I don't like it either, and you can tell it is budget (watery grave/ Gemstone mine). But I figured everyone should see a list that placed well recently.
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I don't like it either, and you can tell it is budget (watery grave/ Gemstone mine). But I figured everyone should see a list that placed well recently.
Teferi's Realm, mwahaha. My tech is making waves :cool:
Bee - you're liking Daze? Have you been playing it in tournaments? It was super bad when I tried it a long time ago.
I have been too preoccupied with esperblade as of late to play it in any tournaments, and the tourneys available to me are slim to none anyway. I was going to go to SCG St. Louis but family matters interfered. I do plan on making it to legacy champs at GenCon this year but again, unless they ban TNN, I will probably still be on Esperblade. I can be such a sell-out. Also, how long ago did you try it? It does have its down-sides, but I do still have 4 discard spells main, plus 2-3 (can't remember) Probe. All this information allows Daze to be extremely strong.
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Wat?Quote:
Originally Posted by phazonmutant
I've been running Daze in my build lately and have only lost to countertop builds mainly. I dropped silence and Thoughtseize for 3 Daze. It's nice when trying to go off early, counter mb hate or simply make them tap out when you think or no they have a swords in hand.
I also cut to 60/15 dropping reanimate and 1 Ponder for a mox diamond and it seems a little better. This could all just be my sampling of the deck lately.
I think somebody was caught taking credit for something the shouldn't have...Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
Meh, it's only average tech. Nothing groundbreaking. However, credit is due where credit is due.
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Oh snap!
Re-reading some of the thread makes me laugh at how often shit gets asked about over and over and over again. It feels like certain topics have a cycle of 5-20 pages before being brought up again.
I remember reading all of the posts where people brought up Daze and Pact and got immediately shot down due to prior testing showing Silence/Discard being better. And yet, the topic comes back again and again, for a couple reasons.
1) Some people much prefer counterspells to protect their combo. This is understandable. Other people prefer Silence/Discard for their protection. I am one of these people, since I spent years playing DDFT with some number of Silence and Discard to protect me, so that's my comfort zone. Which is the big point here: protection comes down to your comfort zone. That being said, I haven't seen much results out of counterspell lists, and I don't put much stock in small scale tournaments for result testing, whether they be at your LGS or an MTGO daily.
2) The deck has changed slightly over the last year. We narrowed down the creatures in the deck, went back and forth on LDV, played with a splash, talked about S&T in both main and side, went from a stock 60/15 to 61/14, and so on. I consider the current level of Tinfins to be the list that myself and Koby have been playing/working on. People have been trying different things to take that to the next level, which is good.
3) The meta has been slowly changing over the last year, between new cards breathing life into archetypes (DRS and TNN) and the decks that pop up to combat those new decks. 10 months ago Daze and Pact weren't correct, but they could be in the current meta. Some people in this thread advocate it and have been posting some small scale results, so they might be on to something.
So, this post is essentially this: Comfort Zones. I think Discard and Silence are best because that's what has worked for me and put up results. Other people, on the other hand, have the worst luck when playing with the list I've been playing and just draw like garbage, or get obliterated by counters or hate, or just straight up can't make the deck work for them. They could be doing something wrong (likely) but I know that sometimes decklists just don't give you the same results as others. Take my adventures with Modern Griselbanned for example, I can't get good results with the deck no matter how tight I play, yet others have no problem with it. So, perhaps the people who can't make the discard list work as well for them are trying out counterspells and are having much better luck. And that might be due to any number of factors, but I chalk it up to having more confidence in counterspells to protect them- that comfort zone. People play better when they are playing with that comfort zone- Gerry T wrote an article months ago about comfort zones (or playing what you know, which is similar) IIRC.
tl;dr
1) Play protection that you are comfortable with, whether it be Silence, Daze, Therapy, Force or so on. You will play stronger with whatever spells you have more faith in.
2) If you are confident in your choices for the deck and people are skeptical, go out and get some results, the bigger the tournament the better. Results speak louder than forum opinion based theory crafting.
3) Keep an open mind. At the end of the day, there will be a package that puts up the best results for a given meta, and if you are playing to be super tryhard, you need to be flexible enough to change your list accordingly.
Now, replace the Daze/Counterspells/Discard/Silence with things such as 2nd CoK, 2nd Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, Show and Tell, 3-4 Griselbrand, 0 Tendrils, not having LDV, Snapcaster, Careful Study, different color splash, and sideboard specific cards. You should find that it's somewhat applicable- people want to play with certain cards in the deck because of comfort zone and ideas of how the deck should operate within a certain meta.
I hoping that my late night rant makes coherent sense; I feel like this is just ramblings of a madman.
Acclimation I agree with what you said 100%. I had a good run with the stock list you and Koby run including Koby watching me in person blow my win and in for a gpt top 8.
With that being said a few weeks back I switched to the counter version to try it out and had great success. Then following week I went back and had a miserable time which I can only credit to miss playing the deck to the wrong protection package.
I think this will be the never ending struggle with the deck and the meta that it's being played in. I have tried to keep my conversations about the deck to a minimum and only discuss it with local pilots and with Koby on occasion. It's nice tho to here small reports on how other people's tweaks are going in their meta but hard to argue with the results people like you and Koby have put up on multiple occasions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
I am the führer of the 3 Reichs. (King of the castle!)Quote:
Originally Posted by phazonmutant
Guys, how are you finding your exposure to Wasteland with the current manabase? Given that there is a lot of it around, has anyone tested a basic Island? Or is the deck so reliant on speed that you hate it when you draw it? I just got so sick of getting locked off my Brainstorms and Ponders I have chucked one in, and I am really liking it. 4 Polluted Delta and 1 Flooded Strand give you fetches to dig it out, too. It is only very rarely I have to mulligan a no-Black hand, so I have been finding the trade off worth it. *note, this is with Oozing, which is a different deck, but similar enough that my experience with mana should be relevant to you guys.
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It's been tested. It's an acceptable choice. It was actually an almost auto-include when I started playing this deck several months ago.
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Thanks for letting me know. I hope that with TNN not getting the axe the meta warps to combat it, giving this deck room to run rampant!
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I've hedged my bets. I play this and True-Blade Control lol.
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Haha, well played, sir! But honestly, I think TNN is the best thing that he happened for this deck for ages. I love people tapping out for it on Turn 3.
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Wasteland is easy to play around, as is Stifle.
Don't fetch unless you need to, get the basic Swamp early, and don't be afraid to Ponder for a land.
Alternatively, you can #YOLOSWAG and just win really fast instead.
I found basic Island more hindering to going off than useful against Wasteland. Just play another USea so you still have access to Blue and Black mana.
Check out this list that won a GPT over in Paris:
Sylvain Grolleau
Grand Prix Trial Winner – Legacy
Main Deck
60 cards
1 Bayou
1 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
1 Verdant Catacombs
15 lands
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Griselbrand
2 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
7 creatures
4 Brainstorm
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Careful Study
3 Dark Ritual
2 Daze
4 Entomb
1 Exhume
4 Force of Will
2 Gitaxian Probe
3 Goryo's Vengeance
4 Lotus Petal
4 Shallow Grave
38 other spells
Sideboard
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Duress
1 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Massacre
2 Pithing Needle
2 Reverent Silence
1 Swan Song
1 Thoughtseize
It's definitely different from the lists we've been discussing.
Big differences: Green splash, Jin Gitaxias, Exhume, various sideboard cards.
If this guy played the list in the GP, I wonder if he made day 2.
He didn't make D2. Ended on the 231st place with 6-3 record.
His game plan seems weak, hinging quite a bit on reanimating Jin eoot to give him some protection and some fuel. I prefer a much more direct route, and as I've voiced often, the storm route.
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It's something like "Next Level Next Level Reanimator" :) I've seen that same list doing Top 8 at a 60 people GP Trial a few weeks ago here in Paris.Quote:
Originally Posted by Acclimation
As far as I know from the original Next Level Reanimator list, the main change are the 3 Dark Rituals to allow T1 kills and I think the original had a Show and Tell sideboard plan too.
In fact if you swap the 2 Jin with Children + Tendrills, replace 2 USea by moxen you basically have a Countermagic/Careful Study version of Tin Fins ... which rewinds 30-40 pages back in this thread doesn't it ? :)
But such good results are probably worth having a closer look :)
Each time I see another Reanimator deck "which seems to have the same weaknesses as we do, maybe even more because it does not kill on the spot" doing good, I can't help asking myself why are there so few Tin Fins at the big tournaments top 8 ?
(Not to mention classic Reanimator, which just did Top 8 again at GP Paris)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tachikoma
I always attribute this to people not having the testicular fortitude to play Tinfins, usually with the phrases "too much of a glass cannon" or "Deathrite Shaman is too popular" or even "Deck is bad."
Not saying that the deck is an unstoppable juggernaut, but it's definitely a strong deck, and if more people actually played it at tournaments we could probably break into DTB.
Of course, now that I say that, watch me go x-3 drop next weekend at the Open.
I'm trying like hell to make it to St. Louis. Dunno if I will make it but if I do, I'm debating playing tin fins. Reanimator is doing to well for me to ignore.
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Paris 6-3 losing my win and in to Day 2 on a poor cabal therapy…… but this at least gave me all of Sunday to play sanctioned Vintage. I was set on playing Team America, but after looking over trials on the Friday the deck was everywhere and the mirror is miserable. Faced TA in 5 out of 9 rounds in the GP.
Pretty stock list with 2 GB, 1 FSM, 1 Child, 3-2-1 Therapy-Seize-Silence, 1 Mox, 4-3-1 Reanimate’s, and 14 land. With so many DRS, and quite a few UW decks running RIP, I didn’t want to spend SB games beating hate, so played Painter.
4 Painter
4 Grindstone
3 Enlightened Tutor
2 Chains of Vapour
1 Echoing Truth
1 Grafdiggers
I lost 1 SB game on the Painter plan as the TA player kept all Decay’s and had the double delver, but won the rest. This was the first time I played Painter and it was significantly better than the ANT SB options, primarily as I got to keep my bounce.
The deck was solid all weekend, not to many auto-keep turn 1 hands, but very few mulls so I can’t complain. It is still a good choice.
Awesome result! I might have to test that Painter board, as I still have a soft spot for transformational combo. What did you typically pull for that?Quote:
Originally Posted by alastair
-2 GrisQuote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
-1 CoK
-1 Emmy
-8 Reanimate
-4 Entomb
Is -16 cards, so probably some combination of those if you bring in the entire sideboard.
Perhaps -4 creatures, -7 insta reanimate, 3 Entomb, leaving Reanimate and an Entomb in for +14 cards (sans grafdigger's) to enable a line of play of Entomb>Painter>Reanimate.
Just spitballing here.
What's old is new again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
:laugh:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
I only brought Cage in when appropriate, but always 2+ pieces of bounce. I always left reanimate in as its good for Painter or a Goyf you happen to take, and 1-2 Shallow Grave if you go long on Painter (but it’s a pretty poor), or the Child as a chump blocker (again pretty bad, but preferable to an 59 card deck).
You know I actually picked up Grindstones after that, despite never really having an interest in any other Painter deck. Ended up not testing it because the Painters were strangely hard to find (apparently still are), and Sneak/Show got all popular so Emrakul was everywhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koby
Did you ever end up doing any testing with it?
Nope, as soon as I picked up interest in the deck Greg and I started tweaking with reactive SB cards and that still seems to work for us (and Logan too). I don't play enough these days to suggest any alternatives.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
Reactive sideboards are for serious face games, transformation sideboards for fun.
Speaking of sideboards, currently trying to figure out the board against Team America.
Looking at the first place list from Paris, I would assume that they would go -4 Decay + Hymn, Pierce, Force, Grafdigger's Cage.
That would bring them to 9 mainboard counterspells, so Silence is necessary here. Due to Grafdigger's Cage, we need to bring in Chain of Vapor to deal with both it and DRS.
So, +3 Silence +2 Chain of Vapor.
As for what to take out, it gets tricky: Do we treat them like RUG with discard or Jund/Shardless with counterspells?
Our board against RUG is -3 Probe -1 Thoughtseize -2 LDV for +3 Silence +2 Chain
Against Jund and Shardless -3 Probe for +2 Needle +1 chain
I'm thinking that our starting point will be -3 Probe. I want to keep Thoughtseize in, and LDV is helpful if we need to rebuild after ravaging each other with discard. I'm not a fan of Reanimate, since they could potentially bring in sacrifice effects, and we do want to keep our life total comfortable in this match. With that in mind, we can do away with the 4th probe to bring us to -4 Probe and -1 Reanimate
I'm thinking -4 Probe -1 Reanimate for +3 Silence +2 Chain of Vapor
Does anyone have any thoughts or questions to my line of logic?
I would treat is more like Shardless. The GP winning list runs less than 20 blue spells, and maybe 22 after board. Daze is a bit of a nuisance, but Force of Will is the main headache, along with all the discard. Even with their discard (2 'Seize 4 Hymn), Silence only helps to a degree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Acclimation
I suggest +1 Silence +2 Needle +2 Chains, taking out 1 Reanimate, 4 Probe. Silence thus, would act like a discard spell on FoW, but having too many makes the mana base weak against a 4 Wasteland deck.
That's fair.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koby
So we're on the same page, do you still think that the mainboard package should be 0 Silence 3 Thoughtseize 4 Therapy or back to 1/2/4?
I'm still favoring 0/3/4.
I think it's appropriate to go to 3/4 Seize/Therapy, or even down to 2/4 and back to 60 cards. Combo is not as prevalent lately.
I'm thinking that for STL, staying at 61 cards is about right. People favor Show and Tell decks, BUG will likely be popular, and I've seen a fair bit of Belcher and TES in the area too.
It might be incorrect, but I'm pretty confident in the 61/14 for this tournament.
Placed 51st at St.Louis today, with a record of 6-3. Was running hot at 6-1, then lost in the last 2 rounds due to mulligans/drawing bad.
Also went 3-1 in the Legacy Trial on Saturday.
Will do a full report later, just wanted to give an update.
Nice. I missed going by a miserable 50 bucks. Can't wait for the report.
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Well, after frustrating results last month, this is the list I am finally happy with. I will play it Thursday night, 2/27/14, at our local store. In testing, I think it works out the kinks that pissed me off...LOL.
Lands
4 Polluted Delta
3 Marsh Flats
4 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
2 Scrubland
1 Swamp
15 Lands
Creatures
4 Griselbrand
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Children of Korlis
6 creatures
Spells
4 Entomb
4 Shallow Grave
3 Goryo's Vengeance
1 Reanimate
2 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
3 Cabal Therapy
1 Tendrils of Agony
4 Lotus Petal
1 Chrome Mox
4 Dark Ritual
1 Mox Diamond
4 Daze
4 Careful Study
Edit: I built this before seeing the GP build, which I don't happen to like. Jin-Git is a crutch imo, and this deck plays enough on a turn to warrant Tendrils in the main. And adding Green just for 2 SB Abrupt Decays doesn't seem as good as adding White for Serenity and Silence.
Try this build out in MTG Deck Builder or MWS. Consistent Turn 2 wins with it in testing.
Dave
Here's my report from the Legacy Open Trial that took place on Saturday. My notes were in another notebook, which I loaned to a friend who ripped the pages out, so my memory is a bit spotty.
Played the same list as I always do.
Round 1: Junk Stoneblade 2-0
So, 150 players in the Trial, and round 1 I get paired up with my friend. Go figure.
He has Deathrite and Discard, but it's not enough- easy 2-0, nothing spectacular happened.
Round 2: Affinity 2-0
Game 1 he vomits his entire hand and goes to work. With some fancy footwork with a low life total and 2 Children of Korlis activations, I get the win
sb: +2 Serenity +2 Chain -4 Probe
Game 2: He mulls down to 5, and leads off with Signal Pest. He ends up with a couple of Vault Skirge and Grafdigger's Cage, so the turn I combo off I swing with both Griselbrand and Emrakul and storm for 9.
Round 3: Death and Taxes 1-2
I get it game 1 on turn 2. Easy peasy.
sb: see sideboard notes post
Game 2, couldn't draw to save my life. Got beat down with Swords
Game 3, he opens with Grafdigger's cage, but I have Chain, so I feel good. Get stuck with a hand of Rit, Rit, Grave, Goryo, Griselbrand, Chain and drew lands and cantrips, but no discard nor Entomb. He topdecks a RiP and plays it. And right on cue, I draw Entomb, go figure. I cantrip like mad to find my other Chain, but am unable to do so before he beats me.
Round 4: Dredge 2-0
Game 1 I have a hand that goes off on t2, and proceed to do so with Griselbrand+Tendrils
Game 2 Got him on the second turn again. The only spells he cast were Faithless Looting, and a landfall trigger on his Bloodghast.
Deck drew sad in that Death and Taxes match up, which is something we have a pretty good match-up against. Game is sometimes hard.
Next post will have my Legacy Open report.
Okay, now for the real stuff. Legacy Open, 9 rounds of Swiss. This time, I have my notes in front of me, so it should be somewhat more detailed.
Same list, same sideboard plan.
Round 1: Jund 2-0
Jund is one of my favorite match-ups with this deck. They rarely interact on the stack, rely too much on Deathrite Shaman to clear the graveyard, and I've played against it more than any other match-up.
Game 1 He mulligans and I thoughtseize him, seeing a hand of land, land, Abrupt Decayx2, Liliana, and Tarmogoyf. I nab the Goyf, and Therapy the Liliana on the next turn. I get him on the third turn when my Gitaxian Probe reveals more land and the same Decays.
Game 2: I get him on the third turn after he plays 2 Deathrite Shaman. Needle too good here.
As it turns out, it was this guy's first Legacy tournament. Was pretty cool though, and not even remotely butthurt.
Round 2: Ant 2-1
Continuing the trend of getting paired against my friends, I get paired up against my friend, Chris.
Game 1 I combo on t1, but am unable to draw into any Lotus Petal. I finish the job on t3.
Game 2 We ravage each other with discard, and end up playing land, go for 3 turns. He eventually topdecks an Infernal tutor and gets me (was at 12 due to aggressive Probing and Thoughtseizing).
Game 3 I have the t1 Entomb, t2 Shallow Grave, so I go for it. He Extirpates my Griselbrand in response to the Grave. I have Emrakul in hand, and proceed to draw lands and brick on cantrips. He eventually attempts to combo from 14 life, and on his Infernal Tutor, realizes that he boarded out Ad Nauseum for Telemerin Performance and doesn't have the mana to combo with Past in Flames. He goes for Performance, mills most of my library and gets Children of Korlis. 3 Turns go by before I top deck my last Shallow Grave and Discard to pitch Emrakul from my hand and win. That was a game I should have lost, but got extremely lucky. Never give up until lethal is presented, folks.
Round 3: Maverick 1-2 (This guy placed top 16)
Having used up all my bullshit luck last round, this one goes poorly for me.
Game 1 I get game 1, but have to get him over the course of 2 turns. He GSZ for a Gaddock Teeg the turn before I go off, and I brick on my draw 7s- all I needed was a Lotus Petal to seal the deal. I get him next turn with Children of Korlis fueled draws.
Game 2: He gets out multiple bears, but Massacre takes care of them. The turn before I go off, he top decks a Maze of Ith, and between that and his Karakas, he gets me.
At this point, he asks me if I go to Opens often. I say yes, and he looks at the slip and goes "Oh shit, you're Logan Creen, I watched you stomp people on Twitch!" #egoboost
Game 3: I get out a Massacre, hit some good discard, Needle a Karakas, but ended up having a clock put on me with a Sword of Fire and Ice. He is tapped out and attempt to go off after he gets in one swing with the Sword. Unluckily for me, he drew Extraction off of the Sword and seals the deal.
Round 4: Burn 2-1
This guy also recognized me. As soon as we sat down, he asked "you still playing that reanimator list?" My ego is loving the recognition, but the loss of surprise is annoying me.
Game 1 I keep a somewhat risky hand with some discard after he mulls down to 6. I look at his hand and see Chain Lightning, Grim Lavamancer x2, Rift Bolt, and 2 Mountains. I end up getting a Griselbrand up, but my life total was too low to do anything, and I was unable to draw into anything to help me out.
For sideboarding, I took out -4 Probe, -1 LDV, and -1 Reanimate for +3 Silence and +3 Chain
I blind Therapy turn 2 naming Pyrostatic Pillar, and see that he has Ensnaring Bridge, a Lavamancer, and a Flame Rift, alongside some land. I combo from 14 life, getting him with Tendrils on my second main phase with a little help from Children of Korlis.
Game 3 He opens with a Grafdigger's Cage, and follows up with a Goblin Guide and a Rift Bolt. I Silence on his upkeep to prevent Rift Bolt from coming down. Next turn he plays another Guide and then I Chain the Cage on his End step. I combo off on the next turn, but brick on my draw to seal the deal, and pass with 8 life to his 12. He groans about being greedy and not playing the other Cage he had in hand over the Goblin Guide (I Therapied them on my second main phase). Crossing my fingers that he doesn't draw into a 4 damage spell, he draws into Sulferic Vortex- which throws a kink into my plans. Luckily, I kept Brainstorm, an Entomb, and Emrakul and had enough land to Brainstorm away Emrakul, Entomb, then Shallow Grave, winning with 1 life (I had to fetch). #toocloseforcomfort
Round 5: Miracles 2-0
If there was one match up I didn't want to play against, it was Miracles (RUG too, but I feel more confident in that).
Game 1 I Thoughtseize and see a hand of Top, Counterbalance x2, JTMS, Vendillion Clique, and lands. I nab the Top, and pass. Next turn, I follow up with a Therapy and nab Counterbalance. He ends up drawing nothing but land, and I Entomb at the end of his 3rd turn. He flashes Clique in on my draw step, and I Shallow Grave in response. Ended up winning that turn.
Game 2 I get my turn 1 Thoughtseize Misdirected; I pitch my Emrakul and get a shuffle. He Flusterstorms one of my Reanimation attempts, but over the course of 3 turns I reanimate Griselbrand and swing in.
This round, while not a free win, I felt like I won pretty easily. I kept him on the back foot all game and was able to win without much resistance. He brought in Flusterstorms, Humility, Pithing Needle, Karakas, Rest in Peace, and a Relic of Progenitus. A mountain of hate, and only saw 3 pieces (I thoughtseized RIP on my first turn).
Round 6: Sneak and Show 2-0
Game 1 I get in some discard, then get out Griselbrand on t4. He brainstorms, but found nothing. I reanimate Children twice, and attempt to Tendrils him when I can't get an Entomb for Emrakul. I didn't keep track, but I knew it was 10. He insisted that I only cast 9 spells, and that one of my Petals I cast the turn before. We argue back and forth (I forgot that he played a spell on my turn), and just swing in for game anyway.
Clearly this guy is a huge scumbag.
Game 2 though, my deck has my back. My opening 7 was land, ritual, entomb, shallow grave x2, thoughtseize, ponder. He plays a fetch and passes. Praying for a Lotus petal, I draw and get one. I thoughtseize and see land, ashen rider, petal, emmy, and bs x2. I take the Brainstorm. Play the Petal, rit, and entomb. He brainstorms, gets grumpy and lets me proceed. I draw 14 and get that Emrakul. I swing in, and he throws his hand into his graveyard and starts to scoop his lands and graveyard. I scoop up my land and hand, and he goes off saying that I should pick up my cards until he does, since some people would call a Judge. I have 2 friends watching our game (one standing over his shoulder game 2 due to tight space in the rows). He angrily makes a faint line on the slip, so I call a judge over to get him to actually sign it so we don't get called up to the Judge center later. He glares at me and I finish packing up and leave. Seriously, fuck that guy and his shitty attitude. As I walk away, my friends catch up and we start laughing. Apparently he drew a Grafdigger's Cage and a Spell Pierce off the brainstorm. That justice.
Round 7 Sneak and Show 2-1
Game 1 I keep a hand with Emrakul, Griselbrand, 3 fetches, and 2 Ponders. Risky, but my gut told me to go for it. I draw a Probe and see he's on Sneak and Show. I Cantrip and discard and keep him from comboing. He eventually goes for it and I put in Griselbrand. I draw and do Children things and get him with Tendrils.
Game 2 I Surgical his Misty Rainforest to get some info on his hand. As it turns out, he only had 1 Misty Rainforest in the deck, but a couple of counterspells in hand, as well as Sower of Temptation, Emrakul, and Griselbrand. Eventually, he attempts to Show and Tell when I have Griselbrand in hand. I consider dropping my land instead, in case he drops Sower. Decide to #YOLO and go for Griselbrand, figuring I had a 50/50 shot at him putting in not Sower. WRONG. I draw 7, but don't draw anything useful. End up dead to my own Griselbrand.
Game 3 I Surgical his Brainstorm after he mulligans and sees Tidespout Tyrant, a Petal, and a Show and Tell. I have Griselbrand in hand, as well as a Dark Ritual and a Shallow Grave. He shows and I tell, then he plays the Petal to bounce my Griselbrand. I draw 14 in response, then kill him on the next turn.
Round 8 Esper Deathblade 0-2 (This guy top 8'd)
And now it all goes downhill.
I win the roll and get this hand: Rit, Rit, Shallow Grave, Reanimate, Entomb, Entomb, Probe. Being the greedy fuck that I am, I keep it- I draw any IMS and I win. I Probe, see no counterspells and draw... Brainstorm! 5 turns later and I draw my first land. By then he had the counterspell to stop me, and lethal on board.
Game 2 I get another stacked opener that only needs an IMS to go off. I mull down to 6 and get yet another hand that needs an IMS to go off t1. Deck is taunting me. Mull to 5 and get 2 lands, Ponder, Dark Rit, and Brainstorm. Luckily he mulled to 5 as well. Neither one of us draw any business, so he just drops Snapcaster Mage into play. I spin my wheels cantripping while he gets another Snapcaster. I get an Entomb and Shallow Grave after I cast Lim-Dul's Vault, but he has the counterspell to stop my Shallow Grave. Snapcaster beatdown and Tar Pit get me the turn after.
Round 9 Team America 1-2
I was sitting at 34th at the beginning of this round, and my opponent was 41st, so we discuss drawing, but since there was no incentive for him to do so, we play it out for the hell of it. So far, my two losses were from people who were x-1 still, so I figure that I could maybe squeak into top 16 if I won.
Due to seeing two Daze from my Probe, I'm prevented from going off early, so I cantrip for lands and discard to slow him down. I resolve LDV and after 5 life find what I need. He flips a Delver with a third Daze after I get rid of one. With lethal on board next turn, I have the mana to fight through both Daze. I swing, and decide to draw 7 for yolo tendrils. I hit my land drop and play Children and draw more cards. I Shallow Grave Children and draw even more. I have 5 mana floating, 5 B from rituals and 2 blue available from Mox and my last Petal, and 5 cards left in my deck. I brain storm and don't hit tendrils. Cast LDV with 4 cards left. We're both laughing at this point, so I flip over my deck, and Tendrils was the bottom card. I put it on top and draw it with Probe. Tendrils for 36. Game was silly and left us with 15 min on the clock.
Game 2 He sticks a Cage and 2 Deathrite Shaman, and despite landing a Needle and Chain on Cage, I brick on my draws and die to 2 turns of Deathrite Shaman swings.
Game 3 we have 5 minutes left and try to play fast. I attempt to combo, but he has the Spell Pierce the first time. I stick a Griselbrand and swing after he taps out for Vclique, and brick on draws again. He lands a Tombstalker and gets me on a fast clock. I stall out with Children, but he ends up getting me on t5.
So, I ended up placing 51st, 6-3 record. I was stoked to be 6-1, but just got unlucky on my mulligans and draws. In general, I found that a lot of my bricks were due to not having a mana source to continue comboing. I almost want to make room for another Mox, Chrome or Diamond (probably Diamond), but I'm unsure what to cut. I'm rather fond of Probe, I feel that cutting a land might be right but could make our opening hands a bit worse, and our other slots have their uses. I'm thinking that I could cut the 3rd Thoughtseize for it and retain consistency.
Other things I noticed: I won more on t3 than usual, with multiple games in which I reanimated twice over two turns to win. I did use Children much more than I have in the past. The sideboarding choices were all correct. I chalk up my losses due to hitting the bad end of variance.
Would still play the deck as is in another tournament, very much confident in the list, but would like to play around with Mox Diamond. Unfortunately, I had to give back the 2 Underground Seas I was borrowing, so testing isn't going to happen on my end in the near future.
Props:
Getting mentioned indirectly in the top 8 profile for casting Lim-Dul's Vault
Getting a t1 win versus a scumbag
Placing in money
Getting recognized by multiple people
Winning a game that I shouldn't have won
2 Chainz being stuck in my head all day
Slops:
Playing against my friends during events
Bad opening hands/mulligans ruining my run at the end