Zirath
04-23-2012, 10:03 PM
Hi Everyone,
It's been a long time since I topped anything, so I am particularly excited to write about my performance. On April 21st, a group of us from Ithaca went down to Mythic Games in Elmira for their monthly Legacy tournament. I brought MUD which I have been struggling with lately. I played it the previous weekend at the NELC and felt that I played it poorly; I did not want this to be a trend, so I am pushing myself to keep playing MUD without getting discouraged. First my list:
4 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Steel Hellkite
4 Lodestone Golem
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Platinum Emperion
2 Karn Liberated
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Grim Monolith
3 Metalworker
3 Voltaic Key
4 Chalice of the Void
1 All is Dust
2 Buried Ruin
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
SB: 4 Cursed Totem
SB: 4 Trinisphere
SB: 2 Phyrexian Metamorph
SB: 2 Sundering Titan
SB: 1 Karn Liberated
SB: 1 All is Dust
SB: 1 Crucible of Worlds
As you can see, my build is much more midrange than other MUD decks such as Meandeck. I started with the list in this report http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=375354 and changed 1 All is Dust in the board to 1 Crucible of Worlds since I didn't find myself wanting 3 All is Dust. Having played the deck for a while, I have found it is very stable despite the all nonbasic mana base, and if played patiently can be incredibly powerful. The list reminds me of older midrange decks like Trinity Green; you try to get ahead on mana and then drop a disruptive element to set your opponent back.
We arrive at the site, sign up, and fill out our deck sheets. About an hour (and some very good hotdogs and lemonade) later, we start.
Round 1: Evan with Nic Fit
I know Evan. He is also from Ithaca (but didn't come with me specifically), goes to the same FNM as me, and is a pretty good player. I've played against his list before and it's very similar to Caleb's list from the winter SCG Invitational. The only major difference I know is that he is running Abyssal Persecutor as a quick finisher over Grave Titan.
Game 1: I'm on the play and mull to 6, keeping triple land, Grim Monolith, Chalice and Steel Hellkite. I get Duressed and he takes Monolith. I run out Chalice for 1 on turn 2 and then we durdle for a while until I put enough pressure with Steel Hellkite to make his life hard. He eventually is forced to Pulse my Chalice so he can play Explorers, Top and Therapy. His last turn is double Therapy to remove my hand and play E-Wit to get back Pulse before Hellkite finishes him with firebreathing.
SB: +1 All is Dust, -1 Karn Liberated (I figured I want to just clear the board of his crap more than try to Vindicate him).
Game 2: He gets a pretty strong start and I have to make some awkward trades in combat. Eventually, my health gets too low and he runs out Percy with me at 6 life even though I have double Lodestone Golem. Unsurprisingly, I scoop it up since I'm certain I have no way of stopping it in a single turn.
Game 3: I get a quick start and lock his Deed with Revoker. I eventually run out Hellkite and Emperion at 7 life and start beating face in the air. I mana screw him hard with double Waste and a Port. The turn before he dies, he reveals he has a Swamp on top. I had Ported down his only green on upkeep so he couldn't cast Pulse to survive.
1-0 (2-1)
Round 2: Maverick (blanking on the name, sorry)
I don't recognize the player so we get right to the match.
Game 1: I don't remember much about this game. I severely cripple his mana with Ports and Wastelands. At some point, Steel Hellkite devours his board and he dies.
SB: +4 Cursed Totem, +1 All is Dust, +1 Karn Liberated, -3 Metalworker, -3 Steel Hellkite
Game 2: He starts with Hierarch and I start a little slow. The big turning point in this game is when he wastes Swords to Plowshares on a Mishra's Factory to save a Hierarch that he sent at my Karn. As a result, I stick Wurmcoil Engine and win.
2-0 (4-1)
Game 3: Doug McKay with UR Burn
I'm paired against the infamous Doug McKay. Unsurprisingly, I'm extremely nervous (which continues throughout the whole match) because Doug is an incredible player and it's a little intimidating to play him. This is also the first time I've ever played against Doug, so that contributed as well.
Game 1: I start off with Grim Monolith in this game and follow it with some more mana stones. On turn 3, I cast Chalice of the Void for 1. Doug Forces it and then I buy it back with Buried Ruin. I eventually land Karn and Platinum Emperion. Doug has two Kiln Fiends out at this point. He swings at Karn, I block and he takes down both Karn and the Emperion with Double Lava Dart and Daze on his Dart. I didn't except that to happen and I'm sure I am about to lose. But, like a champ, I rip Steel Hellkite and win from there.
SB: +4 Trinisphere, -3 Phyrexian Revoker, -1 All is Dust
Game 2: Doug leads with Delver. I attempt a 3Sphere, which gets Dazed. He flips his Delver and I durdle around for a while. I manage to stick Steel Hellkite, attempting to stave off my death, but he has a Vapor Snag to get it out of the way so he can swing for lethal.
Game 3: I mull to 6 and keep City of Traitors, Wasteland, Port, triple (!) Lodestone Golem hand. I draw Ancient Tomb and proceed to jam Golems. The first eats a Bolt, the second eats a Force and the third sticks. Doug plays out 2 Kiln Fiends while I run out Wurmcoil off Thran Dynamo + Voltaic Key. After my first swing with Wurmcoil, Doug tanks a little and casts Goblin Guide. He follows the Guide with a spell (I think a cantrip) and swings in with me at 18. I untap my Wurmcoil with Key (he forgot about this interaction) and block Guide with Wurmcoil and one of his Fiends with Lodestone. He drops a Grim after combat and passes. I continue beating down and he eventually kills my Wurmcoil with Grim + Bolt. It doesn't matter unfortunately since he's down to 1 card and an empty board against my robots.
3-0 (6-2)
Round 4 and 5: ID
I'm positive I'm guaranteed for top 8 with 3-0 in a 5 round event, so I ID with my opponents. I spend this time trading and playing EDH.
Top 8 goes up and we decide to chop the prize to 100 each and play to top 4 for the remaining prize. I sit down and start my next match.
Quarterfinals: JC Wilbur with Death and Taxes
JC is another player from Ithaca. He and Evan both go to the same college (Ithaca College) and he also goes to the same FNM as me. He's played DnT for as long as I can remember and does it quite well, so I'm hoping for a good match.
Game 1: He starts with Vial and I run out my robots. I eventually All is Dust away his Thalia and Flickerwisp and beat him to death.
SB: +4 Cursed Totem, +1 Karn Liberated, +1 All is Dust, +1 Crucible of Worlds, -3 Metalworker, -4 Steel Hellkite
Game 2: He starts with Vial again but this time I don't have the mana to handle it. He Mangara's my Wurmcoil and Swords to Plowshares my Revoker on Vial. I don't have the mana to recover.
Game 3: This game was epic. He runs out Revoker on Grim Monolith and I drop Chalice on 1 and 2. Eventually his Revoker picks up two Swords facing down my Lodestone Golem and Cursed Totem. We stall out until I ramp into Wurmcoil and Karn. Unsuprisingly, I win shortly after. He reveals a hand of 1s and 2s; he was hoping to find Flickerwisp to flicker my Chalice.
We chop the top 4 and I walk away with 125 store credit, which got me 2 Jace TMS and some other small stuff.
I was very pleased with myself today and I felt that I was very patient with my deck, something I definitely have not been in the past. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing this deck in the last few weeks. There is a lot of subtly to it and I am finding more and more that it is not ever straightforward to play. A hand with turn 2 Karn is great, but there are some match ups where it is dangerous and foolish to run it out and lose your Grim Monolith.
Sorry for the short report, but I just wanted to share my experience with what I believe is an unconventional deck in the current metagame.
It's been a long time since I topped anything, so I am particularly excited to write about my performance. On April 21st, a group of us from Ithaca went down to Mythic Games in Elmira for their monthly Legacy tournament. I brought MUD which I have been struggling with lately. I played it the previous weekend at the NELC and felt that I played it poorly; I did not want this to be a trend, so I am pushing myself to keep playing MUD without getting discouraged. First my list:
4 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Steel Hellkite
4 Lodestone Golem
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Platinum Emperion
2 Karn Liberated
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Grim Monolith
3 Metalworker
3 Voltaic Key
4 Chalice of the Void
1 All is Dust
2 Buried Ruin
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
SB: 4 Cursed Totem
SB: 4 Trinisphere
SB: 2 Phyrexian Metamorph
SB: 2 Sundering Titan
SB: 1 Karn Liberated
SB: 1 All is Dust
SB: 1 Crucible of Worlds
As you can see, my build is much more midrange than other MUD decks such as Meandeck. I started with the list in this report http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=375354 and changed 1 All is Dust in the board to 1 Crucible of Worlds since I didn't find myself wanting 3 All is Dust. Having played the deck for a while, I have found it is very stable despite the all nonbasic mana base, and if played patiently can be incredibly powerful. The list reminds me of older midrange decks like Trinity Green; you try to get ahead on mana and then drop a disruptive element to set your opponent back.
We arrive at the site, sign up, and fill out our deck sheets. About an hour (and some very good hotdogs and lemonade) later, we start.
Round 1: Evan with Nic Fit
I know Evan. He is also from Ithaca (but didn't come with me specifically), goes to the same FNM as me, and is a pretty good player. I've played against his list before and it's very similar to Caleb's list from the winter SCG Invitational. The only major difference I know is that he is running Abyssal Persecutor as a quick finisher over Grave Titan.
Game 1: I'm on the play and mull to 6, keeping triple land, Grim Monolith, Chalice and Steel Hellkite. I get Duressed and he takes Monolith. I run out Chalice for 1 on turn 2 and then we durdle for a while until I put enough pressure with Steel Hellkite to make his life hard. He eventually is forced to Pulse my Chalice so he can play Explorers, Top and Therapy. His last turn is double Therapy to remove my hand and play E-Wit to get back Pulse before Hellkite finishes him with firebreathing.
SB: +1 All is Dust, -1 Karn Liberated (I figured I want to just clear the board of his crap more than try to Vindicate him).
Game 2: He gets a pretty strong start and I have to make some awkward trades in combat. Eventually, my health gets too low and he runs out Percy with me at 6 life even though I have double Lodestone Golem. Unsurprisingly, I scoop it up since I'm certain I have no way of stopping it in a single turn.
Game 3: I get a quick start and lock his Deed with Revoker. I eventually run out Hellkite and Emperion at 7 life and start beating face in the air. I mana screw him hard with double Waste and a Port. The turn before he dies, he reveals he has a Swamp on top. I had Ported down his only green on upkeep so he couldn't cast Pulse to survive.
1-0 (2-1)
Round 2: Maverick (blanking on the name, sorry)
I don't recognize the player so we get right to the match.
Game 1: I don't remember much about this game. I severely cripple his mana with Ports and Wastelands. At some point, Steel Hellkite devours his board and he dies.
SB: +4 Cursed Totem, +1 All is Dust, +1 Karn Liberated, -3 Metalworker, -3 Steel Hellkite
Game 2: He starts with Hierarch and I start a little slow. The big turning point in this game is when he wastes Swords to Plowshares on a Mishra's Factory to save a Hierarch that he sent at my Karn. As a result, I stick Wurmcoil Engine and win.
2-0 (4-1)
Game 3: Doug McKay with UR Burn
I'm paired against the infamous Doug McKay. Unsurprisingly, I'm extremely nervous (which continues throughout the whole match) because Doug is an incredible player and it's a little intimidating to play him. This is also the first time I've ever played against Doug, so that contributed as well.
Game 1: I start off with Grim Monolith in this game and follow it with some more mana stones. On turn 3, I cast Chalice of the Void for 1. Doug Forces it and then I buy it back with Buried Ruin. I eventually land Karn and Platinum Emperion. Doug has two Kiln Fiends out at this point. He swings at Karn, I block and he takes down both Karn and the Emperion with Double Lava Dart and Daze on his Dart. I didn't except that to happen and I'm sure I am about to lose. But, like a champ, I rip Steel Hellkite and win from there.
SB: +4 Trinisphere, -3 Phyrexian Revoker, -1 All is Dust
Game 2: Doug leads with Delver. I attempt a 3Sphere, which gets Dazed. He flips his Delver and I durdle around for a while. I manage to stick Steel Hellkite, attempting to stave off my death, but he has a Vapor Snag to get it out of the way so he can swing for lethal.
Game 3: I mull to 6 and keep City of Traitors, Wasteland, Port, triple (!) Lodestone Golem hand. I draw Ancient Tomb and proceed to jam Golems. The first eats a Bolt, the second eats a Force and the third sticks. Doug plays out 2 Kiln Fiends while I run out Wurmcoil off Thran Dynamo + Voltaic Key. After my first swing with Wurmcoil, Doug tanks a little and casts Goblin Guide. He follows the Guide with a spell (I think a cantrip) and swings in with me at 18. I untap my Wurmcoil with Key (he forgot about this interaction) and block Guide with Wurmcoil and one of his Fiends with Lodestone. He drops a Grim after combat and passes. I continue beating down and he eventually kills my Wurmcoil with Grim + Bolt. It doesn't matter unfortunately since he's down to 1 card and an empty board against my robots.
3-0 (6-2)
Round 4 and 5: ID
I'm positive I'm guaranteed for top 8 with 3-0 in a 5 round event, so I ID with my opponents. I spend this time trading and playing EDH.
Top 8 goes up and we decide to chop the prize to 100 each and play to top 4 for the remaining prize. I sit down and start my next match.
Quarterfinals: JC Wilbur with Death and Taxes
JC is another player from Ithaca. He and Evan both go to the same college (Ithaca College) and he also goes to the same FNM as me. He's played DnT for as long as I can remember and does it quite well, so I'm hoping for a good match.
Game 1: He starts with Vial and I run out my robots. I eventually All is Dust away his Thalia and Flickerwisp and beat him to death.
SB: +4 Cursed Totem, +1 Karn Liberated, +1 All is Dust, +1 Crucible of Worlds, -3 Metalworker, -4 Steel Hellkite
Game 2: He starts with Vial again but this time I don't have the mana to handle it. He Mangara's my Wurmcoil and Swords to Plowshares my Revoker on Vial. I don't have the mana to recover.
Game 3: This game was epic. He runs out Revoker on Grim Monolith and I drop Chalice on 1 and 2. Eventually his Revoker picks up two Swords facing down my Lodestone Golem and Cursed Totem. We stall out until I ramp into Wurmcoil and Karn. Unsuprisingly, I win shortly after. He reveals a hand of 1s and 2s; he was hoping to find Flickerwisp to flicker my Chalice.
We chop the top 4 and I walk away with 125 store credit, which got me 2 Jace TMS and some other small stuff.
I was very pleased with myself today and I felt that I was very patient with my deck, something I definitely have not been in the past. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing this deck in the last few weeks. There is a lot of subtly to it and I am finding more and more that it is not ever straightforward to play. A hand with turn 2 Karn is great, but there are some match ups where it is dangerous and foolish to run it out and lose your Grim Monolith.
Sorry for the short report, but I just wanted to share my experience with what I believe is an unconventional deck in the current metagame.