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Thread: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

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    12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work



    After arriving midday on Saturday to see a few buddies doing well in the Standard open, I begin to scour the trade floors for a Wren's Run Packmaster. None of the big binders seem to have any knowledge of the card, and most people can't even identify what it is. Ah well, I should have just asked someone earlier in the week to pick one up at the Local Shop I suppose. With an empty slot in my deck I debate running a Thrun or something silly to fill the slot, but settle on a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed in the mainboard; a card I've never been impressed with in the past. It always seems like I could have already won when he's in play - but there are corner cases..
    I loan out some LEDs and lands to a guy looking to play dredge (who 4-0'd the challenge by the way) and some Wastelands to someone else, then register for the 5PM event and wait.



    Matchups
    > Challenge
    R1 v Infect
    R2 v Death and Taxes
    R3 v Esper Stoneblade
    R4 v Junk

    > Open
    R1 v UWR Delver
    R2 v Elves
    R3 v Jund
    R4 v Jund
    R5 v Elves
    R6 v Jund
    R7 v Tin Fins
    R8 v Belcher
    R9 v RW Painter
    I finished my first round pretty quickly, so here's a breakdown of the decks in the challenge.
    1 ANT
    1 Bant
    1 BUG Delver
    3 Burn
    1 Deadguy Ale
    4 Death and Taxes
    1 Dredge
    5 Elves
    1 Enchantress
    1 Esper Blade
    2 Goblins
    3 Infect
    2 Jund
    1 Junk
    1 Kobolds
    1 Maverick
    3 Merfolk
    3 Miracles
    1 Oops! All Dicks
    1 Pox
    1 Rock
    1 RW Painter
    1 Tezzeret
    1 Tin Fins
    2 UR Delver
    1 UR Sneak and Show
    2 UWR Delver
    1 Werewolf Stompy
    1 Zoo
    1 Unknown?
    Round 1 v Aaron (2-0)
    Infect

    Aaron leads off game one by fetching a Tropical Island and casting Noble Hierarch. Great, I can beat a bant deck. I lead on a Nettle Sentinel and pass it back to him.
    He follows up on the Hierarch with a Blighted Agent and a Glistener Elf. Uh oh. I draw for my turn then cast Glimpse of Nature into Birchlore Rangers into Nettle Sentinel into... etc etc, winning the game on turn two after some fortunate draws and double Natural Order for two Craterhoofs. It turns out that Aaron was going to kill me on his third turn, but I guess such is legacy.

    Sideboard:
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +2 Cabal Therapy
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Natural Order

    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -2 Quirion Ranger
    -1 Heritage Druid
    -2 Elvish Visionary
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Reclamation Sage

    I'm pretty sure I want to be the aggressor here because I can't block his Inkmoth Nexus or his Blighted Agent. My plan is to stave off lethal with some Thoughtseizes in the hopes that he either doesn't assemble a second creature or can't find enough time to present lethal while still leaving couter magic open.
    He leads on a fetch land with a turn two Inkmoth Nexus. I Thoughtseize on the second turn seeing three lands, and Invigorate, a Berserk, and a Force of Will. I take the Invigorate, but I'm pretty sure it's right to do the Berserk in hindsight since it represents lethal with any +4 pump spell he could draw. Either way, I suppose, I still have two turns before he can assemble lethal.
    He draws a Wasteland and plays it, then a Pendelhaven the following turn - meaning that I know he still doesn't have the capacity to kill or any disruption. I'm able to put him to 1 life off a Craterhoof and take the game from there.
    1-0

    Round 2 v Mike (2-0)
    Death and Taxes

    Mike's a local guy and goes into the matchup with no expectation of winning. He plays a lot against Elves locally, and I think at this point he's accepted that the matchup just isn't something he can really control without drawing the right hate cards at the right time.
    Game one I'm on the play. He lays a Stoneforge on two finding a Jitte. I played Deathrite into Quirion Ranger + GSZ (Arbor). My turn three Glimpse, however, puts me into a full board with a well past lethal Craterhoof in hand. He plays a Mirran Crusader then packs it in to the Hoof.

    Sideboard:
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Natural Order
    +1 Progenitus

    -1 Quirion Ranger
    -2 Heritage Druid
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -2 Glimpse of Nature
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

    I know Mike has access to Canonists and Aven Mindcensors usually, so I bring in a few extra discard spells to keep my information about his hand high.
    He leads on a Wasteland and a Grafdigger's Cage. This is normally a telegraph that he's color screwed. I fetch a Bayou and cast Quirion Ranger before passing it back to him, he has a Rishadan Port for his turn and at this point it's abundantly clear that he cannot produce White mana this game.
    I play a few things here and there before Mike attempts to Wasteland my Bayou with another sitting in the wing for my Dryad Arbor. I opt to save the Bayou and make him nuke the Dryad, limiting him to one Rishadan Port. I'm able to establish a board position and wrap up the game in short order.
    2-0

    Round 3 v Leo
    Esper Stoneblade

    I don't have much written down for this, but I lead on Deathrite into Nettle Sentinel and a Green Sun's Zenith for a Birchlore, which sets me up for a quick kill. Leo, on the other hand, shows me Deathrite into Stoneforge Mystic (Jitte) before we move to game two.

    Sideboard:
    +1 Thoughtseize
    +1 Sylvan Library
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Progenitus

    -1 Heritage Druid
    -1 Birchlore Rangers
    -1 Quirion Rangers
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    I probably should just be taking out the Natural Order package against these Thoughtseize + Counterspell decks. I think I'll try that going forward.

    Game two he establishes some control with a Swords for my early Arbor and an active Jitte.
    Game three I only have one fetch land written down - must have been quick.
    3-0

    Round 4 v David
    Junk

    Before we start playing I ask if David would want to split so we both could go our respective ways to dinner. I tell him that I'm only interested in picking up the voucher, while he mentions being interested in the playmat associated with a 3-0-1 or 4-0 finish. That's fine by me, I have no need for another shitty mat. The problem is that 3-1 doesn't get the playmat, and that 3-0-1 can't get the voucher... meaning that he would have to scoop to me (or vice-versa) in order for us both to get what we want.
    I ask if he'd be willing to split, which would equate to 6+10 packs and a single playmat. Rather than us each taking 8 packs though, I'd upgrade my side by trading two packs out of my bag for his share (= Voucher) and letting him keep the mat. It works out that he would get exactly what the 3-0-1 finish is (well, I only have Born of the Gods packs - but it's close).
    He's hesitant on this, I'm not entirely sure he understands what I'm offering even though he says he does. We decide to just play it out, but I ask him to think it over and let me know if he changes his mind during the match.

    We go into the first game it's grindy as hell. I'm ahead for a while, but he crawls his way back in before casting Lingering Souls and flashing it back the next turn. I draw into a Natural Order and nab Ruric Thar to block his spirits and chip away at his board, being that a Craterhoof wouldn't have been lethal against the blocking power of his Tarmogoyf.
    I swing with the Ruric the following turn and he chump blocks with a spirit rather than trading the majority of his board for my 6/6 Ogre Warrior. I draw into another Natural Order the following turn and eat the 6 damage to put Craterhoof into play and kill him with the trample damage.

    (didn't even write down my sideboard notes - likely only involves +Decay, +Library, +NO, +Prog)

    We enter game two and I have a solid hand with Glimpse and a Visionary, Wirewood, and Deathrite. He Thoughtseizes the Glimpse from me and I assemble a small 4-man army on the board with 4 cards in hand.
    After he Extirpates my Glimpses and sees my hand, he looks back at his and asks if I'd still want to split. Being that I'm ahead on board, have a strong hand, and am already up a game in a good matchup I'm a little offended by the request, but I just want to grab some barbeque - They'd gone ahead of me and I'd kept them waiting long enough.
    I hesitate a bit, explain that I feel pretty ahead this match, but I take him up on the offer and we sign the match slip. We take the slip up to the reporting station, I grab my free entry for the main event and throw the playmat at him before powerwalking out of the venue to try and make up for the last 20 minutes of time I wasted.
    4-0
    (yeah I'm calling this a win)

    The Korean Barbeque place was lively; there were a ton of people there and a loud crying infant. The food is mediocre and overpriced, but at least I get to eat with some cool people and have a good chat (I still think nedleeds should have played some Deadguy brew - but Enchantress was an alright choice too I guess, it is pimp as hell).


    I can't remember when they changed the start time to 9AM for these events, but it certainly screwed up my schedule. I wake up at 6:30 to shower and such, aiming to arrive at our carpool's meetup point at 7:30. I find out that big Jon was feeling sick and vomited before I got there, so props(?) to him for feeling better the rest of the day. We pack into my (as of an couple hours ago - fuck Atlanta drivers) ruined Mazda 3 and set off to the open.

    Originally I had considered playing GWx Maverick or Junk in the open, but coming off the back of a strong 4-0 in the challenge and having seen the general deck distribution of the challenge I felt less secure in that choice. I opted to stick with my Elves build for the open, still upset I couldn't find a Wren's Run Packmaster for the main.
    Round 1 v Chris (2-1)
    UWR Delver

    He leads on a Delver, which flips revealing Ponder. He casts a turn two Jitte, but it doesn't do a whole lot after he leaves his Delver back on defense after its first swing.

    Sideboard:
    +2 Thoughtseize
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    (+1 Pithing Needle) - game three

    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    (-1 Nettle Sentinel) - game three
    -2 Heritage Druid
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    Game two he has an early Lavamancer which keeps my board in check while a Delver takes to the skies. I'm unable to fight out the disadvantage of being on the draw against Lavamancer.
    Game three I have a pretty aggressive hand with a fetch and a Cradle. I fetch a Bayou wanting to keep the Abrupt Decay in my hand live, then Green Sun's Zenith for 0 - which means a Force of Will. He Wastelands my Bayou and it's looking like I might be in trouble.
    On my second turn I play the Gaea's Cradle out of my hand, which meets a second Wasteland. I draw into a fetch land and attempt to repeat my first turn, grabbing a Bayou and GSZing for Dryad Arbor. He plays a Tundra and Swords to Plowshares the Dryad. At this point though he's pretty much depleated his hand and unsuccessfully kept me off casting spells this game. I develop a sizable board presence and resolve Natural Order for lethal.
    1-0

    Round 2 v Steven (2-0)
    Elves

    Game one he fumbles with his Heritage Druids and Wirewood Symbiotes and misses lethal with a Craterhoof, putting me to 3. I hoof him on my turn. Thanks for the game.

    Sideboard:
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +2 Cabal Therapy
    +1 Natural Order

    -1 Quirion Ranger
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -1 Elvish Visionary
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Reclamation Sage
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

    I'll touch on this later again, but I think I should be cutting a Wirewood instead of the Visionary because I have two Birchlore main to make casting my sideboard cards easier.

    Game two, he leads on Deathrite and has a turn two Sylvan Library. My turn involves a Deathrite as well, then I Thoughtseize him on turn two and take Natural Order, leaving a Green Sun's Zenith, Abrupt Decay, and a respectable hand invovling a Heritage Druid. With the right draws on his librray he might be able to put up a pretty good board. He vomits a few guys on the table, but I'm able to make better use of my turn with a Glimpse digging me down to a lethal Craterhoof the following turn.

    His board plan involved bringing in 3 Abrupt Decays, 2 Sylvan Libraries, and some stuff. It's much too reactive for my taste in this match and part of the reason I feel I won. Had his Decay been a Thoughtsieze he might have been able to keep me off that Glimpse.
    2-0

    Round 3 v Kye (2-1)
    Jund

    I don't have much in the way of Notes here, but I know game one he has a Jitte and two Goyfs. I'm able to grab my Reclamation Sage before the Jitte gets oppressive, and keep the board in my favor until I can Natural Order for lethal.

    Sideboard
    +1 Thoughtseize
    +1 Sylvan Library
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Natural Order
    +1 Progenitus

    -1 Quirion Ranger
    -3 Heritage Druid
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    Game two I thoughtseize him and take a Tarmogoyf, leaving a Jitte and two Lilianas - the Jitte for which I have a Decay waiting. I keep his board fairly clear, but am unable to develop much before he finds a Maelstrom Pulse and a Lightning Bolt to limit my development and give him time to keep control with Liliana.
    Game three I take some hits off a Goyf and lose a dude or two off Punishing Fire + Bolt, but I'm able to Natural Order for Progenitus with a Wirewood on board as edict protection. The following turn I lay a fetch land to defend against Liliana even further and Progenitus takes down the game.
    3-0

    Last edited by haganbmj; 09-19-2014 at 06:36 PM.
    Tusk up.
    (Not so) Current Decks: GB Elves, GW Maverick, GWb Maverick, LED Dredge, ANT, TES, Jund Storm.

  2. #2
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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Round 4 v "Taco" (1-2)
    Jund

    Game one I try to fight through an active Punishing Fire, while he's unable to advance his own board in the process.
    I think I make a small mistake bouncing a Visionary with my Wirewood while I need the mana on my Gaea's Cradle, but that was before I had seen the Punishing Fire - so I'm not entirely sure. The end result is that I get stuck with double Craterhoof in my hand and the ability to only make 7 mana two turns in a row. He eventually locks up the board, capitalizing on my Bayou + Cradle manabase.

    Sideboard:
    +2 Thoughtseize
    +1 Sylvan Library
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Natural Order
    +1 Progenitus

    -1 Quirion Ranger
    -2 Heritage Druid
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -1 Elvish Visionary
    -1 Reclamation Sage
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    Game two I have a solid hand that he can't really interact with. Hoof.
    Game three he's on the play and Bolts my one drop, slowing my development. He's can't get an active Punishing Fire, but a Liliana gives him the time he needs to lock up the board.
    3-1

    Round 5 v Hayden (1-2)
    Elves

    Game one I'm a turn short and he Hoofs me first.

    Sideboard:
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +2 Cabal Therapy
    +1 Natural Order

    -1 Qurion Ranger
    -2 Elvish Visionary
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Reclamation Sage
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

    Game two I'm able to Thoughtseize him, seeing an Abrupt Decay, and keep him short of lethal. He Hoofs me to 1 a turn later, but I kill him on my turn.
    Game three I Thoughtsieze him again and take Natural Order, leaving him with a Wirewood and a Visionary to buy me a few turns to set up my own. He draws well off the Visionary and assembles a lethal board a turn before I can.

    The mirror match is like that I suppose. We talk afterwards and he mentions re-evaluating his boarding going into game three; taking out his Decays because they don't do anything.
    I'm of the philosophy that the mirror is all about speed. The double Birchlore gives me the opportunity to progress my board while still disrupting my opponent, and I think that's the way to go. The mirror is all about how many cards you can see and how close to something broken you can come.
    Perhaps it is more relevant then to leave in Elvish Visionaries in these matchups in order to maximize my Heritage Druids, trimming the fat elsewhere.
    3-2

    Round 6 v Jonathan (2-1)
    Jund

    Game one I Hoof him, there's not much to really write down.

    Sideboard:
    +1 Thoughtseize
    +1 Sylvan Library
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Natural Order
    +1 Progenitus

    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -3 Heritage Druid
    -1 Elvish Visionary
    -1 Reclamation Sage
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

    Again, my board is probably a bit strange - but I still expect my opponents to board out Liliana and trim down their curve, giving me a better chance to play the midrange game and topdeck into a Natural Order.

    Game two he leads on a Deathrite then bolts my Deathrite and plays a Confidant. He's able to get Punishing Fire online and play the grindy slow game, widdling my life total down with Deathrite activations.
    Game three I'm on the play and am able to assemble a pretty solid board involving a Deathrite to neuter his and a Pendelhaven to keep combat in my favor. He plays a Liliana as an edict, and I continue to question why all three of my Jund opponents have made that decision. Eventually I grind him down, keeping myself at a high life total and preventing him from establishing any significant board presence.

    After the match he shows me how he boarded. He had taken out Hymn to Tourachs, which is fine I suppose on the draw? His rationale was that he needs to lock up the game; getting the board to a position in which we're both topdecking - one that would allow Punishing Fire or Liliana to control the board.
    It's a perfectly reasonable explanation, and I would imagine that is the way Jund wins the match since it seems unlikely they'll be able to win with Goyfs otherwise.
    4-2

    Round 7 v Edwin (2-0)
    Tin Fins

    He's on the play and fetches a Polluted Delta into an Underground Sea, then passes back. I lay a Deathrite Shaman on my turn one.
    His turn two he fetches a Marsh Flats into Underground Sea and passes back again.
    I play a Wirewood and lay a Fetch land so I can fetch an Arbor and set up a turn 3 Glimpse. He Cabal Therapies me naming Glimpse of Nature, which hits, but misses his land drop.
    At this point I'm pretty damn confused, but I'm fairly sure he would have to be on Reanimator, some awkward ANT build, or, more likely, Tin Fins (thanks for conditioning me to think that phazonmutant). He doesn't do anything else for next two turns while I beat him down.

    Sideboard:
    +1 Pithing Needle
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +1 Null Rod
    +1 Natural Order

    -1 Quirion Ranger
    -1 Heritage Druid
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -1 Glimpse of Nature
    -1 Reclamation Sage
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    I'm fairly sure he's not on Storm at this point, but I feel like my board plan kinda hedges against all the options.

    Game two he leads on an Underground Sea and Durresses me, seeing my hand of Deathrite, Ooze, Visionary.
    I lead on the Deathrite and pass back to him. Turn two he doesn't do anything, but I draw a Thoughtseize and finally get a chance to see what's going on. His hand consists of Force of Will, Show and Tell, Ponder, Dark Ritual, Cabal Therapy, Durress. Now that's interesting. I take the Ponder knowing that he's stuck on one land with the full of intent of baiting out his Force of Will in the next turn or two. I cast the Visionary and pass back.
    He draws a Probe and ends up burning his Dark Ritual to rip the Ooze and Green Sun's Zenith I drew. We play a few turns and I sack into a Natural Order, which eats the Force and Show and Tell out of his hand.

    After the match I find out that he's Tin Fins with a sideboard plan involving 3 Force of Will, 4 Show and Tell, 4 Sneak Attack, and a few extra Fatties.
    Quite a peculiar board plan - I wonder if just leaving his mainboard configuration would have been more powerful.
    5-2

    Round 8 v Cody (2-1)
    Belcher

    I'm on the play with a pretty solid hand. He doesn't play a land for his first turn after mulling to 6. I know there was a Belcher player and an Oops and Spells player in my bracket, I think it's just a matter now of figuring out which one I'm up against. It turns out that the Oops and Spells player is playing to my right, so it looks like Belcher.
    I have a Heritage Druid turn two, leading into an Elvish Visionary and setting up a turn three kill. On his turn two he lays a Tiaga and proceeds to go into Burning Wish + 2x LED. He nabs an Internal Tutor off of his Wish and is searching through his library, he mentions to me that he's not entirely sure Empty will be good enough this game based on my board state and that he had made the mistake earlier against Elves. He opts for to fetch and cast a Belcher with two on board mana sources, putting his odds at like 60% or something to draw a mana source.
    So my turn three I untap and double check my count, pretty sure I have exactly a lethal 16, but start doubting myself on how many untapped creatures I can produce for combat. I take my time and feel pretty bad about slowrolling it to my opponent. Ah well.

    Sideboard:
    +3 Pithing Needle
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +2 Cabal Therapy
    +1 Null Rod
    +1 Natural Order

    -2 Glimpse of Nature
    -1 Quirion Ranger
    -1 Wirewood Symbiote
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -3 Elvish Visionary
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    Again, I think I'm boarding incorrectly. I need to be dropping Wirewoods first and leaving some Visionaries in. Being that I'm bringing in a bunch of one drops and have two mainboard Birchlores, I can afford to keep Glimpse hands and my Visionaries are decent.

    Game two he's on the play and Belches me on turn two.
    Game three I Cabal Therapy him on game one, missing on LED. I'm fairly worried about both Belcher and Empty based on my hand, so it felt like cutting something out of the middle might be best. He shows me a hand with 4 Spirit Guides, a Tinder Wall, and 2 Belchers. He lays the turn one Belcher, so I flashback a Cabal Therapy turn two to cut down his mana a bit. Turn 4 or 5 I draw a Null Rod and cross my fingers that he doesn't draw well enough out of this to enable the Burning Wish I saw in his hand off my flashbacked Cabal Therapy. He doesn't and I'm able to take the match.
    6-2

    Round 9 v Robbie (2-1)
    RW Painter

    Looking at the pairings, it seems possible that we could both draw into top 32, but I'm too lazy to do the numbers and my opponent clearly hasn't either.
    To my left is my Jund opponent from earlier in the day, we start chatting and I mention how I played 3 of "your deck" today, he mentions Natural Order on accident and quickly hushes up. Ah well, maybe we've lost the element of surpise.

    My opponent is on the play game one and keeps his 7. His first turn he exiles 3 Simian Spirit Guides and casts Blood Moon. Pass turn.
    I drop the basic forest I kept in my opnener and a Quirion Ranger or something. He gives a bit of a sigh, "you only play two of those, right?"
    He misses his second turn's land drop as well and I advance my board into a turn four lethal Natural Order.
    Perhaps it's possible he kept the hand knowing that I was on Elves, we'll never know. Mr. Jund later approaches me after the event to apologize for spilling the beans. He said he immediately realized he had done it and had tried to divert the focus of the conversation to brush over it. It's all good, we all do stuff like it from time to time - and it might have even helped me win game one?

    Sideboard:
    -1 Glimpse of Nature
    -2 Wirewood Symbiote
    -2 Quirion Ranger
    -1 Heritage Druid
    -1 Nettle Sentinel
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
    -1 Craterhoof Behemoth

    +3 Pithing Needle
    +3 Thoughtseize
    +1 Null Rod
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +1 Progenitus

    I've actually never played the matchup, so hopefully I evaluated this correctly. I debated just cutting all the Natural Orders, but it feels like I need something to close out the game. I brought in the Progenitus to give me that extra attack step.

    Game two he drops a turn one Magus of the Moon and I don't have a Forest this game unfortunately. Instead, he's able to cast an Imperial Recruiter and a Simian Spirit Guide and beat me down while I discard a few times.
    Game three I keep a respectable hand with a Pithing Needle and a fetch land. I fetch the forest and play a Deathrite Shaman. He cracks a Lotus Petal to Firebolt my Deathrite, then plays an Ancient Tomb into a turn one Painter's Servant.
    I fetch a Bayou and play a dude and my Pithing Needle on Grindstone. The following turn I have a Heritage Druid and another dude, then cast a Reclamation Sage from my hand. He pitches a Spirit Guide to Red Blast it, which hopefully clears my way for a couple turns. I cast a Craterhoof and punch him to 2, which eliminates as many outs as I can think of now that I've cut him off Ancient Tomb. I attack with the Hoof next turn, forcing a chump block, then Natural Order for Progenitus to put the win on board.
    7-2

    I'm pleased with the way this weekend turned out. I hadn't played magic in three weeks on account of my new school schedule, and I think that showed in my suboptimal sideboard decisions, but overall I felt reasonably content with my gameplay throughout the 13 rounds I played this weekend. I definitely had some lucky hands and won a few matchups off my opponents just not playing at their best, though.
    Even still, I'll take some comfort in knowing that I played better than some of the other Elves players in the room - as there were some awful people there. Eh, maybe I'll just take it as a learning experience.

    Props to:
    - My Jund opponent for apologizing after accidentally hinting at what deck I was on in round 9.
    - Matt Webster for top 8ing with Infect
    - Bunch of cool Atlanta people making top 64 with Reanimator, UR Standstill, Food Chain, Metalworker, etc
    Last edited by haganbmj; 09-18-2014 at 04:07 PM.
    Tusk up.
    (Not so) Current Decks: GB Elves, GW Maverick, GWb Maverick, LED Dredge, ANT, TES, Jund Storm.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Judging by how little it appears in the report and often you boarded it out, I'm assuming you continue to be unimpressed by Ogredude. Do you feel like having a Packmaster instead would have made a difference or was the slot just overall moot?

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by iamajellydonut View Post
    Judging by how little it appears in the report and often you boarded it out, I'm assuming you continue to be unimpressed by Ogredude. Do you feel like having a Packmaster instead would have made a difference or was the slot just overall moot?
    Considering that the Packmaster crushes fair aggro, P.Fire & Liliana with the losses coming from Punishing Jund, I'm also interrested if the sheer option would have made a difference
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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    I was surprised at a couple of your sideboarding choices. Howcome you like discard over Null Rod/Needle in the D&T matchup?

    Howcome no Pithing Needle brought in vs Infect? That's the best card in the MU for shutting down Inkmoth I think.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by shopshopshop View Post
    I was surprised at a couple of your sideboarding choices. Howcome you like discard over Null Rod/Needle in the D&T matchup?

    Howcome no Pithing Needle brought in vs Infect? That's the best card in the MU for shutting down Inkmoth I think.
    Inkmoth is fairly slow in this MU I would think. Plus as a 1-of, your chances of drawing and resolving it seem low.

    Discard imo, vs Death and Taxes over Null Rod and Needle is nice because you can strip hate bears like Spirit or Canonist I would assume. I do think Null Rod may actually be worth it though. The thing is, you don't want to over board vs them though. Your DnT MU is already heavily favored, so slowing your deck down when they really have almost no way to interact seems fairly meh.
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Cheese View Post
    I've been taking shitty brews and tier 2 decks to tournaments and losing with them for years now. Welcome to the club. We meet for cocktails after round 6.
    Quote Originally Posted by Stevestamopz View Post
    Top quality german restraint there.

    If I'm at the point where I'm rage quitting, you can bet your kransky that I'm calling everyone involved a cunt.

  7. #7

    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Always the most well formatted reports. Yes I have a Russian Packmaster. Yes I have Russian Wolf Tokens. Yes Hoof Derp.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Packmaster is one of those cards that I've seen do well for people and that I've envisioned being good in scenarios I encounter while playing the deck.
    Ruric Thar, on the other hand, is only relevant in corner cases. Usually when you're Natural Ordering against the decks it would be beneficial for, you could just win the game with Hoof instead. The exception to that is Miracles, as it guarantees some value out of your investment and demands an immediate answer.

    Against my three Jund opponents it would've been the tits, and would have allowed me to trim my reliance on the Natural Order package while playing against them. The match can be fairly grindy if they're on the play with an active Punishing Fire, so I've often wanted some over the top cards to be able to draw into. Packmaster is easy to power out, Green Sun-able, and doesn't die to any of the removal spells they have in their deck. From there it can generate onboard advantages and allow you to build up your hand instead.

    Instead, however, my gameplan against them became drawing into a Natural Order to derp a Progenitus in play - or just hope then can't deal with enough of my small men. I wish I had better notes for the event, I think it would more clearly indicate what I mean. There were a couple situations where I had the opportunity to produce a Packmaster, but instead had to settle for something marginal - like an Elvish Visionary - instead.


    Death and Taxes can attack you in a variety of ways. The equipment is really only scary on a Mirran Crusader or a Flyer - which generally will take them until turn 4 to assemble. To hedge against not only Stoneforge, but also against the variety of hate cards they can produce (Revoker, Canonist, Aven Mindcensor, etc), I've been partial to the discard spells. If you have a hand that only loses to a Jitte, then it's very easy to keep a Thoughtseize up until they play their Stonefoge. Alternatively, if your hand is soft to one of their other spells, discard gives you the option to push through those.
    I personally believe that bringing in Needle against Death and Taxes unnecessarily dilutes your deck in order to suppress a single line of their attack (because really you shouldn't be worried about AEther Vial, Wasteland, or Rishadan Port as much).


    The main take away from this report should be that Elves is absurdly powerful and no matter how badly you sideboard or build your deck you can derp your way into top 16 by playing a powerful deck and utilizing the hands you're dealt marginally better than your opponents.


    I can't seem to find a German Wren's Run Packmaster, maybe I'll settle for Spanish temporarily.




    @nedleeds - I'd like to think that a report needs a bit of formatting to make it more legible. BBCode is very limited in what it can do though.


    Oh, and some thoughts on my list.
    The 3 Needles in the board seem good - I didn't have a chance this event to properly showcase them. I think they're what I want in those slots, though.
    The 2 Birchlores were good - they helped me play some sideboard cards and made my first couple turns more explosive in addition to making Glimpse chains more reliable.
    Pendelhaven is fun and makes grindy combat against Deathrite/Stoneforge/Bob decks much better.
    Ruric Thar still sucks. I'll never play it main again (unless I see 20 Storm opponents).
    Tusk up.
    (Not so) Current Decks: GB Elves, GW Maverick, GWb Maverick, LED Dredge, ANT, TES, Jund Storm.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by haganbmj View Post
    Death and Taxes can attack you in a variety of ways. The equipment is really only scary on a Mirran Crusader or a Flyer - which generally will take them until turn 4 to assemble. To hedge against not only Stoneforge, but also against the variety of hate cards they can produce (Revoker, Canonist, Aven Mindcensor, etc), I've been partial to the discard spells. If you have a hand that only loses to a Jitte, then it's very easy to keep a Thoughtseize up until they play their Stonefoge. Alternatively, if your hand is soft to one of their other spells, discard gives you the option to push through those.
    I personally believe that bringing in Needle against Death and Taxes unnecessarily dilutes your deck in order to suppress a single line of their attack (because really you shouldn't be worried about AEther Vial, Wasteland, or Rishadan Port as much).
    I agree with not bringing in Pithing Needles as they're too narrow of a solution to problems you don't really care about, but I also agree with the other guy that Null Rod is totally worth it. Even though you're not really afraid of Aether Vial, the ability to cut off a large portion of their deck with a single inexpensive card that they literally cannot get rid of is just too good.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by iamajellydonut View Post
    I agree with not bringing in Pithing Needles as they're too narrow of a solution to problems you don't really care about, but I also agree with the other guy that Null Rod is totally worth it. Even though you're not really afraid of Aether Vial, the ability to cut off a large portion of their deck with a single inexpensive card that they literally cannot get rid of is just too good.
    I can get behind that - I'll have to try it in the future just to see if it's too many spells.
    You need to do something unfair against Death and Taxes because most of their creatures are just better than yours in 1v1 combat, the difference is that they are slower at developing their board generally. I've been partial to keeping that advantage, limiting the number of reactive cards I bring in. Null Rod does fill both the proactive and reactive roll though - might be cool.

    (oh and other Thoughtseize targets = Cataclysm and Holy Light (people here go deep))
    Tusk up.
    (Not so) Current Decks: GB Elves, GW Maverick, GWb Maverick, LED Dredge, ANT, TES, Jund Storm.

  11. #11
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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by haganbmj View Post
    Packmaster is one of those cards that I've seen do well for people and that I've envisioned being good in scenarios I encounter while playing the deck.
    Ruric Thar, on the other hand, is only relevant in corner cases. Usually when you're Natural Ordering against the decks it would be beneficial for, you could just win the game with Hoof instead. The exception to that is Miracles, as it guarantees some value out of your investment and demands an immediate answer.

    Against my three Jund opponents it would've been the tits, and would have allowed me to trim my reliance on the Natural Order package while playing against them. The match can be fairly grindy if they're on the play with an active Punishing Fire, so I've often wanted some over the top cards to be able to draw into. Packmaster is easy to power out, Green Sun-able, and doesn't die to any of the removal spells they have in their deck. From there it can generate onboard advantages and allow you to build up your hand instead.

    -snip-


    The main take away from this report should be that Elves is absurdly powerful and no matter how badly you sideboard or build your deck you can derp your way into top 16 by playing a powerful deck and utilizing the hands you're dealt marginally better than your opponents.


    I can't seem to find a German Wren's Run Packmaster, maybe I'll settle for Spanish temporarily.

    Maybe I can help you out. I still have some german (foil) Packmasters leftover which I have not gifted to peeps and can send you one over of you want.

    German Foil Packmaster look like this
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    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: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    I have now learned that the german word for Warrior is Krieger. Therefore I must now purchase every warrior ever made.

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Cheese View Post
    I've been taking shitty brews and tier 2 decks to tournaments and losing with them for years now. Welcome to the club. We meet for cocktails after round 6.
    Quote Originally Posted by Stevestamopz View Post
    Top quality german restraint there.

    If I'm at the point where I'm rage quitting, you can bet your kransky that I'm calling everyone involved a cunt.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemnear View Post
    Maybe I can help you out. I still have some german (foil) Packmasters leftover which I have not gifted to peeps and can send you one over of you want.

    German Foil Packmaster look like this
    It's just as beautiful as I had imagined a foil Packmaster would look.
    I appreciate the offer - but sadly, I'm going to avoid the foils - they're a dangerous obsession.
    Tusk up.
    (Not so) Current Decks: GB Elves, GW Maverick, GWb Maverick, LED Dredge, ANT, TES, Jund Storm.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Sweet report, very pretty!

    I'm glad that there was some value to me jamming TinFins for months
    Languages and dates for every set. For all you true pimps.

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    Re: 12th at SCG Atlanta with Elves | Making Poor Decisions Work

    Quote Originally Posted by phazonmutant View Post
    Sweet report, very pretty!

    I'm glad that there was some value to me jamming TinFins for months
    Your playing that stupid deck so much was the only reason I called a player on tin fins after he played a scrubland and probed me then passed.
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Cheese View Post
    I've been taking shitty brews and tier 2 decks to tournaments and losing with them for years now. Welcome to the club. We meet for cocktails after round 6.
    Quote Originally Posted by Stevestamopz View Post
    Top quality german restraint there.

    If I'm at the point where I'm rage quitting, you can bet your kransky that I'm calling everyone involved a cunt.

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