Gekoratel
09-06-2006, 10:06 PM
No need for an introduction about my ride from X to Stratford. To start things off I’m going to show my list and explain a few of my choices.
Rw Goblins
8 Mountain
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mires
4 Wasteland
2 Plateau
4 Aether Vial
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Goblin Piledriver
3 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Ringleader
3 Siege-Gang Commander
3 Pyrokinesis
SB
4 Pyrostatic Pillar
3 Armageddon
3 Disenchant
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Phyrexian Furnace
1 Swords to Plowshares
The main difference from most lists is that I choose not to run Rishadan Port because I believe that having 8 colorless sources is too many if you want to successfully cast turn 3 Warchief’s. It also makes it more difficult to chain matrons and ringleaders. For the non goblin slots I choose to run Pyrokinesis because goblins was the most played deck at GenCon. But I think that running Swords to Plowshares or Lightning Bolt would also be a reasonable choice.
Round 1 – Iggy Pop
I lost the die roll and had a very solid hand of Lackey into Siege-Gang but he had an echoing truth to slow me down a turn. After that he stalled on two lands and died in a few turns to Siege-Gang and company. He ended the game with a basic swamp and island in play along with Leyline so to most people it was probably very obvious what he was playing. I haven’t really been keeping up with decks and when I was walking around the tournament site saw a few BGu control decks and sideboarded as such.
-3 Pyrokinesis +3 Armageddon
The 2nd game wasn’t very close I had a good hand of vial and geddon if he was playing a control deck but instead he combo’ed off easily turn 4. I ended the game staring at Armageddon and regretting not reading all of the GenCon coverage.
-3 PyroKinesis -3 Gempalm Incinerator -1 Goblin Sharpshooer
+4 Pyrostatic Pillar +2 Tormod’s Crypt +2 Phyrexian Furnace
I had the complete nuts this game of Lackey -> Siege-Gang + Turn 2 Piledriver. Since he fetched I was able to kill him turn 3.
Round 2 – Dave Price w/ GRb Survival
This round I played against Dave Price a solid legacy player from Rochester so I knew I was in for a tough match. I won the roll and led off with a Mogg Fanatic that beat for 1 and killed his BoP. After that he dropped Survival pitched Squee for Anger and started to take control of the game. To my benefit his only red source was a Taiga so I was able to waste it and slow him down. After that he tutored for Witness to get back Taiga and passed the turn without playing the land since I had another Waste. I was continuing to develop my board with Warchief, Piledriver and others but had no good attacks so I passed the turn with Matron in hand ready for next turn. On his turn he played the Taiga and then cast Rofellos so with Rofellos on the stack I wasted the Taiga. I then untapped Matroned for Sharpshooter and the game was pretty much over.
-3 Pyrokinesis +3 Disenchant
This game I kept a 2-lander with Vial and many expensive spells. After laying Vial turn 1 he had the natural turn 2 Tin Street to kill it. After that he layed Survival tutored for FTK’s and killed all of my guys. At the end of the game he had 4x FTK’s in play, it was quite a blowout.
For game 3 I had a ridiculous draw of Lackey-> Siege-Gang with Mogg Fanatic backup. It was a very anticlimactic end to a good match.
Round 3 – BW Confidant
While he was shuffling I saw a Withered Wretch so I assumed he was playing BW. My opener was slow but had a powerful late game. He came out of the gates pretty quickly with Confidant and Shade but Matron for Ringleader put me to far ahead and he couldn’t deal with all of my guys.
-3 Pyrokinesis +3 Disenchant
My opponent started off very strong this game with a turn 2 Hymn, 3rd turn Shade and 4th turn E. Plague. I didn’t draw my disenchant and the few X/2’s I drew were just chump blockers for a lethal shade.
Game 3 was very typical for this matchup with him getting down 2 Cursed Scrolls but didn’t have enough resources to deal with all of the goblins that I was churning out.
Round 4 – High Tide
I saw him playing the High Tide mirror match so I knew I needed to get a little lucky this round to keep the win streak going. I won the die roll and was staring at a hand with Lackey and Siege-Gang how lucky. He didn’t have the force and I killed him on turn 4, he didn’t seem very phased because apparently his hand had very little gas.
-3 Pyrokinesis -3 Gempalm Incinerator -1 Goblin Sharpshooter
+4 Pyrostatic Pillar +3 Armageddon
This game I kept a hand that was fairly slow (T2:Piledriver T3:Matron T4:Geddon) I think it may have been a mistake because it didn’t contain; Lackey, Vial, Warchief, or Pillar. If he has either Force or Remand I have a very low chance of winning the game. It turns out he had the Force and wins on my 5th turn.
This game was a dozy, I mulliganed a slow 7 and got a hand of 3x Mountain 2x Lackey and 1 Mogg Fanatic. I figured it was worth a keep because if I hit Matron, Ringleader of Siege-Gang I’m in a pretty good spot. I lead the game with Lackey which he cringes to but allows it to resolve. He is much less intimidated when the best thing I can drop is another Lackey and cast Fanatic passing the turn. I go a few turns without drawing anything relevant but finally draw a Pyrostatic Pillar and starts going off. I was mentally resigning myself to a loss but after a while he was just staring at the last 3 cards in his hand and I felt that I had a chance. He fired off a Brain Freeze for around 12 and hit me with the first few and then begins to use them on himself trying to hit Flash of Insight. He finds it eventually but it is pretty far down and after he casts it he offers his hand because he had no more win conditions left in the deck. I was amazed that I managed to sack my way out of this round.
Round 5 – BR Homebrew
I was at the top of the tables and had no idea what I was going to play against I was just crossing my fingers it wasn’t another High Tide. While he was shuffling I saw a Dark Confidant so I assumed another round of BW which would be fine for me. I started the game with Lackey which got bolted telling me I was wrong in my assumption of BW. On his turn he played out a Rakdos Guildmage savage type 2 technology. I eventually started building up guys but he played a Rakdos Augermage which slowed down my attack. He was beating in the air with Hypnotic Specter for a few turns but I was drawing nothing but lands. On his turn he dropped a morph and I was thinking really hard about what it could be because he could have hard-casted a Blistering Firecat. A drew Incinerator for the turn and not wanting to take any uneeded risks killed the morph. He turned it over and it was Headhunter (feel free to look that 1 up). I drew another Incinerator which killed his Augermage and I was then able to go on the offensive.
-3 Goblin Piledriver +3 Disenchant
For this game I kept a very solid hand of 3 lands, Vial, Matron, and two Ringleaders. He had a turn 2 Hymn which hit a Matron and Ringleader. I was still unfazed as I had another Ringleader. He had a Hyppy and Withered Wretch when I cast my Ringleader into Vial and 3 lands. At this point I was in topdeck mode with about 10 lands in play and a Vial @ 3 so any big goblin is going to be able to put me back in the game. I eventually draw Matron -> Ringleader but he untaps and casts Tsabo’s Decree wrathing my board which allows him to swing for the win.
I was pretty upset after that loss due to getting hit by the best possible Hymn, casting Ringleader into nothing and drawing infi lands. Determined to win the match I had a solid hand with Vial and other goodies and he was having mana problem which I helped along with Waste. Since I got an average draw and his was poor I won the game easily.
Round 6 – High Tide
Before the match I assumed I would be able to draw into the Top 8 but unfortunately I got paired down and even worse than that it was against High Tide. My first hand was weak so I mulled into a draw that had Vial, Lackey, Piledriver, and Siege Gang everything I could hope for . . . except for a Force on my Lackey. At this point I don’t think I have any shot but luckily draw into Warchief to apply some pressure. After beating for 5 he cast a Meditate at my end step so I take another turn and attempt to cast Siege Gang but it also gets forced. After beating for 5 again I pass the turn and threatening lethal next turn but somehow he managed to draw nothing but chaff.
-Same as round 4
I start the game with a Vial and Turn 2 Piledriver but he Hydroblasted it. I drew into a Lackey which let me end step him. I attack with the Lackey and he kills it with BEB I believe. He seems to have a lot of answers for my guys but not a lot of action himself. Eventually I get piledriver and two warchiefs beating in but he bounces the warchiefs with Echoing Truth slowing my down a turn. I cast 1 of the warchiefs and vial the other end step. On my upkeep I have 0 cards in hand my opponent is at 4 life, I have a Vial @ 3 and 4. I decide that since I have lethal on board I should up the 4-5 in case I draw Siege Gang or Matron. I draw Matron for the turn and attack but he has a bounce spell I drop the Matron and he attempts to go off in response but doesn’t have enough gas.
Round 7 – Affinity ID
So I managed to go 6-0-1 into the Top 8 which assured me at least $80 for being the highest finisher after the swiss without proxies. The only decks that I didn’t want to play in the top 8 was Ashok’s reanimator list and the 4 color threshold deck. Unfortunately I was paired against the 4 color threshold deck. I have had a lot of trouble against threshold builds with red in the past so I wasn’t very happy about my pairing.
Quarterfinals – 4 color Threshold
Unfortunately this is the one game that I really can’t remember very much about. I know he lead off with Portent which I had to read. I believe I led with a Lackey that got Fired. Beyond the first few turns I cant remember much except that I won, if my opponent would like to chime in the forums that would be great.
-4 Mogg Fanatic +2 Tormods Crypt +2 Phrexian Furnace
This game I was being pushed around from the very beginning. I have another start with Lackey which is much less exciting than Vial in this matchup. He kills it with a bolt and plays some cantrips. At this point its turn 2 and he already has 5-6 cards in his yard. I play the Phyrexian Furnace in my hand to try and keep him off threshold but on his turn he chains more cantrips and then drops a Mongoose. In this game whenever I thought I had a shot to get back it he always had the correct answer whether it was Daze, Pyroclasm, Pithing Needle or a Bolt. Despite having a turn 2 furnace he ended the game with at least 15 cards in his graveyard.
For Game 3 I mulled into a reasonable hand with Piledriver, Warchief and Ringleader. I played turn 2 Piledriver but he had daze for my warchief. After this he seemed to be stalled on lands so I had the judgement call to waste his Tropical Island or wait for another land for Ringleader. I decided to waste but this was probably a misplay as I would need runner runner land or land/matron to be in good shape. Luckily I drew back to back lands but he had a counter for my Ringleader. After that we were both in draw go mode where Piledriver must have dealt 7 damage by himself before he got fired. At this point we both had a ton of lands in play when I topdecked a ringleader hitting nothing but another ringleader. I had 4 lands open and could cast it but if he had daze I was screwed so I decided to pass the turn since he had no pressure. I cast it the next turn and it resolved hitting warchief, matron, and lackey. I cast the Warchief and Matroned for Siege-Gang and past the turn since now he had a Werebear. He untapped cast a Mongoose and passed the turn. At that point both of our life totals were very low I was at 6 so if he drew pyroclasm he would win the game. I cast the Siege-Gang and he hard cast force but to do so he had to use Werebear. This let me beat in with the team so I would have lethal next turn. Second main I cast two goblins on defense so that I wouldn’t lose to an attack + bolt. He didn’t draw clasm and I won a very tight game 3.
Semifinals – Affinity
I had tested this matchup pretty extensively in the past with a friend of mine and if Goblins can get to the late game then its very hard to lose. He started out with draw of Ornithopter and Worker which made my Lackey pretty obsolete. After that he dropped Terrarion, Frogmite, and another worker. He attacked with a worker which I blocked with my freshly cast Piledriver, modular got moved to the Thopter. The next turn he cast cast Myr Enforcer all I had was Lackey and Piledriver. Despite his advantage on the board he had only 1 card in hand and I had Warchief and Matron in hand. He laid the beats and I blocked the other worker which made a 5/5 enforcer. I was then able to Matron for Sharpshooter who is huge in this matchup. I cast a Mogg Fanatic as I didn’t have enough mana for the Sharpshooter. He swung again leaving only Thopter on defense and I took it down to 7 life. I then cast sharpshooter and killed the 1/3 Thopter with him a little help from Mogg Fanatic and beat with team dropping a Siege-Gang into play via Lackey. He was then forced on defense and I won on the next attack.
-I didn’t bother sideboarding but I thought that I would need to play around Pyroclasm out of his board.
I had a solid start before he dropped turn 3 E. Plague killing all my guys except Warchief. I cast a Ringleader hoping for some X/2 goblins. He untapped and cast another E. Plague so I scooped it up.
-3 Piledriver +3 Disenchant
I had a first turn Lackey but he had a Terrarion and a Thopter to stop it. I had the choice to either attack and kill it with Incinerator or kill it with Pyrokinesis. I decided to use Incinerator because the best goblin I had was Ringleader and I only had two lands. This decision worked out quite well for me as I drew into a 3rd and let me setup a brutal Pyrokinesis. On his turn he dropped another Thopter and Frogmite. I killed them both with Pyrokinesis while he was stalled on 1 land, soon after he scooped it up.
Finals – Mr. Nightmare w/ UGw Threshold
Before the match we worked out a split that was great for both of us as he wanted the Imperial Seal and I wanted a Mox Sapphire. We decided that we should play the match anyway just for bragging rights and standings. He mulled his opener and led off with Portent. On my turn I tried a Vial but he had a daze, this way Ok by me because it hurt his tempo. Unfortunately I started to flood and only had a Warchief on the board and was getting beat down by a Werebear. I was holding onto Lackey and Piledriver hoping to push them through if he attacked too aggressively. A few turns later I cast a 2nd Warchief which let me chain matron’s and kill him with double Piledriver.
-Same as Quarterfinals
I don’t remember the details of this game very well except that I was once again flooded and this time he had 2 Mongoose and a Werebear in play to my warchief. He was playing very defensively which gave me a few extra turns to topdeck a Matron into Ringleader. My Ringleader hit 3 goblins so he could no longer afford to keep attacking. I cast a 2nd Warchief and then matroned for Siege-Gang and was counting it up when Nightmare scooped realizing it was fatal.
I would like to thank Ray for holding a tournament that had the best prize support I have ever seen. I look forward to attending the next TML Open. If anyone has any comments or questions feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.
Rw Goblins
8 Mountain
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mires
4 Wasteland
2 Plateau
4 Aether Vial
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Goblin Piledriver
3 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Ringleader
3 Siege-Gang Commander
3 Pyrokinesis
SB
4 Pyrostatic Pillar
3 Armageddon
3 Disenchant
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Phyrexian Furnace
1 Swords to Plowshares
The main difference from most lists is that I choose not to run Rishadan Port because I believe that having 8 colorless sources is too many if you want to successfully cast turn 3 Warchief’s. It also makes it more difficult to chain matrons and ringleaders. For the non goblin slots I choose to run Pyrokinesis because goblins was the most played deck at GenCon. But I think that running Swords to Plowshares or Lightning Bolt would also be a reasonable choice.
Round 1 – Iggy Pop
I lost the die roll and had a very solid hand of Lackey into Siege-Gang but he had an echoing truth to slow me down a turn. After that he stalled on two lands and died in a few turns to Siege-Gang and company. He ended the game with a basic swamp and island in play along with Leyline so to most people it was probably very obvious what he was playing. I haven’t really been keeping up with decks and when I was walking around the tournament site saw a few BGu control decks and sideboarded as such.
-3 Pyrokinesis +3 Armageddon
The 2nd game wasn’t very close I had a good hand of vial and geddon if he was playing a control deck but instead he combo’ed off easily turn 4. I ended the game staring at Armageddon and regretting not reading all of the GenCon coverage.
-3 PyroKinesis -3 Gempalm Incinerator -1 Goblin Sharpshooer
+4 Pyrostatic Pillar +2 Tormod’s Crypt +2 Phyrexian Furnace
I had the complete nuts this game of Lackey -> Siege-Gang + Turn 2 Piledriver. Since he fetched I was able to kill him turn 3.
Round 2 – Dave Price w/ GRb Survival
This round I played against Dave Price a solid legacy player from Rochester so I knew I was in for a tough match. I won the roll and led off with a Mogg Fanatic that beat for 1 and killed his BoP. After that he dropped Survival pitched Squee for Anger and started to take control of the game. To my benefit his only red source was a Taiga so I was able to waste it and slow him down. After that he tutored for Witness to get back Taiga and passed the turn without playing the land since I had another Waste. I was continuing to develop my board with Warchief, Piledriver and others but had no good attacks so I passed the turn with Matron in hand ready for next turn. On his turn he played the Taiga and then cast Rofellos so with Rofellos on the stack I wasted the Taiga. I then untapped Matroned for Sharpshooter and the game was pretty much over.
-3 Pyrokinesis +3 Disenchant
This game I kept a 2-lander with Vial and many expensive spells. After laying Vial turn 1 he had the natural turn 2 Tin Street to kill it. After that he layed Survival tutored for FTK’s and killed all of my guys. At the end of the game he had 4x FTK’s in play, it was quite a blowout.
For game 3 I had a ridiculous draw of Lackey-> Siege-Gang with Mogg Fanatic backup. It was a very anticlimactic end to a good match.
Round 3 – BW Confidant
While he was shuffling I saw a Withered Wretch so I assumed he was playing BW. My opener was slow but had a powerful late game. He came out of the gates pretty quickly with Confidant and Shade but Matron for Ringleader put me to far ahead and he couldn’t deal with all of my guys.
-3 Pyrokinesis +3 Disenchant
My opponent started off very strong this game with a turn 2 Hymn, 3rd turn Shade and 4th turn E. Plague. I didn’t draw my disenchant and the few X/2’s I drew were just chump blockers for a lethal shade.
Game 3 was very typical for this matchup with him getting down 2 Cursed Scrolls but didn’t have enough resources to deal with all of the goblins that I was churning out.
Round 4 – High Tide
I saw him playing the High Tide mirror match so I knew I needed to get a little lucky this round to keep the win streak going. I won the die roll and was staring at a hand with Lackey and Siege-Gang how lucky. He didn’t have the force and I killed him on turn 4, he didn’t seem very phased because apparently his hand had very little gas.
-3 Pyrokinesis -3 Gempalm Incinerator -1 Goblin Sharpshooter
+4 Pyrostatic Pillar +3 Armageddon
This game I kept a hand that was fairly slow (T2:Piledriver T3:Matron T4:Geddon) I think it may have been a mistake because it didn’t contain; Lackey, Vial, Warchief, or Pillar. If he has either Force or Remand I have a very low chance of winning the game. It turns out he had the Force and wins on my 5th turn.
This game was a dozy, I mulliganed a slow 7 and got a hand of 3x Mountain 2x Lackey and 1 Mogg Fanatic. I figured it was worth a keep because if I hit Matron, Ringleader of Siege-Gang I’m in a pretty good spot. I lead the game with Lackey which he cringes to but allows it to resolve. He is much less intimidated when the best thing I can drop is another Lackey and cast Fanatic passing the turn. I go a few turns without drawing anything relevant but finally draw a Pyrostatic Pillar and starts going off. I was mentally resigning myself to a loss but after a while he was just staring at the last 3 cards in his hand and I felt that I had a chance. He fired off a Brain Freeze for around 12 and hit me with the first few and then begins to use them on himself trying to hit Flash of Insight. He finds it eventually but it is pretty far down and after he casts it he offers his hand because he had no more win conditions left in the deck. I was amazed that I managed to sack my way out of this round.
Round 5 – BR Homebrew
I was at the top of the tables and had no idea what I was going to play against I was just crossing my fingers it wasn’t another High Tide. While he was shuffling I saw a Dark Confidant so I assumed another round of BW which would be fine for me. I started the game with Lackey which got bolted telling me I was wrong in my assumption of BW. On his turn he played out a Rakdos Guildmage savage type 2 technology. I eventually started building up guys but he played a Rakdos Augermage which slowed down my attack. He was beating in the air with Hypnotic Specter for a few turns but I was drawing nothing but lands. On his turn he dropped a morph and I was thinking really hard about what it could be because he could have hard-casted a Blistering Firecat. A drew Incinerator for the turn and not wanting to take any uneeded risks killed the morph. He turned it over and it was Headhunter (feel free to look that 1 up). I drew another Incinerator which killed his Augermage and I was then able to go on the offensive.
-3 Goblin Piledriver +3 Disenchant
For this game I kept a very solid hand of 3 lands, Vial, Matron, and two Ringleaders. He had a turn 2 Hymn which hit a Matron and Ringleader. I was still unfazed as I had another Ringleader. He had a Hyppy and Withered Wretch when I cast my Ringleader into Vial and 3 lands. At this point I was in topdeck mode with about 10 lands in play and a Vial @ 3 so any big goblin is going to be able to put me back in the game. I eventually draw Matron -> Ringleader but he untaps and casts Tsabo’s Decree wrathing my board which allows him to swing for the win.
I was pretty upset after that loss due to getting hit by the best possible Hymn, casting Ringleader into nothing and drawing infi lands. Determined to win the match I had a solid hand with Vial and other goodies and he was having mana problem which I helped along with Waste. Since I got an average draw and his was poor I won the game easily.
Round 6 – High Tide
Before the match I assumed I would be able to draw into the Top 8 but unfortunately I got paired down and even worse than that it was against High Tide. My first hand was weak so I mulled into a draw that had Vial, Lackey, Piledriver, and Siege Gang everything I could hope for . . . except for a Force on my Lackey. At this point I don’t think I have any shot but luckily draw into Warchief to apply some pressure. After beating for 5 he cast a Meditate at my end step so I take another turn and attempt to cast Siege Gang but it also gets forced. After beating for 5 again I pass the turn and threatening lethal next turn but somehow he managed to draw nothing but chaff.
-Same as round 4
I start the game with a Vial and Turn 2 Piledriver but he Hydroblasted it. I drew into a Lackey which let me end step him. I attack with the Lackey and he kills it with BEB I believe. He seems to have a lot of answers for my guys but not a lot of action himself. Eventually I get piledriver and two warchiefs beating in but he bounces the warchiefs with Echoing Truth slowing my down a turn. I cast 1 of the warchiefs and vial the other end step. On my upkeep I have 0 cards in hand my opponent is at 4 life, I have a Vial @ 3 and 4. I decide that since I have lethal on board I should up the 4-5 in case I draw Siege Gang or Matron. I draw Matron for the turn and attack but he has a bounce spell I drop the Matron and he attempts to go off in response but doesn’t have enough gas.
Round 7 – Affinity ID
So I managed to go 6-0-1 into the Top 8 which assured me at least $80 for being the highest finisher after the swiss without proxies. The only decks that I didn’t want to play in the top 8 was Ashok’s reanimator list and the 4 color threshold deck. Unfortunately I was paired against the 4 color threshold deck. I have had a lot of trouble against threshold builds with red in the past so I wasn’t very happy about my pairing.
Quarterfinals – 4 color Threshold
Unfortunately this is the one game that I really can’t remember very much about. I know he lead off with Portent which I had to read. I believe I led with a Lackey that got Fired. Beyond the first few turns I cant remember much except that I won, if my opponent would like to chime in the forums that would be great.
-4 Mogg Fanatic +2 Tormods Crypt +2 Phrexian Furnace
This game I was being pushed around from the very beginning. I have another start with Lackey which is much less exciting than Vial in this matchup. He kills it with a bolt and plays some cantrips. At this point its turn 2 and he already has 5-6 cards in his yard. I play the Phyrexian Furnace in my hand to try and keep him off threshold but on his turn he chains more cantrips and then drops a Mongoose. In this game whenever I thought I had a shot to get back it he always had the correct answer whether it was Daze, Pyroclasm, Pithing Needle or a Bolt. Despite having a turn 2 furnace he ended the game with at least 15 cards in his graveyard.
For Game 3 I mulled into a reasonable hand with Piledriver, Warchief and Ringleader. I played turn 2 Piledriver but he had daze for my warchief. After this he seemed to be stalled on lands so I had the judgement call to waste his Tropical Island or wait for another land for Ringleader. I decided to waste but this was probably a misplay as I would need runner runner land or land/matron to be in good shape. Luckily I drew back to back lands but he had a counter for my Ringleader. After that we were both in draw go mode where Piledriver must have dealt 7 damage by himself before he got fired. At this point we both had a ton of lands in play when I topdecked a ringleader hitting nothing but another ringleader. I had 4 lands open and could cast it but if he had daze I was screwed so I decided to pass the turn since he had no pressure. I cast it the next turn and it resolved hitting warchief, matron, and lackey. I cast the Warchief and Matroned for Siege-Gang and past the turn since now he had a Werebear. He untapped cast a Mongoose and passed the turn. At that point both of our life totals were very low I was at 6 so if he drew pyroclasm he would win the game. I cast the Siege-Gang and he hard cast force but to do so he had to use Werebear. This let me beat in with the team so I would have lethal next turn. Second main I cast two goblins on defense so that I wouldn’t lose to an attack + bolt. He didn’t draw clasm and I won a very tight game 3.
Semifinals – Affinity
I had tested this matchup pretty extensively in the past with a friend of mine and if Goblins can get to the late game then its very hard to lose. He started out with draw of Ornithopter and Worker which made my Lackey pretty obsolete. After that he dropped Terrarion, Frogmite, and another worker. He attacked with a worker which I blocked with my freshly cast Piledriver, modular got moved to the Thopter. The next turn he cast cast Myr Enforcer all I had was Lackey and Piledriver. Despite his advantage on the board he had only 1 card in hand and I had Warchief and Matron in hand. He laid the beats and I blocked the other worker which made a 5/5 enforcer. I was then able to Matron for Sharpshooter who is huge in this matchup. I cast a Mogg Fanatic as I didn’t have enough mana for the Sharpshooter. He swung again leaving only Thopter on defense and I took it down to 7 life. I then cast sharpshooter and killed the 1/3 Thopter with him a little help from Mogg Fanatic and beat with team dropping a Siege-Gang into play via Lackey. He was then forced on defense and I won on the next attack.
-I didn’t bother sideboarding but I thought that I would need to play around Pyroclasm out of his board.
I had a solid start before he dropped turn 3 E. Plague killing all my guys except Warchief. I cast a Ringleader hoping for some X/2 goblins. He untapped and cast another E. Plague so I scooped it up.
-3 Piledriver +3 Disenchant
I had a first turn Lackey but he had a Terrarion and a Thopter to stop it. I had the choice to either attack and kill it with Incinerator or kill it with Pyrokinesis. I decided to use Incinerator because the best goblin I had was Ringleader and I only had two lands. This decision worked out quite well for me as I drew into a 3rd and let me setup a brutal Pyrokinesis. On his turn he dropped another Thopter and Frogmite. I killed them both with Pyrokinesis while he was stalled on 1 land, soon after he scooped it up.
Finals – Mr. Nightmare w/ UGw Threshold
Before the match we worked out a split that was great for both of us as he wanted the Imperial Seal and I wanted a Mox Sapphire. We decided that we should play the match anyway just for bragging rights and standings. He mulled his opener and led off with Portent. On my turn I tried a Vial but he had a daze, this way Ok by me because it hurt his tempo. Unfortunately I started to flood and only had a Warchief on the board and was getting beat down by a Werebear. I was holding onto Lackey and Piledriver hoping to push them through if he attacked too aggressively. A few turns later I cast a 2nd Warchief which let me chain matron’s and kill him with double Piledriver.
-Same as Quarterfinals
I don’t remember the details of this game very well except that I was once again flooded and this time he had 2 Mongoose and a Werebear in play to my warchief. He was playing very defensively which gave me a few extra turns to topdeck a Matron into Ringleader. My Ringleader hit 3 goblins so he could no longer afford to keep attacking. I cast a 2nd Warchief and then matroned for Siege-Gang and was counting it up when Nightmare scooped realizing it was fatal.
I would like to thank Ray for holding a tournament that had the best prize support I have ever seen. I look forward to attending the next TML Open. If anyone has any comments or questions feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.