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Thread: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

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    Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Back at the Club, different location this time but still a very nice one. Guys, I want to break a branch for outsourcing tournaments to Lounges and such … you’ll luv it too. Had to take the train afterworks which is not only annoying but really draining. Anyways, I decided to give Bribery another shot. This time it joins side with Ill-Gotten Gains. I choose to cut down the Abrupt Decays this time because no one played UW Miracles last time and I’m willing to gamble on the 2 Stoneblades we had last time not switching because I think Terminus plain sux in this meta. We had a lil chatter about my 4 FOIL mint Jace, The Mindsculptor I sold via MCM to StarCityGames earlier this day for a fortune and it got unanimous decided that I pay the first drinks. For completion, the list. I still don’t give much about the fetchlands; too lazy to resleeve.

    4 Gemstone Mine
    2 City of Brass
    2 Underground Sea
    1 Volcanic Island
    3 Polluted Delta

    3 Chrome Mox
    4 Lotus Petal
    4 Lion’s Eye Diamond
    4 Dark Ritual
    4 Rite of Flame
    4 Burning Wish
    4 Infernal Tutor
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Ponder
    4 Gitaxian Probe
    4 Silence
    3 Duress
    1 Empty the Warrens
    1 Ad Nauseam

    2 Abrupt Decay
    2 Chain of Vapor
    2 Xantid Swarm
    2 Cabal Therapy
    1 Grapeshot
    1 Ill-Gotten Gains
    1 Empty the Warrens
    1 Tendrils of Agony
    1 Bribery
    1 Past in Flames
    1 Diminishing Returns


    Dunno what changed from last time concering the field. I see new faces and hope not to face serious hate. Soon after the drinks arrived, we are up for the pairings.

    Round 1 – RUG Delver

    Game 1


    I continue my streak: loosing the 1st dice roll. I fan an opening seven without ANY initial mana source or gas. I mull into the following while he joins me, going to 6:

    Rite of Flame
    Lotus Petal
    Lotus Petal
    Burning Wish
    Dark Ritual
    Brainstorm

    Would you keep that hand?


    Mana + Wish. I doubt I can hope for more with another mulligan, so I keep and gamble. He opens with Misty Rainforest for Tropical + Nimble Mongoose. I’m wondering why Mongoose is still an option; maybe someone can enlighten me here. This play is pretty aggressive and I give him AT LEAST a Daze in Hand for my calculation. It’s my turn and I draw Infernal. The only play possible here is to Brainstorm. I play Petal, Petal, pop one for U and dig the top 3 cards: U.Sea, Ponder and Probe. I put back Infernal and Ponder, Probe and see Lightning Bolt, Brainstorm and 2 Spell Pierce. I play U.Sea and count a maximum of 5 mana available of Rite and Ritual … 1 too less for Wish into EtW. I tap the Underground Sea, Ponder and brick. Have to shuffle and draw a Delta. I have to pass back. He casts a Mainphase Brainstorm and drops Volcanic, Swings with Goose and it’s my turn again. My drawphase gifts me a Ponder which joins the Delta on the field tapping the Sea. I see Mox, U.Sea and another Wish. Nothing that really gets me going I fear. Still think that wishing for Therapy might offer an out of the stranglehold I’m in. I take the Wish, and pop Delta which gets stifled … duh! Delver joins his Oxford Rowing Team and I draw the U.Sea left on top. I play it and pop Petal for Rite, tap Sea, Wish which he Pierces and I pay for … resolves. I’m thinking about Diminishing Returns here but doubt I can cast it against the Pierce he’s still holding and stuff he can draw into, so Therapy enters my hand. He reveals a chain lightning to Delver and swings for 4 taking me down to 11 and down to 8 via the direct damage spell, holding 2 cards. I draw a useless mox and pass. He draws, swings and passes with me having the gun at my head. I draw and cast Brainstorm (storm1) into LED, Probe and City of Brass. I put back Mox and float Wish on top. I play City of Brass, tap Sea and put Therapy on the stack (storm2). He Pierces and it refuse to pay (storm3). Play Ritual (storm4) off City going to 3 life, LED (storm5), cast Gitaxian Probe (storm6) and think about my sideboard options here because Tendrils isn’t lethal and EtW not an option. Neither is PIF/DR because I have only 6 mana available after popping LED. I HAVE TO go for Tendrils here. I crack LED for RRR in response to the Probe for BBBRRR floating, and see FoW + Goose in my opponents hand, draw Wish and play it (storm7) to fetch Tendrils (storm8). He plays Tarmogoyf in his turn, swings for 4 and passes back. I draw LED and ship back. I eat an insane blow + Bolt putting me back to 2 life to draw an Infernal. LED (storm1), Infernal off 2 Seas (storm2), pop LED for RRR, fetch and cast Wish (storm3) for Grapeshot (storm4) off City of Brass leaving me at 1 life and him @ 0 … O … M … G

    1-0

    Sideboarding: -3 Duress, +1 Cabal Therapy, +2 Xantid Swarms


    I didn’t deserve this win by any means but good topdecks are part of the game. I’m not sure if I misplayed at some point because I feel I never had a real chance here. He’s really annoyed and we shuffle for game 2.

    Game 2

    He snap keeps his seven … bad omen. I pick up these 7 :

    Lotus Petal
    Infernal Tutor
    Burning Wish
    Ponder
    Underground Sea
    Ponder
    Underground Sea

    Would you keep that hand?


    That hand is slow but I’m sure I can develop that one into something decent. He opens with Volcanic, go. Seems I have indeed the time my hand requires. Good call. I draw a LED for turn! Now we’re talking! U.Sea, Ponder, seeing Rite, Silence and Ponder. I take Silence and float RoF. He goes Volcanic #2 and pass back and I pick up the RoF from the top of my library. I consider Infernal Tutor for another LED but I doubt I get it resolved so I Ponder after playing the second Sea fearing Daze. I see Ponder, Infernal and Therapy, taking the Therapy. I cast Therapy off the remaining Sea and he wants me to stop. He Brainstorms and casts Spell Pierce. Enough for my turn. He plays Scalding tarn for Tropical Island and drops Tarmogoyf. I draw the Ponder and throw it onto the stack revealing City, LED and Infernal, taking City and float LED. I cast Wish and plan to grab Therapy from my sideboard but it gets dazed. Goofy and a Chain Lightning put me down to 13. I draw the LED and cast Petal , Rite of Flame off City, pop Petal, Silence which gets FoW’d, I cast both LED’s and cast Infernal while crack both LED’s for RRRBBB with the Tutor on the stack and send in my Cambridge Crew with 16 athletes. He draws, revealed the Pierce he had in his hand left and I’m glad I did fetch EtW and not Ad Nauseam. He scoops before my team passes the Barnes Bridge … enought of the boat race stories here … I promise.

    2-0

    Unlike the first game I never had the impression I could loose this one after I topdecked the Lion’s Eye Diamond. Possible his draws in game one were simply too amazing … I’m thankful for any shared experience for this matchup … thx in advance.

    Round 2 – Sneak Show

    Game 1


    Nice pairing as he’s the same guy I played last tournament so we both are pretty sure that we are facing. I open with these 7 after winning the dice:

    Infernal Tutor
    Gitaxian Probe
    Rite of Flame
    Ponder
    Brainstorm
    Lotus Petal
    Dark Ritual

    Would you keep that hand?


    I put him on full defense or a turn 1 Show&Tell off his snap-keep. But decide to keep here and test the water with Probe seeing: 2 FoW, 2 Brainstorm, Iskand, Flooded Strand and a Misdirection. Holy shit! I draw another Ritual and confidently play Petal into Ponder and act cool in hope he let it pass … it does. I look at Mox, Probe and Silence taking the Probe and pass. He ships back immediately after playing an island. I draw the mox, play and imprint the Probe into Brainstorm which gets the nod showing me Ritual, City and Silence. At this point I’m well aware that he could have taken me out twice with his FoW’s but plays VERY conservative. We ship turns and he never misses his next 2 landdrops, eot Brainstorms, Ponders and sculpts his hand while I draw cards I already know. He drops Ancient Tomb, Sneak Attack and attacks with a hasted Griselbrand, draws 7 and passes back. I draw a Gemstone at 11 life but don’t see how I should beat 2 FoW with a single Silence and facing lethal. The flying spaghetti monster finishes me.

    2-1

    Sideboarding: - 1Infernal, + 1 Cabal Therapy

    Game 2


    I keep a hand full of disruption

    Gemstone Mine
    Duress
    Cabal Therapy
    Lotus Petal
    Gitaxian Probe
    Chrome Mox
    Rite of Flame

    Would you keep that hand?


    I open with Probe and see FoW, Sneak Attack, City of Traitors, Show&Tell, Volcanic, Ponder and Intuition drawing Ritual. I cast Duress off Gemstone and take the Force. He plays Volcanic, Ponder, shuffle draw. I draw City, play it and cast Therapy 4 S&T, strip a single copy and see he drew Emrakul … I have 2 turns. I draw Ponder, throw in on the stack and see, Probe, Duress and LED; take Probe and float Duress. Probe and see FoW, Sneak Attack, Intuition, Emrakul and Scalding Tarn. I Duress and think about either taking FoW or Sneak Attack but know I will draw LED so I have to stall him but my decision is invalid because he casts FoW. He drops the Sneak Attack and passes. I draw the LED, look at my life total @ 14 and have to pick up my cards as a hasty Emrakul enters the red zone

    2-2

    Were my keeps that bad? I was unable to overcome double FoW in both matches and feel shattered.

    Round 3 – Jund

    Game 1


    I’m keeping my first 7 and so does he:

    Lotus Petal
    LED
    Volcanic Island
    Ponder
    Silence
    Dark Ritual
    LED

    Would you keep that hand?


    I’m in the mood of throwing my hand against FoW if needed because my disruptive hand last game did not even to manage to take last game. I lay down the Volcanic and Ponder seeing Wish, Infernal and Petal, I take the Infernal, play Petal, LED, LED, pop Petal for Dark Ritual, put, Infernal on the stack, crack the Diamond’s for RRRBBBB in my pool and wait for FoW which does not happen. I search for Ad Nauseam and cast it with RB floating off 20 life

    Gemstone Mine (20)
    Probe (19)
    Burning Wish (17)
    Brainstorm (16)
    Silence (15)
    Petal (15)
    EtW (11)
    Rite (10)
    Mox (10)
    Delta (10)
    Gemstone (10)
    Wish (8)
    Ponder (7)
    Probe (6)
    Mox (6)
    Ritual (5)
    Rite (4)


    I Probe him going to 2 life, seeing Hymn, Deathrite Shaman, Gorve of the Burnwillows and other goodies knowing now he’s on Punishing Jund. Rite, Rite, Ritual, Mox (Probe), Mox (Ponder), Brainstorm into Petal, Rite and Silence, put back Lands, Petal, Rite, Wish for Past in Flames, Ritual, Rite, Rite, Rite, Wish, Grapeshot

    Sideboarding: didn’t board anything

    3-2

    Game 2


    I decide to keep a hand which does not auto-fold to Thoughtseize which looks like this

    Gemstone Mine
    Silence
    Burning Wish
    Dark Ritual
    EtW
    Volcanic Island
    Brainstorm

    Would you keep that hand?


    He opens with Verdant Catacomb into Bayou into DRS. I draw Infernal Tutor for the turn, play Gemstone and Silence-walk him in case of Hymn. He drops a forest and passes his turn. I draw Probe and decide to give it a try and indeed find 2 Hymn and another DRS in company with Sylvan Library + Swamp in his hand. I get a Mox and Brainstorm off the played Volcanic into Probe, Brainstorm and Petal. I put back the Wish and the Infernal, play Petal, Probe (draw Infernal), Mox (imprint Infernal), Brainstorm off Gemstone Mine into another Mine, Wish and Ad Nauseam and drop 16 Goblins into play. He drops Library then eats 15 damage with his DRS blocking a Goblin, I drop Gemstone after drawing the Wish. Wish for Therapy, cast Therapy for DRS, hit one and pass. He looks at the top 3 with his Library and offers the handshake.

    4-2

    Round 4 – Goblins


    Ahhhh … the joy of a familiar meta. I see Nic Fit, U/W Stoneblade, ANT and another RUG player because my opponent takes a lil food break knowing that we finish fast anyways.

    Game 1

    He mulls into oblivion … I’m sure 4 cards are valid to be called that way. I dig towards a strong turn 2 play:

    Lotus Petal
    LED
    Underground Sea
    Ponder
    Ponder
    Gemstone Mine
    Burning Wish

    Would you keep that hand?


    Since I won the dice I lead with Sea into Ponder which reveals Probe, Duress and Ritual. I take the Probe and float Ritual. He plays Mountain into Vial and ships back. I draw Ritual for turn and Probe (storm1), Ponder (storm2), into Probe, Rite and LED, take Probe. Play Probe (storm3), draw LED, Petal (storm4), LED (storm5), LED (storm6), Ritual off Gemstone (storm7), Duress (storm8), pop Petal for R to cast Wish (storm9), break a LED for BBBB in my pool and fetch Tendrils from the SB (storm10)

    Sideboarding: -3 Duress, +2 Chain of Vapor, +1 Therapy

    5-2

    Game 2


    I look at a nice 7 of

    LED
    Ponder
    Brainstorm
    Dark Ritual
    Infernal Tutor
    Delta
    Delta

    Would you keep that hand?


    He leads with Cavern of Soul into Goblin Lackey. I dig for U.Sea with my Delta and Ponder into Rite, Silence and Gemstone Mine. Take the Rite and pass. He drops Vial and swings with Lackey dropping Warchief. My draw brings me Silence. I drop Gemstone, LED, Rite, Ritual, Infernal, break the Diamond and fetch Ad Nauseam to cast if off 18 life with a black mana flood.

    Chain of Vapor (17)
    Mox (17)
    Silence (16)
    Probe (15)
    Probe (14)
    Silence (13)
    Mox (13)
    City of Brass (13)
    Burning Wish (11)
    EtW (7)
    Brainstorm (6)
    Chain of Vaor (5)
    Rite of Flame (4)
    Dark Ritual (3)


    I cast Mox (imprint EtW), Mox (imprint Probe), tap both moxen, chain Mox and copy the ability by dumping the Sea, Mox (Probe), Mox (Silence), Brainstorm into 2 Wishes and LED, put back City and Wish. I silence him off the Mox, chain both moxen again and sac Gemstone for that, Rite of Flame, Mox (Wish), Mox (no imprint), LED, Dark Ritual, Burning Wish and grapeshizzle for lethal.

    6-2

    I end up on seat #3 and our DCI Reporter pairs me against the second Jund in the field.

    Semifinal – Jund

    Game 1


    He mulls to 5 after loosing the dice …. Obviously to find action in the form of turn 1 discard which won’t matter after I fan those 7

    Gemstone Mine
    Rite of Flame
    Infernal Tutor
    Dark Ritual
    Burning Wish
    Lotus Petal
    Lotus Petal

    Would you keep that hand?


    Gemstone, Petal, Petal, pop Petal for Rite, Gemstone tapped for B to cast Ritual, and Wish for EtW. I drop 12 Goblins after burning another Petal. He plays the expected Thoughtseize off Bayou and rips my Infernal Tutor. I draw Ritual and swing for 12 to ship the turn afterwards. He picks his top card and starts shuffling

    7-2

    Sideboarding: nothing

    Game 2


    I’m not sure what to board here for value so I try another game without the board :/

    LED
    Dark Ritual
    Ponder
    Ponder
    Gemstone Mine
    Underground Sea
    Infernal Tutor

    Would you keep that hand?


    It looks awesome on paper but I expect a Turn 1 discard anyways. I’m pretty sure the Tutor is the no.1 target but I have LED and Ritual for mana and 2 cantrips to find another tutor or Wish unless I get slapped by the combo of T1 Thoughtseize, T2 Hymn. He leads with Badland into Thoughtseize and takes his time to pick a target. We both discuss about the topic and he picks the Infernal … I would have at least considered LED instead depending on his follow-up-play … Whatever. I draw RoF and proceed my plan with U.Sea into Ponder seeing crap, shuffle, draw LED. I drop both LED’s in fear of Hymn and pass. He trops Verdant Catacomb, pop for Bayou, plays DRS and hit me with a lightning bolt. I draw Brainstorm, let Gemstone Mine enter the battlefield and Ponder (storm1) again off the Underground Sea. I see Probe, Volcanic and Wish, take Probe and float Wish. I cast Ritual off Mine (storm2) and put Probe (storm3) on the stack to pop up 2 Diamonds for BBBRRRRRR, draw Burning Wish and fetch Ill-Gotten Gains from my SB (storm4) and cast it (storm5) returning 2 LED’s and the Infernal to my hand, LED (storm6), LED (storm7), Infernal Tutor on the stack (storm8) with a single black mana flood, break both Lions Eye Diamonds for BBBRRR, fetch a Burning Wish from my library, cast the Wish (storm9) for Tendrils of Agony (storm10).

    8-2

    I’m about to regain confidence in my deck as I see who my opponent in the final is: The fellow gentleman who left me without any chance in round 2. SneakShow – Vol. 2

    Finals – Sneak Show

    Game 1


    Finals and I win the dice! I’m willing to keep the following:

    Ad Nauseam
    Gitaxian Probe
    Silence
    Duress
    Brainstorm
    Rite of Flame
    Gemstone Mine

    Would you keep that hand?


    Disruptive to no end. I decide to keep that ugly hand only because I don’t want to loose against double-counter again. I open with Probe and take notes about Misdirection, Show&Tell, Volcanic Island, Lotus Petal, Spell Pierce, Intuition and Brainstorm. I play Gemstone and take his Pierce with Duress. He drops Volcanic and passes back to me. A Dark Ritual joins my hand after the Probe stabilized my mana with a second Gemstone off my library. I Brainstorm into lands + Rite, put back a Rite and a Land keeping a Delta and fetch for an Underground Sea. My opponent drops a Petal and ends his turn. I draw LED and Silence off the fresh Gemstone Mine I drop which meets FoW piching S&T. I decide to go for it against 4 cards left in his hand. LED, Dark Ritual, Rite of Flame, Ad Nauseam. He taps Volcanic and cast Brainstorm (I forgot about that one tbh) … he returns 2 cards, brainstorms again off the Petal and the Ad Nauseam resovles.

    Brainstorm (16)
    Silence (15)
    Duress (14)
    Ponder (13)
    Probe (12)
    Delta (12)
    Infernal (10)
    Infernal (8)
    Brainstorm (7)
    Silence (6)
    Volcanic (6)
    LED (6)
    Mox (6)
    Delta (6)
    Infernal Tutor (4)
    Dark Ritual (3)


    Had to gamble about a mana source at 4 life in addition to the Mox to turn on my Infernal. I cast Probe going to 1 life drawing Rite of Flame and seeing nothing of relevance, Mox (Infernal), Dark Ritual, LED, Infernal , break the 2 Diamonds for BBBBRRR, search my deck for a Wish and he scoops after checking the stormcount and my mana.

    9-2

    Sideboarding: -1 Infernal, +1 Therapy

    Game 2


    He keep’s his 7 and so do I.

    Burning Wish
    Duress
    Lotus Petal
    Underground Sea
    Brainstorm
    Gemstone Mine
    LED

    Would you keep that hand?


    LED and Wish? Evil thoughts rising. He starts with Volcanic, go. I draw Probe for turn and slam it down. He has to reveal Ancient Tomb, Scalding Tarn, Intuition, Emrakul, FoW and Misdirection. I cast the Therapy Probe gave me off U.Sea and he seem to really think about misdirecting it but a lil’ chatter about me staying the controller of the spell and let me pick his FoW. He drops Tomb and pass back. I draw RoF and Brainstorm off the Sea. I draw Rite, Silence and Ritual putting back Mox and Silence. I play Petal and Duress him off the Intuition which I remember can cause me problems. He plays Scalding Tarn and passes back. I’m now pretty confident the coast ist clear. Ritual, Rite, Rite, LED, Burning Wish, crack the Diamond for UUU and grab …. Finally … Bribery. I leave RBU in my pool and cast the sorcery for laughter on the nearby tables. I pick up a Griselbrand from his deck, draw 14 going to 4 life. I find LED and Infernal among mana and lots of cantrips. Ritual, Mox (Probe), LED, Ponder (dig a Petal), Rite, Petal, sac Petal to cast Silence, Infernal Tutor for Burning Wish, cast Wish and break a Diamond in response for BBB and finish him off.

    10-2

    REVENGE! REVENGE! He still does not run Leyline ... explains the crappy Misdirection. He plans on going towards Omniscience next time and the Stoneblades announced to go miracles/esperblade next Time after failing hard twice .... Good to know ;D



    Propper:
    - Location (again)
    - Patient Peeps
    - Bribery show-off
    - lucksacking the match against RUG
    - EtW

    Blopper:
    - punted match 2 (!?)
    - close match no.1
    - trainride

    Factsheet:
    - 12 games, 10 wins, 2 losses
    - 3 wins off EtW
    - 1 win off IGG
    - 3 times casted Ad Nauseam
    - 4 games finished via Tendrils
    - 3 games finished via Grapeshot
    - 1 game won off natural spellchain (without engine card involved)
    - 1 win off Bribery -> Griselbrand


    Thx for your patience to read through this wall of text.
    Last edited by Lemnear; 08-28-2013 at 12:35 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

  2. #2
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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Rd2, G2, I think that Ponder should have been a shuffle. It's a close call, but you're putting yourself in a position to be the control in that matchup, a role that I think you can't win. The only way to beat S&S in my experience is by being the "beatdown". You also know that he has a guaranteed kill 2 turns later if he Forces correctly, so even more incentive to shuffle for a Tutor. The opener is close, but I would probably keep it and be nervous about Leyline.
    Also, you definitely wanted to board in Xantid Swarm in this matchup. In fact, it's the main reason Xantid Swarm is in the board...

    Rd3, G1 - the casual t1 Grapeshot
    Also, wouldn't you prefer to have at least one more discard effect over Silence? If you Silence and they spend their turn Wastelanding, you're pretty far behind.

    Finals - haha nice job with the Bribery. I still don't think it's necessary though. I would have boarded out an IT so that much mana would have allowed me to wish for IT for Ad Nauseam, and then statistically we can draw more than 14 cards (0.78 avg cmc, lower if you board out Empty)

    Overall, good work repping storm at your local events! I want to do an event at a pub now...
    Languages and dates for every set. For all you true pimps.

  3. #3
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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Quote Originally Posted by phazonmuant View Post
    Rd2, G2, I think that Ponder should have been a shuffle. It's a close call, but you're putting yourself in a position to be the control in that matchup, a role that I think you can't win. The only way to beat S&S in my experience is by being the "beatdown". You also know that he has a guaranteed kill 2 turns later if he Forces correctly, so even more incentive to shuffle for a Tutor. The opener is close, but I would probably keep it and be nervous about Leyline.
    Also, you definitely wanted to board in Xantid Swarm in this matchup. In fact, it's the main reason Xantid Swarm is in the board...

    Rd3, G1 - the casual t1 Grapeshot
    Also, wouldn't you prefer to have at least one more discard effect over Silence? If you Silence and they spend their turn Wastelanding, you're pretty far behind.

    Finals - haha nice job with the Bribery. I still don't think it's necessary though. I would have boarded out an IT so that much mana would have allowed me to wish for IT for Ad Nauseam, and then statistically we can draw more than 14 cards (0.78 avg cmc, lower if you board out Empty)

    Overall, good work repping storm at your local events! I want to do an event at a pub now...
    Rd.2, G2: In retrospective I agree with you on Ponder. I know from chatter he had not changed his board towards Leyline and I thought I could make it without the swarms and felt he was only lucky in game 1; got punished game 2 for my ignorance. I will board swarms again against that matchup in the future as he announced possible changes in favor of Leyline and going OmniTell.

    Rd.3: in Game 1 i saw Grove of the Burnwillows via Probe post-AN. I doubt he was running Fire-Grove + Wasteland

    Finals: I wanted to make Bribery work again even if it's completely bullshit XD In that situation Ad Nauseam via SB-Infernal would have been possible manawise. Unlike the last tournament i replaced a Decay which was useless anyways but can get important if the Stoneblades indeed switch to Miracles. I had enough fun with Bribery the last 4 tournaments so I can use that spot again for more than the lulz
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

  4. #4

    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Hey great report.

    I like how detailed it is and how interactive it is with your readers. Good call. Some things that I'd like to note here. I think Round 1, Game 1, you could have held out a bit longer. It didn't have to be as close as you made it seem. If you were suspecting a Daze, cantripping off of the Lotus Petal is quite dangerous. After seeing his Nimble Mongoose turn 1, I think waiting a bit wouldn't have done you much harm. You could have waited at least a turn or 2 as the 1-2 extra cards would not have made much of a difference in your opponent's hand and a damage or 2 does not hurt TES. Further more, it would increase your chances of playing around your suspected Daze. Your opponent is also less likely to know what you are playing, so they won't know how to sculpt their hand. They may just think you are mana screwed. By showing the Lotus Petal so early, you are revealing to your opponent unnecessary information and putting yourself unnecessarily at risk. Luckily, he didn't counter your cantrip. I think a seasoned Tempo Thresh player would counter your cantrip or lotus petal, given that you only cantripped off of a Lotus Petal. In the end, it turned out well for you.

    Another thing I wanted to note besides the shuffling mentioned earlier is your SB choice against Show and Tell decks. The Xantid Swarms are in the board for this particular match up. I'm curious as to why you didn't board them in. You would have at least baited out some counter magic if you had boarded in the Xantid Swarms.

    I would probably: -1 Ponder, -1 Infernal Tutor, +2 Xantid Swarm

    Ponder and Infernal Tutor #4 are generally considered the most flexible slots. I think it'd be meaningless to board out Discard for Discard or protection for protection. You may also consider boarding out Rite of Flame #4 or Chrome Mox #3 if you feel that the game will go on for longer. I don't think this is the case in this match up though.

    Anyhow, I think you played the other match ups masterfully. I especially enjoyed the cantrip chain into the Tendrils a few times. I think I might try that strategy more often, but I think your comfort with this strategy might hinder some of your cantripping choices. Anyway, I hope I have brought some insight for you as you have brought some for me. Thanks for sharing.

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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    this is a fantastic read - thanks for so much detail!

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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    @Jin

    Thank you for your input. I wrote the last 2 Storm Reports in such a style and detail for analyzing mistakes, giving insight and take all suggestions to heart concerning my decisions.

    For the RUG matchup I agree completely except the minor issue that these small familiar events make it near impossible to hide your strategy from others, either through knowledge gained through the last event or Mid-round chatter. The fellow gentleman piloting that RUG list played in the previous event too (was One of 2 RUG's that day I did not play against, see here) so I expected him knowing on which Deck I likely am and proper mulligan/sculpt for the matchup. Still there was no reason for me to immediately start playing without being pressured. I just felt that with the information he already had, additional turns would benefit him more than me.

    The Xantids and Me ... a history of misunderstanding. I'm maybe too spoiled winning difficult matches without them but REALLY have to change that lackluster habit of mine and goddamn board in those bugs against RUG and S&T.dec. I'll stop that crap.

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    Quote Originally Posted by civet five View Post
    this is a fantastic read - thanks for so much detail!
    My pleasure. You may enjoy the preceding Report too. You can find it also here of TheSource.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemnear View Post
    The Xantids and Me ... a history of misunderstanding. I'm maybe too spoiled winning difficult matches without them but REALLY have to change that lackluster habit of mine and goddamn board in those bugs against RUG and S&T.dec. I'll stop that crap.
    It's been said by a couple of different people in the TES thread that they would never bring in Swarm against decks likely to leaving in Bolt (e.g. Thresh). I don't have personal experience with it (like you, not used to having Swarm in the board), but their reasoning makes sense. I only board it in against U decks without removal.
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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Quote Originally Posted by phazonmuant View Post
    It's been said by a couple of different people in the TES thread that they would never bring in Swarm against decks likely to leaving in Bolt (e.g. Thresh). I don't have personal experience with it (like you, not used to having Swarm in the board), but their reasoning makes sense. I only board it in against U decks without removal.
    It's a pretty 2-edged-sword in my experience. Sometimes you blank their counters, another time you turn on their creature removal, sometimes they board it out against TES and are cold to the bugs. I have a brief history of casting swarm just to see it eot bolted or removed. We can discuss about the value of swarm catching a bolt ;)

    I do not board in the bugs normally if I see my RUG opponent plays Chain Lightning in addition because I doubt they survive a single turn (WotC should goddamn print a swarm with shroud lol) but the discussion in the TES thread made me try it non the less. Depending on the actual game drawing a Xantid would have been useless
    Last edited by Lemnear; 04-12-2013 at 06:02 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Once again, amazing report!
    Quote Originally Posted by Lemnear View Post
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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Quote Originally Posted by Kayradis View Post
    Once again, amazing report!
    Thx for enjoying
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    fixing and spellcheck
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

  12. #12

    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    I was reading your most recent report (congrats on the triple crown by the way) and since I enjoyed it so much I came back to read the first two. I noticed a minor play error in game one of the semifinals. Instead of going straight for Burning Wish you could have gone Gemstone Mine, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor for Rite of Flames, Lotus Petal, Lotus Petal, Rite of Flames, Rite of Flames, Burning Wish for Empty the Warrens giving you 16 goblins instead of 12. Making 16 goblins turn one on the play leaves Jund with only one out: turn one, land, Deathrite Shaman, turn two, land, Maelstrom Pulse/Pernicious Deed. With only 12 they can also go: turn one, land, Deathrite Shaman/Lightning Bolt, turn two, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt/Deathrite Shaman,Deathrite Shaman/Lightning Bolt,Deathrite Shaman, turn three land, Maelstrom Pulse/Pernicious Deed/Bloodbraid Elf into Maelstrom Pulse/Pernicious Deed. Granted most of those lines depend on the Jund player not using any fetches to save life or you either cracking fetches yourself or depleting your gemstone mines as well as the fact hat they would be left on one or two life, but with only two counters left on your only land and just an Infernal Tutor in hand it's not impossible to get beat to death before you can cast Burning Wish for Grapeshot. Unlikely but not impossible. Anyway, congrats again on the wins and I look forward to your next report.

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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Quote Originally Posted by AndyTron View Post
    I was reading your most recent report (congrats on the triple crown by the way) and since I enjoyed it so much I came back to read the first two. I noticed a minor play error in game one of the semifinals. Instead of going straight for the wish you could have gone gemstone mine, dark ritual, infernal tutor for rite of flames, lotus petal, lotus petal, rite of flames, rite of flames, burning wish for empty the warrens giving you 16 goblins instead of 12. Making 16 goblins turn one on the play leaves Jund with only one out: turn one, land, deathrite shaman, turn two, land, maelstrom pulse/pernicious deed. With only 12 they can also go: turn one, land, deathrite shamn/lightning bolt, turn two, lightning bolt, lightning bolt/deathrite shaman,deathrite shaman/lightning bolt,deathrite shaman, turn three land, maelstrom pulse/pernicious deed/bloodbraid elf into maelstrom pusle/pernicious deed. Granted most of those lines depend on the Jund player not using any fetches to save life or you either cracking fetches or depleting your gemstone mines as well as the fact they would be left on one or two life, but with only two counters left on your only land and just an infernal tutor in hand it's not impossible to get beat to death before you can wish for grapeshot. Unlikely but not impossible. Anyway, congrats again on the wins and I look forward to your next report.
    I did not miss this but was sure 12 Goblins should be enough, keeping the Infernal as backup for Pulse/Deed. In any case he needed DRS to interact with me in-time here.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

  14. #14

    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    True, since the other lines would have made it impossible for him to cast any discard spells. Okay, good call.

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    Re: Heart of the Storm #2 - Striking twice

    Quote Originally Posted by AndyTron View Post
    True, since the other lines would have made it impossible for him to cast any discard spells. Okay, good call.
    Just, feel free to ask :)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echelon View Post
    Lemnear sounds harsh at times, but he means well. Or to destroy, but that's when he starts rapping.

    Architect by day, rapstar by night. He's pretty much the German Hannah Montana. Sometimes he even comes in like a wrecking ball.

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