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View Full Version : Santiago, Chile - Week 1.



betterthenandrew
11-11-2011, 07:00 AM
Im a Gringo (From the USA) living in Chile (Here (http://www.marielaherrera.com/uploads/World_Map_Chile.gif) playing in local events. The local meta is reasonably developed but not quite tier one lists. I've played here for a while, but I finally hit the point where I can probably make it on a regular basis, so tonight is week one. The guy that normally wins plays Maverick, and other players have been BUG, reanimator and Goblins. Because people are used to playing short events with little testing they tend to overvalue the cheap wins (Extirpate/Surgical your t1 fetch, hope you don't draw another for example).

Tonight I played rUg Tempo, kinda. List:

4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Snapcaster Mage

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
3 Daze
4 Spell Snare
4 Stifle
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Dismemeber
1 Fire/ Ice
1 Life from the Loam
2 Ponder

4 Tropical Island
4 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
1 Riptide Labratory
7 RUG Fetchlands

BOARD
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
3 Spell Pierce
2 Firesput
2 Engineered Explosives

I was generally happy with my board, but its wan't perfect. I had hoped to play Doomsday Combo tonight, but was short a couple doomsdays :( and figured my RUG list was better untuned that my Doomsday missing list key cards. When I play again I will probably cut some of the blasts, spell pierce does a similar thing but is generally better (Also comes in vs Hymn). I Need to find a balance obviously, specifically I want to be able to trip Removal vs Combo. I'm also not 100% on Leyline over the alternatives (Specifically Tormod's Crypt or Faerie Macabre). its definitely a better game ender, but I can never cast it. I would also like to find room for Grim Lavamancer, Vendillion Clique, a couple bounce spells, and a way to deal with KotR. Also an Ancient Grudge or 2 would come in handy. I am considering cutting either Snapcaster, or switching to a list that can better abuse him (such as BUG). Snap Caster also plays poorly with the cards I mentioned earlier (Clique/Grim)

Anyways, tonight I payed $5 to play, and there were 19 players (I think?, give or take. pretty sure there were 9 tables and a bye). The shop owner said we needed 5 rounds, but that would keep them open too late on a week night so there would be 4 rounds. First place was a judge foil Sword of Fire and Ice, second was a pack of EuroLands. Assumming I did my math right it was possible to have 2 4-0's, one getting a Sword, the other getting a pack of basic lands. If I 4-0'd and got some fucking basics I would probably burn the store down. While milling about before the event I was browsing binders (hoping to Mise a pair of Doomsdays) and someone asked over my shoulder about the Aether Vial. With a stone straight face the owner said $30. I am not joking. Looks like I will not be purchasing singles here.

Round 1 : Mono Black
Game 1 I win the roll, he turn 1 TS's me, taking Spell Snare so I assume I'm getting Hymned. He t2 cracks a fetch*, which I stifle, and he proceeds to do absolutely nothing. His life drops in massive chunks as he discards for 8 cards (Bob, Bob, Vampire Hexmage). The hexmage was nice to see, as it gives away his Hexmage/Dark Depths combo. He never rips a third land (with 1 of his getting stifled) so no more relevant spells.
- Side boarding: -3 Daze, -2 Dismember, +3 Spell Pierce, +2 Engineered Explosives: I didn't play much extended, so I didn't realize Marit Lage was indestructible. Whoops (thats why I had EE). I generally remove the Daze on the Draw, and there is a obvious nonsynergy with Snap Caster (he wants me to get to 4 lands usually, and its you can't alt cast it on the FB). I would normally cut the stifles here, but with his Hexmages it keeps enough value I think. The pierces come in to hit Hymns primarily, but he also has Toughtseizes and likely DI removal, so they have value.-
Game 2 I He is on the play, Mulligans to 5. He thought Seizes t1 and takes EE over Delver, Snapcaster and some Blue cards so I assume hes on the t3 kill with Marit Lage (Still assuming he wasn't indestructible). I get a Delver flipped on t2. He resolves a Jitte (I declined to counter) and my hand is Spell Snare x2, Snapcaster. He eventually Perishes a Goyf, then dies on the swing back to a flashed SCM plus the flying Nacatl.

I finish the round pretty fast and go watch a buddy playing ANT lose to a Rbw goblins. Goblins has 6 men and an onboard kill (not close) and 2 mountains, 1 plains, 1 swamp (not kidding, how is that a real mana base?) and a chalice at 0. Storm has to win now with 2 LED, some rituals, and a preordain in hand, also a land that prevents him from Hellbenting. He has 3 lands untapped (plus some tapped), Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritaul (Threshed) after having cast Gitaxian probe already to goblins 16 life (not sure how that happened, but it did). He basically goes Ritual, Ritual up to BBBBBBUU. He casts Preordain into Ritual, IGG. Ships them both, rips Tutor and dies. I think his play would have been taking the IGG for Probe x2, Cabal Ritual, Cast the Ritual, 2 probes getting the tutor and hopefully a spell he can cast and go for the kill. He doesnt and loses. Game 2 his opponent casts t2 Chalice at 1 and storm doesn't Ritual, ritual, Ad Nas in response. After that he flounders and dies.

Rpund 2: Rbw Goblins
My Opponent is the r1 Goblins player from above. With my removal things aren't looking so bad.
Game 1 He draws 3x Vial. I FOW the first, then Daze the second, I goyf him early. He makes one relevant play-> Sting scourger my Goyf, waste my green source. Of course I mise the second green and he dies pretty fast.
-Sidbeoard: -3 Daze, -1 stifle, +2 EE, +2 Firespout-
Game 2 he has not 1 play, I have a delver. He basically does nothing until he's dead on board and I flash a Snapcaster for the kill and he Faerie Macabres my burn spells, so I Brainstorm into Red mana + Bolt.

Between rounds 2 and 3 I watch some matches and its basically retard fights. Reanimator vs Team America. TA fetches like a person with brain damage (US in play, Hymn in hand, gets Tropical?). Reanimator hard casts Daze when he is about to miss his land drop, opening him self up to getting dazed back. The TA player casts upkeep Surgical Extraction multiple times in the event, even though I explained to him the value of Draw phasing it the week before (if you're doing it for value, which is pretty awful.

Round 3: Team America
Game 1 I just do what Canadian does and he never resolves a relevant spell and i win at 19.
-Sideboard - 3 Daze, + 3 Spell Pierce. I don't like Daze on the draw, and Pierce hits Hymn, which is super devestating here. He also has a bunch of Black removal, and eventually Jace, which all give value to the Pierces.-
Game 2 is more of the same. He thought seizes a Delver, t2 thoughtseize Goyf. He surgicals the goys and something else and I get Loam online and he won't concede to 7 lands (1 Riptide Lab), 3 FOW, Spell Snare, Snapcaster, Brainstorm vs his 1 land in play (Riptide Lab) while hes at 9 life from his fetches/TS/Surgicals. My yard was also super stacked. He dies in short order.

Round 4: Maverick
I don't understand how this is eve a real deck, but apparently it is. Whatever.
Game 1 he cast t2 Stoneforge (Spell Snared), t3 KotR (Bolted), t4 Maze of Ith, KotR (Dismembered), t5 KotR (Dazed), t6 KotR. The 4th KotR got me, then he had a swords for my goyf. i got some flying damage in and died.
-Sideboard -4 something (Ponder and a Daze? and something), +2 Firespout, +2 EE. I don't remember exactly, I was pretty tilted for losing to 4 consecutive Knights. I think stifle keeps value here as wants a bunch of mana and because it answers a SFM. Submerge would be good here.-
Game 2 he mulligans to 4 but has a swords for my first threat. He has a couple surgicals on random shit, but I can't find anything to put pressure on. I get Loam + Waste pretty early, cast it once and continue to draw lands (get every land into play except for a single wasteland with only casting Loam once). Eventually I get him. In one of the last turns they announce 6 minutes remaining in the round and a draw eliminates us both (as there is another guy with 9 points, and I assume he is winning).
Game 3 I'm pretty much wrecking him. Have multiple wastes and a loam (and a pair of stifles, and a FOW) and a 3/2 flier. He's hella dead, but then I see cards from g2 that he exiled that I forgot to shuffle back and Concede. I'm pretty sure he was just dead, and he probably wouldn't have noticed the problem, but thats not how I roll. So I basically just lit a Foil SoFi on fire because im retarded.

I was pretty pissed at myself for being an idiot, won 2 packs and a promo foil Sun Titan. Cracked my packs because I wanted to further my stupidity for the night and ripped the Lilliana I needed for my cube. Mise. Im not sure I will continue with Canadian, as it doesn not like to game vs KotR, which is pretty popular here. im thinking BUG might be better, some thing with WoG or Damnation. Also still considering Doomsday combo.

*My thoughts on Fetchlands in mono colored decks: I'm fairly confident you will lose more games from getting stifled or losing a life to your fetches in monocolored decks than you will win for thinning your decks. Had he had just a swamp (g1, r1) It would have been a real game, but as he got 1 mana stone rained he was out of the game. I saw similar with a mono red player.

**Ok, wrong forum, sorry, its way too early for this**