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Thread: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

  1. #1

    [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=260625
    The tournament started on July 3rd and ended on August 10th. It had 28 players and a meta of people not constrained by budget but also not committed with an entry fee.
    Top 8 was:
    GW Survival
    Death & Taxes
    White Stax
    Pro Bant
    43 Lands
    CounterTop Thopter
    Faerie Stompy
    5-color Zoo

    I found out about the tournament approximately 1 hour before the deadline for deckcodes. I had just gotten back into Legacy and MWS, and GW Survival was the only deck I had on MWS that I felt comfortable with. I posted a deckcode, PM'd Cabal_Chan (the organizer) if it's ok to post a second, slightly late deckcode, and started tinkering. C_C came through, so I updated the deckcode to reflect my adjustments. Looked pretty good.

    About 4 hours later, I read the last page of the GW Survival thread here on the source. Tao is evangelizing Vengevines, claiming they are way better than Iona-Retainers. He is *really* enthusiastic about them. I think for a minute and decide that he is right. My deck still has this fragile and unimpressive Iona-Retainers combo and this slow and awkward Squee engine. Well, shit. Over in the Tournament thread, C_C posts that he is extending the deadline indefinitely. Score! I manhandle my list to fit in as many Vengevines as my attorney will allow.

    4 Savannah
    4 Windswept Heath
    3 Misty Rainforest
    4 Forest
    1 Plains
    2 Wasteland
    1 Maze of Ith
    2 Horizon Canopy

    1 Llanowar Elves
    4 Noble Hierarch
    1 Basking Rootwalla
    4 Mother of Runes
    2 Weathered Wayfarer
    4 Tarmogoyf
    2 Stoneforge Mystic
    4 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Kitchen Finks
    1 Eternal Witness
    1 Knight of the Reliquary
    4 Vengevine

    4 Swords to Plowshares
    4 Survival of the Fittest
    2 Umezawa's Jitte

    Sideboard:
    1 Enlightened Tutor
    1 Tormod's Crypt
    1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
    1 Faerie Macabre
    2 Oust
    1 Kor Firewalker
    1 Ethersworn Canonist
    1 Thorn of Amethyst
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Aura of Silence
    3 Krosan Grip
    1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant


    Report:
    Match 1: Ichorid
    G1:
    Keep 4 lands, Mother, Knight, Vengevine

    Opponent mulls to 6 and opens with City of Brass, PImp (aw hell). I play land-Mother. He *draws*. He kept a hand with no dredgers (cursing himself for it). I curve out perfectly: 'Goyf, Knight, Survival, quad Vengevines.

    G2:
    Out: 2 Pridemage, Finks, E-Wit, Knight
    In: 3 Gravehate, Teeg, E-Tutor
    Keep 3 land, Jitte, Teeg, Pridemage, Noble

    Opponent opens with City of Brass, Careful Study. I draw Wheel and open with land-Noble! He dredges, Cabal Therapies me naming Teeg! Then flashbacks naming Wheel. Oww. He is low on dredgers, having removed some for Ichorid. I curve out into an active Jitte on turn 3. I kill my own Noble to remove two Bridges, and his pressure peters out.

    Match 2: BUG faerie-stuff
    G1:
    Keep 3 land, Noble, StP, Jitte, Vengevine

    I open with land-Noble! Opponent opens Mutavault. i play T2 2/2 Knight (Forced). He Wastes my land. I Waste his Mutavault and cast Jitte (resolves). He plays Underground Sea and suspends Ancestral Visions. I cast Survival (resolves). He plays 'Goyf. I combo out for trip Vengevines.

    G2: One benefit of singleton sideboards is that you always have *something* to swap.
    Out: 1 Mystic, 1 Jitte - not an aggro mirror?
    In: 1 Elspeth, 1 Teeg

    Keep 2 land, Maze, Noble, Teeg, Goyf
    He plays Bayou-pass. I open with land-Noble! He plays 'Goyf. I cast Teeg (resolves). I decline to swing into the 1/2 'Goyf, fearing spot removal that pumps it to 3/4. He counters a Pridemage with Spellstutter Sprite and keeps me stuck at 2 mana with Wastelands. I have 2 Vengevines stuck in hand, but pumped exalted Rootwalla goes the distance, mostly.

    Opponent shows his hand of 2 Extirpate, Grip, Relic, E-Wit, Force

    Match 3: CounterTop-Thopter
    G1:
    Keep 3 land, Noble, Jitte, Survival, Knight

    I open with land-Noble! He counters / swords / EE's all my creatures and I run out of gas. I draw Survival and pass (I don't recall why). He gets active CB, but taps out for Jace TMS and starts fatesealing on himself. (It turns out later that he shuffled away a Moat favoring Jace. I would've scooped to Moat + CB.) I take this opportunity to resolve Survival. He plays Pithing Needle, and in response, I survival Pridemage into Vengies into Witness, threatening to Venge him to death. On my turn I draw a creature, which guarantees the Elementals. I cast Witness. He e-tutors his Moat and Forces, but the 1 life puts him in range of my hasty uncounterable 'Vines.

    G2:
    Out: 2 Mystic, 2 Jitte, 1 Mother, 1 Finks
    In: Teeg, Aura, 2 Grip, Elspeth, Thorn – I wasn't sure he was creatureless, so I kept in StP
    Keep 2 land, 'Goyf, Survival, 2 StP, Vengie

    Draw Noble - I open with land-Noble! I cast 0/1 Goyf (Counterspelled). My Survival is pre-emptively Pithing Noodled, but with nothing else to do I cast it anyway. He misses a land drop so I waste his white source (this wins the game). We play draw-go for a while - I have 3 dead StP in hand.
    I get to 4 mana and cast Vengie (Forced). Elspeth resolves. I cast another Vengie with potential Noble backup – but it resolves, so I keep Noble in hand and just beat for 8 per turn. He is stuck on 1UU with a grip full of white cards.

    Match 4: Stax
    G1:
    Keep land, StP, Noble, Wayfarer, 'Goyf, Vengie, Maze

    Opponent opens with Mox Diamond, land, Chalice @ 1 (I'm boned)
    He quickly puts down a Smokestack, and soon a Crucible as well. I scoop

    G2:
    Out: 2 M, 2 Jitte, 2 Mother
    In: 1 Elspeth, 3 Grips, 1 Aura, 1 Teeg
    Keep 2 land, 2 Noble, 2 Vengie, Rootwalla

    I open with land-noble! He plays Trinisphere. I play land-Noble! Chalice @ 2 misses. I cast Elspeth. He plays Ghostly Prison and Wastes a land. I bash for 6 while sandbagging a land. Opponent goes to 6 on Tomb for a second Ghostly Prison, but I have that 4th mana source in hand.

    G3:
    Keep Forest, Elf, Noble, Teeg, Vengie, StP, Mother (Not happy about this hand: fast Trinisphere would've hurt. Fast Chalice @ 1 would've murdered me)

    Opponent opens with Mox Mox Wasteland pass (PHEW) (later I realize he was hoping to nab a Fetchland with Aven Mindcensor)
    I open with basic land-Noble! He plays Wasteland and Prison. I Fetch a basic and play Teeg and Elf. He plays a second Prison. I play Vengie and bash for 5 every turn, spending all my mana for the prisons. Opponent does nothing relevant and dies.

    Match 5: Eldariel with Faerie Stompy (presumably – then confirmed)
    ID into Top 8.

    Top 8: CounterTop Thopter again

    G1:
    Keep 2 land, Wayfarer, Elf, StP, Vengie, Mystic

    I open with land-Elf! I cast Mystic and Wayfarer. He StP's Mystic when I Jquip and swing, then EE's away the rest. Nothing else I do sticks, and I scoop to Jace TMS + RoflThopter + Shackles.

    G2:
    Out: 1 Mystic, 1 Jitte, 4 StP, 1 Maze (Decklists have been revealed - he IS creatureless)
    In: Thorn, Teeg, Elspeth, Aura, 3 Grip
    I keep 2 land, 2 Mother, Grip, Pridemage, Vengevine

    I open with Mother (resolves). Pridemage meets EOT E-Tutor for Pithing Noodle. He Noodles Pridemage. Wayfarer resolves. EE @ 1 hits Noodle, Wayfarer, Mother. 'Goyf and Mother resolve. He StP's Pridemage and Mother. I get to 4 mana and cast a Vengevine (resolves and connects). Opponent is at 4 and I have Grip in hand. He plays StP and Path. Survival resolves, but I have no creatures in hand. I draw a Noble and combo out for double Vengevines.

    G3:
    keep 3 land, Waste, Noble, Elf, Pridemage

    I open with land-Noble! 'Goyf is countered. He plays Sword of the Meek. I play Pridemage (resolves). He StP's Pridemage when I swing, but I sac it to kill Sword and then E-Wit it back. He EOT E-Tutors Humility. I EOT Grip Humility, then hard-cast Angry Plants for the win.

    Top 4: Stax again
    G1:
    Keep 3 land, E-Wit, Pridemage, 'Goyf, Survival

    I play Survival. He passes with 3 mana up, threatening Aven Mindcensor (I don't realize what exactly, but I can tell something is up). I cast Pridemage and pass. EOT Aven – in response I Survival an extra Mystic into a 'Goyf. He plays Trinisphere and uses Wasteland. I try a Fetch, but it whiffs. He plays a second Trinisphere and we trade beats. I get a third land and play Finks. He plays second Aven. I feel I am winning this race at the moment, but a Magus of the Tabernacle would ruin me. He plays chalice @ 2. I play E-Wit for a land. He plays Magus, I think for a while but there's no way. I scoop.

    G2:
    Out: 4 Mother, Finks, Maze
    In: Teeg, Aura, 3 Grip, Elspeth
    I mull and keep Wayfarer, Windswept Heath, Survival, Witness, StP, Aura (I figure Wayfarer can pull me out if this gets ugly.)

    I fetch a Basic Plains and play Wayfarer. He plays a land and passes. I draw a Savannah and play Survival. He Wastes the Savannah. I pass. He plays a land and Hanna's Custody. I Wayfarer up 2 Savannahs, draw Noble and play it. I will be *set* for Survival mana. He plays Magus, I pay for my critters, Wayfarer up another land and StP Magus in his draw step. He plays Smokestack. I'm at 5 mana, so flop into trip Sevens and he folds.

    G3:
    I take out 1 Mystic for Finks on a whim.
    I keep 3 land, Rootwalla, Jitte, Knight, Vengevine

    He plays Mishra's Factory and passes. I topdeck Noble, turning my modest hand into a perfect hand. I open with land-Noble! He never sees white mana. He plays his artifacts. I play a 3/3 for 3 and a 4/3 for 4 and beatdown for the win.

    Top 2: Death & Taxes
    G1:
    Keep 3 land, StP, 'Goyf, E-Wit, Survival

    I open with land-pass. He plays vial, I play Survival. He Wastes my Savannah. I play land-Noble. He EOT Vials in Mother, but I StP it. He uses Rishadan Port on my Savannah, but in response I pitch E-Wit for Vengevine. Then in my main phase I cheat my 4/3 in and get Rootwalla and Mother. He Vials out Jotun Grunt EOT. He StP's Mother and Vengevine. He plays SoLaS, and then I EOT pitch 'Goyf for triple 'Vines and E-Wit (recycled courtesy of Grunt) and go off in my turn.

    G2:
    Out: Finks, E-Wit, 1 Wayfarer
    In: 2 Oust, Elspeth

    I mull and keep Plains, Mother, 2 Pridemage, Mystic, Rootwalla (This is strong if I get my mana, and I'm on the draw. Going to 5 seems less likely to pan out.)
    He plays Plains-pass. I draw 'Goyf and play Mother. He EOT E-Tutors Wheel of Sun and Moon, and then casts it. I draw Noble (damn) and pass. He plays Port (uh-oh) and Stoneforge Mystic for Jitte (double uh-oh). I draw Pridemage (damn) and pass. He plays Jitte and passes. I draw Savannah and go LAND-NOBLE!
    He Jquips. He doesn't have the StP or else he could charge Jitte. I play Pridemage and Wayfarer. He swings and dies, then O-Rings Mother post-combat. He sees a total of 4 creatures this game. I take over quickly, and eventually finish with a pro-white 4/4 Basking Rootwalla.

    Props:
    Land-Noble!
    Combo pieces that can attack for damage
    Tao – cool deck

    Slops:
    Stoneforge Mystic - This card is very slow. I'll cut it even if I keep the Jittes.
    Kitchen Finks - This deck is GW Aggro with an "Oops, I win!" set-up. Why am I playing a 3/2 for 3?
    Maze of Ith - This deck is Aggro! What the hell was I thinking?
    Part of manhandling my list included cutting Aether Vial. Wow, I'm dumb.

    Other thoughts:
    I didn't get much mileage out of Knight of the Reliquary, but that's my own fault for running only 2 Horizon Canopy and 2 Wastelands.
    Jitte should be in the sideboard. Wayfarer too, maybe. Wayfarer is not an aggro card, but I've been happy with him nonetheless.
    The silliest tech in the world versus Goblins has got to be Qasali Ambusher. Eat it, Lackey!

  2. #2
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    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Did you find Iona/Retainers to be outclassed by the Vengvine skull smashing power?

  3. #3
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    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Nice report sire, I will participate in some Magic League tournaments as well soon as it seems to be quite fun. I really appreciate the GW survival archetype and think that currently it's the strongest out of the survival decks.

  4. #4

    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Yeah, I feel the Vengevine combo is stronger than Iona. Just in these games, I count seven times I resolved a Survival. In four of them, either set-up would've been fine. In one, neither set-up could've saved me. In top 2, game 1, Iona-Retainers/Squee would've won still, but much slower than Vengevines. In match 3, game 1, my opponent had an active CB, active Jace TMS, and then a Pithing Needle, an E-Tutor for Moat/Humility, and a Force. No Freakin' Way Iona/Squee would've pulled that one out.

    If you can't stick a Survival, then Iona-Retainer/Squee has 3 dead cards. Vengevine combo has none, really - Vengevines are a quick clock even when they aren't broken. Basking Rootwalla beats for 3.

    Bant Survival might feel the opposite way because they can play control. GW Survival is pure aggro and must race, and Vengevines are way better at racing.

  5. #5

    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Why no Gaea's Cradle in your list? Your combo requires loads of green mana and you are already running three land tutors.

  6. #6
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    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Congrats on the win!!

    I have had a love hate relationship with Vvs and Iona + retainers. Am trying out a 3/1/1 split at the moment.
    Hopefully you continue to play the deck and do well.

  7. #7
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    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Singleton Squee would have been nice, right?. There were several situations in your report where you needed to topdeck a creature. You did, which is nice, but you will probably fail to do so sometimes.
    This message has been deleted by Nightmare. Reason: Boo fucking hoo

  8. #8
    This game is not a democracy.

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    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    It's a testament to how irrelevant MWS tournaments are when you can play a Survival deck with no AEther Vial or Squee and still do well. Did you have a reason for not playing Squee or was it an accident?
    "Michael opens with Lotus Petal, Academy Ruins, Phyrexian Dreadnaught, and Stifle. I Force of Will the Stifle, but he has Force of Will backup. I Ponder on turn one and again on turn two, but fail to find a Swords to Plowshares before he has smashed me twice. " That's losing to Mike Sanchirico.

    Team Bad Guys.

  9. #9

    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    I hadn't thought of Gaea's Cradle. Seems iffy, but worth a try.

    I didn't include Squee because I didn't see a need for him. If I want Survival to make card-advantage, then I go for Vengevines. Going for Squee means I get one free Vengevine fewer, so he needs 2 more turns and (2 activations + 2x 1G = ) 6 mana to turn a profit. The game doesn't last that long after I combo out!

    The deck has 29 creatures, so topdecking them is reliable enough.

    On second thought about Iona-Retainers, I realize that it could've saved me in top 4 game 1 vs Stax if I had gone for it ASAP. Trinisphere stops Vengevine combo, but not Iona. Still, that is one game out of 19, and it would've cost me two dead-cards in all the other games.

    As for Aether Vial, that was an error on my part. But it was replaced with 1 Llanowar Elves and 2 Weathered Wayfarer, which play a comparable role. Also note that this Survival build is pure aggro and has a lower curve than a control build, so Vial is a bit less impressive.

    If I played this deck again, I'd probably go:
    -1 Elf
    -2 Wayfarer
    +3 Aether Vial

    -1 Forest
    +1 Horizon Canopy

    -1 Maze of Ith
    -2 Stoneforge Mystic
    -2 Jitte
    -1 Kitchen Finks
    +3 Knight of the Reliquary
    +1 Teeg
    +2 Wasteland

    I'd want Wayfarers in the sideboard. In some matchups, they are unreal. Vial is better in general, though.

  10. #10
    Taobotmox

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    Re: [Report] Victory with GW Survival in 12th MTGSalvation MWS Legacy Tournament

    Congratulations to the win, glad to see GW win and I agree with most things you said. Especially what you say about Squee makes me more confident in my opinion on that point, the games just end too fast with VeVi so that Squee is not needed. So far I needed to Tutor for Maze of Ith exactly once in all games I played (a lot) and that was when the Hexmage player had already wasted my drawn Karakas that I played before I knew what he played.

    I would really like to hear your opinion on Fauna Shaman, to me it seems pretty sick the more I think about it and a couple of games vs. randoms on MWS went well so far.

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