Hey everyone, I just got back from EE7 with my trial runs with Kess Pile, the 4C Czech deck featuring Kess, Dissident Mage. I got a feature match on coverage and a short interview so a lot of people were asking me about the list and how it did, so I wrote a short TR for Reddit which I'm reposting here in case it's relevant to you guys!

My feature match and interview can be found here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/175230877


Here was my list:


4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Baleful Strix
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
2 Kess, Dissident Mage
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
2 Counterspell
3 Fatal Push
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Terminate
1 Toxic Deluge
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Bloodstained Mire
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
2 Tropical Island
1 Badlands
1 Bayou
1 Island
1 Swamp


Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Thoughtseize
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Flusterstorm
1 Invasive Surgery
1 Hydroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance




The deck felt PHENOMENAL all day despite not doing super well in the main event (4-4 overall). Kess and sideboard Chandras were insane in the fair matchups, I got multiple games where Kess ran over someone and got multiple Chandra emblem wins. The deck felt like it wasn't even close to losing in any creature matchup, but I struggled with combo. I knew cutting the maindeck discard would make my combo matchup worse, but I hated playing a grindy card advantage deck with discard spells because they're blank topdecks, so I just played 2 Counterspell and a diverse removal suite. I also expected fields of heavy Czech Pile and Stoneblade going in so I wanted to be metagame do slightly towards fair, which I think it did. My quick-and-dirty Tournament Report is as follows:


R1 I played against White Eldrazi (Taxes), which going in I thought would be a nightmare matchup. Everything lined up for me in G1 though and I answered Chalices cleanly while removing all his threats and ended the game with Kess playing removal and cantrips every turn. G2 I think I lost to t1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar. G3 I was locked under 2x Chalice at 1 but I'm able to trade Strixes for monster beaters and KCommand one Chalice, but I'm doing nothing. I spin wheels until I find a Jace. Jace gets a few brainstorms off before he gets revoked, but I find Kess, flashback KCommand to shatter a Chalice and shock the revoker and I win on the spot basically.


R2 was against the Czech pile mirror, Kess and Chandra from the board were insane. I got Hymned multiple times and didn't care due to the Planeswalker advantage I was getting and I managed the DRS footsies and KCommand battles better than he did. Counterspell was great at stopping a Jace and KCommand that discard wouldn't have. This match showed me that the deck was built excellently for what I wanted it to do: wreck the mirror and other fair decks.


R3 was on camera, as I linked above. The commentators implied it was a close match because I got to 1 life in game 1, but I never felt like it was even close. Kess is too insanely good! G2 I answer four consecutive Leovolds at card disadvantage and still easily take control. It ends with Chandra Jace and Kess in play, awesome feeling!


Got a winners interview after that match, they asked about my card choices and I had a good time. I felt real good about my deck and it's chances to win the whole thing. The deck was built for blue mirrors and it's excellent at that.


R4 we were the backup feature match as King of the Hill, I played against what I thought was the 4c mirror. Saw DRS/KCommand/Jace/Strix/Snapcaster in game 1. He lands an early Jace and I'm just never able to kill it. I keep parity with him on card advantage for WAY longer than was reasonable with Leovold/KCommand/Snapcaster but Jace has drawn literally like 10 cards at this point and I scoop mostly for clock concerns. Game 1 is about 30 mins but I feel confident I can take games 2 and 3 with my superior deck build and sideboard bombs like REB and Chandra. They move us back to feature for game 2, which you can find at the end of the video I linked. Long story short, I was wrong: it was pure Grixis control, not the 4c mirror, and he had access to Blood Moon. I didn't fetch Basics cause I thought it was the mirror and had NO idea it was even coming. Unfortunately being down a game sucks cause a sideboard gimmick like that just wins on the spot. I had Chandra under the moon but I died to a Gurmag.


The wheels fell off the bus for round 5, a local buddy of mine and I get paired up. It's Jim Baxter, who made t8. I keep a fair hand with removal and cantrips and die turn 2 to TES. Whoops. I board in all the disruption for game 2 and start on Deathrite with a force and surgical in hand, he Duresses me turn 2 and then makes 16 Goblins and I can't find Deluge in time.


Round 6 is against the same Depths deck that Eli won with, it was one of his buddies from the NY crowd. G1 goes predictably as I get 20/20d. I get to chump with a Strix for multiple consecutive turns and I have a crazy idea that I might be able to gain enough life with Deathrite to Deluge for 20 but it doesn't pan outG2 I have Edict for the first Lage and Surgical the Depths and counter a Living wish and win with Kess and Leovold. G3 I Thoughtseize him, he has Depths and forest in play and I take a Wish leaving him with two Hexmages, he topdecks Urborg and I can't find Edict or Jace in any of my draws.


Round 7 I play against Ben in another 4c mirror. Again predictably Kess and Chandra are mirror breakers and I win pretty easily 2-0. Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Every fair match except for the one against Moon felt like an absolute cakewalk, the deck is insanely value.


R8 I end up losing to food chain. We're playing for min cash and my opponent is a really funny dude so I didn't take the game super seriously. Game 1 I get caught with my pants down by a Food Chain combo, I figured my opponent was on BUG control from his multiple Deathrite, Leovold, Decay start but whatever. I make a critical error and assume my opponent will board out the actual combo. Griffins and Ballista are still good against me but I figured he'd morph into a BUg midrange deck to grind better, he flashed me a Garruk relentless from the board so I board out Force and in things like REB and Chandra. It works out for game 2, I win a drawn out game by killing everything he had and holding off a Griffin with Kess, then Chandra ultimate. Game 3 though I get punished for the boarding decision because he plays a Garruk and fights a strix to flip it, I tap out to play Leovold or some other threat to pressure it, then on his turn he plays Food Chain into infinite Griffins and then uses Garruk's Tutor ability for Ballista. Judgment error on my part; that's a reasonable loss. At 4-4 I drop to get food cause Philadelphia.


Today I played two side events with the deck and went 2-2 and 3-1. I beat Eli's Turbo Depths, Death and Taxes, Pox, 4c Mirror and got a scoop from Enchantress and lost to Sneak Show, Aggro Loam, and Dredge.


Overall the deck was great, a ton of fun and value. The combo matchups need help but idk what more you can do, I was bringing in 10 sideboard cards in some matchups and still losing horribly. I think it's the classic problem of control v combo, if you have disruption but no clock it doesn't matter, and Deathrite/Strix/Snapcaster don't represent a real clock.


Thanks for the interest and reply if you have any comments!