Bardo
10-17-2005, 12:22 PM
(I posted this on The Mana Drain, but thought I'd add it here too.)
Legacy Grand Prix Trial - A Tournament Report
Vancouver, Washington
October 15, 2005
I had planned to bring my updated UWG Threshold deck to the Grand Prix Trial, and had spent a chunk of my spare time in the week running up to the event charting out my sideboard guide for it.
Here's what I almost played:
Blue/White/Green Threshold
aka Three-Color Threshold
aka The deck formerly known as "Super Grow"
by Bardo Trout
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Serum Visions
4 Brainstorm
2 Sleight of Hand
4 Force of Will
3 Daze
2 Counterspell
1 Disrupting Shoal
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Meddling Mage
4 Werebear
3 Mystic Enforcer
2 Nimble Mongoose
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Windswept Heath
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Forest
sb 4 Blue Elemental Blast
sb 3 Seal of Cleansing
sb 2 Tivadar's Crusade
sb 2 Armageddon
sb 2 Phyrexian Furnace
sb 1 Hyrdoblast
But while I was waiting for the bus after work on Friday, I had a sudden change of heart. You see, I'd tested my Threshold deck against a buddy's Vial Goblins at lunchtime earlier in the day and the result weren't encouraging (I went 1-2).
So at the 11th hour, I switched decks and decided to run my modified UW Angel Fish instead. I figured Goblins were going to be everywhere, and I wanted something that could stand up to their smelly onslaught, and still have a reasonable game against the rest of the field. Here's what I registered on Saturday morning.
Blue/White Angel Fish
by Bardo Trout
4 Meddling Mage
4 Galina's Knight
4 Cloud of Faeries
3 Exalted Angel
3 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
4 Force of Will
2 Counterspell
4 Standstill
4 Brainstorm
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Island
2 Plains
sb 4 Blue Elemental Blast
sb 3 Seal of Cleansing
sb 2 Absolute Law
sb 2 Tivadar's Crusade
sb 2 Phyrexian Furnace
sb 1 Umezawa's Jitte
sb 1 Stifle
I've been on the fence with AEther Vial, so it seemed like the logical card to cut when I was looking to make room for four maindeck Galina's Knights, considering I always sideboard Vial out against aggro anyhow. The two Disenchants were added in place of two Counterspells and that served me fine all day. The other cards I dropped were my Old Man of the Sea and Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, one of which became Plains #2, and the other becoming Knight #4.
After I registered the deck I was shooting the breeze with one of the guys there and we decided to play a game to kill some time. He was playing some odd UW Gifts Control with Shackles, Culling Scales, and maindeck Pithing Needles. After 20-25 minutes, I was at 14 and he was at 11, with no end of the game in sight. I mentioned that if we got paired up today, I doubt we'd finish the match in time. (Foreshadowing).
During the announcements we were told 22 players had registered for the GPT and there'd be 5 rounds of swiss and a cut to the Top 8. Pairings were put up and I found my seat: table 7 -- the table I would play at for 3 different rounds in this tournament.
(I didn't take any notes, other than in the T8 where my hastily written scrawl reads: "Worst Fucking Game Ever!!!" So all of this is from memory, with some life totals to help fill in the gaps. If I've misrepresented anything, I'm sorry about that. Feel free to correct inaccuracies if you were there.)
Round 1:
Dan with Suicide Black
I lose the die roll here.
Game 1:
On the draw, I Force of Will his turn-1 Phyrexian Negator played off a Dark Ritual. On my first turn I play my APAC Singapore Island, and he remarks on my good taste, gesturing to his APAC Swamp. Truth be known, I've always been a basic land snob. :) But despite my best efforts, I'm done in by a Carnophage, Sarcomancy token, Dauthi Slayer, and a Nantuko Shade who keeps widdling away at my life. Dan beats me while he's sitting at a healthy 23 life.
(sideboard: this wasn't a match I was planning for. I think I boarded in Jitte #4 for a Galina's Knight)
0-1
Game 2:
I'm not really sure what happended here. My life total reads 18, 17 -- which I think was a hit from a Sarcomancy token and a Force or fetchland. I do remember that I put on the beatz with a Jitte'd Cloud of Faeries and a Mishra's Factory. He concedes at 12 life when he sees where the game is headed.
1-1
Game 3:
I remember getting hammered this game, but I held on as long as I could. On the play, he casts a turn 1 Dark Ritual (which I probably should have countered) and plays Sarcomancy and a Nantuko Shade (which I did Force) with the mana. I have some vague memory of the last turn when my hand was shredded by Cabal Therapy, and then Phyrexian Negator and a bunch of his buddies joined the party. It wasn't pretty.
All the same, Dan was a class act and I wished him the best. He'd eventually make the Top 8 as well.
I'm not off to the best start.
matches: 0-1
games: 1-2
Round 2:
Bret with (Instand Speed) High Tide (LinkXwing at The Source)
Game 1:
I get Bret down to 1 life before he goes off and Brain Freezes me for 51 cards.
0-1
(I scour my sideboard for anything to help and not thrilled when I can only bring in a Stifle for a Galina's Knight. In the future I'd like to bring in at least 2 Arcane Labs.)
Game 2:
With a Meddling Mage naming "High Tide" and 2 Factories working him over, this game is over pretty quickly.
1-1
Game 3:
At 2 life Bret tries to go off, but I'm holding a Counterspell and Force (with a stray blue card, likely Galina's Knight) to put an end to any Storm-based shenanigans. I counter the first High Tide, though I've forgotten what I Forced, and his deck turns to a puddle of crap and he fizzles into oblivion. Good old High Tide.
His life: 19, 17, 16, 7, 6, 3, 2, dead
matches: 1-1
games: 3-3
Round 3:
Don with U/W Control (AngryTroll at The Source)
(at table #7 again)
Game 1:
Somehow Don gets me down to 11, but after an extremely long first game, he concedes at 11 life when I have a Jitte'd Cloud gaining counters and killing his stuff. Things might have gone better for him if he wasn't so greedy at one point: during my EOT he Cunning Wished for Dismantling Blow, tapping out on his turn to play the Blow with Kicker to nuke my Jitte in his main phase. As he was tapped out I calmly countered the spell. I don't know how this game would have went if he left up the mana to counter my counter -- it would have been longer, but beyond that, it's hard to say. Afterwards, however, Don was kicking himself for his misplay (taken the pun, leave the pun, it's up to you.)
1-0
(I don't remember what I sideboard in, but I'm pretty sure it was a Stifle and Jitte #4 for 2 Galina's Knights.)
Game 2:
This was an odd game indeed. By the end of turn 2, Don had one card in his hand after playing out two Chrome Moxes when he was on the play. I'm not sure what he was up to, but after some tricks with Jitte to take down his Exalted Angel, I played my own and rode her to victory. My Meddling Mage naming Swords to Plowshares also helped. Thinking back, things got dicey when he resolved a Chalice of the Void for :2: and my hand looked thusly: Meddling Mage, Cloud of Faeries, Standstill, and Umezawa's Jitte. Luckily, it didn't matter.
2-0
matches: 2-1
games: 5-3
Oh, and I won the challenge round here, so I got a booster of Ravnica.
Round 4:
Nick with techy UW Gifts Control
Game 1:
This is the guy I played when I arrived at the site. Nice fellow. After an extremely long first game, at least a 1/2 hour, an Exalted Angel sticks to the board and she wins the game for me. This is another round that I had a Meddling Mage chanting against Swords to Plowshares. Though I had two in my hand when I played him at the time, it seemed like the right play, and it paid off. By the end of the game, I was up to 3 StP in my hand. He casts at desperate Wrath of God at the end of the game, but I've been holding back some dudes as a precaution.
My life total: 19, 18, 17, 15, 14, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 28, 32 * guess where Angel made her appearance? ;)
His life total: 18, 16, 18, 17, 13, 9, 5, 1, -3
1-0
(sideboard: not sure, I think I brought in 2 Seals of Cleansing for two Galina's Knights. I have to say that Galina's Knight were complete and utter crap in this tournament. Their only good use was as pitch bait for Force of Will. And when they mattered most, nary was one to be found.)
Game 2:
After a complex second game, during which he resolves two Gifts, time is called and he has five turns to kill me or I'll win the match. He pulls it off on the fourth.
These were long and complicated games, but we agreed they were the best games of the tournament for us. Control mirrors are what I enjoy most in the game, sick bastard that I am. :)
matches: 2-1-1
games 6-4
I take the break to get some fresh air and find some water in the Safeway across the street.
Pavement, powerlines, litter, check cashing "stores": life in Vancouver, Washington may well be the sequel to Sartre's No Exit. What a freaking shit hole.
After my walk and some breakfast bars, I catch my second wind and feel surpringly focused and centered.
Round 5:
Chris with URw Landstill
(at table #7 for the last time)
Chris was sitting next to me in round three, playing against another Tide player, so I knew what he was playing. I also knew he had a very pretty deck and must have been playing the game for a long time to acquire his pimped out FBB duals and all. Very nice.
But with all due respect, I was a machine in this round. I was in peak form and feeling very confident; I didn't see how I could possibly lose. Over the course of our two games, he doesn't inflict a single point of damage to me.
Game 1:
My opponent concedes at 8 life with Mishra's Factories pummeling away. It was in this round and the previous one (UW Gifts) where I was pleased with my inclusion of maindeck Disenchant.
(sideboard: +3 Seal, +1 Jitte, +1 Stifle, -1 Disenchant, -4 Galina's Knight)
1-0
Game 2:
My life: 22, 21, 20, 19, 23, 27
His life: 19, 17, 15, 13, 12, 11, 10, 1, 5, 3, -1
Despite my temporary god-like MtG-playing powers, I make a huge mistake when I Stifle his cycling of Decree of Justice when my Standstill is on the board. I just didn't see it. I prevent his soldier tokens from hitting the board, but gets to draw three cards. Doh! But Exalted Angel wins the day anyway.
Seal of Cleansing was gold. The two that I cast held off a Mishra's Factory for a while and then nailed a Standstill and Nevinyrral's Disk when they were needed most.
My record in the Swiss rounds:
matches: 3-1-1
games: 8-4
My tie breakers are good enough to make Top 8 in 7th place.
Top 8.
Here's what made the cut:
Goblins/g
Goblins/w
Goblins (mono Red)
Sligh
Suicide Black
ATS/Survival
UW Angel Fish * me
Countersliver * wtf indeed * I believe this guy goes on to win the whole thing.
At this point in the tournament, I'm pretty much fried. Having consummed only a half-dozen saltines for breakfast and skipping lunch and hitting 6:00 pm in the day, I was out of it at this point. Combine this with some mitigating ailments which I shall only reference by way of anagram in the 'slops' section, things were grim. But I came with the purpose of smashing Goblins and smash I would.
Only, I didn't.
Roy with Goblins/w
You know, I can't even explain what happened here. I suppose being in top form in the previous round somehow compensates for me being so bloody awful this round. It's hard to say.
Game 1.
My draw: tundra, wasteland, brainstorm, jitte, cloud, angel, 1 other useless card.
Here's my first mistake: this is clearly an terrible hand and I should have mulliganed. I foolishly reason that, on the play, I could cast Brainstorm off the Tundra and find some more colored mana. Dumb, I know.
I was also tempted by the two lands, Jitte and Cloud. If I could keep all of those on the board, I figured I'd have a good chance. Those were some of my thoughts, but my thinking was really muddled.
I'm on the play, I lay my Tundra and pass the turn. My opponent, Roy, a stand-up guy, plays Wasteland and wastes my Tundra. In response I tap it for U and cast Brainstorm and look at three cards -- none of which are land.
At this point, I know it's over, but I'm willing to go through the motions and reason my sideboard should carry me through the next two games.
On my turn, I play Wasteland and pass the turn. On his turn he plays a Plateau and drops Mogg Fanatic. At this point the game is really over, because my whole Jitte/Cloud plan just evaporates in an instant.
In any event, for some inexplicable reason -- like I'm dumb, for instance -- I waste his Plateau leaving myself with no lands and a hand full of 2+ drops. I don't remember much from here. I just saw red. And no land. And the distant sound of the ocean and cicadas -- nope, it was just a bunch of small children playing Yi-Go-Oh.
0-1
My sideboard was designed for this match, and after boarding, my deck looks roughly like this:
4 Galina's Knight
4 Cloud of Faeries
3 Exalted Angel
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Absolute Law
4 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Tivadar's Crusade
4 Force of Will
2 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
3 Standstill
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Island
2 Plains
Not that bad against Goblins. My plan here is to stall with BEB, StP, Tivadar's Crusade and Galina's Knight and win with Angel or Jitte/Cloud when I'm in control. A reasonable plan, but just like the previous game my mind and deck just poop out on me.
I get stuck on a Mishra's Factory and basic plans while I'm sitting with 2 BEB in my opening hand. I should have mulled this one too. Furthermore, I somehow forget to Force of Will my opponent's first turn Vial (and I need to keep Vial off the table, since Piledriver can only be BEB'd when he's on the stack, and not in play.) Anyway, it all spirals out of the hand, with me never seeing a single Blue source of mana or an StP. I'm still sore today...
0-2
Out of the four packs of Ravnica that I receive as a prize: some foil land, Dimir Doppelganger, and Tolsimir Wolfblood. :)
The Deck, ideas for the present and future
All in all, UW Angel Fish was very solid, fun to play, and has a good game against most of the decks in the environment. Like other aggro-control decks, Angel Fish is strong against combo, since you're maindecking a lot of relevant disruption and you have much quicker clock than traditional control decks. If you play correctly, your match against Landstill is strong as well; there you just need to focus on forcing your damage through and recognizing when it's safe to cut your losses. And like other control/aggro-control decks, aggro is still your weakest match. I really overcompensated for Goblins, and had my ass kicked by them all the same; but if I were to play this again, I'd replace the Absolute Laws with either Propaganda or Ghostly Prison (which is immune to REB).
I'd also pack a lunch. :)
(Hunger + Delirium = 0 - 2).
The Galina's Knights were complete ass all day. I don't think I even played one, truth be told -- though I sideboarded them out every game, so they weren't often in the deck. Three Exalted Angels were perfect, and while a fourth can be justified, in the maindeck or sideboard, I'm not sure how great of an idea that is. If I played this deck again I'd move Jitte #4 into the maindeck, since I boarded it in almost ever match. For the time being I'd cut Galina's Knight #4 for it.
Cloud of Faeries, who's only in the deck because of Umezawa's Jitte, was strong all day. He's not spectacular on his own, but in conjunction with Jitte, Standstill, Meddling Mage, and Wasteland/Factory, he really shines. I was always happy to draw them.
The real reasons to play this deck are its flexibility and strong win conditions. Exalted Angel is a house of bricks and salvages many otherwise unwinnable games. And Umezawa's Jitte is just a retarded card. Plan C is Factory beatdown, and they also help significantly in your aggro matches too.
If you want to read more about the deck, you can read the article I wrote for Star City Games (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/10025.html).
That's all. Thanks for reading.
Props: All of my opponents for being awesome.
Slops: Flippantly keen modern anarchism.
Legacy Grand Prix Trial - A Tournament Report
Vancouver, Washington
October 15, 2005
I had planned to bring my updated UWG Threshold deck to the Grand Prix Trial, and had spent a chunk of my spare time in the week running up to the event charting out my sideboard guide for it.
Here's what I almost played:
Blue/White/Green Threshold
aka Three-Color Threshold
aka The deck formerly known as "Super Grow"
by Bardo Trout
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Serum Visions
4 Brainstorm
2 Sleight of Hand
4 Force of Will
3 Daze
2 Counterspell
1 Disrupting Shoal
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Meddling Mage
4 Werebear
3 Mystic Enforcer
2 Nimble Mongoose
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Windswept Heath
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Forest
sb 4 Blue Elemental Blast
sb 3 Seal of Cleansing
sb 2 Tivadar's Crusade
sb 2 Armageddon
sb 2 Phyrexian Furnace
sb 1 Hyrdoblast
But while I was waiting for the bus after work on Friday, I had a sudden change of heart. You see, I'd tested my Threshold deck against a buddy's Vial Goblins at lunchtime earlier in the day and the result weren't encouraging (I went 1-2).
So at the 11th hour, I switched decks and decided to run my modified UW Angel Fish instead. I figured Goblins were going to be everywhere, and I wanted something that could stand up to their smelly onslaught, and still have a reasonable game against the rest of the field. Here's what I registered on Saturday morning.
Blue/White Angel Fish
by Bardo Trout
4 Meddling Mage
4 Galina's Knight
4 Cloud of Faeries
3 Exalted Angel
3 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
4 Force of Will
2 Counterspell
4 Standstill
4 Brainstorm
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Island
2 Plains
sb 4 Blue Elemental Blast
sb 3 Seal of Cleansing
sb 2 Absolute Law
sb 2 Tivadar's Crusade
sb 2 Phyrexian Furnace
sb 1 Umezawa's Jitte
sb 1 Stifle
I've been on the fence with AEther Vial, so it seemed like the logical card to cut when I was looking to make room for four maindeck Galina's Knights, considering I always sideboard Vial out against aggro anyhow. The two Disenchants were added in place of two Counterspells and that served me fine all day. The other cards I dropped were my Old Man of the Sea and Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, one of which became Plains #2, and the other becoming Knight #4.
After I registered the deck I was shooting the breeze with one of the guys there and we decided to play a game to kill some time. He was playing some odd UW Gifts Control with Shackles, Culling Scales, and maindeck Pithing Needles. After 20-25 minutes, I was at 14 and he was at 11, with no end of the game in sight. I mentioned that if we got paired up today, I doubt we'd finish the match in time. (Foreshadowing).
During the announcements we were told 22 players had registered for the GPT and there'd be 5 rounds of swiss and a cut to the Top 8. Pairings were put up and I found my seat: table 7 -- the table I would play at for 3 different rounds in this tournament.
(I didn't take any notes, other than in the T8 where my hastily written scrawl reads: "Worst Fucking Game Ever!!!" So all of this is from memory, with some life totals to help fill in the gaps. If I've misrepresented anything, I'm sorry about that. Feel free to correct inaccuracies if you were there.)
Round 1:
Dan with Suicide Black
I lose the die roll here.
Game 1:
On the draw, I Force of Will his turn-1 Phyrexian Negator played off a Dark Ritual. On my first turn I play my APAC Singapore Island, and he remarks on my good taste, gesturing to his APAC Swamp. Truth be known, I've always been a basic land snob. :) But despite my best efforts, I'm done in by a Carnophage, Sarcomancy token, Dauthi Slayer, and a Nantuko Shade who keeps widdling away at my life. Dan beats me while he's sitting at a healthy 23 life.
(sideboard: this wasn't a match I was planning for. I think I boarded in Jitte #4 for a Galina's Knight)
0-1
Game 2:
I'm not really sure what happended here. My life total reads 18, 17 -- which I think was a hit from a Sarcomancy token and a Force or fetchland. I do remember that I put on the beatz with a Jitte'd Cloud of Faeries and a Mishra's Factory. He concedes at 12 life when he sees where the game is headed.
1-1
Game 3:
I remember getting hammered this game, but I held on as long as I could. On the play, he casts a turn 1 Dark Ritual (which I probably should have countered) and plays Sarcomancy and a Nantuko Shade (which I did Force) with the mana. I have some vague memory of the last turn when my hand was shredded by Cabal Therapy, and then Phyrexian Negator and a bunch of his buddies joined the party. It wasn't pretty.
All the same, Dan was a class act and I wished him the best. He'd eventually make the Top 8 as well.
I'm not off to the best start.
matches: 0-1
games: 1-2
Round 2:
Bret with (Instand Speed) High Tide (LinkXwing at The Source)
Game 1:
I get Bret down to 1 life before he goes off and Brain Freezes me for 51 cards.
0-1
(I scour my sideboard for anything to help and not thrilled when I can only bring in a Stifle for a Galina's Knight. In the future I'd like to bring in at least 2 Arcane Labs.)
Game 2:
With a Meddling Mage naming "High Tide" and 2 Factories working him over, this game is over pretty quickly.
1-1
Game 3:
At 2 life Bret tries to go off, but I'm holding a Counterspell and Force (with a stray blue card, likely Galina's Knight) to put an end to any Storm-based shenanigans. I counter the first High Tide, though I've forgotten what I Forced, and his deck turns to a puddle of crap and he fizzles into oblivion. Good old High Tide.
His life: 19, 17, 16, 7, 6, 3, 2, dead
matches: 1-1
games: 3-3
Round 3:
Don with U/W Control (AngryTroll at The Source)
(at table #7 again)
Game 1:
Somehow Don gets me down to 11, but after an extremely long first game, he concedes at 11 life when I have a Jitte'd Cloud gaining counters and killing his stuff. Things might have gone better for him if he wasn't so greedy at one point: during my EOT he Cunning Wished for Dismantling Blow, tapping out on his turn to play the Blow with Kicker to nuke my Jitte in his main phase. As he was tapped out I calmly countered the spell. I don't know how this game would have went if he left up the mana to counter my counter -- it would have been longer, but beyond that, it's hard to say. Afterwards, however, Don was kicking himself for his misplay (taken the pun, leave the pun, it's up to you.)
1-0
(I don't remember what I sideboard in, but I'm pretty sure it was a Stifle and Jitte #4 for 2 Galina's Knights.)
Game 2:
This was an odd game indeed. By the end of turn 2, Don had one card in his hand after playing out two Chrome Moxes when he was on the play. I'm not sure what he was up to, but after some tricks with Jitte to take down his Exalted Angel, I played my own and rode her to victory. My Meddling Mage naming Swords to Plowshares also helped. Thinking back, things got dicey when he resolved a Chalice of the Void for :2: and my hand looked thusly: Meddling Mage, Cloud of Faeries, Standstill, and Umezawa's Jitte. Luckily, it didn't matter.
2-0
matches: 2-1
games: 5-3
Oh, and I won the challenge round here, so I got a booster of Ravnica.
Round 4:
Nick with techy UW Gifts Control
Game 1:
This is the guy I played when I arrived at the site. Nice fellow. After an extremely long first game, at least a 1/2 hour, an Exalted Angel sticks to the board and she wins the game for me. This is another round that I had a Meddling Mage chanting against Swords to Plowshares. Though I had two in my hand when I played him at the time, it seemed like the right play, and it paid off. By the end of the game, I was up to 3 StP in my hand. He casts at desperate Wrath of God at the end of the game, but I've been holding back some dudes as a precaution.
My life total: 19, 18, 17, 15, 14, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 28, 32 * guess where Angel made her appearance? ;)
His life total: 18, 16, 18, 17, 13, 9, 5, 1, -3
1-0
(sideboard: not sure, I think I brought in 2 Seals of Cleansing for two Galina's Knights. I have to say that Galina's Knight were complete and utter crap in this tournament. Their only good use was as pitch bait for Force of Will. And when they mattered most, nary was one to be found.)
Game 2:
After a complex second game, during which he resolves two Gifts, time is called and he has five turns to kill me or I'll win the match. He pulls it off on the fourth.
These were long and complicated games, but we agreed they were the best games of the tournament for us. Control mirrors are what I enjoy most in the game, sick bastard that I am. :)
matches: 2-1-1
games 6-4
I take the break to get some fresh air and find some water in the Safeway across the street.
Pavement, powerlines, litter, check cashing "stores": life in Vancouver, Washington may well be the sequel to Sartre's No Exit. What a freaking shit hole.
After my walk and some breakfast bars, I catch my second wind and feel surpringly focused and centered.
Round 5:
Chris with URw Landstill
(at table #7 for the last time)
Chris was sitting next to me in round three, playing against another Tide player, so I knew what he was playing. I also knew he had a very pretty deck and must have been playing the game for a long time to acquire his pimped out FBB duals and all. Very nice.
But with all due respect, I was a machine in this round. I was in peak form and feeling very confident; I didn't see how I could possibly lose. Over the course of our two games, he doesn't inflict a single point of damage to me.
Game 1:
My opponent concedes at 8 life with Mishra's Factories pummeling away. It was in this round and the previous one (UW Gifts) where I was pleased with my inclusion of maindeck Disenchant.
(sideboard: +3 Seal, +1 Jitte, +1 Stifle, -1 Disenchant, -4 Galina's Knight)
1-0
Game 2:
My life: 22, 21, 20, 19, 23, 27
His life: 19, 17, 15, 13, 12, 11, 10, 1, 5, 3, -1
Despite my temporary god-like MtG-playing powers, I make a huge mistake when I Stifle his cycling of Decree of Justice when my Standstill is on the board. I just didn't see it. I prevent his soldier tokens from hitting the board, but gets to draw three cards. Doh! But Exalted Angel wins the day anyway.
Seal of Cleansing was gold. The two that I cast held off a Mishra's Factory for a while and then nailed a Standstill and Nevinyrral's Disk when they were needed most.
My record in the Swiss rounds:
matches: 3-1-1
games: 8-4
My tie breakers are good enough to make Top 8 in 7th place.
Top 8.
Here's what made the cut:
Goblins/g
Goblins/w
Goblins (mono Red)
Sligh
Suicide Black
ATS/Survival
UW Angel Fish * me
Countersliver * wtf indeed * I believe this guy goes on to win the whole thing.
At this point in the tournament, I'm pretty much fried. Having consummed only a half-dozen saltines for breakfast and skipping lunch and hitting 6:00 pm in the day, I was out of it at this point. Combine this with some mitigating ailments which I shall only reference by way of anagram in the 'slops' section, things were grim. But I came with the purpose of smashing Goblins and smash I would.
Only, I didn't.
Roy with Goblins/w
You know, I can't even explain what happened here. I suppose being in top form in the previous round somehow compensates for me being so bloody awful this round. It's hard to say.
Game 1.
My draw: tundra, wasteland, brainstorm, jitte, cloud, angel, 1 other useless card.
Here's my first mistake: this is clearly an terrible hand and I should have mulliganed. I foolishly reason that, on the play, I could cast Brainstorm off the Tundra and find some more colored mana. Dumb, I know.
I was also tempted by the two lands, Jitte and Cloud. If I could keep all of those on the board, I figured I'd have a good chance. Those were some of my thoughts, but my thinking was really muddled.
I'm on the play, I lay my Tundra and pass the turn. My opponent, Roy, a stand-up guy, plays Wasteland and wastes my Tundra. In response I tap it for U and cast Brainstorm and look at three cards -- none of which are land.
At this point, I know it's over, but I'm willing to go through the motions and reason my sideboard should carry me through the next two games.
On my turn, I play Wasteland and pass the turn. On his turn he plays a Plateau and drops Mogg Fanatic. At this point the game is really over, because my whole Jitte/Cloud plan just evaporates in an instant.
In any event, for some inexplicable reason -- like I'm dumb, for instance -- I waste his Plateau leaving myself with no lands and a hand full of 2+ drops. I don't remember much from here. I just saw red. And no land. And the distant sound of the ocean and cicadas -- nope, it was just a bunch of small children playing Yi-Go-Oh.
0-1
My sideboard was designed for this match, and after boarding, my deck looks roughly like this:
4 Galina's Knight
4 Cloud of Faeries
3 Exalted Angel
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Absolute Law
4 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Tivadar's Crusade
4 Force of Will
2 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
3 Standstill
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Island
2 Plains
Not that bad against Goblins. My plan here is to stall with BEB, StP, Tivadar's Crusade and Galina's Knight and win with Angel or Jitte/Cloud when I'm in control. A reasonable plan, but just like the previous game my mind and deck just poop out on me.
I get stuck on a Mishra's Factory and basic plans while I'm sitting with 2 BEB in my opening hand. I should have mulled this one too. Furthermore, I somehow forget to Force of Will my opponent's first turn Vial (and I need to keep Vial off the table, since Piledriver can only be BEB'd when he's on the stack, and not in play.) Anyway, it all spirals out of the hand, with me never seeing a single Blue source of mana or an StP. I'm still sore today...
0-2
Out of the four packs of Ravnica that I receive as a prize: some foil land, Dimir Doppelganger, and Tolsimir Wolfblood. :)
The Deck, ideas for the present and future
All in all, UW Angel Fish was very solid, fun to play, and has a good game against most of the decks in the environment. Like other aggro-control decks, Angel Fish is strong against combo, since you're maindecking a lot of relevant disruption and you have much quicker clock than traditional control decks. If you play correctly, your match against Landstill is strong as well; there you just need to focus on forcing your damage through and recognizing when it's safe to cut your losses. And like other control/aggro-control decks, aggro is still your weakest match. I really overcompensated for Goblins, and had my ass kicked by them all the same; but if I were to play this again, I'd replace the Absolute Laws with either Propaganda or Ghostly Prison (which is immune to REB).
I'd also pack a lunch. :)
(Hunger + Delirium = 0 - 2).
The Galina's Knights were complete ass all day. I don't think I even played one, truth be told -- though I sideboarded them out every game, so they weren't often in the deck. Three Exalted Angels were perfect, and while a fourth can be justified, in the maindeck or sideboard, I'm not sure how great of an idea that is. If I played this deck again I'd move Jitte #4 into the maindeck, since I boarded it in almost ever match. For the time being I'd cut Galina's Knight #4 for it.
Cloud of Faeries, who's only in the deck because of Umezawa's Jitte, was strong all day. He's not spectacular on his own, but in conjunction with Jitte, Standstill, Meddling Mage, and Wasteland/Factory, he really shines. I was always happy to draw them.
The real reasons to play this deck are its flexibility and strong win conditions. Exalted Angel is a house of bricks and salvages many otherwise unwinnable games. And Umezawa's Jitte is just a retarded card. Plan C is Factory beatdown, and they also help significantly in your aggro matches too.
If you want to read more about the deck, you can read the article I wrote for Star City Games (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/10025.html).
That's all. Thanks for reading.
Props: All of my opponents for being awesome.
Slops: Flippantly keen modern anarchism.