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Thread: Tournament Report for Big Magic Open 5, Yokohama (October 11th, 2015) BUG Delver

  1. #1

    Tournament Report for Big Magic Open 5, Yokohama (October 11th, 2015) BUG Delver

    This weekend I played BUG Delver at the Big Magic Open in Yokohama. The tournament had 305 players and 9 rounds of legacy followed by a top 8. I finished the day 4-5 and to be honest I am quite proud of the day because this was the third time playing this deck in a tournament. I went in intending to get more experience with the deck. Prior to playing BUG delver I played Merfolk for 4 years before deciding to commit and get a real legacy deck after doing terribly at GP Kyoto last year.

    The reason I am posting this report is to help get better with the deck. I feel that you usually learn more from your losses then your successes, so I will suck up my ego and show all the better players why I did so poorly with the deck. I attempted to keep good notes after/during the match but it is difficult at times so please excuse anything I am missing.

    The list I played:
    Spells (25 Spells)

    4x Brainstorm
    4x Ponder
    4x Daze
    4x Force of Will
    3x Abrupt Decay
    3 Hymn to Tourach
    2x Thoughtseize
    1x Murderous Cut

    Creatures (13 Creatures)

    4x Tarmogoyf
    4x Delver of Secrets
    4x Deathrite Shaman
    1x True Name Nemesis
    Planeswalkers (2 Planeswalkers)

    2x Liliana of the Veil

    Land (20 Lands)

    3x Underground Sea
    2x Bayou
    4x Wasteland
    2x Tropical Island
    3x Polluted Delta
    3x Misty Rainforest
    3x Verdant Catacombs
    Sideboard (15 cards)

    1x Null Rod
    1x Sylvan Library
    1x Pithing Needle
    1x Maelstrom Pulse
    1x Grafdigger's Cage
    2x Disfigure
    2x Spell Pierce
    2x Vendilion Clique
    2x Surgical Extraction
    2x Golgari Charm


    Round 1 vs. Nic Fit (2-1, Total 1-0)

    Game 1 (Win)

    I wasn't exactly sure what he was doing. A turn 1 Underground Sea followed by a turn 2 Tropical Island tells me he is a BUG variant. I have an early Delver followed by a Hymn with him discarding a Green Sun's Zenith and something irrelevant. I play a Goyf and he concedes. With this being round one I am not sure what he is running. I sideboard in some cards, likely Grafdigger's Cage to combat the Green Sun's Zenith. I present and ask him if I can see the card, as I can't recall if it can only search green creatures or not. He digs through his deck from the bottom to the top and finds it at the very top of the deck. This means he is likely only running 1, or atleast 1 in English. Sideboarding in a Cage is likely wrong but I presented so I let it go and note to take it out in game 3.

    Game 2 (Lose)

    I Thoughtseize on turn 1 or 2 and see a Obstinate Baloth, Abrupt Decay, Grave Titan, and a Veteran Explorer. I recognize what I am playing against and take the explorer. I resolve a True Name on turn 3 and start beating down. He get s down to 6 life and he is at 4 mana missing a second green. I thoughtsieze again and see a few extra cards and make my worst misplay of the day. I, lacking sleep (I was up at 5 to catch the train into the tournament), decided I couldn't let him resolve the Baloth and helped him do it for free. He then top decks a Toxic Deluge and casts it for 1 wiping my board and I can't hit my Murderous Cut or a Goyf to stabilize.

    Game 3 (Win)

    I board out my Hymns and Cage. I turn 1 Sea and Shaman followed by a turn 2 wasteland on his Underground Sea, he responds by trying to Brainstorm I daze the brainstorm feeling like he is doing it out of desperation. He doesn't draw another land until turn 5 while I resolve a goyf and promptly win the game.


    Round 2 vs. Omni-Tell (2-1 Total 2-0)

    Sitting down at the table I recognize the player from 2 weeks ago from a small 6 man tournament that happened the day after the DTT ban announcement. I remember he was playing Omni-Tell. I think that most players in the room have transitioned over to Sneak and Show and am surprised he is just running Omni-Tell without the DTTs.

    Game 1 (win)

    I resolve a turn 3 True Name and start beating down. I have a hand full of counterspells (2 Forces and 2 blue cards). He doesn't get there and I win. I note that he doesn't fetch a red mana source at any point. I decide he might be on a dreamhalls variant or some monoblue list.

    Game 2 (Lose)

    He turn 3 combos off with counter backup. He reveals Enter the Infinite and casts Release the Ants.

    Game 3 (Win)

    He tries to find cards and I resolve a TNN and 2 Deathrites while Wastelanding his Boseiju. I beat him down holding a Spell Pierce and a Clique.


    Round 3 vs. RUG Delver (2-0 Total 3-0)

    Game 1 (Win)

    We end up in a tight game with 1 Goyf vs. 2 Nimble Mongeese. He plays a third Mongoose and I find a second Goyf. We stare at each other. I realize that my top decks are better than his as I find a Liliana and -2 her. He Stifles her and I fight back by stripping his hand. I -2 her again and he stifles her again. I do it a third time and shrink his army to nothing and kill him with a Goyf.

    Game 2 (Win)

    He beats me down with a Mongoose and a Goyf. I am losing hard. I have a Shaman in play and start gaining life off of creatures in the yards. His goyf is a 4/5 and I topdeck a Goyf which get's countered. He attacks me and takes me to 4. I top deck a second Goyf in a row and this one resolves. We stare at each other and I get to 8 life. I then top deck like a boss the third time in a row and get a Liliana. I -2 her and he sacs the mongoose. I strip his hand and -2 her again and attack for a few turns to win.


    Round 4 vs. Lands (0-2 Total 3-1)

    *On the train into Yokohama I spent a good part of an hour looking up info on how to win this matchup. There is a lot of information about what to do about the hate from the Lands side but not much about what to target with Surgical. After playing the matchup and reflecting on it I now know the best target is going to be Life from the Loam most of the time.

    Game 1 (Lose)

    This was my first time playing against Lands. I keep a hand that is land heavy with counters and a Liliana. I only draw lands. I counter his early attempts to cast an exploration, knowing my counters are largely useless in this matchup except for a well timed counter against Life from the Loam. He combos and kills me with a Liege. My plan was to force him to activate at the end of my turn and Abrupt decay the Liege. I should have read dark depths better because a Decay can't kill an indestructible creature. =-(

    Game 2 (Lose)

    I sideboard in Surgicals. I keep a hand with 2 Wasteland, 2 Goyfs, a Fetch, Force, Ponder. I Ponder and don't see another colored land. I chose not to shuffle because I have a strong hand and see a counter and a Liliana. He wastelands me and I don't see another land for the rest of the game. I double Wasteland him after he tried to combo out. He has 2 cards in hand and he Gambles. I know my out is for him to hit his Life from the Loam and me drawing a Surgical hitting his Dark Depths or Loam. He discards a Punishing fire off the gamble and I don't hit the surgical. Lose with no land in play. It was interesting and feels like a tough matchup.


    Round 5 vs. 4 Color Delver (0-2 Total 3-2)

    This one was a heartbreaker.

    Game 1 (Lose)

    I turn 1 delver and flip it followed by a turn 2 delver /w a Ponder. I have 2 flipped delvers and am hitting him hard. I resolve a Shaman for extra damage. He resolves a delver and flips it revealing a bolt. He kills a delver, top decks a Forked Bolt, kills the other delver, and topdecks a second bolt to kill the Shaman. I die with him at 6 life. Life is rough.

    Game 2 (Lose)

    My Deathrite vs. his Delver. He resolves a Young Pyromancer after my daze is dazed. I attempt to play a Golgari Charm and he dazes that. I have 2 Goyfs and Clique in hand while at 6 life. He attacks with the team and my out is to cast the Clique and block the Pyro and a token with the Goyfs while the Clique deals with the Delver taking me to 2. He responds to the Clique with a double bolt to the face.


    Round 6 vs. Reanimator (1-2 Total 3-3)

    Game 1 (Win)

    I play a Shaman on turn 1 and a TNN on Turn 2. He plays a a Flip Jace. I suspect he is on BUG Control. I am attacking him with a TNN while he doesn't do much except playing a Pithing Needle naming Deathrite. He discards a Reanimator target and I figure out he is playing Reanimator. He Flips the Jace and he -3's for a reanimate spell. I Decay the needle and exile the spell with the Shaman. I attack Jace and he concedes.

    Game 2 (Lose)

    He goes off and I can't fight it.

    Game 3 (Lose)

    I board out my delvers for more hate. Not sure if it was correct. I beat down with a Goyf and resolve a Liliana into his reanimated Griselbrand, he draws 7 and misses a counter, I -2 Liliana. He double decays my Liliana and Goyf leaving me with an empty board. I draw a Surgical and name Reanimate (MISTAKE!!!) and he shows me a hand with 2x Thoughtseize, Goro's Vengeance, Griselbrand and Exhume. I should have waited for the reanimate before doing anything.


    Round 7 vs. ANT (0-2 Total 3-4)

    Game 1 (Lose)

    He plays a Sea and Ponders for a few turns. Not sure what I am seeing. He storms out on turn 3. I feel like I could have slowed him down if I held back my TNN.

    Game 2 (Lose)

    He is stuck on 1 mana. I turn 2 Hymn hitting his Infernal Tutor. I draw a Surgical and name Tutor. Two turns later he storms out for 4 with Tendrils making me lose 10 life and then casts an Empty the Warrens making 12 goblins to my 2 creatures. I should have considered Golgari Charm from the board.


    Round 8 vs. Sneak and Show (2-1 Total 4-4)

    Game 1 (Lose)

    On turn 4 he casts Overmaster and I only have 1 counter in hand. I let it resolve and he casts show and tell. He reveals a Griselbrand and I play a creature. I play a Liliana and he has 2 counters in hand for the counter war. I play it out and I realize I can race him with my Goyf and 3 Shamans. The game ends with him a 1 life and him killing me.

    Game 2 (Win)

    I play a turn 1 Shaman followed by a double Hymn on turn 2 and 3. The first Hymn hit a Show and tell and the second 2 other random cards. I use a delver to win the game after countering his Pyroclasm. After this game he revealed 3 Emrakul he had in hand. He had 2 in hand during the first Hymn and 3 for the second hymn putting his hand to only 3 Emrakuls.

    Game 3 (Win)

    This game was similar to game 2 with a double Hymn. He played a Clique in response to the second Hymn taking my Thoughtsieze. I draw a Liliana and -2 then strip his hand. He concedes.


    Round 9 vs. Cloudpost /w Tabernacle and Urborg (1-2 Total 4-5)

    Game 1 (Win)

    I play a Shaman. He starts off with a turn 1 Urborg making me think he is playing a Pox deck. I play a second Shaman. Turn 2 he plays a Tabernacle. I sacrifice a Shaman to play cantrips hoping to find mana. He plays a top and spends 5 turns topping while I resolve a Goyf and crush him and his army of Locus Lands.

    Game 2 (Lose)

    He turn 1 and 2 plays Pithing needle naming Wasteland and Deathrite. He plays a turn 4 NeUlamog.

    Game 3 (Lose)

    On his turn 1 he plays a Sol land and double needles me naming wasteland and Deathrite. I flip a Delver on turn 2. Clique on his turn 3 upkeep (I realize now it should have been draw step). I see the NeUlamog and send it to the bottom. I draw a second Clique and do the same thing on turn 5. I see nothing. He uses his Expedition Map to get an Eye of Ugin (I should have seen this coming). He plays it and waits a few turns before fetching Emrakul casting it then attacking. I have a Liliana in play and 6 other permanents. I think I have a chance. He plays a Candelabra, fetches the Old Ulamog and Untaps to cast it and draw 4. My Liliana that looked good alone on the battlefield feels a little more lonely.


    What I Learned

    I was really surprised to do so well going in the early rounds. I expected to do poorly with a record of 2-7 or something terrible. I was also amazed at how powerful the deck is with Liliana winning games on her own and Hymn being a powerhouse against unfair decks. I felt, a lot of the time, that my top decks were just more powerful so going into top deck war heavily favored me.

    I feel that overall many of my losses we due to lack of experience with the deck, like holding counters against storm and being unsure when to pull the trigger. My sideboard feels like it needs a lot of work, or I need to get better at sideboarding. I do feel that many of my losses can be chalked up to a lack of experience with the deck. I want to get more experience with the deck and think I need to spend more time understanding how other decks work so I can use my cards more effectively.


    Card Selection

    -I was worried going in that I would be seeing a lot of Zombie Fish so I took out an Abrupt Decay for a Murderous Cut. I was really worried about helping to ramp one out with a Hymn and not having an answer main deck. Over the day I didn't see a single delve spell on my opponents end and didn't see my murderous cut all day, including when using brainstorms and ponder, it's like the card didn't exist in my deck.

    -True Name was an absolute bomb all day. He crushed through Goyfs and I only lost him once (Round 1). One game my opponent asked why I wasn't running the 5/5 Delver Flier because having one would have won me the game and match. I still feel good about the TNN but will need to explore the delve creatures a little.

    Interesting Notes About the Day

    -Nearly half of the decks I played were 90%+ foiled out. Most of the foil decks contained FBB duals and most were only missing the Force of Wills. I knew that there is a huge market for foiling in Japan but I was surprised to see so much compared to my past Legacy tournaments.

    -Japan has a Huge legacy scene and I believe I was one of two fluent English speakers playing in the tournament, the other was Kai Thiele, who has been a powerhouse in the Japanese Legacy scene since moving here before GP Kyoto. Thankfully I knew 3 of the judges who spoke English (2 native speakers) so it gave me something to do between rounds, it's tough being alone in a room full of people.

    -The Japanese meta is unusually combo heavy. Adding to the recent ban most players who played Omni-tell just transitioned to another variant of the same archetype so Show and Tell decks seems to be over represented.

    -My round 8 opponent had a playmat that said Magic The Source and I asked him about it and he had no idea about this forum. Is there a Japanese website by the same name?

  2. #2
    Hymn-Slinging Mod
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    Re: Tournament Report for Big Magic Open 5, Yokohama (October 11th, 2015) BUG Delver

    Some of those loses seem like just hard luck though, like the 4c Delver guy just drawing all the Bolts. Best to not really dwell on things like that which you can't really do anything about.

    Lands is a difficult match-up. If you don't draw your sideboard cards, you will lose, so mulling somewhat aggressively is probably the only way out. Lands is one of the reasons why I started playing a Winter Orb in my sideboard, since I see that match-up quite often in my small local meta (4 out of probably 12 of us can build it), plus it is incidental hate for Miracles too. The two Surgicals are what is crucial though, so those are 100% correct in the board. I would also bring in the Cliques, as they can "answer" Loam or p. Fire too. Decay is also not very good, there aren't many targets and the game really isn't about them playing permanents and you blowing them up, it's about if they get their engine going, or if you can stop them. I tend to bring in Null Rod here as their variance draw can lean very heavily on getting colors from Diamond. With your board I would do the following:

    -3 Hymn
    -2 Thoughtsieze
    -2 Liliana
    -1 Murderous Cut
    -1 Abrupt Decay

    +1 Null Rod
    +1 Sylvan Library
    +1 Pithing Needle
    +2 Clique
    +2 Surgical
    +2 Charm

    This isn't really optimal, but it's a lot better. I don't like Liliana in the matchup, she is too slow plus they have plenty to discard usually. Like I said before though, this comes down to whether or not you can draw your Surgicals.

    For 4c Delver, well, they can tend to be a bit more efficient than us, because Bolt, but overall, I would load up on creatures and removal, ditching Force and some number of Daze. I would probably also cut Thoughtsieze (life total is too important). Liliana is not good when they have Pyromancer as well. Probably something like:

    -4 Force
    -2 Thoughtsieze
    -2 Liliana

    +2 Clique
    +2 Charm
    +2 Disfigure
    +1 Pulse
    +1 Spell Pierce

    Charm is really good here, don't forget how it can regenerate your team, I've had multiple opponents flabbergasted that the card actually does this. Clique being in the air is very relevant, since YP can clog up the board fast, if not answered. Always try to save a removal spell of him.

    Verus Reanimator, it is generally better to wait for them to try to bring something back, then hit whatever that is with the Surgical. I would not board out my Delvers, since they are both fast clocks and Blue cards for Force. It's kind of awkward that he has baby Jace, but I think I would board:

    -3 Hymn
    -2 Thoughtsieze
    -1 Bayou
    -2 Liliana
    -1 True Name

    +2 Clique
    +2 Surgical
    +2 Charm
    +2 Pierce
    +1 Cage

    I'm no expert on this though, so maybe a Liliana should stay, only bringing in one Clique, but she doesn't seem great really.

    Versus ANT, it is very hard to say what went wrong. You should be slightly favored, but one thing I would not do is bring in Surgical. It rarely does what you really want it to do, since their deck is made to fight through missing single pieces. I would board:

    -2 Liliana
    -1 Bayou
    -1 True Name
    -1 Murderous Cut
    -3 Abrupt Decay

    +2 Clique
    +2 Pierce
    +2 Charm
    +1 Null Rod
    +1 Cage

    It is very hard to explain what to counter and what to allow. Sometimes it's just a hunch. Even having played this match-up over 50 times, I occasionally make a mistake too, so it can be a toss-up sometimes. It's really just about experience though. In general it's best to just stop them whenever you can, but that is far too simplistic and any good Storm player will beat you if they realize this is what you are doing. Cage is not very good, but if you can get them low on cards, often their only play is a Hail Mary Ad Nauseam, or Past In Flames, so Cage does "cut" 50% of their outs.

    I think 12-post/Turbo Eldrazi/Cloudpost or whatever the kids call this now a days is just a flatly bad match-up. Your only real hope is for a fast clock, some Wastelands and discard to set them back. I would board like this, I guess:

    -1 Bayou
    -1 Murderous Cut
    -4 Daze

    +2 Clique
    +2 Pierce
    +1 Null Rod
    +1 Pulse

    Just cross your fingers though, because it really isn't going to be good.

    Mind you, these are just my first blush opinions, sideboarding is more of an art than a science in my opinion, so it will often depend on how you feel about the match-up. This is my usual sideboard:

    1 Grafdigger's Cage
    1 Null Rod
    1 Pithing Needle
    1 Winter Orb
    1 Blue Elemental Blast
    2 Disfigure
    1 Flusterstorm
    2 Golgari Charm
    1 Krosan Grip
    2 Surgical Extraction
    1 Vendilion Clique
    1 Thoughtseize

    Mind you, this often changes though, partly through my maindeck changing (like having Library main, only four discard spells main, etc.). Considering the meta you saw, I think your board was a little off, but that is probably a discussion better off in the TA thread itself.
    Last edited by H; 10-13-2015 at 11:37 AM.
    "The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
    Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order

  3. #3

    Re: Tournament Report for Big Magic Open 5, Yokohama (October 11th, 2015) BUG Delver

    H, thanks for the advice. I am going to take a few days to mull it over. Your advice seems really solid and in retrospect explains why I had some trouble in some of the matches.

    To be honest I really had a great time and even when I lost matches that were out of my control it dos it bother me. This is the price we pay to play one of the most powerful formats.

    Thanks again for your advice, I wasn't sure anyone would even give it a read because of my poor performance but you make me feel like the community really cares about helping people get better. I will be coming back to your post over the next while to sort through the logic behind the advice and hopefully will be more prepared for the next open I go to.

  4. #4
    Hymn-Slinging Mod
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    Re: Tournament Report for Big Magic Open 5, Yokohama (October 11th, 2015) BUG Delver

    Well, it's not really a condemnation, I get upset sometimes about things I can't control (like a turn 2 Sylvan Library that went the whole 25+ turn game, get could never find me a second Wasteland, the Needle, or the Loam I needed to get out of the 4 Rishadan Ports my opponent drew) too. In the end though, you've got to toss them out to the variance nature of the game. Versus 4c, for example, had you drawn a slew of Goyfs, you probably win. Unfortunately, you didn't. It's tough sometimes, but focus on your mistakes, not your opponent's nut draws.

    In the end, you have to find what works best for your play-style. Chances are good that someone else's sideboard won't really be good for you. In general though, I make 2-ofs what I feel I need to have a chance in certain match-ups and 1-ofs the things I'd like, but are not essential.

    As you see from my little guide, cutting a land versus non-Wasteland decks is often a good way to get more sideboard action into the deck. Often this is the second Bayou, but in some cases it may well be the 4th Wasteland (non-Legends Miracles, where they have tons of basics, or Burn where non-basics are a liability) and even rarer, but can happen, is where you feel you can cut both.

    The best way to learn is to play. More than anything, you have to learn what works best for you.
    "The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
    Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order

  5. #5

    Re: Tournament Report for Big Magic Open 5, Yokohama (October 11th, 2015) BUG Delver

    I appreciate your honesty, not everyone has the courage to admit on the internet that they Thoughtseized an Obstinate Baloth. The cool part is the story your opponent gets to tell for the rest of his life about the time he lost to the guy who Thoughtseized Obstinate Baloth. That is almost as demoralizing as the time I lost to the guy who targeted himself with Liliana's ultimate ... and actually made 2 non-zero piles.

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