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Thread: BUG Infect at GP Atlanta 2019 - Tournament Recap by Jesture

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    BUG Infect at GP Atlanta 2019 - Tournament Recap by Jesture

    Originally wasn't going to put up a report for this event, but with my plans for Eternal Weekend cancelled I thought it best to share what I've been working on in the time leading up to GP Atlanta. Usual disclaimer for events retold as remembered, I'm not in the habit of taking notes so all of this is going off of memory.

    Decklist is as follows:

    Maindeck
    4 Noble Hierarch
    4 Glistener Elf
    4 Blighted Agent

    4 Inkmoth Nexus
    4 Misty Rainforest
    3 Verdant Catacombs
    3 Tropical Island
    1 Underground Sea
    1 Bayou
    1 Wasteland
    1 Pendelhaven
    1 Forest

    4 Invigorate
    2 Vines of Vastwood
    2 Berserk
    1 Become Immense

    4 Brainstorm
    2 Ponder

    3 Daze
    3 Force of Will
    2 Spell Pierce

    1 Crop Rotation
    1 Abrupt Decay
    2 Inquisition of Kozilek
    2 Thoughtseize

    Sideboard
    1 Pithing Needle
    1 Return to Nature
    2 Force of Vigor
    1 Sylvan Library
    1 Veil of Summer
    1 Crop Rotation
    1 Karakas
    1 Bojuka Bog
    1 Surgical Extraction
    2 Abrupt Decay
    1 Spell Snare
    1 Flusterstorm
    1 Hydroblast

    R1 Anthony H. on UW Stoneblade

    Game 1's a pretty run of the mill Stoneblade game that ends with Anthony managing to resolve a Teferi and bashing me to zero with a Batterskull. The main deck discard spells helped me stay in the game a bit longer against Teferi, but ultimately they weren't enough to turn the tide before the 4/4 lifelinking token did its work.

    Game 2 is a bit more back and forth, but the critical turning point of the game is when Anthony top decks a Stoneforge with 4 mana available, casts it for Jitte, then attempts to resolve the Jitte in order to play around my discard spells. This is unfortunately met with a Daze, and Anthony immediately recognizes his error as he then plays out his land for the turn and makes a comment about how he might have just thrown the match.

    Not much of a Game 3, Stoneforge fetches out a Jitte and even manages to get charge counters. But a timely Abrupt Decay off the top and my opponent not being able to find a 3rd land means the poison counters quickly stack up to 10.

    2-1, 1-0

    R2 Jacob C. on Moon Stompy

    Brutal Game 1, Jacob goes Sol land into Chrome Mox into Chalice on one cutting off most of my hand. Second turn Blood Moon into third turn Chandra is enough to prompt the concession on my part, as my singular main deck Abrupt Decay is no longer enough to break out of the lock.

    Second game starts off with basic Forest into Noble Hierarch, which is met by a Chalice on one. I untap, Decay the Chalice, and play out a Glistener Elf which is immediately Flame Slashed with a Chandra into -3 ability. Hierarch swings to pick off the Chandra, and I cast a Thoughtseize to see what leftovers my opponent's working with. Jacob reveals Trinisphere and Magus of the Moon, so I take the Trinisphere thinking that the basic Forest and Hierarch do enough to insulate me against the Blood Moon.

    Unfortunately the Magus does its best Grey Ogre impression and begins to apply pressure to my life total. I'm forced to use pump spells to protect my Blighted from a topdecked Chandra, then take a turn off to kill the Chandra which only extends the "life total" lead he has on me. In the penultimate turn of the game, Jacob swings me down to 6 with a Magus of the Moon and casts his last card in hand, which is a Fiery Confluence for 6.

    0-2, 1-1

    R3 Jacob F. on Bomberman

    This is a pretty uneventful pair of games, with things looking pretty even between the two decks until I Brainstorm, find Invigorate + Berserk and swing for the win in both games. Turns out Brainstorm is a pretty good magic card, who knew?

    2-0, 2-1

    R4 Cameron S. on 4c Control (no white)

    Game 1 is a bit of a slog, but I eventually get there off an Inkmoth Nexus and some discard spells to strip his hand of key pieces of interaction.

    Upon going into game 2, I immediately realize that I have four Dazes in my deck when I only registered three for the event. I call a judge, and after going through the decklist they find that the deck has a 4/1 split of Daze/Spell Pierce while the registered list has a 3/2 split. Luckily I'm let off without a penalty as this was found between games and I'm the one who brought it up, but I do need to run to the CFB booth and buy another Spell Pierce before going into game 2.

    Game 2 is pretty brutal as the 4c control deck resolves Plague Engineer, W6, and all sorts of other haymakers versus my pile of x/1's.

    Game three starts with a mulligan to 6, but I manage to resolve 3 Glistener Elves and my opponent struggles to keep up with with them while I resolve pump spells and discard spells. He's left with a K Command, Leovold, and some other cards that ultimately were too slow to be cast.

    2-1, 3-1

    R5 Sam G. on Jeskai Mentor

    Don't remember much from this series, but game one goes my way off of several discard spells shredding Sam's hand. Game two finds him stumbling on lands and ultimately a Magmatic Sinkhole and a Counterspell aren't enough to stave off the Infecters.

    2-0, 4-1

    R6 Adam V. on Bomberman

    It's at this point that I'm going to apologize to all of my Bomberman opponents, as my recollection of this deck has sort of blurred the lines between individual matchups. Apologies if I get any of my Bomberman games confused, feel free to correct the record if you're reading this.

    Game 1 quickly goes in favor of Adam off of a Salvagers LED loop into Ballista. Game 2 I have a vague recollection of Adam getting flooded followed by a Decay on Chalice and a Blighted Agent outracing a Monastery Mentor.

    Game 3 starts with a Cavern on Construct and Ballista on one, followed by a t2 Mystic Forge which gets met by an end of turn Force of Vigor on Forge + Ballista. With several lands and no combo, Adam draws and casts a Monastery Mentor but similar to game 2 it's ultimately not enough to outrace Blighted Agent with exalted triggers.

    2-1, 5-1

    R7 Marshall A. on Jeskai Mentor

    Our first game starts off pretty slowly, with me leading on Usea into Thoughtseize. A few turns + one Inkmoth later and Marshall finally realizes what's going on as I begin to apply beats with the manland and Hierarch. In a crucial decision point I Thoughtseize to see no interaction and topdeck the lethal pump spell next turn, only to go for it and be met by a Swords to Plowshares. The game ends quickly after that, as Marshall resolves a Mentor and quickly makes enough tokens to generate lethal.

    Game 2 is a win, though I don't remember many details here. It does involve an Abrupt Decay on a Back to Basics though, which unlocks an Inkmoth Nexus into a lethal swing.

    Game 3 culminates in me swinging with an Inkmoth Nexus while there's an Izzet Staticaster on board. I lead with Become Immense and Marshall responds with Izzet Staticaster which prompts an Invigorate on my side. In response to the Invigorate Marshall casts a Brainstorm, then casts Lightning Bolt in an attempt to kill the Nexus but I have the Vines to counter Bolt. Marshall reveals a pair of Palace Jailers and extends the hand to congratulate me on the win.

    2-1, 6-1

    R8 Eric K. on Merfolk

    I kick game one off with a Bayou into Thoughtseize, taking a Vial and revealing Force, TNN, Image, a Lord, and some lands. I forget how this game goes, but there's a crucial sequence in which Eric taps out for a Lord, which allows me to cast a Blighted Agent and hold up Daze for the Force of Will. Two turns and two pump spells later, I've secured game 1.

    Game 2 starts off with Cursecatcher on Eric's side and a Hierarch on my side. He begins T2 by playing a Wasteland and casting a Phantasmal Image to copy Hierarch. To me this signals he's short on mana so I Decay the Image and pass turn. My suspicions are confirmed when he misses his land drop and doesn't fire off the Wasteland. I discard some cards from his hand, resolve a Blighted Agent, then have Vines of Vastwood plus two Invigorates when he attempts to Dismember the threat.

    2-0, 7-1

    R9 Jarvis Y. on RUG Delver

    There's a goofy scenario in game 1 where I Inquisition Jarvis and see two copies of Wrenn and Six. I take a Ponder and am immediately punished by drawing another discard spell off the top. Priced into leaving both W6's in hand, I take something else only to have Jarvis resolve W6 and choke me out of the game with it.

    Game 2 is where the wheels start to fall off the tight play bus as I keep a 7 card hand with Noble Hierarch and basic forest but no cantrips. I pass turn 2 without playing a land, but Jarvis is wise to the Spell Pierce in my hand and simply passes turn without deploying anything. After another turn of this, I feel I have to tap out for the Blighted Agent in hand but this is met by a Daze and a follow up W6 pings off the Hierarch. The game ends right there, even though it's a few more turns of Tarmogoyf swinging before I concede.

    0-2, 7-2

    An unfortunate end to Day 1, but I'm happy to have made Day 2 on a X-2 record. I rendezvous with an old college friend and grab dinner at South City Kitchen before turning in for the night.

    R10 Joshua B. on Death and Taxes

    Game 1 is a disappointing affair, as I have the Abrupt Decay for a Jitte in play but make a crucial mistake when he activates vial on my end step to deploy a Mirran Crusader. I should have fired off the Decay here, but instead wait until his combat step and in response he vials in a Flickerwisp to save the Jitte. Untap, requip, and he closes out game 1 with 4 counters on Jitte.

    Game 2 has both of us running low on gas, as I Thoughtseize away a Jitte and a Palace Jailer. Unfortunately he begins to apply beats with Thalia + Recruiter, and with two active ports in play I'm unable to resolve Invigorate + Berserk on the Inkmoth Nexus I have in play.

    0-2, 7-3

    R11 Dillon D. on UR Delver

    Not much to report here, Dillon is on a hybrid between the contemporary UR Delver lists and the old school prowess versions. I do my best to put up a fight but am quickly run over by Arcanists in an 0-2 loss.

    0-2, 7-4

    R12 Sean B. on Bomberman

    Don't remember how games 1 and 2 transpired, but game 3 has an interesting scenario in which Sean resolves a Karn, the Great Creator and ticks it down to tutor and then cast an Ensnaring Bridge. I have a Blighted Agent in play and Abrupt Decay in hand, but choose to pass the turn because I want him to tick Karn down again for Lattice instead of for a Walking Ballista to kill the Agent. Pass it back, he grabs Lattice, then with it on the stack I decay the Bridge and untap swing to break the Lattice lock. The match ends shortly after

    2-1, 8-4

    R13 Robert H. on Depths (Maybe Slow?)

    In game 1 I Pierce Robert's T1 Mox Diamond, which ends up cutting him off of his crucial first colored source for a few turns. Ultimately my draws don't line up though, and he manages to find the pieces for the 20/20 before I can close the game on him.

    Game 2 we both mulligan to 6, and I lead with a Glistener Elf intending to Invigorate Berserk on the following turn for lethal. Unfortunately Robert has other plans, and his first turn goes Mox Diamond, Mox Diamond, Vampire Hexmage, play Depths, make a 20/20. I swing and Invigorate the Elf to shrink Marit Lage and buy me a turn, then play a Blighted Agent hoping to topdeck another Invigorate for lethal. Unfortunately he Decays the Agent and I extend the hand and initial the slip to drop from the event on an 8-5 record.

    0-2, 8-5

    A disappointing finish to day 2, but I'm overall satisfied with how the event went. Ultimately the black splash felt good, and though I won't be attending any more major events this year I think I'll be continue to tinker and test with it going forward. It's a promising way to combat a lot of the more hostile elements of the meta game and definitely feels like a more natural compliment to Infect's game plan than the red splash does.

    Shoutouts to all of my opponents, my old college bud and his wife for showing me around town when I wasn't busy slinging cardboard, and all of my fellow Houstonites that were delayed but ultimately undeterred by tropical depression Imelda. Y'all made this weekend great and I look forward to seeing each and every one of you again soon. To the readers, thanks for making it this far. Feel free to leave any questions/comments below, or send me a PM if you've got something you'd like to discuss.

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    Re: BUG Infect at GP Atlanta 2019 - Tournament Recap by Jesture

    Nice run (even if day 2 was a bit rough). And an awesome write up, as always, man!

    I definitely like the idea of discard and Decay deals with a lot of our problems right now, but the mana seems the sketchiest of the 3 splash options. Did you find yourself having to mull more (or adjust when you fetched, played out lands) because of the mana base much over the course of the tournament?

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    Re: BUG Infect at GP Atlanta 2019 - Tournament Recap by Jesture

    Quote Originally Posted by qomori View Post
    Nice run (even if day 2 was a bit rough). And an awesome write up, as always, man!

    I definitely like the idea of discard and Decay deals with a lot of our problems right now, but the mana seems the sketchiest of the 3 splash options. Did you find yourself having to mull more (or adjust when you fetched, played out lands) because of the mana base much over the course of the tournament?
    The mana base is definitely the shakiest of the three, but I can't say I had any problems with it throughout the course of the tournament. Between the 13 rounds here and a couple of weeklies at my LGS, mana problems haven't stood out to me any more or less than mana problems of more traditional Infect shells. Having said that, I'm contemplating swapping out a Forest for an 8th fetch as I don't feel the basic Forest is as important now that we're playing Force of Vigor in the sideboard.

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