[Report] Top 4 with Imperial Painter @ Mythic Games 2K Legacy

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Top 4 at Mythic Games' Monthly 2K Legacy with Imperial Painter

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Since last summer, I have been exclusively playing Imperial Painter again with great success. After developing the archetype and playing it during its initial run in 2008, I've since enjoyed picking the deck up and playing it again. Over the course of the last few months, I've had a hell of a run with the deck, but I figured I'd pull out one of the old reports out of the burlap sack and give a glimpse into what madness I've concocted for this month's Mythic Games Legacy event in Elmira, NY.

To start off, my list changes. A lot. It's generally week to week, because I like tailoring the deck not only for the weekly local meta, but for monthly Legacy events, as well. While I've been doing well with traditional R/w Painter lists, I've been tinkering with interactions and defensive strategies that embolden the deck's harder match-ups, while at the same time providing added redundancy. I've also been interested more in aggressively attacking opponents' mana, especially with Eldrazi front and center as Legacy's newest inclusion.

As the deck has evolved, so have many card choices that have either become mainstays or gone wayward based on intense, competitive testing, a relatively competitive weekly and a very competitive monthly in Elmira, NY. After several months of great results across the board, here is the version of Imperial Painter I fashioned for this month's tournament:

Imperial Painter

[4x] Imperial Recruiter
[4x] Painter's Servant
[3x] Simian Spirit Guide
[1x] Manic Vandal
[1x] Phyrexian Revoker
[1x] Goblin Welder
[1x] Spellskite

[4x] Grindstone
[2x] Ensnaring Bridge
[2x] Lotus Petal
[2x] Sensei's Divining Top

[4x] Blood Moon

[4x] Pyroblast
[3x] Red Elemental Blast
[2x] Enlightened Tutor

[5x] Mountain
[4x] Ancient Tomb
[3x] City of Traitors
[3x] Arid Mesa
[3x] Wasteland
[2x] Plateau
[1x] Great Furnace
[1x] Karakas

//Sideboard
[3x] Pyrokinesis
[3x] Leyline of Sanctity
[2x] Thorn of Amethyst
[1x] Worship
[1x] Tormod's Crypt
[1x] Burrenton Forge-Tender
[1x] Ethersworn Canonist
[1x] Rest in Peace
[1x] Faerie Macabre
[1x] Plains

As you can see (at least for Painter traditionalists), this list is very different than typical Painter lists. For example, you'll note I was running three Wastelands in my build. These were used to attack mana bases more aggressively, and punishing light keeps with cantrips and Deathrite Shaman (with one land). A follow-up Blood Moon won three or four rounds for me, which was huge. Here are the other noticeable standouts from the list:

The Plains in the sideboard: As a Vintage enthusiast, I kind of followed in step here with the traditional Mountain in the sideboard to augment additional artifact hate in the board with cards like Ingot Chewer and the like. This is no different here. Awkward opening hands game one with a Plains and Sol-Land (and no white cards) can create mulligan scenarios where strategic deck building in general can avoid this from happening in the first game (where only two white cards exist). The Plains in the sideboard is there to augment additional one-ofs and other white spells so that there is added resources available to the deck in order to cast them more reliably in the wake of Blood Moon. It worked out very well in the end, but I still felt like having one additional white source in the main would be fine.

Karakas: Karakas was a card I wanted in the main as a hedge to decks like Sneak and Show, Reanimator and other troublesome creatures like Thalia. While the Plains was shifted to the board, I felt more comfortable having an additional white source main in the form of a miser's Karakas. Rarely in game ones have I ever locked myself out of being able to cast one of the two white cards in the deck, but I felt as though - in game one only - that having Karakas was more important as a utility land against game-ending, dangerous threats rather than the basic Plains' utility to cast two spells in the deck (game one) under Blood Moon.

Wastelands: Wasteland is a card that rarely, if ever, sees play in Imperial Painter. I don't know if it's because it's never been tested in large-scale events, or if it's because there's a long-standing stigma against it from being a wasted resource in the mana advancement realm where you want to jam your combo pieces down early. I just don't see it that way. In a meta where Eldrazi exists, I've been testing this more and more behind the scenes with great results. Often times I would find myself in a situation where a Mountain (plus Blast) and Wasteland to punish greedy keeps with Deathrite and cantrips couldn't beat this tandem. It had no bearing on the combo in the deck, which is conveniently colorless. There were times where tapping a Wasteland was just fine for a turn-one Grindstone, and it had no bearing on the saturation of red resources in the deck. The subtraction of Jaya made this an easy choice for me, and I'll likely be playing these without looking back.

Manic Vandal: Again, in anticipation of Eldrazi, I wanted a card that didn't force me to wait a turn to blow up Chalice or Null Rod in BUG lists. I liked the immediate kill of artifacts, and honestly didn't really miss Jaya all that much because waiting a turn has sometimes proved costly, and I just didn't feel like awarding that to my opponents in this event. Duergar Hedge-Mage was considered for this event, and while it looks strictly superior to Vandal on paper, the meta where I play is far more artifact heavy and I wanted to be able to ensure that Mountain plus Sol-land on turn two would be enough to destroy Chalice.

Worship and Burrenton Forge-Tender: Both are cards that give Lightning Bolt decks, Burn and Eldrazi decks serious troubles. Worship is a card that sees play in Modern sideboards as a hedge against fast aggro with no outs to it, which also works well with Ensnaring Bridge. Forge-Tender and Worship is game over against Burn and being able to keep Painter alive from Bolts is huge and provides protection and redundancy. Love both cards and wouldn't move them out anytime soon; they've proven to be very useful.

So, onto the event. There were a total of 47 players that came out to this tournament, with many others that had gone to the GP in Detroit (at least a dozen). The tournament was saturated with great players as usual, so this would be a good measuring stick for how effective the inclusions and omissions would be in this new iteration of Imperial Painter.

Round One vs. Jacob with Food Chain

Jacob and I exchange pleasantries. He is a nice guy, a younger guy, who looked to be having fun. That's always a good thing, and what these events are all about. We start off by trading Blasts and dudes, where eventually I Top and see Blood Moon on top of my deck. Jacob durdles for a little while with cantrips, but is playing and fetching for non-basics. He eventually hardcasts a Misthollow Griffin and taps himself out. I untap and slam Blood Moon on the table. He Forces, I Pyroblast. He sticks a turn's worth of beats in, when I draw Blast and lock him out of the game forever - until I find a Painter and Grindstone. (i wasn't sure if he had Emrakul in his deck, but he conceded anyways once he saw the combo on the table while locked out.)

Game two was interesting. He opens with Sea, Ponder. I Wasteland him. Then he plays Trop, Brainstorm. I Waste. He then passes the turn, and I drop Painter off Tomb, which resolves. I'm sitting on two Blasts in hand with a Spirit Guide, and draw a Plateau. I Blast his next two lands and proceed to ankle-bite him down with a daisy-chained quartet of Human Advisors and a Scarecrow.

1-0 [2-0]

Round Two vs. Mike with Grixis Delver

This was an awkward game, to say the least. I win the roll and drop a turn-one Blood Moon off Mountain, Petal and SSG. It resolves. Mike is locked out temporarily, but plays a pair of Pyromancers. I drop a Manic Vandal and put the brakes slightly on. Eventually, I have a Top going and I'm looking deeper and deeper every turn - seeing only lands. While at nine life, I see a Recruiter and start chaining them. He can't break free of this and I wind up stabilizing with a Painter and Spellskite. Grindstone finds its way down shortly thereafter.

The second game I bring in a bunch of cards, including Plains, Tender, Rest in Peace and Pyrokinesis. I Blasted a Delver on turn one, Wasteland kept him off kilter the second turn and I'm able to slam a Blood Moon on turn three. I pay for his follow-up Daze with Spirit Guide - a shrug follows - and he has no red cards for the majority of the game. Imperial Recruiter the next turn set up the chain to attack out for the win.

2-0 [4-0]

Round Three vs. Steve with BUG Delver

Steve and I are acquaintances by face, so we introduce ourselves and prep for battle. Game one is a doozy. He wins the roll and Ponders off Sea. I Waste him. The next turn, he plays Deathrite Shaman. I Blast his follow up cantrip, and he passes the turn. At some point the setup is this: I have four Mountains out with Top and Grindstone, Blast in hand, I know what's on top of my deck. He has a Wasteland and a Trop. His Trop, however, is tapped. I play Blood Moon on my turn. He Forces. I tap my fourth land and Blast his Force. He Dazes. The setup is perfect, and I tap Top to draw a card and pitch SSG for the resolution and hand-shake.

In game two, I wind up in a situation where he draws a timely Hymn off a Ponder, while I have two cards in hand (Tomb and Painter). Top is out, so I'm thinking if I can draw a card and try to save the Painter, I give myself a chance. He hits the aforementioned cards and overruns me from there with Goyf and a Deathrite.

Game three was very similar to game one. Wasteland blows out his mana early, and he tries several Delvers that eat Blasts. I eventually Enlightened Tutor for Blood Moon, slam it down with Spirit Guide in hand, and pay for his Daze which ends the game after a few turns of hopeless digging.

3-0 [6-1]

Round Four vs. CJ with Belcher

CJ and I came up in the same car together, so it kind of sucks having to play against a friend. The good news is most of our car was 3-0 at this point, so we were pleased to be in position where we were all doing well. These games would be epic though, and we decided to play it out for a Top 8 berth.

Game one starts with CJ accelerating mana on the play. He decides to hardcast Reforge the Soul (!), emptying his pool and I have a response by exiling a Spirit Guide - because why not? I draw my new hand, and he draws his. He tanks for a few minutes and fires out...a Blood Moon. I don't know if he remembered what I was on, but I certainly didn't even know about this. Regardless, he passes the turn. I eventually stick a Painter with multiple Blasts in hand. I time my winning turn perfectly, Blast his last-ditch effort to win and Grind him out the next turn.

There's no better feeling than beating Belcher game one, especially with the hate I was packing for something like it. Unfortunately, I had to mull to five this game and couldn't locate what I needed to in time. A modest Empty for ten goblins was enough to seal the game, as I was one mana off from pulling out a miracle on my turn two.

In game three, I got the coveted play, which allowed me to open up with Ethersworn Canonist off a Plateau and a Lotus Petal. He casts Destructive Revelry on it, and passes. I drop a Goblin Welder and a Petal off the top, so I have the ability to recur Canonist if need be. He empties his hand and drops a Belcher, with enough mana to activate (and win the following turn, as he had two Taigas and a Petal out). I untap, play Painter and Blast the Belcher. I could have theoretically Welded out his Belcher for a Lotus Petal, but I didn't want him having any extra mana in play knowing I can eliminate Belcher off the board. I then Weld out by Painter for Canonist immediately. I think at some point I also Vandal a random Defense Grid. He can't get going in time and draws nothing, only to succumb to the Grindstone a few turns later.

4-0 [8-2]

At this point, I draw in my next two rounds as the top seed and prep for the Top 8.

4-0-2 [8-2]

I'm able to reflect on a few things during this time, and a few things came to mind:

*Wasteland has been unheralded all day. I was able to keep opponents off balance and lock them of games by punishing greedy keeps.
*Blood Moon was savage all day. I wasn't missing Magus all that much, either. I felt like a Bolt in round two may have been enough to lose the game, so I was more comfortable with just the four Moons. As it turns out, they were devastating as usual.
*Manic Vandal didn't get a lot of action during the day, but there were certainly Chalice decks floating around.
*Imperial Recruiter is one of those cards you're just happy seeing when you want to start chaining blockers or attackers to stall the game out before the combo turn. It also thins the deck out, and I was always happy to see them in hand.
*The Top 8 was saturated with non-basics and multi-colored mana bases. There was also another Imperial Painter deck in the Top 8, as well.

Top 8 begins, and a split is not unanimous. Top 4 receives a bye in next month's event, so there's much to play for anyhow here.

Top 8 vs. Steve with BUG Delver

Steve and I played in round three earlier on in the day, so we both know what to expect here. I'm going to need to put my foot on the gas here, as I'm sure he'd love to exact revenge on his loss in the Swiss. That's exactly what I did here.

Game one puts me on the play as the higher seed. After a turn-one Painter eats a Force of Will, I proceed to Wasteland his next two mana drops. He eventually has only a Wasteland and Bayou in play. He drops Sylvan Library and I slam a Blood Moon. He tries the Force and I Pyroblast it. The game ends.

Game two was a classic affair. After trading a few barbs with Abrupt Decay on Grindstone and some cantrip action, we eventually reach a point where I find a Grindstone and play it. I've exhausted two Wastelands, and kept his resources to a minimum. However, I'm stuck on no white in game two (where the basic Plains came in to augment Rest in Peace) because Blood Moon is on the table. I have the Rest in Peace in hand, meanwhile I'm staring down a Goyf and Deathrite Shaman. Even with a Blood Moon out, I take my medicine - getting smacked a few times with Goyf. Eventually, I'm at five life. I draw a Recruiter for the turn, and tutor up a Painter with four mana on the table. He attacks the next turn and I chump. My next draw? Another Painter. I drop two Scarecrows (on red) with all four mana and he tanks. He untaps, attacks, I block (staying alive), and he thinks for a minute. He drops his hand (Daze, Maelstrom Pulse and a card I can't remember), and concedes. Hitting that Painter was huge, but I certainly had plenty of outs to stay alive (Blast, Ensnaring Bridge, Spellskite, Recruiter, a land to win the game, etc.).

I named "Red" in this instance because it turns on my Pyrokinesis, while also taking away his ability to counter the second Painter with a Force (highly unlikely since he didn't counter the first, but still - just in case). The game ends and with the win, I'm able to secure a spot into the Top 4.

5-0-2 [10-2]

With the Top 4 split, I am able to pick up the entire Eldrazi deck (because I was bored), a set of Phyrexian Dreadnoughts, a few Umezawa's Jitte and some other good stuff. As usual, these tournaments went off great. I was thoroughly pleased with this new iteration I tested immensely in "the lab" and it paid dividends. Sometimes, Blood Moon and Wasteland just win games on their own. I don't think I would change a thing about the list right now, save for maybe the flex-toolbox slots in the main to be tailored for meta adjustments. I felt in control the entire day, and the deck felt great overall - firing mostly on all cylinders.

A great tournament, and look forward to next month's event!

~Hollywood

Nice run, Michael. You didn't play Eldrazi, but were prepared... how many Eldrazi decks would you say there were?

Four or five showed up. They went deep into Swiss and were in contention until the end. Not sure if any made Top 8, though.

Interesting adjustments to the mana base and subsequently jaya. I'd likely still want jaya though even with the Karakas hedge.

In a daze meta I'm fine with the 3 ssg.

I'd be most interested in your burn, storm, and miracles matchup testing results.



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Originally Posted by mcbain

Interesting adjustments to the mana base and subsequently jaya. I'd likely still want jaya though even with the Karakas hedge.

In a daze meta I'm fine with the 3 ssg.

I'd be most interested in your burn, storm, and miracles matchup testing results.



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Jaya was just one of those cards that every time I found it, it wound up just being too slow. This is a trend I've experienced with the card over the course of years of play. In a meta where Chalice is the boogeyman in the room, I felt like having an immediate answer to it to turn on Blasts or combo pieces was just far more important. I'm not discrediting Jaya Ballard, because I've played her in every list I've run in the last eight years, but I just have been unimpressed with her recently.

I think the correct number most folks seem to be comfortable with is three Spirit Guides and two Petals - especially in white iterations.

The burn match-up in testing has improved vastly since the inclusion of Forge-Tender and Worship. Paired with Leyline and Pyrokinesis, the deck gains headway early on by stalling it out one to three turns where nailing down a Forge-Tender (via Recruiter) either buys time, saves a Painter or saves your butt from a game-ending burn spell. I've found in testing that burn decks love to deploy creatures and let them do the early work. A Pyrokinesis eliminates that from being a worry, while giving you that extra time to combo out with Painter-Grindstone or Worship and Forge-Tender. Leyline obviously closes the door on being domed.

Storm is a deck I feel much more comfortable against than in recent months. I mean, this deck can combo out quickly, too. It also runs a de facto version of Force of Will, and in testing the Revoker, Canonist, Leylines, Thorns, Rest in Peace, Crypt and Blasts have all given what Storm pilots I've run against fits. Blood Moon also has merit to eliminate Decay as an out. I'm not going to fire off false stats, but I can tell you I feel very comfortable in this match-up now for what it's worth.

Miracles I've found to stay pretty much even across the board, but Wastelands have given me some needed advantages in testing in conjunction with Blasts. It's all still typical fare: trading Blasts with removal or cantrips - while going for the combo win and trying to beat Swords, Terminus and Counterbalance. I've personally done well against Miracles with this deck, but that's not to say I've had fits when they find hands with boatloads of removal. Spellskite helps out in that regard, and so has Thorn out of the board.

Interesting. So your on the thorn plan with Miracles. I can see your reasoning - Especially with wastelands.

Are you actually running 22 lands? In all my years I've never gone that high, 20 at the most. You say your looking to shore up matchups, what does 22 lands shore up. I'd sooner cut 2 lands and add a welder and top.

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Originally Posted by Michael Keller

Worship and Burrenton Forge-Tender: Both are cards that give Lightning Bolt decks, Burn and Eldrazi decks serious troubles. Worship is a card that sees play in Modern sideboards as a hedge against fast aggro with no outs to it, which also works well with Ensnaring Bridge. Forge-Tender and Worship is game over against Burn and being able to keep Painter alive from Bolts (or Swords to Plowshares if you name "Red" with Servant) is huge and provides protection and redundancy. Love both cards and wouldn't move them out anytime soon; they've proven to be very useful.

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Congrats on yet another top finish!
Nice report and very good idea to adjust your deck so that you're able to include wastelands! But one question remains: I don't get your reference to the combo Worship and Burrenton Forge-Tender being able to protect your Painter from StP. Am I missing something?

Corrected. I was thinking of Blasts (on blue) and somehow put that in there.

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Originally Posted by mcbain

Interesting. So your on the thorn plan with Miracles. I can see your reasoning - Especially with wastelands.

Are you actually running 22 lands? In all my years I've never gone that high, 20 at the most. You say your looking to shore up matchups, what does 22 lands shore up. I'd sooner cut 2 lands and add a welder and top.

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You could do that. But Wasteland also acts as a spell, and often isn't around long enough to tap for mana. Either way, I've encountered no issues with the adjustments, but I understand your POV.

Congrats on the showing and interesting build. A couple things I would point out though...
First, between dismember, ratchet bomb and warping wail, I don't know how great of a plan forge-tender + worship is against Eldrazi stompy decks. I still think that MU is all about them getting chalice early vs us getting bridge/blood moon early. You may want to consider worship plus a creature with hexproof, although even that doesn't get around ratchet bomb.
Wasteland is an interesting inclusion. It does seem counterproductive to our plan as I don't think I would ever want to use them for anything other than mana and they obviously get shut off by blood moon, but you seemed to have good success with the card and that's what counts. Cutting Jaya was also bold. I've actually wanted to do that for quite some time because I agree with everything you said about it; but I don't know what else we do against 12 post or similar decks where we can't combo but still want to slow them down enough to win with dork beats. I guess that's where wastelands would probably come in handy. I almost considered playing ark of blight or dwarven miner in the board just for that MU. I'm really just crossing my fingers that the next set gives us a good replacement for Jaya. Sounds like you didn't think replacing her with manic vandal was necessarily the answer though huh? Also did you miss more welders? One seems light.


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Originally Posted by drude1

Congrats on the showing and interesting build. A couple things I would point out though...
First, between dismember, ratchet bomb and warping wail, I don't know how great of a plan forge-tender + worship is against Eldrazi stompy decks. I still think that MU is all about them getting chalice early vs us getting bridge/blood moon early. You may want to consider worship plus a creature with hexproof, although even that doesn't get around ratchet bomb.
Wasteland is an interesting inclusion. It does seem counterproductive to our plan as I don't think I would ever want to use them for anything other than mana and they obviously get shut off by blood moon, but you seemed to have good success with the card and that's what counts. Cutting Jaya was also bold. I've actually wanted to do that for quite some time because I agree with everything you said about it; but I don't know what else we do against 12 post or similar decks where we can't combo but still want to slow them down enough to win with dork beats. I guess that's where wastelands would probably come in handy. I almost considered playing ark of blight or dwarven miner in the board just for that MU. I'm really just crossing my fingers that the next set gives us a good replacement for Jaya. Sounds like you didn't think replacing her with manic vandal was necessarily the answer though huh? Also did you miss more welders? One seems light.


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Thanks for the response, drude1. Just to clarify:

Worship on its own has merit against Eldrazi, in addition to Ensnaring Bridge, etc. Forge-Tender is there to augment the Burn, U/R Delver and other similar match-ups. Worship is there to help, and while it's true Eldrazi uses those removal spells, it's very difficult for them to deal with a chain of Recruiters, Painter with Blasts, etc. with Worship in play. Painter on its own is already a great match-up against Eldrazi, so I'm not worried much about the match-up. My build punishes them across the board even more so than traditional R/x lists.

My God Wasteland has been good. I can't stress it enough. I know it's hard for some folks to play it, but the truth is - it still taps for mana. How you play it is dependent on your hand. If you have the ability to combo out faster, save Wasteland. If you have a hand predicated on a higher density of Blasts - go ahead and Waste away. Attack mana bases aggressively. Again - highly contingent on your hand with Wasteland in it. At worst, it's a Mountain under Blood Moon and taps for anything you want to play. At best, it screws an opponent over early and makes Blasts more crushing against cantrips in attempts to find land(s). Hitting Cloudposts, Tombs, Temples, etc. with Wasteland is huge, and doesn't really set us back because we have Lotus Petal, Spirit Guide and Sol-lands, too. So Strip Mining a land and following up with a Painter or Blood Moon isn't overly hard.

Manic Vandal was a card that says, "Do what I need you to do immediately, no questions asked." I wanted to be able to immediately destroy Chalice and follow up with Grindstone or whatever else. Waiting a turn with Jaya was always awkward, and honestly wasn't very good at times. Because Chalice is a card that is seeing a spike in play, being able to eliminate it immediately and follow up with a combo piece is huge. I also didn't like her contingency on working with Painter. Still though, Vandal wasn't pulling a lot of work in this event because I didn't hit the Eldrazi match-up. Still, I think it's a necessary evil until it cools down.

Hollywood, have you tried Crimson Acolyte instead of forge-tender? I'm curious about whether it has more versatility in protecting a painter if the painter is on red, even though white mana obviously isn't always available...

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Originally Posted by zangoasyl

Hollywood, have you tried Crimson Acolyte instead of forge-tender? I'm curious about whether it has more versatility in protecting a painter if the painter is on red, even though white mana obviously isn't always available...

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I haven't tested this, but from the looks of comparing the two one is clearly more mana intensive than the other and more reliant on white mana as a resource. Slamming down Forge-Tender against Burn on turn one will give you the protection you need against fast creatures, in addition to just saving your Painter from Lightning Bolt when the combo is activated. Acolyte can do this, but the mana requirement and investment is a bit of a turn off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Michael Keller

Game two was interesting. He opens with Sea, Ponder. I Wasteland him. Then he plays Trop, Brainstorm. I Waste. He then passes the turn, and I drop Painter off Tomb, which resolves. I'm sitting on two Blasts in hand with a Spirit Guide, and draw a Plateau. I Blast his next two lands and proceed to ankle-bite him down with a daisy-chained quartet of Human Advisors and a Scarecrow

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You sadistic bastard. Is that your idea of fun? Grats on the finish. Great to see the Syracuse area players doing so well in this tournament.

With how good wasteland is, any thoughts on putting a crucible into the list?

Thanks for the report. IIRC, you played a mono red variant did Legacy Champs and at Eternal Extravaganza. Do you think there is still merit to going mono red, or does the white splash give more consistency. Do you still like Lightning Bolt?

Wasteland with Crucible certainly has merit if you're looking to attack mana more aggressively. If anything, it would be a one-of out of the board.

As for the Mono Red version, I liked it a lot but I prefer the answers and redundancy white provides. Bolt is nice, but I've been meh about Bolt recently. It's a great card, but right now I've kind of put it on the back burner.