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Thread: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

  1. #1
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    [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    Author's Note: Just to be clear: this isn't one of those "Look at how awesome/crappy this deck is, and how awesome/crappy of I player I am" kind of 'reports.'

    No, this "Report" is based around this idea: "Here's a bunch of random stuff that happened when I played Magic today."


    ------------

    Alternate Universe
    Portland, Oregon
    May 27, 2006
    Weather: Cloudy, intermittent showers
    Bent, %: 18

    I'm occasionally accused of being a "one deck dude," but nothing can be further from the truth. In fact, the only time I've played Thresh in the last three months has been at our monthly tournaments. I'm too busy testing other decks during the rest of the month to bother with Thresh, but my experiments are always lacking that little something special.

    Here's a sample of some recent projects:

    Witch-Maw Threshold
    by Bardo

    4 Nimble Mongoose
    4 Meddling Mage
    3 Werebear
    3 Dark Confidant

    4 Serum Vision
    4 Mental Note
    4 Brainstorm

    4 Force of Will
    3 Counterspell
    3 Daze
    2 Duress

    4 Swords to Plowshares

    4 Flooded Strand
    4 Polluted Delta
    3 Tropical Island
    3 Underground Sea
    3 Tundra
    1 Island

    sb 4 Engineered Plague
    sb 3 Armageddon
    sb 3 Umezawa's Jitte
    sb 2 Duress
    sb 2 Naturalize
    sb 1 Engineered Explosive

    Bob is awesome with Thresh's low casting cost spells and Duress + Meddling Mage is a nifty pseudo-combo, but the problems should be apparent. Yep, that mana base pretty much stinks like a dead rat's ass.

    I've also flirted with the far more stable, yet ultimately lackluster, "Accelerated White Weenie" aka "Rhipidsistains Fish*" aka "Shark."

    Accelerated White Weenie
    by Bardo

    3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
    2 Whipcorder
    4 Silver Knight
    4 Meddling Mage
    3 Serendib Efreet
    3 Exalted Angel

    4 Umezawa's Jitte
    1 Sword of Fire and Ice

    4 Swords to Plowshares
    4 Brainstorm
    2 Standstill
    2 Parallax Wave

    4 AEther Vial
    3 Ancient Tomb
    4 Flooded Strand
    2 Windswept Heath
    4 Tundra
    6 Plains
    1 Island

    sb 3 Seal of Cleansing
    sb 3 Tormod's Crypt
    sb 3 Absolute Law
    sb 3 Armageddon
    sb 3 Worship

    (* Among the first known genera of fish to walk on land.)

    I don't feel like analyzing this deck, but this is another one of those things that looks better on paper than it really is.

    So, after a resigned "Fuck it," I just sleeved up The Old Standby and paid my $5 registration fee to play the deck I Know and Love:

    Legacy Three-Color Threshold, U/G/W
    by Bardo

    4 Serum Vision
    4 Mental Note
    4 Brainstorm

    4 Force of Will
    4 Daze
    2 Counterspell

    4 Swords to Plowshares
    2 Pithing Needle
    1 Engineered Explosives

    4 Nimble Mongoose
    4 Werebear
    4 Meddling Mage
    1 Mystic Enforcer

    4 Flooded Strand
    2 Polluted Delta
    2 Windswept Heath
    3 Tropical Island
    3 Tundra
    2 Island
    1 Forest
    1 Plains

    sb 4 Hydroblast
    sb 3 Armageddon
    sb 2 Tivadar's Crusade
    sb 2 Worship
    sb 2 Naturalize
    sb 1 Mystic Enforcer
    sb 1 Engineered Explosive

    Card-for-card, this is the same deck I played last month. Eh, if it's broken, why fix it?

    Thirteen people showed up and the field was wildly diverse. I scouted around and noted the following:

    * Goblins
    * Goblins
    * Goblins
    * Burninator
    * R/w Sligh
    * White Weenie
    * RecSur (Belzebozo)
    * ATS
    * 3cThresh (me)
    * U/b Fish (Runesword)
    * Anusien's WGRb Slide (Frogboy)
    * U/W/R Shackles Control (Froggy's America.dec, played by someone else)
    * IGGy Pop (LinkXwing), now with Infernal Tutor

    The tournament would be four rounds of Swiss followed by a cut to the Top 4.

    Round 1: Chris with Red/White Sligh

    Game 1
    He gets off to an aggressive start--dropping a few Mogg Fanatics and Grim Lavamancer in the first couple of turns. I get run over by a Ball Lightning and am taking a lot of burn to the face. With lethal damage on the stack, I StP one of my Werebears and that gives me the extra combat phase I need to win Game 1.

    Sideboarding: +4 Hydroblast, +2 Worship; -2 Pithing Needle, -2 Daze, -1 Meddling Mage, -1 Engineered Explosives

    Game 2
    If I'd seen Cursed Scroll in Game 1, I might have left my Needles in, but as it is, I take a load of Scroll damage, and steady stream of random burn until my life is at exactly 0.

    Game 3
    This game sees the two of us beating the hell out of each other. Ball Lightning takes me from 17 to 11, even though I'm sitting on StP, but I didn't want to give him the life. I let a Lightning Helix take me from 10 to 7 and him from 14 to 17 and wonder if this is a fatal mistake. But I hang on with Counters, Hydroblasts and hit him from 2 to -5 when my life is at 2 as well. Close games.

    Looking back, a turn before the game ended, I play Worship and ask Chris: "Can you deal with that?" (my standard question to burn players after I've dropped Worship with a 'Goose on the board and counters in hand). He says something to the effect of: "I'm not scooping, am I?" He then proceeds to tell me he's memorized my maindeck and sideboard and that he brought in Disenchant solely because he knew I'd be boarding Worship. For the first time, I experience the liability of being a semi-well-known "name player," which is equally disconcerting and flattering. By the end of the turn, he Disenchants my Worship and I see my overwhelming margin of victory vanish. Luckily I pull it through anyway.

    Games: 2-1
    Matches: 1-0

    Round 2: Ted with Goblins

    Game 1
    I have no idea what the hell happened here. Afterwards he said he took a gamble and kept a land-light hand. My notes only say that I StP'd a Piledriver and that scooped at 7 life, with a thresh'd Mongoose or two on the board. But as a I remember, this was an unrepentant slaughter--which sadly for him, paled to the beating he received in Game 2.

    Sideboarding: +4 Hydroblast, +2 Tivadar's Crusade, +1 Worship; -4 Meddling Mage, -2 Daze, -1 Engineered Explosives

    Game 2
    A turn one Mongoose shields me from any Lackey-related shenanigans, but the game proceeds dreadfully for him. My notes on the mid-game progression of spells:

    me: Mongoose
    him: some dork
    me: Worship
    me: Enforcer
    him: Siege-Gang Commander
    me: Tivadar's Crusade
    him: scoop

    He had never seen Tivadar's Crusade before and must have wondered what sick son-of-a-bitch would have designed such a mean-spirited card.

    Games: 2-0
    Matches: 2-0

    I'm off to a good start.

    It's also at this point that my head is beginning to come back to Earth and I could use a little pick-me-up. The liquor store next to the card shop is calling softly to me, but such a purchase at this time of day even stinks to me as unabashed alcoholism and I settle for a eating a pear instead. Still, a few sips of schnapps on this drisly Pacific Northwest day would have hit the spot.

    Round 3: Bret [aka LinkXwing] with IGGy Pop (Ill-Gotten Gains Combo)

    I haven't seen Bret in several months. He tells be he's been working on the railroad down in California. Huh. The last time we played was back in January where I'd beat his IGGy Pop with Threshold. And before that, I whomped him in the Vancouver Grand Prix Trial when he was piloting Reset High Tide and I was playing my "Angel Fish," which was a protean version of the deck listed above.

    Game 1
    Honestly, I don't know how IGGy Pop is supposed to beat UGW Thresh. Nonetheless, I Daze his turn-2 Infernal Tutor, FoW his turn-3 Intuition (which he later said is what really hurt), dropped a Meddling Mage on "Tendrils of Agony," and proceeded to very slowly beat him to death. A Mental Note dredges a Force of Will into the graveyard, and that gives me another advantage when Bret tries to go off with Ill-Gotten Gains. But he's unable to deal with the Meddling Mage and that is game.

    Sideboarding: +3 Armageddon, +1 Hydroblast; -4 Swords to Plowshares

    Game 2
    A turn-2 Dark Confidant threatens to blow me away with card advantage, but I just dig in and fight an ugly battle against double Defense Grids. Luckily he takes at least six damage from his Confidant and a Nimble Mongoose finishes the job. With six cards in my graveyard, Bob turns over a Leyline of the Void, but I have a Force of Will for that (pitching the Hydroblast that I boarded in), and Bret take the four damage. In short, the game goes long but the writing is on the wall:

    "Dear IGGy Pop,

    Instead of wasting your time, go get lunch instead.

    Love,
    Threshold."

    Games: 2-0
    Matches: 3-0

    By this point, I've finally figured out the trick to the annoying light in the AU bathroom. Listen up if it ever gives you trouble: if the switch is on the "on" position, but the light is still off, gently tap the upper part of the switch plate until the light turns on. A lot of force will get you nowhere. You can also repeatedly turn the switch to the "off" position and back "on" again. That's not as elegant as my solution, but it will suffice.

    Round 4: Max [aka Frogboy] with W/G/R/b Slide
    These two games see my lose on account of land screw, and me being a total fucking dumbass, respectively. I don't remember a lot of details about these matches, check out Max's report for the story.

    Game 1
    I have absolutely no white mana for the entire game and just scoop when I'm buried by Slide/Witness/Life from the Loam card advantage. My only notable play as dropping a Pithing Needle on Tranquil Thicket; however Forgotten Cave and Secluded Steppe work just as well with LftL, so the tactic was moot. Here, as against my WR Rift opponent in my last tournament, my deck just poops out on me.

    Sideboarding: +3 Armageddon, +2 Naturalize, +1 Worship, +1 Engineered Explosives; -4 Daze, -2 Pithing Needle, -1 Mystic Enforcer (In retrospect, dropping Enforcer was probably a bad idea)

    Game 2
    I lose this game because I suck at Magic and forget that Werebear taps for Green mana. Mind you, this is even after I tapped my two Werebears for mana to play an early Armageddon. Anyway, my temporary amnesia makes the Naturalize in my hand seemingly uncastable while an Astral Slide ties me up for about ten turns when Max is at 2 life and I have lethal damage on the board. So it goes.

    Games: 0-2
    Matches: 3-1

    Top 4
    The Top 4 pairing were posted and I was to play Bret again (a virtual bye for me), but I also have 6pm dinner plans across the street with my wife, two-year old twin girls and some friends, so I drop out.

    Dinner at Salvador Molly's was fine, but what really puts them over the top is their amazing drink menu. The first thing I tried was their "Pain Killer," reasoning that anything named "Pain Killer" has to be awesome, and sure enough, it was. It was a combination of vodka, coconut and orange juices and some pina colada mix. It was almost as good as sex, but, you know, not quite. Then I had something called a Tsunami Splash which was similarly fantastic and then a respectable mojito.

    Since the restaurant was only a few dozen yards away from the store, I walked my girls over to check out some of the finals between Max and one of the Goblins players. If I'd stayed I was almost assured $20 in store credit, but there's always next month.

    The ride home was uneventful except for paying $3.15/gallon for cheap-o gas (87 octane). Pwned.

    Thanks for reading. - Bardo
    Last edited by Bardo; 05-30-2006 at 04:12 PM.

  2. #2
    Samurais suck
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    Re: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    Good report, Bardo. It was a pleasure to finally meet you. Our match was probably the most interesting one I played all day. Just so you know, I thought the disenchants would also be good against your Pithing Needles. Little did I know you had sided them out after the first game. Did you side them back in for game 3?

    Regarding your match with Max, it's funny how we tend to make our biggest mistakes when we can least afford them. I made a couple of play mistakes in my last game of the day that cost me a spot in the top 4. I was playing the rubber game against Joe with goblins. He got the stupid goblin draw and started beating me down quickly, while I kept a so-so hand. Still, I stabilized at 4 life and was starting to control the board. At a critical point, I had wiped out his army, while I still had a Slith Firewalker and Grim Lavamancer in play. I attacked with the Slith. He responded with Pyrokinesis, pitching the last card in his hand, dealing 3 damage to the Slith and 1 to the Lavamancer. I responded by activating the Lavamancer to deal 2 damage to Joe, and then put both of my creatures in the graveyard. The correct play, of course, would have been to activate the Lavamancer to kill itself, causing the Pyrokinesis to fizzle and thereby saving my Slith. Doh! I am a noob! Actually, I knew that rule, and yet I "forgot" it at a critical moment. I made another play mistake later where I attacked with a Slith when I should have held him back to block, and subsequently got myself into a position where I had to draw a solution NOW or die. I died.
    Last edited by Volt; 05-28-2006 at 09:50 PM.

  3. #3

    Re: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    The correct play, of course, would have been to activate the Lavamancer to kill itself, causing the Pyrokinesis to fizzle and thereby saving my Slith.
    No. A spell is countered upon resolution ("fizzles") only if ALL its targets are illegal. You made the right play anyway.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bardo View Post
    Matt, basically everything you said turned out to be true.
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  4. #4
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    Re: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    Oh. Well, I guess I really am a noob, and so is Joe. He was the one who pointed out my so-called "mistake" after the game. Thanks for setting me straight.

  5. #5
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    Re: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    Did you side [Pithing Needle] back in for game 3?
    Nah, I left them out. I reasoned that as annoying as Scroll is, it's also too slow. The first activation is about 4 mana for 1.5-1.75 damage, no biggie. Provided they connect (not hard in a creature-light deck such as yours), Werebear is approximately 2 mana for 4-8 damage and Mongoose is 1 mana for 6-9 damage. I reasoned that my clock was fast enough that Scroll would damage would be manageable and that drawing Needle to stop a Scroll that may or may not have resolved wasn't as good as my other sideboard cards.

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    Re: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    Yeah, the Scrolls are a bit slow. I actually sided one of them out against you (I play 3 maindeck). I sided out 9 or 10 cards against you, which I think was a bit of a mistake. I was bringing in too many "answer" cards, instead of trying to be more aggressive.

  7. #7
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    Re: [Report] UGW Threshold, yet again

    Quote Originally Posted by Volt
    I sided out 9 or 10 cards against you, which I think was a bit of a mistake. I was bringing in too many "answer" cards, instead of trying to be more aggressive.
    Just to expound on what I said after our games: In this match, you're clearly the beatdown deck, so boarding in a bunch of answers to my threats can be summed up by Flores' famous maxim: "Misassignment of Roles = Games Loss."

    I think the best way to play Burn is as a combo deck, just pretend I'm a goldfish and attempt to inflict 20 damage as quick as possible. To the extent you can, ignore my board, because every burn targetting a Werebear or Mage is burn that's not reducing my life total.

    In fact, the only "answers" you should be boarding in (other than something viscious, like Perish or Nature's Ruin or Pyrostatic Pillar) is REB and/or Pyroblast--and only to combat the BEB/Hydroblasts that I'll be boarding in, because there are times when resolving Fireblast or Price of Progress will determine whether you win or lose.

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