Lands! at OMG Games in Barrie, Ontario

Precursor to this tournament: I’m from northern Ontario where the Legacy scene once was something but now is small. That being said, we’ve managed bi-weekly events in the summer of 2018, and now are running monthly Legacy FNMs. The Legacy FNM before this tournament (Mar 29, 2019), had 19 players, and a prize payout of 200 credit for 1st, 100 for 2nd, 60 for 3rd/4th, and 40 for the top 8. This is pretty huge for our scene, and hopefully more people will show up for future events.

The night before I went 2-3 at FNM playing what Casey Lancaster posted in the Lands Facebook group. His list that he wished he played at SCG had 3 copies of Sylvan Library. When I played, I played 3 different copies to test how good they were, and they were excellent when dredging, but I don’t think I was losing those games anyways. So I cut back on the Libraries and only played 1 in the main. Never saw it in any of the rounds, dredged over it a few times. Casey also has a Drop of Honey in his board, but I do not own $600 Arabian Nights Magic cards, so I played an unrelated Crucible of Worlds, which has always over performed for me. Here is my list:

4 Gamble
1 Sylvan Library
3 Punishing Fire
4 Crop Rotation
4 Life from the Loam
4 Mox Diamond
4 Exploration
Lands:
1 Forest
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Chasm
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Karakas
2 Maze of Ith
3 Rishadan Port
1 Sheltered Thicket
2 Taiga
4 Thespian's Stage
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Riftstone Portal
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
4 Dark Depths

Sideboard:
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Chalice of the Void
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Tireless Tracker
3 Choke
3 Krosan Grip
1 Molten Vortex

Round 1 – Jeff on Strawberry Shortcake (Jack Kitchen Special with Copters) (2-0)

I know this is a rough matchup because he beat me the previous night at FNM to make top 8. I had zero copies of Engineered Explosives, and my previous experience with this matchup was a win in the same store with RUG Lands. That matchup was much easier because I had access to Academy Ruins and Engineered Explosives, and could stop him from comboing. This is a bad matchup, because uninterrupted they have a turn 2/3 kill depending on the fast mana situation, as well as 5 copies of Blood Moon thanks to E-Tutor, and 5 copies of Magus of the Moon thanks to Imperial Recruiter. They can also instant speed blow up my lands with Pyroblast in response to a 20/20 with Painter’s Servant on the battlefield, or take me off my enchantments. I don’t know what graveyard hate he may have, but because that deck folds to Emrakul, I know he’s be packing some hate, whether it’s Tormod’s Crypt so he can use Goblin Welder to weld it in and out, or Surgicals.

Game 1 – My opponent leads on Ancient Tomb into Smuggler’s Copter. I play a Grove, Exploration, Thespian’s Stage, and pass. I’m attempting to set up a quick Dark Depths, because that is how I’m going to win. My hand contains two copies of Punishing Fire, a Dark Depths, and another land. Jeff deploys a Walking Ballista for 1, and crews his Copter, attacking for 3 and looting. The next turn I play a land and Punishing Fire his Walking Ballista, tapping down my Grove to cast the Fire. He shoots me for 1, and untaps and slams Magus of the Moon. I play Dark Depths with 0 counters, and slam the second Fire on his Magus making a 20/20. His outs are Ensnaring Bridge main, but he doesn’t hit it.

Game 2 – I boarded the usual Krosan Grips, Trackers, and a few other cards. I thought about Sphere, but on the draw it seemed bad. I kept a hand that aggressively attacks his mana base, and when he led on City of Traitors, Smuggler’s Copter, I Wastelanded him immediately. His next turn was Ancient Tomb, another Copter. I fetch for my basic Forest, and cast Exploration, and another land. His next turn was playing Ballista (extremely similar to game 1), and crew Copter. I drew and played Life from the Loam, returning my two Wastelands, and Wastelanding him. I Crop Rotated for Ghost Quarter, and over two turns managed to strip him of all of his lands after Firing his Walking Ballista. He had an Ensnaring Bridge, no land, 2 Smuggler’s Copters and no creatures left, and I was cycling twice a turn to find Krosan Grip for the Bridge before he scooped it up.

Round 2 – Cal on UB Midrange (2-0)

Game 1 - My opponent played a whole lot of nothing game 1, he led on basic Island while I played Grove, Exploration, Thespian’s Stage. He played a turn 2 Baleful Strix off of a basic, and I knew I had a pretty good matchup. We both did nothing for a few turns while the game developed, and eventually I had a Tabernacle, Glacial Chasm, 6+ lands, an Exploration, and active Life from the Loam dredging versus his True-Name Nemesis and Baleful Strix. He didn’t pay for the Strix the turn I dredged over Depths, so I made a 20/20. He cast Diabolic Edict, so I dredged the Stage + Depths back and did it again. He had Snapcaster Mage + Diabolic Edict this go around, and then forced me to use Stage + Depths on my turn, which allowed him to Liliana Edict the third Marit Lage. It’s the fourth one that gets them every time. Worth noting he had 2 basic Swamps and 4 basic Islands in play at the end of the game.

Game 2 – We trade resources and develop again, and he lands an Ashiok. He continuously upticks Ashiok, and starts putting in work when he removes a Punishing Fire and some of my fetchable lands. I draw and play a Tireless Tracker, which he doesn’t have removal for. It’s his Ashiok at 11 loyalty, a Baleful Strix, and 5 basics versus my board of many lands, multiple clues and a large Tireless Tracker. I’m dredging Loam every turn, and drawing cards off of the cycle lands. Eventually I find a Krosan Grip, I Grip his Strix and he concedes.

Round 3 – Shadow on UWr Strasler Miracles (4 Mentor) (1-2)

Game 1 – Game 1 was very long, and it ultimately came down to me protecting myself with Glacial Chasm and Tabernacle versus an army of monk tokens. Eventually I can’t juggle the Chasm and Stages anymore due to no Exploration, and have to let them die, and he counters my Loam to try to rebuy Chasm. Life totals were close, he took a hit from Marit Lage but Sworded a monk token for 5 life so it wouldn’t kill him. I almost got there on the Punishing Fire race, but was at 1 and had a Horizon Canopy that was choking my mana.

Game 2 – I sided in the standard 14 cards versus Miracles, and went to town. I had a turn 1 Forest, turn 2 Stage and Chalice for 1, which prompted the Force of Will. He Pondered on his second turn, and failed to find a land, and I slammed Choke on turn 3. He had a tapped Island in play, and I played Depths, threatening the 20/20.

Game 3 – I get beaten down by an army of Monk tokens after a long grindy game where I don’t find Tabernacle or Chasm. It’s unfortunate, but I would say Lands probably shits the bed 10% of the matches without Gamble/Crop Rotation. Because these are trimmed to -3 Gamble, -2 Crop Rotation in post board games, it can often be hard to find your one-of answers.

Round 4 – Shawn on Grixis Control (2-0)

Game 1 – My opener contains Exploration, Crop Rotation, Wasteland and Life from the Loam. I Wasteland his non-basic, and Crop Rotation for a Ghost Quarter to continue pressing his manabase while I develop my lands. Game 1 is so favourable for the Lands player, it’s best to just keep them down the entire time. He concedes after I Ghost Quarter his Swamp and have Wasteland, Ghost Quarter, and Life from the Loam active.

Game 2 - I keep an acceptable hand that doesn’t have any acceleration, but is decent enough at setting up the initial turns of the game. I Wasteland him off of Volcanic Island, and then draw another Wasteland to Waste him off of Underground Sea. He has Polluted Delta for a few turns, and I continue developing my board. My opponent plays Gurmag Angler, and I Crop Rotate for a Maze of Ith to stall. He Thoughtseizes me, takes my Krosan Grip, and eventually I find Stage + Depths. He has a Gurmag Angler in play, a Polluted Delta, a Swamp that is tapped from Port, and a Scalding Tarn. I know he likely has either Edict or Surgical in hand, but I’m up a game and don’t want him to find all the answers with cantrips, so I deploy a 20/20 and win. Turns out he had Surgical, and not Edict.

Round 5 – Jordan on Miracles (ID)

Made top 8 with seating that puts me on the draw.

Top 8 – Connery with Maverick

I built Connery’s deck based on his list from MTGO (https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1752265#paper), so I know what to expect going into this matchup. We’ve also played it a bit, and have been trounced by Lands online a few times. That being said, the right draw from Maverick and a slightly stumbly Lands opening can be punished hard by Maverick. Plus they have a good amount of tricks, and Knight of the Reliquary is super good. Banter as usual, pre-game sike-out handshakes, general bad manners with friends, the usual amount of smack talk.

Game 1 – He mulligans to 5, while I keep 6. He plays Scrubland, Mother of Runes, pass, while I immediately Punishing Fire the Mom, and follow up next turn with a Wasteland on his Scrubland. He plays another Mother of Runes, and then get’s Scavenging Ooze online. Being the master that he is, he has the natty Knight of Autumn for my Exploration. I continue developing my lands, but he is attacking for 4 a turn. I draw another Punishing Fire, and blunder this sequencing. When his green is tapped out, I Punishing Fire his Mom, forcing the protection from red, and then rebuy it with Grove. I untap, Fire his Mom again, and get the Fire eaten by Ooze. If I was good at Magic, I would’ve killed his Scavenging Ooze, but I am not good at Magic. He plays a Thalia, and then kills me a few turns later. Banter about how I lost against a mull to 5, it was the sike-out handshake, yadda yadda.

Game 2 – I offer the pre-game handshake, and give him the sike-out again. This time my opening hand is Molten Vortex, Exploration, Exploration, Misty Rainforest, Grove of the Burnwillows, Taiga, Punishing Fire. I play Misty, fetch a Forest, and then dump my hand. For his turn he played Mother of Runes, which died on untap and I rebought immediately to play around him drawing Surgical for turn. I eventually find Loam, and have Tabernacle, and am throwing lands at him with Molten Vortex and Loam.

Game 3 – He plays a turn 1 Noble Hierarch, into a turn 2 4/4 Knight of the Reliquary. I Wasteland him, and his follow up is a Horizon Canopy. This leaves him with one land to sacrifice to Knight. I play Maze of Ith, and have the following setup: Maze of Ith, Ancient Tomb, Forest, and my hand is Life from the Loam, Punishing Fire, Crop Rotation, and a few land. His board is Thalia, Noble Hierarch, and Knight of the Reliquary, with a Forest, Horizon Canopy for lands. As I blundered game 1, I think he blundered game 3. He sacrificed his only Forest to get a Gaea’s Cradle to play a Sword of Fire and Ice. This gave me a window of opportunity to Punishing Fire his Thalia, Wasteland his Cradle, and continue Mazing his Knight. He equips his Knight with Sword of Fire and Ice, but some people say that the Knight is still wandering aimlessly through Mazes, to this very day. Just kidding, it died to Tabernacle 3 turns later after I Krosan Gripped the Sword, found Exploration and Life from the Loam, and blew up all his lands. He failed to find a Forest or Plains to sacrifice to Knight to destroy the Maze of Ith.

Top 4 Chop for time reasons, still had to drive 2.5 hours home.

Closing thoughts: The deck overall felt pretty good. I was expecting the usual two or three Turbo Depths players to show up, but the turnout was 19. I did Lands things, and only played against one Lotus Petal deck and managed to punk him with exactsies game 1, so that's huge.