Silverdragon
05-19-2008, 08:59 PM
Disclaimer: As always I took very few notes outside from life totals so there will surely be some stuff I remembered wrong. In an attempt to make the report more entertaining I tried something new for the comments between rounds (extra warning: may be a bit, uhm, colorful at times). If you don’t like it just skip ahead to the next bold and underlined text because that’s where the next round starts.
So it seems like I finally don’t suck anymore getting 5th place after scrubbing out the last two months. Of course, with only 25 people, placing in Top8 is statistically about 8% more likely anyway so the math tells us I still suck but I won’t complain :wink:
For reference here is the list I piloted:
4 Arc-Slogger
4 Rakdos Pit Dragon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Sulfur Elemental
4 Umezawa’s Jitte
4 Chrome Mox
3 Seething Song
2 Blood Moon
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
11 Mountain
Sideboard
4 Pyroclasm
4 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Blood Moon
2 Powder Keg
I played 24 creatures and 19 lands total to increase the stability and threat density of the deck without sacrificing too much power and I think it worked alright. I wanted to play some Taurean Maulers and a singleton Akroma instead of the Sulfur Elementals but couldn’t get the cards before the tournament. Right now I’m undecided whether I should actually get them because Sulfur Elementals won me at least 2 games that Maulers would not have.
The only change I might do is to replace the Crypts in the board with Pyrokinesis or Trinisphere but I’m still a bit unsure about my Ichorid and Loam matchups and therefore liked to have a bit more hate in the board against them to be on the safe(r) side.
Enough with the discussing let’s get to the pillaging and burning.
Our (admittedly small) raid arrived at the location very early which gave our necromancer (my friend Joachim) time to re-forge an ancient weapon known by many as Solidarity with which he sought to defeat his unprepared opponents. I paid my tribute to the gods (aka the tournament organizers) and started trading and scouting. After a long wait it was finally time to slay my first victim.
Round 1 versus Martin with Fish
Martin wins the die roll after two ties and elects to play.
Game 1
I do what I always do against unknown decks and mulligan into oblivion. My first seven are not explosive enough (my first play would’ve been a turn 3 Sulfur Elemental) and the six and five card hands contain no manasources. However for a four card hand I’m keeping a pretty solid opener with turn 2 Gathan Raiders. Sadly they are soon sent farming and a Dark Confidant hits me enough to negate the life gained from the now peaceful Raiders. I decide to throw a freshly drawn Sulfur Elemental at Bob to prevent my opponent from gaining more card advantage but the damage is already done. Even though I do draw more threats they are all answered while a Jötun Grunt takes away my life in four point chunks. When I’m at 8 life both our graveyards are empty but Martin has double Stifle to keep the white giant alive long enough to finish me.
I board in the last two Moons and two Kegs but I can’t remember what I boarded out (probably 3 Jitte and 1 Slogger but I’m not sure)
Game 2
This was the first game I won thanks to Sulfur Elemental.
I keep my opening hand and Martin mulligans once. I start with Powder Keg and Martin fetches for some basic lands during his early turns. A Dark Confidant gets handled by Keg and a mysterious Morph turns out to be a farmer. After that I put down Blood Moon and Simian Spirit Guide. The Guide beats for some time until Martin finds a Spectral Lynx. We both play draw, go for a few turns and after a second Lynx comes down my opponent starts the beatdown with one of them. Luckily I draw Sulfur Elemental and the now 3/0 Lynxes go to the graveyard. More creatures are traded but various two-power critters keep nibbling at Martins lifetotal until he drops to zero.
Game 3
My deck does what it is supposed to do (smash face) his deck doesn’t. Martin decides to keep a very threat heavy hand (which means very mana light) and I mulligan into a first turn Chalice, second turn Magus of the Moon, third turn Jitte plus equip hand. By the fifth turn Martin finds the second manasource which would’ve allowed him to “go off” with all the critters in his hand but I already have a hellbent Dragon threatening lethal damage so he scoops.
Right next to me my friend Joachim was ambushed and even though he fought bravely with his scarce resources (4 lands over 2 games) his opponent (none less than my arch nemesis Harald) tortured Joachim’s soul relentlessly with the fearsome Counterbalance Threshold. Not once but twice did Harald hit the Achilles heel of his opponent, burying Joachim with a few swift strikes (turn 1 SDT, turn 2 Counterbalance, double counter backup anyone?). After this display of severe cruelty I vowed to avenge my friend and went off to behead my next foe.
Round 2 versus Oliver with ArmageddonStax
Oliver wins the die roll and will begin game 1.
Game 1
I get a very good start with a Spirit Guide carrying Jitte to hit for six a turn while Blood Moon makes Oliver’s Horizon Canopies and Flagstones pretty useless. When he’s down to six life he musters a Magus of the Tabernacle but it has to trade with my pumped Spirit Guide so a Sulfur Elemental can come in for the last few points of damage.
Because I’ve seen Horizon Canopy I board the last two Blood Moons and the Kegs come in too. Out go the almost useless Chalices.
Game 2
I again have to mulligan down to four but my four card hand really is better than all the hands before. I have a Sulfur Elemental that beats Oliver down to 11 but he lands a Smokestack early and I’m soon lost in a cloud of smoke. When I sacrifice my Blood Moon Oliver is able to tap his Horizon Canopy for white mana to play Magus and after I topdeck a Seething Song with only 2 mana on the table I scoop for game 3.
Game 3
For this game I look at my opening hand and start giggling because that hand is just stupid. Oliver mulligans once and I start the game with Mountain, Chrome Mox (imprint Spirit Guide), Chrome Mox (imprint Arc-Slogger), Seething Song, Arc-Slogger, pass. I’m looking up to my opponent and say “That’s how you go hellbent”. Oliver seems surprised and amused but not really scared. After I get him down to 12 he plays his third land and reveals the solution. An Oblivion Ring takes care of my Slogger after I decide to shoot two more damage bringing Oliver down to 10. My next plays are a morph that comes in for two more before a Magus of the Tabernacle stops it, a Sulfur Elemental getting in for three (while the Raiders are blocked and killed by the 3/5 Magus), bringing my opponent down to five and yet another Slogger for which I tap out. In desperation Oliver plays Ravages of War and a Tabernacle complementing his Magus of the Tabernacle so with “only” 2 Chrome Moxen I have to decide which of my two remaining creatures will survive the taxing but unfortunately for Oliver he has to tap an Ancient Tomb to cast Ravages so he goes down to 3. This means that I can simply use the two red mana from my Moxen to kill Oliver with Slogger Shocks while all the Tabernacle triggers are still on the stack.
Round 2 was over and that meant time for the feast. This time I ate a huge plateful of Bavarian sausage salad in honor of my comrade Joachim who after rising from the dead accomplished to at least exhaust his giants-leading opponent enough for a tie (1-1-1 against AggroLoam). Alas sometimes mighty weapons of the past are buried for good reason.
After a good portion of meat I was ready to strike down my next enemy so valiantly I walked down to meet him.
Round 3 versus Fabian with UGB Threshold
I lose another die roll and decide to draw first.
Game 1
We get deck checked and have to spend the first seven minutes waiting
Deck check is over and neither of us has anything wrong so we can start to shuffle again (of course the judge sorted our decks) and about 10 minutes into the round we look at our opening hands.
Fabian does not play any basic lands besides a single Forest so when Blood Moon hits he just tries to survive for some more turns but ultimately dies to a horde of fatties.
I board just like against Fish but cut more Sulfur Elementals I think.
Game 2
An early Wasteland on Ancient Tomb keeps my mana in check and I have a very hard time dealing with a growing Tarmogoyf. When Fabian has lethal damage on the board I topdeck a worthless Seething Song so we’re off to a deciding game 3.
Game 3
Nothing to see here folks. I’m on the play and try a first turn Chalice at 1. Fabian looks clearly displeased but lets it through. I get one hit in with Sulfur Elemental then he shows me his hand of seven one-mana spells and clearly frustrated goes on to concede.
Fabian acknowledges that he should have mulliganed but we both agree that this matchup is really bad for him.
Aside: Sadly I don’t remember much of games 1 and 2 but if I could I’d give you a transcript because Fabian played really well during these games and I really want to give him credit for being an outstanding player.
After shortly celebrating another glorious victory I went looking for my comrade and alas he ran into yet another powerful dark sorcerer who was able to outwit and destroy him (1-2 against Eva Green variant).
With a queasy feeling I walk towards my next challenge for glory, having already seen the unholy weapon my next opponent chose for today I knew it would be an uphill battle for me.
Round 4 versus Manuel with GB Rock
I win my first die roll of the day and elect to eat him.. I mean play first.
Game 1
Manuel has seen parts of my deck before and asks whether I’m playing Empty the Slogger. I tell him that yes it is Empty the Slogger hoping to influence his choices with Duress and Thoughtseize to some degree.
I keep a hand very similar to the one in game 3 of round 2 except this time I play turn 1 Pit Dragon and keep a non-land card I can't remember in my hand. Although it would’ve been nice to deceive Manuel a bit longer going for the Pit Dragon was just too strong of an opening to not do it. My disruption is nearly useless against him so my plan is to simply beat him to zero as fast as possible preferably with a Dragon because it can fly over all his guys.
Strangely Manuel goes for a discard spell during his first turn giving me hellbent but after I hit him once with the Dragon dropping him to ten he has an evoked Shriekmaw to kill my beater and leave me with no pressure as I topdeck several lands during the next few turns. I get one more hit in with a Sulfur Elemental when he lets his guard down but can’t finish it before Manuel gains control with Pernicious Deed and crushes me with Goyf and Shriekmaw.
I board the four Pithing Needles and out go the Chalices.
Game 2
Manuel is stuck on three and later four lands while hellbent Raiders come crashing in until he has to chump with Tarmogoyf and the turn before he draws a working removal he goes down. His discard and Pernicious Deed was utterly useless in the face of a huge 5/5 beatstick however had he drawn the non-useless half of his deck I would’ve had no chance.
For game 3 I’m thinking about boarding in Pyroclasm to remove his evasive Shriekmaws and tap his Trolls to stop them from blocking but I can’t decide what to take out so I don’t board anything.
Game 3
We both mulligan to six but Manuel has a very good draw aided by Sensei’s Divining Top to find a removal for everything I play. At one point in the match I have a Jitte’d Magus of the Moon to his Shriekmaw and we’re in a standoff because I have no more creatures so I don’t want to trade yet. Unfortunately while I draw more lands Manuel finds a Pernicious Deed and plays it. He has 3 mana open so I assume he will blow up my board during my next turn. I ponder scooping if I draw another land that turn but rejoice because I draw a Pithing Needle. Now I’m in jedi-mindgame mode trying to get down the Needle without him blowing Deed. With careful acting I put down the card and try to look non-threatening. I play it and I feel like my whole body emits a confidence that this card is going to resolve without interference.
After what felt like an eternity waiting for it to resolve Manuel lets it through and I immediately but calmly say “Pernicious Deed”. The spectators around us go crazy and can’t believe he forgot to blow his Deed.
However Manuel is not that bad and points a Putrefy at the Needle at end of turn. After that it all goes downhill for me. The Deed is blown and seven turns later I’m dead with about five more creatures in my graveyard while Manuel added as much removals to his graveyard.
So fate was not on my side this time but at least it looked like it had passed on to shine upon Joachim whose delighted face told a story of the poor soul he had just devoured (2-0 against random). With my frenzy now chilled I was hoping to find a sane opponent who’d accept my offer of peace so we’d both be able to go home with some loot. Unfortunately I didn’t like his face so I went on a blood frenzy again. (just kidding of course)
Round 5 versus Alexander with StifleNaught
He wins the die roll and I decide to draw first.
Game 1
Blood Moon absolutely devastates him. Unfortunately he is able to get down a Tarmogoyf before the Moon hits and stops my small critters from hitting him. Even worse I decide to play Chalice at two the turn before I get down Moon to prevent him from playing any more Goyfs but this allows him to go Trinket Mage into a stifled Dreadnought later when he finds one of his two basic Islands while I’m holding another Chalice. However his 12/12 has to stay at home because I have amassed quite an army threatening to overrun him if he attacks with the Dreadnought. We play draw, go for a few turns until I get critical mass and go on the offensive dropping him to three and threatening to kill him next turn. Now he is basically dead unless he can find two more blockers or one blocker and stifle my Arc-Slogger activation. I’m fairly confident this won’t happen as Alex is still stuck on a single Island and about seven Mountains but he topdecks Trinket Mage and uses Sensei’s Divining Top to find the necessary Island third from the top to use Stifle when I try to Slogger one of the Mages during my turn. Now I’m running really low on cards and risk getting decked but I have one creature left in my last three cards and I almost do a little jig when I find it the Sulfur Elemental during my next drawstep. Alex reveals a Force but I point out the Split Second and after looking at his next draws he scoops.
I board the standard Blood Moons and Kegs for some Jittes and Sulfur Elementals.
Game 2
After that game I said that I might’ve made a fatal mistake for every turn I had during the game.
Aside: I’m almost sure that this was because I didn’t drink enough during the tournament. I felt exhausted and simply could not think anything through. Should you decide to go to a tournament with at least 4 rounds don’t make the same mistake I made. Drink. A lot. Even if that means you have to go to the bathroom every round. You can ask a judge to give you more time in your match if it is urgent.
So with that said here’s what happened. I keep a questionable hand and a first turn Duress makes it even more questionable (Oliver, my opponent from round 2 comments that keeping that hand is grossly negligent and could get me arrested :wink: ). Some highlights during the next few turns include playing a Powder Keg instead of Chalice at one when the board is clear, not casting that Chalice a turn later but three turns later with the help of two Simian Spirit Guides.. I think you get the idea.
When we head to game three with five minutes left on the clock I offer the draw hoping that his friends will convince him to take it because I really don’t want to play anymore right now. He asks whether everyone in Top8 will get a prize and when he gets the answer that yes everyone will at least get back the entry fee in cards he reaches out and we shake hands.
At a battleground farther back Joachim crushed some weird robots from the future with scary helmets, showing that archaic weaponry can still be deadly when left unchecked. (He wins 2-1 against Affinity) I take my loot and we head home leaving a path of destruction behind.
Props:
-Andreas, our judge
-Joachim, for playing Solidarity again after it screwed him at a smaller tourney the week before
-All my opponents for being nice (in spite of being eaten by huge dragons sometimes)
Slops:
-Jens and Lukas for not joining our raid that day (:tongue:)
-My hamster for being a bad playtesting partner
So it seems like I finally don’t suck anymore getting 5th place after scrubbing out the last two months. Of course, with only 25 people, placing in Top8 is statistically about 8% more likely anyway so the math tells us I still suck but I won’t complain :wink:
For reference here is the list I piloted:
4 Arc-Slogger
4 Rakdos Pit Dragon
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Sulfur Elemental
4 Umezawa’s Jitte
4 Chrome Mox
3 Seething Song
2 Blood Moon
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
11 Mountain
Sideboard
4 Pyroclasm
4 Pithing Needle
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Blood Moon
2 Powder Keg
I played 24 creatures and 19 lands total to increase the stability and threat density of the deck without sacrificing too much power and I think it worked alright. I wanted to play some Taurean Maulers and a singleton Akroma instead of the Sulfur Elementals but couldn’t get the cards before the tournament. Right now I’m undecided whether I should actually get them because Sulfur Elementals won me at least 2 games that Maulers would not have.
The only change I might do is to replace the Crypts in the board with Pyrokinesis or Trinisphere but I’m still a bit unsure about my Ichorid and Loam matchups and therefore liked to have a bit more hate in the board against them to be on the safe(r) side.
Enough with the discussing let’s get to the pillaging and burning.
Our (admittedly small) raid arrived at the location very early which gave our necromancer (my friend Joachim) time to re-forge an ancient weapon known by many as Solidarity with which he sought to defeat his unprepared opponents. I paid my tribute to the gods (aka the tournament organizers) and started trading and scouting. After a long wait it was finally time to slay my first victim.
Round 1 versus Martin with Fish
Martin wins the die roll after two ties and elects to play.
Game 1
I do what I always do against unknown decks and mulligan into oblivion. My first seven are not explosive enough (my first play would’ve been a turn 3 Sulfur Elemental) and the six and five card hands contain no manasources. However for a four card hand I’m keeping a pretty solid opener with turn 2 Gathan Raiders. Sadly they are soon sent farming and a Dark Confidant hits me enough to negate the life gained from the now peaceful Raiders. I decide to throw a freshly drawn Sulfur Elemental at Bob to prevent my opponent from gaining more card advantage but the damage is already done. Even though I do draw more threats they are all answered while a Jötun Grunt takes away my life in four point chunks. When I’m at 8 life both our graveyards are empty but Martin has double Stifle to keep the white giant alive long enough to finish me.
I board in the last two Moons and two Kegs but I can’t remember what I boarded out (probably 3 Jitte and 1 Slogger but I’m not sure)
Game 2
This was the first game I won thanks to Sulfur Elemental.
I keep my opening hand and Martin mulligans once. I start with Powder Keg and Martin fetches for some basic lands during his early turns. A Dark Confidant gets handled by Keg and a mysterious Morph turns out to be a farmer. After that I put down Blood Moon and Simian Spirit Guide. The Guide beats for some time until Martin finds a Spectral Lynx. We both play draw, go for a few turns and after a second Lynx comes down my opponent starts the beatdown with one of them. Luckily I draw Sulfur Elemental and the now 3/0 Lynxes go to the graveyard. More creatures are traded but various two-power critters keep nibbling at Martins lifetotal until he drops to zero.
Game 3
My deck does what it is supposed to do (smash face) his deck doesn’t. Martin decides to keep a very threat heavy hand (which means very mana light) and I mulligan into a first turn Chalice, second turn Magus of the Moon, third turn Jitte plus equip hand. By the fifth turn Martin finds the second manasource which would’ve allowed him to “go off” with all the critters in his hand but I already have a hellbent Dragon threatening lethal damage so he scoops.
Right next to me my friend Joachim was ambushed and even though he fought bravely with his scarce resources (4 lands over 2 games) his opponent (none less than my arch nemesis Harald) tortured Joachim’s soul relentlessly with the fearsome Counterbalance Threshold. Not once but twice did Harald hit the Achilles heel of his opponent, burying Joachim with a few swift strikes (turn 1 SDT, turn 2 Counterbalance, double counter backup anyone?). After this display of severe cruelty I vowed to avenge my friend and went off to behead my next foe.
Round 2 versus Oliver with ArmageddonStax
Oliver wins the die roll and will begin game 1.
Game 1
I get a very good start with a Spirit Guide carrying Jitte to hit for six a turn while Blood Moon makes Oliver’s Horizon Canopies and Flagstones pretty useless. When he’s down to six life he musters a Magus of the Tabernacle but it has to trade with my pumped Spirit Guide so a Sulfur Elemental can come in for the last few points of damage.
Because I’ve seen Horizon Canopy I board the last two Blood Moons and the Kegs come in too. Out go the almost useless Chalices.
Game 2
I again have to mulligan down to four but my four card hand really is better than all the hands before. I have a Sulfur Elemental that beats Oliver down to 11 but he lands a Smokestack early and I’m soon lost in a cloud of smoke. When I sacrifice my Blood Moon Oliver is able to tap his Horizon Canopy for white mana to play Magus and after I topdeck a Seething Song with only 2 mana on the table I scoop for game 3.
Game 3
For this game I look at my opening hand and start giggling because that hand is just stupid. Oliver mulligans once and I start the game with Mountain, Chrome Mox (imprint Spirit Guide), Chrome Mox (imprint Arc-Slogger), Seething Song, Arc-Slogger, pass. I’m looking up to my opponent and say “That’s how you go hellbent”. Oliver seems surprised and amused but not really scared. After I get him down to 12 he plays his third land and reveals the solution. An Oblivion Ring takes care of my Slogger after I decide to shoot two more damage bringing Oliver down to 10. My next plays are a morph that comes in for two more before a Magus of the Tabernacle stops it, a Sulfur Elemental getting in for three (while the Raiders are blocked and killed by the 3/5 Magus), bringing my opponent down to five and yet another Slogger for which I tap out. In desperation Oliver plays Ravages of War and a Tabernacle complementing his Magus of the Tabernacle so with “only” 2 Chrome Moxen I have to decide which of my two remaining creatures will survive the taxing but unfortunately for Oliver he has to tap an Ancient Tomb to cast Ravages so he goes down to 3. This means that I can simply use the two red mana from my Moxen to kill Oliver with Slogger Shocks while all the Tabernacle triggers are still on the stack.
Round 2 was over and that meant time for the feast. This time I ate a huge plateful of Bavarian sausage salad in honor of my comrade Joachim who after rising from the dead accomplished to at least exhaust his giants-leading opponent enough for a tie (1-1-1 against AggroLoam). Alas sometimes mighty weapons of the past are buried for good reason.
After a good portion of meat I was ready to strike down my next enemy so valiantly I walked down to meet him.
Round 3 versus Fabian with UGB Threshold
I lose another die roll and decide to draw first.
Game 1
We get deck checked and have to spend the first seven minutes waiting
Deck check is over and neither of us has anything wrong so we can start to shuffle again (of course the judge sorted our decks) and about 10 minutes into the round we look at our opening hands.
Fabian does not play any basic lands besides a single Forest so when Blood Moon hits he just tries to survive for some more turns but ultimately dies to a horde of fatties.
I board just like against Fish but cut more Sulfur Elementals I think.
Game 2
An early Wasteland on Ancient Tomb keeps my mana in check and I have a very hard time dealing with a growing Tarmogoyf. When Fabian has lethal damage on the board I topdeck a worthless Seething Song so we’re off to a deciding game 3.
Game 3
Nothing to see here folks. I’m on the play and try a first turn Chalice at 1. Fabian looks clearly displeased but lets it through. I get one hit in with Sulfur Elemental then he shows me his hand of seven one-mana spells and clearly frustrated goes on to concede.
Fabian acknowledges that he should have mulliganed but we both agree that this matchup is really bad for him.
Aside: Sadly I don’t remember much of games 1 and 2 but if I could I’d give you a transcript because Fabian played really well during these games and I really want to give him credit for being an outstanding player.
After shortly celebrating another glorious victory I went looking for my comrade and alas he ran into yet another powerful dark sorcerer who was able to outwit and destroy him (1-2 against Eva Green variant).
With a queasy feeling I walk towards my next challenge for glory, having already seen the unholy weapon my next opponent chose for today I knew it would be an uphill battle for me.
Round 4 versus Manuel with GB Rock
I win my first die roll of the day and elect to eat him.. I mean play first.
Game 1
Manuel has seen parts of my deck before and asks whether I’m playing Empty the Slogger. I tell him that yes it is Empty the Slogger hoping to influence his choices with Duress and Thoughtseize to some degree.
I keep a hand very similar to the one in game 3 of round 2 except this time I play turn 1 Pit Dragon and keep a non-land card I can't remember in my hand. Although it would’ve been nice to deceive Manuel a bit longer going for the Pit Dragon was just too strong of an opening to not do it. My disruption is nearly useless against him so my plan is to simply beat him to zero as fast as possible preferably with a Dragon because it can fly over all his guys.
Strangely Manuel goes for a discard spell during his first turn giving me hellbent but after I hit him once with the Dragon dropping him to ten he has an evoked Shriekmaw to kill my beater and leave me with no pressure as I topdeck several lands during the next few turns. I get one more hit in with a Sulfur Elemental when he lets his guard down but can’t finish it before Manuel gains control with Pernicious Deed and crushes me with Goyf and Shriekmaw.
I board the four Pithing Needles and out go the Chalices.
Game 2
Manuel is stuck on three and later four lands while hellbent Raiders come crashing in until he has to chump with Tarmogoyf and the turn before he draws a working removal he goes down. His discard and Pernicious Deed was utterly useless in the face of a huge 5/5 beatstick however had he drawn the non-useless half of his deck I would’ve had no chance.
For game 3 I’m thinking about boarding in Pyroclasm to remove his evasive Shriekmaws and tap his Trolls to stop them from blocking but I can’t decide what to take out so I don’t board anything.
Game 3
We both mulligan to six but Manuel has a very good draw aided by Sensei’s Divining Top to find a removal for everything I play. At one point in the match I have a Jitte’d Magus of the Moon to his Shriekmaw and we’re in a standoff because I have no more creatures so I don’t want to trade yet. Unfortunately while I draw more lands Manuel finds a Pernicious Deed and plays it. He has 3 mana open so I assume he will blow up my board during my next turn. I ponder scooping if I draw another land that turn but rejoice because I draw a Pithing Needle. Now I’m in jedi-mindgame mode trying to get down the Needle without him blowing Deed. With careful acting I put down the card and try to look non-threatening. I play it and I feel like my whole body emits a confidence that this card is going to resolve without interference.
After what felt like an eternity waiting for it to resolve Manuel lets it through and I immediately but calmly say “Pernicious Deed”. The spectators around us go crazy and can’t believe he forgot to blow his Deed.
However Manuel is not that bad and points a Putrefy at the Needle at end of turn. After that it all goes downhill for me. The Deed is blown and seven turns later I’m dead with about five more creatures in my graveyard while Manuel added as much removals to his graveyard.
So fate was not on my side this time but at least it looked like it had passed on to shine upon Joachim whose delighted face told a story of the poor soul he had just devoured (2-0 against random). With my frenzy now chilled I was hoping to find a sane opponent who’d accept my offer of peace so we’d both be able to go home with some loot. Unfortunately I didn’t like his face so I went on a blood frenzy again. (just kidding of course)
Round 5 versus Alexander with StifleNaught
He wins the die roll and I decide to draw first.
Game 1
Blood Moon absolutely devastates him. Unfortunately he is able to get down a Tarmogoyf before the Moon hits and stops my small critters from hitting him. Even worse I decide to play Chalice at two the turn before I get down Moon to prevent him from playing any more Goyfs but this allows him to go Trinket Mage into a stifled Dreadnought later when he finds one of his two basic Islands while I’m holding another Chalice. However his 12/12 has to stay at home because I have amassed quite an army threatening to overrun him if he attacks with the Dreadnought. We play draw, go for a few turns until I get critical mass and go on the offensive dropping him to three and threatening to kill him next turn. Now he is basically dead unless he can find two more blockers or one blocker and stifle my Arc-Slogger activation. I’m fairly confident this won’t happen as Alex is still stuck on a single Island and about seven Mountains but he topdecks Trinket Mage and uses Sensei’s Divining Top to find the necessary Island third from the top to use Stifle when I try to Slogger one of the Mages during my turn. Now I’m running really low on cards and risk getting decked but I have one creature left in my last three cards and I almost do a little jig when I find it the Sulfur Elemental during my next drawstep. Alex reveals a Force but I point out the Split Second and after looking at his next draws he scoops.
I board the standard Blood Moons and Kegs for some Jittes and Sulfur Elementals.
Game 2
After that game I said that I might’ve made a fatal mistake for every turn I had during the game.
Aside: I’m almost sure that this was because I didn’t drink enough during the tournament. I felt exhausted and simply could not think anything through. Should you decide to go to a tournament with at least 4 rounds don’t make the same mistake I made. Drink. A lot. Even if that means you have to go to the bathroom every round. You can ask a judge to give you more time in your match if it is urgent.
So with that said here’s what happened. I keep a questionable hand and a first turn Duress makes it even more questionable (Oliver, my opponent from round 2 comments that keeping that hand is grossly negligent and could get me arrested :wink: ). Some highlights during the next few turns include playing a Powder Keg instead of Chalice at one when the board is clear, not casting that Chalice a turn later but three turns later with the help of two Simian Spirit Guides.. I think you get the idea.
When we head to game three with five minutes left on the clock I offer the draw hoping that his friends will convince him to take it because I really don’t want to play anymore right now. He asks whether everyone in Top8 will get a prize and when he gets the answer that yes everyone will at least get back the entry fee in cards he reaches out and we shake hands.
At a battleground farther back Joachim crushed some weird robots from the future with scary helmets, showing that archaic weaponry can still be deadly when left unchecked. (He wins 2-1 against Affinity) I take my loot and we head home leaving a path of destruction behind.
Props:
-Andreas, our judge
-Joachim, for playing Solidarity again after it screwed him at a smaller tourney the week before
-All my opponents for being nice (in spite of being eaten by huge dragons sometimes)
Slops:
-Jens and Lukas for not joining our raid that day (:tongue:)
-My hamster for being a bad playtesting partner