efficiently, I found that equipment made the deck clunky. I tried Sword of Fire/Ice, and the mana it took to cast and equip was just too much. Also, Umezawa’s Jitte never seemed to be in play when I actually had a creature out. Whenever I had my Arc-Slogger out and a Jitte of course you win, but by that time you’re already winning. Jitte also seemed subpar in enough matchups that it didn’t warrant as much inclusion in the main deck. It’s best against Goblins/Merfolk, but even then you may as well have it sideboard, as it’s really only spectacular in those matchups. Usually I was wishing it was just another dude.

And here’s the other dude: Taurean Mauler. Because of a lack of good creatures in the 2R slot, and reading on the forums I tried this guy out after trying Akroma. I think that Sulfur Elemental may be a SB call for white decks sprouting tokens, but I’d find him a little subpar against Tarmogoyf, or other big grow like creatures. The interesting thing is that Mauler is actually pretty good. He just grows huge sometimes, surpassing Tarmogoyf or grow creatures (especially since most those types of decks run top, which usually lets him grow to a pretty big size). As said in the forums, he also could run under Humility, and is a goblin or merfolk- all big pluses in certain circumstances. He’s also another red card to pitch to chrome mox when you simply need something red to put on it- having another equipment doesn’t help that.

I believe the biggest controversy is over maindeck Trinisphere. I’m going to have to say that maindeck Trinisphere is one of the sole reasons why my version did so well. By dropping it first turn on the play you’ve essentially time-walked the opponent- twice…
It was because of this card that I was able to beat Goblins and Merfolk game one- they weren’t allowed to drop Aether Vial till turn three. This is a huge difference in tempo. It’s also a main deck Defense Grid, as you’re allowed to basically cast whatever you wish during the next turn or so. It also shuts down Ichorid and ANT (allowing you SB slots against Ichorid as you don’t really need any graveyard hate). This also allows for you to have a tempo gain against all of the random decks that you’re likely to come up against that give this deck a hard time… taking a look at recent top 8’s on deckcheck.net shows that the versions that did well played some amount of Trinisphere main deck. I believe that 3-4 of them is right for the deck- as you’re capable of discarding one of them to Gathan Raiders if multiples are drawn, and there is a ton of upside to them that really helps the main deck.

When trying for builds of a main deck I value consistency over more narrow options. I felt like Jitte was too narrow, and sometimes Blood Moon doesn’t just get you there either. As a two of it serves its purpose of slowing down the game, or giving a soft lock while you best face with your fat creatures. As a 4 (MD+SB) of it feels like overkill, as you’re tight on spots for the main deck and the sideboard, I’d say that having access to 3 is the right call.

Chalice of the Void is a good catch all as well- allowing you to play out a Slogger or Rakdos when a COV is at one allows you relief from many popular removal spells (Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares), shuts down Sensei’s Divining Top, Aether Vial, Dreadnaughts, Brainstorm, Ponder, etc. I’ve also found that laying another for zero helps keep the other in play (Engineered Explosives is a problem for this deck- though it’s not a permanent fix as you can pay as much colorless mana into explosives to get around Chalice).

However, I believe one of the most important things that this build has going for it is a very subtle one… Looking at most builds you’ll notice that there are 18 lands. 10 Mountains, 4 Ancient Tomb, and 4 City of Traitors. I wouldn’t cut Tomb or Traitors ever as they allow you to have such explosive draws. However, sometimes all you need is another red source (especially when you’re taking mulligans, and doing so aggressively enough to actually have a keep-able hand). I’d read that this deck mulligans like crazy, and during testing I found the same thing to be true. However, I remembered something about extended last year while playing Dredge. Looking at various decks, I’d found that the decks playing 15 lands and only two colors did better than 10 land, or even 14 land variants with 3 colors. This speaks to the heart of the issue of deck building- consistency. For a deck such as this, where you’re not drawing any cards, you have to be able to mulligan aggressively. For my build I played 11 Mountain, 4 Tomb, 4 City. 19 lands- Allowing yourself an extra land doesn’t turn down how explosive the deck can be- it makes it more redundant, more stable. I didn’t have to mulligan as much throughout the entire tournament (of course I had some pretty awful hands in the top 8, but this is possibly due to the fact that I’d sorted out the deck into 4-ofs before the top 8 because I thought they’d deck check us). It’s interesting that many have said that this deck will destroy itself because of the mulligans. Because of the extra land, the deck was both more capable of keeping it’s opener, and I was able to mulligan more aggressively because I wasn’t as worried about having the sort of mana issues that I had while play-testing and gold fishing the deck. In response to the question of why not a fourth Taurean Mauler, the Mauler was the 11th Mountain (which I played as a different picture Mountain to see if ever I was flooded if having that fourth Mauler would have been better). Mauler’s great, but I sided him out in most matches (especially on the draw) because he’s mostly in there as another threat that they have to get rid of. Try out the 11th Mountain.

I feel like the main deck is pretty polished. It doesn’t feel clunky, as many other builds I’d tested with felt like there was a lack of resource management. There always seemed to be something to desire when I can’t cast and equip Jitte while also playing out the other three drop in my hand to get hellbent.

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:52 PM
Now on to the sideboard.

3-4 of Pyroclasm- I’d say a must have. Against many creature token decks, decks that play birds of paradise to rock out a third turn natural order, or just to kill goblins and merfolk. This card rocks, without forcing you to pitch as Pyrokinesis does, and kills multiple goblin tokens.

1 of Blood Moon- Again, sometimes this card just shuts down any and all play by the opponent. It also doesn’t get killed by Swords. Against Team America and most other three to four color decks it’s an auto-win. However, as more start running basics this card’s usefulness will dissipate. Therefore, going to zero in the SB may be the way to go as you already have six Moon effects main deck, and having more options in the SB may be better than another Moon. This means that you’ll usually have the Moon against those decks where it really shines, but you won’t be wasting needed slots for where it is only a marginal game breaker. It’s a metagame choice as well. In a larger field I’d probably cut this next time (as Team America and Landstill didn’t seem to have as great a win percentage in such a large tournament), but for a smaller field you may keep these in.

4 Boil- I believe this makes most grin, as it’s a hoser… however I feel that going to one or two would be better, allowing for Red Elemental Blast perhaps, or other cards entirely. Boil is pretty good, don’t get me wrong. It helps against some main bad matchups- Merfolk (though with vial it isn’t as effective) and U/W landstill (which runs quite a few basics usually). It was also unexpected by my opponents.

2 Umezawa’s Jitte- just the right amount, coupled with Pyroclasm, of hate to kill off little guys and keep on swinging. It gets you there, but only in certain matchups. I sided out two Trinisphere when on the draw for this at certain times too. Open to more slots.

3 Powder Keg- Remember Tarmogoyf? Or Dreadnaught? Or whatever else a threshold/countertop decks decides to play? They’re cheap, they’re fat, and they wreck the deck. I’d almost like to play four but three felt pretty good. As a sidenote, it’s pretty good against Affinity as well. Not as good against Goblins or Merfolk as they usually have varying casting costs. This can also deal with tokens and man-lands that can ruin your day.

1 of Pithing Needle. Explosives ruins this deck. Pernicious Deed..Ruins it. Nevinraal’s Disk could be a potential target as well. Aether vial hurts too, allowing goblins and merfolk to slap you around all day. Sensei’s Top is a tutor that allows them to tutor every turn for a mana. Wasteland can wreck this deck if not kept in check. Man-Lands, Or just naming survival of the fittest can make an opponent a sad panda. I want to run at least one more.

Potential SB (not tested):
Goblin Assault- Might be good against decks running wrath of god/swords/humility. Funny against goblin decks, and potentially workable. Possibly a 1-2 of. Good for multiple Jitte counters I’m sure.

Ingot Chewer might be alright as well, against potential Dreadnaughts, mirrors, or Affinity. Not as needed however.

Pyrokinesis is one card that I really think could give the deck more bang against cards like Tarmogoyf, or even Tombstalker (attacking into them). To be used in addition to Pyroclasm however, as I believe Pyroclasm is better utilization of SB slots. I recommend as a 1-2 of if you’re thinking of putting them in. This is also a potential slot against Sower of Temptation (which is also seems to wreck this deck without an Arc-Slogger out).

Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast- I’d like to have a couple, as a way to gain another edge against blue goodness of course.

Anarchy- Don’t laugh. Humility is a problem (I found that out the hard way). A big problem for this deck. Stop playing Tormod’s Crypt and graveyard hate- You don’t have a problem with those decks really. Blood Moon shuts down 43 land. Trinisphere shuts down Ichroid. Open up your slots and test this out.

Cards that don’t seem as good:
Sulfur Elemental- Might not be as bad as I think he is. Worth trying out. I just don’t think he gives you as much an edge against U/W landstill decks as I’ve heard, but I could be wrong.

Akroma, Angel of Fury- Always seems to be a 2/2. Hard to flip, but potentially dangerous against U/W.

Sword of Fire/Ice- Clunky, clunky. Suffers from the same fate as Akroma. Getting six mana in one turn, or even waiting another turn just to equip this always just feels like you’re suffocating your resources.

Vexing Shusher. With Trinisphere main there doesn’t seem to be a need for a card that requires you to add two plus mana to your mana pool and another turn to cast Arc-Slogger. He also doesn’t help slow down goblins or merfolk, and isn’t a good beater or wall. Playing another few threats (like Mauler), and being aggressive about your playing into counter magic is better than stalling out to try to get something through. Consider how tempo matters, and forcing one’s opponent to pitch another card to Force of Will or to have to return a land via Daze isn’t a bad thing.

As far as deck building, it seems like the odd numbers win out with the deck mostly- three drops and five drops. There’s room for cards like Chalice and Pit Dragon, as they’re set on even numbers, but because of the design I feel like the deck requires three drops. I also feel like the only five drop justifiable to being played is Arc-Slogger. I also wouldn’t want anything more than double red, as triple red for a five drop or double red for a three drop doesn’t fit the deck design.

A note on side-boarding, I’ve not previously thought of side-boarding for a particular play style. It’s good to pay attention how an opponent is playing during his games. If you notice he’s playing a different decklist than those you’ve seen before (like playing a Badlands vs. a Rishadan Port in a Goblin deck), or makes plays in a certain way, you should consider how you’re side-boarding or playing in accordance to those particular match-ups. These sideboard options are more guidelines than an absolute across all matches against a certain deck.

If I were to play again I’d keep the main deck, with this SB:
Sideboard Option #1
3 Pyroclasm
3 Pyrokinesis
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Pithing Needle
1 Boil
2 Red Elemental Blast
3 Powder Keg

*Notice that I’ve cut Moons entirely, for the same reasons mentioned previously. You may consider running the Seventh Moon.

or, an idea to test with:

Sideboard Option #2
3 Goblin Assault
3 Umezawa’s Jitte
4 Pyrokinesis (no Pyroclasm as that would counter your Goblin Assault)
2 Powder Keg
3 Red Elemental Blast

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:53 PM
The Match-ups, in no particular order (using the Sideboard Option #1):

Goblins:
On the Draw:
+2 Jitte +3 Pyroclasm +1 Pithing Needle +3 Pyrokinesis
-4 Trinisphere - 1 Blood Moon –4 Chalice of the Void
On the Play:
+ 2 Jitte +3 Pyroclasm +1 Needle
- 4 Chalice of the Void –2 Blood moon


Fish (Merfolk)- Usually the deck doesn’t have as much problems with Trinisphere as they have good three drops.
+2 Jitte +3 Pyroclasm +1 Needle +3 Pyrokinesis +1 Boil +2 Red Elemental Blast
- 4 Trinisphere –4 Chalice of the Void - 2 Blood Moon –2 Magus of the Moon

Dredge (Ichorid): (keeping in Magus of the Moon May still shut off their lands. Gathan Raiders blocks Ichorid)
+1 Needle, +3 Powder Keg +3 Pyroclasm +3 Pyrokinesis
-3 Mauler, -2 Blood Moon, -4 Rakdos Pit Dragon –1 Seething Song

Dreadstill (Hard Match-up, where you wish you had more Pithing Needles and REB)
+1 Needle +3 Powder Keg +3 Pyrokinesis +2 Red Elemental Blast +1 Boil
-3 Mauler –2 Blood Moon – 4 Magus of the Moon

Landstill (Another Hard Match-up)
+1 Needle +1 Boil +2 Red Elemental Blast
-4 Trinisphere

The Rock
+1 Needle (Deeds and EE after board) +2 Jitte + 3 Pyrokinesis +3 Powder Keg
-4 Trinisphere – 2 Seething Song – 2 Pit Dragon

Ad Nauseam Tendrils (usually should win off of Trinisphere, but here are some ideas)
+ 3 Pyroclasm +3 Powder Keg
-3 Mauler –2 Blood Moon –1 Magus of the Moon

CounterTopGoyf- (Another Hard Match)
On the Draw
+1 Needle +2 REB +1 Boil +3 Powder Keg +3 Pyrokinesis
-4 Trinisphere –2 Blood Moon –3 Taurean Mauler –1 Gathan Raiders
On the Play
+1 Needle +3 Pyrokinesis +1 Boil +2 REB
-4 Trinisphere –3 Gathan Raiders
P.S. Never take out Chalice of the Void against CounterTopGoyf.

Threshold (Hard Match-Canadian- with red version)
The other version is easier to play against as your Blood Moons actually do something. Against this version however, they do nothing and should be cut.
On the Draw
+3 Powder Keg +1 Pithing Needle (wastelands/EE) +2 REB +2 Jitte +1 Boil
-4 Magus of the Moon –2 Blood Moon –2 Trinisphere –1 Seething Song
On the Play
+3 Powder Keg +2 Jitte +1 Boil +2 REB +1 Pithing Needle
-4 Magus of the Moon –2 Blood Moon – 2 Rakdos Pit Dragon -1 Seething Song
*Rakdos Pit Dragon dies to Lightning Bolt, Taurean Mauler can get bigger than Tarmogoyf and can get out of range for Lightning Bolt.

Naya Burn- Getting a guy out quickly isn’t as important as having quality cards that can withstand much of the burn. Trinisphere and Chalice should slow them down. Blood Moon effects also get them off of their colors.
+ 3 Pyrokinesis +3 Powder Keg +2 Jitte
-–4 Rakdos Pit Dragon –4 Seething Song

Aggro Loam
+3 Powder Keg +1 Pithing Needle (for various lands and seismic assault) +2 Jitte +3 Pyrokinesis
-4 Trinisphere –4 Chalice of the Void 1 Seething Song

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:54 PM
Tournament Play
So on with the actual tournament report. I’d like to start out by saying that Dragon Stompy has less of a chance at success if it doesn’t have any byes for something like a Grand Prix. Because I was able to win 3 byes at the Grand Prix Trial I am certain that I was able to bypass some of the more lackluster decks in the format (usually tier 2+ decks seem to beat this deck, as this deck attacks main strategies). Though the deck is a metagame deck to a certain extent, I still feel like it’s a very viable deck choice as it has a very powerful strategy that can just annihilate the field without too much stress. And, as for some reason my match history for Grand Prix Chicago isn’t posted on my DCI page anymore (is anyone else having this problem?), I’ll have to go by memory.

Grand Prix Trial.
Short Version- I played (excluding an intentional draw) 8 rounds and lost 1- to a friend playing U/W landstill. I believe that it can be a decent matchup if you have a good opener, that allows you access to Blood Moon effects, and they don’t draw their basics.
So, 7-1 with Dragon Stompy.

Grand Prix
15 rounds cut top 8. 3 Byes. Then 7-2 day one. The two losses were to Fish and U/w Landstill. Fish went first and was able to overrun me game one. I win game two due to Pyroclasm and Jitte. Game three was close, with him sealing the deal with a stifle on a Jitte counter to attack with mutavault for the win. Against Landstill I lost both games to Humility, which I really had no way of dealing with aside from hoping that I could stall him out with Moon effects. Most of my games throughout the two day tournament only took 20-30 mins, sometimes with very little for me to have to deal with coming from my opponents, so I can’t remember all the match-ups. My last match of the day was against Affinity, and though he was able to get some great starts, I was able to get out Arc-Slogger game one and Powder Kegged his lands and creatures game two. He was really cool though, and hope to say hey again some time.

Day Two
I was able to beat both Fish and U/w Landstill day two. For each I went first and was able to stall them out with either Trinisphere (in the case of Fish), or Blood Moon effects. Against Landstill game two I was able to Boil in response to a Fact or Fiction, and won the game. I also played against a Survival of the Fittest deck. I was able to Pyroclasm away Birds and Rofellos for the win. I had another three close games against a Rock deck that was able to basically rip my hand out and win game two. Game three was probably the closest match of the day. I had been able to stabilize with an Arc-Slogger. He had two card in hand. Earlier in the game he had Sword’s one of my Sloggers away. Previously I’d wanted to use one of his activations to deal two damage to my opponent. Because I forgot however, I was able to make three activations for my next Arc-Slogger to kill his Tarmogoyf in a previous turn. If I’d gone through with my misplay I would have lost the game. Later, the turn I won, a few things happened to my advantage. I played a Magus of the Moon. Throughout the game I had a Chalice of the Void out for one. I attacked with Arc-Slogger. He then plays a Krosan Grip on my Chalice of the Void, tapping three lands. He then plays a Swords to Plowshares on my Arc-Slogger. After a frown, I looked at his lands. He’d tapped out his only plains, mis-tapping after my Magus had hit play. The next turn he could have had the upper hand with Tarmogoyf.

I also played against a Mono Red Burn deck (which because my DCI page isn’t showing the Grand Prix Chicago matches for some reason, I have to assume was Dennis Taylor). In any case, we were soon chatting about our experiences that weekend. I always appreciate when there’s a certain respect and goodwill from my opponents. Game One there was a judge called. Turn One he had played out Rift Bolt, suspending it. I had already played out a Trinisphere, and thinking that the Rift Bolt would have fizzled (as he couldn’t pay up to three on his upkeep), I called a judge. He read the cards, and said that because the Rift Bolt had a converted mana cost of three, he didn’t have to pay the extra mana. Being very tired, and feeling humbled, I said ok as opposed to going to the head judge. I’d been playing Trinisphere to stop Force of Will all weekend, so of course he’d have to pay the three more. This however didn’t matter during the course of game one as his Figure of Destiny got bigger and bigger and won the game. Before game two the same judge came back and told us about his mistake, saying an apology and explaining that Trinisphere doesn’t actually care about the casting cost, only the amount of mana used to produce the spell. After a long day things can sometimes slip. I played out the rest of our games by locking him out with Chalice of the Void on one (game three he had two figures and two lightning bolts in his hand). We were both happy just to be playing though, as it was his first Grand Prix, and my first Grand Prix doing well.

Ahead of the top 8, I had won 9 matches, and lost 2 (excluding an intentional draw and byes). Considering the Grand Prix Trial, this makes the deck 16-3 (excluding intentional draws and byes) before the top 8. With the top 8, as I’m sure most have read, I had some very odd hands. This was perhaps due to the fact that I’d put my deck into 4-ofs before the top 8, thus causing me to have some clumps in the deck (even though I’d tried to shuffle a ton before our match started). Other match history here:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/gpchi09/welcome
(Yes I look pretty awful as I’d barely gotten any sleep the night previous, and needed a comb).
I then won my first round because of a mis-triggered Dark Confidant. Brian was gracious and wished me luck against Nassif. Our other games were essentially blowouts I believe, as he was either able to ravage my hand or I could drop a Moon effect quickly, and had no basics. Game three however he was able to use Dark Ritual to his advantage, as well as his Dark Confidants. I believe Jitte in the match would have helped a lot since being able to hit Confidant or Fiend seems worthwhile, and it also gets my guys even bigger against his Tombstalkers and Tarmogoyfs.

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:55 PM
Last Round- Nassif.
Game One
After a bit of conversation, I start out on the play with a Chalice of the Void on one. He can’t ponder, can’t brainstorm, and can’t play Swords to Plowshares. So I end up playing a big guy and winning. Whew, one down. Had I’d been thinking clearly at that point, I believe that I could have side-boarded correctly, keeping the Chalice in. However, as is sometimes the case (and was the consensus from friends I’d asked how to sideboard before the match), I just went on auto-play. Not that I was playing badly, but I did seem to basically give the game away Game two.

Game Two
I believe I’d mulliganed to Six, and because I was on the Draw, I took out something like 4 Trinisphere, 4 Chalice of the Void and put in 4 Boil, 3 Powder Keg, and 1 Blood Moon.

Now, I believe I misplay here where I try to go off Turn one to lay a Blood Moon. I believe that my only other red card to pitch to Chrome Mox was a threat. However, as the Blood Moon actually staying on the board would have let me get to threats, I’d rather have the Simian Spirit Guide for backup for a Daze, which Nassif had. I think the rationale was that he either had it or he didn’t, and I couldn’t afford to lose a threat in my hand.

Game Three I realized that I should have probably mulliganed away the six card hand from the previous game, as though it had a first turn Blood Moon, it would have left me with zero threats in my hand if I kept the Spirit Guide backup plan in my hand (in the Grand Prix Trial I won the last match of the night because I was able to go off turn one, and had another Spirit Guide in hand to pay for the Daze).

Therefore I was more aggressive with my mulligans for Game Three, going down to Five (my Seven was very slow, with possibly four land and an Arc-Slogger, which could have possibly been a benefit as Nassif’s hand was slow as well, and I could have dealt with his Tarmogoyfs and his Sower). However, I wanted something early. My Five was Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Gathan Raiders, Mountain, City of Traitors, I believe. There were lots of threats, and still an earlier hand than the Seven that I pitched (the Six was missing another land, or I would have kept, as I remember wanting to keep it badly). I played my Mountain, City, then Raiders, hoping for him to counter. He didn’t have the counter anyway, and of course Nassif wouldn’t make such a bad play, but we can hope can’t we? In any case, I played my Magus the next turn, which he Hydroblasted during my end step. There was a misplay here, as I could have dropped another land in my hand before Nassif could respond (I believe it was this game, but could have possibly been the second). This way, I could have possibly played the Pit Dragon without having to use the Seething Song in my hand, and could have tried to race the Sower, Tarmogoyf, and Raiders that Nassif eventually had on his board.

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 03:55 PM
That rounds out my report of the tournaments. Excluding my first round of the top 8, force draws, and byes, that makes the deck 16-4 over the two tournaments. Not too shabby for someone whose constructed rating has tended around 1720 for the last year or so (yes, it’s that bad. I believe it’s due to poor deck decisions). This experience has given me a lot to think about as far as Magic is concerned however. I feel like I grew in many ways: deck design, play, and simply making friends in the community. I still make mistakes, but I came out with few lessons.

Always have fun. Period. For me, I’ve always been stressed out when I play a bigger tournament like a Grand Prix. I was also always hopped up on Amp energy drink, and having to go to the bathroom after every round. A Grand Prix is as much a marathon test for players as anything else. There is a lot of mental fatigue, and for someone like me, playing a deck like Dragon Stompy can lessen that fatigue. I was able to play a deck that was aggressive and shut down much of the field. This allowed me the ability to end my matches with 20+ mins to spare (usually I can concede a game pretty quickly if I know I can’t win). That down time was huge for me leading up to the top 8. Of course, I probably could have used some caffeine by then, as I’d been playing pretty well in the Swiss day two. However, as I’ve found out in life, there are things more stressful than playing Magic. I was able to calm myself down, setting small goals for myself throughout the day. Day One, the goal was to make Day Two. Day Two, I was already pretty happy about being there, and I wanted to win the next few matches. By then, I wanted to be in the money, and it ended up working for my favor to simply regard each match as a separate entity. Win this match, that’s it. There’s nothing on the line. This is an FNM and we’re playing for fun. During my last match with Nassif, it was even mentioned by the Head Judge that he was surprised how calm I was. I was also glad to have met great opponent who had good sportsmanship. I think that helped me be calm, and not concentrate on those match-ups where emotions ran high.

Also, make sure to get to the tournament at a decent hour the night before (or possibly a day before if you’re flying out). That way you get some rest. Try to actually have the cards for your deck at least the night before. As far as my tournament experience has been, getting a car ride the night before the tournament may be a stretch at times (because my friends were trying to get three byes via last chance tournaments the day before, I had to drive by myself to Chicago). It was quite a weekend however, and driving back after my last round gave me a lot of time to think. It was a bit surreal for sure. However, I was especially excited to be invited to the Pro Tour for Honolulu. My testing for the Grand Prix Trial was simply going to my friend Josh’s house a few times while he gave me a couple deck ideas. He told me about Dragon Stompy, and was the one to really push for Trinisphere in the main deck. So much credit goes to him, who also mentioned www.mtgthesource.com for all my Legacy needs. Thanks also for all the people back up in Chicago that let me stay at their place and hang out. I’m hoping to test a bit more for the Pro tour however, and hope that there will be enough people interested in block constructed to help me out. There aren’t a lot of chances usually in the Indianapolis area (at least on the north side), but perhaps we can set up our own tournaments and play test groups. I know MTG online won’t have the last set for Alara Block but two weeks before the tournament so the real world will probably give me some more time to gear up. Thanks for reading-

J. Mink

emidln
04-05-2009, 05:32 PM
Naming LED with Pithing Needle doesn't really accomplish anything because LED only has a mana ability (which Needle won't stop).

Congrats on the finish and thanks for the write up!

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 05:37 PM
I suppose I thought sacrificing the Lion's Eye Diamond and discarding your hand is before the colon, therefore making it an activated ability you can name with Pithing Needle. Putting the Needle in was just another idea I had if you really wanted another advantage against ANTS, but the deck already has a good match-up because of the main deck Trinisphere.

b4r0n
04-05-2009, 05:50 PM
Not to quibble, but Sacrificing the Lion's Eye Diamond and discarding your hand is before the colon, therefore making it an activated ability you can name with Pithing Needle. Putting the Needle in was just another idea I had if you really wanted another advantage against ANTS, but the deck already has a good match-up because of the main deck Trinisphere.

Yeah, it is an activated ability. But it's also a mana ability, which Needle won't stop.

Great report, and congrats on the finish!

Taurelin
04-05-2009, 05:53 PM
Sacrificing the Lion's Eye Diamond and discarding your hand is before the colon, therefore making it an activated ability you can name with Pithing Needle.

Well, you can name ANY card with Pithing Needle, even cards that don't have activated abilities in the first place.

But that's not the point.

LED's activated ability is a mana ability, and therefore it is not stopped by Needle.


406.1. A mana ability is either (a) an activated ability without a target that could put mana into a player’s mana pool when it resolves or (b) a triggered ability without a target that triggers from a mana ability and could produce additional mana. A mana ability can generate other effects at the same time it produces mana.


Apart from that: Thx for the report, and gratz @ your Top8ing.

Deathcloud9
04-05-2009, 06:27 PM
Are you still able to respond to the actual activation of LED? Reading about it, I somehow got to the conclusion that you could respond to it.

Eldariel
04-05-2009, 06:38 PM
Are you still able to respond to the actual activation of LED? Reading about it, I somehow got to the conclusion that you could respond to it.

Nope. Although usually they're responding to their own spell with LED and you can still respond to that spell after LED resolves, but mana abilities cannot be responded to, even if the mana abilities happen at an instant speed.

ScatmanX
04-05-2009, 09:01 PM
Good job on the deck, the results, and the report!

thanks!

0dysseus
04-06-2009, 03:58 PM
Thank you for writing, and congratulations James! Many of us were expecting you to join the conversation. Your ideas are very good and welcome, and your advice about good rest,food and time utilisation between matches is sound. A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body and MtG is something like chess after all, a kind of sport(a more lucky one), demanding you to be a little bit of an athlete in a Tournament such as this.

I would like to ask one thing here and leave the rest of the discussion for the main thread. Exactly how much scouting on other people's decks is allowed in such a big Tournament? Are there specific rules about this, prohibiting certain behaviors? For example, let's say we played a match and finished quickly..could we could go around and peep the other participants' decks? This changes a lot in decision making and I'm not sure if it is very sportsmanlike or if it can be avoided completely.. Please add anything you may find relevant about this and you would like to share, when you find the time to respond. Thanx again n' keep up the good work man!

Jujuhawk
04-06-2009, 04:10 PM
Thank you for writing, and congratulations James! Many of us were expecting you to join the conversation. Your ideas are very good and welcome, and your advice about good rest,food and time utilisation between matches is sound. A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body and MtG is something like chess after all, a kind of sport(a more lucky one), demanding you to be a little bit of an athlete in a Tournament such as this.

I would like to ask one thing here and leave the rest of the discussion for the main thread. Exactly how much scouting on other people's decks is allowed in such a big Tournament? Are there specific rules about this, prohibiting certain behaviors? For example, let's say we played a match and finished quickly..could we could go around and peep the other participants' decks? This changes a lot in decision making and I'm not sure if it is very sportsmanlike or if it can be avoided completely.. Please add anything you may find relevant about this and you would like to share, when you find the time to respond. Thanx again n' keep up the good work man!

People scout a lot. It's kind of a part of the game, especially at things like PTQ's where there aren't infy people, just enough so you can get an idea of what most people are playing.

beastman
04-06-2009, 05:58 PM
Nice report. I was your round 11 opponent playing survival. I was really impressed to hear that you had made top 8. I didn't think Dragon Stompy could do it. Congratulations on the finish.

P.S. Damn you for knocking me out of top 8 with a friggin' trinisphere, I usually laugh at that card.

P.P.S. Nice jedi mind trick on Kowal.

georgjorge
04-07-2009, 10:20 AM
...despite all the lamentations, now it will turn out that all players in the Top 8 are Sourcers / Source readers anyway. Expect Nassif's report (who is posting here as mercenarybdu) soon !

Phantom
04-07-2009, 10:36 AM
Thanks so much for the thorough report! I have to say it's a little surreal to see a deck I co-created in 2006 (under the insanely smart thought process of "I wanna play 8 masticores, Pyrostatic Pillar, and Squee!") do so well in such a huge tourney.

Congrats again on the finish, and nice work with the build!

Peter_Rotten
04-07-2009, 05:53 PM
WOW! What a detailed report - excellent and worthwhile read! Glad to see you posting on the site.

deviant
04-08-2009, 12:16 PM
Good job.

One part of the report left me perplexed though:
"Game three was close, with him sealing the deal with a stifle on a Jitte counter to attack with mutavault for the win. "

Do you mean he stifled the trigger where jitte gets counters or do you mean he stifled you giving the mutavault -1/-1 ?
If it's the latter case why not just re-activate the mutavault for the same effect?

See you in Honolulu then I guess, I'll try to remember to look your pic from the coverage and come and say hello :)

Brad Herbig
04-08-2009, 01:59 PM
Great job with the top 8 and the nice thorough report! I also played Dragon Stompy at the GP, but I seemed to lose to my deck far more often that you :P Our lists were fairly similar, only I ran 2 Jitte Mainboard in place of one Trinisphere and one mountain from your list. I think moving the jittes to the sideboard is the right move; trinisphere did so much better for me than jitte did all day. Great job though!

Deathcloud9
04-09-2009, 10:30 AM
As far as scouting out decks- I walked around a little bit, but wasn't taking any notes on who's playing what. I wanted to get sort of a feel for the field, but not overload myself during the tournament.

To beastman:
It's cool to see different strategies making day two. The fact that Trinisphere slows most every deck down if I'm on the play going turn 1 is a big factor in a ton of matches.

To Phantom:
I'm glad that you helped with the deck design. I believe that there are a ton of ways to make this deck, but I really feel like this is the most consistent build. Also, it's sexy to maximize your mana every turn with the 3 and 5 drops. The deck's a blast to play!

To Deviant:
Sorry for being unclear. Against Merfolk, I had a Jitte (on a 2/2 dude that had just swung in) with only 1 counter left on it (to kill the 1/1 merfolk that gets big when he untaps). To survive at 2 life I had to remove the counter, and he had stifle in his hand- so I died. It was a very close game, though I'm sure I could have played it better at times. Game two he drew into 3 Aether Vials, and I swept the board with pyroclasm. Also, if you'd like to bounce around ideas for block constructed for the Pro Tour I'm looking for people to test with/create lists with.

At Brad:
I too felt like Jitte just isn't that good in certain matches. Drawing two Trinisphere does suck, but you can often pitch one, or you don't care because you've slowed down the opponent enough that they can't recover board position before you win.

deviant
04-13-2009, 11:13 AM
That makes a lot more sense :)

Also, I'd be happy to test with you. We haven't looked much into block constructed yet due to me trying hard to improve my (rather poor) limited skills but now that reborn is out soon it's about time to start seriously testing it.

I'll send you my msn and mail addresses via PM so we can communicate a little more conviniently.

rockout
04-13-2009, 05:21 PM
@Deathcloud: I was the guy who sat across from you during the player meeting. Congrats on the finish. Even though it is kind of late to be congratulating, but it doesn't take the fact away that you got there while I scrubbed.

beastman
04-14-2009, 10:17 AM
To beastman:
It's cool to see different strategies making day two. The fact that Trinisphere slows most every deck down if I'm on the play going turn 1 is a big factor in a ton of matches.

I was prepared when I saw that you were playing DS to be 9-2, then trinisphere hit the table. That is without doubt, the perfect card for the metagame right now, and I fail to see why all lists aren't running them main.

Charlatan
04-16-2009, 08:43 AM
Great Report!

And I can say more, Great article about this deck!

I love this stupid deck!

Congratz for you top 8 in Chicago!

No_Life_No_Future
04-27-2009, 02:27 PM
Ever had trouble with needle not being playable after a chalice for 1?

Deathcloud9
05-04-2009, 11:32 AM
It never came up during the tournament, but I doubt that it'd be as much of a problem, considering how early you can cast needle, etc.

MasterC
05-05-2009, 04:10 PM
I'm asking myself why Firespout isn't considered as a Sideboardcard instead of Pyroclasm.

When I compare them and Pyrokinesis I come to the following conclusions:

Pyroclasm:
Pro: Costs only :2:, Hits Flyers
Con: Only 2 Damage, Sorcery Speed

Firespout
Pro: 3 Damage (negates the effect of one Pumplord)
Con: Costs :3: (not a real issue), hits no flyers (maybe an issue), Sorcery Speed, hits our own Dragons and Raiders (seems like an issue)

Pyrokinesis
Pro: up to 4 damage on single target, instant speed
Con: needs pitch card, kills only a maximum of four creatures

Is the danger of killing your own creatures really that much of an issue against swarming aggro? (you can avoid it with good timing, and a three for one creature deal still isnt bad)