Hoping for miracles at L.I.G.G in Stockholm

Here comes a report from my last tournament. I recently picked up the deck (2 months ago) and this was my first real tournament except LGS events. Last week I played a lot against BUG and wrote a whining post here on Source which led me to change a couple of things in the main deck that made it more possible to win.

I noticed that the combo match up was quite horrible when you could not parse through your Terminuses and Swords to Plowshares if you lacked a brainstorm effect. Therefor I took out one of each card and replaced them with 2 Ponder so that I could find the 6 copies when needed instead.

Secondly I added 1 Enlightened Tutor, 1 Rest in Peace and 1 Blood Moon to the main deck to battle BUG decks. The last card proved out to be the best change I have ever made to a deck, and won me several games and matches.

List origins from Joe Losset:

2 Tundra
2 Volcanic
4 Island
2 Plains
2 Mystic Gate
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Arid Mesa
2 Karakas
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
3 Terminus
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Entreat the Angels
4 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Counterbalance
3 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
2 Counterspell
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Blood Moon
1 Rest in Peace

Side:
2 Baneslayer Angel
2 Rest in Peace
2 Pyroclasm
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Blood Moon
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Wear // Tear
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Force of WIll


First match against Death and Taxes:

Game one:

He resolves Aether Vial and ships the turn. I struggle to clear the board before he kills me. He resolves Mangara and has Karakas out with a vial on 3 so I know there's not alot I can do to win this except angels or Blood Moon. I resolve the moon and kill his Thalia and Mangara with a Terminus. Sadly it is not enough and he resolves a few more guys including two Aven Mindcensors and another Thalia. He manages to remove the Blood Moon and my fetches go live but with the two mindcensors out it is kind of hard to find a sweeper. I make 3 angels and try the race, find a swords to plowshares and sadly punts the game. I am on 3 life, and instead of swording a guy and swinging for the fences (forcing him to block since he was on 11) and then he only has Thalia left, I fetch to try to find another answer. Go down to two life and now the swords isnt any good anymore. I misplayed and deserve to loose.

Game two:-3 Counterbalance, -3 FoW, -1 RiP, -2 Counterspells (pierces stay to battle early vials) +2 Baneslayer, 1 Blood Moon, 2 Supreme Verdict, 2 Pyroclasm, 2 Wear // Tear

We dance back and forth, he has no vials at first so the game is easier for me this time. I find an early Baneslayer and float it on top so that I make 5 mana, slam it at 5 life and hope that it will be enough. He bursts out BANESLAYER? and the accordingly Swords to Plowshares it...... I was expecting no Swords at all game 2, I dont know if he had been tipped off that I played the slayer or that he made a bad sideboarding choice, I'm gonna go with the latter. The game goes long again and time gets called. On turn 2 he swings with his team (1 new fiend hunter whatever its name, 1 stoneforge with jitte on it and something else). He has just flickerwhisped my baneslayer which held the fort and if he comes in I am probably dead on turn 4. I make 4 angels, do some good blocks letting me kill all but his flickerwhisp with my team. He equips jitte on flicker and passes. Baneslayer returns and now he is on 23 life. I swing with the team of angels, holding back 1 angel and baneslayer so that he cant kill me, I hope. He takes it, goes to 11 and I pass. Turn four he stays home, opting for the draw. Turn five I have no choice than to find something for his whisp. If I swing with 21 power and he blocks one of the angels he takes 9 damage (using 2 jittecounters) and I loose the match. I brainstorm into a jace (first one to be seen in both games) and bounce his guy for the win. My opponent has a swords to plowshares but it isnt enough. My opponent throws a tantrum over how lucky I am and I keep thinking that he is lucky he sucks cause he kept his swords in the match. Oh well, a won game is a won game even on turn 5.

0-0-1

Second match against Dredge:

Game one:

He mulls to six after I win the roll and start with a fetchland. I know what he is on and I find a hand that will take care of his stuff if he doesnt win on turn 1. He wins on turn 1 basically, I am forced to brainstorm in response to his LED cause otherwise he will most surely win on turn 1, I dont find a force. He snags my second brainstorm with cabal therapy and I know whats on top. Next game.

Game two: -3 Counterbalance, -1 Blood Moon, - 2 Jace, 1 Vendilion Clique + 1 Force of Will, 2 Pyroclasm, 2 Supreme Verdict, 2 Rest in Peace

I find a hand with pyroclasm and rest in peace, he has a slow start that produces nothing on his t1. I slam RiP and win from there.

Game three:

Same thing happens again, he mulls to 5 (dredge does that and still wins so I didn't feel that good about myself). He finds a good five and starts off strong. I wipe the board with pyroclasm and play double RiP for the win.

1-0-1


Third match against U/G Infect:

Game one:

I keep a solid hand and I have no idea what my opponent plays. He thinks about his hand a long time and counts plays. He then procedes to probe me and I look at my hand and have no force for what is to come. He writes down my mess of cards including a Blood Moon and procedes to play Inkmoth Nexus -> go. My hand has no Swords to Plowshares. He swings a bit and I now realize why he pondered to keep, he lacks lands. I get some poison counters and counter a pump spell on his turn tapping out trying to get him to daze his only colored source (tropical) to his hand. Having played the match up before against Olle Råde I know there are no forces in this deck from the start. He promptly daze and I go to 6 poison. On my turn I play blood moon and passes. He tries to fetch and attack with his guys on his turn, I point to blood moon and he looks at his hand. After that he plays 9 non basics and I win with venser beating 9 times.

Game two: -1 RiP, -2 Jace, -2 Counterbalance (strange curve in that deck) +1 Force of Will + 2 Red Elemental Blast +1 Pyroclasm +1 Blood Moon

He plays some threats, I receive 3 poison and clear the board with a terminus. I kill two unblockable blue dudes with REB and then play blood moon. He has no threats out and I have top/cb in play. He scoops.

2-0-1

Fourth match against Omniscience:

Game one:

I keep a hand that should be allright with 1 brainstorm, 1 swords to plowshares, 1 terminus and the rest is lands. I figure I have 3 turns to draw cards and the brainstorm will solve it for me. I draw 3 lands, 2 swords to plowshares and 1 terminus on those cards. Needless to say I lost the game:

Game two: -3 Swords to Plowshares, -3 Terminus, -1 RiP, +1 FoW, +2 REB +1 Canonist +2 Wear // Tear (i keep in blood moon and enlightened tutor for show and tell with CB)

He cantrips a lot, sculpting his hand. I do the same. I have three lands in play and my hand is jace, land, REB, canonist, clique. He has six cards in hand and knows whats on the top of his deck. I play canonist, he forces, I REB, he forces again leaving 1 card in his hand. I let the canonist go to the graveyard, tapped out with only clique in my hand as my gameplan. He show and tells, it resolves and I put in clique on his omniscience, trigger him and puts his enter the infinite on the bottom. He draws another card and passes the turn. I play jace and start brainstorming at first, then the turn after i fateseal him and beat with clique for win while resolving counterbalance aswell to shut off all cantrips. I guess his only out was emrakul.

Game three:
He never resolves an important spell, I resolve counterbalance lock and have a hand filled with counters. I beat him down with clique.

3-0-1

Fifth match against Shardless BUG:

Game one:

Í knew my opponent since we had playtested the week before and he knew that I had changed my deck adding blood moon. The first game I start with a good series of draws, playing 2 counterbalances forcing him to abrupt decay them to play spells. He taps out, plays jace on turn 4, I know that theres an entreat on top and I have 4 lands in play. He plays land and has one card in hand when he passes. I make 2 angels, kill his jace and swing at him on my turn. Resolve a clique and beat him down a bit. He pulses my angels and plays a strix. I bounce the strix with jace and clique beats him down.

Game two: - 3 FoW, -2 Pierce +1 Blood Moon +2 RIP + 2 REB (here I was tempted to take out 2 counterspells and adding 2 baneslayer and I can not remember if I did)

He assembles a nice board with several threats, hymns my game winning cards away (brainstorm and jace) and beats me to a pulp. No chance, also got double wastelanded and end the game with him having liliana, 3 creatures, 5 lands and me with 2 permanents being 2 islands.

Game three: add the baneslayers

Let him resolve a tarmogoyf, kill it with terminus on my draw step, with him tapped out draw an extra with top into my fourth land and play blood moon. Since he has no forces it resolves. He has a basic swamp and can therefore play out a deathrite but never finds the deathrite since I fateseal 2 of them away. Kill him with jace ulti/clique beats.

4-0-1

Sixth match I draw for 14 points and a secure top8.

4-0-2

Quarter Finals:

Game one:

He plays some kind of big zoo with punishing fire and I feel this should be a good matchup. He beats me down to low lives with qasali pridemage, I get to counter his Elspeth (maindecked) but I never see a terminus or swords to plowshares during the game. He shoots me down with double punishing fire in the end.

Game two: - 2 spell pierce , -1 force of will - 1 blood moon - 1 clique -1 enlightened tutor -1 jace +2 Supreme Verdict +2 Pyroclasm +1 Rest in peace +2 Baneslayer

I keep the worst hand of the night, I guess nerves getting at me. Six lands and a brainstorm. He beats me down with a nacatl a bit, I resolve my brainstorm and put 2 terminus on top. I find a top on my brainstorm as well. I think that life is good and in my draw phase i will get to put all the threats on the bottom and win from there. He zeniths for 2 shuts me off with gaddock teeg and I let out a small sigh. I draw my terminus and play top, finding entreat as the third card down. I shuffle and shuffle and shuffle and top and top. Cant find a plow or pyroclasm. He plays Olle Råde and I know my only out is pyroclasm. Cant find it or anything else but lands and cmc4+ spells.



Overall a very nice tournament, the venue was in some sort of residential area and we all had to play without shoes. They also served beer there which never happens otherwise and the general feeling was quite nice. I walked away with gas money from the tournament winnings and felt pretty happy with my result seing as I never have played this deck competitively before. Big props to the guys that held the tournament and the people I played that let me win with this sack of cards.

Alterations to the deck in retrospect:

-1 Wear // Tear
-1 Supreme Verdict
+1 Swords to Plowshares
+1 REB

Congrats!

Joe's Miracles list is my favorite as of right now, but I really like how you were able to jam in some Ponders and fit in the Blood Moons. It sounds like you're pretty happy with your changes?

Edit: It looks like you're more committed to the red splash, but you don't have any additional red sources compared to Joe (other than Blood Moon in a pinch). Has this been a problem?

Nicely done!

I agree with your changes to the deck (well, playing anything less than 4 StPs feels wrong anyway) - but are you sure you need 2 Ponders?

Also, will you be typing up a Swedish version and posting that to SvM too (when it comes back up anyway)? In any case, congrats on the result. It's a shame I live too far away from Stockholm to participate in these events on a regular basis, they seem really nice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lordofthepit

Congrats!

Joe's Miracles list is my favorite as of right now, but I really like how you were able to jam in some Ponders and fit in the Blood Moons. It sounds like you're pretty happy with your changes?

Edit: It looks like you're more committed to the red splash, but you don't have any additional red sources compared to Joe (other than Blood Moon in a pinch). Has this been a problem?

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I am very happy with the changes, pyroclasm was boss against DnT and very good against decks with Deathrite.

The red sources never were an issue, if I had played against RUG maybe they had been. On the other hand Blood Moon can solve that problem with red sources.
I feel that a mountain is wrong so maybe a third volcanic would be the way to go, have to think about that.

Congrats! I am happy I could help you beat the BUG Menace :D Well done.

Greetings

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Purgatory

Nicely done!

I agree with your changes to the deck (well, playing anything less than 4 StPs feels wrong anyway) - but are you sure you need 2 Ponders?

Also, will you be typing up a Swedish version and posting that to SvM too (when it comes back up anyway)? In any case, congrats on the result. It's a shame I live too far away from Stockholm to participate in these events on a regular basis, they seem really nice.

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I am pretty sure I will not be investing another hour to write it in Swedish, I will post a link to this thread though. I wanted to cut the dead weight in creature removal for the decks where they absolutely suck, therefore I replaced the two cards with 2 ponders. Against the combo decks the ponders were crucial to set up t2 counterbalance when I didnt have top or to find the sideboard cards that really mattered. But I agree with you, I missed the 4th swords to plowshares in some matches. Against Show and Tell I pulled a ponder when I needed to find an answer, if that had been a plow, I would have lost that game, sooo, ups and downs I guess.

The Sideboard against Death and Tax is not correct.

Most Death and Tax would have Cataclysm in the SB, that's definitely something you should counter, if the game goes distance.

Furthermore, some Goblins start to have Anarchy in the SB.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by twndomn

The Sideboard against Death and Tax is not correct.

Most Death and Tax would have Cataclysm in the SB, that's definitely something you should counter, if the game goes distance.

Furthermore, some Goblins start to have Anarchy in the SB.

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Discussed this with my friend that plays alot of dnt and came up with the same conclusion, he proposed to keep fow in the deck. What would you board?

Nice report! I agree you should play 4 StP, excpt that I can't tell what to cut. Ponders look too good in the non-creature matchups to cut them...

A Swedish tournament abbreviated Ligg? How droll.