4 Card Blind: The Silkster Seasons

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt, comment: Goblin Tinkerer too smashy
6-0, karakas can handle this. But barely, maths below.
6

Tirrit: Black Lotus, Sheltered Valley, Leatherback Baloth, Pithing Needle, comment:
Ouch, needle! And able to pay for chancellor, and not a legendary.
0-6.
6

dte: Chancellor of the Annex, Karakas, Black lotus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker, comment: Alternating in legacy
Me, playing Wren. Chancellor comes in T4.

FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes
6-0. My manland is bigger, and bounces your Thalia
12

Wrath of Pie: Shelldock Isle, Lion's Eye Diamond, Simian Spirit Guide, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, comment:
2-2, we stare.
14

Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged, comment: scared of Unsummon
Nice mana vault! Even OTP and with the tax, you attack me a turn before I can ultimate.
0-6
14

Reeplcheep: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender, Crystal Vein, Black Lotus, Blood Sun, comment: Copycat
6-0. Syr trades with karakas.
20


GS OTP
GS, play crypt and pay tax
dt, play hand and smash WR5, GS17
GS 14, play either Grunt or moon. Grunt is better.
dt, WR6, attack. If moon, block is just a sacrifice. If Grunt, same> sacrificing the moon ends up with karakas bouncing itself. So, no block and GS11
GS8, second man of the moon/Grunt team. If moon was played first, it cannot attack into 3/3 karakas. So attack with Grunt. Karakas cannot block, or crypt is sacced, and karakas (mountain) dies. From them GS can kill WR. Racing life doesn't work and you are 8 vs 20, losing 6 a turn vs 2. So -2 for WR, WR4
dt, WR5, attack, GS 5.
GS2, attack WR with both. block moonman with karakas, sac crypt, WR still on 2.
OTP is is even easier.

@dte, can’t you chancellor t2 OTP if you don’t keep Wrenn? And t2 chancellor beats the ceiling deck in a race.

T1 lotus, Wrenn rebuy lotus cast lotus. Ceiling deck plays threat.
T2 float WWW, sac Wrenn, rebuy lotus, cast lotus play karakas chancellor, block 5/5.

Nvm

FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes

Seemed good after last round, but everyone played around it.

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt
OTP T1 Thalia stops Crypt!
OTD T1 Crypt / Thalia
T2 Magus turns off Factory / Attack w Thalia [G=15]
T3 Grunt, Magus attacks / Thalia can't trade with Grunt, pass [F=18, G=12]
From here Grunt could keep attacking through Thalia for 2 (Thalia & Magus could both attack or both stay back), but Crypt deals 3, so you lose the race with your own Crypt. You must sacrifice Crypt first. But then neither creature can get through Thalia!
But Thalia can't attack either or you double block to kill (I kill Magus, but then Factory & Grunt trade).
WD 4-1

Tirrit: Black Lotus, Sheltered Valley, Leatherback Baloth, Pithing Needle
OTP T1 Thalia. You can't resolve Lotus or Needle.
OTD you play T1 Lotus. I play Thalia. You can resolve Baloth but not Needle. 4/5 vs 2/1 + 2/2. 4/5 is smart as I had to build to just barely lose this race.
WL 3-3


dte: Chancellor of the Annex, Karakas, Black lotus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker
Your Chancellor delays my T1 Thalia, enough to let you resolve Lotus & Wrenn. If I double block your 3/3 vigilant Karakas, you bounce Thalia and kill 2/2 Mutavault. LL 0-6

Wrath of Pie: Shelldock Isle, Lion's Eye Diamond, Simian Spirit Guide, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
OTP T1 Thalia. You can't resolve LED without giving up Shelldock.
OTD you play T1 LED paying with SSG, then Shelldock Ulamog. Thalia's too slow.
WL 3-3

Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged
You came ready to pay +2 tax on each mana rock. LL 0-6

Reeplcheep: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender, Crystal Vein, Black Lotus, Blood Sun
OTP T1 Thalia. You can't resolve Blood Sun, but you can play Syr. 2/1 + 2/2 beat X/1!
OTD you play T1 Lotus, I play Thalia. Then you can play T2 Blood Sun, T3 3/1 Syr. (You can't make Syr 4/2 without skipping Blood Sun, then I have 2 creatures). 3/1 still races 2/1 so Thalia stays on defense.
WD 4-1

14 points (4 wins, 2 draws, 6 loss)

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt, comment: Goblin Tinkerer too smashy
WW - Very close because you can present 5 power of blockers, but you can't do after losing 2 permanents.

Tirrit: Black Lotus, Sheltered Valley, Leatherback Baloth, Pithing Needle, comment:
WW - My 5 toughness is just enough.

dte: Chancellor of the Annex, Karakas, Black lotus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker, comment: Alternating in legacy
WW - This deck does so much, but my thankfully-nonlegendary monster rips it apart.

FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes
WW - I had this deck (with Factory) in my gauntlet. I calculated that I win at 1 life, which is very satisfying. I didn't expect people to play around this because I didn't think it would be obvious that this was still playable.

Wrath of Pie: Shelldock Isle, Lion's Eye Diamond, Simian Spirit Guide, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, comment:
WL - I had some Shelldock lists, but they lost to all the disruption. SSG is a nice way to not lose to Chancellor, and it gets out of the way to speed up the combo, which is critical here.

Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged, comment: scared of Unsummon
I got excited when I realized that I could play Mana Vault into a giant threat that only needs to trade with the 5/5.

Reeplcheep: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender, Crystal Vein, Black Lotus, Blood Sun, comment: Copycat
WW - I had so many decks playing Magus of the Moon or Magus of the Flood, and then I started making lists with Unsummon and a good threat like Dark Depths or Mayor of Avabruck, but I completely forgot about Blood Sun. I hope it does well for you.

Most of my lists were like:
Land, Mox, Mox, Magus of something
Bayou, Island, Unsummon, Bitterblossom/Mayor
Dark Depths + Mana Crypt + Field of Ruin
Dark Depths with removal for a 2/2
Dark Depths with protection for the 20/20 but not for the lands
Chancellor + Thalia
Skerry, Chrome Mox, Chancellor, Magus

In the end, a bit of extra mana was a good call.

Wrath of Pie: Shelldock Isle, Lion's Eye Diamond, Simian Spirit Guide, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, comment:

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt, comment: Goblin Tinkerer too smashy - LL
Tirrit: Black Lotus, Sheltered Valley, Leatherback Baloth, Pithing Needle, comment: - LL
dte: Chancellor of the Annex, Karakas, Black lotus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker, comment: Alternating in legacy - DD
FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes - WL
Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged, comment: scared of Unsummon - WL
Reeplcheep: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender, Crystal Vein, Black Lotus, Blood Sun, comment: Copycat - LL

2w2d = 8 points

I'm consistent at least.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FTW

FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt
OTP T1 Thalia / Crypt
T2 attack for 4 / Magus turns off my manland [G=13]
T3 Thalia attacks / Grunt, Magus attacks back [G=8, F=18]
T4 Thalia doesn't attack into Grunt / Magus can't attack into Thalia (Crypt will kill you, so you must sacrifice)
If Thalia attacks into double block, Thalia kills Magus (unlock Mutavault & draw). If Thalia is unblocked, you can't kill in 3 attacks & Thalia races, so you double block to draw.
DD 2-2

---

OTP, Thalia + Chancellor stops the Mana Crypt, same as it stops a few other Lotuses.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by silkster

Most of my lists were like:
Land, Mox, Mox, Magus of something
Bayou, Island, Unsummon, Bitterblossom/Mayor
Dark Depths + Mana Crypt + Field of Ruin
Dark Depths with removal for a 2/2
Dark Depths with protection for the 20/20 but not for the lands
Chancellor + Thalia
Skerry, Chrome Mox, Chancellor, Magus

In the end, a bit of extra mana was a good call.

---

Unsummon seems really bad when Chain of Vapor exists.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wrath of Pie

Unsummon seems really bad when Chain of Vapor exists.

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I think one of my lists at some point could actually be punished by the copy ability. I did have a note to myself to double check which would actually be better if I had settled on three other cards to play with the bounce spell.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by silkster

After this, we'll do 10 rounds total of backbuild/ceiling (5 of each) in Legacy, with the same 7 cards banned. We'll roll a new starting deck, so please use the same entry form to submit a deck that you would like to be the very first FLOOR deck (we're starting with backbuild). I'll publish them on Friday and take the median deck (or one lower if even number).

---

Quoting this just for emphasis.

What should a FLOOR deck be?
It's the deck we'll have to WW against in Backbuild?
Must it be able to beat anything? (Basic lands?)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by silkster

I think one of my lists at some point could actually be punished by the copy ability. I did have a note to myself to double check which would actually be better if I had settled on three other cards to play with the bounce spell.

---

I think there's also the new gift a fish bounce spell.

GoblinSmashmaster Results for "Final Round: Blood Bath"

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt, comment: Goblin Tinkerer too smashy
That's me still smashing with a goblin!

Tirrit: Black Lotus, Sheltered Valley, Leatherback Baloth, Pithing Needle, comment:
Baloth smash :( 0-6

dte: Chancellor of the Annex, Karakas, Black lotus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker, comment: Alternating in legacy
Elemental smash :( 0-6

FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes
Taxes :( 1-4

Wrath of Pie: Shelldock Isle, Lion's Eye Diamond, Simian Spirit Guide, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, comment:
Goblin smash! 6-0

Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged, comment: scared of Unsummon
Eldrazi smash :( 0-6

Reeplcheep: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender, Crystal Vein, Black Lotus, Blood Sun, comment: Copycat
Goblin smash! 6-0

13 goblin points!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by silkster

Most of my lists were like:
Land, Mox, Mox, Magus of something
Bayou, Island, Unsummon, Bitterblossom/Mayor
Dark Depths + Mana Crypt + Field of Ruin
Dark Depths with removal for a 2/2
Dark Depths with protection for the 20/20 but not for the lands
Chancellor + Thalia
Skerry, Chrome Mox, Chancellor, Magus

---

I also had "loses to Moon" decks like
T2 Dark Depths
Leyline of Singularity, Karakas, threat, Mental Misstep (beats Depths, loses to Shelldock Ulamog)

I went for "loses to 5/5" instead, but more were ready for that.
Mishra's Factory would help me in several matches but is not allowed, since Factory + Thalia blocks for 5 & draws with Lupine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FTW

Mishra's Factory would help me in several matches but is not allowed, since Factory + Thalia blocks for 5 & draws with Lupine.

---

It's a real good thing for me that Bane of Bala Ged beat Thalia by 1 life, cause I totally missed that Factory was illegal there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FTW

What should a FLOOR deck be?
It's the deck we'll have to WW against in Backbuild?
Must it be able to beat anything? (Basic lands?)

---

There aren't really restriction on what the floor deck can be. Submit something that you think will make the round a decent round. I got excited about running another fluff round where people can submit whatever wackiness they want to show off, and I hadn't thought about using the winning deck from this round as the floor. It's a good thing too, because my deck loses to Disrupting Shoal on 0 + Mindslaver, and all of a sudden we're at rock bottom. (Maybe don't submit decks with pacts or Mana Crypt/Vault).

Tirrit: Black Lotus, Sheltered Valley, Leatherback Baloth, Pithing Needle, comment:
I liked that this deck was sort of two 2 card decks that support each other. Baloth/lotus beats all the tiny dorks, pithing needle/untapped land beats some cheaty decks that baloth can't handle on its own, and helps pay for a tax on the lotus. The hardest part was deciding what land to choose. And I chose wrong.


GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt, comment: Goblin Tinkerer too smashy
Baloth is big and wins: 6-0

dte: Chancellor of the Annex, Karakas, Black lotus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker, comment: Alternating in legacy
Pithing needle rains on your parade (really cool deck, though. I would normally very much enjoy attending that parade): 6-0

FTW: Chancellor of the Annex, Chrome Mox, Mutavault, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, comment: Reeplcheep & Taxes
I did not think of Chrome mox and so I thought that Thalia decks couldn't play chancellor. This meant that I was more worried about races with flying 4/xs and exalted 4/4s and I foolishly played sheltered valley instead of the answer to Thalia (karakas or a sol land): 3-3

Wrath of Pie: Shelldock Isle, Lion's Eye Diamond, Simian Spirit Guide, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, comment:
Pithing needle rains on your parade (I thought hard about this deck, but I didn't play it because I thought it lost to chancellor or thalia, or had to be too slow. I didn't think of simian spirit guide!): 6-0

Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged, comment: scared of Unsummon
Playing giant monsters without using non-mana activated abilities is cheating!: 0-6

Reeplcheep: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender, Crystal Vein, Black Lotus, Blood Sun, comment: Copycat
Baloth is big and wins: 6-0

27/36

I accidentally thought it was Friday and posted the candidate floor lists. I don't think it matters that much, but I'll leave entries open until tomorrow in case others want to submit or people want to resubmit. I will say that the candidate decks are very weak and I expected you guys to want to floor to be a fair bit higher, but it's a vote, so go with your heart.

blank

Vs ftw I agree I can’t resolve both bloodsun and threat OTD. I should have played ancient tomb. 7/36

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoblinSmashmaster

GoblinSmashmaster Results for "Final Round: Blood Bath"

GoblinSmashmaster: Mountain, Mana Crypt, Magus of the Moon, Krark-Clan Grunt, comment: Goblin Tinkerer too smashy
That's me still smashing with a goblin!

Silkster: Ancient Tomb, Black Lotus, Mana Vault, Bane of Bala Ged, comment: scared of Unsummon
Eldrazi smash :( 0-6

---

Magus isn’t blood sun. Silkster doesn’t have enough mana to cast bane OTD.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reeplcheep

Magus isn’t blood sun. Silkster doesn’t have enough mana to cast bane OTD.

---

He can't cast it T1, but bane T2 is more than enough to race.

We have come to the conclusion of our mini round. As was declared on July 11, the lowest score would be dropped from our 4 rounds, and it has a significant effect this time. Reeplcheep jumps out with a dominating performance after a shaky start to the first ceiling season. What a turnaround!

1. Reeplcheep - 14.3
2. tirrit - 12.7 with a very consistent first season
3. Silkster - 11.5 catching the bronze with a final lunge
4. dte 11.3
5. FTW - 9.1
6. GoblinSmashmaster - 6.2
7. Wrath of Pie - 5.3

I now present the candidate floor decks for our next season. The median will be the first floor deck for a round of backbuild, and each round's winner will be the next ceiling/floor. (Maybe later we'll need to build some walls for our room.)

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge, comment: Floor
dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove, comment:
FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory, comment: Taste the rainbow
Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupt Zendikon, comment:
GoblinSmashmaster: Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Auriok Salvagers, Rise of the Hobgoblins, comment: Goblin smash!!!!
Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent, comment: I look forward to the submit Elspeth round

Link to the new google sheet for pre-round scores: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=894983451

You sure you want the winner of a backbuild round to be something we have to lose to?

Wow, y'all aimed low!

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge,
dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove,
FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory,
Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupt Zendikon,
GoblinSmashmaster: Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Auriok Salvagers, Rise of the Hobgoblins,
Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent,


dte's clock I count to be 5 turns to play the Codex, then 8 turns to play the victory for 13 turns.
I think FTW misread Coalition Victory and didn't include a creature.
Archangel Elspeth hits for 3, 5, 5, 7 on the four turns after it comes down, so it wins on turn 10.

I think the toughest calculation is Silkster vs Elspeths. Blackmail hits the Archangel, otherwise it can block forever. Elspeth waits until turn 8 to make Sun's Nemesis with 2 charge counters remaining, then is able to make 4 blockers and buy enough time to play the Talent, which immediately takes over the game. WW for Elspeths.

It looks like Covetous Urge is lower of the two median decks. I had been thinking that I might need to veto a deck that often can't win, but it doesn't really matter that much. Your submission needs to 6-0 against turn 0 discard. That's definitely not hard to do, but it does put a heavy restriction on what's legal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wrath of Pie

You sure you want the winner of a backbuild round to be something we have to lose to?

---

I think so. It'll be a challenge to build under such a low ceiling. I'm at least excited to see what comes of it.

Congrats Reeplcheep!

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge, comment: Floor
2-2, fortunately my threat costs 3, not two
2

Just wondering, so this round was not legacy but starting next one it is, right?

dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove, comment:
Me, aggro book or rainbow victory.

FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory, comment: Taste the rainbow
6-0, but maybe I just didn't understand your deck?
8

Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupt Zendikon, comment:
0-6. I had the right blocker for tour corrupted land, but blackmail :(
8

GoblinSmashmaster: Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Auriok Salvagers, Rise of the Hobgoblins, comment: Goblin smash!!!!
0-6. Goblins smash!!
8

Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent, comment: I look forward to the submit Elspeth round
0-6. I got raced.
8

Too low to be median :/

FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory,

Started with Bloom Tender (which works) but got too cute trying Upwelling. A deck that do anything without Upwelling makes for an interesting floor/ceiling deck. Instead, I accidentally made a deck that can't win unless opponent donates a creature, and opponent could choose to do nothing.


Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge,
Neither of us have a wincon. DD 2-2

dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove,
I appreciate that you also used this opportunity to force 4cb Coalition Victory. I can slow you down by not playing Upwelling! LL 0-6

Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupted Zendikon,
Even with a functional deck I can't win through Blackmail. I choose not to play Upwelling so you can't give the Zendikon fear!! LL 0-6

GoblinSmashmaster: Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Auriok Salvagers, Rise of the Hobgoblins,
I don't get to think about Upwelling, you smash with 100000000 goblins on turn 2. LL 0-6

Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent,
I decide to play Upwellling to save you time & math. LL 0-6

Total: 2 points (0 wins, 2 draw, 8 loss)

Congrats Reeplcheep on very strong decks last round!

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge,
I thought t0 steal would lead to interesting backbuild decks


dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove,
Steal Codie, can’t cast it. DD 2-2

FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory,
No wincon DD 2-2
Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupt Zendikon,
Hey a threat I can pay for but no profitable targets. DD 2-2

GoblinSmashmaster: Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Auriok Salvagers, Rise of the Hobgoblins,
Beaten down by 1 lonely goblin LL 0-6

Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent,
2 expensive threats LL 0-6

0W 6D 4L for 6/30


I think this is my first time winning one of these, benefitted a lot from removing the lowest.

GoblinSmashmaster Results for Round "Goblins smash!"

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge,
Goblin smash! 6-0

dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove,
Goblins smash! 6-0

FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory,
Goblins smash! 6-0

Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupt Zendikon,
Discard :( 3-3

Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent,
Goblins smash! 6-0

27/30 goblin points

Wrath of Pie: Icatian Store, Archangel Elspeth, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Elspeth's Talent,

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Covetous Urge, - WW
dte: Codie, Vociferous Codex, Leyline of the Guildpact, Coalition Victory, Saprazzan Cove, - WW
FTW: Leyline of the Guildpact, Rushwood Grove, Upwelling, Coalition Victory, - WW
Silkster: Darksteel Citadel, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Blackmail, Corrupt Zendikon, - WW
GoblinSmashmaster: Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Auriok Salvagers, Rise of the Hobgoblins, - LL

Elspeths need a plan for those Goblins.

Looks like the median is no one, somehow. (Even number of entries is evil.) A round of vanilla Backbuild then trying to lose to the most losing of said entries sounds hilarious, but I'm pretty sure that's not what silkster wanted.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wrath of Pie

Looks like the median is no one, somehow. (Even number of entries is evil.) A round of vanilla Backbuild then trying to lose to the most losing of said entries sounds hilarious, but I'm pretty sure that's not what silkster wanted.

---

I think it's in the fine print somewhere that the lower of the two median decks is to be chosen, which I mistakenly thought earlier was Covetous Urge, but I had a few matches wrong and it now looks like it's Codie.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dte

8

Too low to be median :/

---

Think again! 2 of us had decks unable to beat 4x basic land, while 2 had near-sweeps, so there were only 2 real contenders for "middle".

Okay, the passage of a few days and FTW's confirmation is good enough for me. The first floor deck is Coalition Codie.

A quick reminder that we are in backbuild this round, so unleash the terrible. It is also legacy, and the same 7 cards banned last season are banned this season, though it probably matters much less this round.

I've already noticed that a few of my candidates decks were illegal, so check carefully, and I'll also try to check entries about 24-36 hours ahead of the Tuesday 11am EDT deadline to check for you.

Backbuild is notoriously messy and seasons can kind of get out of control, but if all goes smoothly I plan for this to be 10 rounds dropping the lowest 2 scores.

Happy building!

My entry: d0aa3d04e2c99de2b87b917b7410cbe7150b34cb65a5c04d1698aeb43cce4755

Taking a look now for legalities.

Floor/Ceiling Season - Floor 1

Tirrit: raugrin triome, sapphire charm, steel wall, millennium calendar, comment: Am I doing it right?
dte: Dark depths, Karakas, Contested War Zone, Rhystic Cave, comment: 2 good lands, 2 badlands, legal vs both floor decks
FTW: Sand Silos, Skittering Surveyor, Thoughtlace, Arnjlot's Ascent, comment: Copy Bat?
Wrath of Pie: Rhystic Cave, Rhystic Cave, Copper Tablet, Gremlin Mine, comment:
Reeplcheep: The Peregrine Dynamo, Ancient Tomb, City of Brass, Sungold Barrage, comment: Big Butts
Silkster: Subterranean Hangar, Deathlace, Inquisition, Junktroller, comment: hopefully unexpected
GoblinSmashmaster: Mercadian Bazaar, Goblin Medics, Siege of Towers, Veteran's Voice, comment: No smashing allowed :(

Google sheet for scores: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1710229930

Silkster, I am not sure how your deck works?
If you ever cast inquisition at sorcery speed, your opponent has victory in hand and you are tapped out. Then how do you cast deathlace during their turn?

I also don't see how WoP's deck is legal, it cannot win OTD vs the target deck.

FTW: Sand Silos, Skittering Surveyor, Thoughtlace, Arnjlot's Ascent, comment: Copy Bat?

Should have picked The Peregrine Dynamo. It was a toss-up whether a 1/2 or a bigger legend would have more answers. With Karakas and Sungold Barrage, the 1/5 dies more easily!

Math vs blockers:
19 cumulative upkeeps = 1UU + 190 blue (upkeeps) + 20 activations = 213 mana

T5 creature
T218 213 storage counters
T219 Arnjolt + activate + attack
T238 20th attack

If I need a 21st attack: 20 upkeeps = 1UU + 210 blue + 21 activations = 234 mana
T239 234 storage counters
T240 Arnjolt + activate + attack
T260 21st attack


Tirrit: raugrin triome, sapphire charm, steel wall, The Millennium calendar
Sapphire Charm forces me to do 21 attacks, but your clock is still slower than my 260 turn clock. WW 0-6

dte: Dark depths, Karakas, Contested War Zone, Rhystic Cave
Should have played around Karakas. I can steal your War Zone so you can't do anything. WW 0-6

Wrath of Pie: Rhystic Cave, Rhystic Cave, Copper Tablet, Gremlin Mine
Rhystic Cave is too powerful my storage land!! Gremlin Mine kills Surveyor before it can attack, then Tablet kills me. LL 6-0

Reeplcheep: The Peregrine Dynamo, Ancient Tomb, City of Brass, Sungold Barrage
You go to 17 to make T2 haste 1/5 vs my T5 1/2. OTP you get me to 17; OTD you get me to 16.
Eventually I can fly over but you counter attack. OTP I'm ahead in the race and can win. OTD I'm always 1 life behind, so I must hold back and draw. WD 1-4

Silkster: Subterranean Hangar, Deathlace, Inquisition, Junktroller
Nice deck! I picked the wrong color, so you have no wincon and I eventually fly over. WW 0-6

GoblinSmashmaster: Mercadian Bazaar, Goblin Medics, Siege of Towers, Veteran's Voice
Whoa there aggro deck! Your goblin smashes. LL 6-0

13 points (4 loss, 1 draw, 7 wins)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dte

I also don't see how WoP's deck is legal, it cannot win OTD vs the target deck.

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Gremlin Mine should work. 2 Rhystic Caves is hard to pay for!
WoP plays T1 Mine unopposed.
Whenever the 1/4 is played, WoP activates Mine on own turn (storage land is tapped) and WoP took no damage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FTW

Gremlin Mine should work. 2 Rhystic Caves is hard to pay for!
WoP plays T1 Mine unopposed.
Whenever the 1/4 is played, WoP activates Mine on own turn (storage land is tapped) and WoP took no damage.

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Yes, but how can WoP kill? OTP, the target deck can always pay for one of the caves at each turn. Copper tablet costs 2.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dte

Yes, but how can WoP kill? OTP, the target deck can always pay for one of the caves at each turn. Copper tablet costs 2.

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I fear you have the same issue I do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wrath of Pie

I fear you have the same issue I do.

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Instant speed versus sorcery speed?

Trying to add a mana EoOT, if prevented doing it in my turn?

That's maybe why I noticed the problem with your hand, while checking my deck I saw it was possible to use rhystic cave only because of instant speed.

Reeplcheep: The Peregrine Dynamo, Ancient Tomb, City of Brass, Sungold Barrage, comment: Big Butts
In backbuild, removal for only big creatures seems weirdly good.

Tirrit: raugrin triome, sapphire charm, steel wall, millennium calendar, comment: Am I doing it right?
Barge your wall. WW
dte: Dark depths, Karakas, Contested War Zone, Rhystic Cave, comment: 2 good lands, 2 badlands, legal vs both floor decks
Just play karakas before war zone and you win.LL

FTW: Sand Silos, Skittering Surveyor, Thoughtlace, Arnjlot's Ascent, comment: Copy Bat?
Surveyors butt is too small. You can cast surveyor on t5. I get in for 1 on t2 but deal 3 to myself. So it’s DL

Wrath of Pie: Rhystic Cave, Rhystic Cave, Copper Tablet, Gremlin Mine, comment:
Peregrine’s Butt is too big. WW

Silkster: Subterranean Hangar, Deathlace, Inquisition, Junktroller, comment: hopefully unexpected
Junkytoller gets barraged. Very cool find. WW

GoblinSmashmaster: Mercadian Bazaar, Goblin Medics, Siege of Towers, Veteran's Voice, comment: No smashing allowed :(
I die to voice pings if I don’t race and lose the race if I do. LL

6W 1D 5L for 16/36

Can’t WoP cast tablet on t2, whereas the target deck can only make mana on t3?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dte

Silkster, I am not sure how your deck works?
If you ever cast inquisition at sorcery speed, your opponent has victory in hand and you are tapped out. Then how do you cast deathlace during their turn?

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Silkster just needs to Deathlace the creature between the creature cast & Victory cast. They must be cast over 2 separate turns, so sorcery speed is fast enough.

My deck works the same way. My 1/2 forces them to play the creature, then I Thoughtlace it to blue at sorcery speed before they can cast Coalition Victory.