Najeela's Hulk Pod Project (cEDH Primer)

Commander / EDH* Winterblast

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Tournament results (November 28th) —Nov. 30, 2018

We hosted our 2nd tournament on November 28th and we had more people attending than before, even a new player entered the local meta with Breakfast Hulk. We had 9 players, which meant the event would take 4 rounds with 3 tables each. Unfortunately one guy left after round 2, which left us with 2 options: either continue playing 2 more rounds with 2 x 4 players to get a clear result or play round 3 as planned and quit afterwards, even though it could mean having 2 equal 2nd places. We chose the 2nd option because it was already very late in the evening and most of us had to work on the next day.

The other decks were: Teferi, Tasigur, Godo, Nekusar, Breakfast Hulk, Breya, Zur and a random Ur-Dragon

Round 1 was VS Godo & Nekusar:
I took a free mulligan and then kept my hand with Mana Crypt, Buried Alive, Imperial Seal, Bloodstained Mire, Noxious Revival, Aven Mindcensor, Survival of the Fittest. If i drew a land on turn 1 this would be a kill on turn 2, otherwise it would be turn 3. I didn't draw the land, but Godo obviously had to keep a mediocre hand after a mulligan to 5, so I didn't feel too bad about it. I started with Buried Alive and a turn later Imperial Seal on Reanimate. On turn 3 I tried to Reanimate but it was countered and Godo destroyed my Mana Crypt. He failed to get enough mana to activate his own Scavenger Grounds then, so I used Noxious Revival to go for Reanimate again on turn 4. This time there were no more responses.

Round 2 was VS Zur & Breya:
I had to mull to 5 but then I got Protean Hulk, Demonic Tutor, Mox Diamond, Elvish Mystic, Bloodstained Mire. Again, this would be a nice turn 2 kill, if I drew a land on turn 1. Zur started with a tapped shockland, Breya with Mana Vault. I didn't draw the land, so I could just play the mox and elf and pass. Zur then also had a Mana Vault and a 2nd land for Vampiric Tutor, Breya continued with Lotus Petal, Sensei's Divining Top and Rhystic Study. My turn 2 was a Mana Confluence and Demonic Tutor on Flash. Zur then went all in and played Mana Crypt, Laboratory Maniac and Demonic Consultation, exiling his library. In our meta I would say it's more realistic that no one can remove a creature than no one having a counter for the consultation, so it was probably a reasonable choice to cast it when everyone else was tapped out. I exploited the situation by openly stating that I am absolutely unable to remove Lab Man, which was even true as I just had Flash, Protean Hulk and Sylvan Library in hand. Breya then did everything to get rid of Lab Man, eventually having to use Lion's Eye Diamond to pay for Breya and shooting Lab Man with her ability. My Flash resolved easily then.

Round 3 was VS Teferi & Breakfast Hulk:
I kept my first hand including Vampiric Tutor, Mana Crypt, Necromancy. This was a clear turn 2 kill with enough mana to cast everything. I won the dice roll as well, so I started with crypt and passed (leaving crypt in hand is often not a trick in our meta because we frequently see turn 1 wheels). The other Hulk started with Sylvan Tutor on Hermit Druid. Teferi got land, Sol Ring, Sapphire Medallion. I tutored for Entomb EOT, played my 2nd land and passed again. I was considering jamming Najeela on turn 1 because it's great to have a growing threat out that early but as I had the obvious turn 2 win in hand I wanted to use it. After Teferi's start it was clear that only a Force of Will would stop me because if he had a Mental Misstep he would already have use it on one of our tutors. So I talked the other Hulk player into baiting the possible but unrealistic Force by stating that the chances for a Force among the remaining cards in hand were pretty low and that we both had a much better late game than him with Breakfast Hulk, so not pushing the gas pedal wouldn't be a trick in this matchup. I don't know what other options he even had but Hermit Druid was cast and the Force of Will was actually there, lol. I then used Entomb and Necromancy to win with Hulk in the same turn.

The final result then was:
1. Najeela
2. Teferi / Breakfast Hulk
4. Breya

Luckily I could hand out two identical cards as prize for the common 2nd place. The most important experience of that event was probably that dropping players won't affect the tournament plan, but having no time limit for rounds can be an issue. On the other hand, having rounds potentially end in a draw also needs an adaptation of the tournament plan we use.

As far as the deck is concerned, the super fast wins it frequently provides are very helpful in a tournament setting. Exploting other people's interactions with each other and putting a lot of stress on the opponents' opening hand judgement and mulligans is only possible because the deck has such a fast and efficient way to win, along with the slower but still efficient beatdown/combo option. The focus has to lie on aggressive gameplay, that is pretty clear. It's good to be aware of the strong mid and late game the deck has but the early turns are where risks have to be taken.