MrShine
07-20-2014, 06:35 PM
Yesterday we hosted the Summer Legacy Classic in Vancouver - for a Mox Pearl! We had 42 players show from around the Pacific NW, and I brought Miracles to battle:
4 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
4 Island
2 Plains
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Counterbalance
2 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Terminus
1 Council's Judgement
2 Entreat the Angels
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
SB: 2 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Pyroblast
SB: 2 Engineered Explosives
SB: 1 Counterspell
SB: 2 Flusterstorm
SB: 1 Disenchant
SB: 2 Vendilion Clique
SB: 1 Council's Judgement
SB: 1 Keranos, God of Storms
I had been testing Philipp's build of the deck for a while and been pretty happy with it, but I was skeptical of cutting down to 21 lands, so I added in the 4th Tundra over the 4th Ponder. Never before have I played a list that feels so solid.
Smooth as butter, baby.
—
Round 1 - Spencer w/ Elves!
I don't know what he's on before we start the match, so when he starts on Misty -> DRS, I am slightly worried its BUG. I Swords the Elf, and then the cat jumps out of the bag when he plays a Visionary T2. I get out the CB/Top lock while he attacks with some dorks for a while; he applies pressure via DRS and an Ooze (removing my 3x STP from the graveyard over the game) but I clean it up eventually.
SB: +2 EE, +1 Counterspell ; I think I trim Jaces
G2, I have a sweet hand of Top Brainstorm CB and some land, although I'm pretty sure I make a sequencing error here when I play Top T1 instead of Brainstorm after drawing a 2nd Brainstorm - BSing T1 would allow me to set up the top of the deck optimally for when I run out CB T2. Anyway, I go Top -> CB, but he Natural Orders T2 into Hoof, and puts me to one (!) life. I Brainstorm on my next turn and hit the W and the Terminus I need to save my butt and then its just draw-go until I find Entreat. He is notably stuck on land for a loooong time and doesn't see any Decays. Phew!
1-0
Round 2 - Chad, w/ TES
We're buddies, and we know what eachother is on; I joke that I finally get to do the Storm testing I've been meaning to all week. I don't actually have a lot of experience with CB decks vs Storm but it can only be so bad…
G1 I get a quick CB/Top lock while he seems to be durdling around for a while; he was 1 mana short of making 12 Goblins, apparently. Best play; tapped out on T2 with CB, he goes for Chrome Mox; I let it slide without revealing and then get his following Rite of Flame with a blind flip. Jedi Powers, what up.
SB: +2 EE, +1 CS, +2 Flusterstorm, +2 Clique // −3 Swords, −1 Terminus, −1 Council's Judgement, −1 Entreat, −1 Jace
G2 He mulls to 5, and I have a very strong hand of Clique, Flusterstorm, Brainstorm, Counterspell, and Top. He Therapies me, and I BS and see Counterbalance, which I hide back on top, and low and behold he names the 'Balance. I land it T2 with the top card set up from the BS and beat him out with Clique. He didn't stand much of a chance here, but they were good games nonetheless.
2-0
Round 3 - Michael, w/ Manaless Dredge
So this round was weird. Michael and I are friends too, and we both know what eachother is playing. He's been saying all day how Miracles isn't great for him, so I feel pretty good about the match (which I haven't tested w/ Miracles). I feel so good, in fact, that when I win the die roll I snap go on the play and derp to myself about it immediately. Oh well, its only 1 free card… He gets me as I mis-play my lands; where I could have gone for 2 Tundras I played Tundra Island, and although I have Terminus coming next turn he Dread Returns Ashen Rider to exile my W source. Derrrrrpppp :/
SB: +2 Flusterstorm, +1 CS, +2 RIP // I think I take out some number of Counterbalances, and maybe −1 Jace −1 ETA…
G2 I'm feeling better; I correctly opt for the Draw, and I open on FOW + Flusterstorm with a bunch of manipulation. The game goes really, really long, as his Dredges are sub par while I'm countering anything relevant. I also get him at one point by Flashing in Snapcaster and removing his Bridges. However, I dig and Dig and DIG but can't for the life of me find the Rest In Peace; when I finally do, its just as Turn 0 is called (!), and he doesn't scoop :P No worries here, as he is a game up, but I can't manage to find my Entreat in time, to which he said he would have conceded. Soo, that kinda sucked, but that's Magic for you. Absolutely No Hard Feelings here, though.
Side Note: my friend (Chad from R2) was one of the many spectators and said he saw my Entreat floating around on the bottom of my library for many, many turn as I was shuffling. Make sure your shuffling is sufficiently random! Just hand-over riffle shuffles can sometime leaves things in the same spots. Mix it up!
2-1
Round 4 - Rowan, w/ Enlightened Painter
As the last one went to time, I'm feeling the brain-burn as I sit down to face Rowan, but I'm pretty sure I know what he's running here.
G1, stuff happens, I land a CB but he sneaks in a Top + Grindstone T1 off an Ancient Tomb, and actually starts grinding away my top cards. I have a Top, though, and am able to effectively play around his Grindstone activations, clearing chaff off the top while hitting land drops. Then comes the most interesting decision I believe I had all day. The situation is thus:
He has Grindstone and Top in play, and Enlightened Tutors in his main; I have 2 Island tapped, one untapped, and 2 Arid Mesas. I decide to let the tutor resolve through my CB, without Topping, and he gets Helm of Obediance. He passes, with 2 mana open (NOT enough to activate Grindstone) and EOT, I Top.
I see: Jace, STP, and Entreat.
Now, knowing he has the mana to activate Grinstone next turn, what's the order here? I decide on Swords, Jace, and Entreat, so that I draw the Swords, leave Jace on top for his Helm (so I don't have to use mana to spin), with enough to Top to rearrange in response to his activation if he goes for that, but I also have Brainstorm in hand incase he doesn't.
It plays out exactly how I thought; he runs out Helm, I reveal Jace. He passes, and EOT I Spin top, activate the draw ability, to which he responds with the Grindstone activation; I Brainstorm in response and get the 1 Angel I need to close it out. If I may, BAM.
SB: +2 EE, +2 Clique, +1 Keranos, +1 Counterspell, +1 Council's Judgement, +1 Disenchant // −4 FOW, −3 Jace, −1 Terminus
G2, he goes for a quick combo, and while I have 2x STP for his Painter he has exactly 1 R for a Blast AND a Monkey Blast out of his 3 card hand. Sometimes, they just get ya.
G3 is less exciting; he runs out Spirit of the Labyrinth but I have Swords and Disenchant in hand, along with SCM, and at some point after him not doing much I get a big Entreat EOT off of Double Top, playing around Grindstone again.
3-1
Round 5 - Marcel, w/ UWR Delver
Marcel is a solid player, but this MU is great for us Miracle-Mages, and this ends up being a pretty clinical affair. I beat him without many problems in 2 games, on the Draw both times.
SB: +1 EE, +1 Pyro, +1 CS, +2 Clique, +1 Disenchant, +1 Council's Judgement // −4 FOW, −2 Jace, −1 Entreat (?)
4-1
Round 6 - Dante, w/ Miracles
Turns out there are a lot of X-1s, and my breakers, as always, suck so we have to play it out. I finally get paired agaist the mirror after having dodged it all day (about 5 or 6 of us in the room) and am not looking forward to it.
G1, I mull on the draw (uh oh), and despite having Top into CB T2, he is playing Cheater Miracles and 'Blasts my CB, following it up on his turn with his own. I have 2x Entreat in hand though, and sneak through a Brainstorm try to force come kind of Double-Turbo-Entreat plan. It doesn't pan out, though, and I scoop it up to save time.
SB: +2 EE, +3 Blasts, +1 CS, +1 Council's Judgement, +2 Clique, +1 Keranos // −4 FOW, −3 Terminus, −2 STP, −1 Snapcaster Mage
Not 100% on how I boarded here (should have been writing it all down) but the important part here is that I'm bringing out FOW for the MU while it turns out he isn't.
G2: I'm on the play this time, and I have CB again, but this time with Clique backup. He telegraphs having a Blast, so I EOT T3 Clique him, which he blasts (yay bait!) so I can land CB on T4. This is where I find out he still has Force; I'm pretty sure I blast it though and he's pretty far behind on cards. he does manage to remove the CB at some point I think, and we're both down to topdecking for a while. I eventually proceed to Ponder the sickest Ponder I've ever Pondered: Keranos, Entreat, Land. I draw the land, pass, slam Keranos which is unanswered and next turn dome him for 3 while Entreating. I think he tries to Terminus here but I have a Counterspell. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
G3: A similar affair, with me on the draw; I have 2x CB this time which both get answered. I bait again with Clique, which resolves this time, and I see a hand of FOW and Land. He can keep that. I beat down for a while, but he gets a Karakas to stymie my clock, so I flash in a SCM to keep the pressure on. He finds his own Clique, which I Counterspell (over Blasting it), he Forces after drawing off Top and I don't have the mana to use the Blast in hand. I draw a Swords, though, and STP + Blast in response to his Karakas trigger. By this time he has Jace in play and I attack it with Clique and SCM; he bounces my Clique, I Brainstorm and shuffle it away, while finding Keranos and an Entreat yet again, and kill Jace with SCM. I Entreat for 6 (its overkill as he's at 5, but he had run out a CB so Terminus is the only answer other than both Terminus and whatever CMC he could have on top), and that seals it.
I won my Win and In!! Booyah.
5-1
—
Top 8 - Quarterfinals - Alvan, w/ Merfolk
This match is, unfortunately, fairly unexciting for me as I get my butt handed to me quite readily.
G1, he plays very well; I read him on not having Daze (its been many turns of him not Dazing, for ex, my STP on his Mutavault) so I SCM -> STP for his Lord of Atlantis to block Sivergill and 2-for-1 him, but he's sneaky and had it all along. Its a blow-out, and I can't find a Terminus to save me so its onto G2.
G2 is even worse; despite me feeling good and having 3 Blasts post-board, I keep a sketchy non-basic hand, and together with misevaluating / prioritizing his threats, get Wasted out when my Top shows my 3 non-lands on top for 2 turns, where I could have fetched a basic Plains for the 2x STP in hand.
Not the best way to end the day, but everyone says I shouldn't worry, its not a great MU. I get a Bloodstained Mire for my troubles, and take off to go have a celebratory/concillatory beer with the boys.
Props:
+ Getting up early, drinking coffee and having breakfast, and preparing food for the day
+ Location Location Location! We're playing a different venue this time which is much more centrally located in town and much closer to home for me.
+ Playing well and choosing the right deck. Meta was pretty hostile for Death and Taxes and I'm glad I went with Miracles :)
+ Winning the Mirror!
Slops:
- Uh… Not much bad to say here. Cramped Table Situation got sorted out pretty fast, and everything ran smoothly.
Thanks for reading!
4 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
4 Island
2 Plains
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Counterbalance
2 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Terminus
1 Council's Judgement
2 Entreat the Angels
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
SB: 2 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Pyroblast
SB: 2 Engineered Explosives
SB: 1 Counterspell
SB: 2 Flusterstorm
SB: 1 Disenchant
SB: 2 Vendilion Clique
SB: 1 Council's Judgement
SB: 1 Keranos, God of Storms
I had been testing Philipp's build of the deck for a while and been pretty happy with it, but I was skeptical of cutting down to 21 lands, so I added in the 4th Tundra over the 4th Ponder. Never before have I played a list that feels so solid.
Smooth as butter, baby.
—
Round 1 - Spencer w/ Elves!
I don't know what he's on before we start the match, so when he starts on Misty -> DRS, I am slightly worried its BUG. I Swords the Elf, and then the cat jumps out of the bag when he plays a Visionary T2. I get out the CB/Top lock while he attacks with some dorks for a while; he applies pressure via DRS and an Ooze (removing my 3x STP from the graveyard over the game) but I clean it up eventually.
SB: +2 EE, +1 Counterspell ; I think I trim Jaces
G2, I have a sweet hand of Top Brainstorm CB and some land, although I'm pretty sure I make a sequencing error here when I play Top T1 instead of Brainstorm after drawing a 2nd Brainstorm - BSing T1 would allow me to set up the top of the deck optimally for when I run out CB T2. Anyway, I go Top -> CB, but he Natural Orders T2 into Hoof, and puts me to one (!) life. I Brainstorm on my next turn and hit the W and the Terminus I need to save my butt and then its just draw-go until I find Entreat. He is notably stuck on land for a loooong time and doesn't see any Decays. Phew!
1-0
Round 2 - Chad, w/ TES
We're buddies, and we know what eachother is on; I joke that I finally get to do the Storm testing I've been meaning to all week. I don't actually have a lot of experience with CB decks vs Storm but it can only be so bad…
G1 I get a quick CB/Top lock while he seems to be durdling around for a while; he was 1 mana short of making 12 Goblins, apparently. Best play; tapped out on T2 with CB, he goes for Chrome Mox; I let it slide without revealing and then get his following Rite of Flame with a blind flip. Jedi Powers, what up.
SB: +2 EE, +1 CS, +2 Flusterstorm, +2 Clique // −3 Swords, −1 Terminus, −1 Council's Judgement, −1 Entreat, −1 Jace
G2 He mulls to 5, and I have a very strong hand of Clique, Flusterstorm, Brainstorm, Counterspell, and Top. He Therapies me, and I BS and see Counterbalance, which I hide back on top, and low and behold he names the 'Balance. I land it T2 with the top card set up from the BS and beat him out with Clique. He didn't stand much of a chance here, but they were good games nonetheless.
2-0
Round 3 - Michael, w/ Manaless Dredge
So this round was weird. Michael and I are friends too, and we both know what eachother is playing. He's been saying all day how Miracles isn't great for him, so I feel pretty good about the match (which I haven't tested w/ Miracles). I feel so good, in fact, that when I win the die roll I snap go on the play and derp to myself about it immediately. Oh well, its only 1 free card… He gets me as I mis-play my lands; where I could have gone for 2 Tundras I played Tundra Island, and although I have Terminus coming next turn he Dread Returns Ashen Rider to exile my W source. Derrrrrpppp :/
SB: +2 Flusterstorm, +1 CS, +2 RIP // I think I take out some number of Counterbalances, and maybe −1 Jace −1 ETA…
G2 I'm feeling better; I correctly opt for the Draw, and I open on FOW + Flusterstorm with a bunch of manipulation. The game goes really, really long, as his Dredges are sub par while I'm countering anything relevant. I also get him at one point by Flashing in Snapcaster and removing his Bridges. However, I dig and Dig and DIG but can't for the life of me find the Rest In Peace; when I finally do, its just as Turn 0 is called (!), and he doesn't scoop :P No worries here, as he is a game up, but I can't manage to find my Entreat in time, to which he said he would have conceded. Soo, that kinda sucked, but that's Magic for you. Absolutely No Hard Feelings here, though.
Side Note: my friend (Chad from R2) was one of the many spectators and said he saw my Entreat floating around on the bottom of my library for many, many turn as I was shuffling. Make sure your shuffling is sufficiently random! Just hand-over riffle shuffles can sometime leaves things in the same spots. Mix it up!
2-1
Round 4 - Rowan, w/ Enlightened Painter
As the last one went to time, I'm feeling the brain-burn as I sit down to face Rowan, but I'm pretty sure I know what he's running here.
G1, stuff happens, I land a CB but he sneaks in a Top + Grindstone T1 off an Ancient Tomb, and actually starts grinding away my top cards. I have a Top, though, and am able to effectively play around his Grindstone activations, clearing chaff off the top while hitting land drops. Then comes the most interesting decision I believe I had all day. The situation is thus:
He has Grindstone and Top in play, and Enlightened Tutors in his main; I have 2 Island tapped, one untapped, and 2 Arid Mesas. I decide to let the tutor resolve through my CB, without Topping, and he gets Helm of Obediance. He passes, with 2 mana open (NOT enough to activate Grindstone) and EOT, I Top.
I see: Jace, STP, and Entreat.
Now, knowing he has the mana to activate Grinstone next turn, what's the order here? I decide on Swords, Jace, and Entreat, so that I draw the Swords, leave Jace on top for his Helm (so I don't have to use mana to spin), with enough to Top to rearrange in response to his activation if he goes for that, but I also have Brainstorm in hand incase he doesn't.
It plays out exactly how I thought; he runs out Helm, I reveal Jace. He passes, and EOT I Spin top, activate the draw ability, to which he responds with the Grindstone activation; I Brainstorm in response and get the 1 Angel I need to close it out. If I may, BAM.
SB: +2 EE, +2 Clique, +1 Keranos, +1 Counterspell, +1 Council's Judgement, +1 Disenchant // −4 FOW, −3 Jace, −1 Terminus
G2, he goes for a quick combo, and while I have 2x STP for his Painter he has exactly 1 R for a Blast AND a Monkey Blast out of his 3 card hand. Sometimes, they just get ya.
G3 is less exciting; he runs out Spirit of the Labyrinth but I have Swords and Disenchant in hand, along with SCM, and at some point after him not doing much I get a big Entreat EOT off of Double Top, playing around Grindstone again.
3-1
Round 5 - Marcel, w/ UWR Delver
Marcel is a solid player, but this MU is great for us Miracle-Mages, and this ends up being a pretty clinical affair. I beat him without many problems in 2 games, on the Draw both times.
SB: +1 EE, +1 Pyro, +1 CS, +2 Clique, +1 Disenchant, +1 Council's Judgement // −4 FOW, −2 Jace, −1 Entreat (?)
4-1
Round 6 - Dante, w/ Miracles
Turns out there are a lot of X-1s, and my breakers, as always, suck so we have to play it out. I finally get paired agaist the mirror after having dodged it all day (about 5 or 6 of us in the room) and am not looking forward to it.
G1, I mull on the draw (uh oh), and despite having Top into CB T2, he is playing Cheater Miracles and 'Blasts my CB, following it up on his turn with his own. I have 2x Entreat in hand though, and sneak through a Brainstorm try to force come kind of Double-Turbo-Entreat plan. It doesn't pan out, though, and I scoop it up to save time.
SB: +2 EE, +3 Blasts, +1 CS, +1 Council's Judgement, +2 Clique, +1 Keranos // −4 FOW, −3 Terminus, −2 STP, −1 Snapcaster Mage
Not 100% on how I boarded here (should have been writing it all down) but the important part here is that I'm bringing out FOW for the MU while it turns out he isn't.
G2: I'm on the play this time, and I have CB again, but this time with Clique backup. He telegraphs having a Blast, so I EOT T3 Clique him, which he blasts (yay bait!) so I can land CB on T4. This is where I find out he still has Force; I'm pretty sure I blast it though and he's pretty far behind on cards. he does manage to remove the CB at some point I think, and we're both down to topdecking for a while. I eventually proceed to Ponder the sickest Ponder I've ever Pondered: Keranos, Entreat, Land. I draw the land, pass, slam Keranos which is unanswered and next turn dome him for 3 while Entreating. I think he tries to Terminus here but I have a Counterspell. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
G3: A similar affair, with me on the draw; I have 2x CB this time which both get answered. I bait again with Clique, which resolves this time, and I see a hand of FOW and Land. He can keep that. I beat down for a while, but he gets a Karakas to stymie my clock, so I flash in a SCM to keep the pressure on. He finds his own Clique, which I Counterspell (over Blasting it), he Forces after drawing off Top and I don't have the mana to use the Blast in hand. I draw a Swords, though, and STP + Blast in response to his Karakas trigger. By this time he has Jace in play and I attack it with Clique and SCM; he bounces my Clique, I Brainstorm and shuffle it away, while finding Keranos and an Entreat yet again, and kill Jace with SCM. I Entreat for 6 (its overkill as he's at 5, but he had run out a CB so Terminus is the only answer other than both Terminus and whatever CMC he could have on top), and that seals it.
I won my Win and In!! Booyah.
5-1
—
Top 8 - Quarterfinals - Alvan, w/ Merfolk
This match is, unfortunately, fairly unexciting for me as I get my butt handed to me quite readily.
G1, he plays very well; I read him on not having Daze (its been many turns of him not Dazing, for ex, my STP on his Mutavault) so I SCM -> STP for his Lord of Atlantis to block Sivergill and 2-for-1 him, but he's sneaky and had it all along. Its a blow-out, and I can't find a Terminus to save me so its onto G2.
G2 is even worse; despite me feeling good and having 3 Blasts post-board, I keep a sketchy non-basic hand, and together with misevaluating / prioritizing his threats, get Wasted out when my Top shows my 3 non-lands on top for 2 turns, where I could have fetched a basic Plains for the 2x STP in hand.
Not the best way to end the day, but everyone says I shouldn't worry, its not a great MU. I get a Bloodstained Mire for my troubles, and take off to go have a celebratory/concillatory beer with the boys.
Props:
+ Getting up early, drinking coffee and having breakfast, and preparing food for the day
+ Location Location Location! We're playing a different venue this time which is much more centrally located in town and much closer to home for me.
+ Playing well and choosing the right deck. Meta was pretty hostile for Death and Taxes and I'm glad I went with Miracles :)
+ Winning the Mirror!
Slops:
- Uh… Not much bad to say here. Cramped Table Situation got sorted out pretty fast, and everything ran smoothly.
Thanks for reading!