[report 2/4/2007] second in Italy with TES

Ciao! I write a short report for my second place with TES in one legacy tournament in Mestre, near Venice in Italy. Sorry for my language, but I don’t write in english very well.

After 2 months of decktesting, I decide to use this deck to the next legacy tournament near my city. I and my teammates think that the metagame was formed from an hundred of threshold and gobbo (goblin) decks. As usual we do a mistake :-). In the room, I see an extremely varied metagame with threshold, gro, solidarity, spring tide, pikula, gobbos, stax, 41lands, madness, belcher and many more (6 combo!).

So, I fix my side and we begin (-2 spree +2 orim).

Round 1
Antonio – Pikula

Unlucky men, We do 100 Km and we are paired together. We're teammates, so I ask him if we can draw, but he says to me that he wants to play, because he doesn't want draw already at first round.
We know our decks very well and usually in decktesting I win the first game, but the others two I lose. It's the same this time.
Game1 – I win the die roll and I keep a good, but not superfast hand. I play land, pass. He plays land, duress and discard me an acceleration. My second turn land, go. He plays land, sinkhole on my city, pass. I play another time land, go. In his turn, he plays ritual, confidant, spectral lynx. My third turn I succeed to combo but I don't remember if via diminishing or iggy pop.
SB: -4 xantid -1 cabal ritual +3 confidant +2 EtW
Game2 – He side in: null rod, extirpate, additional engineered plague and orim’s chant (9 cards!). He starts with discards effects like duress and hymn that decimate my hand. I try to play a dark confidant, but in response in his turn he plays plague naming human. So the game goes long and in middle game he has on the table a lynx and jotun that are attacking. I have on board petal, gemstone, city and a tomb of urami and 2 cards in hand. In response I play a ritual effect and animate demon 5/5. I think a little bit. He can bluff in the attack or not. I opt for bluff from his look eyes, so I block. Beee, at 90° like a sheep! After combat phase he plays plague naming demon. -.-
Game3 – I mull to 6 and I keep a good hand: land, petal, chrome, ritual, cabal ritual, EtW. EtW for 10 tokens. His turn: land, ritual, plague. gg. -.-
1-2
(0-1)

Round 2
Valerio – Spring Tide

I know the deck that he plays, because I do a little bit of scouting during first turn.
Game1 – I win die roll and in second turn I try an EtW for 10 or 12 (I don’t remember). In his last possible turn he tries to take mana for win or only for do cunning -> echoing, but he...scoops.
SB: -1 diminishing -2 cabal ritual +2 orim +1 EtW .
Game2 – I keep a “not so fast” hand because I have in hand a xantid swarm that can protect me. He plays land. I play land, xantid. He plays another land and do some cantrips. I play another land, attack, but I can’t combo so I pass. He plays land and snap on my xantid to take time. I return xantid on board in my turn, but turn after he does a freeze for 48.
Game3 – I keep an hand with no protection (I never see orim in game 2-3) but with some acceleration one shot and 2 tutors. So I wait because I have fear of FoW. In his second turn he plays merchant -> high tide, pass. In my turn burning wish for cabal therapy that names high tide. He shows me his hand with no FoW and some pieces for combo and cantrip that he plays in his turn. So in my fourth turn I risk and I try to go via ill-gotten gains, he takes from grave: brainstorm, high tide and merchant and with the only mana blue open he tries brainstorm for FoW, but he...scoops.
2-1
(1-1)

Round 3
XXX – Madness UGR

Game1 – He wins die roll. I don’t remember very much of this game. He plays many acceleration like LED and chrome but only a wild mongrel so he doesn’t do many pressure, and he draws the wrong cards for this matchup like fiery temper and krosan grip. I topdeck xantid and play it. Turn after I win with a tendrils for 20.
SB: -2 cabal ritual -1 plunge -1 brainstorm +2 orim +2 EtW.
Game2 – I keep this hand: land, petal, LED, ritual, cabal ritual, infernal tutor and other trash. He plays land, pass. I risk...turn 1 win!
2-0
(2-1)

Round 4
Rosenroth89 – Control BG

He plays a deck full of discards effects, mutilate, deed, haunting echoes and like win condition...helldozer!
Game1 – I try an EtW but he topdeck mutilate at last possible turn. Then he topdecks 3 hymns and 2 duress during the game, that don’t give me the time to draw a consistent hand to start the combo. So in late game he plays helldozer and turn after he destroys all my lands. Sigh.
SB: -4 xantid swarm +3 dark confidant +1 EtW
Game2 – I don’t remember very much of this game. I succeed to play a ToA for the win in first turns.
Game3 – I mulligan to 6 and keep a risky hand with LED, confidant, cabal pit, brainstorm, cabal ritual, plunge. He plays land, duress -> LED. I topdeck ritual and play confidant. Turn after I topdeck another confidant and play it. In his turns he plays multiple hymn to tourach, but they aren’t a problem because I’m beating with confidant and I’m doing an ancestral every turn until I can do a ToA for 10 lives.
2-1
(3-1)

Round 5
Ugo – Belcher with EtW like alternative win

Game1 – I do many EtW. He tries to combo but can’t, so I win easily.
SB: -4 xantid swarm +2 orim +2 EtW
Game2 – I don’t remember very much also in this game. I only remember that he wins.
Game3 – I think he keeps a god hand if he draw a mana source, because after I play land, go in my turn, he plays nothing during his turn. I can try to combo in my second with a small EtW or with diminishing returns without mana open and with the risk that he draws 7 good cards. So I play all my spells (petal and LED) and I go in hellbent with infernal tutor. I search in library orim and pass. After the games he says to me that he was surprise because I don’t try to combo in that turn.
So I play by control instead by combo, because I know that he side out any protection against me. After few turns he starti the combo: esg removed -> tinder wall sacrificed, rite of flame, rite of flame,…wait! Orim... o_O. 4 burn damages, pass. I do a ToA for 16 lives.
2-1
(4-1)

Round 6
Ciccio – 41lands

A bye! But he’s also my teammate so we draw and we’re in T8.
(4-1-1)

In Top8 there are: TES, my teammates with Pikula and 41lands, a classic goblin, gro UGW, astral slide, affinity and loam-assault.

Top 8
Ciccio – 41lands

LOL! We’re paired. He cries, I smile. I don’t write anything. This is a bye during decktesting and also in tournament.
2-0

Top 4
XXX – Gro UGW

These are the bests game I play in the tournament. He plays a deck similar to threshold but instead of mongoose and werebear, he uses kudzu and mongrel with lftl and usual counters like daze, counterspell and FoW plus trickbind in side.
Game1 – I win die roll and I keep a good hand but without any tutor: 2 lands, ToA, dark ritual, rite of flame, cabal ritual, petal. I play land, go; he does the same, but I topdeck for next 2 turns 2 lands. So at the fourth turn I have 4 lands and a full hand of 7 cards with ToA and all accelerations. He has in play a kudzu and mongrel that are beating me and I have 2 turn before I die. So I hope to draw a tutor, a xantid or another ToA n my next 2 turns, because I nearly sure that he has in hand some counters. I draw another ToA and in my last possible turn I try to combo. I play dark ritual (BBB), he thinks and says ok. I play rite of flame (BBBRR), ok. Another rite of flame (BBBRRRR), ok. Petal, ok. ToA for 10 lives (BRR). I have in hand cabal ritual and another ToA. So I take in hand the cabal ritual and play the other ToA for the win.
SB: I don’t know what I can side in because I have many cards: orim, confidant and EtW and I can’t side out xantid. So I do: -2 cabal ritual -2 plunge -1 brainstorm +3 confidant +2 EtW
Game2 – I mulligan to six and I keep a not so good hand with: LED, chrome, xantid, xantid, plunge, brainstorm. I keep only for twice xantid, but in my turns I wait for a mana source because I fear of daze. At third turn I draw petal -.-; I think a little bit and I do an error because instead of playing chrome imprinted with plunge and play xantid with petal, I play petal, chrome imprinted with xantid and play xantid. With a chrome that gives me green mana I can clean my ***, because I don’t draw any mana source in others turns and my opponents beasts (kudzu, mongrel & jotun) kill me.
Game3 – I don’t remember very much. But this match is epic! I remember that I think 10 minutes on a played, because I want to win via ill-gotten gains for ToA protected with also a meddling mage that names ToA and a cabal pit in threshold (I have also orim, infernal tutor and 2 LED). I try all possible combination, but for one mana I can’t destroy meddling and win or do others combinations, so I go for less elegant 12 or 14 gobbos. And after 3 turns I win with my opponent that don’t remember to side in ghostly prison.

Final
XXX – Loam-Assault

My opponent plays a quadricolor deck! With sismic assault, lftl, smallpox, pernicious, bop, walls, helix, wastelands, witness, devastating dreams and in side against me chalice, duress and loxodon.
All says me that he is very lucky because with casting cost: BB, RR, BG, RRR, RW he never goes in screw and he topdecks very well in Top8 against Astral Slide and Pikula (that plays sinkhole, vindicate, wasteland and extirpate for ltfl).

Game1 – I don’t remember very much. I close at 3° or 4° with the opponent that plays only wall of blossoms, wasteland and smallpox.
SB: -4 xantid swarm -1 plunge +3 confidant +2 orim (I don’t side in 2 EtW because he plays pernicious and dreams).
Game2 – I mulligan to 6 and I keep a not so good hand. He plays all side cards. Duress, chalice at 1 that I destroy via burning for spree, wasteland, devastating dreams, another chalice take with witness, duress and then he kills me with attack of witness and loxodon.
Game3 – I re-side +2 EtW -2 orim. I mulligan another time to 6 and I’m again in screw after few turns. But my opponent doesn’t put many pressure to me because he play only hate but no critters.
I’m tired after playing 8 round of TES and when I try a plunge for 5 that reveals city, gemstone, infernal, petal, plunge, I take away the city, I come distracted, and I take the infernal. NOOOO!
Obviously then I topdeck infernal and for X turns I don’t topdeck any mana source with I can start also with a chalice at 1 (diminishing +2 cabal ritual in threshold). So I continue X turns and when I’m at 8 lives, he plays sismic assault and discards 4 lands. Sigh!
Next topdeck? Gemstone mine. Unlucky me and a great mistake on plunge.

So I win 4 confidant instead of 4 tropical!

My decklist can be found here: http://www.theabyss.biz/forum/viewto...22721&start=15

The only change I think I’ll do is -1 tranquility (sigh beta) for +1 simplify (I need 1 foil!)

Props:
- Wastedlife for the idea!
- My Bava’s Team. We’re all in T8! (but this time there isn’t the prize for teams :-( )
Slops:
- My mistake in final
- My english

How many people were in this tournament?

Congrats on the fantastic finish, by the way :cool:

There were 34 players, here's the top8:

1° Sismic Assault --- Ferragotto Massimo
2° TES ------------- Gnesotto Carlo (Jegger)
3° Simil Pikula ----- Creazza Antonio (Ccreazza)
4° Miracle Gro.tech - Luca Bertani
5° Gobbo WR ------- xyz
6° Astral WG ------- Ferragotto Carlo
7° 41 Lands -------- Fornasier Luca (Altarius)
8° Affinity ---------- Busato Mattia (verdeloth)

Cool to see some more European TES love.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter_Rotten

Cool to see some more European TES love.

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Thanks :smile:
Many players now are testing TES :laugh:

p.s.: hi 3eowulf!

By the way, your English is superb. Congratulations.