Hello all,
Most of you know me from the land-still thread as I've been piloting that particular brand of awesome for quite a while; however, times as they are I have adapted to the current meta-game with the current list thanks in large part to buddies Paul Kim and Spencer Hayes from team technology.
Back-story
Paul, Spencer, and I are testing before the Meandeck Open in november of 09, when paul mentions that he is sick of playing 60 card play bad spells and hope to win.dec. He wants to play something UGw that features noble hierarch qasali pridemage goyf knight of reliquary vendillion clique with the mana denial package of daze and waste. Initially I laugh, crushing his list with Landstill 3-1. His problem was that he was running counterbalance/ top in this list and it slowed him down.
a few weeks later...
I call Paul and he mentions that he and Spencer have not only Re-tooled the deck, but it's doing fantastic in the current meta-game.
Version 2.0
Famous!White Splash Tempo Thresh
2 misty
2 flooded
2 windswept
1/1/1 Basics (bant)
3 trop
3 tundra
4 waste
4 noble
4 qasali
4 Goyf
3 v. clique
2 Knight of the reliquary
4 force
4 daze
4 spell pierce
4 stp
4 bs
4 ponder
sb:
2/2 blue blast
2 teeg
2 path
2 needle
2 relic
1 tormod's
2 grip
Legacy's Allure- Exploring Tempo Bant
I was shocked to see Paul and Spencer release the deck so quickly. I placed it on the back-burner along with my other pet decks UWb Wish Still, Wu Enchantress (Team Left-Field) and T.ezzeret C.ombo S.tax (idea also from T.L.F.)
The Call
So last week I call Paul and tell him I'm sick of my current meta-game of all fish style decks. I want to play W/ Tempo Thresh for reals. I tell him i've done a substantial amount of testing in the meta-game and i'm calling to see if he has any more match-up analysis that I don't know about or alterations that I don't have. He gives me the following.
Fast Forward to the tourneyWhite Splash Tempo Thresh
Lands: 19
2 misty
2 flooded
2 windswept
1/1/1 Basics (bant)
3 trop
3 tundra
4 waste
Creatures:18
4 noble
4 qasali
4 Goyf
2 v. clique
2 Knight of the reliquary
2 Rhox Warmonk
Permission: 11
4 force
4 daze
3 spell pierce
Removal: 4
4 stp
Draw/Kantrip: 8
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
SB:
2/2 blue blast
4 relic or 3/1 samurai of the pale curtain/ relic
2 path
2 grip
3 needle
The room is small with only 15 or so peeps. Normally we get access of 25, but post Christmas it's been lagging. Hopefully this report attracts some more. All I have to do is dodge the 1 Ichorid pilot (my team-mate) also known as Jurda here.
r1: L.E.D.-less Ichorid
Are you kidding me? First round? Fine. He wins the die roll...
g1:
I get online quickly, counter his breakthrough, lay goyf, waste city of brass, pummel him to about 14, and he takes over the board with 2/2 zombies, which have a hankering for some Moss-ass.
g2: sb:
+4 relic
-3 spell pierce -1 noble
I'm unsure if this is the correct side-boarding plan, but I assume it's not a terrible one. We both mul. and keep at 6.
I have a semi fast start, and end up v cliquing him into city of brass number 3 and pithing needle on relic. I get lucky and race him with clique to 0 life. :)
g3: I offer the draw he thinks looks at the meta and bites. It appears as if were in good shape in this meta-game. Whew, I am all totes megotes now.
0-0-1
Since I have about 25 minutes left in the round an most everyone is still playing (something i'm not really used to playing landstill) I check out the entire meta-game. I think to myself, wow what an advantage this is. Something you all probobly don't know about me is that i've never piloted a creature deck in sanctioned play. I've done my fare share of testing, but we all know thats a hell of a lot different. So I scout the entire damn meta-game. Since there is only about 15 people I go and have a smoke afterwords.
r2: Faerie Stompy I win the roll
g1: I take sometime before we cut to consider my sideboarding strategy against him. I saw his last round and so I know he's piloting Faerie Stompy from the scouting. I decide that i'm siding out cliques and rhox warmonks for 2 path 2 grip. I figured this match-up was heavily in my favor.
I open with the following: 1 fetch 1 wasteland 1 noble 1 qasali 1 spell pierce 1 daze 1 brainstorm. Keep! He casts a turn 2 trinket with city of traitors, I Ok it and waste his city of traitors play noble number 2, and swing with 5/5 qasali, pridemage. He takes 15 eventually before realizing that hes at 10 instead of 12. He quickly goes into protection mode grabbing second mage for the 0/6 0cc goyf blocking wall. I stp said wall and smack him to death. He tries to cast sower of temp, but I force it. Swinging in for lethal the following round.
g2:
-2 v clique
-2 rhox
+2 path
+2 grip
He challices for 1 on t2, followed by land issues, and I run him over with goyf math. (goyf+goyf+goyf=win)
1-0-1
r3. Merfolk
g1: I win the roll with a nice opener of spell pierce forest noble hierarch force and maybe daze? I pierce his t2 vial, force a goyf through, and race him and his 3 lords and a Silvergill Adept. (he has 1 of each lord) Goyfs are 4/5's I go all in with him at 5 and he chumps with 2 lords, if he cracks another lord he wins, he doesn't and conceits to g1 goyf math.
g2:
sb:
-3 spell pierce
+2 path
+1 needle
He starts with island cursecatcher and procedes to stall the next couple of turns. (Apparently his hand was island cursecatcher standstill loa silvergill.) he draws vial, but presents no business and I run him over with Rhox warmonk and a goyf.
2-0-1
r4. Faerie sly (new Team-mate) I win the roll (both mull. to 6)
g1. What you need to know is this is a deck that runs 4 mishra 4 muta tricks with faeries, and runs 2 sower 2 vensor 2 vendillion clique with standstill.
I'm alittle worried because it's difficult to read his draws. qasali pridemage takes it 4/4 (noble exalted) as he draws nothing but lands apparently.
g2: ( I mull to 5, him 6.)
sb:
-2 clique
-2 pierce
+2 grip
+2 needle
I realize about half way through our game 2 that he has sided creature heavy and thus my sideboarding strategy is incorrect. He ends up guilded draking a goyf, but realizes it was a mistake when I beat him in the head with a 5/5 drake (exalted) down to 1 life. He then bounces it, and I almost win if it weren't for those blasted kids! No really, I end up with a board position at 3 with triple noble hierarch and top decking nothing. He sees sower venser with riptide lab and its all over.
g3. Since I realized i'm a dumb-ass (we both mull. to 6)
sb:
I change back to the original decklist and procede as follows:
-3 pierce
+2 path
+1 pithing
I'm on the play. Stuff gets countered I play threats, he counters some, I waste some lands, eventually I have 4 cards in hand. I have the option of dropping goyf or knight (knight would be a 5/5 goyf would be a 5/6) I drop knight (hes playing snare, and he has 6 cards in hand) knight lands, he taps out for venser with lab in play, meets for removing ponder. Goyf lands, he casts jitte cloudof-faeries, standstill, I smash he doesnt block, he attacks I stp, he looses because jitte is terrible on its own.)
Props/ shout outs
Recognizing incorrect sideboarding plan in finals
Paul and Spencer: We're all taking this to the gp right?
Joe Urda and Dan Buzzy: Team WhoDatNinja 1st,2nd, and 4th what? what?
Clementz: because you let me borrow deez tings called magic cards.
UofM: Goblue! Nice win over Ucon men's bb!
MTG special edition deck box for winning tourney!
Slops
buying 2x gold ion deck boxes the week of the tourney... Gave 1 to Joe for doing well, and a playmat the day before. You better buy gold sleeves!
Not playing samurai of the pale curtain in the board. Should have.... But in the long run the team did better and I still won!
no top 4. Come on guys im tired of playing swiss, lets finish with t4 and top8's for sanctioned recoreds jeeze!
Lotsa blue you killed. Seems like a decent list; sort of an UGW Beatdown-deck, really; doesn't fiddle around with control, just lays down the beats and counters the few relevant card opponent plays FTW. The gameplan seems quite different from traditional Tempo Thresh, but it seems servicable in the role it has.
Good job; of course, you beat probably the only Faerie Stompy player left in that particular corner of the world which deserves frowns. Also, pity there was no Top 4/8; woulda been interesting to read of few more games. Either way, good showing for the first run.
By the way, I was paid to advertise Abyssal Persecutor. Abyssal Persecutor is totally gonna ruin your deck! A flying wall that prevents you from losing; how do you kill yourself then?!
First of congratz on doing good goyf math.
I have a couple of questions, as i like the concept of Ugw Tempo ***** quite a bit, but i am not sure if this or New Horizons (more lands and more big beats) is the right approach.
The questions:
- Do you think 4 Noble Hierarch is the right number? Its not needed in every matchup and seeing two in the early stages of the game may be unattractive, similiar to seeing two Vials in some decks (not completly filled with creatures like Goblins).
- Why run Relic over Crypt? It can hurt both Goyf and Knight, the only advantage i see is the first ability and that it replacces itself.
- Where you satisfied with the Needles over lets say Engineerd Explosives or any other SB card.
BBB
I think this model is probobly the best currently because it has the ability to lay an aweful quick clock on the decks that matter in this format. Sacrificing some overall power for speed and denial seems to me like a stronger plan right now.I have a couple of questions, as i like the concept of Ugw Tempo ***** quite a bit, but i am not sure if this or New Horizons (more lands and more big beats) is the right approach.
I was blessed with Noble in most games and was never dissapointed save one select situation where I had already sided incorrectly (r4 g2). At that point the game could have gone either way. Yes it was a dead card in the end, but when he played guilded drake on me and took goyf, it was all inside smiles.The questions:
- Do you think 4 Noble Hierarch is the right number? Its not needed in every matchup and seeing two in the early stages of the game may be unattractive, similiar to seeing two Vials in some decks (not completly filled with creatures like Goblins).
I'm not the one backing this, but if I had to go on the back of Paul's advice at the present time i'd probobly run samurai of the pale curtain. It seems like a much stronger piece of hate then either relic or tormod's and I think i'll play 3/1 with relic in the flex. The only reason I would play relic again at the 3 slot is if I expected high ammounts of tempo thresh because it just beats the tar out of them.- Why run Relic over Crypt? It can hurt both Goyf and Knight, the only advantage i see is the first ability and that it replacces itself.
Don't get me wrong, engineered explosives is a great card, but needle is reserved for 2 decks and the obvious (if its crazy side it in) matchups. Those matchups are gobbos and 43land, but thats notall so yes 3 needle seems like the right approach to me. I think everything I've talked to Paul about has been spot on. Obviously k grip is substantially stronger in that specific flext slot, and in order to beat ichorid you need minimum 4 removal. So everything else is self explanatory.- Where you satisfied with the Needles over lets say Engineerd Explosives or any other SB card.
Nice deck and results. I gotta say though, after playing with it a couple times you need new sideboard graveyard hate. Samurai + KotR = wtf? Relic + goyf + KotR = wtf?
I could be skewed because my only loss was to reanimator, but I think you just flat out want Ravenous Trap, Tormod's Crypt, and at most 1 Relic unless you have some insider information on what you're going to run into and Samurai somehow blows them out of the water.
To me if you board in samurai in the chances that your winning the matchup anyways is probobly greater based on your exalted triggers etc. One is not limited to knight of the reliquary or Goyf, and to be honest goyf is probobly one of the worst creatures in the deck based on that all it does is attack and block. It wins its spot because of its efficiency, nothing else. a 2/3 goyf with samurai seems like a fare trade off against the decks you want see samurai in, aka ichorid etc.
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