This tournament report really starts with me getting picked up by Dan Walton our driver and we buy sleeves and Commander decks then head off to pick everyone else up. On the way down we talk about various things, including Affinity since three of us in the car play it. Talk a fair amount about baseball, and eventually get to Baltimore by seven.
We meet up with a kid who used to play in Syracuse and head to the event center, just to find that it’s not even set up yet. Great… we decide to get food at this point. We’re walking in downtown Baltimore, right next to the stadium. Their fans were acting like they just won the World Series by winning an interleague game. After fifteen minutes or so of walking we see a VF Changs and a Hard Rock, Dan and I have never been to a Hard Rock so we go. My chicken tenders were super greasy, however, the nacho platter was good. My first impression of Hard Rock? On a scale of one to ten, we’re playing under six’s. On the way out we decide that we’re going to get VF Changs tomorrow – partially due to the Hangover II line.
We go to bed, share some stories, and wake up to the alarm at seven.
SCG Baltimore – Standard Open
We get there and find out there’s artists, I didn’t know this with it being my first SCG Open. I get some EDH foils signed along with my foil Geopede’s, the artist for them has an AWFUL signature, awful. On the bright side, Matt Stewart was the other artist and the way he signs cards is cool, Matt in green, Stewart in Red for my Rootbound Crag. On to the tournament, I’ve been playing Red Deck Wins for about the last year. I think it’s a great metagame choice since it just destroys Caw Blade and Splinter Twin.
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa
4 Teetering Peaks
1 Smoldering Spires
9 Mountains
4 Goblin Guide
4 Plated Geopede
4 Kiln Fiend
3 Koth of the Hammer
4 Shrine of the Burning Rage
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Burst Lightning
4 Searing Blaze
3 Arc Trail
2 Forked Bolt
2 Flame Slash
4 Dismember
3 Combust
3 Mark of Mutiny
2 Manic Vandal
2 Crush
1 Flame Slash
Round One: Raymond with Tempered Steel
Game One: I open with turn one Goblin Guide, turn two Kiln Fiend, turn 3 kill your Mortipod token, burn you with Burst and Teetering Peaks, swing. Leaving him at 6, untap, burn him out.
Sideboarding: -2 Forked Bolt, -1 Plated Geopede, -1 Kiln Fiend, -2 Flameslash, -2 Searing Blaze, +4 Dismember, +2 Manic Vandal, +2 Crush
Game Two: It’s a long game that begins with him killing a lot of my dudes, it eventually gets to him playing a Stoneforge and getting War and Peace. Then casting it on his turn. My board position is a Goblin Guide and two Kiln Fiends and a Geopede against a bunch of living weapon dudes and Stoneforge. On my turn I play Vandal, pass with a handful of burn against his two cards. He draws a Firewalker after I already used a dismember on something else, I can still win. I crush one of his equipments to kill a blocker and burn a couple of his other dudes out, and swing out. He activates Stoneforge dropping Batterskull and casts Celestial Purge on a Fiend, blocks by other Fiend with Firewalker. Then Slowly recovers.
Game Three: He mulligans, then proceeds to go turn 2 Firewalker, Turn 3 Firewalker, turn 5 Firewalker. My opener was 2x Shrine, Guide, Fiend, 2x Land, Bolt. I never drew a third land…
He’s a nice guy we end up trading and talking about EDH, he trades me a Maze of Ith for the Bant deck I’ve been working on.
0-1
Round Two: Calosso with TwinBlade
I saw Calosso before the event had started and made small talk saying I wanted to play my Jace’s one last time in jest. He puts me on the mirror, he wins the die roll, says I’ll play. Announcements are made; I tell him I’ll keep my hand. He says, well start. I mention that he won the roll, he claims he didn’t, I tell him did. He then says we’ll I have to mulligan then. Whether or not he knew or not is beyond me, either way, I felt a little sketched out.
Game One: He plays island go, I play Guide, he plays Stoneforge for Batterskull. I Teetering Peaks my Guide, Burst Stongeforge, swing. He lays a mountain and passes, I try a Fiend, he Leaks. I swing again. He plays Jace and Fate Seals, I play a Koth and attack him, he misses his land drop, I attack again.
Sideboarding: -4 Searing Blaze, -2 Forked Bolt, -3 Arc Trail, +4 Dismember, +2 Manic Vandal, +2 Crush, +1 Combust
Game Two: I open with Multiple Guides, and burn his Stoneforge. He kills my dudes, the game gets drawn out. He fetches a second mountain, I don’t have anything to kill his combo, he drops a Batterskull. I crush endstep, He bounces tapping out. I play Koth and swing. Flame Slash his token, swing again. My turn ultimate Koth, he scoops.
1-1
Round Three: Ryan with TwinBlade
Game One: I open with turn one Goblin Guide, Ryan tells me he put me on CawBlade and that I look like a CawBlade player. I never thought I came off THAT douchy. I play turn two Fiend, he plays Stoneforge, I kill it, burn him twice. Turn three win.
Sideboarding: -4 Searing Blaze, -2 Forked Bolt, -3 Arc Trail, +4 Dismember, +2 Manic Vandal, +2 Crush, +1 Combust
Game Two: He mulligan’s to five and wins on turn 5 with the Splitertwin Combo.
Game Three: I play a turn two Shrine and let it build, I keep running dudes out into his removal and counters, I eventually have a cleared board besides my Shrine with 8 counters on it. He taps out and plays a Jace and Fate Seals. I play my Koth I’ve been sitting on swing at him and he loses to a Shrine on my turn.
2-1
Round Four: Denis with Red Deck Wins
Game One: It comes down to me at one life, he’s at 6, has a fetchland in play, and an untapped mountain. I have a shrine with 5 counters on it after my upkeep. I draw Kiln Fiend with no other cards in hand, cast it. Then make the mistake of activating Shrine for the win. He in response fetches and Searing Blazes my Fiend with his last card in hand.
Sideboarding: None
Game Two: I mulligan and keep a hand of Teetering Peaks, 2x Goblin Guide, Bolt, Burst, and Kiln Fiend. He also opens with multiple Guides and kills mine. Although I never see a second land, he ends up dropping Pro-Red dudes…
2-2
Round Five: Andrew with RUG
Game One: He kills EVERYTHING I PLAY with Bolts, Burst, Beast Within, and Dismembers.
Sideboarding: None
Game Two: It looks a lot like game one, except I’m stuck on lands, and he’s dropping multiple Baloths then Beast Within’ing and Acidic Sliming my lands. Ass.
2-3
DROP
The EPIC Storm
4 Gemstone Mine
2 City of Brass
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Dark Ritual
4 Rite of Flame
4 Lion’s Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
4 Burning Wish
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Infernal Tutor
3 Orim’s Chant
3 Duress
2 Xantid Swarm
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Pyroblast
2 Xantid Swarm
2 Echoing Truth
1 Wipeaway
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Grapeshot
1 Duress
1 Shattering Spree
1 Meltdown
SCG Legacy Challenge - Side Event
(I don’t have names for this event, I lost my life total pad)
Round One: Guy with Bloodbraid RUG
Game One: He opens with Trop, Hierarch, I fetch and play Ponder into Sea, Ritual, and lotus Petal. He wastes. I play Underground and pass. He wastes. I sit there forever, he eventually plays Trygon Predator and plays more wastelands without me having a land in play. I lose to dork beats.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Chrome Mox, +2 Xantid Swarm
Game Two: He Mulligans, I open with City, Xantid. He Forces pitching a Force. This leaves my hand looking like, Brainstorm, Ritual, Xantid, Fetchland, and Wish. He plays Tropical, Hierarch. I play my Fetchland and Xantid. It resolves. He swings and passes. I draw and my hand is now… Brainstorm, Ritual, Wish, Chrome Mox, and Rite of Flame. I Swing and Brainstorm into Infernal Tutor, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual. I put back Wish and Mox. Fetch, Sea. Ritual, Ritual, Petal, Rite, Infernal into Ad Nauseam. Grapeshot.
Game Three: He Mulligans, fetch, go. My hand after I draw is Duress, Duress, Lotus Petal, Gemstone, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Rite of Flame, Rite of Flame, Ponder. I play Gemstone into Ponder, shuffle draw a Wish. He plays land, go. I draw a fetch, Duress. I see a bunch of dudes. Play out my hand into, Wish, Diminishing Returns. Draw Ad Nauseam, Chant, and mana off of Returns. I Chant, Ad Nauseam, into a bunch of cards. Grapeshot.
1-0
Round Two: Guy with BW Disruption
Game One: He flashes me what he’s playing while he’s shuffling. I open a hand of Dark Ritual, Rite of Flame, 2x Lands, Ad Nauseam, Chant, and Infernal. I play City go, upkeep Chant. My turn draw a Mox, Ritual, Rite, Nauseam.
Sideboarding: -1 Chant, -2 Xantid, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: He opens with Thoughtsieze, Hymn, Therapy, Hymn. Leaving me with no hand, 3 mana sources in play and a Lion’s Eye Diamond. He then plays Phyrexian Revoker and takes away any chance I had of winning.
Game Three: It looks a lot like game one but with a Leyline of the Void too.
1-1
Round Three: Andrew with Manaless Ichorid
Game One: He wins the die roll and says I’ll draw. Dredge. I play a turn two Ad Nauseam into Grapeshot.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -2 Xantid, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: I draw a hand of mana and Wish and cast Diminishing Returns with Storm 9. My new seven is 5 lands, Ponder, Petal. REALLY?! I Ponder, into garbage, shuffle draw Ritual, pass. He starts slow dredge plan again, I draw Tendrils for my turn. I couldn’t draw it last turn when I had six mana floating with lethal storm…
I die several turns later to Ichorids.
We’re making small talk between games and I mention that I play Dredge sometimes in my local events. But I prefer No LED, Nomad dredge, because it has speed and resiliency. He tells me that he’s played UB ANT and that it’s better than my deck. No explanation at all. I’m a dickhead at this point and ask him if he’s ever won anything, because my deck has top 8’d a Grand Prix. He’s stopped communicating with me at this point.
Game Three: I start with Land, Ponder, setting up for my turn play. My hand is this… Ritual, Rite of Flame, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Ad Nauseam. I draw a land off Ponder. My turn, Ad Nauseam, storm up a bunch, Grapeshot for 27.
2-1
Round Four: Little kid with UW Stoneforge
Game One: He wins the roll, goes, Tundra go. I draw a Chant, and decide to go off next turn with protection.He plays Stoneforge and gets a Sword of feast and Famine. I pay Petal, Rite, Rite, Chant, he Dazes, I pay, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Burning Wish, Empty the Warrens for 16. Pass. He plays land go, I swing, he drops Batterskull and blocks. Untaps, drops Sword off of Stoneforge, equips and swings. Fuck me.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Chrome Mox, -1 Infernal, -1 Ponder +2 Xantid Swarm, +2 Pyroblast
Game Two: I played a turn one Xantid, turn two, 2x Lion’s Eye Diamond, Infernal, Ad Nuaseam.
Game Three: I open with Xantid it gets Swords, he plays a Stoneforge for Batterskull. Im building up mana for Chant protection. He hits me twice with Batterskull. I Chant, Ad Nauseam, showboat for awhile and Grapeshot.
3-1
I end up winning six packs, people tell me to trade them, but I enjoy cracking packs. I end up opening a War and Peace, Spellskite, and blue Praetor. I trade the Sword for a Batterskull incase I decide to play the Stoneforge package in the BANT deck I’m working on. I go to watch Dan’s last match in the Standard event, he beats his CawBlade opponent with Red. Afterwords his opponent says, “That’ll be the last time I touch these Jace’s” I ask how much he’s asking for them, he says he’s thirty, he says his brother is forty. I give him eighty and now own Jace’s for BANT.
We meet up with the other car from Syracuse and head to V.F. Changs, I’m one of the few people out of the group that has never used Chop Sticks and quickly make an ass out of myself. We have drinks, eat overpriced food, talk about ladies, nerd stuff, and leave.
We wake up early and get breakfast to find out the registration is earlier than Saturday and rush to the event center to sign up for Legacy. I meet up with the guys from Jupiter and borrow some Volcanics from some nice people to lend to a Cuse local for his UWr Stoneforge deck. I begin to play EDH against Ryan McKinney when we notice an unattended deck box full of draft cards, he leave it and continue to play. It turns out it belongs to A.J. Kerrigan’s and it’s a trap to catch thieves, lucky us. I meet A.J. and tell him I like his Mets shirt. It’s then when I noticed how many fucking Phillies fans were in the room, holy shit. I hope each one of them went 0-2 drop.
The announcements are made, so are some terrible jokes by SCG and we’re ready to play.
SCG Baltimore – Legacy Open
Round One: David with Burn
Game One: He shows me what he’s playing while he’s shuffling. Although, I can’t become hellbent for my infernal turor and die to a turn one Goblin Guide and burn spells.
Sideboarding: -2 Xantid Swarm, -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Orim’s Chant, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Duress, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: I play a fetch, ponder, he plays Goblin Guide, swings. I play land, Ritual, Infernal get a second Lion’s Eye Diamond, play them both. Cast Burning Wish, Ill-Gotten Gains, 2x Lion’s Eye Diamond, Infernal, Wish, Tendrils.
Game Three: He suspends Rift Bolt, I play Ritual, Ritual, Ad Nauseam, Grapeshot.
1-0
Round Two: Greg with Reanimator
Game One: His first turn play is a Standard UB Dual, go. He Entombs, Reanimates Gin-Gitaxias, and has a million counters for when I attempt to go off.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -3 Orim’s Chant, -1 Infernal, -1 Chrome Mox, -1 Ponder, +2 Xantid Swarm, +2 Pyroblast, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: He mulliagns, I starts with Xantid, he Forces pitching Force, plays a Fetch. I play a second Xantid, resolves. I don’t have the swin so I need to swing a few turns and find the win, I find it.
Game Three: He mulligan’s, I play Xantid, it gets Missteped. He eventually reanimates, Gin-Gitaxias, he has two cards in hand, I EOT Echoing Truth, he Forces pitching the last card in his hand – Daze. I Pyroblast the Force. On my turn he’s at 5, Ritual, Rite, Petal, Infernal, Wish, Grapeshot.
2-0
Round Three: Rich with NO-Bant
My opponent while settling down unrolls his playmat and it’s Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. We start talking about the series, I’ve played 7,8,10, and 12, he says that 9 was the second best, I disagreed, I hated that game and never finished. I tell him my favorite was 10 followed by 8 due to the card game in eight. Squall is also my favorite FF character; he calls him an emo fuck, which is a little true. After this we talk about Blitzball a bit and begin our round.
Game One: I keep a decent hand with one Land, Protection, Cantrips, and Rituals. I play Sea, Ponder, shuffle. He wastes, and blows me out.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Chrome Mox, +2 Xantid
Game Two: I open with turn one Xantid, turn two Ad Nauseam.
Game Three: He opens with Fetch, go. I open with Fetch, go. Fetch, go. Fetch, go. He plays a Waste, go. We sit there like this for a few turns. He plays a Goyf, I endstep fetch, he stifles. I fetch again, Brainstorm, he Wastes. I find a City. My turn City Xantid, IT RESOLVES. I don’t know how, his deck must hate him and not give him any counters in 12 turns. I untap, swing, win with a lethal Grapeshot.
3-0
Round Four: Andrew with Manaless Dredge
This is the dude from the day before that pretty much told me my deck sucked, I could not wait to beat him again… Grapeshot here I come.
Game One: I play a turn one Ad Nauseam with a Grapeshot attached.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -2 Xantid, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: He opens with Leyline of Sanctity, my hand is, Sea, Chrome Mox, Brainstorm, Echoing Truth, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Dark Ritual, and Infernal Tutor. I play turn one Mox pitching Brainstorm, go. I play truth during his end step, draw Duress, he doesn’t have Mind Break Trap, pass. He cycles two Street Wraith, and a Probe, doesn’t Dredge. I go all in, he drew a Mindbreak trap…
Game Three: He doesn’t open with Leyline, I duress, his hand sucks. I untap, Ponder, shuffle, draw, pass. He draws and passes. I draw Ad Nauseam for turn, cast it, Grapeshot.
Grapeshot twice in one round I believe gives the message I meant to deliver.
4-0
Round Five: Pete with NO HULK
I’ve played against Pete at Grand Prix: Providence , where he kicked my ass up and down. Now is my chance to get even. I mention that I know he’s not playing reanimator, he mentions that it was his friend round two that I played against.
Game One: He disrupts my hand a bunch with Probe and Therapies, I Chant him to buy some time before he combos, I draw a Tutor the next turn and Ad Nauseam. It turns out if I didn't Chant him, he won.
Sideboarding: -2 Xantid Swarm, -1 Chant, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: Leyline of Sanctity and a couple of Therapies with a Probe are enough to slow me down before he can combo.
Game Three: I don't remember... My notes have my life total going from 18 to 5 and his at 19 to 0.
5-0
Round Six: David with UW Stoneforge Feature Match
Game One: He opens with one Wasteland, turn two Wasteland, turn 4 Stoneforge, and when I try to win on turn 6 missteps my Chant and Forces my Tutor.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Chrome Mox, +2 Xantid Swarm
Game Two: I mulligan and look at Fetchland, Ritual, Ritual, Ad Nauseam, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Wish. I go all in, and win. His barns are amazed, “Turn one on the play, after a mulligan! Ridiculous!” I respond with, “Yeah, that’s combo…”
Game Three: He mulligans because he says it can’t compete with a turn one. I open with Rite of Flame, Chant, Wish, Infernal, Lion’s Eye Diamond, and two lands. He leads with Tundra, I play a land, pass. He plays Stoneforge. I play Land, Infernal. It’s countered. I draw an Infernal and try again, it resolves. He drops a Sword and equips. He wastes me on his turn. Then again on his next turn. I never have the mana to go off with backup. He reveals his hand of, 2x Missteps, Mis-D, and Force of Will.
5-1
Round Seven: Tommy with Zoo
Game One: I play turn one, Land, Mox (Pitching:Brainstorm), Wish for Returns, Pass. He plays Lavamancer. I play Land, Ritual, Returns, I draw Tendrils but don’t have enough to kill him, so I put him to four. Untap, finish him off.
Sideboarding: -2 Xantid Swarm, -1 Orim’s Chant, -1 Empty the Warrens, +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Duress, +1 Wipeaway
Game Two: He opens with Lynx, then burns me a couple times. I end up at 3 and am forced to go off with Returns but he has a red open. However, he has a Pridemage, I bait out two Lion’s Eye Diamonds, he kills the first in response. Wish, crack for UUU. Returns, play out my hand, Wish, Tendrils. He tells me he drew a bolt.
6-1
Round Eight: Paul with UW Stoneforge Feature Match
Game One: He plays turn two Stoneforge, I play Rite, Rite, Dark Ritual, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Empty the Warrens, Infernal, Tendrils. He picks it up.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Infernal, -1 Ponder, -1 Chrome Mox, +2 Xantid Swarm, +2 Echoing Truth
Game Two: My hand is pretty good, but I wanted to wait a turn for protection. He end step casts Enlightened Tutor for Canonist. Casts it, in Response I cast Ritual, Ritual, Nauseam, draw a bunch. I untap, cast Echoing Truth, it gets countered by REB. I lose.
Sideboarding: -1 Brainstorm, +1 Wipeaway
Game Three: He casts Tutor for Canonist with a bunch of counter backup. I lose.
After the round Damon tells me, he thinks I should’ve cast Xantid and passed game two. Then swing, bounce, win. Maybe, but either way, round was over.
6-2
Round Nine: Doug with Bloodbraid RUG Feature Match
I play against Doug a lot in Syracuse and know that all he has is 4x Force to stop me because of Bloodbraid Elf.
Game One: My life total goes, 20, 19, 15, 11, 7,6, 4,1. His goes 18, 0. I think I won with returns? I don’t remember.
Sideboarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, -1 Chrome Mox, +2 Xantid
Game Two: I open with… Fetchland, Ritual, 3x Lion’s Eye Diamond, Infernal, Ad Nauseam.
7-2
I end up finishing in 11th place and opt to take 125$ instead of cash, go to the dealer booth and get a Karakas, Goyf, and 2 Vendillion Clique for my BANT deck. All I need now is a Tundra and a Savannah.
We begin the car ride back and start talking, the guys in the car don’t believe that I created the deck I was playing, or that I have played Tendrils combo as long as I claim. Then they ask me, “Why is it called The E.P.I.C Storm?”, I begin to explain that I was on the team, The EPIC Syndicate that is now pretty much defunct. They question why people are on teams, and why people would ever join them, ect. I just ignore it and fall asleep.
Then Thursday weekly Legacy in Syracuse comes along and I decide to play the BANT deck I’ve been working on. I would like to say this now...
This is not a place to discuss my card choices
3 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Terravore
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Trygon Predator
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Tarmogoyf
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Progenitus
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Brainstorm
2 Daze
2 Spell Pierce
3 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Natural Order
4 Mental Misstep
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
3 Horizon Canopy
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Savannah
3 Tropical Island
2 Tundra
3 Wasteland
2 Windswept Heath
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Krosan Grip
3 Path to Exile
2 Rhox War Monk
2 Spellsnare
2 Spell Pierce
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Loaming Shaman
I finished 6-0-1 taking first losing three games on the day, winning almost enough credit to purchase the last Tundra I need to finish the deck.
I hope you enjoyed the report.
maybe andrew only thought your deck killed with grapeshot.. it doesn't sound like he got tendriled...
If I remember correctly when testing your red deck against splinter twin the last time at Eli's twin came out on top, pre-board. Anyways congrats on your finish and i always enjoy reading your entertaining reports.
Nice work as always. I hope you continue doing well at the SCG events next time they come around.
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