4th with TES at Jacksonville, IL Mox Tournament

[emidln]

Okay, so I got back from the Jacksonville Mox tourney. I ended up 4-1 after 5 rounds of straight swiss with no cut to elimination rounds. The top4 was this:

1) Local with Goblins (5-0)
2) Local with U/W Landstill (4-1)
3) Jed (GWS) with 5c CounterSlivers (4-1)
4) Me with TES (4-1)

Round 1 vs Roger playing UWR Salvagers Aggro-Control

I ask this guy if he's on any teams or posts on any forums. He says that he hangs out with GWS and came with their rep today. We begin game 1 (I'm on the draw) and he opens up Tundra go. I have total sauce including turn 1 rainbow land, lotus petal, xantid swarm (playing around Daze that I suspected) into turn 2 Brainstorm + EtW for 24ish tokens. He plays a morphed Exalted Angel, I topdeck a City of Brass to feed my Cabal Pit and kill the 2/2 creature. I proceed to swing FTW. Insult to injury.

Game 2, I board like I do for Thresh/Fish (-1 Plunge, +1 D.Grid) as well as fake boarding Returns, Tendrils, EtW, and IGG. I have the anti-control nuts again, but an EE + Ancient Tomb blows up my Swarm. I brainstorm, pass the turn, he mages dark rit, and I proceed to combo out in his face. He forced Burning Wish but that just gave me hellbent for Infernal Tutor -> Tendrils.

After the round I talked with the guy and asked him what he was playing. He showed me a salvagers and then told me it was an aggro-control version of UWR Salvagers.

Round 2 vs Chris with U/W Landstill

I have a balls hand with Xantid Swarm and a turn 2 kill. Suffice it to say that this guy is a complete lucksack. He played to time in the last round and can have 0 idea what I'm playing. He keeps a hand of FoW x2, Stifle x2, Fetch, 2 random blue cards. He goes first and I lose aftering getting Xantid Swarm forced, my EtW stifled, my EtW stifled again the next turn, and he Wrath'd my team of 4 dudes the turn afterwards. A timely Urami token makes it interesting, but he's still at 4 life when he casts Akroma's Vengeance.

Game 2 he has a similarly ballsy hand but only 1 Stifle this time. Double FoW goodness + Cunning Wish->Stifle + lands + brainstorms. Whatever. I get Swarm Forced, Chanted the next turn, then proceed to get the next 8 spells I played countered. Whatever. I'm very pissed off. Afterwards, he tells me that he only plays 2 Stifle MD.

I'm extremely sure that if I played this match 20 times I could win at least half of them, as you can't draw a 2-of every time. Gay.

Round 3 vs Type 2 B/W

I lead with Xantid Swarm and kill him turn 2.

I appologize turn 1 when I see my hand. He asks why and I combo off with Wish -> Returns and a storm of 16ish because I was showing off.

This matchup wasn't very fair. I boarded like I do for Goblins (-5 Control spells, +1 Cabal Therapy, +1 Grapeshot, +3 Shattering Spree) since Shattering Spree produces a more useful color when imprinted on a mox than Defense Grid or Xantid Swarm.

Round 4 vs Matt playing R/g/brainstorm Goblins

Matt just lost Round 3 to Landstill because he's retarded and boarded in chalices over relevant cards. He wants me to concede to him, but I have better tie breaks. We decide to play it out.

Game 1 he opens up Land -> Lackey, go. I open up EtW for 18 Goblins and win on turn 3.

Game 2 he opens up Land -> Vial. I mull, but open up EtW for 12 Goblins and win on turn 3.

Round 5 vs Justin with U/W 7/10ish Control.

I've seen this deck do pretty well the entire night and he's a 4-0 that got paired down. I rape him with on turn 4 after optimizing on brainstorm and plunging to find a swarm turn 3.

Game 2 I open up Mox, Land, Defense Grid and win easily on turn 2 after a brainstorm. I think I went 2x LED, IT -> IGG on him.

I played this list (59 cards Bryant uses and -1 Cabal pit +1 Tomb of Urami):

// Land
4 City of Brass
3 Gemstone Mine
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 Cabal Pit
1 Tomb of Urami

// Protection
3 Xantid Swarm
2 Defense Grid

// Tutors
4 Burning Wish
4 Plunge into Darkness
4 Infernal Tutor

// Busted
4 Brainstorm
2 Tendrils of Agony
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Ill-Gotten Gains

// Fast Mana
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Rite of Flame

// Sideboard
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
1 Grapeshot
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Tranquility
3 Shattering Spree
3 Compost
1 Defense Grid
1 Pyroclasm

I was extremely happy with the performance of this list and wouldn't change anything. I 2-0'd every round except the round I lost, and will be taking this to all future tournaments I go to. Playing this list feels surreal. It's like you're playing a different format than everyone else because your power level is so much higher. 4-1 in rounds, 8-2 in games doesn't seem that bad, and I ended up 4th on tiebreaks. No cut to elimination rounds.

Afterward, a 10ish players went out for shitty service at El Rancherito. The food was okay, but I'm extremely surprised that anyone left tips. Anyway, it was good to meet some new people, and the winning Goblins player was awesome, in addition to being 14.

Props:

- My opponents for being generally awesome to hang out with since we generally finished really early.
- Jed, the GWS guy who played 5c Counter Slivers for having a cool deck
- The field for deciding Threshold sucked (nobody brought it)
- My cousin for driving me and my brother
- Elgon, my altered lucky dragon token
- Max, the store owner, for being pretty cool this year
- My gentle reader for suffering through this report

Slops:

- service at El Rancherito
- 21 people showing up (not to take away from the people that did, but for a Mox tourney, that was weak).
- me, for having 0 english skills