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everythingitouchdies
06-30-2010, 04:27 PM
Tournament Report for Knightware Legacy Dual Lands Tournament on 6/27/10

There were 51 players and it was six rounds of swiss cut to top 8. Prize Support ended up being a total of 24 dual lands dispersed to 12 players, which is pretty amazing for a tournament with a $20 entry. I split 1st and 2nd with Alexander Kwan (sorry if I spelled it wrong) who was playing merfolk, and probably would have been the only match of the day where I would have faced force of will. This amazes after playing vintage for so many years, and in a way was sort of refreshing, but in another way really felt like cheating as I sat behind this deck.
I decided after playing my first legacy event three weeks prior with a homebrew blue green aggro control deck that I wanted something more broken, something more on the vintage scale, so I instantly started testing decks that seemed very familiar to me, ANT and Belcher. I was underwhelmed with both of them, and felt like I could not pilot either to victory and needed to find something else. Then I started reading and reviewing Reanimator, a deck that was so familiar to me, as I used to play it in extended once upon a time, and is not such a far cry from my signature vintage deck, Dragon, as it used to be the sideboard plan. The only big difference being that the creatures are different, I started familiarizing myself with them, though I should have done a little better, because in top 4 I discovered that inkwell leviathan has trample, which I disregarded because in the rare cases where my opponent has had creatures against him in the past they have always had islands too.
Anyway, I put the deck together and instantly found what I felt was missing from the format, shy of aggro decks like zoo, and that was a deck that was efficient and consistent. I was amazed at how easy it developed and executed, and I knew I had found my deck. Then all of a sudden they go and ban mystical tutor, much to my chagrin, but as my day proved I used the card very little anyway. I think the deck will survive, or at least will survive for me. I still love it even without mystical tutor.
I copied down all the lists from star city and started comparing them, and eventually settled on what seemed pretty standard, including the main deck coffin purge, which got sided out every game and never once was cast, as I never played the mirror or ichorid or anything where I wanted or needed it. I tweaked the board to my own place of comfort, and I set to playing. Just before the start of the tournament, while filling out my decklist, I cut Minamo from my deck and added a second swamp. I was happy I did, though in the future I would probably only run 3 underground seas and run 4 basic lands given the same card pool. This was my list:

The deck:

4x Underground Sea
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Misty Rainforest
2x Polluted Delta
1x Island
2x Swamp

2x Iona
1x Terastodon
1x Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1x Inkwell Leviathan
1x Blazing Archon

4x Entomb
4x Force of Will
4x Brainstorm
4x Mystical Tutor
3x Daze
1x Coffin Purge
1x Echoing Truth

4x Careful Study
4x Thoughtseize
4x Reanimate
4x Exhume

Sideboard:

4x Pithing Needle
2x Show and Tell
1x Realm Razor
1x Bloodghast
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Karakas
1x Wipe Away
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Coffin Purge
1x Ravenous Trap
1x Animate Dead

Overall I have no real complaints, though I never cast the Coffin Purge, never boarded in Realm Razor (though there was a land deck, I didn’t face it) slaughter pact or any of the graveyard hate. I only boarded in the arbor and bloodghast against eva green, but I misplayed and lost a game because I failed to use it. The Karakas was a stupid idea for the most part, riding on the legend rule, but no one had it against me all day, and I am not sure many people had one to use against me at all.
I decided on 4 thoughtseize and 3 daze instead of the other way around because the card is just amazing, but as I faced no blue decks all day it probably didn’t really matter much. It helped a ton in game two, but any time I thoughtseized in game one I felt like I got stuck taking a creature that would end up exhumed, even though it never mattered much. My guys were always better.
I took some notes but am largely piecing this together from memory, so my match details I will leave vague. Better to not elaborate than be wrong and upset someone who already had to lose to me in the first place.


Round 1: Arnold with Dragon Stompy

I lost the die roll which became the theme of the day. He played a mountain turn one and then I thoughtseized him and took his trinisphere that would have been played turn two. He played two magus of the moon that he ripped off the top, and I played the entomb I ripped off the top. I exhumed Sphinx of the Steel Wind, and the following turn he drops demigod of revenge. My one creature out muscled his 4, and I won the game with a narrow margin.
Game two was easier, and more fun for me, though I am sure much less fun for him. He played a turn one trinisphere and I forced it, then on my second turn entombed and reanimated Iona on red. I paired her two turns later with an exhumed Sphinx for the win. The round took maybe fifteen minutes, leaving me plenty of time to do some trading.
I was unacquainted with this deck, and my impression was that while it could be good, it was not as good as reanimator. I ended up echoing this thought a lot throughout the day.


1-0

Round 2: Aya with Natural Order Elves

I face d Aya at the prior tournament, my first legacy event, and her NO elves deck went to time with my blue green control mess, mostly because neither of us knew all the cards and we were playing slower than we probably should have been trying to keep everything right. She was a pleasant opponent and I was happy to talk to her, but a little bummed for her that she was stuck facing me after winning her first round, since I was pretty sure she was playing the same deck and it was going to be an easy win. I try not to be too cocky, and when I feel it I do my best not to show it, and she once again proved to be a wonderful opponent and the games were fun and light, even if very one sided.
Game one she went first, as became the standard for my opponents, and played an elf on turn one. I played a land and passed, and she played a priest of titania, which I responded to with brainstorm, and then let resolve. On my turn I cast careful study, pitched Sphinx and Blazing Archon, and it took two turns to get them both on board. She cast natural order the next turn, and while progenitus sat unable to attack I flew overhead for lethal.
Game two takes longer, and I take a few hits from elves, but after a thoughtseize to ensure that she does not have faerie macabre and a daze on relic to make her tap out, I entomb Archon and exhume him. She gets back the vanquisher I made her discard, but cannot handle archon, who wins in four swings. Afterwards we discuss sideboarding, and she shows me she boarded in 6 cards, a combination of faerie macabre, tormod’s crypt, and relic. I am fairly certain she played ichorid the next round and won with the same board plan.

2-0

Round 3: Ben with Goblins

As we sit down, my opponent makes a clever comment about our names being the same, which for some reason I take to be a comment about our decks being the same, and instead of saying anything that made any sense I started ranting about how I did not get to test the mirror and it should work to his advantage, especially if he is properly sideboarded. I think for a moment he just thought I was crazy, and if he did he was definitely right. We roll the die and he wins to keep the trend alive, and I do it again, commenting on how winning the die roll is good in the mirror, and cementing in his mind I am either just crazy or a jerk, with me still completely oblivious. He goes first and plays a mountain, and I am baffled.

I turn one thoughseize him and see a grip of goblins. I suddenly realize what it was that he probably said and how much of a lunatic I have been being, but try to shrug it off and continue to be pleasant, especially in light of what is coming. On his third turn he plays warchief, which I could daze, but I choose not to because I am about to cast exhume. I play entomb for sphinx EOT and exhume it, and the next turn I careful study pitching Archon and exhume again for the win.
Game two is a little closer, and I turn one thoughtseize again, seeing a tormod’s crypt, which I take, noting a lightning two warchiefs and a gempalm incinerator. Even if he would have played the crypt I had needle in my hand, so it really didn’t matter, and I get Iona up on two. She went the distance.

3-0, so far the only time I did anything with Mystical tutor was pitch it to FOW.

Round 4: Shai with Eva Black.

This is my disaster round. My opponent is aware of what I am playing, and I determine game one that he is playing mono black because I am unfamiliar with this deck, and the only cards I saw were a thoughtseize that I forced (pitching mystical) and a nantuko shade that did nothing once sphinx came up the next turn off reanimate. A turn later I exhume Iona, and he scoops before I swing.
Game two I board properly, my opponent mulligans to 5, and I should have a field day. I thoughtseize on one and end up once again with sphinx on three. I have both verdant catacombs and polluted delta in hand, and play delta with him at six and me ready to win. He plays gatekeeper and I cant get dryad arbor off my mistake, and I get beat to death by shade and goyfs.
Game 3 I mul to five and get double thoughtseized and a goyf beats me to death. I am dwelling on losing on game two, congratulate my opponent, who wants to know what went wrong so I explain, and he is even more relieved with his victory. We discuss top 8 and such and I wish him luck, ready to smash the next player I face into complete oblivion, hopefully with Terastodon.

Round 5: Barack with Mono White

I preface this round with telling my opponent that I lost on purpose because I wanted to play against his deck, and he seems to almost believe me, and I am pretty sure I saw him playing earlier in the day and he was playing mono white STAX. Turns out it wasn’t STAX, it didn’t have the artifacts, and it was a slower deck which while it gave him two wins also gave him two draws.
I see from my game notes that I must have won the die roll, even though I was pretty sure this didn’t happen until top 4. But I had a land in play when he played double chrome mox and knight of the white orchid to get a free land, and then played another, and then didn’t cast anything with his two mana. It looks like I proceeded to exhume after entombing Iona, and he stressed out about it trying to decide for a few minutes if he had any answers, and finally scooped. For some reason I assumed he was thinking about Karakas, so I boarded mine in since I didn’t want it to stay in my board all day.
Game two is funny. He plays first, and his turn one play is chalice for one off chrome mox. He is delighted with this play, though my hand has exhume in it, as well as show and tell. It also has Iona. Turn one I play swamp and pass. Turn two he plays a guy, knight I think, and passes. Turn two for me I draw the second Iona and just discard her instead of playing a land. He thinks I am stuck on one land so he armageddons after attacking but without playing another guy. I have three lands in grip, and two turns later have Iona, who goes the distance once again. No Terastodon, but still amazing.
I apologize to my opponent for a being a bit of a jerk this round, we discuss magic a little, and about his good match ups and how the deck would be better if more aggressive. I go back and look at the match sheet and start doing math and am pretty certain I will be able to draw in next round, and head off to Poquito Mas for some amazing burrito consumption.

Round 6: Daniel with ANT

I am almost certain I can draw in, so I do. I probably should have played this to be sure, but I was fortunate enough to be right and I spent this round trading. On top of this being a great tournament I also was able to trade for a considerable amount of legacy stuff, which was refreshing.


Top 8: Hank with Zoo

At this point I am starting to feel insane from lack of sleep, drinking too much the night before, and not realizing it is around nine and that I have been playing cards all day while trying to keep up on the soccer games and the end of the Dodgers vs. Yankees series. I am exhausted, but delighted to be in top 8, and a little excited to try a run at zoo.
He plays first and I make a disaster of our first game, using careful study to get Inkwell Leviathan out instead of entomb to get Iona, though he probably would have had me anyway with a combination of lightning bolts and three creatures. I did not play well, but I don’t think would have mattered too much if I did.
Our second game is absurd. I calmly tell him I would like to play game three so I am just going to try and win this one to make it interesting. I play turn one land and needle on faerie, with FOW in hand for any other hate. I entomb and reanimate Iona on white turn 2, and show and tell sphinx into play turn 3. I did my job and we go to game three.
Game three he plays taiga and passes, and I play thoughtseize seeing 2 bolts, pridemage, goyf, faerie macabre, and plains. I take faerie and he bolts me. I play land and pass, he plays pridemage and I choose not to force it because I don’t want to pitch show and tell. I show and tell archon into play, then two turns later get Iona on white, and get there for the win.

Top 4: Kevin with Zoo

I play first, this time to my disadvantage because I don’t know what he is playing. I see a mountain and I wonder how goblins made it, thinking the other decks couldn’t. I never would have imagined zoo might settle for turn 1 mountain pass, though I am not sure he knew what I was playing either. I entomb and reanimate Iona, and call red. He plays savannah and paths my Iona, and I get my swamp. I play a third land, and entomb then exhume Terastodon. He plays Nacatl, and I attack all in instead of leaving a guy back. He fetches, goes to one, attacks me, bolts me, and fireblasts me. I lose. Sigh.
Game two is testament to my tiredness and further display of my combat phase failures. I end up with Iona on white, then show and tell in Inkwell, and I attack for lethal but think I lose, because I am unaware of the fact that when inkwell actually gets blocked he still gets to trample. This game ends up being close when I had the win sitting on board the turn prior, adding to the tension of the match.
We play game three and if I remember correctly this one goes pretty easy for me, with Iona and sphinx or Iona and archon. I have no notes at all being totally fried, I cant even find a place where I kept track of life. My opponent played well, and lost only to the sheer might of my deck in spite of its pilot. He was still pretty happy, getting two dual lands, and I suddenly felt the same way, so when everyone started pressuring for us to split I was completely interested.

Top 2: Split

I know he wanted to play, and if it was not almost eleven I may have done it, though I am not sure it would have been as easy as he expected. At the end of the day it was better to split so I could get home and crash, and doing so with an Underground Sea and Tundra made it better. Congrats to everyone that won something, and thanks to everyone I played as well as the store for running such an amazing tournament.

PanderAlexander
07-03-2010, 02:14 AM
Nice job man, and I gave you the better underground ;)

everythingitouchdies
07-03-2010, 02:50 AM
Nice job man, and I gave you the better underground ;)

Nice job as well. For what its worth, I decided to keep it, and instead put my FBB one in my trade stuff. I just hate signed cards.