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hungryLIKEALION
03-14-2010, 09:50 PM
Yesterday I got 3rd at the Duel for Duals at Jupiter Games in Vestal, New York. So, the story begins...

February 28th I saw Evangelos Papatsourachas' 14th place deck from GP Madrid and knew it was something that I'd like to play. Since I already picked up four stoneforge mystics for use in my brother's mono-white deck, I figured I'd throw it together and see how it played.

I was pleased with my initial testing of the deck, but I had some ideas for changes. I cut a daze and a land for two copies of Serra Avenger because of how great the card is with equipment, but they never really seemed that great. I also decided that, while Vial was great for sticking in uncounterable stoneforge mystics, Noble Hierarch seemed like it would help the deck a lot more by actually making mana you could use to equip things, and also the exalted really helps because it's an aggro deck. I swapped the 21st land back in and a SoLS for the two avengers and swapped out Vials for Hierarchs, resulting in this deck:


4 Mutavault
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Plains
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Savannah
2 Tundra
3 Tropical Island
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
2 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 FoW
3 Daze
2 Jitte
1 SoFI
1 SoLS


SB:
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Path to Exile
2 Krosan Grip
2 Faerie Macabre
3 Wash Out

I. Love. This. Deck. Now, that may not be that surprising, since it's really just a really fancy aggro deck, but it's just stupidly good. Stoneforge Mystic is a ridiculous creature. This deck has a strong mana base, a strong anti-aggro plan, and can use the equipment to push through almost all defenses Bant CB decks can typically present. It even has 11 counterspells to play against combo. :D It loses hard to pernicious deed, but nobody plays that, so whatever. On to the report!

So the day of the tournament, I'm driving up with my friends Joe Stempo, Kurt Madouse, Matthew Bevenour, and Allen Abenderoth. Joe's driving, and this turns out to be a mistake, because he was what is absolutely the WORST taste in music of all time. On the same CD, I was exposed to Chamillionaire... and Taylor Swift. Not only is Joe Stempo the whitest kid I know, but come on, Taylor Swift? whaaaaaaat?

Alright, moving on. My team looks like this:

Kurt Madouse:Burn
Joe Stempo: Rb Goblins
Matt Bevenour:UG Folk
Allen Abenderoth:Twisted Team
Michael Caffrey:Aggro Loam
Julian Brasci:Mono-White Stax
Joe Milia:UGB Painter Servant Grindstone
Ken Koepplinger:Reanimator

Of the group, Matt did the best after me, going 4-3.

AAAAANYWAY, I get there and say hi to the guys, lend them some cards, and end up talking to Jimirynk. He tells me he's playing UG Folk and asks if I'm playing Zoo again and I say no, and then Nick (I forget his source name but he got 7th) asks if I'm playing Sligh, to which I also say no. I show Rynk my deck since I'm feeling like a nice guy, and he gives it a quick once over and says he likes it before giving it back. He then states that now that we showed eachother our decks, we'll play in round 1. I say "pssssh, that only happens in movies."

Round 1:Jimirynk playing UG Folk
... Fuck. Seriously?

Alright, we sit down and he asks if I want to draw, but I hate drawing this early and say I'd rather play.
Game 1: I win the roll and we both keep 7. I play Trop, Hierarch, go. He plays fetchland and passes. I play t2 Stoneforge with daze protection and go get Sword of Fire and Ice. he wastes my trop and in response I brainstorm, putting the SoFI and a goyf on top. I then cast another hierarch and activate SFM on the end of his turn... only to see that I put the sword back on top with that brainstorm. Wow, first time I ever activate the card in a tournament, and I whiff. We laugh it off and continue,. and I get it in play the next turn and, well, SoFI is pretty brutal against Folk, it turns out...

-2 Ponder, -1 SoLS, +3 Path

Game 2:He's on the play and goes fetch, he plays a vial which I force and then I played an hierarch on my turn. He plays t2 standstill and I daze, but he dazes back. I get in with an exalted Mutavault to put him on 15 and we exchange some force of wills until he gets jitte down on a silvergill adept and beats me to 14 with it. I get two goyfs down and he has 2 mutavaults. I play brainstorm drawing STP and something else, putting Daze and Threads back on top. My double goyfs beat him down to 4, then I STP the Adept. He uses two fetches and returns to 4. On my next turn I draw the threads and attack, my double goyfs threatening lethal. He removes 3 counters from Jitte and goes to 2. He fetches again, equips jitte on a vault, swings, drops LoA for islandwalking abilities, then moves the jitte to the LoA with 4 counters on it, tapping out. I draw the daze. I cast threads on his LoA, he FoWs, and I daze. He dazes my daze three times, but I have enough to pay and still activate my 3/3 islandwalking mutavault, and swing for enough that the jitte does not save him.

1-0 (2-0)

Round 2:Jason playing Belcher

Jason is Rynk's friend I guess, and Rynk asks him to avenge him. ;p Well, I don't know what Jason is playing yet, but it's about to become glaringly obvious...

Game 1:He wins the die roll and mulls to 6. I keep a hand with a daze, hierarch, an SFM, and I think a brainstorm. He makes 8 goblins on turn 1. I can't quite race it.

-2 Threads -1 SoLS +3 Washout

Game 2:I keep a hand with FoW and double brainstorm, and brainstorm into a bunch more counterspells. Goyf provides a quick clock and while he does resolve belcher, the turn before lethal when he tries to desperate ritual into mana to activate it I animate a vault and spellstutter sprite it, sealing the game.

Additional Sideboarding: -4 STP, -1 SoFI, +3 Path +2 K Grip

Game 3:I mull to 6 and keep a hand with a daze. He plays t1 land grant and reveals that he can make 12 goblins on turn 1, but if he attempts it he'll be cold to force of will. He plays the bayou and passes. I play noble hierarch and pass. He plays LED. I let it resolve. He plays Lotus Petal. I let it resolve. He plays Chrome Mox, imprinting Duress. Daze it. He swears, and lets it get countered. He duresses me off the bayou and sees that the only things left in my hand are SFM and another Hierarch, and some lands. He makes 6 goblins next turn after duressing my Jitte, but I draw another SFM and get the other Jitte, which I ride to victory.

2-0 (4-1)

Round 3:Anthony playing UG Folk
Another UG Folk player! We sit down, talk amicably for a minute, and then begin.
Game 1:He wins the roll. He plays t1 Vial and passes. I play hierarch and pass. The game proceeds slowly, but I get a resolved stoneforge mystic and threads one of his two goyfs, turning the game completely around, from me being way behind to me being way ahead. Basically, when the enemy is chumpblocking with his goyfs, you know you're going to win.

-2 Ponder, +2 Path

Game 2:He plays t1 Vial. I have the FoW, but figure he probably has the daze. I decide to just go ahead and FoW the vial, and of course he has the daze for the blowout. I play Hierarch and pass. He then plays standstill, making me a sad panda. I break it, and start to develop my board. I play SFM and he FoWs, I play Goyf and SoLS. Goyf connects wearing the SoLS and I get my SFM back to grab SoFI. SoFI connects and a shoot his LoA, in response he vials in another, which I STP. From there I just ride SoFI to victory.

3-0 (6-1)

Round 4:Matt Mcnally playing NO Bant

Game 1:I win the roll and open on hierarch. He plays t2 CB but I daze. I resolve Goyf which hits him to 16. He fetches for Arbor and casts t4 NO, going to 14. He swordses my goyf putting me to 23, and Progenitus puts me on 13. I equip SoFI to SFM and bash him to 7. He upkeep tops, fetches again and bashes me to 3 before making a goyf, leaving up 1 Plains. I have a daze in hand, so I activate all three of my mutavaults and swing knowing I can protect myself from swords. The game is mine!

-1 SFM, -1 SoLS, -3 Daze, +3 Washout, +2 K Grip

Game 2:I... don't remember this game very well. I remember having a pretty slow hand and getting pretty annoyed at a bunch of counterspells, and him having double goyf for a very quick beatdown.

Resideboarding: +3 Daze, -2 Ponder, -1 Jitte

Game 3:I keep Island, 2x Mutavault, Brainstorm, Spellstutter, Force, Wash Out. I play Island pass and on his EOT brainstorm, seeing Noble Hierarch, Tarmogoyf, SFM. I'm quite disappointed with this and put back the green cards. He is stuck on two lands, but by the time I finally find a green or white source to start playing my spells he's pretty far ahead and I can't catch back up when he has CB and gets 2 blind flips in a row. :( I can handle his tarmogoyfs, but he has Vendilion clique beating me down in the air and I get to Grip CB, but can't find one of 4 plow effects, 3 sfms, or 1 jitte to kill the clique with, or even a SSS to trade with it, so I lose. Fucking fliers. >:(

3-1 (7-3)

Round 5:Mark Quackenbush playing GW Survival

Last time in Vestal I drew with Mr. Quackenbush while playing Supreme Blue + Progenitus because I forgot Rhox War Monk was blue and therefore did not pitch it to FoW his Survival. Luckily, today I have no gold cards to be confused by, and am much more well rested, so such mistakes do not look likely! Also, this is my first ever feature match :D Thanks, Jupiter Games!

Game 1:I win the die roll and play island, go. He plays forest, Hierarch. I play mutavault, go. He plays BoP without making a land drop first, so I Spellstutter it. He then plays another Hierarch and passes back. I beat down for 8 consecutive turns with SSS after getting Jitte with SFM while he still has not made a land drop, meaning I'm able to use the jitte counters to kill his hierarchs and then him. After the game, he shows me his hand: 3x NO, 1x Progenitus, 1x Iona, 1x Loxodon Hierarch.

...

Yeah, That blows. Good thing I spellstuttered that BoP, though. >_>

-3 Daze, -1 SoLS, +2 Grip +2 Washout

Game 2:He plays t1 Survival, but I have the FoW. He swordses my first two Tarmogoyfs, and I swords his goyf. He plays two wilt leaf cavaliers and I try to SFM for the SoLS before realizing I sided it out, so I just get jitte and play a goyf. We sit there for a moment before I get jitte on goyf. I spellstutter a tarmogoyf, then try to spellstutter his Jitte but he swordses the original spellstutter. I activate my mutavault so I still have 2 faeries. Goyf carrying Jitte wins me the game.

(If I'm wrong about how this game went down, We'll soon find out from the video. I'm pretty sure this is how it happened though, but my notes were pretty poor during this tournament.)

4-1 (9-3)

Round 6:Mike Farrel playing Zoo.
Game 1:I win the roll and play an hierarch off a trop. I mention that he's playing my favorite deck when he fetches for a Taiga. He then chains my Hierarch. I untap and play goyf. He plays Goyf and pridemage. I swords Pridemage and threads his goyf. He burns his own goyf to death and I use SFM to get Jitte. Spellstutter sprite makes an appearance to stop a path on my goyf. I... win with Jitte.

-1 Trop, -3 Daze +4 Path

Game 2:I remember my hand from this game very well because it looked very cool: 2 lands, goyf, 2x threads, 2x force. I keep. He plays t1 Lynx and I force it pitching threads because I know letting it resolve will result in 8 damage I'm pretty unlikely to be able to stop. I brainstorm into STP for the pridemage he plays and then threads another goyf. SFM shows up and gets Jitte, and then SoFI makes an appearance. With both equipped to his Tarmogoyf, I win the game pretty handily.

One of his friends comments that he just lost a good matchup, to which I say "You think so?" And he says "Well, I don't think it's as bad as he made it look." Alright, I'll give that one to you, but I don't think this matchup is in Zoo's favor at all.

5-1 (11-3)

Round 7: I draw with Colin Chilbert, who is undefeated.

5-1-1 (11-3)

I'm in 5th after swiss, meaning I have to play Mcnally again.

Quarterfinals:Matt Mcnally playing NO Bant.

Game 1:I win the roll and play fetch go. He plays Noble Hierarch, which I plow. He plays t2 CB, and t3 Vendilion clique taking the sword of Fire and Ice I just searched for. ;\ He lands multiple goyfs and blind flips like a champ, and I lose.

-2 Ponder, -1 SFM, -1 SoLS, -1 Trop +3 Washout, +2 Grip

Game 2:I open with Hierarch and get a second in play and SFM up Jitte and play it. This game lasts a loooong time as I slow roll my jitte counters, removing 1 or 2 per attack after I have 4 on it so as not to get blown out by STP. Eventually he plays his own jitte and kills mine, but exalted NH beats win the game... No joke... Oh, also, at some point during this game I Wash Out his Progenitus, but I don't remember at what point that happened.

Game 3:I play Hierarch and Jitte and beat in quickly for 2 counters before he gets goyf down. I beat in again and get to 4 counters. I Fow his first goyf and but he gets a second down, then a third. I machine gun one with Jitte since they're still only 3/4s. He then plays another. I plow one, and he plays CB. I run a brainstorm into it and then grip it since I know a 1 is on top. We go back and forth a little bit more because I can't get a profitable attack, before he runs out of cards and has to NO with no sort of backup. At this point I have goyf and SSS in play but no equipment. I have FoW, Washout, and STP in hand at this point. He goes and gets progenitus, and I untap and Washout, picking up my Spellstutter to become the blue card for FoW if I need it this turn. He untaps and I think he plays a creature which I plow, then next turn spellstutter his brainstorm, meaning he can't get back in the game.

6-1-1 (13-4)

Semifinals vs. David Price playing New Horizons

I was watching him play earlier in the tournament and really liked his deck. I didn't think it seemed like a great matchup for me.

Game 1:He wins the die roll. I keep fetchland, double hierarch, daze, ponder, goyf. He plays Tundra pass. I play my fetchland and then remember he plays stifle... hm. I pass. He plays a fetchland and passes. I decide to go for it and crack my fetch and he stifles it. I draw and don't draw a land. Awkward. 5 turns later, I still haven't hit a land and he has KoTR and two Goyfs in play. I finally draw a tundra on the turn before lethal and make a joke about all my options, and he reveals he has a daze. So... I lose game 1 without casting a spell. Not the best showing for my new deck, since this is also on camera... DX

-2 Threads, +2 Path. I could have boarded more, but couldn't figure out what to take out, and I was totally tired at this point so I just decided screw it, play with what I have.

Game 2:I don't remember much about how this game played out, but I do remember that I drew both jittes and the SoFI, and three stoneforge mystics. He had multiple tarmogoyfs and KoTRs, so my 1/2s weren't doing much. He had the STP every time I tried to equip the SoLS, resulting in a pretty short semi-finals match for me.

Final Record:
6-2-1 (13-6)

Phew! That one was a monster to write. Unfortunately a lot of the games kinda run together, because the deck has a pretty simple progression:Counter some spells, play some equipment, ride it to victory is how almost every game goes.

But anyway, I got a set of trops and a set of mires, and enjoyed an awesome baconator on the ride home. I blared my iPod to escape from Joe's horrible music and ended up sleeping most of the way home, only to wake up at some point to learn Joe missed an exit and drove 40 minutes out of the way. Great job, Joe! I get home at 3:00. Thanks Daylight Savings Time! :D I get to bed knowing that it was a great day of magic and I am very satisfied with this deck.

Potential things I'd change: I'm considering dropping the SoLS, and I'm considering finding room for Qasali Pridemage. Everything else about the deck is awesome, especially the sideboard which I do not want to change. Washout is a total house and is savage tech.

However, I am kind of annoyed about one thing. When I got home, I realized one of the trops I got is actually ripped. Now, I wouldn't really mind so much, except that I could have taken the Volcanic Islands which I'm presuming are all non-ripped. One of the trops is in beautiful condition, one is SP, one is HP, and the other has a rip in it though, which really bothers me. I'm gonna ask Eli if he's willing to swap me for a non-ripped one next time I come up, and just hope he says okay because I'm kinda miffed that I got a ripped trop for a prize...

PROPS AND SLOPS!

Props:
Jupiter Games/Eli for another awesome tournament.
Stoneforge Mystic. It's awesome.
Richard for still being my mascot.
Washout for beating progenitus for me twice :D
Sword of Fire and Ice for drawing cards. That card is so sick.

Slops:
JOE FUCKING STEMPO. GET BETTER CDS.
Stifle. >:[
Ripped Tropical Islands. Wtf.

Thanks for reading! I'll be writing up a primer for this deck soon, but I'll happily answer any questions now.

talon7331
03-14-2010, 10:04 PM
well done harry, and i agree completely about stempo's music selection, i'll bring my disney cd next time. oh, and no more twisted team, i ran 21 lands and mulled to 5 many times due to not drawing more than 1, and frequently 0. better shuffling? maybe, but i say its not for me.

mchainmail
03-14-2010, 10:35 PM
I'm just glad I met you guys up there... I just need to learn to not waste a week off of classes before a tournament... and not pilot a deck that auto-scoops to dream halls and reanimator.

Tivon
03-15-2010, 01:19 AM
Hey, This is nick. Thanks for the report - but I just want to correct you on what I placed. I actually ended up in 7th place. Minor point, but I don't want anyone flipping out on you for thinking they were the wrong person.

Hopefully I can get one up soon, but I'm trying to remember more details otherwise it probably just won't be worth it

hungryLIKEALION
03-15-2010, 01:27 AM
Ah, my bad. Fixed it now.

I'd like to see your report, I do love Dragonstompy. What'd you end up with for prizes, btw?

Tivon
03-15-2010, 01:30 AM
I ended up with plateaus and verdant catacombs. It kinda stunk being one pick after what I would have liked for not winning the first round of top 8, but iona naming red is enough to make me sad panda, although colin was a blast to play against

hungryLIKEALION
03-15-2010, 01:33 AM
Bah, that is unfortunate. But at least you bagged some playable duals, unlike badlands/scrublands... ;p

Nightmare
03-15-2010, 08:36 AM
I brainstorm into STP for the pridemage he plays and then threads another goyf. SFM shows up and gets Jitte, and then SoFI makes an appearance. With both equipped to his Tarmogoyf,

Cheats. Pro-Blue means Threads of Disloyalty falls off.

herbig
03-15-2010, 09:11 AM
Cheats. Pro-Blue means Threads of Disloyalty falls off.

awkward..

Michael Keller
03-15-2010, 10:14 AM
Nicely done, bud. I got to watch that match with Dave when he Stifled your fetch and left you with a hand of gas and nothing else. I was kind of curious why you didn't crack the fetch turn one; if he has Stifle he has Stifle. By passing the turn you're giving him an opportunity of drawing into Stifle. With Hierarchs in hand, you have to assume turn one he didn't have Stifle and get that acceleration going as soon as possible.

Otherwise, I like the idea. Stoneforge Mystic certainly was huge.

hungryLIKEALION
03-15-2010, 10:56 AM
Nicely done, bud. I got to watch that match with Dave when he Stifled your fetch and left you with a hand of gas and nothing else. I was kind of curious why you didn't crack the fetch turn one; if he has Stifle he has Stifle. By passing the turn you're giving him an opportunity of drawing into Stifle. With Hierarchs in hand, you have to assume turn one he didn't have Stifle and get that acceleration going as soon as possible.

Otherwise, I like the idea. Stoneforge Mystic certainly was huge.

I think I was hoping he'd EoT brainstorm, giving me the option to crack it with him tapped out. You're right though, I should have just gone for it immediately. Honestly, it shouldn't have been as much of a problem as it was, because not drawing land for 6 turns seems pretty unlikely, but still I should have mulliganed the hand. I just wish it could have been my quarterfinals match that was on camera, because that match was awesome D: And this match was not. >.<


Cheats. Pro-Blue means Threads of Disloyalty falls off.

... Woops. ._.; I hadn't even thought of that. I'm going to have to be more careful in the future. Thank you for pointing this out.

TheBirdMan
03-15-2010, 03:02 PM
Congrats on the finish. Also, my first name is Mark not matt :-p

hungryLIKEALION
03-15-2010, 03:06 PM
... >_> Sorry. I wrote it down wrong. XD Fixing it now. >.<

St3B
03-17-2010, 04:20 PM
Two quick questions:
1) Could you state your reasoning/testing experience on why you played Noble Hierarch instead of Aether Vail?
2) How did Washout work out for you? Do you play it as an answer to Progenitus or was there another reason you chose it?

hungryLIKEALION
03-17-2010, 04:29 PM
Sure.
1)Hierarch vs Vial: For this deck, I believe Hierarch is the right call. Basically it comes down to this; Vial can be used to put any creatures you draw into play at instant speed without fear of countermagic. Hierarch gives you extra mana with which to cantrip, pay for equipment, pay for equip costs, protect yourself from daze, and activate mutavaults, while also providing a body to pick up an equipment when necessary and the always amazing exalted bonus. Given that without hierarch there are only 12 creatures in the deck, vial often sits around doing nothing turn after turn and multiples are always useless. However, multiple hierarchs can make even more mana and stack exalted bonuses, something which is absolutely awesome. These are the main reasons I believe hierarch is the correct call for this deck. Especially given the deck's aggro nature, it's better to be able to quickly deploy creatures and equipment with the extra mana than to be able to do it slowly and inconsistently, and the exalted bonuses help immensely when you need to do damage.
2)Washout worked amazingly for me. It is there to answer both Progenitus and Iona. I felt that NO Bant and Reanimator would be very popular decks in the metagame and wanted to play a card that could answer both of these. Washout was the best choice, and I've found it to be great every time I've cast it. You can see in game 3 of my top 8 match I used it to name blue to pick up my spellstutter sprite again so I could counter his brainstorm the next turn too. While not a huge interaction, that's certainly something to think about. I have every intention to continue running washout.

jrsthethird
03-17-2010, 04:53 PM
He plays Chrome Mox, imprinting Duress. Daze it.

Something's wrong here. Mox has to resolve before you can imprint anything. Did he jump the gun or something? Also, nice report.

hungryLIKEALION
03-17-2010, 06:21 PM
Something's wrong here. Mox has to resolve before you can imprint anything. Did he jump the gun or something? Also, nice report.

Yes, I forgot that at the time but when I was talking about it later someone pointed it out. I forget who. Either way, it's his fault for jumping the gun, but we both would have received warnings if a judge had been there.

jrsthethird
03-18-2010, 01:08 AM
How do you get a warning if he doesn't give you a chance to let the spell resolve?

chris_acheson
03-18-2010, 04:01 AM
How do you get a warning if he doesn't give you a chance to let the spell resolve?

I believe it'd be "Failure to Maintain Game State". If you notice your opponent making an illegal action (in this case, exiling the Duress), you're required to point it out.

naarou
03-18-2010, 08:32 AM
gj harry

fun to read as always =)

Enigma
03-18-2010, 12:58 PM
Good Job mr. zoo! I like the list, but would definitaly try to squeeze some Art/Enchantment removal MD. Probably Qasali.

P-M

hungryLIKEALION
03-18-2010, 11:41 PM
I believe it'd be "Failure to Maintain Game State". If you notice your opponent making an illegal action (in this case, exiling the Duress), you're required to point it out.Yeah. That's exactly what it would have been. I noticed the action, but didn't comprehend it as illegal until later when someone pointed it out.


gj harry

fun to read as always =)thx kennifer <3


Good Job mr. zoo! I like the list, but would definitaly try to squeeze some Art/Enchantment removal MD. Probably Qasali.

P-MThanks! I agree about wanting Art/Enchantment removal main, but it's pretty hard to find room. Right now I'm thinking about -1 SFM -1 SoLS for +2 Pridemage, but I won't get to test it until Sunday.