[Report] TMLO II, top 8 day 1, top 4 day two

Less banter in the start, this time:

Mana(20):
Forest x6
Plains x2
Taiga x2
Savannah x4
Windswept Heath x4
Serra’s Sanctum x2

Acceleration(10):
Exploration x4
Utopia Sprawl x4
Sylvan Library x2

I draws me some cards (8):
Argothian Enchantress x4
Enchantress’ Presence x4

Lock(11):
Ghostly Prison
Solitary Confinement x4
Squee, Goblin Nabob
Elephant Grass x3
Moat x2

Utility(9):
Sterling Grove x4
Seal of Fire
Seal of Primordium
Holistic Wisdom
City of Solitude

Win(3):
Words of War
Sacred Mesa x2

Sideboard(35):
Elephant Grass
Sacred Ground
Karmic Justice
Spreading Algae
Seal of Fire x2
Aura of Silence
City of Solitude
Spiritual Focus
Null Chamber
Choke x2
Rule of Law x3
Pegasus token x20

I dropped a choke in the board for a Spiritual focus, moved an elephant grass to the main, so I’d beat goblins even harder, and a spreading algae to help with the black matchup. I figured that, with extripate and damnation being legal, that we’d have to worry about another wave of bad black players. Turns out I didn’t need to worry about that.

I’ll hold the commentary to a minimum, as I’d like this to be less than ten pages.

Day 1: Round 1: Game 1. v. Travis Laplant’s (Unregged?) Mono-red goblins

I keep a decent hand, but I guess it doesn’t work out as well as I’d like it. I play, forest, exploration, forest, go. 1st turn lackey. 2nd turn elephant grass, he pays for it, drops sharpshooter. I get ghostly grass, plains, go. He hits me, I tutor for moat EOT, drop it, he puts down siege-gang commander, I can’t dig for solitary in time, he chucks goblins at me until I die. –City of solitude + elephant grass.
Game 2: Travis gets another good start, lackey into siege gang commander, I’d guess, by the way my life goes down. I stablilze at 3, he scoops to confinement lock..
Game 3: He mulls twice, I get a turn two moat, that pretty much seals it up.

2-1
1-0-0

Round 2: v. Gregory Dziduch (Nantuko Shady) Solidarity

Game 1: Second turn library resolves, I draw a million cards off of it, because he didn’t’ fetch into his volcanic until late, but it didn’t matter. I get a double grove lock and solitary on turn five. He scoops.
Game 2: I board in massive hate, get choke on turn two, double grove on turn three, solitary gets forced, I holistic back into it, he scoops.

4-1
2-0-0

Round 3: v. John Rusieki’s Red Death.

Game 1: John plays, I mull once because of crap into a 1 lander with a fetch and seal of fire. I keep it, thinking he’s playing goblins like last time. I mention his Chinese food isn’t here to throw off my game play this time, he chuckles, goes swamp, ritual, hippy, go. Wow, batman. I draw another land, fetch taiga, drop seal, he’s pissed. Swings, I pop seal, get fourth turn squee confinement, he scoops.

Game 2: I board in my super secret tech that spatula sold me about: Spiritual focus. I wanted to pwn some IGGY pop with it, but it doesn’t seem that there’s any of it here. Guess that that’s enough evidence for the TESv.IGGY thread. John goes turn 1 therapy on confinement, hits TWO (wtf), then next turn flashes it back with rotting giant for my enchantress’ presence. I mise another one turn two, keep on ripping insane shit into sacred mesa, he scoops to 13 tokens. Pegasuses > unicorns

6-1
3-0

Round 4: v. Jeff Folius (Gekoratel) RG goblins

I explode early with massive mana, elephant grass, keep on ripping insane shit off the top (Gerhart walks by as I draw a city of solitude, goes crazy and tells me I’m a cheater, then refuses to sign it after the match), fog with confinement once, draw another, show squee, he scoops.
Game 2: I get a pretty good start, drop ghostly prison and sit back a couple turns, he grips it, alpha strikes while I’m still trying to build my hand for confinement.
Game 3: I stabilize at 12, drop confinement show squee, he doesn’t scoop, I go WOW on his ass next turn.

8-2
4-0-0

Draw w/ Kyle Dargon (Dr. Teeth), Alix Hatfield into top eight.

Top Eight I’m up against Bryant Cook (wastedlife) TES

Game 1: I play, get a decent start, he has a 3 LED hand, wins turn 1 w/tendrils
Game 2: I board in mad hate, get Rule of Law turn two, aura of silence turn three, sterling grove turn 4, sack it to null chamber after he b-wishes for tranquility, rip it, name tranquility, he scoops.
Game 3: He plunges to 1 (I wanted to seal of fire him), storm 9 plus tendrils turn two. Fuck combo.

We stick around and I keep on calling herbig and nightmare for commentary, which was pretty hilarious in that I was giving blow-by-blow between the two of them. We went to some shitty steak house that we almost got lost ont eh way to. Then we get back and Matt built shane’s deck, with vials and wastelands, and lego army man gave me some sweet foil Italian sterling groves for some pimp shit. I didn’t switch a card from day one, went to bed, then we got up at like seven thirty, got seven men showered, and went to dunkin donuts at like eight. We arrived, and Matt Abold got out of the car, became super man, stopped two cars from backing into each other, ended apartheid, and got back into the car and then lamented that dunkin donuts should be a place for such possible carnage. … slow speed carnage.

While enjoying out delicious pasties and sausage sandwiches, Lego Army Man asks Slay what makes the difference between a bong and a hookah, ending in the statement, “So… if I put tubes on my bong, I can smoke apple flavored tobacco out of it?” Crazy. After Matt saves Slay’s car from rear-ending again, we’re off to write out our lists.

Day 2 Round 1 Game1 v. Justin Miousse’s UBR Affinity (I can’t tell you if it’s vial or what)

Game 1: He gets an explosive start, pwns me something fierce. I didn’t even get to do a Pegasus damage to him.
Game 2: I get an explosive (forest exploration forest exploration forest utopia sprawl) start, get a third turn hard confinement, shock him out with WOW turn six.
Game 3: I won like last game, but it was his, if he read all my cards. I have an elephant grass out, he plays his second disciple, in response I pop aura of silence on a land. He (with deciple on the stack) sacks all of the land, without tapping for mana. Then he tries to play fling. I say, “hell no!” he’s like, alright. I’ll just swing. I’m all, you ain’t paying for that. Then I proceded to win when he had a board of a disciple and an atog that couldn’t attack because of moat.
2-1
1-0-0

Round 2: v. Steve Talbot’s UBR affinity

Game 1: I get a turn three confinement w/squee, he scoops.
Game 2: He plays pilar, gets a gigantic frogmite, tosses it at my noggin before I could do anything. Pilar is mad good against me.
Game 3: He scoops to my confinement that I couldn’t back up on turn 4. Jedi Mind Tricks FTW
4-2
2-0-0

Round 3: v. Matt Abold’s WGRB survival

Game 1: I explode to three land turn 1, he gets vial, I seal his vial, he plays survival turn two, I get turn three moat, squee + SOTF = zelot, pops moat, I get double grove lock when he misses a play with roefellos to make a million mana and kill one of them in response, scoops to confinement.
Game 2: 2nd turn mesmeric fiend taking grove, 3rd turn glowrider, hits both moats with a cabal therapy, gets another fiend. I start ripping cards like crazy, getting seal of fires for both fiends, I go into grove lock turn 8 or so, confinement the next turn, then I drew into squee in a turn or two.
6-2
3-0-0

Round 4: v. Dan Gacioch’s UB(W?) Landstill
Game 1: He mulls once, I keep a big explosion hand, resolve a turn two library, pay a million life to draw a million cards, play a confinement meaning to win. He counters it. On his turn, he taps out for haunting echoes, getting three confinements (I feign great disappointment – the last one is in my hand), my utopia sprawls, and two explorations. The next turn when he’s tapped out I go into confinement, and he’s baffled. Horay for being lucky!
Game 2: I keep a two lander, don’t’ see another until turn 15 (I kept a tally), and by then I had received massive factory beats.
Game 3: He mulls twice, second turn choke is pretty good against decks with islands, I hear. He taps out from time to time to counter my stuff, and ends up having two wastelands untapped (all of my 8 basic lands are out) when I WOW him out late game. Null Chamber on engineered explosives did real well.
8-2
4-0-0
Enchantress draws in again!

Round 5: v. Cody Mannion’s RG goblins.
He asks me to scoop to him, but I don’t’ want to mess around and maybe not make it in to the top eight, so I offer to play him, then he becomes insanely grateful for my ID offer. He wins out, and helps me into the top four later, it turns out.
4-0-1

Round 6: v. Justin Valley’s RWB aggro.
He’s on top right now, so I didn’t want to risk playing against him. But during my scouting earlier I saw goblin legionare and isamaru. I kind of wanted to play just to see it.
4-0-2

Top eight: v. Cody Mannion’s RG goblins
Game 1: Turn one lackey gets stalled like whoa when my lone seal of fire eats him. Or elephant grass. Aydunno. This mesa reads “1st turn lackey, 12W, 9W, 13 tokens, ‘Can you kill me? I gotta take a wicked ‘yes’’”
Game 2: he goes fetch, go, fetch, go, piledriver, pyrostatic pilar, I get double grove by turn 4, racing against him getting a green source for the million Krosan grips he undoubtedly has in his hand, get confinement when I’m at 6 life, rip squee off of my 1 last enchantress effect in hand, let him dig for like ten “turns” trying to find something, he scoops.

Top four: v. Shane Flanigan (Watcher487)’s Dark Triple Duce
Game 1: We both mull once, keep terrible hands, and he draws into something that can power through my turn six or so ghostly prison for the win. It was a TERRIBLE game.
Game 2: I waste my second turn to seal his chrome mox (lightning helix imprinted) which I feel kind of gay about, but he assures me it saves my enchantress from EP turn two. I get some sacred mesa beats on, but he gets a second engineered plague on Pegasus to end my offence capabilities, then gets skyshroud elite beats w/jitte for the win. I think I’m going to copy this deck. It’s that good.

Props:
-First and foremost, Jim. For keeping the dream alive.
-Ray, for running the tournament.
-EPIC, for accepting me because of my awesomeness
-John R. for giving me great games both times, and being generally cool
-Goblins, for being a great matchup
-Solidarity, for being an even better matchup
-Dave Gerhart, for making me think about reap/lace for real
-Lego Army Man, for foil itialian sterling groves (hotness)
-Shane, for telling me to put worship in, then thinking that it’d wreck him (I think it’s good enough)
-Matt for driving
-Matt’s mom, for being pretty cool and offering cookies
-Spatula of the ages, for the hot IGG tech
-That short asian kid sam who rocked the shit out of my UGR grow
-Grozoths, for giving Bryant the luck for day 1
-Bryant, for giving me mad tie-breakers for day 1

Slops:
-Bryant, for going 0-2 drop day two
-Wizards for making pernicious deeds playable (it should cost like a million, and you have to sacrifice three lands)
-Me, for forgetting Bryant’s b-day present.
-Affinity, for being tough to win against without the other guy messing up
-Dave Gerhart for not signing my City of Solitudes.
-That Indian guy who worked at subway, for taking like fourty-five minutes to make four subs.
-Ray for not having all the cards I asked for, but I guess that gets canceled out by him having everything else I wanted.
-All the haters out there who called enchantress terrible. Now that I’ve got the world swinging from my nuts, yes, it feels good to be a gangster.

Great job Chocolate bear! You are the candy of my eye!

I actually might have won our top 8 match if I was playing tranquil domain. Freakin David Gearheart. Sure grip is better than domain.

I seem to think it is, as long as Enchantress isn't in the meta. Oh Dave Gearhart, I love you <---This Much--->.

-Steffon.

I was all excited, thinking I could realistically borrow the cards I need to build this, but then I got to 2 Moats and just kind of gave up. Glad you didn't, though!

Sweet.

How did Affinity have the game if you had Aura and Grass out? It seems like that'd be a pretty solid position.

How was Seal of Fire? Did you want more in the main?

That was a horrible match for me, I was pissed off for the remainder of the day, and until I got home. I should have beat you. Nice report though, and congrats on the finishes.

Btw, there were vials, I just wasn't drawing them. My draws all day were very odd (like drawing 3 of 4 chalices in my first 5 draws in another match).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpatulaOfTheAges

How did Affinity have the game if you had Aura and Grass out? It seems like that'd be a pretty solid position.

How was Seal of Fire? Did you want more in the main?

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I had played aura the turn before, turn five, maybe. But he had one deciple on the board, three or so land, a vial at two, an atog, a frog mite, and maybe an ornithopter. If he paid two (the 1R for fling) he could have almost killed me before the second deciple, definetly after. Then I forced his hand by pwning his land with the aura, so he sacks everything to atog in response to that. Immediately after that he was like, wait, can I tap first? and I was all, "is shaniqua there?" (not really. but he did express an interest in being able to go back, and I said no). then he tried to attack, but I reminded him of elephant grass. With a 14/14 or so atog out, I woudl ahve been dead if he was able to swing.

And, yes, seal of fire was gigantic. Shooting down ornithopters, hippies, eating lackeys, hitting a factory once when that landstill player didn't notice it. It was almost the MVP. But I can't justify more than the one main boarded. Or, I'd like to, but I can't find room.

I noticed a minor error in your day two report, you played against me in round four and you said in game three I mulled twice, i didn't mulligan at all in game three, you got down a choke when it mattered, and i continued to draw pretty useless cards that were not blue mana sources or disenchants. Congrats on your finish both days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lonelybaritone

Round 2: v. Gregory Dziduch (Nantuko Shady) Solidarity

Game 1: Second turn library resolves, I draw a million cards off of it, because he didn’t’ fetch into his volcanic until late, but it didn’t matter. I get a double grove lock and solitary on turn five. He scoops.
Game 2: I board in massive hate, get choke on turn two, double grove on turn three, solitary gets forced, I holistic back into it, he scoops.

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I actually wasn't running the red splash, but yeah. I got crushed anyways. I guess you truely are the Solidarity Crushing Machine. :cool: Congrats on the finishes in 3 back to back tournaments!

Hey I played the URB Affinatty day two agaisnt you. I was an idiot to scoop. Looking thinking back I got all exited about the confinement on the board. Not remembering the upkeep. Unlenss you the Squee (which you didn't) or a way to draw cards off of a pressence or an enchantress I had a fling on the top of my deck. In this case the better player won.

-Congrats on top four.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lonelybaritone

I had played aura the turn before, turn five, maybe. But he had one deciple on the board, three or so land, a vial at two, an atog, a frog mite, and maybe an ornithopter. If he paid two (the 1R for fling) he could have almost killed me before the second deciple, definetly after. Then I forced his hand by pwning his land with the aura, so he sacks everything to atog in response to that. Immediately after that he was like, wait, can I tap first? and I was all, "is shaniqua there?" (not really. but he did express an interest in being able to go back, and I said no). then he tried to attack, but I reminded him of elephant grass. With a 14/14 or so atog out, I woudl ahve been dead if he was able to swing.

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What was your engine like? Affinity should be a very favorable match-up for you. All's well that ends well I suppose.

Did you test Moat/Wave, and stick with 2x Moat, or did you not get a chance to try it?

You could drop a fourth Confinement for another SoF. 4 + 2 Moats + Prison seems like it's driving up your casting curve, thus slowing your draw engine, especially + Squee. You have 17 cards at 3 cc or above, plus 4xGrove which can be a drain on your mana base at times. I think it could be a bit more streamlined.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpatulaOfTheAges

What was your engine like? Affinity should be a very favorable match-up for you. All's well that ends well I suppose.

Did you test Moat/Wave, and stick with 2x Moat, or did you not get a chance to try it?

You could drop a fourth Confinement for another SoF. 4 + 2 Moats + Prison seems like it's driving up your casting curve, thus slowing your draw engine, especially + Squee. You have 17 cards at 3 cc or above, plus 4xGrove which can be a drain on your mana base at times. I think it could be a bit more streamlined.

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I never actually got around to testing wave. I didn't have one, which made it difficult, and I found that it would only really help against goblins when I already have a moat out. Moat + sliding out SGC (who tosses goblins at my face over the moat) = like three turns to dig for confinement. He's mad dangerous with sharpshooter, another card that cuts us to one win condition (sharpshooter + mesa = slaughter). But having that means that it's only really a win-more condition. Moat against goblins is pretty good, from what I hear.

I'd love to drop a confinement, but not for a seal of fire. I was thinking ivory mask. Hear me out - I think that moat + ivory mask = win just as much as confinement does, but it still lets me draw cards. And I don't consider angel or faery stompy that scarry. Or, rather I think I could get confinement up quick enough where their threats wouldnt' be an issue.

End result: Not cutting ocnfinement for SOF, yet, at least. And, yes, you do have to drop $70 on two italian moats.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lonelybaritone

I never actually got around to testing wave.

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If you do, and you decide you like it, I've got some pimp you can keep this time :wink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lonelybaritone

And, yes, you do have to drop $70 on two italian moats.

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Actually looks like they're going for much more than that. I found a couple English ones for $70 and $80, least I found an Italian one going for was $60. I did, however, find a store that would buy your Italian Moats for SEVEN DOLLARS! Dude, take advantage of that shit before they change their mind!

Wow. I guess my spectacular finishes lately drove the price up. I haven't still haven't tried wave. I mean, it could be devastating against meddling magi, or like a mystic enforcer against gro. But I still haven't played a gro deck. Not in play testing, not in tournaments. I'm not sure it deserves to be part of the top 3 any more. Nor solidarity. GOblins makes up like a third of the meta in any place. But the rest . . . aydunno. I saw like three gro decks at TMDO, and probably only two or three at Geneseo. But I'm only worried about the red splash - their reach, combined with their counter package makes me sweat a little. Most white players have had lobotimies recently, putting mages in the board. WTF, man. I think that's some retarted shit. Mage is another threat, bringing you up to 13 (assuming 1 enforcer). Dropping him moves you down to ten (adding another enforcer) and just a bunch of draw. But this isn't the place to argue that. Gro is at worst a 50/50 pre board. THeir needles make it seem a little scarry, and their counters, but my board is built to beat shit with blue in it.

I think your parents built you to crank out Top 8 wins. Seriously, you're a fucking cyborg, right?

sig-ed