Bardo
12-30-2009, 03:23 PM
[Report] Third Place with Chalice Control
by Bardo
Every now and again, I wonder, “Why do I like this format?” I’ve come up with a few different answers over the past five years, but when I boil it down, mainly, I like playing with my favorite Magic cards.
Have a look at the fifteen (IRL) Legacy tournaments I’ve played in and take a guess at my favorite cards:
(In chronological order, October 2005 – December 2009):
* U/w Angel Fish (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1816)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2978)
* U/b/g Loam/Psychatog
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3346)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3507)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3611)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3864)
* U/b/g Gro-a-Tog (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4179)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6797)
* U/w/b/g Landstill ( http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/15100_Unlocking_Legacy_The_Tutelage_of_Thich_Nhat_Hanh_Part_1.html) [Part 1]
* U/b/g “Vorosh 2.2” ( http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/15607_Unlocking_Legacy_The_Tutelage_of_Thich_Nhat_Hanh_Part_2.html) (Counter-Top Control) [Part 2]
* U/w/b/g Counter-Top Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10178)
* U/w/g/r “Supreme Blue” (Counter-Top with maindeck Firespout, sideboard REBs)
* U/w/g Counter-Top (Pridemages, RWM)
* U/w/g Chalice Control (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15995) (this report)
I’m far from the best player I know (that would be Frogboy), but blue-based decks have worked well for me and I really enjoy playing them. It's partly about budget; I can’t put together real-life versions of every deck I’d like to play. Mainly though, playing blue decks in tournaments is a preference, since I have other options sleeved-up in my closet that I choose not to play: specifically, Zoo (R/g/w), Monoblack Control, Affinity, U/r Blood Moon Control and U/w Fish (basically, the “NoGoyf” deck which seems like it would benefit significantly by dropping the “No” from that deck’s name/design).
For me, Legacy is and always has been about my two favorite cards in the game:
http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/Brainstorm.jpghttp://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/Force_of_Will.jpg
No doubt, these are powerful cards, but they’re also fun and comforting (for fixing sketchy hands and preventing first-turn blow-outs).
With the release of Zendikar, I’m happy to add another card to my favorite tournament cards of all time.
http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/Misty_Rainforest.jpg
Misty Rainforest is my favorite land in all of Magic; even unseating my previous favorite land in the game: the Almighty Basic Island. I’ve waited ages for a blue/green fetchland and am thrilled I can finally sleeve these up. Even the art is great. Santa was good to me this year and kindly left a playset of Misty Rainforests in my stocking. Thanks, Santa! (You may remember, I had to replace the one my little friend ate (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15142).)
For the tournament at the end of December at Other Worlds, I predicting a field with a concentration of aggro-control, zoo/burn/fast red and combo, so I played a metagamed version of Vorosh 1.x (Chalice Landstill), but dropped the black splash for white. Here’s what I played:
”Chalice Control”
by Bardo
4 Brainstorm
4 Standstill
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
3 Counterspell
3 Spell Snare
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Wrath of God
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Mishra’s Factory
3 Wasteland
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Flooded Strand
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
4 Island
Sideboard
4 Hydroblast
1 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Krosan Grip
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Academy Ruins
In the maindeck, Chalice is like a one-card Counter-Top (CT) which frees up slots (CT takes up seven-eight slots) and requires a lot less brainpower to use effectively than CT, which requires attention to a ton of triggers and operational decisions, turn after turn, game after game, etc. Also, I’ve played Counter-Top in my last three tournaments and wanted to play something a little more idiot-proof today. So I opted for Chalice in place of Counterbalance, which I have a fair amount of experience playing in control shells (http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=32964.0). The rest of the maindeck is traditional U/w control cards in a Landstill shell except for Tarmogoyf, which I’ve long advocated for in Landstill. Here, it plays as a control card in the early game and an efficient win condition in the late game.
To me, one of Landstill’s main weaknesses, in the confines of the timed-rounds of tournament, is its slowness. From experience, you can grind out a slow win G1, tank in G2, and not have enough time to win in G3 in the remaining round time. There Tarmogoyf is a champ. For instance, in Round 4, Game 3 (vs. Wombat-esque W/b board control), time was called (during my opponent’s turn) and I had 3 turns to win with my opponent on 20 (he’d gone up to 24 from StPs earlier in the round). I was able to gain control of the board (and with the help of Chalice to fend off opposing StPs) was able to inflict 29 damage in extra turns (from 20 to 11->1>-9). Decree for a large amount of token can sometimes do this, but Decree is weaker in the early game.
Tarmogoyf also gives Landstill strategic flexibility by not always being forced to play the control role. Round 1, Game 3 (vs. Elves!), for instance, I landed a couple of early Goyfs and played Landstill like I was playing old school Thresh out for blood: bash and counter anything that interferes with the beatdown. Tarmogoyf also lets me play Landstill like I want to play it; sometimes, I just want to drop some beef and smash. Tying up your mana and attacking with manlands for 2-4 a turn just isn’t as satisfying.
Finally, I like to have some time to breathe and chill between rounds. Especially in small tournaments, which are basically testing sessions, I like to talk with my opponent’s after a match to discuss critical lines of play, how we sideboarded and other assorted banter. But when your matches go to time, you lose the opportunity for feedback since you often need to frantically de-sideboard as pairings are being announced. Tarmogoyf gives me time to chill.
Vendilion Clique is similarly a control card that doubles as an evasive beater and also has the benefit of being in Landstill’s primary colors. Just an all-around solid card that fits the theme perfectly.
In the sideboard, the five blue blasts are for the red aggro decks I usually see in the Portland metagame (Goblins, Zoo, Sligh, Burn). As a side benefit, they can be boarded in vs. combo (in place of board control) as Force Food. Don’t laugh, it works.
The five anti-Dredge cards are for a deck that usually smash my decks, but give me a fighting chance in Games 2/3. (I beat LED Dredge in three games in my last tournament, playing Bant Counter-Top, solely because of my 2/2 Crypt/Relic package.)
The Crucibles and Academy Ruins are for the control mirror. They were once in the maindeck but were moved to the sideboard for being too slow against the general field. In a few rounds, I sideboarded out a Wasteland for the Ruins, since Wasteland wasn’t going to do much.
Aside
Testing the deck over the past few weeks, those three maindeck Wastelands have been all sorts of things, such as 2 Nantuko Monasteries / 1 Academy Ruins, 3 basic more lands, 1 Treetop Village / 1 Tolaria West / 1 Maze of Ith and everything in between. In the end, 3 Wasteland seemed fine, though it’s the slot that remains most in the air to me. Interestingly, the first place Bant Landstill deck that won the Nov. 7, 2009 Alternate Universe tournament (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=18295) ran a sweet utility land package of four Mishra’s Factories, two Nantuko Monasteries and one each of Tolaria West, Academy Ruins and Wasteland. End Aside.
Lastly, 2 Krosan Grips, cuz.
Today, Other Worlds had 16 players, many of which are MTS regulars:
* Volt (playing U/g/r Tempo Thresh)
* Jak (playing Survival Bant)
* Yawgmoth (playing High Tide)
* Angry Troll (playing Dredge)
* Frogboy (observing, since he had a 5 o’clock commitment somewhere else)
* Me, Bardo – Hi! (playing Chalice Control)
Zilla was characteristically out of town, on mysterious business with mysterious people. Thanksfully so, I should add; I’ve been avoiding him ever since that time I urinated in his coffee.
There was no Top 8 today, just four rounds, with final standings determining prizes.
My notes from the tournament are worse than usual. Just life total and some scribblings I made between rounds. If you were there, feel free to correct anything I have wrong. Next time, I’ll take better notes, such as my Fact or Fiction reveals and how they were split.
Round One, Game One: Ian Playing Elves!?
I win the roll and we both keep. I play nothing of consequence on turn one and he leads with Forest into Nettle Sentinel. I’m thinking “Oh noes! Elf Combo and I have a slow hand.” I Force (pitching Counterspell) and realize he’s running a different kind of combo (see G3) when the board starts to fill up with a Wellwisher, Elvish Archdruid and assorted guys. Engineered Explosives wrecks his board and I win G1 at a comfortable 17 life (all self-inflicted) with a 4/5 Goyf.
Sideboarding: Out: 1 Wasteland; In: 1 Academy Ruins
Game Two
In a weird twist, I lose this game because of my own Wrath of God, which netted me a prized 3-for-1. It’s the mid-game and I have (more or less) a board of Tundra, Wasteland, Factory and Flooded Strand. His side of the board is filling up with various elves and I’m doing my best to conceal a big smile with my singleton Wrath of God in my hand. I fetch Tundra #2 with my Strand and kill 3 of his guys. This sadly strands a Goyf and EE in my hand as I never see a Trop or fetchland for the rest of the game. He continues to play guy after guy (Llanowar Elves, triple Elvish Archdruid, other stuff) and I can’t EE=3. I stall as long as I can, but am eventually beaten down.
Shuffling up in G3, I’m determined not to lose to Elves. The embarrassment would be too much to deal with.
Game Three
This game goes much better for me. He leads with Forest and Llanowar Elves (“OH NO!!!”). I play fetchland, go. I Spell Snare his second turn play and lay a Factory and Standstill, which he’s forced to break a couple of turns later. A four-spell Fact or Fiction does not help his game either. Ian’s life tally: 20 – 18 – 20 – 14 – 4 – L. Double 5/6 Goyfs are enough.
I should note that he was able to get all of his combo pieces onto the board this game: Intruder Alarm, Imperious Perfect, Llanowar Elves (Llanowar and Perfect tap to make a guy; Intruder Alarm untaps them; Llanowar and Perfect tap to make a guy; etc.). To prevent any sort of shenanigans, I’ve been sandbagging an EE for several turns. It was sad though, the look of absolute joy of his face when he played that Intruder Alarm and passed the turn. It only took one rare from Fifth Dawn to crush his dream and kill a small part of his soul. I felt the need to apologize, and I did, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
1-0
Round Two, Game One: Don Playing Dredge
I win the die roll and keep a fine hand against unknown opposition if only I draw into another colored mana source. Don mulls to 6. I lead with a Rainforest and pass. Don plays City of Brass into Cabal Therapy, naming “Force of Will.” I figure he’s either on Reanimator (:laugh:), Survival (:confused:) or Dredge (:frown:). I reveal a Force, Counterspell, Spell Snare, double Wasteland and a Wrath of God. His turn 2 Tireless Tribe makes me :frown:. I hit his City and a Coliseum with my Wastelands; Don doesn’t see any more mana sources, but has a ton of juice in the graveyard by that point and I’m clobbered by 4x Narcomoeba and too many zombie tokens to handle. Also, I never find a second white source for that Wrath.
Sideboarding: Out: 4 Standstill, 1 Spell Snare; In: 3 Tormod’s Crypt, 2 Relic of Progenitus
I would board out 2/3 of my deck, if I could...
Game Two
On the play, Don keeps his seven while I mull to five and fail to find a Force or any of my sideboard cards in the 18 cards I see while mulliganing into oblivion. I don’t remember much about this one, other than being color-screwed and losing badly to a Dread Return’d (enormous) Grave Troll, zombies, Ichorids, etc.
1-1
We play a couple of more games; Don needs practice playing through hate and I need practice figuring out how to best use hate (optimal times to crack Crypt and Relic). In one practice game I lead with double Crypt; Don Therapies and then nukes both of my Crypts with an Ancient Grudge + flashback shortly after that. Hmm, that sucked.
Between Grudge and Pithing Needle, Leyline of the Void seems appealing these days. I realize Ray of Revelation exists, but that card doesn’t seem to get much play in Legacy. My sideboard for the next tournament may look like this:
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Krosan Grip
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Path to Exile
Sure, I won’t have BB to play Leyline from my hand on turn 4 if I draw into it, but that’s not likely to matter, you know?
Round Three, Game One: Brad Playing U/w/r Good Stuff
I lose the die roll and see Brad is playing a “Good/Mediocre Stuff” in blue/white/red, cards like Divining Top, Wrath, Lightning Bolt, StP/Path, etc. Turn 2, he casts Luminarch Ascension, which I vaguely remember from the Zendikar spoiler but need to read. Thankfully, it costs 2 and Spell Snare leaps out of my hand to counter it. Otherwise, the game proceeds badly for him, with me drawing a shit-ton of cards off Standstill and Facts and eventually winning with Big Tarms.
Sideboarding: Out: 2 Chalices, 1 Wasteland; In: 2 Hydroblast, 1 Academy Ruins
Game Two
Our second game goes a lot longer than the first as he keeps drawing into removal, but I keep drawing into card draw, maintain a fistful of spells and play my threats out slowly. I don’t remember much about this game, except that it took some time, but I never felt like I was going to lose.
Round Four, Game One: Matt Playing W/b Board Control
I lose the roll again, which is fine this time since I’m playing the pseudo-mirror and his deck is slow. Matt’s deck appears to be 22-24 land (Swamps, Plains and duals), 18-22 removal spells and 8-10 win conditions. As it goes, I can’t keep any damage sources on the board and just lose.
Sideboarding: Out: 1 Wasteland; In: 1 Academy Ruins
While sideboarding and shuffling, I change how I think about this game: I’m the control deck, not the beatdown.
Game Two
I don’t remember anything about this game, but it must have been weird. Here are the life tallies:
Matt: 20, 19, 17, 14, 18, 15, 11, 10, 12, 10, 6, 3, 6, 4, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, L
Me: 20, 19, 15, 14, 12, 9, 3, W
Go, go, manlands!
Game Three
This game was painful. I land an early Clique and Matt reveals the following hand: Swords to Plowshares, Diabolic Edict, Wrath of God, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Vindicate. Fuck. He has about as much removal in his hand as I have win conditions in my entire deck. The first thing I think: “We’re drawing this game. That sucks.” Thing is, I want to win.
While he has buckets of removal, I have card draw and counters. My best bet: Chalice for the win. My first gets Disenchanted, the second Vindicated, but the third sticks and makes his Swords and Paths useless. Through this, I hit him with double Fact and a Standstill or two.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this report, time is called on his turn, and I bring him from 20 to –9 in extra turns (a 6/7 Goyf + double Factory). Whew.
At 3-1, losing only to the 4-0 player (Don), I have enough points to make third place, which gives me enough store credit to pick up some cards for my EDH deck (see below).
Overall, the deck was fine, with only the Wrath and Wastelands likely to be cut. I’m thinking the Wrath will become Clique #2 with one of the Wastelands becoming Academy Ruins with Wasteland #3 moved to the sideboard.
Honestly, I can’t say that Chalice is better than Counterbalance. In fact, I’m pretty sure Counterbalance is better, but I wanted to play something different that was easier to play. Dredge is still a problem but the new sideboard should help and come in against decks running Entomb, LFTL, etc.
Props
* Other Worlds Games (http://www.otherworldsgames.com/) at 6327 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, Oregon for hosting weekly, $5 EDH (Sundays, 12 pm) and Legacy Tournaments (Sundays, 3 pm). The shop owner, Ron, is very cool and a great host.
* Jak (Tommy) – One of the nicest guys I’ve met. He also gave me a very fair deal on some EDH cards I desperately needed last month. Thanks, man!
That’s it. Selah. If you were there, feel free to post what you played and how you did.
Appendix.
Current EDH deck. Cards in red on my want list to replace cards they’re next to.
“Vorosh” (for Elder Dragon Highlander)
by Bardo
General
Vorosh, the Hunter
Spells
Hurricane
Skeletal Scrying
Ancestral Visions
Berserk
Crop Rotation
Sensei’s Divining Top
Skullclamp
Sol Ring
Stifle [Innocent Blood]
Armillary Sphere
Counterspell
Copy Artifact
Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Edict
Regrowth
Seal of Primordium
Sylvan Library
Twincast
Infest [Damnation]
Darksteel Ingot
Jace Beleren
Krosan Grip
Pernicious Deed
Putrefy
Rhystic Study
Timetwister
Whispersilk Cloak
Fact or Fiction
Liliana Vess
Mind’s Eye
Misdirection
Tidings
Mindslaver
Spitting Image
Creatures
Cosi’s Trickster [Scute Mob]
Coiling Oracle
Nezumi Graverobber
Sakura Tribe-Elder
Tarmogoyf (post-surgery, after the dog ate it)
Willbender
Withered Wretch
Yixlid Jailer
Eternal Witness
Fleshbag Marauder
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Lorescale Coatl
Old Man of the Sea
Trygon Predator
Trinket Mage
Forgotten Ancient
Mystic Snake
Wickerbough Elder
Wonder
Acidic Slime
Genesis
Morphling
Mulldrifter
Shriekmaw
Vesuvan Doppelganger
Arcanis, the Omnipotent
Draining Whelk
Land
Tropical Island
Breeding Pool
Simic Growth Chamber
Underground Sea
Dimir Aqueduct
Bayou
Golgari Rot Farm
Flooded Strand
Misty Rainforest
Polluted Delta
Scalding Tarn
Terramorphic Expanse
Windswept Heath
City of Brass [Flooded Grove]
Rupture Spire
Lonely Sandbar
Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
Remote Isle [Vesuva]
Snow-covered Island
Tolaria
Tolaria West
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
Snow-covered Forest
Treetop Village
Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
Urborg
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Academy Ruins
Strip Mine
Volrath’s Stronghold
Maze of Ith
2 Island
3 Forest [Llanowar Reborn, Overgrown Tomb]
1 Swamp
by Bardo
Every now and again, I wonder, “Why do I like this format?” I’ve come up with a few different answers over the past five years, but when I boil it down, mainly, I like playing with my favorite Magic cards.
Have a look at the fifteen (IRL) Legacy tournaments I’ve played in and take a guess at my favorite cards:
(In chronological order, October 2005 – December 2009):
* U/w Angel Fish (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1816)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2978)
* U/b/g Loam/Psychatog
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3346)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3507)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3611)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3864)
* U/b/g Gro-a-Tog (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4179)
* U/w/g Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6797)
* U/w/b/g Landstill ( http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/15100_Unlocking_Legacy_The_Tutelage_of_Thich_Nhat_Hanh_Part_1.html) [Part 1]
* U/b/g “Vorosh 2.2” ( http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/15607_Unlocking_Legacy_The_Tutelage_of_Thich_Nhat_Hanh_Part_2.html) (Counter-Top Control) [Part 2]
* U/w/b/g Counter-Top Threshold (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10178)
* U/w/g/r “Supreme Blue” (Counter-Top with maindeck Firespout, sideboard REBs)
* U/w/g Counter-Top (Pridemages, RWM)
* U/w/g Chalice Control (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15995) (this report)
I’m far from the best player I know (that would be Frogboy), but blue-based decks have worked well for me and I really enjoy playing them. It's partly about budget; I can’t put together real-life versions of every deck I’d like to play. Mainly though, playing blue decks in tournaments is a preference, since I have other options sleeved-up in my closet that I choose not to play: specifically, Zoo (R/g/w), Monoblack Control, Affinity, U/r Blood Moon Control and U/w Fish (basically, the “NoGoyf” deck which seems like it would benefit significantly by dropping the “No” from that deck’s name/design).
For me, Legacy is and always has been about my two favorite cards in the game:
http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/Brainstorm.jpghttp://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/Force_of_Will.jpg
No doubt, these are powerful cards, but they’re also fun and comforting (for fixing sketchy hands and preventing first-turn blow-outs).
With the release of Zendikar, I’m happy to add another card to my favorite tournament cards of all time.
http://www.wizards.com/global/images/magic/general/Misty_Rainforest.jpg
Misty Rainforest is my favorite land in all of Magic; even unseating my previous favorite land in the game: the Almighty Basic Island. I’ve waited ages for a blue/green fetchland and am thrilled I can finally sleeve these up. Even the art is great. Santa was good to me this year and kindly left a playset of Misty Rainforests in my stocking. Thanks, Santa! (You may remember, I had to replace the one my little friend ate (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15142).)
For the tournament at the end of December at Other Worlds, I predicting a field with a concentration of aggro-control, zoo/burn/fast red and combo, so I played a metagamed version of Vorosh 1.x (Chalice Landstill), but dropped the black splash for white. Here’s what I played:
”Chalice Control”
by Bardo
4 Brainstorm
4 Standstill
3 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
3 Counterspell
3 Spell Snare
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Wrath of God
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Mishra’s Factory
3 Wasteland
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Flooded Strand
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
4 Island
Sideboard
4 Hydroblast
1 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Krosan Grip
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Academy Ruins
In the maindeck, Chalice is like a one-card Counter-Top (CT) which frees up slots (CT takes up seven-eight slots) and requires a lot less brainpower to use effectively than CT, which requires attention to a ton of triggers and operational decisions, turn after turn, game after game, etc. Also, I’ve played Counter-Top in my last three tournaments and wanted to play something a little more idiot-proof today. So I opted for Chalice in place of Counterbalance, which I have a fair amount of experience playing in control shells (http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=32964.0). The rest of the maindeck is traditional U/w control cards in a Landstill shell except for Tarmogoyf, which I’ve long advocated for in Landstill. Here, it plays as a control card in the early game and an efficient win condition in the late game.
To me, one of Landstill’s main weaknesses, in the confines of the timed-rounds of tournament, is its slowness. From experience, you can grind out a slow win G1, tank in G2, and not have enough time to win in G3 in the remaining round time. There Tarmogoyf is a champ. For instance, in Round 4, Game 3 (vs. Wombat-esque W/b board control), time was called (during my opponent’s turn) and I had 3 turns to win with my opponent on 20 (he’d gone up to 24 from StPs earlier in the round). I was able to gain control of the board (and with the help of Chalice to fend off opposing StPs) was able to inflict 29 damage in extra turns (from 20 to 11->1>-9). Decree for a large amount of token can sometimes do this, but Decree is weaker in the early game.
Tarmogoyf also gives Landstill strategic flexibility by not always being forced to play the control role. Round 1, Game 3 (vs. Elves!), for instance, I landed a couple of early Goyfs and played Landstill like I was playing old school Thresh out for blood: bash and counter anything that interferes with the beatdown. Tarmogoyf also lets me play Landstill like I want to play it; sometimes, I just want to drop some beef and smash. Tying up your mana and attacking with manlands for 2-4 a turn just isn’t as satisfying.
Finally, I like to have some time to breathe and chill between rounds. Especially in small tournaments, which are basically testing sessions, I like to talk with my opponent’s after a match to discuss critical lines of play, how we sideboarded and other assorted banter. But when your matches go to time, you lose the opportunity for feedback since you often need to frantically de-sideboard as pairings are being announced. Tarmogoyf gives me time to chill.
Vendilion Clique is similarly a control card that doubles as an evasive beater and also has the benefit of being in Landstill’s primary colors. Just an all-around solid card that fits the theme perfectly.
In the sideboard, the five blue blasts are for the red aggro decks I usually see in the Portland metagame (Goblins, Zoo, Sligh, Burn). As a side benefit, they can be boarded in vs. combo (in place of board control) as Force Food. Don’t laugh, it works.
The five anti-Dredge cards are for a deck that usually smash my decks, but give me a fighting chance in Games 2/3. (I beat LED Dredge in three games in my last tournament, playing Bant Counter-Top, solely because of my 2/2 Crypt/Relic package.)
The Crucibles and Academy Ruins are for the control mirror. They were once in the maindeck but were moved to the sideboard for being too slow against the general field. In a few rounds, I sideboarded out a Wasteland for the Ruins, since Wasteland wasn’t going to do much.
Aside
Testing the deck over the past few weeks, those three maindeck Wastelands have been all sorts of things, such as 2 Nantuko Monasteries / 1 Academy Ruins, 3 basic more lands, 1 Treetop Village / 1 Tolaria West / 1 Maze of Ith and everything in between. In the end, 3 Wasteland seemed fine, though it’s the slot that remains most in the air to me. Interestingly, the first place Bant Landstill deck that won the Nov. 7, 2009 Alternate Universe tournament (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=18295) ran a sweet utility land package of four Mishra’s Factories, two Nantuko Monasteries and one each of Tolaria West, Academy Ruins and Wasteland. End Aside.
Lastly, 2 Krosan Grips, cuz.
Today, Other Worlds had 16 players, many of which are MTS regulars:
* Volt (playing U/g/r Tempo Thresh)
* Jak (playing Survival Bant)
* Yawgmoth (playing High Tide)
* Angry Troll (playing Dredge)
* Frogboy (observing, since he had a 5 o’clock commitment somewhere else)
* Me, Bardo – Hi! (playing Chalice Control)
Zilla was characteristically out of town, on mysterious business with mysterious people. Thanksfully so, I should add; I’ve been avoiding him ever since that time I urinated in his coffee.
There was no Top 8 today, just four rounds, with final standings determining prizes.
My notes from the tournament are worse than usual. Just life total and some scribblings I made between rounds. If you were there, feel free to correct anything I have wrong. Next time, I’ll take better notes, such as my Fact or Fiction reveals and how they were split.
Round One, Game One: Ian Playing Elves!?
I win the roll and we both keep. I play nothing of consequence on turn one and he leads with Forest into Nettle Sentinel. I’m thinking “Oh noes! Elf Combo and I have a slow hand.” I Force (pitching Counterspell) and realize he’s running a different kind of combo (see G3) when the board starts to fill up with a Wellwisher, Elvish Archdruid and assorted guys. Engineered Explosives wrecks his board and I win G1 at a comfortable 17 life (all self-inflicted) with a 4/5 Goyf.
Sideboarding: Out: 1 Wasteland; In: 1 Academy Ruins
Game Two
In a weird twist, I lose this game because of my own Wrath of God, which netted me a prized 3-for-1. It’s the mid-game and I have (more or less) a board of Tundra, Wasteland, Factory and Flooded Strand. His side of the board is filling up with various elves and I’m doing my best to conceal a big smile with my singleton Wrath of God in my hand. I fetch Tundra #2 with my Strand and kill 3 of his guys. This sadly strands a Goyf and EE in my hand as I never see a Trop or fetchland for the rest of the game. He continues to play guy after guy (Llanowar Elves, triple Elvish Archdruid, other stuff) and I can’t EE=3. I stall as long as I can, but am eventually beaten down.
Shuffling up in G3, I’m determined not to lose to Elves. The embarrassment would be too much to deal with.
Game Three
This game goes much better for me. He leads with Forest and Llanowar Elves (“OH NO!!!”). I play fetchland, go. I Spell Snare his second turn play and lay a Factory and Standstill, which he’s forced to break a couple of turns later. A four-spell Fact or Fiction does not help his game either. Ian’s life tally: 20 – 18 – 20 – 14 – 4 – L. Double 5/6 Goyfs are enough.
I should note that he was able to get all of his combo pieces onto the board this game: Intruder Alarm, Imperious Perfect, Llanowar Elves (Llanowar and Perfect tap to make a guy; Intruder Alarm untaps them; Llanowar and Perfect tap to make a guy; etc.). To prevent any sort of shenanigans, I’ve been sandbagging an EE for several turns. It was sad though, the look of absolute joy of his face when he played that Intruder Alarm and passed the turn. It only took one rare from Fifth Dawn to crush his dream and kill a small part of his soul. I felt the need to apologize, and I did, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
1-0
Round Two, Game One: Don Playing Dredge
I win the die roll and keep a fine hand against unknown opposition if only I draw into another colored mana source. Don mulls to 6. I lead with a Rainforest and pass. Don plays City of Brass into Cabal Therapy, naming “Force of Will.” I figure he’s either on Reanimator (:laugh:), Survival (:confused:) or Dredge (:frown:). I reveal a Force, Counterspell, Spell Snare, double Wasteland and a Wrath of God. His turn 2 Tireless Tribe makes me :frown:. I hit his City and a Coliseum with my Wastelands; Don doesn’t see any more mana sources, but has a ton of juice in the graveyard by that point and I’m clobbered by 4x Narcomoeba and too many zombie tokens to handle. Also, I never find a second white source for that Wrath.
Sideboarding: Out: 4 Standstill, 1 Spell Snare; In: 3 Tormod’s Crypt, 2 Relic of Progenitus
I would board out 2/3 of my deck, if I could...
Game Two
On the play, Don keeps his seven while I mull to five and fail to find a Force or any of my sideboard cards in the 18 cards I see while mulliganing into oblivion. I don’t remember much about this one, other than being color-screwed and losing badly to a Dread Return’d (enormous) Grave Troll, zombies, Ichorids, etc.
1-1
We play a couple of more games; Don needs practice playing through hate and I need practice figuring out how to best use hate (optimal times to crack Crypt and Relic). In one practice game I lead with double Crypt; Don Therapies and then nukes both of my Crypts with an Ancient Grudge + flashback shortly after that. Hmm, that sucked.
Between Grudge and Pithing Needle, Leyline of the Void seems appealing these days. I realize Ray of Revelation exists, but that card doesn’t seem to get much play in Legacy. My sideboard for the next tournament may look like this:
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Krosan Grip
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Path to Exile
Sure, I won’t have BB to play Leyline from my hand on turn 4 if I draw into it, but that’s not likely to matter, you know?
Round Three, Game One: Brad Playing U/w/r Good Stuff
I lose the die roll and see Brad is playing a “Good/Mediocre Stuff” in blue/white/red, cards like Divining Top, Wrath, Lightning Bolt, StP/Path, etc. Turn 2, he casts Luminarch Ascension, which I vaguely remember from the Zendikar spoiler but need to read. Thankfully, it costs 2 and Spell Snare leaps out of my hand to counter it. Otherwise, the game proceeds badly for him, with me drawing a shit-ton of cards off Standstill and Facts and eventually winning with Big Tarms.
Sideboarding: Out: 2 Chalices, 1 Wasteland; In: 2 Hydroblast, 1 Academy Ruins
Game Two
Our second game goes a lot longer than the first as he keeps drawing into removal, but I keep drawing into card draw, maintain a fistful of spells and play my threats out slowly. I don’t remember much about this game, except that it took some time, but I never felt like I was going to lose.
Round Four, Game One: Matt Playing W/b Board Control
I lose the roll again, which is fine this time since I’m playing the pseudo-mirror and his deck is slow. Matt’s deck appears to be 22-24 land (Swamps, Plains and duals), 18-22 removal spells and 8-10 win conditions. As it goes, I can’t keep any damage sources on the board and just lose.
Sideboarding: Out: 1 Wasteland; In: 1 Academy Ruins
While sideboarding and shuffling, I change how I think about this game: I’m the control deck, not the beatdown.
Game Two
I don’t remember anything about this game, but it must have been weird. Here are the life tallies:
Matt: 20, 19, 17, 14, 18, 15, 11, 10, 12, 10, 6, 3, 6, 4, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, L
Me: 20, 19, 15, 14, 12, 9, 3, W
Go, go, manlands!
Game Three
This game was painful. I land an early Clique and Matt reveals the following hand: Swords to Plowshares, Diabolic Edict, Wrath of God, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Vindicate. Fuck. He has about as much removal in his hand as I have win conditions in my entire deck. The first thing I think: “We’re drawing this game. That sucks.” Thing is, I want to win.
While he has buckets of removal, I have card draw and counters. My best bet: Chalice for the win. My first gets Disenchanted, the second Vindicated, but the third sticks and makes his Swords and Paths useless. Through this, I hit him with double Fact and a Standstill or two.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this report, time is called on his turn, and I bring him from 20 to –9 in extra turns (a 6/7 Goyf + double Factory). Whew.
At 3-1, losing only to the 4-0 player (Don), I have enough points to make third place, which gives me enough store credit to pick up some cards for my EDH deck (see below).
Overall, the deck was fine, with only the Wrath and Wastelands likely to be cut. I’m thinking the Wrath will become Clique #2 with one of the Wastelands becoming Academy Ruins with Wasteland #3 moved to the sideboard.
Honestly, I can’t say that Chalice is better than Counterbalance. In fact, I’m pretty sure Counterbalance is better, but I wanted to play something different that was easier to play. Dredge is still a problem but the new sideboard should help and come in against decks running Entomb, LFTL, etc.
Props
* Other Worlds Games (http://www.otherworldsgames.com/) at 6327 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, Oregon for hosting weekly, $5 EDH (Sundays, 12 pm) and Legacy Tournaments (Sundays, 3 pm). The shop owner, Ron, is very cool and a great host.
* Jak (Tommy) – One of the nicest guys I’ve met. He also gave me a very fair deal on some EDH cards I desperately needed last month. Thanks, man!
That’s it. Selah. If you were there, feel free to post what you played and how you did.
Appendix.
Current EDH deck. Cards in red on my want list to replace cards they’re next to.
“Vorosh” (for Elder Dragon Highlander)
by Bardo
General
Vorosh, the Hunter
Spells
Hurricane
Skeletal Scrying
Ancestral Visions
Berserk
Crop Rotation
Sensei’s Divining Top
Skullclamp
Sol Ring
Stifle [Innocent Blood]
Armillary Sphere
Counterspell
Copy Artifact
Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Edict
Regrowth
Seal of Primordium
Sylvan Library
Twincast
Infest [Damnation]
Darksteel Ingot
Jace Beleren
Krosan Grip
Pernicious Deed
Putrefy
Rhystic Study
Timetwister
Whispersilk Cloak
Fact or Fiction
Liliana Vess
Mind’s Eye
Misdirection
Tidings
Mindslaver
Spitting Image
Creatures
Cosi’s Trickster [Scute Mob]
Coiling Oracle
Nezumi Graverobber
Sakura Tribe-Elder
Tarmogoyf (post-surgery, after the dog ate it)
Willbender
Withered Wretch
Yixlid Jailer
Eternal Witness
Fleshbag Marauder
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Lorescale Coatl
Old Man of the Sea
Trygon Predator
Trinket Mage
Forgotten Ancient
Mystic Snake
Wickerbough Elder
Wonder
Acidic Slime
Genesis
Morphling
Mulldrifter
Shriekmaw
Vesuvan Doppelganger
Arcanis, the Omnipotent
Draining Whelk
Land
Tropical Island
Breeding Pool
Simic Growth Chamber
Underground Sea
Dimir Aqueduct
Bayou
Golgari Rot Farm
Flooded Strand
Misty Rainforest
Polluted Delta
Scalding Tarn
Terramorphic Expanse
Windswept Heath
City of Brass [Flooded Grove]
Rupture Spire
Lonely Sandbar
Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
Remote Isle [Vesuva]
Snow-covered Island
Tolaria
Tolaria West
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
Snow-covered Forest
Treetop Village
Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
Urborg
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Academy Ruins
Strip Mine
Volrath’s Stronghold
Maze of Ith
2 Island
3 Forest [Llanowar Reborn, Overgrown Tomb]
1 Swamp