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Thread: [Deck] Reanimator

  1. #2661
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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    @Kevin
    It depend on your build, play/draw, opponent (you know what he/she playing or not). There is my quick thoughts (the deck i used there is your last):

    1. Misty Rainforest, Polluted Delta, Daze, Mental Misstep, Exhume, Exhume, Blazing Archon
    on play: if it is first game and he/she don't know what im playing then mull, because first game i want to "hide" the deck as long as possible
    on draw: keep, if it is first game (like i said before). mm protect you versus their t1 discard

    2. Island, Force of Will, Mental Misstep, Animate Dead, Exhume, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, Sphinx of the Steel Wind
    on play/draw: mull due to color screw

    3. Polluted Delta, Swamp, Underground Sea, Verdant Catacombs, Daze, Animate Dead, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
    on play/draw: mull due to no protection, t1 discard ruin your plan

    4. Misty Rainforest, Verdant Catacombs, Force of Will, Mental Misstep, Animate Dead, Exhume, Reanimate
    on play/draw: mull. The most inportatnt part of this deck is to put something (the best creature against your opp deck) in graveyard, you have lots of cards to anime it to play. You haven't any digging tool in this hand. Draw go mode is not your friend, because you want to be asap. Your probability to draw entomb/brainstorm/study/hapless (and the last three cards dont have to save you if they dont hit what you need) is about 25%

    5. Polluted Delta, Verdant Catacombs, Daze, Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Animate Dead, Exhume
    on play/draw: keep, it is risky, but the probability to draw study + monster, or entomb, or study -> entomb isn't that bad. daze is enought protection there. you just land a land first turn to use the full potencional of Brainstorm second turn.

    6. Verdant Catacombs, Force of Will, Mental Misstep, Brainstorm, Reanimate, Blazing Archon, Sphinx of the Steel Wind
    on play: keep, not ideal, but turn three sphinx with protection should be enaught
    on draw: keep due to turn two sphinx

    7. Polluted Delta, Daze, Daze, Careful Study, Animate Dead, Reanimate, Inkwell Leviathan
    on play/draw: im not fan of revealing your deck first turn but this hand need it. Turn two Inkwell can race most of deck if it is reanimated without lifeloss. So Study first turn to hope you draw second land (within three cards on play or four cards on draw, it is decent probability). Also if you are able to animate Inkwell turn two and you can counter some creature after, do it and reanimate it to your favor (slow them, maximalize inkwells racing potential).
    Also, it is discutable to fetch for Sea due to opponents potential wasteland.

    8. Misty Rainforest, Underground Sea, Verdant Catacombs, Daze, Mental Misstep, Reanimate, Sphinx of the Steel Wind
    On play/draw: Same like 6., the protection there is not that good due to your plan, but decent. if you are on draw, keep it definitely.

    9. Misty Rainforest, Polluted Delta, Underground Sea, Verdant Catacombs, Mental Misstep, Careful Study, Reanimate
    Difficult hand.
    On play: mull. Your probability to draw one of your 12 creatures is low (two times about 25%).
    On draw: keep. The probability is bit better, but still risky. Also you can draw brainstorm or another study at least.

    10. Underground Sea, Verdant Catacombs, Force of Will, Careful Study, Careful Study, Animate Dead, Exhume
    On play/draw: This hand depend a lot how quick your opp can be. i dont like multiple Studies, but if you hit creature to yard, you're fine. Keep it.


    My counting with probability is not ideal, but as you can see, this deck need it. Im looking forward to your point of view guys.

  2. #2662
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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Hey guys,

    Just wanted to share my report for a 40 man tournament that I played in last week. I ended up coming in third/fourth and pulling a tropical island which I am really happy about considering that this is my third legacy tournament. I am playing a list very close to master shakes list with just a few small tweaks.

    Report

    Round One: Joe with his Helm Void//Vampire crazy deck

    Game one: Joe wins the die roll and we both keep. Joe looks a me and starts giggling as he drops to Layline of the voids in play. REALLY, auto loose as I don't have any main deck answers to that crazyness. I ended up playing a couple more minutes to figure out what he is playing

    Game Two: I get a good opening hand with a show and tell and an Iona. He blows me out with IOK and Hymn and multiple crypts that I cannot find an answer for. I get beat down with vampires.

    0-1
    0-2

    Round Two: B/W deadman with a blue splash?

    Game one: Third turn Jin-G which drew me into a lot of protection followed by an Iona on white for the win.

    Game two: I mulligan and he blows me out with a hymn and a confident while I brick a couple turns in a row.

    Game Three: Turn two Jin-G and I drew into a lot of protection.

    1-1
    2-3

    Round Three: Mirror

    Game One: I know what he is on, he doesn't know that it is a mirror and this info lets me push out a quick Iona on black to end the game quickly.

    Game Two. I play a couple of early Hapless dorks that ended up killing him. He didn't draw into an reanimate spells but I had a fist full of counters for when he did.

    2-1
    4-3

    Round Four: Boros stoneblade brew?

    Game One: he doesn't do much the first couple of turns so I just sit and sculpt my hand.I am a little shocked that he is running main deck Mental Missteps but Its a blow out with a Jin-G and Iona right after each other I think? this games is a little fuzzy

    Game Two: This is a little tricky as i counter a wheel of sun and moon and let him push a ensnaring bridge in play which is fine as I have a lot on answers to that. I end up getting an elesh norn out and it locks out all of his creatures. A couple of turns later I get Iona out and bounce his bridge at the end of his turn for the win.

    3-1
    6-3

    Round 5: Belcher

    Game one: First turn belcher but no mana to activate it. We play draw go for a couple of turns as I am trying to dig for a reanimate spell. I end up making a mistake and not countering a lotus petal. He petals then discards a spirt guide and with his land in play he kills me.

    Game Two: I play a fetch. On his turn he makes 14 goblins and at the end of his turn I entomb Elesh for the second turn Exhume. Third turn null rod forces a scoop.

    Game three: He starts to go off on turn two and wishes for tendrils wary of the entomb (which I had with a reanimate spell) he ends up hitting me for 16. The next turn I get Jin-G out and then sphinx with a lot of counters to finish the game.

    4-1
    8-4

    Round 6 - Id with Goblins

    4-1-1
    9-5-1

    Top Eight

    Top Eight- Paul with Merfolk

    Game one: Paul drops a mutavault. I discard a blazing Archon which i successfully exhume two turns later. Paul cannot find an answer soon enough.

    Game two: I lose to a bunch a fish and losing ten life to reanimated Jin-G. I really didn't have any other plays

    Game three: I have the nuts and entomb and reanimate a Elesh Norn for the lock on the second turn.

    5-1-1
    11-6-1

    Top Four - Pattern hulk deck

    Game one. I seem to brick for like 8 turns while he eventually sets up the combo. I make a HUGE mistake here and just scoop knowing that I am dead, I should have let him play the combo out so that I know how it works for the later games.

    Game Two: turn two Iona on green seals the deal quickly

    Game Three: I loose. He gets a pattern on a bird pretty quickly with a sack outlet but doesn't go off? I find this strange and cannot figure out what is going on. Well I end up reanimating in a blazing archon instead of Elesh or Iona which would most likely would have one me the game. it turns out he sideboarded out one of the hulks and had the other one in his hand and couldn't cast it. He kills me the next turn and I don't have a force, it didn't matter as he Cabal Therapy'ed me first.

    5-2-1
    12-8-1

  3. #2663
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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    The following is my tournament report for the Star City Games Pittsburgh Open. This event was held on July 31st 2011. This event began like many other events which I have participated in, that being the “We Draft Homelands” crew met up and carpooled to the tournament site. Quick backstory on the group of guys that I playtest and hit tournaments with: we have known each other for a long time. To clarify that further, we have known each other and been close friends, since middle school or maybe a year earlier. Magic has been a large portion of the conglomerate’s bonding the entire duration of that friendship. About two years ago, the “team,” if you will, finally settled on the name “We Draft Homelands” due to a drunken decision to actually draft arguably Magic’s worst expansion. Drafting the six half sized packs of Homelands was miserable, but left a last impression on the entire team. We marveled over how far the game had developed since its early beginnings. The drive down was fairly standard. The two other guys riding in my car and I discussed the current meta-game, how college was progressing, girls, and what we had all been up to over the summer so far.

    Upon our arrival a few of the guys played in the Standard Open. I chose to hold off on playing in the Standard Open, due to my lack of a competitive Standard Deck. I guess I could have played Blue-Green Pump Infect, but we all know how that would have ended. So I spent the majority of Saturday play testing with one of the other Homelands guys (Nate) and occasionally trading with passersby.

    At around 4 in the afternoon, the Legacy Challenge began registration. I signed up for this event and ended up going 3-1 out of the 4 rounds. I can post the results of this tournament also if there is interest. Overall, what this event led me to was running Stifles over the Null Rods in my sideboard. The logic being that Stifle keeps the graveyard safe versus both Tormod’s Crypt and Relic of Progenitus, while also protecting us versus Faerie Macabre. Sure we are still vulnerable to Extirpate, but in that case there is nothing you can do but rebuild. So Stifle, hit 3 of the four major graveyard hate cards out there, while also providing a solid sideboard option versus Hive Mind Combo. Stifle also is a bit more multidimensional. I would argue that it has more applicable situations than Null Rod. Furthermore, Stifle still allows you to go for a turn 2 Reanimate effect. Many opponents will let you bin a creature, but won’t remove your graveyard until you go to reanimate. Therefore, Stifle offers you the opportunity to still get a creature on turn two, even with graveyard hate on the table. Casting Null Rod will cost you a turn and also possibly your first binned creature. These facts led to the slight mitigation to the discussed sideboard.

    After the Legacy Challenge, the crew split up on where to eat. Three of us ate in a little pub we had sandwiches and beers. The other four, like true noobs, ordered pizza into the hotel. During the relaxing dinner in the pub, we discussed changed to our decks and how we would sideboard versus various matchups. This degenerated to discussing how many drinks we should have and who was going to get to sleep in the one bed in the hotel room. Long story short, I stopped at one drink and slept on the floor of the hotel room. I brought my pillow from home so I was set. Plus I didn’t have to snuggle up with another magic playing dude, so that in and of itself was a plus.

    Okay with all of the background dispensed, on to the Main Event! We returned early Sunday morning for the Legacy Open. I was piloting Reanimator. The other guys were representing Goblins, NO RUG, and two differing builds of affinity.

    Round One-Salvagers Combo
    This was a match up that I was not really expecting. But sometimes that will happen.

    Game 1: He wins the roll and decides to play. He lays a fetch and passes to me. I lay a fetch an pass back. He fetches at the end of my turn I fetch in response. Going into his second turn, He has a Tundra and I have a Swamp. He lays an Island and passed to me. At the end of his turn I Entomb for Jin. I try got the turn two reanimation with an Exhume. He Forces my Exhume and I am high and dry without counter backup. I have a reanimate in hand too, so I am not real worried. His turn 3 is Trinket Mage, tutoring for Tormod’s Crypt. Yes a singleton Tormod’s Crypt in the main deck. I have my graveyard removed and then lose a turn or two later after I let him combo. I really wanted to see the combo to know how to effectively sideboard.

    Sideboarding: -3 FoW, -3 Exhume, +2 Pithing Needle, +2 Stifle, +2 Show and Tell

    Game 2: I chose to play. I keep a hand missing a reanimation spell, but it has a Pithing Needle. I play fetch go. He fetches for an Underground Sea, didn’t see Black in game one, and Thoughtseizes me. I Mental Misstep, he Spell Pierces, I FoW, and he FoWs back. This leaves me with an Entomb, a land, and the Needle in hand. He chooses the Needle. I lose to the Combo a few turns later, after he tutors for graveyard hate.

    Record:0-1

    Round Two-Fast Zoo

    I have had some extensive experience playing against this matchup and have a 3 solid maindeck targets.

    Game 1: I get a turn three Blazing Archon off of a Hapless Researcher pitch. I am at a comfortable 11 life post reanimation. I am holding a Mental Misstep and an Animate Dead in hand. He fires Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning into my Archon. I Misstep the Chain Lightning, netting a solid two for one. I get in for five a few times and he racks up some more burn. He waits until I will swing for lethal, and double burns again. I let it hit and Animate Dead during my second main phase. After this he scoops and begins to board.

    Sideboardiong:-4 FoW, -2 Exhume, +2 Show and Tell, +2 Misdirection, +Stifle

    Game 2: I am on the draw and draw the absolute nuts. I draw 3 lands, Hapless Researcher, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Exhume, and Mental Misstep. I smile knowing that there is nearly nothing he can do to stop this hand. He leads by fetching for a Taiga and playing a Kird Ape. I follow with fetch for Island into Hapless Researcher. He fetches for a Savannah. Plays Goblin Guide and attacks for 4. I let it through, hoping that this will keep him from playing graveyard hate if he is holding it. Goblin Guide hit a land for me. I sac Hapless Researcher at end of turn, drawing a FoW and pitching the Sphinx of the Steel Wind. I untap and lay an Underground Sea. I Exhume getting the Sphinx. I get in a few times and he attempts to PtE Sphinx. I pay a blue for Mental Misstep. At this he scoops. I end at 27 life.

    Record:1-1

    Round Three-Zoo-Dan Musser

    Game 1: My notes for this game are very short and brief. I go from having 10 life to 0. I guess I didn’t really put up much of a fight.

    Sideboarding:-4 FoW, -2 Exhume, +2 Show and Tell, +2 Stifle, +2 Misdirection

    Game2: This game started out pretty rough. I led with a fetch. My opponent led with a fetch into a Taiga and casted Kird Ape, not bad right? Oh yea then he played a Tormod’s Crypt. Well I have a Hapless Researcher in hand and Jin. So I bait out the Crypt by Entombing at the end of his turn. In my second turn, cast the Hapless Researcher and attempt to Reanimate. He cracks Crypt removing a copy of Jin from the bin. He plays Goblin Guide and swings for 4. I block and sac binning the Jin in my hand. Goblin Guide did net me a land. I prevent 2 damage by blocking. Next turn I animate dead on the Jin. The following turn I am able to grab Sphinx of the Steel Wind. He gets there for me.

    Sideboarding:+3 FoW, -3 Daze

    Game 3: Very similar to game 1. I have a Hapless Researcher and a Reanimation Spell but no creature to bin. I try to dig with a Brainstorm but a Red Elemental Blast holds me at bay. After drawing a few land, I dies to a field of Kird Apes, Goblin Guides, and a Nactl.

    Record-1-2

    Round Four-RUG-esque Control

    Game 1: I know what I am playing against right off the bat. This guy shuffled in such a way that I see enough of his deck to put him on RUG. I land a turn 2 Jin. He doesn’t counter it. I follow that on turn 3 with a Sphinx. He is unable to beat a hand like that.
    Sideboarding:-2 Exhume, -3 Daze, +2 Show and Tell, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Stifle

    Game 2: I have a good opener. I am just missing a creature. By the time I hit one he has Jace the Mind Sculptor online to bounce my dude. We go to game three.

    Sideboard:+3 Daze, -3 FoW

    Game 3: This game was pretty quick. I start off on the play and land a turn two Jin, while holding onto a Mental Misstep. He tries to Path (brought them in from the board, I guess) Jin going into my end step, Misstep hits its mark. He picks up his cards.

    Record-2-2

    Round Five-Natural Order Elves

    Game 1: I don’t know what I am playing against this round. When I look at my hand and it has a turn two Inkwell, I am pretty happy. Well unfortunately my hand doesn’t have a FoW for his turn 3 Natural Order. I lose to Progenitus beats.

    Sideboarding:-2 Exhume, -3 FoW, -1 Inkwell, +1 Iona, +1 Jin, +2 Show and Tell, +2 Stifle

    Game 2: I keep an opener with Jin, Iona, 2 Land, Entomb, Exhume, and a Careful Study. I land turn 2 Iona on green. He looks at his hand and board. Then we go onto game three.

    Sideboarding:-3 Daze, +3 FoW

    Game 3: I am on the play. His first turn consists of Forest into a Nettle Sentinel. I play Underground Sea into Hapless Researcher. He attacks in and I let the two through, he plays some other elf in his second main phase. I sac for the draw/discard at the end on his turn, pitching Elesh Norn. On my second turn, I Exhume Elesh, nuking his board. I swing a few times, while setting up a turn 5 Iona on green. At the Iona on green, he scoops up his cards.

    Record:3-2

    Round Six-Standard-eque White Weenie

    Game 1: This was a match up that I was not planning on seeing at all. I was okay with seeing this type of deck, because I didn’t really have to counter anything. I just had to go for Elesh, Iona, or Sphinx to lock him out. Well game one was a breeze. I wasn’t sure what the deck was in the first two turns. The guy played a Plains on both his first and second turns. So I wasn’t sure if he was land screwed or actually playing some white variant. Therefore Game 1, I went for Jin. I easily landed a turn Two Jin and quickly made him drop his hand to his yard. I got to see some white dudes and enchant creatures. I follow Jin with a Turn 3 Sphinx. At this he picked up his cards.

    Sideboarding:-2 Exhume, -3 Daze, -1 FoW, +2 Echoing Truth, +2 Show and Tell, +1 Iona, +1 Terastaton

    Game 2: He is on the play and leads with Plains then casting an Elite Vanguard. I play fetch go. He follows on turn two with a second Plains and a Grand Abolisher. I respond by cracking my fetch, finding an Underground Sea. I tap for a black and cast Entomb from my hand. I find and bin Iona. I Reanimate Iona the subsequent turn calling white. This takes me down to 9 life and he has 2 creatures on the board. Conveniently I am holding an Echoing Truth. I swing in my next turn bringing him down to 13 life. In my second main phase, I bounce the Abolisher back to his hand. This puts me ahead in the damage race. I kill him while still being at 5 life.

    Record:4-2

    Round Seven-Hive Mind Combo-AJ Sacher

    Game 1: So I see the pairings for this round and my heart instantly sank. I was thinking, "how am I going to beat this guy?" He is one of the Open Series points leaders. Well, I suck up my lack of confidence and decide to just go for it. I win my first die roll of the day against AJ and decide to play. This was apparently the wrong decision. I look at my opener and I have no discard outlet. I am however holding a Jin, two land, two Reanimation spells, a Brainstorm, and a FoW. This seems like a decent hand. I instantly past turn to AJ. This seems to confuse him. He asks, “No plays?” I respond with, “Maybe in a turn or so.” I draw a Mental Misstep on my second turn draw. I move to my end step and discard Jin. At this point he seems to understand what is up. Turn three, I drop an Underground Sea and cast Reanimate. He responds by Brainstorming, and then countering with a FoW. I guess at this point, I could have forced it through with my FoW, but I was still holding an Exhume. So I figured I would try for Jin again next turn and save my FoW and Brainstorm for anything relevant he tries to do. He lays an Ancient Tomb and cantrips. I guess he is playing Hive Mind, which is correct, I decide to hang onto my FoW for this combo piece. I Exhume on my turn 4. He has no counters and it resolves. I land Jin, move to end step, and get my draw seven. At this point I am loaded with counter magic and have an Iona in the bin. He contemplates his position for a moment or two. He scoops and we go to game two.

    Sideboarding:-2 Animate Dead, -3 Daze, -1 Mental Misstep, +2 Show and Tell, +2 Stifle, +2 Flusterstorm

    Game 2: He lead with Ancient Tomb, tapping for two, and casting Chalice of the Void for 1. I look at my hand and see my turn two Jin being shot down. I draw for my turn and discard Iona. He plays a second Ancient Tomb and pays 4 for a second chalice at 2. The Exhume in my hand just lost all its little value. I still have a Jin in hand and Show and Tells in my Library somewhere. So I figure I will keep playing and make him actually kill me. Well we play draw go for a few turns. I drop fetches and after turn 5 or 6 draw a Show and Tell. I had also drawn into a FoW. So by this time, I figure I might as well swing for the fences. I cast Show and Tell. He casts Intuition in response. I FoW his Intuition, knowing he will either find Emrakul or Progenitus. My FoW resolves as does my Show and Tell. I get my Jin and my EOT draw seven. I hit a Flusterstorm and a FoW in the seven. He has no play and discards at the end of his turn. I untap am pretty sure I have the game at this point. I can now FoW and Flusterstorm any pacts he could set up. I send Jin in. AJ topdecks a Hive Mind and casts it. I cast FoW. I send Jin in a few more times and he shakes my hand on the Match.

    Round Eight-Hive Mind Combo-Chris VanMeter

    Game 1: I had just watched a friend play against Chris and knew he was playing Hive Mind combo going into the match. He won the roll and led with an Island and a Ponder or Brainstorm. I follow with fetch, go. He plays another land and passes back. I crack the fetch and get an Underground Sea, off of which I cast Entomb. I find a Jin for my graveyard. I untap and cast an Exhume which meet a FoW. After my last match, I figure it is safer to hold the counter magic for his Hive Mind. I play draw go for a turn or two. He keeps digging. I hit a reanimate on turn 4 and cast it. It resolves. I go down to 9 life. He doesn’t have the resources to go off in his next turn. He scoops after I draw seven and he sees his tops card.

    Sideboarding:-2 Animate Dead, -3 Daze, -1 Elesh, -1 Blazing Archon, -1 Sphinx, +2 Show and Tell, +2
    Flusterstorm, +1 Stifle, +1 Jin, +1 Iona, +1 Terastadon

    Game 2: I am on the draw yet again. Just like the last match, Chris leads with an Ancient Tomb casting Chalice of the Void set at 1. I still have an Exhume in hand, so I am not concerned. I draw and drop Jin to the yard and pass back. He plays a land and casts Impulse. I lay a fetch and pass back. He lays another land but he can only make 4 mana. I have another turn to be safe from Hive Mind. I draw into a FoW and play a land. I crack both fetches and attempt to Exhume. My Exhume meets a FoW. I hold mine back to keep him from landing Hive Mind. He misses a land drop and I have another turn to live. I draw a reanimation spell after a turn or two of draw-go, I think it was an Exhume. I bring Jin back to life. I get my draw seven and hit 2 more FoWs. My hand after end of turn discard is: FoW, FoW, FoW, Flusterstorm, Show and Tell, Brainstorm, and Terastadon. Looks pretty good. He lays the last land he needs and attempts to cast Hive Mind. It meets a Force of Will. He fires back with a Pact of Negation aimed at my FoW. I allow it to resolve. I then FoW again. This one meets no rebuttal. I counter his spells and he would still have to pay for a pact next upkeep. After this Jin swings in a few times to land me the win.

    Record:6-2:13-6

    This overall record lands me right at 15th place out of the 200 or so people that played. I opted for the $125 in store credit. I needed to pick up a Volcanic Island, 2 Chrome Moxes, and a few other odds and ends to finish of TES, which is a deck that I have been wanting to play for quite a while. So, all in all I would say it was a great tournament. I had a ton of fun, played against some really skilled and well-known players, and managed to place in some money at the end of the day. I was really happy with how the build operated throughout the day. I think a lot of the time you just have to be a bit ballsy about mulliganing. If you can’t get a guy by turn three, throw it back and try again.

    Props:
    Jin-Gitaxias for winning me every game he hit the table.

    Only being Wastelanded one time the entire tourney

    Flusterstorm for being able to get in under a Chalice set at 1. It was never necessary, but great to have an out, just in case.

    STIFLE! I never needed to use this card, but just having it in hand allowed me to play more aggressively in the face of graveyard hate. I think people should reconsider playing this card. It is pretty awesome.

    Slops:
    Losing to Salvagers Combo round one… WTF.

    Inkwell. I didn’t get paired against any Landstill or control/removal heavy decks. So he really didn’t have a chance to shine. However, I think the 2-3 game I ditched him off of a Hapless Researcher would have been better if the singleton Inky had been a Jin.

    Well that is the report. If there are any questions, I will gladly answer them. Thanks for reading!
    Last edited by Sturtzilla; 08-05-2011 at 03:00 PM.

  4. #2664
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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Well I finally found my other notes and had some free time. This is the coverage for my four rounds of the Legacy Challenge from SCG Pittsburgh. I was running the same deck as listed above.

    Round 1-U/W Stoneblade
    Game 1: I start off quick and powerful with a turn 2 Jin off of and EOT Entomb. I Exhume during my next turn. I see no counter but he comes back with a Stoneforge and finding Batterskull during his second turn. I dig up and Entomb Sphinx and reanimate it to go head to head with the Batterskull. He looks over his board position and decides to go to game 2.

    Game 2: I mulligan to six. I don't know what the hand contained at this point but I had a turn two Inkwell reanimation attempt, after FoW of mine hit a Stoneforge. A FoW answered mine and made me wait another turn on the reanimation attempt. I stick a turn three Exhume for the Inkwell. Inky got there. I found out after the game he had Wrath of Gods but didn't manage to hit them.

    1-0:2-0

    Round 2-Forgemaster
    Game 1: Game one I have seen Island and an Ancient Tomb. I put my opponent on Hive Mind Combo. I Reanimate Iona and call Blue only to find out my opponent is playing mono Artifacts.... FAIL! This is a prime example of why Jin is the go to creature. I would have won this game had I stuck to my guns and chose him. Frankly I probably would've beat Hive Mind with a turn two Jin also. I punt into a Forgemaster and a Wurmcoil Engine.

    Game 2: This game I land a turn 2 Inkwell, but he is answered a turn or two later by a Wurmcoil Engine. I chain Reanimate the same Hapless Researcher 2 or 3 times to block sac to keep my opponent from gaining life and to hope to dig into useful material. I didn't find any.

    1-1:2-2

    Round 3-LED Dredge
    Game 1: I led off with a Hapless Researcher, seem good right? Turns out you have to know how to interact with the other deck. He draws and discards Grave Troll. I have a turn two reanimate. I wasn't sure how to interact with this deck and missed sacing my Researcher to remove the Bridges and ending up getting picked clean from Cabal Therapies. I flounder and die due to zombie token beats.

    Game 2: I resolve a Exhume for a Blazing Archon which luckily keep his growing numbers of zombie tokens at bay. Archon knocks him down to 14 at which time he Dread Returns Iona and calls Black. So, I can't bring back my own binned Iona and he can't attack. We play draw, go and Dredge, go for a number of turns, while joking and having a great time (we had been telling the guys beside us who were playing Stoneblade vs. Stoneblade, that they would go to time and at least we would be done... ironic, huh?). He ends up drawing out because he dredged his only bounce spell with 39 zombies on the board.

    Game 3: I draw a solid opener and Reanimate a turn 2 Elesh-Norn off of an Hapless Researcher. Pretty awesome hand versus Dredge, right? I draw into the other Hapless Researcher in my build and get my Blue-Nactl beats online. He doesn't hit a bounce spell or an answer. Blue Nactl and Elesh get the job done.

    2-1:4-3

    Round 4-Homebrewed Junk
    Game 1: He play Bayou into a Hierarch. I play Fetch, go. He resolves a Confidant after fetching out a Scrubland (this lets me know that he is, in fact, playing Junk/Rock). I let it hit and I follow with a turn two Exhume for Jin. Turn 3 both Sphinx and Iona come join the fray off of an Animate Dead and a Reanimate. Turn 4 Archon finally earns a scoop from this dude.

    Game 2: He leads off on the play. His paly consists of fetch, crack for some :B:/x dual, then casting Inquisition of Kozilek targeting me. I mull it over for a minute or so. But having a fetch, Entomb, and Reanimate is too good to let him mess with. I Misdirection, pitching a Hapless Researcher, and send the discard spell back towards him. I play fetch, go (possibly my favorite leading play in this game, or at least with this deck). That quickly turns into a Jin on my turn 2. He scoops up his cards and extends the hand.

    3-1:6-3

    The 3-1 record earns me 6 packs of M12. I crack a bunch of garbage (this is one of the reasons that I like playing Legacy; you get to play with good cards and powerful interactions... not garbage) with the exception of a Chandra the Firebrand. I sell that to the dealers to make up for my tournament entry and to pay for my dinner and booze later that evening. Decent event overall. A misplay cost me the 4-0 record but it happens sometimes. I still had a ton of fun and got some good ideas for tweaking my sideboard for the Legacy Open the following day. Thanks for reading.
    Last edited by Sturtzilla; 08-18-2011 at 11:49 PM.

  5. #2665

    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Thanks for the report. I have one question though; is it really a good idea to side in show and tell against hive mind? You might just help him sneak in his hive mind.

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Congrats on the finish.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sturtzilla View Post
    Chris leads with an Ancient Tomb casting Chalice of the Void set at 1.
    He plays a land and Brainstorms.
    I draw a reanimate after a turn or two of draw-go. I bring Jin back to life.
    Did you forget to include something in here regarding the Chalice at 1?

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Congrats, Ben! :D I felt very happy when I saw you in the top16

    Quote Originally Posted by lordofthepit View Post
    Congrats on the finish.

    Did you forget to include something in here regarding the Chalice at 1?
    I've noticed too. Maybe he wanted to say reanimation spell.
    3d2Y. [Wolves never look back]

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by lordofthepit View Post
    Congrats on the finish.



    Did you forget to include something in here regarding the Chalice at 1?
    Both the Reanimate and Brainstorm would have been countered by the Chalice set to 1.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cavius The Great View Post
    Respect my shine bitch!

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    @Sturtzilla: nice report. Did you take any notes or you just remember each games?

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by Dia_Bot View Post
    Thanks for the report. I have one question though; is it really a good idea to side in show and tell against hive mind? You might just help him sneak in his hive mind.
    Honestly I am not sure. Considering that Chalice at 1 and 2 shut the entire deck off, I would say having Show and Tell gives us another out. You just need to be very careful about when you cast it. You want to have a FoW and a Flusterstorm in hand. Stifle will work too in place of Flusterstorm, if they haven't Chaliced at 1. FoW holds Intuition for an Emrakul/Progenitus/Hive Mind at bay, while Flusterstorm counters the Pact if they sneak in the Hive Mind. Really it is a ballsy move... big risk, but big reward. All in all, it either wins or loses the game. My opinion is that with the right cards in hand, going for it is better that waiting for them to hard cast it and then kill you.

    I also have to say that winning this match is very different than winning other match ups. You are playing agaisnt a deck with eight free counters and an instant "I win" clock. You have to play aggressively but not overextend, leaving yourself counterless. Try for a fast Jin or Iona, but do not FoW unnecessarily. If you can force through a Jin on turns 2-3, your draw seven should help you counter their Hive Mind attempt. However, if your Hive Minding opponent FoWs your reanimation spell, that means one less FoW to deal with for your next reanimation attempt. I would urge caution and suggest holding the FoW for when he Show and Tells or casts the Hive Mind.


    Quote Originally Posted by lordofthepit View Post
    Did you forget to include something in here regarding the Chalice at 1?
    My bad! Chris had Impulses post board. I corrected my report. Good Catch!


    Quote Originally Posted by theBloody View Post
    @Sturtzilla: nice report. Did you take any notes or you just remember each games?
    I tend to keep track of each match on its own sheet of paper on a legal pad. It gives me enough room to keep track of life, jot down what cards I see/want to sideboard against, and post match keep track of what I boarded in/out. I reconstructed each match for the report above from the notes I took while and after playing.


    Quote Originally Posted by Alsan View Post
    Congrats, Ben! :D I felt very happy when I saw you in the top16.
    Thanks Alsan! I will continue to play this deck. I absolutely love it. Until the meta shifts or people start playing Extripate in their boards. Honestly with Stifle, you can afford to play in a more aggressive manner and not really get punished for it. Overall I think Stilfe is a great card. It has more uses than keeping our graveyard safe. It acts as mana denial, times walks agains certain combos (I never had to do this, but it can keep us alive for a turn or two when Jin drains our library, thus allowing for an alpha strike or two), and saves us versus Hive Mind.

  11. #2671

    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Hey guys, congrats on your performances

    @Strutz
    I never thought on taking out FoW, but you did it a couple of times when you were on the play. Can you explain?
    Stifle is an interesting idea, although it doesn't stop neither extirpate nor leyline, but neither needle or null rod can do anything about them. I may give them a try.

    Online training
    I've played in two more online tournaments going 2-2 and 3-1 loosing twice against UW Stoneforge (one of them with leylines!) and one NO GUW (this one i lost the 3rd game because I entombed for inkwell and exhumed but he outraced me with clique+goyf). My wins were against elves (elesh norn!), gobbos (iona@red and elesh - nice, but not so good because matron triggers), NO RUG (jin), ant (jin and iona@blue, should be black but he had bounce), dredge (elesh norn rocks!!).

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by nastirth View Post
    @Sturtz
    I never thought on taking out FoW, but you did it a couple of times when you were on the play. Can you explain?
    Well in games when you are on the play, Daze has added value because you are essentially a turn ahead in terms of mana production. Furthermore, since our deck only really needs to hit 2-3 land to operate, we can afford to daze, if it will for sure counter the spell it is aimed at. On the other hand FoW creates major card disadvantage, by two for oneing, when you cast it.

    In every game we should be aiming to mitigate our counter package to be the most effective. Misdirection is clearly better than FoW, if your opponent plays removal or discard spells, especially Hymn to Tourach. In my matches against Zoo, I would board out FoW in favor of Misdirection. It gives you a two for two interaction (as opposed to a two for one in the favor of our opponent), since you can redirect a removal spell or burn at an opposing creature. This buys you turns and doesn't generate virtual card advantage for your opponent. Stifle also acts in a similar manner. Stifle keeps us safe agaisnt opposing graveyard hate, this saves card advantage for us by allowing us to not have to FoW.

    Basically in the Zoo matchup when we are on the play, Mental Misstep and Daze can take out most of the opposing relevant plays. If we can sling a well timed piece of burn back at a creature. I would say it is better than losing cards to a FoW to prevent that bit of damage.


    Quote Originally Posted by nastirth View Post
    Stifle is an interesting idea, although it doesn't stop neither extirpate nor leyline, but neither needle or null rod can do anything about them. I may give them a try.
    Dude, if someone plays Extripate, you just have to rebuild. That is all there is to it. On the other hand, if you see a leyline and end up going to another game, board in Echoing Truth and use it at the right time. That would typically be at end of turn when you have 2-3 lands and can bin and reanimate in the same turn. Try out Stifle, it is pretty decent. It lets you play more aggressively and keeps us from losing tempo, due to a lost graveyard.

  13. #2673
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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Hi. I have just put this deck together and I'm trying to figure out how to play it better. My maindeck is just like Eli Kassis' from Pittsburgh except I'm trying out two Hapless Researchers in place of two Ponders.

    I have a scenario question and I'd love some feedback:

    It's game one on the play against an unknown deck.
    Opening hand:
    Underground Sea
    Polluted Delta
    Careful Study
    Entomb
    Sphinx of the steel wind
    Exhume
    Mental misstep

    Do you:
    1. Cast Careful Study and put sphinx and something else in the yard?
    2. Cast Entomb main phase in order to dodge daze and give them one less draw step for a counter but give them information on their turn?
    3. Cast Entomb at the end of their turn?

    If the choice is Entomb, is the default target Jin-Gitaxias against an unknown deck?

    If the Careful Study is a Brainstorm instead, what's your play?

    If instead of Mental Misstep you have Island, does that change anything?

    Thanks very much.

  14. #2674

    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by Holden1669 View Post
    Do you:
    1. Cast Careful Study and put sphinx and something else in the yard?
    2. Cast Entomb main phase in order to dodge daze and give them one less draw step for a counter but give them information on their turn?
    3. Cast Entomb at the end of their turn?

    If the choice is Entomb, is the default target Jin-Gitaxias against an unknown deck?

    If the Careful Study is a Brainstorm instead, what's your play?

    If instead of Mental Misstep you have Island, does that change anything?

    Thanks very much.
    Hi, quite interesting question!

    I would play the hand this way:
    T1: Polluted Delta, Go.
    EOT: Fetch for Swamp, Entomb for Jin (or rarely an even better creature, if I was able to identify the opponent's deck out of his first turn play). Thus, taking the risk of getting dazed/forced.

    T2: U-Sea, Exhume. If Entomb got dazed/forced, and I did not draw an additional Land, then I would cast Careful Study in turn 2 instead.

    If the Careful Study is a Brainstorm instead, this wouldn't change my T1 play.

    If Mental Misstep were an Island, I would go for Careful Study in my main phase of turn 1 instead.

    That's how I would play the hand. Taking some risk with the potential reward of droping a turn 2 Jin-Gitaxias, which many times turns out to be a game winning play.

    Not sure if this is the optimal play, though.

    cheers

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by Holden1669 View Post
    Underground Sea
    Polluted Delta
    Careful Study
    Entomb
    Sphinx of the steel wind
    Exhume
    Mental misstep
    I would say play the fetch and pass. At end of turn attempt for the Entomb. If this line of play fails, then go to the Careful Study. I have two major reason for playing in this manner.

    1. Against an unknown deck Jin-Gitaxias is always the best target. Sure games two and three he might not be. When you are unsure of what your opponent is piloting, you should get him. He is a target that is great against basically every deck out there, especially if you can get him turn 2-3.

    2. Waiting until forced to use Careful Study gives you the advantage of another card draw (or potentially more). This is good because it gives you another natural draw to get FoW back up or another creature to pitch with the Careful Study.

    If Careful Study had been Brainstorm, I would still go for the above line of play. If unanswered, you win. That is the kind of pressure you want to apply. However, depending on your opponent's deck (especially if it is blue and has counter magic), you might want to turn one entomb then turn two brainstorm. This might get you a FoW or a second reanimation spell, which would help ensure you get your guy into play.

    If Mental Misstep had been an Island, I would still go for the above line of play. Unless you opponent has an abundance of counters they will let you bin and then counter the reanimation spell. Where you want to worry about protection is when you reanimate.

    As a side note, the Eli Kassis version of this deck is definitely good; however, I prefer to play more business spells to improve my chances of being able to get a fast guy into play. I watched his feature match and it seems like he just cantrips and reorganized his deck a lot. I realize he placed better than I did, but running 8 draw spells just seems poor when you could run 8 more business spells and just draw them. The power of this deck is getting a big guy and getting him fast. Every turn you spend Brainstorming or Pondering, after the first, is a turn that could have been a guy on board. Sure Brainstorm might be the "best card in Legacy," but that doesn't me it is an auto-4-of for this deck.

  16. #2676

    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Trick I was thinking about, it is rather narrow but can be useful.

    If you're playing against Dredge and you really need to kill their Bridges for some reason. You can Animate Dead a Terastodon and have it destroy the Animate Dead causing the Terastodon to be sacrificed.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sturtzilla View Post
    As a side note, the Eli Kassis version of this deck is definitely good; however, I prefer to play more business spells to improve my chances of being able to get a fast guy into play. I watched his feature match and it seems like he just cantrips and reorganized his deck a lot. I realize he placed better than I did, but running 8 draw spells just seems poor when you could run 8 more business spells and just draw them. The power of this deck is getting a big guy and getting him fast. Every turn you spend Brainstorming or Pondering, after the first, is a turn that could have been a guy on board. Sure Brainstorm might be the "best card in Legacy," but that doesn't me it is an auto-4-of for this deck.
    The problem with the "all business" plan is that you can just draw into all "entomb effects" or all into "reanimation effects". This has happened to me more than once, I'm stuck with 3 reanimation spell in hand and no creatures in the graveyard, because my Entomb/Study got countered/creature got RFGed.

    And the you're just trusting your natural draw every turn to draw you the right card. While the 8-cantrip version surely is slower, it's more prepared to survive attrition war against Merfolk and other disruptive decks.

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by alderon666 View Post
    Trick I was thinking about, it is rather narrow but can be useful. If you're playing against Dredge and you really need to kill their Bridges for some reason. You can Animate Dead a Terastodon and have it destroy the Animate Dead causing the Terastodon to be sacrificed.
    That is a bit of a cute trick, but you could just sacrifice a Hapless Researcher (if you have one). I would say you should do it in response to the Narcomeoba trigger(s), this keeps your opponent from getting dudes off of the Bridges, while also wrecking your hand. This keeps your hand safer and the board a bit cleaner. Overall it is just a better position for our deck. Seems easier too.

    Another fun trick: if you think your opponent is playing Phyrexian Metamorph post board, Show and Tell an Animate Dead into play. The Metamorph's replacement effect will resolve first and then you get to pick your dude from the yard. This gets you value by saving a creature and board position and screws your opponent's game plan.


    Quote Originally Posted by alderon666 View Post
    The problem with the "all business" plan is that you can just draw into all "entomb effects" or all into "reanimation effects". This has happened to me more than once, I'm stuck with 3 reanimation spell in hand and no creatures in the graveyard, because my Entomb/Study got countered/creature got RFGed.
    Solution 1: Mulligan. Shuffle real well and draw a better hand.

    Solution 2: Discard a fatty and reanimate the turn after. I know it seems a bit slow and sub par. Yet the speed that this deck can put on even when in that mode is good enough to compete with most of the other decks in the format. I did this versus AJ Sacher at SCG Pittsburgh and still managed to get the game and match.


    Quote Originally Posted by alderon666 View Post
    And the you're just trusting your natural draw every turn to draw you the right card. While the 8-cantrip version surely is slower, it's more prepared to survive attrition war against Merfolk and other disruptive decks.
    Solution 3: Use your counter magic to force your combo through.

    Sure 8 cantrips might give you better long game, but this is a combo deck and its value loses efficacy each turn that you don't go off. More specifically, a turn 4-5 reanimate is not as powerful as a turn 2-3 reanimate. So I will play the fast variant. If you come up with valuable data or playtesting to rationalize the 8 cantrip version, sure I would like to see it. Just claiming that you get crappy hands isn't enough to convince me. I have played hundreds, maybe a thousands, of sample hands with deck and in a few different configurations. I know I prefer this variant. Ultimately, that may just be player preference though.

  18. #2678

    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by Sturtzilla View Post
    Another fun trick: if you think your opponent is playing Phyrexian Metamorph post board, Show and Tell an Animate Dead into play. The Metamorph's replacement effect will resolve first and then you get to pick your dude from the yard. This gets you value by saving a creature and board position and screws your opponent's game plan.
    Metamorph can't copy the creature being brought to play by Show and Tell.


    Quote Originally Posted by Sturtzilla View Post
    Solution 3: Use your counter magic to force your combo through.

    Sure 8 cantrips might give you better long game, but this is a combo deck and its value loses efficacy each turn that you don't go off. More specifically, a turn 4-5 reanimate is not as powerful as a turn 2-3 reanimate. So I will play the fast variant. If you come up with valuable data or playtesting to rationalize the 8 cantrip version, sure I would like to see it. Just claiming that you get crappy hands isn't enough to convince me. I have played hundreds, maybe a thousands, of sample hands with deck and in a few different configurations. I know I prefer this variant. Ultimately, that may just be player preference though.
    Not saying it's strictly better, just reporting what has happened to me while playing the "business" version. I play storm combo and cantrip heavy hands are somewhat problematic there too. But sometimes you keep a hand with a lot of mana and a Ponder, finds nothing on the top 3, shuffle and draws crap. Then you're left stranded trying to draw a threat of the top. That's where Top shines, altough it's slow as hell. I think more testing is needed, at least 4 BS seems necessary.

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Quote Originally Posted by Sturtzilla View Post
    Another fun trick: if you think your opponent is playing Phyrexian Metamorph post board, Show and Tell an Animate Dead into play. The Metamorph's replacement effect will resolve first and then you get to pick your dude from the yard. This gets you value by saving a creature and board position and screws your opponent's game plan.
    This is interesting but probably doesn't have the intended consequence. Phyrexian Metamorph cannot copy the creature/artifact being put into play off Show and Tell, so your opponent will almost certainly save Metamorph for the next turn, using it as a three-mana untargeted Terminate for Legends, instead of playing it off SnT. So you aren't really protecting anything by playing Animate Dead instead.

    It is possible your opponent is unaware of how Clone effects interact with Show and Tell, which I wasn't until a few months ago. In this case, you have them beat, but you could have beaten them by cheating in your fatty off SnT instead of Animate Dead anyway, while saving Animate Dead as backup to bring back another creature or to revive your fatty if he kills it with Metamorph.

    Except in rare circumstances, the worst a Metamorph can do to you is Legend rule your creature or trade Sphinxes. So if you had a Show and Tell, Animate Dead, and another fatty in hand, the optimal play would be to drop the fatty off Show and Tell. If Metamorph were able to do anything about it, it would be hardcast on your opponent's next main phase, presumably putting your fatty into the graveyard (after Legend rule or combat phase trade). That's where casting Animate Dead gives you the trump.

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    Re: [Deck] B/U Reanimator

    Well for some reason the announcers on SCG were discussing this interaction when Eli Kassis cast a Show and Tell during his feature match. I was wondering why it mattered actually. But I still think it is kind of an off the wall way to have the deck run.

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