Koby
01-17-2011, 10:11 PM
I played Bant Aggro in the SCG San Jose Open to a 5-2-1 finishing at 22nd place.
The List:
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
1 Savannah
1 Forest
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmgoyf
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Knight of the Reliaquary
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Force of WIll
2 Daze
3 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
2 Jace TMS
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
SB:
3 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire/Ice
2 Path to Exile
4 Spell Pierce
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Maze of Ith
1 Trygn Predator
I made a last minute change to remove 3x RWM and 1 Daze (down to 2) for the final QPM and 2 Ponders and the 20th land (Horizon Canopy). This reflects that I need to get to 4 mana to cast the planeswalkers, who have been testing very well. 18 creatures is surely still very aggressive for this archetype, and still runs more threats than Dark Horizons which share many elements. The sideboard plan was thus: bring in focused cards for the archetypal matchups (control, aggro) while still maintaining a flexible sideboard. Example: vs Merfolk, I cut Snares, Cliques, and FoW for the equipment package. SFM being white is also very important as he stays around in case of Perish to wield equipment. Maze of Ith was very very bad sideboard card, and I never wanted to bring it in. Perhaps it should be the 3rd Path to Exile.
Onto the event:
Round 1 - Michael Pozsgay playing Welder-Painter/Stone (1-2)
Feature Match - Linky (http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/20931_Round_1_Michael_Pozsgay_vs_Jacob_Kory.html)
I kept a greedy hand Game 2 on the draw, and got punished for it. Game 3 I was fine with 2 lands, but really needed to the third land to start using Trygon Predator before he got to ciritcal mass. I missed the 3rd land drop, and that ultimately cost me the game. I did not see any StP/PtE either, and that may have made a big difference, as my opponent played every single last card in his hand to activate Grinderstone with Painter in play.
Round 2 - David Ho playing Enchantress (2-1)
Game 1 - I start with aggro plan, he plays Oblivion Ring to take my KotR away. I counter, and he plays another, also countered. Then he plays City of Solitude, followed by Replenish and start to combo off with Words of Wind.
Game 2 - He mulls to 5 and I tempo him out with counters.
Game 3 - He mulls to 5 and lacks a 2nd white source for Moat. OUCH.
Uneventful match at the end due to multiple mulligans. This could be a difficult matchup if Bant falters on it's development.
Round 3 - Ben Perry (everythingitouchdies) with Aggro Loam (2-1)
Of course I'd get paired up with someone in my caravan group. We play this matchup casually, since we're good friends.
Game 1 - Turn 4 Jace TMS gets sniped, then I follow up with turn 5 Elspeth. It's too much for him to handle.
Game 2 - Back and forth with removal/threats until he lands Seismic Assault and kills my Pridemage when I'm tapped out.
Game 3 - I bury Ben in card advantage using Brainstorm + SFM to recycle the same equipment card twice, then start to develop the "win in the air with equipment" plan. QPM shows up to deal with Needle on SoFI, but then I topdeck Elspeth to Jump KoTR into lethal.
Round 4 - Alex Bertoncini playing Monoblue Merfolk (1-2)
Game 1 - Memory's a bit fuzzy here, but I remember Alex winning with critical mass of Rejeereys.
Game 2 - Board into the removal/equipment package, and win an attrition war with my dudes being more evasive/larger.
Game 3 - I start off with Hierarch and QPM and apply the good old "double exalted on a bear" trick to start the race. He pushes back with Kira, the Glass Spinner. Along the way, he Submerges my QPM to buy a turn, then makes Rejeerey, Silvergill and Cursecatcher out in the turn after I play a 4/5 Goyf. He's at 4, so I crash the gates with 2 QPM and the Goyf, forcing him to make uneven trades. (Goyf + QPM for Rejeerey+2 guys). He topdecks a solo Sower of Temptation to steal my Pridemage, and I draw 3 lands in a row to finish off the game.
Round 5 - Liam Kane (lorddotm) playing Doomsday Show n Tell Emrakul (2-1)
Again, the judging staff hates my caravan, as I'm paired up again someone in our group. Again, we play casually, and Liam trash talks like he does, almost earning him a warning from the judges. LOL Once again, we don't take this matchup too seriously and just playtest in the round.
Game 1 - He 'seizes some counters, I counter some spells. I either win or lose this one.
Game 2 - He 'seizes some cards, I counter some spells. I either win or lose this one.
Game 3 - He's stuck on 2 mana, and I'm loaded with Spell Pierce. He attempts Cloud of Faeries and I Spell Snare to give me time to aggro. Clique during draw step reveals he's got 3 Spell Pierce, 2 Emrakul, Show and Tell, Doomsday with no 3rd land in sight. I promptly win.
Round 6 - Sam Pardee playing Dark Horizons (1-1-1)
Game 1 - Sam spends his precious time spinning Top twice a turn with Dark Confidant in play, but can't kill me. I can't kill him since he's got an early Maze of Ith. Removal gets traded back and forth while I'm looking to find Elspeth to out-creature him. He's stuck at 4 life for the majority of the game. With 10 cards left in my library, and no Elspeth in sight, and facing 4 Tarmogoyfs, I finally scoop. Repeated requests to play faster meet "I'm not changing my pace." What a greedy time asshole.
Game 2 - Win quickly with SFM and friends while he's stuck on short mana. I call a judge over after I get another "I'm not changing my pace" remark.
Game 3 - Come out of the gates fast with the aggro plan. Time is called when he's at 10 life. I attack with 5/6 Goyf, SFM and Clique. He chump blocks Goyf for 2 turns, putting him at 2 on the last and final turn.
He refuses to scoop to inevitability, and causes a draw.
Asshole. Also, ban SDT. Every draw in the tournament is a result of this card.
Round 7 - Kevin Lee (Stifle) playing Supreme Blue (2-0)
Game 1 - A resolved Elspeth wins the game.
Game 2 - Combination of Clique/Exalted turns his life-total into mince-meat. Hardcast Force of Will on a StP seals the game up.
Pro tip: SDT leads to multiple draws. Kevin ended up with a 3-2-3 record.
Round 8 - Ryan Reynolds with BUG Deedstill (2-1)
Game 1 - Multiple Standstills show up, and I try to fight through them. I resolve an Elspeth, but he has sufficient Innocent Bloods to race with Mishra's.
Game 2 - Resolve Elspeth yet again, and win with tokens.
Game 3 - He keeps the good old "Brainstorm + 1 land" and fails to draw another. In the meantime, I play a turn 3 Jace and make sure he misses the rest of the land drops. Game is over in short order.
So concludes the report!
Thanks for reading this far.
Any questions or want to hear more detailed account of specific matchups/strategies?
The List:
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
1 Savannah
1 Forest
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmgoyf
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Knight of the Reliaquary
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Force of WIll
2 Daze
3 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
2 Jace TMS
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
SB:
3 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire/Ice
2 Path to Exile
4 Spell Pierce
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Maze of Ith
1 Trygn Predator
I made a last minute change to remove 3x RWM and 1 Daze (down to 2) for the final QPM and 2 Ponders and the 20th land (Horizon Canopy). This reflects that I need to get to 4 mana to cast the planeswalkers, who have been testing very well. 18 creatures is surely still very aggressive for this archetype, and still runs more threats than Dark Horizons which share many elements. The sideboard plan was thus: bring in focused cards for the archetypal matchups (control, aggro) while still maintaining a flexible sideboard. Example: vs Merfolk, I cut Snares, Cliques, and FoW for the equipment package. SFM being white is also very important as he stays around in case of Perish to wield equipment. Maze of Ith was very very bad sideboard card, and I never wanted to bring it in. Perhaps it should be the 3rd Path to Exile.
Onto the event:
Round 1 - Michael Pozsgay playing Welder-Painter/Stone (1-2)
Feature Match - Linky (http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/20931_Round_1_Michael_Pozsgay_vs_Jacob_Kory.html)
I kept a greedy hand Game 2 on the draw, and got punished for it. Game 3 I was fine with 2 lands, but really needed to the third land to start using Trygon Predator before he got to ciritcal mass. I missed the 3rd land drop, and that ultimately cost me the game. I did not see any StP/PtE either, and that may have made a big difference, as my opponent played every single last card in his hand to activate Grinderstone with Painter in play.
Round 2 - David Ho playing Enchantress (2-1)
Game 1 - I start with aggro plan, he plays Oblivion Ring to take my KotR away. I counter, and he plays another, also countered. Then he plays City of Solitude, followed by Replenish and start to combo off with Words of Wind.
Game 2 - He mulls to 5 and I tempo him out with counters.
Game 3 - He mulls to 5 and lacks a 2nd white source for Moat. OUCH.
Uneventful match at the end due to multiple mulligans. This could be a difficult matchup if Bant falters on it's development.
Round 3 - Ben Perry (everythingitouchdies) with Aggro Loam (2-1)
Of course I'd get paired up with someone in my caravan group. We play this matchup casually, since we're good friends.
Game 1 - Turn 4 Jace TMS gets sniped, then I follow up with turn 5 Elspeth. It's too much for him to handle.
Game 2 - Back and forth with removal/threats until he lands Seismic Assault and kills my Pridemage when I'm tapped out.
Game 3 - I bury Ben in card advantage using Brainstorm + SFM to recycle the same equipment card twice, then start to develop the "win in the air with equipment" plan. QPM shows up to deal with Needle on SoFI, but then I topdeck Elspeth to Jump KoTR into lethal.
Round 4 - Alex Bertoncini playing Monoblue Merfolk (1-2)
Game 1 - Memory's a bit fuzzy here, but I remember Alex winning with critical mass of Rejeereys.
Game 2 - Board into the removal/equipment package, and win an attrition war with my dudes being more evasive/larger.
Game 3 - I start off with Hierarch and QPM and apply the good old "double exalted on a bear" trick to start the race. He pushes back with Kira, the Glass Spinner. Along the way, he Submerges my QPM to buy a turn, then makes Rejeerey, Silvergill and Cursecatcher out in the turn after I play a 4/5 Goyf. He's at 4, so I crash the gates with 2 QPM and the Goyf, forcing him to make uneven trades. (Goyf + QPM for Rejeerey+2 guys). He topdecks a solo Sower of Temptation to steal my Pridemage, and I draw 3 lands in a row to finish off the game.
Round 5 - Liam Kane (lorddotm) playing Doomsday Show n Tell Emrakul (2-1)
Again, the judging staff hates my caravan, as I'm paired up again someone in our group. Again, we play casually, and Liam trash talks like he does, almost earning him a warning from the judges. LOL Once again, we don't take this matchup too seriously and just playtest in the round.
Game 1 - He 'seizes some counters, I counter some spells. I either win or lose this one.
Game 2 - He 'seizes some cards, I counter some spells. I either win or lose this one.
Game 3 - He's stuck on 2 mana, and I'm loaded with Spell Pierce. He attempts Cloud of Faeries and I Spell Snare to give me time to aggro. Clique during draw step reveals he's got 3 Spell Pierce, 2 Emrakul, Show and Tell, Doomsday with no 3rd land in sight. I promptly win.
Round 6 - Sam Pardee playing Dark Horizons (1-1-1)
Game 1 - Sam spends his precious time spinning Top twice a turn with Dark Confidant in play, but can't kill me. I can't kill him since he's got an early Maze of Ith. Removal gets traded back and forth while I'm looking to find Elspeth to out-creature him. He's stuck at 4 life for the majority of the game. With 10 cards left in my library, and no Elspeth in sight, and facing 4 Tarmogoyfs, I finally scoop. Repeated requests to play faster meet "I'm not changing my pace." What a greedy time asshole.
Game 2 - Win quickly with SFM and friends while he's stuck on short mana. I call a judge over after I get another "I'm not changing my pace" remark.
Game 3 - Come out of the gates fast with the aggro plan. Time is called when he's at 10 life. I attack with 5/6 Goyf, SFM and Clique. He chump blocks Goyf for 2 turns, putting him at 2 on the last and final turn.
He refuses to scoop to inevitability, and causes a draw.
Asshole. Also, ban SDT. Every draw in the tournament is a result of this card.
Round 7 - Kevin Lee (Stifle) playing Supreme Blue (2-0)
Game 1 - A resolved Elspeth wins the game.
Game 2 - Combination of Clique/Exalted turns his life-total into mince-meat. Hardcast Force of Will on a StP seals the game up.
Pro tip: SDT leads to multiple draws. Kevin ended up with a 3-2-3 record.
Round 8 - Ryan Reynolds with BUG Deedstill (2-1)
Game 1 - Multiple Standstills show up, and I try to fight through them. I resolve an Elspeth, but he has sufficient Innocent Bloods to race with Mishra's.
Game 2 - Resolve Elspeth yet again, and win with tokens.
Game 3 - He keeps the good old "Brainstorm + 1 land" and fails to draw another. In the meantime, I play a turn 3 Jace and make sure he misses the rest of the land drops. Game is over in short order.
So concludes the report!
Thanks for reading this far.
Any questions or want to hear more detailed account of specific matchups/strategies?