2nd with UWr Miracles at SCG Dallas 11/11/12

[sauce]

For those interested in what my deck looks like, here are some crappy camera photos, I do not have scans:
http://www.berzerk.org/scgdfw-nov2012/

The video coverage for my matches starts right around 25:05:00 mark in this video http://www.twitch.tv/scglive/b/339156895

SCG DFW was coming up and I had to decide what to play. I really liked the UW list that_shipitholla won the SCG LA with except a few cards.
After altering his list a bit, I started playing the deck in my LGS for about 3-4 weeks. I am no stranger to cbtop or UW control decks so it did not take me too long to get the hang of miracles.
I picked up the cards I was missing for the deck on modo and played maybe 5-7 games in tournament practice with it to get some of the intricacies down.

I was happy with 14 of the 15 cards in my sideboard except for Land tax, so the night before the event I decided to cut it in favor of Path to exile as a concession to Merfolk/Goblins and RUG which I felt like could be tough games depending on the pilot.
The 75 I registered can be seen here: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=50683

Round 1 vs Hudak, Stephen UW Helm/RIP W Match 2-0, Overall Games 2-0, Tournament Record 1-0
Stephen is a guy I played against in the previous SCG DFW tournament. I said hello and we shuffled up.
G1
I won the roll and played lands go for a while. Stephen proceed to do the same revealing to be on some type of UW deck playing Tundras and Islands on his first few turns.
Eventually the jig was up when I played SDT and settled in for a grind. I did not hit many fetchlands early and Stephen started working my manabase over with Dust bowl.
Eventually, I resolved a Counterbalance but he resolved a Helm of obedience which I Oblivion ringed.
He tried for another one and it stuck. I landed a Jace with him tapped out and frantically started fatesealing his cards making sure he does not hit a Rest in Peace or I find a 2 drop on top for my Counterbalance.
V.Clique for me joined a few turns after and Jace + Clique went the distance.
G2
This game was not eventful, I believe I landed a Counterbalance + Top again and rode it to victory while Stephen got locked under his own Mana maze for a turn when I flashed in a V.Clique on his upkeep.

Round 2 vs Yu, Kevin UW SFM W 2-0, 4-0, 2-0
Kevin seemed to be very quiet during the match but we eventually got into a good pace to make sure we don't time out.
G1
From my notes, it looks like it was a long game with him going for Batterskull and me eventually tempoing him out with JTMS bouncing the germ + Counterbalance + FoW on top to counter the BS on way down.
G2
I think I landed a quick Counterbalance + Top because it looks very short in terms of life totals and 0 notes.

Round 3 vs Hicks, Jeff Belcher W 2-0, 6-0, 3-0
Jeff was not very careful shuffling my cards and I felt like he was looking at my deck while shuffling. I called a judge but nothing happened and we moved on.
G1
We both kept our 7. Jeff started off with Land grant into Gitaxian probe. My bunghole clenched as I held no FoW. I revealed some marginal hand with brainstorm and top.
His hand was not too scary though and he fizzled out turn 1 by playing half of his mana (Chrome Mox & Wall) before passing.
I took advantage of that assembling counterbalance + Jace and when he finally went off I stopped him easily.
G2
I keep an OK hand w/ FoW and brainstorm but no EE or even Terminus to put on top. He goes for it turn 1 and I counter the Rite of flame that would give him 4 mana w/ FoW.
He pitches SSG and ESG and makes 10 goblins still. At this point I rip for my 1st turn and its Terminus. Granted no land in play is not a problem as I play land and brainstorm it on top EOT.
When I miracle it on my t2 he concedes.

Round 4 vs Joe Bass, UWr MiracleBlade, L 1-2, 7-2, 3-1
Joe and I played before RD8 of GP Dallas him at 7-0 and me at 6-0-1. Both of us played UW SFM JTMS Squadron Hawk nonsense decks.
He beat me in 3 back then and this time was no different.
G1
From my notes, it looks like a long game where he eventually stuck a SFM + Batterskull and I eventually got beat down.
G2
I take out all of my removal because I have no idea he has Venser. I stick a quick CBTOP and he scoops as we're both playing slow decks.
G3
We go long and he eventually lands a CBTOP. I fight a bit but am missing land drops while he is plating them. He eventually gets Karakas + Venser, Shaper Savant going and I cannot recover from the tempo loss.

Round 5 vs Crone, Jason, Merfolk, W 2-0, 9-2, 4-1
G1
Jason wins the roll and opens on Island Curse catcher. I untap and play Flooded strand.
He untaps into a Lord of Atlantis and attacks with Curse catcher. I plow the Lord and Curse catcher dies to protect his master.
I play top while taking some damage and find a Terminus quickly after. I win G1 with a V.Clique into an Entreat playing around Spell pierce.
G2
This game is funny because he plays a turn 3 Standstill to which I respond with V.Clique and let it resolve. He has a Mutavault but I am at a lower life total.
I eventually Miracle entreat and let him draw 3 and he does not counter it because he drew nothing but guys. 4/4 flyers are better than fish.

Round 6 vs Lenhart, Justin P, RUG Delver, W 2-0, 11-2, 5-1
Justin a local player who plays at my LGS. He does not play Legacy very often but is a Type2 grinder.
G1
I win the roll and Justin gets me fairly low with a bunch of bolts and Goyfs. I eventually stabilize at 4 and win with V.Clique + Counterbalance.
G2
He keeps a 1 lander and no creatures. He eventually sticks some dudes which go to the bottom via the Terminus express. Eventually with both of us having nothing he plays Sulfuric Vortex which I counter.
His life total drops precipitously from 20 as V.Clique takes 3 point chunks off his flesh without him being able to find an answer.

Round 7 vs Gibson, Joel, Burn, W 2-0-1(!), 13-2-1, 6-1
G1
Joel tries to call a judge because he is concerned whether my foil island is legal. Judge convinces him it is and we move on.
We play the burn my face game and I "stabilize at 4". I find a V.clique ASAP and take him down to 9. He draws a Barbarian ring and takes me to 2. I fetch EOT and go to 1 desperately looking for a counterbalance. I activate my SDT and see Snapcaster but no CB.
I draw my Snapcaster EOT via my Top and flash him in. On my turn, I attack Joel down to 4 and cross my fingers.
He draws... Pause... I am confused. It is not a land because he is not extending the hand... WTF IS IT? "Flame rift" he announces.
I check life totals, him at 4 and me at 1. I quickly activate Top, find nothing and we go to G2... 0-0-1.
I ask him if he has ever drawn before. He tells me "Nope, have you?" to which I respond, "Yeah, but never vs Burn" (people around us laugh)
G2
He goes first again since he won the roll for G1 (FML, 2nd straight game on the draw vs a Burn deck and he gets to Sideboard more Vortexes)
I bring in disenchant, counterbalance, counterspell and a Path to exile for his mongos.
He plays the Vexing devil which I allow and then STP. Eventually I set him up for a sick blow out where he attacks me with another Vexing devil and a Goblin guide and in response to Goblin guide's trigger I brainstorm.
I hit 1st card Terminus (blind!) and reveal it then in response to Miracle trigger fetch away the crap because I find no lands to reveal to Goblin guide. I resolve Terminus trigger and Goblin guide and Devil both hit the bottom of his deck.
Guide trigger yields no land still but the game is slipping away from him as I am still at 15 life!
Eventually I take over with JTMS when he tries to play Vortex 2 turns in a row and I answer one with Counterspell and the other with O.Ring.
G3 (AGAIN ON THE DRAW)
He is clearly giving up and I put him out of his misery at 12 life with a hard lock of 1, 2 & 3 drops on top + CBTOP.

So... I am in t8 right? Wrong. Poor breakers and I am in 9th place and forced to play for my tournament life. Oh well, let's do it. I've been in this spot before.
I get called for my first camera feature match vs...

Round 8 vs Sheen, Kaider, BUG Delver, W 2-0, 15-2-1, 7-1
I know Kaider is on BUG because a friend of mine Dzra just lost to him the round before and ended up X-2-1.
Having this information is very crucial as I play around his stifles/dazes as much as I can during G1.
G1
I am mana screwed but he lets me miracle Terminus instead of dazing it... I proceed to take advantage of that punt and eventually draw my lands and kill him with V.Clique while going down to 1.
I do the math about 4 turns before hand and figure out I cannot fetch or Mongoose will kill me. MATH FTW!
G2
I get a better start and land a CBTOP. He quickly destroys my CB and my lack of 2 drops lets him do it with a cheesy Golgari charm nontheless.
I eventually show his mongoose what a 4/4 angel looks like and even hastily skip an attack step after doing the math via JTMS Fateseal leaving him with Sylvan Library and no outs.
Thankfully I am floating 2 EE on top of my deck and correct my misplays to win easily with 2 angels.

After I t8, my friends congratulate me and I get ready to play the 7th seed - Goblins. WOOT, shouldn't be too bad. I am obviously still concerned about t1 Lackey/Vial and Cavern of souls.
People refuse to chop and we play it out. No guts no glory.

Quaterfinals vs Paoletta, Jonathan, Mono red Goblins, W 2-0, 17-2-1, 8-1
I am on the play since I am the 2nd seed going in to the t8. Jonathan is new to legacy and I am not opposed to getting a free win, especially to the tune of $400.
G1
I take advantage of his inexperience and walk him right into a terminus after he refuses to kill JTMS at 5 counters and goes for my throat instead.
I win at 1 life as a miraculous appearance of my 4/4 flyers puts a halt to his horde's aggression.
G2
I set him up for some more Terminus tricks and he bites every time due to inexperience. I eventually play out my crappy Oblivion rings, keeping STP + PTE in hand for later and win off a JTMS when he finally runs out of gas.

Semifinals vs Minard, Darin, UW Stoneblade, W 2-1, 19-3-1, 9-1
I see his list and get worried. 4 Mishras factories main and 3 Gheists in the SB could be really taxing on my Terminus plan. Joe Bass gets lucky to play vs Merfolk in the semis.
G1
I mull to 6 and eventually get Venser Karakas'd in G1. WTF :-(
I pick myself back up and get ready to grind.
G2
I business him with a quick CBTOP and eventually Clique. He concedes to the CBTOP lock since none of his spells are resolving any time soon.
G3 (on camera)
I get in a tough situation but set up a few nice game states and play conservatively with instants on my main phase.
I battle through THREE Gheists from Darin this game...
Eventually I entreat on defense for 2 angels and then shut him out with CBTOP + Entreat & CB on top to counter his Disenchant and then Entreat for roughly a million on his upkeep.
I feel like this was the 2nd best game I played all day.

I make the finals and hope I can get my revenge on Joe finally. He is career 2-0 against me before the finals and it has to stop. But as you know it does not...

Finals vs Joe Bass, L 1-2, 20-5-1, 9-2
Its getting late so we play quickly as t4 already prize split and we're basically just battling for a trophy and the glory.
G1
I get almost shut out with his early CBTOP but have manage to stick 2 SDT of my own before the lock out happens to keep fighting.
He attempts for a lot of threats which I fade with 4x FoW and him being impatient instead of grinding me out with CBTOP.
I eventually find a JTMS and stick it and proceed to win with CBTOP + JTMS. I had a 1% chance to win that game if Joe played it correctly.
Feeling really good I am ready to win the finals at this point. I feel like this was the best game I played all day.
I sideboard correctly this time not taking out all of my Terminus & STP for Vensers.
I do board out 3 FoWS as I hate Force of will vs the mirror, but it may be the reason why I end up losing, IDK.
G2
I feel like I punted the game when I force pitching V.Clique because he is tempoing me out with JTMS + Karakas. I wanted to land a CB and so I kept it in my hand.
Joe played much better this game and drew pretty well also. I also made a sketch single block on his 4 angel attack mainly because I was worried about him setting up a JTMS post combat and me having no answers.
I was hoping to draw a Terminus after an attack or being able to protect vs JTMS or draw my own JTMS. I drew kaka and proceeded to lose. In retrospect I should have traded all my guys I guess and then get a few more turns with SDT.
G3
For all the marbles... I keep 2 lands 2 CB 2 Spell Pierce and Entreat.
I go land go. He goes Island, go. I go 2nd land CB. He obv has the pierce and follows up with his own CB.
This is where it hurts not having FoW I guess. I pray to top deck a 3rd land and brick. I am resigned to try my fate and play my 2nd CB into his CB.
He blind flips SFM and draws pretty much perfectly from that point on and I brick more and more turns on lands and die in a disgusting fashion in G3 of the finals.

Props
- To all my friends, especially Mixon and Koby for cheering me on via Texts, Twitter & FB.
- To Joe for picking himself up after a poor G1 in the finals.

Slops
- To me for some misplays and my deck for being so stingy with lands in the game it mattered the most.

Thanks for reading. If you need specific sideboard/matchup questions answered, feel free to ask.

[Koby]

Congrats mang! Sucks about Game 3 of the Finals. :(

[Esper3k]

Nice job, man!

[death]

u really need to get that last guru !!

[RaNDoMxGeSTuReS]

u really need to get that last guru !!

I thought this too during the coverage.

[god_campbell]

I loved watching your sexy deck in action man.

[Koby]

You should preface the report with a scan of your deck. So people can come get that out of their system first.

[Shimi]

You should preface the report with a scan of your deck. So people can come get that out of their system first.

Completelly Agree! That deck is amazing , missing just the one Guru Island(I guess).

[Dark Ritual]

Completelly Agree! That deck is amazing , missing just the one Guru Island(I guess).

His deck wasn't that beautiful aesthetically

I just watched the first two games of the finals, well done game 1. I really liked the plays you made there, and there were a lot of hardcast FoW's, which is always to my liking. Shame you didn't win the whole thing.

Either way, good job!

[Koby]

This is turning out to be the best report in the longest while.

"So I got to the finals, checkout my shiny deck" -fin

[sauce]

This is turning out to be the best report in the longest while.

"So I got to the finals, checkout my shiny deck" -fin

I posted, stop complaining :-)

[Koby]

I posted, stop complaining :-)

I can't help it. It's in my genes.

[Dark Lord]

Fairly new to the miracles deck, but why the double oblivion ring over detention sphere?

[god_campbell]

some people prefer to run o rign over d sphere due to red blast, though the ability to pitch to fow and hiit multiple things. it's all personal preferance.

[sauce]

I ran Oblivion ring for a few reasons:
1) I have 2 EE main to answer problem permanents in multiples as well as Nimble mongoose.
2) Oblivion ring lets me exile their Detention sphere while Detention sphere would not let me do that, I expected more ppl to be on Detention sphere right now.
3) In the mirror, it would be brutal to have your Detention sphere on JTMS red blasted.

[Ophidian]

Get some beta duals, you scrub

[sauce]

Get some beta duals, you scrub

Have some. For my old Zoo deck :[

[ScatmanX]

Great job on the deck. I really enjoyed watching you play. Congratz.

G3
For all the marbles... I keep 2 lands 2 CB 2 Spell Pierce and Entreat.
I go land go. He goes Island, go. I go 2nd land CB. He obv has the pierce and follows up with his own CB.
This is where it hurts not having FoW I guess. I pray to top deck a 3rd land and brick. I am resigned to try my fate and play my 2nd CB into his CB.
He blind flips SFM and draws pretty much perfectly from that point on and I brick more and more turns on lands and die in a disgusting fashion in G3 of the finals.

Have you considered here passing the turn 2 with 2 mana up? Because if he were to play CB, you'd have 2 answers for it. If he had FoW, he'd probably use it, because, since you did nothing T2, he could assume you didn't have your own CB. That way you would be able to clear the way for your own CB on your 3rd turn.
Of course, he could have just passed the turn if he wasexpecting counters, but the way you played you openend yourself to FoW, Pierce or ReB. Looking back, would you have played differently?
Congrats again.

[sdematt]

Is the coverage up? I'd love to see me some pimps.

-Matt

[Esper3k]

Is the coverage up? I'd love to see me some pimps.

-Matt

Yeah the camera matches are all up and available.

http://www.twitch.tv/scglive/b/339156895