[REPORT] 5th Place at SCG STL with High Tide

To start off, here’s the decklist:

Artifacts
3 Candelabra of Tawnos

Instants
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
4 Brainstorm
2 Cunning Wish
2 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
4 High Tide
2 Meditate
1 Pact of Negation
1 Snap
3 Turnabout

Sorceries
4 Merchant Scroll
4 Ponder
3 Preordain
4 Time Spiral

Basic Lands
12 Island

Lands
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn

Sideboard:
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Brain Freeze
1 Flusterstorm
1 Intuition
1 Meditate
1 Pact of Negation
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Rebuild
2 Repeal
1 Turnabout
1 Wipe Away

Round 1 – Eric Wynn w/ Burn
Eric admitted that he was new to Legacy, and that this was his first tournament. Based on that, I guessed he might be on burn and I was right. First game I combo off easily the turn before he would have killed me. This is usually how it goes against burn, as we have nearly the same clock. Second game he has a Mindbreak Trap when I go to Time Spiral, but I counter it and we shuffle up. Unfortunately I have only a couple cantrips that leave me with a hand of lands and counters. He has a full grip of burn, so I die next turn. He sides in more cards for game 3 and we begin. He doesn’t play much the first few turns, so I guess that he’s sitting on some disruption. I should have played around Mindbreak trap by just playing High Tide into Time Spiral, but instead I get greedy and throw a couple of turnabouts in there for the extra mana. I have 2 counters, but he has 3 Mindbreak Traps. I lose. I am disappointed to start off the tournament with a loss, especially such a close one, but Eric was a really nice guy so that helped. We kept checking in with each other throughout the day and he ended up 18th which is awesome for his first tournament.

0-1

Round 2 - Martin Schank w/ BUG
When I see black mana sources I start worrying because I know they represent discard. Lucky for me, Martin wasn’t able to hit anything crucial, thanks to brainstorm. I combo off game one through minimal disruption. Game 2 I am somewhat eager to test out Leyline of Sanctity, as this is the first time I’ve tried it out in the sideboard, but draw a good seven without one so I keep. My first draw: Leyline. I put it back with brainstorm and shuffle it away, hoping never to draw it again this game. Fortunately he doesn’t draw a single discard spell, and I combo with Time Spiral. After building some storm, he Surgicals my Turnabouts but it is already too late and I have enough mana to get the win.

1-1

Round 3 - Jason Allard w/ Splinter Twin
Game 1 I don’t see Jason’s combo, only Grim Lavamancer, Lightning Bolts, and countermagic. I play patiently and combo off with 6 or 7 lands in play. I usually make the mistake of attempting to combo as soon as I can get Time Spiral cast, but I’m trying to learn that waiting is usually better if possible. Having the extra mana available nullifies daze and Spell Pierce when you’re trying to get the combo started. I don’t side much for game 2, because I think he’s playing U/R Delver. When he flashes in Pestermite during my end step and then plays Splinter Twin, all is revealed. I am forced to counter the enchantment, but he just plays Kiki-Jiki the next turn and wins the counter battle and the game with 10,000 Pestermites. So now I side in one Repeal and Wipe Away. I get the Wipe Away in my opening hand game 3 and keep. I play the waiting game, just building up mana and sculpting my hand, leaving 3 Islands untapped. When he goes to play Splinter Twin on Pestermite, I wipe it away, countering the enchantment. I combo off next turn for the win.

2-1

Round 4 - Scott Monroe w/ RUG Delver
I consider this to be a bad matchup, but luckily Scott doesn’t find the magic tempo-plus-disruption combination that makes RUG Delver so deadly. I win game one and side in Repeals for game 2. I usually try to save my counters to protect my own spells, but when he casts Sylvan Library I Force of Will. We both know he can pay any amount of life and keep his hand stocked, which would be disastrous for me. A Repeal for zero bounces a Delver and buys me the turn I need to complete my combo and win the game.

3-1

Round 5 - Greg Viessman w/ Elves
Another matchup that I can easily lose, I put Greg on elves when I see Priest of Titania as he’s shuffling. Game one he plays about a dozen elves including Elvish Archdruid. I combo off, facing lethal damage the next turn. Fearing an Emrakul, I make sure to use Blue Sun’s Zenith for the kill. When I know an opponent won’t have any responses, I like to play my combo with my hand open on the table. This keeps the opponent entertained and engaged instead of just waiting in the dark to see who will win the game. I know that it’s boring to sit across from a High Tide player while he/she is going through the combo, so I’ll explain that if they have no responses I’ll reveal my hand as I play. I think it has been appreciated by my opponents. Game 2 I side in some bounce spells in case of Thorn of Amethyst. Luckily Greg has a relatively slow start for elves and I am able to resolve Time Spiral. During my combo turn, with my hand revealed, my cantrips start missing and I am down to my last Preordain. I reveal land… land. Put both on bottom. Flip next card… Time Spiral! Because my hand was open, my opponent was just as entertained by this as I was. My cantrips keep me going this time and I Blue Sun’s for the win.

4-1

Round 6 - Aandrew Marion w/ ANT
While Aandrew is pile shuffling he accidentally flips over a couple cards, revealing that he is on U/B something. I though perhaps Tezzeret or U/B tempo (he joked about stifling some Dreadnaughts). We play some Ponders and then he casts Duress. I have multiples of what I need so I let it resolve. He takes my Force of Will. I thought that was odd, until he plays 2 Lotus Petal, LED, some rituals and then Infernal Tutor. I scoop. This is tough matchup and I start worrying about getting my second loss of the day. Then I look at my sideboard and see the Leylines, and I see a glimmer of hope. Aandrew went to the bathroom between games so he didn’t see me sideboarding and he didn’t change anything for game two. I mulligan once and see a Leyline, so I keep. I play it and an Island and pass the turn. Aandrew was completely caught off guard and scoops after checking his sideboard. On to game 3. This time Aandrew sides in Chain of Vapor to deal with my white enchantment. Quite luckily, I get two in my opening seven. He can only find one chain of vapor, and I end up comboing for the win. At one point he casts Cabal Therapy on himself for Thoughtseize, just to show how much he could have wrecked my hand.

5-1

Round 7 – Daniel Foster w/ Death and Taxes
Dan is a fellow KC player, and I am disappointed to have to play someone I know, when we both need the win. When we played in KC the week before, he was on Death and Taxes, so when he drops Plains into Aether Vial, I know what to expect. A turn 3 Thalia via Aether Vial, plus Turn 4 Mangara of Corondor with Karakas in play creates a grim situation for me. We play a couple turns with him exiling my lands until I scoop. Game 2 he doesn’t have Thalia by my 3rd turn, so I decide to go for it. Luckily he has attacked with his Mother of Runes, so I can Snap his Phyrexian Revoker and get the mana I need to Time Spiral. Going for it with only three lands is risky; I need to get another High Tide, some way to untap, and some draws spells. I get all 3, then Time Spiral again and he scoops. Game 3 he plays Rest in Peace and we both have a laugh. He gets Thalia on board, but doesn’t have quite enough pressure to kill me before I have 6 lands out and can cast 2 High Tides into Turnabout, Time Spiral. After we draw 7, I cast Cunning Wish. Thinking that I will get Wipe Away, he responds by giving his Thalia pro:blue with his Mother of Runes. I respond by using the Repeal that was already in my hand on Thalia, then getting Wipe Away for Rest in Peace. We Time Spiral again and I draw both High Tides remaining in the deck (the first two having been exiled due to RIP). From there it was simple to get the winning cards.
Dan is a great guy and we had a lot of fun during this match. It’s too bad that only one of us could win. He still placed 14th, so that’s good.

6-1

Round 8 - Ryan Forsberg w/ BUG Delver
This is the best I have ever done at a tournament, and I am quite nervous for this last win-and-in round. Ryan puts the pressure on quick with his creatures, amassing 2 Tarmogoyfs and 2 Nimble Mongeese with threshold. Luckily all his creature cards left him with little permission and I go off the turn before I would have been destroyed by his horde. Game 2 I keep an amazing hand with combo, land, and protection. When he plays Liliana of the Veil with 3 cards left in his hand, I do some calculations and brainstorming, trying to plan the next two turns before I decide to let it resolve. I figure if he only has 3 cards and he uses Liliana to make us discard, I won’t need more than on counterspell to back up my combo. I am correct and am able to resolve Time Spiral. At one point he Surgicals my Ponders to try and slow me down, but I have Merchant Scrolls and High Tides enough to win. I was in 8th place before this match, so now I know I made top 8 for the first time.

7-1

Semifinals - Steven Schlepphorst w/ Bant
This match is recounted here: http://www.starcitygames.com/events/...erfinals_.html . Not much else to say. Game 1 my luck ran out and I fizzled after a Time Spiral. There probably was a line of play that would have led me to a win. I remember shuffling back a Cunning Wish with Brainstorm at one point. Statistically, I would win most of the time in this situation, but sometimes you have to lose too. Game 2 I keep a bad hand with 3 Time Spirals that I sit on the whole game and don’t draw anything else good. A disappointing end for my day, but I can’t complain about the luck I had getting to that point.

All in all it was a successful day: my first top 8, $300, and representing the fabulous High Tide deck. My apologies if any of the details I recounted are incorrect; I didn’t take any notes throughout the day and am basing all this on memory and the SCG online results. Thanks for reading!