The ups and downs of a new Belcher (67th at SCG Baltimore)

[astormbrewing]

Hello! My name is Matt Braddock and I'm a level two judge from the DC area.

On Saturday I judged the SCG.com Standard Open (you may have seen me sitting next to the penguin on camera). Afterwards, 15 judges and I went to a bar for karaoke until 1am. I woke up the next day ready to play Belcher for the first time. I kept a strict intake of bananas, granola, and dark chocolate to keep myself alert, and I felt great through the entire event.

Yes, this was my first event with Belcher, but I didn't just pick it up cold. I did my homework and research, and goldfished the hell out of it. Is that as good as playtesting? No, but I don't have the time for that.

Anyways, off to the list!

//Initial Mana Sources
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Lotus Petal
4 Land Grant
3 Chrome Mox
1 Taiga

//Additional Mana Sources
4 Rite of Flame
4 Tinder Wall
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Pyretic Ritual
4 Seething Song
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
2 Grim Monolith

//Utility
4 Gitaxian Probe

//Win Conditions
4 Goblin Charbelcher
3 Burning Wish
3 Empty the Warrens

//Sideboard
4 Carpet of Flowers
4 Pyroblast
3 Chancellor of the Annex
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Hull Breach
1 Infernal Tutor
1 Pyroclasm

Pretty stock, but definitely some different things. I'll address those now.

//3 Chrome Mox
Yes, it's a permanent mana source, and those are in short supply in this deck. However, I hate playing Chrome Mox. I never want to see two of these in my opening hand. I had debated playing only two in the deck, but three felt more consistent and I only drew two in my opening hand once.

//3 Burning Wish
Rather maxing out with 11 win conditions, I didn't want to draw three win conditions in my opening hand (it still happened a couple times). Playing 10 felt right, and I'm happy with it. Burning Wish was really nothing more than Empty the Warrens #4-6.

//0 Manamorphose (and Street Wraith)
These are stupid cards. We really don't need to fix mana, and generating storm is fine, but not a compelling reason to play these. I'd much rather just play additional mana sources that these cards (and risk drawing into additional win conditions that do nothing to help).

//2 Grim Monolith
When I played this against Drew Levin (spoiler alert!), he said it was really hot. This is essentially where Chrome Mox #4 and Burning Wish #4 went. I was very happy with the card.

//4 Pyroblast
Autumn's Veil has been talked about a lot in the forums lately, and it's what I was originally going to play to combat multiple counters. Then I realized that they'll like just counter your spell in response to Autumn's Veil. Thus, Pyroblast seemed much more attractive since it is red (and is much easier to cast) and can hit Mindbreak Trap.

//3 Chancellor of the Annex
A last minute experiment that was the one thing I wasn't pleased about in the entire deck. I would board it in on the play against blue decks, forcing them to have a double Force of Will hand. I'll talk about this more at the end.

Now, time for the event!

Round 1 vs Andrew Jessup (Affinity)
Game 1: Opening 7 has no win condition, so I mulligan to 6. This also has no win condition, but is a strong hand otherwise. I don't want to risk a mulligan to 5, so I keep. He dumps his hand and I naturally top deck Empty the Warrens and create 14 goblins. Win.
Game 2: Again, opening 7 has no win condition and neither does my 6. I press my luck a second time. His turn 1 is slower, and I draw LED and pass. He plays Master of Etherium, and I draw Charbelcher and kill him. Win.

1-0 (2-0)

Round 2 vs Daniel Signorini (BUG Delver)
Game 1: Turn 1 on the play I create 10 goblins. He plays Polluted Delta, thinks, then scoops. I put him on BUG. Win.
Game 2: Turn 1 I play Belcher and hit Taiga on the 6th card, so I deal 12. Simian Spirit Guide is still in my hand. Next turn I draw Land Grant, then I draw Grim Monolith. He has no counter, so I kill him. Win.

2-0 (4-0)

Round 3 vs Anthony Miller (Deadguy Ale + green)
Game 1: Turn 1 I Probe twice and have 2 LED and a Burning Wish in hand. My opponent sees this when I cast Land Grant and he scoops. Win.
Game 2: I create 12 goblins on turn 1, and he casts Golgari Charm next turn. I still have Goblin Charbelcher in hand, and proceed to draw LED and other mana to kill him within 5 turns. Win.

3-0 (6-0)

Round 4 vs Chris Marshall (Deathblade + Goyf)

Note: This was at table 1 (a first for me) and Chris ended up getting top 8. Congrats to him.
Game 1: I Land Grant with Charbelcher and two Simian Spirit Guides in hand, and cast Belcher. He draws, thinks, and realizes I just kill him next turn. Win.
Game 2: I don't have a turn 1 kill (I believe I was short a mana and drew a win condition) and he proceeds to double Thoughtseize me. When I go to storm, he casts Surgical Extraction on my Empty the Warrens. Loss.
Game 3: I don't have a lot of notes on this game, but I mulligan to 6 and don't have a turn 1. If I recall, he cast Thoughtseize on his turn and I die slowly. Loss.

3-1 (7-2)

Round 5 vs unknown (Death & Taxes)

Game 1: I start to storm and cast Burning Wish, but fail to find Empty the Warrens. Apparently I left it in my mainboard from last round. I call a judge, and give myself the game loss.
Note: I used to play High Tide a lot, so I felt really stupid since this is far from my first time using Wish cards.
Game 2: Similar to round 1, I mulligan to 6 and keep a hand with no win condition. I Probe into a Burning Wish and kill him. Win.
Game 3: He plays Karakas and passes. I look at my hand and can create 8 goblins, but decide to wait a turn. I announced “move to discard?” and he says “yes.” I discard Burning Wish. He then tries to cast Enlightened Tutor at the end of my turn. I inform him that by allowing me to discard, he acknowledge the passing of the end step. He was very unhappy, played Wasteland and passed. I create 16 goblins, and he shows me that he would have Tutored for Canonist. He is very salty and I feel scummy. Win.
Note: I talked to other players and judges after the match, and they told me I shouldn't feel scummy at all. I was very clear with my communication, and he should have known the rules. Besides, how bad can I feel when I called a game loss on myself?
Note: After the round, I realize that not creating 8 goblins on turn 1 is a horrible misplay. 8 goblins on turn 1 kill exactly as fast as 16 goblins on turn 2. By not pulling the trigger, I left myself open to get blown out by his Canonist.

4-1 (9-3)

Round 6 vs Matt Marge (Omnitell)

Note: This was an off-camera feature match.
Game 1: I turn 1 Belch on the draw. Nothing of relevance happened. Win.
Game 2: I don't have many notes for this game, but I believe I have a slow hand, and he Show and Tells in Omniscience, casts Enter the Infinite, then does a lot more things. Loss.
Game 3: He has a turn 0 Leyline of Sanctity. That's cool. I create 12 goblins on turn 1. On his turn 2, he casts Show and Tell. I release a large sigh of relief when he puts Emrakul into play and I kill him on my next turn. Win.

5-1 (11-4)

Round 7 vs Chris Van Meter (Tezzerator)

Note: This was the secondary camera feature match. Of course we finished early and were never on camera.
Game 1: He mulligans to 6 and plays a turn 1 Chalice of the Void on 1. On my turn 1, I create 8 goblins. He then casts Ratchet Bomb on turn 2 and I slowly die. Loss.
Game 2: He mulligans to 6 and I create 12 goblins. He casts Ratchet bomb on turn 1, and Chalice of the Void on 1 on turn 2. I slowly die again. Loss.
Note: My friend asked why I didn't mulligan into Charbelcher game 2, and my reasoning is that the fewer cards in my hand, the harder it is for me to Belch before he has time to find Force of Will. Chris agrees that if I can create 12 goblins on turn 1, then I shouldn't pass that up.

5-2 (11-6)

Round 8 vs Drew Levin (Omnitell)

Note: Drew is a great guy and finished top 16. Big congrats to him.
Game 1: I make 12 goblins. He casts Show and Tell, puts in Dream Halls, then fails to find anything with a Ponder. Win.
Game 2: I can't quite remember what happens this game (I think he countered a spell of mine), but he casts Cunning Wish for Intuition to get Enter the Infinite and cast Dream Halls. Loss.
Game 3: I start to combo and he counters my Grim Monolith. He assembles his pieces and repeats game 2. Loss.

5-3 (12-8)

Round 9 vs Isaac Davis (Dredge)

Note: I figure I need to win to make top 64, but there's an outside shot I make it with a loss since I have the best breakers of anyone with 15 points.
Game 1: He plays LED on turn 1 and something else. I create 20 goblins on my turn 1. He then proceeds to cast Faithless Looting and Breakthrough and dredge all of them, creating 7 zombies and a 17/17 Golgari Grave-Troll. I'm amazed that I lose after making 20 goblins, but everyone around said it was the funnest game they watched all day. Loss. (Edit: sound crazy? Here is the board state at one point.)
Game 2: I create 14 goblins on turn 2. He then Dread Returns Elesh Norn and I die. Loss.

5-4 (12-10)

I go fill out a W-9 form just in case. When standings are posted, I finished 67th, the highest 15 pointer. I absolutely had to win to make top 64. It's a blow, but a small one, because this is the best I've done at a large event. I leave with a smile.

I am extremely pleased with the mainboard; I technically won 7 out of 9 game ones (I would have won the game I had the deck problem since I Probed him). I was not a fan of Chancellor of the Annex in the sideboard, and would likely pursue the Sylvan Library plan that has been discussed here on the forums.

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

@astormbrewing on Twitter

[jarvisyu]

well written MattB.

[Tammit67]

I miss the days you were on high tide. Those were wayyyy more entertaining to watch. Now I got to hope Anwar shows up in order to see good sequencing live

[astormbrewing]

I miss the days you were on high tide. Those were wayyyy more entertaining to watch. Now I got to hope Anwar shows up in order to see good sequencing live

There's a good chance I play High Tide at GP DC this November.

[feline]

Even though I push High Tide, Belcher was my 1st legacy deck of the current meta, as in, when I started playing legacy about 2 years ago, it was the 1st deck I made because I had an old version of Belcher from like 8 years previous. ALWAYS love seeing combo decks go and this one especially because it's just so much fun to push! Ty again for the report, always love reading those too!

Also I noticed someone that twittered a "This is Belcher -vs- Dredge after like the 1st turn" and I remember thinking "is that Matt B?" and now that I've seen what you posted as the pic, that's a yes, that was awesome! Stupid elesh norn!

[Buckjunt]

Sorry chancellor didn't pan out for you. Did you side it in against thoughtsieze on the draw? I saw this was your biggest problem.

[astormbrewing]

Sorry chancellor didn't pan out for you. Did you side it in against thoughtsieze on the draw? I saw this was your biggest problem.

Honestly, I didn't really think about that. The match I lost against BUG Delver I brought it in game 3, and had it in my opening 6. However, my hand was slow, so all it accomplished was countering an Inquisition, but he still got me.

[Buckjunt]

I honestly think the hardest part a wish list is the sideboard. Figuring out how and what and numbers is the most difficult part about tweeking a list. I would like to cut a mox myself, but as you know I run a land grant in the side, i don't want to dip below 20 initial mana sources. I have only done limited testing so far with 3 mox/ 3 land grant, but i will be sure to let you know if there is a big enough issue dropping to 19 if you are at all interested. I personally stand behind the land grant target, and still represent the chancellors since they have been gold for me. I am always interested to hear other people's results, so please keep the belcher thread updated! Congratulations again on an impressive first showing with belcher!

[astormbrewing]

I honestly think the hardest part a wish list is the sideboard. Figuring out how and what and numbers is the most difficult part about tweeking a list. I would like to cut a mox myself, but as you know I run a land grant in the side, i don't want to dip below 20 initial mana sources. I have only done limited testing so far with 3 mox/ 3 land grant, but i will be sure to let you know if there is a big enough issue dropping to 19 if you are at all interested. I personally stand behind the land grant target, and still represent the chancellors since they have been gold for me. I am always interested to hear other people's results, so please keep the belcher thread updated! Congratulations again on an impressive first showing with belcher!

Thanks! I always take others' results into account when looking at my list (along with the meta). Not sure the next event I Belch at yet.

[Darkenslight]

In future, would you play Mox Opal over Chrome, given the changes to the uniqueness rule? I feel like the quirkiness of the Opal outweigh the card-disadvantage, especially when you can chain Opals.

[astormbrewing]

In future, would you play Mox Opal over Chrome, given the changes to the uniqueness rule? I feel like the quirkiness of the Opal outweigh the card-disadvantage, especially when you can chain Opals.

To successfully achieve Metalcraft a good percentage of the time, you would need to play Mox Opal in addition to Chrome Mox. Even then, getting enough artifacts isn't that frequent. I'd be willing to goldfish it and see how often it works, but I'm not optimistic. I think the likely candidate to replace would be Tinder Wall, since they both produce +1 mana and you don't want to remove an artifact.

[andrebonotto]

Congratulations for your performance.

It looks that you master the deck very well.

...

How do you feel about the '"bad" pairing issue' with this deck?
I mean, when you start a match on the draw and see your oponent T1: Fetch > U. Sea, for instance, does it make you feel a little 'doomed' already (which may interfere with your play skill)?

I'm asking because I felt it sometimes on the tournament I played with the deck - but probably it's just that I do not yet master the deck well enough in order to play well against disrupt...

[astormbrewing]

Congratulations for your performance.

It looks that you master the deck very well.

...

How do you feel about the '"bad" pairing issue' with this deck?
I mean, when you start a match on the draw and see your oponent T1: Fetch > U. Sea, for instance, does it make you feel a little 'doomed' already (which may interfere with your play skill)?

I'm asking because I felt it sometimes on the tournament I played with the deck - but probably it's just that I do not yet master the deck well enough in order to play well against disrupt...

I mean if you're playing game 1 and they have an Island untapped, of course it's going to suck. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot you can do. If you wait, they'll have more opportunities to draw into more counter spells, so you just bite the bullet and go for it.

Thankfully, most game 1's your opponent doesn't know what you're on, so you get a lot of free wins.

[Beatusnox]

8 goblins is actually very bad for combat math. While if they have no blockers it is just as fast as 16, if they have blockers they can effectively stall you out and force you to reshape your hand and go off again.