five
08-26-2010, 03:24 AM
My name is Alex and I have been playing in Legacy tournaments for a little over a year now. Legacy is by far my favorite format and I try to play in local tournaments at least once a week. The Denver SCG open was the close enough to my hometown of Phoenix, so my friends and I decided to make the long drive and play some Legacy.
I already knew I was going to play U/W Tempo weeks before the tournament. I had been playing the deck for a couple months, and I seemed to get better with it every time I played. Plus, I felt like I only lost when I made some epic mistake (foreshadowing). My friends told me the deck sucks and that I needed to play something else. I ignored them because I knew W/U Tempo is a top notch deck and most people probably don’t bother to test against it. I have been using this deck list ever since Mystical was banned:
Artifacts
3 Aether Vial
2 Umezawa's Jitte
Creatures
4 Fathom Seer
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Avenger
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vexing Sphinx
4 Weathered Wayfarer
2 Jotun Grunt
Instants
4 Brainstorm
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
Lands
2 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tundra
3 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Island
2 Plains
Sideboard:
1 Jotun Grunt
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Aura of Silence
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
2 Condemn
3 Enlightened Tutor
I wasn’t completely sold on some of the sideboard cards. I ended up boarding in every card in at some point during the day, with the exceptions of Relic of Progenitus and Ghostly Prison. So I guess I am ultimately satisfied with my card choices there.
I can’t remember all of the details from the matches I played. The only notes I have are life totals from each match. I apologize for any mistakes I make while summarizing my tournament experience.
Round 1 Josh w/ Merfolk (mono u) 2-0
Game one I make a very risky decision and get a bit lucky. I choose to triple block LoA with Moms even though I don’t have any islands in play. I take a hit from his other two fish go to 6. I know that I need to find Swords for Coralhelm Commander or he is going to fly over ftw. I crack a fetch at the end of his turn, Brainstorm and find the Swords. I am able to exile the Commander and lock down the ground with my Moms. At some point I return my islands to my hand with a Fathom Seer. Eventually Josh scoops to my massive board.
SB: -2 Daze, and +2 Condemn. I don’t really remember game 2. The last life totals I have are 14 to 2, so it must not have been close.
(1-0)
Round 2 Adam w/ Countertop (u/w/b) 0-2
This was a feature match (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=19911)
All that I can add to the coverage is that Adam is my friend and I definitely knew he had Jace in his deck. So wasting my Daze to protect Mom was even more of a punt than it seemed. Also, using Wayfarers to grab lands instead of attack was probably unwise, considering I am definitely the aggressor in this match up. SB: -4 Swords, -3 Mom, +3 ETutor, +3 Aura of Silence, and +1 Pithing Needle
(1-1)
Round 3 Kyle with Merfolk (u/r) 2-0
I mull to 5 game 1. My five includes a land and a Wayfarer, which I consider acceptable. When Kyle opens with Mutavault + Vial, I realize I may have a chance. He plays a second Mutavault turn 2 which makes me excited. I draw a Wasteland, tutor a Wasteland with Wayfarer, and soon my opponent has no lands. Event with a Vial, he can’t develop his board and I win easily with Avengers.
SB: -2 Daze, and +2 Condemn. This game is a little closer. I don’t play any islands the whole game. Avengers help me squeak it out.
(2-1)
Round 4 Jon with U/G Madness (2-1)
Game 1 is a Vexing Spinx beat down. He never finds his Vengevines and can’t deal with my fliers.
SB (draw): -2 Spell Pierce and -1 Daze, +1 ETutor, +1 Wheel of Sun and Moon, and +1 Pithing Needle. I think I am going to win again, then out of nowhere Jon is swinging with 3 Vengevines and a 5/5 Mongrel. I Swords a Vine, block, and die on Jon’s next turn.
SB (play): -1 ETutor, -1 Wheel, -1 Needle, +1 Daze, and +2 Condemn. Game 3 Jon has a Mongrel, but no Vengevines and I win rather easily. He didn’t see one Survival all three games…
(3-1)
Round 5 Henrey w/ Survival (g/w/b/r) 2-1
Game 1 I draw all 4 Swords and exile 3 Fauna Shamans.
Game 2 no board? He assembles Survival and Loyal Retainers. I scoop when he tutors for Emrakul.
Game 3 no board? This game is drawn out. I remember beating with Mother of Runes for like 10 turns! My alpha strike consists of 2 Moms, 2 Fathom Seers, and a Wayfarer. Who says crappy one-power dudes can’t win games?
(4-1)
Round 6 Rob with T.E.S. (1-2)
This is a feature match, but I don’t know where to find the coverage. Rob wins the roll and opens with Gemstone Mine + LED. I put him on Dredge and Force his LED. You can imagine my surprise when he plays Ponder and passes the turn. I have no counter when he goes off turn 2.
SB: -4 Swords, -4 Mom, +3 ETutor, +3 Aura of Silence, +1 Thorn, +1 Ethersworn Canonist. Game 2 I tutor for Thorn of Amethyst and play it on turn two. After taking a few beats from Ethersworn Canonist, Rob scoops in interest of time.
SB: No change. Game 3 contains what may be the biggest punt of my life. My opening 7 has no counters and no hate so I decide to mull. My mulls to 6 and 5 have no lands. My hand of 4 is Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Thorn, and Stoneforge Mystic. I don’t draw a land on my first two turns. On turn 3 I finally draw a land. At the end of Rob’s turn, I play Brainstorm which gets Pyroblasted. I Brainstorm on my turn, and find a land and Force of Will. How lucky! Rob goes off on his next turn, eventually playing a Burning Wish. I knew I needed to Force the Wish, but I was confused because he still had one card in hand. I decided to wait and try to counter what he Wishes for. He grabs Empty the Warrens and plays it, and I face palm. I counter one copy of Empty, but he still gets 8 goblins or so. My dismay is punctuated by the fact that I play Stoneforge Mystic and pass without fetching for Jitte. The wheels certainly fall off when I punt badly like that. He obviously wins this one. I see he has another Burning Wish in his hand after the match, and I imagine that is the card he was still holding on the turn he went off. So he still would have won that turn even if I Forced the first Wish.
(4-2)
Round 7 Brennen w/ Countertop (b/g/r)
I was seriously distraught after booting round 6. Luckily I had like 20 minutes to recover before round 7. I was ready to battle by the time I sat down across from Brennen. I don’t remember much from game 1 except that he hit me with multiple Firespouts. Mom helped me out of that mess. Eventually he has Countertop lock with two Goyfs, and I have a Vial and a Jitte with 2 counters. I am at 16 life and he is at 7. I set Vial to 3 and pass the turn. He swings then passes back to me, and I vial in Vexing Sphinx before my turn. I equip, swing and pump, and he has no answer.
SB:???. Game 2 is uneventful on my part. I scoop after he has Countertop lock and Jace on board.
I decide to play game 3 with my main deck 60. This game has more Firespouts on Brennens behalf. Mom saves my ass once again. Somehow I have enough creatures to do 20 before we go to time. After game 3, Ben Weinburg points out that I should have boarded in my 3rd Jotun Grunt for sure, and probably my Pithing Needle and Relic too. Oh well, at least I won anyways.
(5-2)
Overall I had I great time in Denver. It was totally worth the 14 hour drive from Phoenix! I will definitely go to the next SCG Open that is within a reasonable drive.
Props:
Winning $100. That paid for my room, food, and beer!
All of my opponents. You guys were awesome!
Adam for making top 4.
Rob for making top 8.
Adam, Frank and Jim for driving up with me.
Crown Plaza Hotel for the $79 room rate on site.
Starcity Games for supporting Legacy and hosting great tournaments.
U/W Tempo's creators for building the funnest deck I have ever played!
Slops:
Not countering Burning Wish, even though I knew it was the obvious play.
Me, for losing both of my feature matches.
I already knew I was going to play U/W Tempo weeks before the tournament. I had been playing the deck for a couple months, and I seemed to get better with it every time I played. Plus, I felt like I only lost when I made some epic mistake (foreshadowing). My friends told me the deck sucks and that I needed to play something else. I ignored them because I knew W/U Tempo is a top notch deck and most people probably don’t bother to test against it. I have been using this deck list ever since Mystical was banned:
Artifacts
3 Aether Vial
2 Umezawa's Jitte
Creatures
4 Fathom Seer
4 Mother of Runes
4 Serra Avenger
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vexing Sphinx
4 Weathered Wayfarer
2 Jotun Grunt
Instants
4 Brainstorm
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
4 Swords to Plowshares
Lands
2 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tundra
3 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Island
2 Plains
Sideboard:
1 Jotun Grunt
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Aura of Silence
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
2 Condemn
3 Enlightened Tutor
I wasn’t completely sold on some of the sideboard cards. I ended up boarding in every card in at some point during the day, with the exceptions of Relic of Progenitus and Ghostly Prison. So I guess I am ultimately satisfied with my card choices there.
I can’t remember all of the details from the matches I played. The only notes I have are life totals from each match. I apologize for any mistakes I make while summarizing my tournament experience.
Round 1 Josh w/ Merfolk (mono u) 2-0
Game one I make a very risky decision and get a bit lucky. I choose to triple block LoA with Moms even though I don’t have any islands in play. I take a hit from his other two fish go to 6. I know that I need to find Swords for Coralhelm Commander or he is going to fly over ftw. I crack a fetch at the end of his turn, Brainstorm and find the Swords. I am able to exile the Commander and lock down the ground with my Moms. At some point I return my islands to my hand with a Fathom Seer. Eventually Josh scoops to my massive board.
SB: -2 Daze, and +2 Condemn. I don’t really remember game 2. The last life totals I have are 14 to 2, so it must not have been close.
(1-0)
Round 2 Adam w/ Countertop (u/w/b) 0-2
This was a feature match (http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=19911)
All that I can add to the coverage is that Adam is my friend and I definitely knew he had Jace in his deck. So wasting my Daze to protect Mom was even more of a punt than it seemed. Also, using Wayfarers to grab lands instead of attack was probably unwise, considering I am definitely the aggressor in this match up. SB: -4 Swords, -3 Mom, +3 ETutor, +3 Aura of Silence, and +1 Pithing Needle
(1-1)
Round 3 Kyle with Merfolk (u/r) 2-0
I mull to 5 game 1. My five includes a land and a Wayfarer, which I consider acceptable. When Kyle opens with Mutavault + Vial, I realize I may have a chance. He plays a second Mutavault turn 2 which makes me excited. I draw a Wasteland, tutor a Wasteland with Wayfarer, and soon my opponent has no lands. Event with a Vial, he can’t develop his board and I win easily with Avengers.
SB: -2 Daze, and +2 Condemn. This game is a little closer. I don’t play any islands the whole game. Avengers help me squeak it out.
(2-1)
Round 4 Jon with U/G Madness (2-1)
Game 1 is a Vexing Spinx beat down. He never finds his Vengevines and can’t deal with my fliers.
SB (draw): -2 Spell Pierce and -1 Daze, +1 ETutor, +1 Wheel of Sun and Moon, and +1 Pithing Needle. I think I am going to win again, then out of nowhere Jon is swinging with 3 Vengevines and a 5/5 Mongrel. I Swords a Vine, block, and die on Jon’s next turn.
SB (play): -1 ETutor, -1 Wheel, -1 Needle, +1 Daze, and +2 Condemn. Game 3 Jon has a Mongrel, but no Vengevines and I win rather easily. He didn’t see one Survival all three games…
(3-1)
Round 5 Henrey w/ Survival (g/w/b/r) 2-1
Game 1 I draw all 4 Swords and exile 3 Fauna Shamans.
Game 2 no board? He assembles Survival and Loyal Retainers. I scoop when he tutors for Emrakul.
Game 3 no board? This game is drawn out. I remember beating with Mother of Runes for like 10 turns! My alpha strike consists of 2 Moms, 2 Fathom Seers, and a Wayfarer. Who says crappy one-power dudes can’t win games?
(4-1)
Round 6 Rob with T.E.S. (1-2)
This is a feature match, but I don’t know where to find the coverage. Rob wins the roll and opens with Gemstone Mine + LED. I put him on Dredge and Force his LED. You can imagine my surprise when he plays Ponder and passes the turn. I have no counter when he goes off turn 2.
SB: -4 Swords, -4 Mom, +3 ETutor, +3 Aura of Silence, +1 Thorn, +1 Ethersworn Canonist. Game 2 I tutor for Thorn of Amethyst and play it on turn two. After taking a few beats from Ethersworn Canonist, Rob scoops in interest of time.
SB: No change. Game 3 contains what may be the biggest punt of my life. My opening 7 has no counters and no hate so I decide to mull. My mulls to 6 and 5 have no lands. My hand of 4 is Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Thorn, and Stoneforge Mystic. I don’t draw a land on my first two turns. On turn 3 I finally draw a land. At the end of Rob’s turn, I play Brainstorm which gets Pyroblasted. I Brainstorm on my turn, and find a land and Force of Will. How lucky! Rob goes off on his next turn, eventually playing a Burning Wish. I knew I needed to Force the Wish, but I was confused because he still had one card in hand. I decided to wait and try to counter what he Wishes for. He grabs Empty the Warrens and plays it, and I face palm. I counter one copy of Empty, but he still gets 8 goblins or so. My dismay is punctuated by the fact that I play Stoneforge Mystic and pass without fetching for Jitte. The wheels certainly fall off when I punt badly like that. He obviously wins this one. I see he has another Burning Wish in his hand after the match, and I imagine that is the card he was still holding on the turn he went off. So he still would have won that turn even if I Forced the first Wish.
(4-2)
Round 7 Brennen w/ Countertop (b/g/r)
I was seriously distraught after booting round 6. Luckily I had like 20 minutes to recover before round 7. I was ready to battle by the time I sat down across from Brennen. I don’t remember much from game 1 except that he hit me with multiple Firespouts. Mom helped me out of that mess. Eventually he has Countertop lock with two Goyfs, and I have a Vial and a Jitte with 2 counters. I am at 16 life and he is at 7. I set Vial to 3 and pass the turn. He swings then passes back to me, and I vial in Vexing Sphinx before my turn. I equip, swing and pump, and he has no answer.
SB:???. Game 2 is uneventful on my part. I scoop after he has Countertop lock and Jace on board.
I decide to play game 3 with my main deck 60. This game has more Firespouts on Brennens behalf. Mom saves my ass once again. Somehow I have enough creatures to do 20 before we go to time. After game 3, Ben Weinburg points out that I should have boarded in my 3rd Jotun Grunt for sure, and probably my Pithing Needle and Relic too. Oh well, at least I won anyways.
(5-2)
Overall I had I great time in Denver. It was totally worth the 14 hour drive from Phoenix! I will definitely go to the next SCG Open that is within a reasonable drive.
Props:
Winning $100. That paid for my room, food, and beer!
All of my opponents. You guys were awesome!
Adam for making top 4.
Rob for making top 8.
Adam, Frank and Jim for driving up with me.
Crown Plaza Hotel for the $79 room rate on site.
Starcity Games for supporting Legacy and hosting great tournaments.
U/W Tempo's creators for building the funnest deck I have ever played!
Slops:
Not countering Burning Wish, even though I knew it was the obvious play.
Me, for losing both of my feature matches.