Round 3 Golgari Results

Deck Challenges

Dallie

13 July 2013

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Another round of results for the Ultimate Golgari Guild Challenge!

As the participants are narrowed down, the tournament intensifies and I'm really excited about every deck submitted, and especially the ones who have made it this far!

I apologize for the long time between articles (I did promise it'd be done this week though, and it was, so there!) of the tournament, but I finally got the time to sit down and play some more BO3 matches!

So without further ado, let's move on to the

Results!

KnightLife (1) (Golgari's Dark Ritual ) v psychoza (2) (Grave Danger Ahead)

Game 1: psychoza mulliganed a no-land hand, and got a hand of 2x Forest, 1x Swamp, 2x Abrupt Decay, 1x Lotleth Troll; a very respectable 6 card hand, though it was the only mana that he would see all game. Being stuck on 1 black mana meant, that every time psychoza would do something that required black, his Lotleth Troll was exposed. Fortunately KnightLife didn't draw into any removal (apart from Vraska the Unseen).

KnightLife Did however draw into more creatures, more mana and a couple of Grisly Salvages which would fix for either.

After some heavy beatdown through his own Lotleth Troll which had had a Dreg Mangler scavenged onto it, whilst Corpsejack Menace was on the field, KnightLife was able to secure the victory.

Game 2: KnightLife had plenty of mana, unfortunately no removal, and just a single green source kept him from playing the Deadbridge Goliaths that his two Grisly Salvages revealed, and he had to pick other creatures over them.

With a Lothleth Troll, a Desecration Demon and a Bloodbond March on the battlefield, psychoza discarded a Skylasher, flashed down another, and when it was his turn, discarded a Dreg Mangler and played another, swinging with a now 6/5 Lotleth Troll and five other creatures.

KnightLife had no answers to the opposing army, and the next turn saw himself hit 0 life.

Game 3: KnightLife had a good start with a Lotleth Troll that would repeatadly discard a Golgari Thug to start his dredge engine.

Over the next couple of turns, he would bash in against the opposing Lotleth Troll which had been pumped a few times as well. psychoza dropped a Varolz, the Scar-Striped, but KnightLife's Lotleth Troll was always one or two counters in front of psychoza's meaning he could easily keep him in check.

psychoza however proceded to draw and discard two Hunted Horror's, which he then scavenged onto his Lotleth Troll giving it +14/+14, and swung with it for a total of 19 damage. KnightLife held it off with his regenerating 7/6 Lotleth Troll and attempted to Scavenge a Deadbridge Goliath onto it, so he could swing for lethal, however psychoza had the Putrefy ready.

The lack of removal in KnightLife's deck, meant that there was nothing he could do, as psychoza rode his Pumped Troll to victory through trampledamage.

DukeNicky (0) The Rot Farm v Supersun (2) (A typical Golgari Deck)

Game 1: DukeNicky had to mulligan twice to get past 1 land in his hand, and even then it was Svogthos, the Restless Tomb and a Golgari Rot Farm. And seeing only a Golgari Guildgate for the remainder of the game meant that his options for what he could was very limited. Luckily he did pull out a Varolz, the Scar-Striped, a Slitherhead and a Lotleth Troll, neither of which is too mana expensive.

However Supersun had no issues with mana, playing a T1 Utopia Sprawl into a T2 Golgari Signet and another Utopia Sprawl, then following a topdecked Birds of Paradise on T3, along with an Ursapine. T4 brought a Desecration Demon and a Putrefy on the opposing Lotleth Troll. Without drawing into removal, DukeNicky conceded to lethal a few turns later.

Game 2: Interestingly, in the second Turn, after DukeNicky had thrown down a Lotleth Troll with another one to spare in his hand, Supersun used a Golgari Charm, and forced DukeNicky to discard his troll.

Supersun's mana ramping pseudo-reanimation strategy however seemed too much for DukeNicky's more straightforward deck; and With a Deadbridge Goliath, an Ursapine and a Gleancrawler on the battlefield, Supersun had a very dominant boardposition throughout the game.

DukeNicky did throw down a couple of Slitherheads, a pair of lotleth trolls and a Varolz, the Scar-Striped, but they served only as road bumps for the much beefier army on the opposing side of the table.

Ursapine would beef up whichever creature was unblocked, or blocked unfavourably, and the bits of damage summed up quite a bit over the course of the next few turns. When Supersun topdecked a Putrefy, it was game over for DukeNicky.

JHermy (2) (guild-deck-challenge-golgari-by-jhermy) v Riceeman (0) (Golgari-mation)

Game 1: JHermy got a Desecration Demon down in T3 thanks to a Birds of Paradise and followed it up with a Deadbridge Goliath at T4. Having only a Lotleth Troll in play, Riceeman had to take quite a beating early on. He did get down a T4 Sisters of Stone Death, of a Vigor Mortis, but being on the draw, meant that JHermy could simply attack with his creatures. Not wanting to put Deadbridge Goliath in the grave, so it could be scavenged, he blocked with the Lotleth Troll, whilst still taking 6 in the air.

Riceeman topdecked a Stinkweed Imp on his turn, and looked like he could avoid being dealt lethal in the air (he was at 2 life at that point), but JHermy had a trick up his sleeve, in the form of a Fists of Ironwood, and JHermy swung for lethal with his Desecration Demon even with the blocks from Stinkweed Imp.

Game 2: Riceeman was behind on life at first, but through some both fortunate and unfortunate dredges, he set up a Vigor Mortis on a Lord of the Void, after having stalled with a recurring Stinkweed Imp (that kept a Deadbridge Goliath at bay).

Riceeman hardcast a Sepulchral Primordial and reanimated a Desecration Demon which had stood in the way of the Lord of the Void, which he then got on his side, and it looked like he was going to pull through.

However he was at 3 life at the time, and when JHermy discarded Birds of Paradise, a Slitherhead and scavenged it onto Lotleth Troll, then doing the same with Dreg Mangler, he was staring down a 9/8 Regenerating Trampler.

The turn after that Riceeman hit him with Lord of the Void, getting a second Desecration Demon from JHermy's library, which helped the situation a bit. But when JHermy topdecked a Fists of Ironwood, he had two creatures to sacrifice to the opposing Demons, even the blocking and lifegain of a Deathrite Shaman wasn't enough to keep Riceeman alive.

CaveShinobi (1) (Golgari Kounterfest) v MTG_Player (2) (Golgari-Challenge-Submission)

Game 1: CaveShinobi sat across an Elves of Deep Shadow and a Deadbridge Goliath, but through some early setting up, he could reanimate a T4 Sisters of Stone Death with the extra +1/+1 counter from Vigor Mortis. MTG_Player had no choice, but to run his Deadbridge Goliath into certain death, as to not lose it the next turn, and have it re-occur for CaveShinobi, the next turn.

MTG_Player did draw into some removal; unfortunately it was Abrupt Decay and Ultimate Price, none of which are effective against the multicolored 8CMC creature. At 8 damage per turn (and having taken 2 from his elves earlier), it didn't take long until he was staring down lethal, and the topdecked Blood Scrivener only prolonged the game by a single turn.

Game 2: MTG_Player had a very aggressive start with a T1 Experiment One, T2 Lotleth Troll, T3 Dreg Mangler, discarding a creature, and swinging for 9 a turn.

When CaveShinobi reanimated a Sisters of Stone Death it was far too late, and the beats kept coming through. The Experiment was regenerated when it was blocked, the Dreg Mangler died and then was scavenged onto Lotleth Troll. CaveShinobi had to chump with his Sisters of Stone Death to not die to trample damage, on the regenerating troll. Each turn he was just low enough on mana, that he could not exile the trample troll.

Even after playing a Treassured Find for Vigor Mortis, and then using that to reanimate the Sisters again. In the end the opposing Varolz, the Scar-Striped enabled, scavenges onto the troll, which meant that no matter what CaveShinobi did, it was game over.

Game 3: The speed of MTG_Player's deck overwhelmed CaveShinobi in this game, and not getting any re-animation targets apart from a Corpsejack Menace (which was immediately Grisly Spectacled) didn't help. CaveShinobi drew 3 of his 4 Treassured Find and 2 Putrefy's, but it couldn't keep the opposing beats on forever, and he eventually folded to the beats from MTG_Player.

Blakkhand (2) (Blakk's Golgari Challenge) v BYE!

So that's it for this round, and we're -finally- at the endgame of this tournament. Congratulations to everyone who has made it so far, I'm hope you're as excited and curious as to who will represent the Golgari Guild in the Battle of Ten!

The Match-ups for the next round is going to be:

MTG_Player (2) (Golgari-Challenge-Submission) v Blakkhand (2) (Blakk's Golgari Challenge)

JHermy (2) (guild-deck-challenge-golgari-by-jhermy) v Supersun (2) (A typical Golgari Deck)

psychoza (2) (Grave Danger Ahead) v BYE!

As we still have an odd number of participants left, another randomly generated BYE, is given, and this time it is for psychoza! So congratulations to him for making it to the Semi-finals!

I will get on to the Boros challenge shortly and begin match-ups as soon as I have the time (though I will not be able to do anything next week due to vacation.

Untill then, please be patient with me, and I will in turn supply you with the Magic Challenge fix that I know you so badly crave; See you next time!