mchainmail
02-13-2011, 11:40 AM
This is the second big tournament I've played in a while, as I've been judging most of Eli's events while Survival was in the meta. Last month I played and lost to Dragon Stompy, Ooze Combo and Thopters.
The list:
Main Deck
1 Academy Ruins
1 Bayou
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Karakas
4 Maze of Ith
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Rishadan Port
1 Savannah
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
3 Tolaria West
2 Tranquil Thicket
3 Tropical Island
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Enlightened Tutor
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Entomb
4 Exploration
4 Life from the Loam
2 Manabond
1 Meekstone
1 Mindslaver
4 Mox Diamond
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Zuran Orb
Sideboard
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Cursed Totem
4 Dark Confidant
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Extirpate
2 Krosan Grip
1 Null Rod
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Smokestack
1 Tormod's Crypt
The biggest thing was the Cursed Totem, which is for Green and Taxes / Death and Taxes. I didn’t need to use it all day though. Oblivion Stone is a catch-all for Enchantress and Dragon Stompy especially.
Rd 1: Shawn King (TES)
Game 1 I’m on the play and open on Exploration, Wasteland, Zuran Orb. He opens on Sea, Ponder. I waste his land, Loam back and pass the turn with 2 duals in play. He casts Ad Naus from 19 with 5 mana floating. I don’t get there with ZOrb.
Game 2 I keep a hand with Null Rod, but I can’t cast it on turn 1. I go land, go, while he drops a Duress, taking Null Rod. I play Dark Confidant on turn 2, and it flips over Enlightened Tutor. Still in Upkeep, I tutor up Chalice of the Void and land it against his board of 1 land. Dark Confidant beats take him to 7, when Creeping Tar Pit comes along to help.
Game 3 he plays land, Ponder. I drop Chalice turn 1, Bob turn 2, top turn 3 and find Canonist and Null Rod several turns later. He Burning Wishes for Meltdown, and then the following turn casts Rite of Flame, Meltdown for 2, but I have Canonist to stop that. He realizes his mistake and scoops.
1-0 (2-1)
Rd 2: 4c CB
Game 1 he plays Trop, pass. I waste. I find Manabond, play it and start going nuts. He Oblivion Rings my Manabond, and drops Needle naming Creeping Tar Pit. I tutor up EE once he drops Counterbalance, and just grind the game out from there. I blow up his board several times, and then resolve Crucible of Worlds. He doesn’t scoop, so I Ghost Quarter him down to nothing, and he keeps playing out fetches. I need to keep wasting them, as I can’t afford having Tar Pit sent farming. This game drags on for 25 minutes, until eventually I win.
Game 2 he tries to go aggro Tarmogoyfs, while I just sit behind a tutored-up Maze of Ith. I just go land-go for most of this game, sitting behind an Ensnaring Bridge. I eventually drop Bob and can’t hide behind Bridge, but it doesn’t matter as I have the mana for Oblivion Stone recursion.
2-0 (3-1)
Rd 3: Jurgis Paliulis, New Horizons
Not exactly a positive matchup at all, but I didn’t know what I was against game 1. He plays a Trop, while I play Exploration, Waste (and meet Stifle) I drop Meekstone, which forces him to EE away my permanents. At this point, he’s under Waste-lock and scoops, not being able to get above 2 lands again.
Game 2, had the most interesting moment of the day, for me. He Wasted one of my lands early, and I Extirpate his wastes on my turn. He reveals a hand of Knight, Terravore, Force, Force, Stifle. I check his deck and make a mental note of Dazes and Preordains (as opposed to Spell Pierce and Ponder.) I drop a fetch, which he Stifled. I bait his Force with something (I can’t remember) and then drop Bridge. He plays out Knight and Terravore over the next two turns, while I try to find some Wastelands. He K-Grips Bridge and gets in there for exactly lethal.
Game 3 he gets flooded a little bit and wastes me 3 times. This is pretty good for me, as Waste on Maze is the biggest dynamic of the match. I get Top out, and try to find some more business. I E-Tutor for Smokestack, but keep floating it on top, drawing other lands instead to get to 5. I drop Smokestack and keep it at 1 all game. He gets down to 0 permanents in play, while I have Top + 4 lands. I need to find a win-con, but an early Crypt took my Tar Pit. I keep digging, finding Loam first, which gives me free shuffle effects every turn. I find an Extirpate eventually, and blow it in response to my opponent’s fetchland, taking his Tundras. I confirm he has no targets left for his fetches, but he keeps playing them out. With less than 10 minutes left on the clock, he keeps fetching and looking through his library. I call a judge and ask to watch for slow play. I keep drawing cards, and find Bob eventually. Bob gets there, as I just keep blind flipping to rush through it all.
3-0 (5-2)
Rd 4: James Rynkiewicz (Vendillion Clique tempo)
James is a strong player, so I know I’m in for a good match. He thinks if he can get greedy or not, and decides to keep a one-lander against me. I can’t punish him too much, as my hand is weak and doesn’t have Loam. Eventually, I find Loam before he finds business and I lock him out.
Game 2, he keeps another speculative hand, while I go turn 2 Bob (resolves). He drops Crucible, but I just add a second Bob (Forced) and a Creeping Tar Pit to go sideways for 5 a turn. Aggro Lands!!!
4-0 (7-2)
Rd 5: Jon Barber (Junk)
Game 1 I start off on the play, and get the dreaded Manabond, discard Loam start. He plays Mox Diamond, Swamp, Bob. He holds his lands in hand for a second Mox Diamond, while I start Chasm-locking because I don’t have anything better to do. He scoops when I EE his Diamonds.
Game 2 he turn 1s Dark Confidant, which is terrible for me. I play a Dark Confidant slightly later, but he has Swords?!? in still. He Extirpates Loam, Vindicates Ruins and Vindicates Bridge before swinging in for the win.
Game 3 Jon can’t find Extirpate for almost the entire game. He starts with a blazing Double 1/2 Goyf hand (Lands). I drop Meekstone and use E-Tutor and Loam to make them 3/4s, trapping them. He expands his board with two Dark Confidants, drawing a ton of cards. He finds 3 Mox Diamonds and lands Gaddock Teeg. I boarded out Karakas (fail), so the only thing I can do is sit there with Tabernacle keeping his permanent count low. He has no lands, and just 3 Diamonds in play towards the end of time. I start swinging with Creeping Tar Pit, using Crucible-Zuran Orb to get around Swords. He has Extirpate in hand, and doesn’t realize he can Extirpate my Tar Pit once I sacrifice it in combat. He gets down to 3, but has 3 Swords to stop me for the 5 extra turns. I ask for a concession, and he gives it to me.
5-0 (7-3)
Rd 6: Eric English (Draw)
Rd 7: Michael Farrell (Draw)
Rd 8: Jer Rudolph (12-Post)
Game 1, I keep Waste, Waste, Ghost Quarter, Bayou, Creeping Tar Pit, Maze of Ith. I don’t find loam for the next 8 turns, only an exploration and more lands. He uses a Vesuva to copy my Creeping Tar Pit (not really sure why, as he had to read it in the first place.) I hold my wastelands for Cloudposts. I have 15 live topdecks, none of which hit for me. He plays obnoxiously slowly the entire tournament, dragging out the misery until he forces the EE I find to blow his Candelabras, and lands Primieval Titan to fetches up more Posts.
Game 2, I keep Loam, Loam, Exploration, Mox Diamond, Rishadan Port, Ghost Quarter, Bayou. I lead out with Exploration + Quarter, misplaying this opener a fair amount. It doesn’t really matter, as he keeps a hand with 2 Pithing Needles, and his t1 top hits the 3rd. He gave me an opportunity to win the game by not naming EE (or Ruins, as he has Force of Will) with any of them (instead they were on wasteland, GQ, and Rishadan Port.) Without mana disruption, he just goldfishes. Must be nice. I scoop, he offers a handshake and I refuse.
5-1-2 (7-5)
I walk out with an FBB Bayou (sold to Jim Higginbottom, I need to fuel my MODO habits somehow)
I still think Lands is a valid choice in this meta, as it is a very strong deck in the abstract. I can’t wait to play it at the SCG Opens in DC an Edison. I’m going to be testing more and playing a lot with the deck (sans Ports) online. I don’t think Slaver is super-necessary as I get more comfortable using the deck, as it’s a safety valve for poor play. I’ll probably replace it with Smokestack from the board and add a Phyrexian Revoker.
A note on Intuition: Yes, Intuition is powerful, but E-Tutor has so much more flexibility post-board, and comes down a lot sooner pre-board. T1 E-Tutor, T2 Exploration + Loam is a common sequence in this build. It also makes your opponent less likely to disrupt you out of the game, as a turn 3 Intuition will eat a Spell Pierce, while T3 E-Tutor won’t.
If anyone else is picking up this deck, learn to play fast. I only had one round (against Jim) where I was done with more than 5 minutes left in the round.
The list:
Main Deck
1 Academy Ruins
1 Bayou
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Karakas
4 Maze of Ith
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Rishadan Port
1 Savannah
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
3 Tolaria West
2 Tranquil Thicket
3 Tropical Island
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Enlightened Tutor
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Entomb
4 Exploration
4 Life from the Loam
2 Manabond
1 Meekstone
1 Mindslaver
4 Mox Diamond
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Zuran Orb
Sideboard
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Cursed Totem
4 Dark Confidant
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Extirpate
2 Krosan Grip
1 Null Rod
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Smokestack
1 Tormod's Crypt
The biggest thing was the Cursed Totem, which is for Green and Taxes / Death and Taxes. I didn’t need to use it all day though. Oblivion Stone is a catch-all for Enchantress and Dragon Stompy especially.
Rd 1: Shawn King (TES)
Game 1 I’m on the play and open on Exploration, Wasteland, Zuran Orb. He opens on Sea, Ponder. I waste his land, Loam back and pass the turn with 2 duals in play. He casts Ad Naus from 19 with 5 mana floating. I don’t get there with ZOrb.
Game 2 I keep a hand with Null Rod, but I can’t cast it on turn 1. I go land, go, while he drops a Duress, taking Null Rod. I play Dark Confidant on turn 2, and it flips over Enlightened Tutor. Still in Upkeep, I tutor up Chalice of the Void and land it against his board of 1 land. Dark Confidant beats take him to 7, when Creeping Tar Pit comes along to help.
Game 3 he plays land, Ponder. I drop Chalice turn 1, Bob turn 2, top turn 3 and find Canonist and Null Rod several turns later. He Burning Wishes for Meltdown, and then the following turn casts Rite of Flame, Meltdown for 2, but I have Canonist to stop that. He realizes his mistake and scoops.
1-0 (2-1)
Rd 2: 4c CB
Game 1 he plays Trop, pass. I waste. I find Manabond, play it and start going nuts. He Oblivion Rings my Manabond, and drops Needle naming Creeping Tar Pit. I tutor up EE once he drops Counterbalance, and just grind the game out from there. I blow up his board several times, and then resolve Crucible of Worlds. He doesn’t scoop, so I Ghost Quarter him down to nothing, and he keeps playing out fetches. I need to keep wasting them, as I can’t afford having Tar Pit sent farming. This game drags on for 25 minutes, until eventually I win.
Game 2 he tries to go aggro Tarmogoyfs, while I just sit behind a tutored-up Maze of Ith. I just go land-go for most of this game, sitting behind an Ensnaring Bridge. I eventually drop Bob and can’t hide behind Bridge, but it doesn’t matter as I have the mana for Oblivion Stone recursion.
2-0 (3-1)
Rd 3: Jurgis Paliulis, New Horizons
Not exactly a positive matchup at all, but I didn’t know what I was against game 1. He plays a Trop, while I play Exploration, Waste (and meet Stifle) I drop Meekstone, which forces him to EE away my permanents. At this point, he’s under Waste-lock and scoops, not being able to get above 2 lands again.
Game 2, had the most interesting moment of the day, for me. He Wasted one of my lands early, and I Extirpate his wastes on my turn. He reveals a hand of Knight, Terravore, Force, Force, Stifle. I check his deck and make a mental note of Dazes and Preordains (as opposed to Spell Pierce and Ponder.) I drop a fetch, which he Stifled. I bait his Force with something (I can’t remember) and then drop Bridge. He plays out Knight and Terravore over the next two turns, while I try to find some Wastelands. He K-Grips Bridge and gets in there for exactly lethal.
Game 3 he gets flooded a little bit and wastes me 3 times. This is pretty good for me, as Waste on Maze is the biggest dynamic of the match. I get Top out, and try to find some more business. I E-Tutor for Smokestack, but keep floating it on top, drawing other lands instead to get to 5. I drop Smokestack and keep it at 1 all game. He gets down to 0 permanents in play, while I have Top + 4 lands. I need to find a win-con, but an early Crypt took my Tar Pit. I keep digging, finding Loam first, which gives me free shuffle effects every turn. I find an Extirpate eventually, and blow it in response to my opponent’s fetchland, taking his Tundras. I confirm he has no targets left for his fetches, but he keeps playing them out. With less than 10 minutes left on the clock, he keeps fetching and looking through his library. I call a judge and ask to watch for slow play. I keep drawing cards, and find Bob eventually. Bob gets there, as I just keep blind flipping to rush through it all.
3-0 (5-2)
Rd 4: James Rynkiewicz (Vendillion Clique tempo)
James is a strong player, so I know I’m in for a good match. He thinks if he can get greedy or not, and decides to keep a one-lander against me. I can’t punish him too much, as my hand is weak and doesn’t have Loam. Eventually, I find Loam before he finds business and I lock him out.
Game 2, he keeps another speculative hand, while I go turn 2 Bob (resolves). He drops Crucible, but I just add a second Bob (Forced) and a Creeping Tar Pit to go sideways for 5 a turn. Aggro Lands!!!
4-0 (7-2)
Rd 5: Jon Barber (Junk)
Game 1 I start off on the play, and get the dreaded Manabond, discard Loam start. He plays Mox Diamond, Swamp, Bob. He holds his lands in hand for a second Mox Diamond, while I start Chasm-locking because I don’t have anything better to do. He scoops when I EE his Diamonds.
Game 2 he turn 1s Dark Confidant, which is terrible for me. I play a Dark Confidant slightly later, but he has Swords?!? in still. He Extirpates Loam, Vindicates Ruins and Vindicates Bridge before swinging in for the win.
Game 3 Jon can’t find Extirpate for almost the entire game. He starts with a blazing Double 1/2 Goyf hand (Lands). I drop Meekstone and use E-Tutor and Loam to make them 3/4s, trapping them. He expands his board with two Dark Confidants, drawing a ton of cards. He finds 3 Mox Diamonds and lands Gaddock Teeg. I boarded out Karakas (fail), so the only thing I can do is sit there with Tabernacle keeping his permanent count low. He has no lands, and just 3 Diamonds in play towards the end of time. I start swinging with Creeping Tar Pit, using Crucible-Zuran Orb to get around Swords. He has Extirpate in hand, and doesn’t realize he can Extirpate my Tar Pit once I sacrifice it in combat. He gets down to 3, but has 3 Swords to stop me for the 5 extra turns. I ask for a concession, and he gives it to me.
5-0 (7-3)
Rd 6: Eric English (Draw)
Rd 7: Michael Farrell (Draw)
Rd 8: Jer Rudolph (12-Post)
Game 1, I keep Waste, Waste, Ghost Quarter, Bayou, Creeping Tar Pit, Maze of Ith. I don’t find loam for the next 8 turns, only an exploration and more lands. He uses a Vesuva to copy my Creeping Tar Pit (not really sure why, as he had to read it in the first place.) I hold my wastelands for Cloudposts. I have 15 live topdecks, none of which hit for me. He plays obnoxiously slowly the entire tournament, dragging out the misery until he forces the EE I find to blow his Candelabras, and lands Primieval Titan to fetches up more Posts.
Game 2, I keep Loam, Loam, Exploration, Mox Diamond, Rishadan Port, Ghost Quarter, Bayou. I lead out with Exploration + Quarter, misplaying this opener a fair amount. It doesn’t really matter, as he keeps a hand with 2 Pithing Needles, and his t1 top hits the 3rd. He gave me an opportunity to win the game by not naming EE (or Ruins, as he has Force of Will) with any of them (instead they were on wasteland, GQ, and Rishadan Port.) Without mana disruption, he just goldfishes. Must be nice. I scoop, he offers a handshake and I refuse.
5-1-2 (7-5)
I walk out with an FBB Bayou (sold to Jim Higginbottom, I need to fuel my MODO habits somehow)
I still think Lands is a valid choice in this meta, as it is a very strong deck in the abstract. I can’t wait to play it at the SCG Opens in DC an Edison. I’m going to be testing more and playing a lot with the deck (sans Ports) online. I don’t think Slaver is super-necessary as I get more comfortable using the deck, as it’s a safety valve for poor play. I’ll probably replace it with Smokestack from the board and add a Phyrexian Revoker.
A note on Intuition: Yes, Intuition is powerful, but E-Tutor has so much more flexibility post-board, and comes down a lot sooner pre-board. T1 E-Tutor, T2 Exploration + Loam is a common sequence in this build. It also makes your opponent less likely to disrupt you out of the game, as a turn 3 Intuition will eat a Spell Pierce, while T3 E-Tutor won’t.
If anyone else is picking up this deck, learn to play fast. I only had one round (against Jim) where I was done with more than 5 minutes left in the round.