After arriving midday on Saturday to see a few buddies doing well in the Standard open, I begin to scour the trade floors for a Wren's Run Packmaster. None of the big binders seem to have any knowledge of the card, and most people can't even identify what it is. Ah well, I should have just asked someone earlier in the week to pick one up at the Local Shop I suppose. With an empty slot in my deck I debate running a Thrun or something silly to fill the slot, but settle on a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed in the mainboard; a card I've never been impressed with in the past. It always seems like I could have already won when he's in play - but there are corner cases..
I loan out some LEDs and lands to a guy looking to play dredge (who 4-0'd the challenge by the way) and some Wastelands to someone else, then register for the 5PM event and wait.
Matchups
> Challenge
R1 v Infect
R2 v Death and Taxes
R3 v Esper Stoneblade
R4 v Junk
> Open
R1 v UWR Delver
R2 v Elves
R3 v Jund
R4 v Jund
R5 v Elves
R6 v Jund
R7 v Tin Fins
R8 v Belcher
R9 v RW PainterI finished my first round pretty quickly, so here's a breakdown of the decks in the challenge.
1 ANT
1 Bant
1 BUG Delver
3 Burn
1 Deadguy Ale
4 Death and Taxes
1 Dredge
5 Elves
1 Enchantress
1 Esper Blade
2 Goblins
3 Infect
2 Jund
1 Junk
1 Kobolds
1 Maverick
3 Merfolk
3 Miracles
1 Oops! All Dicks
1 Pox
1 Rock
1 RW Painter
1 Tezzeret
1 Tin Fins
2 UR Delver
1 UR Sneak and Show
2 UWR Delver
1 Werewolf Stompy
1 Zoo
1 Unknown?Round 1 v Aaron (2-0)
Infect
Aaron leads off game one by fetching a Tropical Island and casting Noble Hierarch. Great, I can beat a bant deck. I lead on a Nettle Sentinel and pass it back to him.
He follows up on the Hierarch with a Blighted Agent and a Glistener Elf. Uh oh. I draw for my turn then cast Glimpse of Nature into Birchlore Rangers into Nettle Sentinel into... etc etc, winning the game on turn two after some fortunate draws and double Natural Order for two Craterhoofs. It turns out that Aaron was going to kill me on his third turn, but I guess such is legacy.
Sideboard:
+3 Thoughtseize
+2 Cabal Therapy
+3 Abrupt Decay
+1 Natural Order
-1 Nettle Sentinel
-2 Quirion Ranger
-1 Heritage Druid
-2 Elvish Visionary
-1 Scavenging Ooze
-1 Reclamation Sage
I'm pretty sure I want to be the aggressor here because I can't block his Inkmoth Nexus or his Blighted Agent. My plan is to stave off lethal with some Thoughtseizes in the hopes that he either doesn't assemble a second creature or can't find enough time to present lethal while still leaving couter magic open.
He leads on a fetch land with a turn two Inkmoth Nexus. I Thoughtseize on the second turn seeing three lands, and Invigorate, a Berserk, and a Force of Will. I take the Invigorate, but I'm pretty sure it's right to do the Berserk in hindsight since it represents lethal with any +4 pump spell he could draw. Either way, I suppose, I still have two turns before he can assemble lethal.
He draws a Wasteland and plays it, then a Pendelhaven the following turn - meaning that I know he still doesn't have the capacity to kill or any disruption. I'm able to put him to 1 life off a Craterhoof and take the game from there.Round 2 v Mike (2-0)
Death and Taxes
Mike's a local guy and goes into the matchup with no expectation of winning. He plays a lot against Elves locally, and I think at this point he's accepted that the matchup just isn't something he can really control without drawing the right hate cards at the right time.
Game one I'm on the play. He lays a Stoneforge on two finding a Jitte. I played Deathrite into Quirion Ranger + GSZ (Arbor). My turn three Glimpse, however, puts me into a full board with a well past lethal Craterhoof in hand. He plays a Mirran Crusader then packs it in to the Hoof.
Sideboard:
+3 Thoughtseize
+3 Abrupt Decay
+1 Natural Order
+1 Progenitus
-1 Quirion Ranger
-2 Heritage Druid
-1 Nettle Sentinel
-2 Glimpse of Nature
-1 Scavenging Ooze
-1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
I know Mike has access to Canonists and Aven Mindcensors usually, so I bring in a few extra discard spells to keep my information about his hand high.
He leads on a Wasteland and a Grafdigger's Cage. This is normally a telegraph that he's color screwed. I fetch a Bayou and cast Quirion Ranger before passing it back to him, he has a Rishadan Port for his turn and at this point it's abundantly clear that he cannot produce White mana this game.
I play a few things here and there before Mike attempts to Wasteland my Bayou with another sitting in the wing for my Dryad Arbor. I opt to save the Bayou and make him nuke the Dryad, limiting him to one Rishadan Port. I'm able to establish a board position and wrap up the game in short order.Round 3 v Leo
Esper Stoneblade
I don't have much written down for this, but I lead on Deathrite into Nettle Sentinel and a Green Sun's Zenith for a Birchlore, which sets me up for a quick kill. Leo, on the other hand, shows me Deathrite into Stoneforge Mystic (Jitte) before we move to game two.
Sideboard:
+1 Thoughtseize
+1 Sylvan Library
+3 Abrupt Decay
+1 Progenitus
-1 Heritage Druid
-1 Birchlore Rangers
-1 Quirion Rangers
-1 Nettle Sentinel
-1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
-1 Craterhoof Behemoth
I probably should just be taking out the Natural Order package against these Thoughtseize + Counterspell decks. I think I'll try that going forward.
Game two he establishes some control with a Swords for my early Arbor and an active Jitte.
Game three I only have one fetch land written down - must have been quick.Round 4 v David
Junk
Before we start playing I ask if David would want to split so we both could go our respective ways to dinner. I tell him that I'm only interested in picking up the voucher, while he mentions being interested in the playmat associated with a 3-0-1 or 4-0 finish. That's fine by me, I have no need for another shitty mat. The problem is that 3-1 doesn't get the playmat, and that 3-0-1 can't get the voucher... meaning that he would have to scoop to me (or vice-versa) in order for us both to get what we want.
I ask if he'd be willing to split, which would equate to 6+10 packs and a single playmat. Rather than us each taking 8 packs though, I'd upgrade my side by trading two packs out of my bag for his share (= Voucher) and letting him keep the mat. It works out that he would get exactly what the 3-0-1 finish is (well, I only have Born of the Gods packs - but it's close).
He's hesitant on this, I'm not entirely sure he understands what I'm offering even though he says he does. We decide to just play it out, but I ask him to think it over and let me know if he changes his mind during the match.
We go into the first game it's grindy as hell. I'm ahead for a while, but he crawls his way back in before casting Lingering Souls and flashing it back the next turn. I draw into a Natural Order and nab Ruric Thar to block his spirits and chip away at his board, being that a Craterhoof wouldn't have been lethal against the blocking power of his Tarmogoyf.
I swing with the Ruric the following turn and he chump blocks with a spirit rather than trading the majority of his board for my 6/6 Ogre Warrior. I draw into another Natural Order the following turn and eat the 6 damage to put Craterhoof into play and kill him with the trample damage.
(didn't even write down my sideboard notes - likely only involves +Decay, +Library, +NO, +Prog)
We enter game two and I have a solid hand with Glimpse and a Visionary, Wirewood, and Deathrite. He Thoughtseizes the Glimpse from me and I assemble a small 4-man army on the board with 4 cards in hand.
After he Extirpates my Glimpses and sees my hand, he looks back at his and asks if I'd still want to split. Being that I'm ahead on board, have a strong hand, and am already up a game in a good matchup I'm a little offended by the request, but I just want to grab some barbeque - They'd gone ahead of me and I'd kept them waiting long enough.
I hesitate a bit, explain that I feel pretty ahead this match, but I take him up on the offer and we sign the match slip. We take the slip up to the reporting station, I grab my free entry for the main event and throw the playmat at him before powerwalking out of the venue to try and make up for the last 20 minutes of time I wasted.The Korean Barbeque place was lively; there were a ton of people there and a loud crying infant. The food is mediocre and overpriced, but at least I get to eat with some cool people and have a good chat (I still think nedleeds should have played some Deadguy brew - but Enchantress was an alright choice too I guess, it is pimp as hell).
I can't remember when they changed the start time to 9AM for these events, but it certainly screwed up my schedule. I wake up at 6:30 to shower and such, aiming to arrive at our carpool's meetup point at 7:30. I find out that big Jon was feeling sick and vomited before I got there, so props(?) to him for feeling better the rest of the day. We pack into my (as of an couple hours ago - fuck Atlanta drivers) ruined Mazda 3 and set off to the open.
Originally I had considered playing GWx Maverick or Junk in the open, but coming off the back of a strong 4-0 in the challenge and having seen the general deck distribution of the challenge I felt less secure in that choice. I opted to stick with my Elves build for the open, still upset I couldn't find a Wren's Run Packmaster for the main.Round 1 v Chris (2-1)
UWR Delver
He leads on a Delver, which flips revealing Ponder. He casts a turn two Jitte, but it doesn't do a whole lot after he leaves his Delver back on defense after its first swing.
Sideboard:
+2 Thoughtseize
+3 Abrupt Decay
(+1 Pithing Needle) - game three
-1 Nettle Sentinel
(-1 Nettle Sentinel) - game three
-2 Heritage Druid
-1 Scavenging Ooze
-1 Craterhoof Behemoth
Game two he has an early Lavamancer which keeps my board in check while a Delver takes to the skies. I'm unable to fight out the disadvantage of being on the draw against Lavamancer.
Game three I have a pretty aggressive hand with a fetch and a Cradle. I fetch a Bayou wanting to keep the Abrupt Decay in my hand live, then Green Sun's Zenith for 0 - which means a Force of Will. He Wastelands my Bayou and it's looking like I might be in trouble.
On my second turn I play the Gaea's Cradle out of my hand, which meets a second Wasteland. I draw into a fetch land and attempt to repeat my first turn, grabbing a Bayou and GSZing for Dryad Arbor. He plays a Tundra and Swords to Plowshares the Dryad. At this point though he's pretty much depleated his hand and unsuccessfully kept me off casting spells this game. I develop a sizable board presence and resolve Natural Order for lethal.Round 2 v Steven (2-0)
Elves
Game one he fumbles with his Heritage Druids and Wirewood Symbiotes and misses lethal with a Craterhoof, putting me to 3. I hoof him on my turn. Thanks for the game.
Sideboard:
+3 Thoughtseize
+2 Cabal Therapy
+1 Natural Order
-1 Quirion Ranger
-1 Nettle Sentinel
-1 Elvish Visionary
-1 Scavenging Ooze
-1 Reclamation Sage
-1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
I'll touch on this later again, but I think I should be cutting a Wirewood instead of the Visionary because I have two Birchlore main to make casting my sideboard cards easier.
Game two, he leads on Deathrite and has a turn two Sylvan Library. My turn involves a Deathrite as well, then I Thoughtseize him on turn two and take Natural Order, leaving a Green Sun's Zenith, Abrupt Decay, and a respectable hand invovling a Heritage Druid. With the right draws on his librray he might be able to put up a pretty good board. He vomits a few guys on the table, but I'm able to make better use of my turn with a Glimpse digging me down to a lethal Craterhoof the following turn.
His board plan involved bringing in 3 Abrupt Decays, 2 Sylvan Libraries, and some stuff. It's much too reactive for my taste in this match and part of the reason I feel I won. Had his Decay been a Thoughtsieze he might have been able to keep me off that Glimpse.Round 3 v Kye (2-1)
Jund
I don't have much in the way of Notes here, but I know game one he has a Jitte and two Goyfs. I'm able to grab my Reclamation Sage before the Jitte gets oppressive, and keep the board in my favor until I can Natural Order for lethal.
Sideboard
+1 Thoughtseize
+1 Sylvan Library
+3 Abrupt Decay
+1 Natural Order
+1 Progenitus
-1 Quirion Ranger
-3 Heritage Druid
-1 Nettle Sentinel
-1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
-1 Craterhoof Behemoth
Game two I thoughtseize him and take a Tarmogoyf, leaving a Jitte and two Lilianas - the Jitte for which I have a Decay waiting. I keep his board fairly clear, but am unable to develop much before he finds a Maelstrom Pulse and a Lightning Bolt to limit my development and give him time to keep control with Liliana.
Game three I take some hits off a Goyf and lose a dude or two off Punishing Fire + Bolt, but I'm able to Natural Order for Progenitus with a Wirewood on board as edict protection. The following turn I lay a fetch land to defend against Liliana even further and Progenitus takes down the game.
