ironclad8690
03-06-2016, 06:13 PM
For a while now I have been playing a lot of Shardless BUG. I wasn't originally attracted to the deck, but as time went on I began to see how the deck is really just the true successor to the Deranged Hermit/Phyrexian Plaguelord lineage of Rock decks. There is something that makes me giddy inside about piloting anything even slightly resembling the extended midrange decks of 2000, so I continue to try and keep the dream alive. Luckily I have been doing decently with it, and I managed to nab 3rd in the Las Vegas Starcity Legacy Classic back in December, and I continue to play it in the Magic Online Leagues, but only with some very mediocre results there :(. Let's just put it this way: I have more 1/4s than a bad draft deck :laugh:
Here is what I registered:
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
2 Baleful Strix
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Force of Will
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Underground Sea
2 Bayou
1 Tropical Island
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Wasteland
1 Creeping Tar Pit
Sideboard
3 Thoughtseize
3 Meddling Mage
2 Disfigure
1 Golgari Charm
1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
1 Pithing Needle
1 Null Rod
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sylvan Library
1 Scrubland
I like the 2 Toxic Deluge of the Lejay style lists, but I also am too attached to Baleful Strix, Hymn to Tourach, and Creeping Tar Pit to cut them.
Round 1: Jund (2-1)
Game 1: Things start off poorly as my opponent wins the die roll and wastelands me out of early plays while killing all my creatures with Bolts and Punishing Fires. By the time my turn-1 suspended Ancestral Vision resolves I am facing down 2 Goyfs, a Deathrite Shaman, a Bloodbraid Elf, and a Liliana of the Veil, and I quickly concede to his superior board position.
In: 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm (Bob), 1 Sylvan Library
Out: 4 Force of Will
Game 2: Things go a bit better for me as I establish a couple of Ancestrals in the first couple of turns with a Deathrite Shaman. My opponent is stuck on lands, and my Deathrite Shaman is keeping his at bay. Things continue this way for a little bit until I find Tarmogoyfs, Shardless Agents, and Stixes. Despite my opponent keeping up with Goyfs and Deathrite Shamans of his own, I overwhelm him with card advantage and a superior board presence.
Game 3: This is an unfortunately game for my opponent, he mulligans either 1 or two times and has to keep a 1 lander with Deathrite Shaman. I proceed to Brainstorm an Ancestral Vision on top of my library which Shardless Agent cascades into on turn 3, and things get out of hand quickly for my opponent who doesn't draw his 2nd land until turn 5 or so. This is exactly the sort of thing that made me move away from Jund/Junk and towards Brainstorm in the first place, it makes life so much easier when you have extra chances to hit your land drops and find gas in the midgame when both players are playing off the top of their decks. My opponent and I talk for a little bit after the game, and he reveals he boarded out Hymn to Tourach, which I would definitely leave in for this sort of matchup (whoever has more 2-for-1s usually ends up winning the pseudo-mirror).
1-0
Round 2: Food Chain (2-0)
Game 1: Unfortunately I get paired against my buddy who I drove down with, and who plays at our local store. I end up keeping a good hand with Ancestral Visions, Deathrite, Abrupt Decay, and some lands. We both play some dorks and Tarmogoyfs (he has an interesting take on food chain that can basically resemble Shardless sometimes), and he is able to get a food chain down (but with no Misthollows to be seen). I decay the food chain, Hymn him hitting another Food Chain and a Genesis Hydra, and play a couple of Baleful Strixes (over a couple of turns). My opponent gets a Misthollow, but I play a Jace which he can't kill and my free Brainstorm every turn buries him in card advantage until I finish him off.
In: 1 Golgari Charm, 2 Disfigure, 1 Sylvan Library
Out: 4 Force of Will (I have absolutely no idea if this is correct)
Game 2: Unfortunately for my opponent, he mulligans and has a hand which is light on mana. I keep a hand with 2 Wastelands despite his deck being very basic-heavy, and he has to lead on an Underground Sea to Brainstorm. I waste him off of that and he is stuck on basic swamp while I hit my land drops, kill his Deathrite Shaman, and Shardless/Visions into gas.
2-0
Round 3: Storm (2-0)
Game 1: My opponent has a huge jar full of 20 sided dice, so I should have assumed he was going to need to keep track of something. I mull and he reveals what he is on with a turn 1 Probe into Swamp -> Duress, taking my Hymn to Tourach and leaving me with only Wasteland, Fetch, Bayou, Ancestral Vision, and Deathrite Shaman. I draw Goyf, run out the Deathrite Shaman, and my opponent decides to go for it. Dark Ritual, Lotus Petal, LED, Cabal Ritual. I am basically in physical f6 mode as my eyes glaze over and I go over sideboarding in my head while my opponent tanks for a minute, Cabal Therapies me (going to 3 Black floating), and takes my Ancestral Vision. He laments that he has messed up royally, as he now has to pass the turn. Okay? I proceed to play my lands and drain him every turn, and he concedes after about 5 turns of this. He reveals after the game that he had a Dark Petition in hand, and I was wondering why he felt he even needed to go off at all. I had basically no pressure and no interaction in hand.
In: 3 Meddling Mage, 3 Thoughtseize, 1 Scrubland, 1 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 Null Rod, 1 Golgari Charm
Out: 2 Tarmogoyf, 1 Ancestral Vision, 1 Deathrite Shaman, 4 Abrupt Decay, 1 Baleful Strix, 1 Swamp.
Game 2: I keep a good hand of Force, Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Deathrite Shaman, 3 Lands. I get the old Probe -> Therapy turn 1 with him taking my Force of Will. I draw a Force of Will for turn, accidentally drop it on the table face up and quickly pick it back up in my hand. I play a land into Deathrite Shaman, he goes land Ponder pass. This is where things get ugly for him, I Brainstorm into Hymn and Grafdigger's Cage, Hymn my opponent, and leave him with only a couple of cards in his hand. He cantrips, passes the turn back, and I drop the Grafdigger's and begin whittling away at my opponent's life total. I get another Deathrite Shaman while he just keeps cantripping, and he Abrupt Decays my Deathrite Shaman, but I Golgari Charm to regenerate and drain him for lethal at the end of his turn and at the start of my upkeep.
3-0
Round 4: Goblins (2-0)
This is a quick match, and can be seen here (http://www.twitch.tv/fadgames/v/52581969?t=2h36m29s).
In: 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal, 2 Disfigure, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Golgari Charm
Out: 4 Force of Will, 1 Ancestral Vision
4-0
Round 5: ID with Junk
My opponent is Robert Green, the only other undefeated and a really cool guy (and talented magic player), and after signing the ID on the slip we both profess our love of midrange decks and Knight of the Reliquary for like 40 minutes.
4-0-1
Round 6: ID with Dredge
My opponent is Joseph Moreno, last bastion of Dredge (but with no small amount of success). We ID and joke for a little bit about how he never recognizes me due to my constantly changing hair length. I watch my Food Chain buddy give Enchantress the thrashing of a lifetime (can be seen here (http://www.twitch.tv/fadgames/v/52581969?t=4h33m08s)). I am cheering inside because the Enchantress player was partly responsible for my worst tournament record ever (0-4 drop, Punishing Nic Fit), which prompted me to question my life choices and start playing Brainstorm. Game 1 of their match my friend's deck looks almost completely like a Shardless BUG deck, and in Game 2 when my buddy (Chris) casts Manipulate Fate the other guy whispers under his breath in dismay: Boarded into Food Chain huh? Chris on turn 3: Food Chain, Misthollow Griffins, Genesis Hydra for my entire deck. GGs bro.
4-0-2
I am in 1st seed going into the top 8 (wooo!), with my Food Chain buddy almost nabbing top 8 as well (but finishing well enough to secure a revised Plateau).
Top 8: Goblins (2-0)
Game 1: I review my opponent's decklist and I joke about having no idea what Grenzo, Dungeon Warden or Earwig Squad do. I am on the play, and I get a Visions suspended while my opponent just plays a port and ports me. I wasteland his port, he plays another and I wasteland that too. He plays a warchief which meets a decay, 2 piledrivers, and a ringleader. I play a couple of Tarmogoyfs, making his attacks awful, and eventually I Deluge away his board and swing in for a couple of turns for the win.
In: 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Null Rod (as I see my opponent plays 3 Relic of Progenitus SB), 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm, 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal.
Game 2: My opponent starts off with a Mountain and passes. I play a Deathrite Shaman and pass back. He plays a Goblin Piledriver, and I Brainstorm + Abrupt Decay that the following turn. He follows up with a Vial and another Piledriver, and I play two Deathrite Shamans. He plays a Goblin Ringleader (Lackey is the only hit), and before combat I disfigure the Piledriver and take 2 form Ringleader. I Brainstorm to try to find more action, and shuffle away a couple of dead cards. He plays Lackey and ticks up his Vial, but I find my Night of Souls' Betrayal next turn. Things don't go too well after Shardless and Tarmogoyf hit the 'field, and my opponent concedes.
5-0-2
Top 8: Merfolk (2-0)
Game 1: I am nervous about this matchup because one of my other friends that plays at our local store plays Merfolk and there are certainly some draws from his deck that are unbeatable. He points out before that this Merfolk player doesn't play Misdirection, and I breathe a sigh of relief at that. We both mulligan, and then keep our 6es. I start of with a Deathrite Shaman, and he starts off with a Cursecatcher. I play some lands and kill a lord, but he plays a Silvergill Adept and another Cursecatcher. He plays Chalices @ 1 and 0, and my brainstorm _ two lands in hand look real awkward. We play a very strange cat and mouse game of him flooding out and attacking with Silvergill Adept and me flooding out and draining with Deathrite Shaman for what feels like forever. At a certain point I have to start gaining life because I dip down to 2 life, refusing to trade my DRS for Silvergill. I am able to topdeck a DRS to cast into chalice to gain some life with my other Deathrite when no other creatures were in yards. My opponent makes a fumble and attacks with 2 Cursecatchers and the Silvergill without realizing my Shaman was able to gain life, and puts me to 3 at the expense of 1 Cursecatcher. Finally I topdeck an Abrupt Decay and decay the Chalice @ 1 freeing my Brainstorm, which finds a very gassy 3 cards: Toxic Deluge, Shardless Agent, and Shardless Agent. My opponent plays a Phantasmal Image copying Silvergill, and I am finally forced to block the other Silvergill with my DRS. I play Shardless Agent which finds another Shaman, and my opponent casts a Merrow Reejerey, and my Shardless trades with the Phantasmal Image as I take 2 from a pumped Cursecatcher. Next turn I Shardless into Brainstorm which finds abrupt decay for the Reejerey. Meanwhile my DRS gains until I feel I am safe behind a Tarmogoyf, and I pulse his remaining cursecatcher to attack for lethal. There were so many turns where I was dead if he draws a Lord or a True-Name Nemesis, but I was very lucky.
In: 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm, 1 Null Rod, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
Out: 4 Force of Will, 1 Baleful Strix, 1 Baleful Strix
Game 2: My opponent mulls to 5, only finds 1 land, and I curve out into Shardless and Jace while he can't find anything except 2 Aether Vials which are too late to the party. Unfortunate that he got so mana screwed, but I will take what I can get vs a normally tough matchup.
6-0-2
Top 8: Grixis Delver (1-2)
I am joking with my opponent that I just can't seem to win a match vs his deck, but I might finally be able to now that lists are moving away from Stifle. Match can be seen here (http://www.twitch.tv/fadgames/v/52651285?t=1h21m49s), but I will sum it up as well.
Game 1: I mull to 5 and get a very removal heavy draw and hit all my land drops, manage to answer a Delver, Young Pyromancer, and a Gurmag Angler (thanks Maelstrom Pulse with Force backup!), and take the game with Shardless Agent and Deathrite Shaman.
In: 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm, 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal, 1 Sylvan Library (Butakov from MTGO advised me to side this in in this matchup, props to him for helping me out with some sideboarding calls).
Out: 2 Hymn to Tourach, 1 Force of Will, 1 Liliana of the Veil, 1 Ancestral Vision (still not really sure how to board vs this)
Game 2: My keep has a fetch and a Wasteland so I have to fetch a dual to play the Brainstorm in hand and also Tarmogoyf later. I counter a Young Pyromancer with Force pithing Force, end up getting double Wastelanded while he has a Delver that can't flip. I get to see a ton of cards off of my Sylvan Library and multiple shuffle effects, but I can't find removal and I die to Delver which eventually flips and a single Bolt.
In: 1 Hymn to Tourach
Out: 1 Force of Will
Game 3: I keep a good hand with 2 duals and many castable cards and 2 Brainstorms to help out. I suspend a Visions, he lays down a Deathrite. I disfigure, and try to brainstorm to try to find my 3rd land for the next turn, but I whiff and find 3 nonlands. He plays a Young Pyromancer, I Abrupt Decay it and try to Brainstorm again, but yet again 3 nonlands. At least my Ancestral is coming off suspend next turn right guys? He lays down Young Pyro #2 and Wastes me off GB and leaving me with a U Sea, but at least I get to see 4 cards next turn (presumably). My Ancestral resolves despite my opp having cards in hand, and I find 3 more nonlands and my draw for turn is Wasteland. I play that and stare at my hand of Deluge, Maelstrom Pulse, Baleful Strix, Tarmogoyf, Shardless Agent. My opponent makes more tokens with cantrips, whittles me down to 12, and by the time I draw land 3 and Deluge for 1, he has a Daze, cantrip into Bolt, Bolts me to 8, and has a lethal attack. I could have possibly played Shardless Agent, but I thought about it and instead decided that Deluge more easily translates into a win rather than just hoping to find futile blockers for tokens.
I realize I had pretty terrible luck, but I have now made it my life priority to beat Grixis Delver with this deck at any cost. Illness in the Ranks, Shipwreck Singer, I will stop at nothing to accomplish my stubborn and fool-hearty undertaking. Let me know if you have any tips for the matchup.
6-1-2, 13 game wins, 3 game losses.
I end up with a MP Tundra, and a great days worth of magic games and fun. I think going forward I will continue to play the same list, it felt powerful and consistent except for the last two games. I am particularly excited to practice more because I am moving to Washington (near Seattle) in about a month, and I can't wait to become part of the Legacy scene up there.
Props:
-Shardless BUG for winning me a Tundra.
-My friends Patrick, Chris, Tim, and Andrew for coming to 1 last LA tournament with me. You guys rock!
-Plus EV Games in Santa Barbara for fostering a small but thriving legacy community.
-Fire and Dice for hosting a great tournament which ran very smoothly.
-All of my opponents for being friendly and nice.
-Sushi place across from Fire and Dice for bomb food.
-Legacy for continuing to be a great and most diverse format.
-Sol Malka's brain for creating a monster.
Slops:
-The printings of Young Pyromancer and True-Name Nemesis, which have forced me to diversify my removal suite.
Thanks for reading!
Here is what I registered:
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
2 Baleful Strix
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Force of Will
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Underground Sea
2 Bayou
1 Tropical Island
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Wasteland
1 Creeping Tar Pit
Sideboard
3 Thoughtseize
3 Meddling Mage
2 Disfigure
1 Golgari Charm
1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
1 Pithing Needle
1 Null Rod
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Sylvan Library
1 Scrubland
I like the 2 Toxic Deluge of the Lejay style lists, but I also am too attached to Baleful Strix, Hymn to Tourach, and Creeping Tar Pit to cut them.
Round 1: Jund (2-1)
Game 1: Things start off poorly as my opponent wins the die roll and wastelands me out of early plays while killing all my creatures with Bolts and Punishing Fires. By the time my turn-1 suspended Ancestral Vision resolves I am facing down 2 Goyfs, a Deathrite Shaman, a Bloodbraid Elf, and a Liliana of the Veil, and I quickly concede to his superior board position.
In: 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm (Bob), 1 Sylvan Library
Out: 4 Force of Will
Game 2: Things go a bit better for me as I establish a couple of Ancestrals in the first couple of turns with a Deathrite Shaman. My opponent is stuck on lands, and my Deathrite Shaman is keeping his at bay. Things continue this way for a little bit until I find Tarmogoyfs, Shardless Agents, and Stixes. Despite my opponent keeping up with Goyfs and Deathrite Shamans of his own, I overwhelm him with card advantage and a superior board presence.
Game 3: This is an unfortunately game for my opponent, he mulligans either 1 or two times and has to keep a 1 lander with Deathrite Shaman. I proceed to Brainstorm an Ancestral Vision on top of my library which Shardless Agent cascades into on turn 3, and things get out of hand quickly for my opponent who doesn't draw his 2nd land until turn 5 or so. This is exactly the sort of thing that made me move away from Jund/Junk and towards Brainstorm in the first place, it makes life so much easier when you have extra chances to hit your land drops and find gas in the midgame when both players are playing off the top of their decks. My opponent and I talk for a little bit after the game, and he reveals he boarded out Hymn to Tourach, which I would definitely leave in for this sort of matchup (whoever has more 2-for-1s usually ends up winning the pseudo-mirror).
1-0
Round 2: Food Chain (2-0)
Game 1: Unfortunately I get paired against my buddy who I drove down with, and who plays at our local store. I end up keeping a good hand with Ancestral Visions, Deathrite, Abrupt Decay, and some lands. We both play some dorks and Tarmogoyfs (he has an interesting take on food chain that can basically resemble Shardless sometimes), and he is able to get a food chain down (but with no Misthollows to be seen). I decay the food chain, Hymn him hitting another Food Chain and a Genesis Hydra, and play a couple of Baleful Strixes (over a couple of turns). My opponent gets a Misthollow, but I play a Jace which he can't kill and my free Brainstorm every turn buries him in card advantage until I finish him off.
In: 1 Golgari Charm, 2 Disfigure, 1 Sylvan Library
Out: 4 Force of Will (I have absolutely no idea if this is correct)
Game 2: Unfortunately for my opponent, he mulligans and has a hand which is light on mana. I keep a hand with 2 Wastelands despite his deck being very basic-heavy, and he has to lead on an Underground Sea to Brainstorm. I waste him off of that and he is stuck on basic swamp while I hit my land drops, kill his Deathrite Shaman, and Shardless/Visions into gas.
2-0
Round 3: Storm (2-0)
Game 1: My opponent has a huge jar full of 20 sided dice, so I should have assumed he was going to need to keep track of something. I mull and he reveals what he is on with a turn 1 Probe into Swamp -> Duress, taking my Hymn to Tourach and leaving me with only Wasteland, Fetch, Bayou, Ancestral Vision, and Deathrite Shaman. I draw Goyf, run out the Deathrite Shaman, and my opponent decides to go for it. Dark Ritual, Lotus Petal, LED, Cabal Ritual. I am basically in physical f6 mode as my eyes glaze over and I go over sideboarding in my head while my opponent tanks for a minute, Cabal Therapies me (going to 3 Black floating), and takes my Ancestral Vision. He laments that he has messed up royally, as he now has to pass the turn. Okay? I proceed to play my lands and drain him every turn, and he concedes after about 5 turns of this. He reveals after the game that he had a Dark Petition in hand, and I was wondering why he felt he even needed to go off at all. I had basically no pressure and no interaction in hand.
In: 3 Meddling Mage, 3 Thoughtseize, 1 Scrubland, 1 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 Null Rod, 1 Golgari Charm
Out: 2 Tarmogoyf, 1 Ancestral Vision, 1 Deathrite Shaman, 4 Abrupt Decay, 1 Baleful Strix, 1 Swamp.
Game 2: I keep a good hand of Force, Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Deathrite Shaman, 3 Lands. I get the old Probe -> Therapy turn 1 with him taking my Force of Will. I draw a Force of Will for turn, accidentally drop it on the table face up and quickly pick it back up in my hand. I play a land into Deathrite Shaman, he goes land Ponder pass. This is where things get ugly for him, I Brainstorm into Hymn and Grafdigger's Cage, Hymn my opponent, and leave him with only a couple of cards in his hand. He cantrips, passes the turn back, and I drop the Grafdigger's and begin whittling away at my opponent's life total. I get another Deathrite Shaman while he just keeps cantripping, and he Abrupt Decays my Deathrite Shaman, but I Golgari Charm to regenerate and drain him for lethal at the end of his turn and at the start of my upkeep.
3-0
Round 4: Goblins (2-0)
This is a quick match, and can be seen here (http://www.twitch.tv/fadgames/v/52581969?t=2h36m29s).
In: 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal, 2 Disfigure, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Golgari Charm
Out: 4 Force of Will, 1 Ancestral Vision
4-0
Round 5: ID with Junk
My opponent is Robert Green, the only other undefeated and a really cool guy (and talented magic player), and after signing the ID on the slip we both profess our love of midrange decks and Knight of the Reliquary for like 40 minutes.
4-0-1
Round 6: ID with Dredge
My opponent is Joseph Moreno, last bastion of Dredge (but with no small amount of success). We ID and joke for a little bit about how he never recognizes me due to my constantly changing hair length. I watch my Food Chain buddy give Enchantress the thrashing of a lifetime (can be seen here (http://www.twitch.tv/fadgames/v/52581969?t=4h33m08s)). I am cheering inside because the Enchantress player was partly responsible for my worst tournament record ever (0-4 drop, Punishing Nic Fit), which prompted me to question my life choices and start playing Brainstorm. Game 1 of their match my friend's deck looks almost completely like a Shardless BUG deck, and in Game 2 when my buddy (Chris) casts Manipulate Fate the other guy whispers under his breath in dismay: Boarded into Food Chain huh? Chris on turn 3: Food Chain, Misthollow Griffins, Genesis Hydra for my entire deck. GGs bro.
4-0-2
I am in 1st seed going into the top 8 (wooo!), with my Food Chain buddy almost nabbing top 8 as well (but finishing well enough to secure a revised Plateau).
Top 8: Goblins (2-0)
Game 1: I review my opponent's decklist and I joke about having no idea what Grenzo, Dungeon Warden or Earwig Squad do. I am on the play, and I get a Visions suspended while my opponent just plays a port and ports me. I wasteland his port, he plays another and I wasteland that too. He plays a warchief which meets a decay, 2 piledrivers, and a ringleader. I play a couple of Tarmogoyfs, making his attacks awful, and eventually I Deluge away his board and swing in for a couple of turns for the win.
In: 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Null Rod (as I see my opponent plays 3 Relic of Progenitus SB), 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm, 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal.
Game 2: My opponent starts off with a Mountain and passes. I play a Deathrite Shaman and pass back. He plays a Goblin Piledriver, and I Brainstorm + Abrupt Decay that the following turn. He follows up with a Vial and another Piledriver, and I play two Deathrite Shamans. He plays a Goblin Ringleader (Lackey is the only hit), and before combat I disfigure the Piledriver and take 2 form Ringleader. I Brainstorm to try to find more action, and shuffle away a couple of dead cards. He plays Lackey and ticks up his Vial, but I find my Night of Souls' Betrayal next turn. Things don't go too well after Shardless and Tarmogoyf hit the 'field, and my opponent concedes.
5-0-2
Top 8: Merfolk (2-0)
Game 1: I am nervous about this matchup because one of my other friends that plays at our local store plays Merfolk and there are certainly some draws from his deck that are unbeatable. He points out before that this Merfolk player doesn't play Misdirection, and I breathe a sigh of relief at that. We both mulligan, and then keep our 6es. I start of with a Deathrite Shaman, and he starts off with a Cursecatcher. I play some lands and kill a lord, but he plays a Silvergill Adept and another Cursecatcher. He plays Chalices @ 1 and 0, and my brainstorm _ two lands in hand look real awkward. We play a very strange cat and mouse game of him flooding out and attacking with Silvergill Adept and me flooding out and draining with Deathrite Shaman for what feels like forever. At a certain point I have to start gaining life because I dip down to 2 life, refusing to trade my DRS for Silvergill. I am able to topdeck a DRS to cast into chalice to gain some life with my other Deathrite when no other creatures were in yards. My opponent makes a fumble and attacks with 2 Cursecatchers and the Silvergill without realizing my Shaman was able to gain life, and puts me to 3 at the expense of 1 Cursecatcher. Finally I topdeck an Abrupt Decay and decay the Chalice @ 1 freeing my Brainstorm, which finds a very gassy 3 cards: Toxic Deluge, Shardless Agent, and Shardless Agent. My opponent plays a Phantasmal Image copying Silvergill, and I am finally forced to block the other Silvergill with my DRS. I play Shardless Agent which finds another Shaman, and my opponent casts a Merrow Reejerey, and my Shardless trades with the Phantasmal Image as I take 2 from a pumped Cursecatcher. Next turn I Shardless into Brainstorm which finds abrupt decay for the Reejerey. Meanwhile my DRS gains until I feel I am safe behind a Tarmogoyf, and I pulse his remaining cursecatcher to attack for lethal. There were so many turns where I was dead if he draws a Lord or a True-Name Nemesis, but I was very lucky.
In: 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm, 1 Null Rod, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
Out: 4 Force of Will, 1 Baleful Strix, 1 Baleful Strix
Game 2: My opponent mulls to 5, only finds 1 land, and I curve out into Shardless and Jace while he can't find anything except 2 Aether Vials which are too late to the party. Unfortunate that he got so mana screwed, but I will take what I can get vs a normally tough matchup.
6-0-2
Top 8: Grixis Delver (1-2)
I am joking with my opponent that I just can't seem to win a match vs his deck, but I might finally be able to now that lists are moving away from Stifle. Match can be seen here (http://www.twitch.tv/fadgames/v/52651285?t=1h21m49s), but I will sum it up as well.
Game 1: I mull to 5 and get a very removal heavy draw and hit all my land drops, manage to answer a Delver, Young Pyromancer, and a Gurmag Angler (thanks Maelstrom Pulse with Force backup!), and take the game with Shardless Agent and Deathrite Shaman.
In: 2 Disfigure, 1 Golgari Charm, 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal, 1 Sylvan Library (Butakov from MTGO advised me to side this in in this matchup, props to him for helping me out with some sideboarding calls).
Out: 2 Hymn to Tourach, 1 Force of Will, 1 Liliana of the Veil, 1 Ancestral Vision (still not really sure how to board vs this)
Game 2: My keep has a fetch and a Wasteland so I have to fetch a dual to play the Brainstorm in hand and also Tarmogoyf later. I counter a Young Pyromancer with Force pithing Force, end up getting double Wastelanded while he has a Delver that can't flip. I get to see a ton of cards off of my Sylvan Library and multiple shuffle effects, but I can't find removal and I die to Delver which eventually flips and a single Bolt.
In: 1 Hymn to Tourach
Out: 1 Force of Will
Game 3: I keep a good hand with 2 duals and many castable cards and 2 Brainstorms to help out. I suspend a Visions, he lays down a Deathrite. I disfigure, and try to brainstorm to try to find my 3rd land for the next turn, but I whiff and find 3 nonlands. He plays a Young Pyromancer, I Abrupt Decay it and try to Brainstorm again, but yet again 3 nonlands. At least my Ancestral is coming off suspend next turn right guys? He lays down Young Pyro #2 and Wastes me off GB and leaving me with a U Sea, but at least I get to see 4 cards next turn (presumably). My Ancestral resolves despite my opp having cards in hand, and I find 3 more nonlands and my draw for turn is Wasteland. I play that and stare at my hand of Deluge, Maelstrom Pulse, Baleful Strix, Tarmogoyf, Shardless Agent. My opponent makes more tokens with cantrips, whittles me down to 12, and by the time I draw land 3 and Deluge for 1, he has a Daze, cantrip into Bolt, Bolts me to 8, and has a lethal attack. I could have possibly played Shardless Agent, but I thought about it and instead decided that Deluge more easily translates into a win rather than just hoping to find futile blockers for tokens.
I realize I had pretty terrible luck, but I have now made it my life priority to beat Grixis Delver with this deck at any cost. Illness in the Ranks, Shipwreck Singer, I will stop at nothing to accomplish my stubborn and fool-hearty undertaking. Let me know if you have any tips for the matchup.
6-1-2, 13 game wins, 3 game losses.
I end up with a MP Tundra, and a great days worth of magic games and fun. I think going forward I will continue to play the same list, it felt powerful and consistent except for the last two games. I am particularly excited to practice more because I am moving to Washington (near Seattle) in about a month, and I can't wait to become part of the Legacy scene up there.
Props:
-Shardless BUG for winning me a Tundra.
-My friends Patrick, Chris, Tim, and Andrew for coming to 1 last LA tournament with me. You guys rock!
-Plus EV Games in Santa Barbara for fostering a small but thriving legacy community.
-Fire and Dice for hosting a great tournament which ran very smoothly.
-All of my opponents for being friendly and nice.
-Sushi place across from Fire and Dice for bomb food.
-Legacy for continuing to be a great and most diverse format.
-Sol Malka's brain for creating a monster.
Slops:
-The printings of Young Pyromancer and True-Name Nemesis, which have forced me to diversify my removal suite.
Thanks for reading!