ptrrich, 11 years ago

the cards are all almost here

thrillhos, 11 years ago

PTQ Prague - It's not meant to be...

Putrefy, 11 years ago

Hello everyone...

I just got back from Prague. Yesterday was a beatiful day. The sun was shining and it was very warm for this time of the year. And there was a PTQ in Prague, which I attended, and where my deck failed miserably.

Match 1 against R/G Devotion 2-0

Piece of cake. If you look at the decks on paper you see clearly why the jund-version is favored here. And that's exactly what happened. First game I got T2 Domri in to Polukranos, which he was unable to answer. Game 2 I made his Arbor Colossus pay the Ultimate Price and he was left with only mana dorks and 1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts which he had to play without any defense so he got only 1 activation out of it and he bricked.

Match 2 against Naya Hexproof 0-2

Game 1 he is on the play and draws the stone cold nuts. Gladecover Scout into 2x Ethereal Armor into Unflinching Courage...

Game 2 he goes to 6 and keeps a bad hand. No play T1-T3. But he has two timely Chained to the Rocks to remove any pressure. After the game he told me he had only those 2 in the sideboard. I still had a Stormbreath Dragon putting pressure on him but eventually it was down to one curcial turn. He was dead the next turn, I had 2 Elvish Mystic to block his Witchstalker with Madcap Skills when he top-decks Ghor-Clan Rampager and pushes through for the win. How lucky.

In the end I must say it's a pretty bad match-up for me. I must admit though, that I didn't see any Golgari Charm / Abrupt Decay Game 2 to break his back. Still this match-up isn't in my favor.

Match 3 against R/B Aggro 1-2

Game 1 I hold a nice hand. 3 Lands, Elf and 3 4-drops. However my Elf doesn't survive long enough and instead of drawing lands I keep on drawing 4 and 5 drops.

Game 2 I win pretty easily. I can establish a quick board presence and gain much life back due to 2 Courser of Kruphix. After an overloaded Mizzium Mortars he is left with only lands and no cards in hand and scoops.

Game 3 I go to 6 cards and keep a hand with 2 Temple 2 Lands and 2 Golgari Charm. I though it was an "ok" keep, as the Charms would slow him down enough. However my deck decided to dick around once again and supplied me with lands and 1 Elvish Mystic until I was dead. Being 1-2 after 3 rounds I was basically dead for Top-8.

Match 4 against B/W Midrange 1-2

Game 1 he mulls to 5 keeps a one-lander and doesn't see a 2nd land until it's too late.

Game 2 I keep Temple, Elf, Caryatid, Domri and some beaters. Wasn't expecting the full on T1 Thoughtseize into T2 Thoughtseize Thoughtseize from him. I did get a 2nd land but no more afterwards.

Game 3 I mull to 5 and cannot recover from the unreal amount of hand-disruption and removal. After he plays Obzedat, Ghost Council I scoop, as I have no way to kill his Obzedat and I'm already too far behind.

Probably the worst match-up for this deck. Too much removal with hard-to-beat creatures (at least for my deck). I dropped after being 1-3 and also being basically dead for prize-boosters. Instead I decided to buy a M14-Booster-Box with my friends (who were equally bad) and we played some Mini-Masters. It was the worst Display I've ever opened. We had 3 Mythic Rares: Ring of Three Wishes, Rise of the Dark Realms and Darksteel Forge (VALUE!). No Mutavault, no Fiendslayer Paladin nor Lifebane Zombie. At least the foil rare wasn't complete junk as it was said Lifebane Zombie. I still had a lot of fun but not playing the PTQ. I had fun being with my friends and playing mini-masters for fun.

I think I will drop Standard for the time being. The amount of money you have to invest every one or two months to be able to compete with the top-decks isn't worth it. I think I will complete my Modern Rock deck and try to dig myself into this format, as it plays cards that don't lose value.

tl;dr I'm bad at Magic, my deck hates me, I quit Standard and play Modern instead, opened the worst Booster Box ever.

MTGO Updated

cypherd, 11 years ago

Discard kind of blows

babydaggers, 11 years ago

Welp, gave it the "old college try" with discard as a multiplayer function, and I'm here to wave the white flag. Discard totally incites aggro against me, but doesn't necessarily disrupt EDH games enough to be worth it. When I hit the table with Unnerve, it just turns the game into Archenemy without all the cool power-ups.

So.

Back to the drawing board with Rats, but I think we'll need to just exploit the "zillions of tokens sacrificing" aspect, rather than the "rats make you discard" aspect, which will end up being incidental.

Thanks for the tips, TheFanatic. I'll update the deck soon, and would welcome further guidance.

Boros!

manaderp, 11 years ago

Boros Guildgate

Adams880, 11 years ago

I added Boros Guildgate to hopefully make the one white land I really need more consistent.

Also took Electrickery out of the sideboard for Scouring Sands. Nearly the same effect with a scry on it.

GP Richmond Results

GarrettO23, 11 years ago

GP Richmond was pretty insane. The largest constructed GP of all time with over 4300 players. I felt pretty good with the deck and I didn't ever feel like I had a horrible match up. I started the tournament 3-0 and I ended day 1 with a record of 5-2-1 just missing day 2.

Round 1: 2-0 over UWR Control

This is one of my easiest match ups and it is a pretty standard result.

Round 2: 2-1 over Merfolk

By far one of my worst match ups. I ended up mulling to 4 game 1 and losing by turn 6. On games 2 and 3 I hand pretty good draws and was able to grind out 2 close games.

Round 3: 2-1 over Storm

I lost on turn 3 game 1 but after side boarding I dominated the following games. Storm is very fragile and is a huge underdog against my deck.

Round 4: 1-2 loss to Kiki Pod

This is a long, grindy match up and I feel that I'm a slight underdog. Every game was close but he just drew better.

Round 5: 1-1 draw to Bant Control

This match up was fairly easy but the person I played against played very slow. Game 1 I ended up using triple Tectonic Edge and he conceded. Game 2 he drew a Damping Matrix and I never recovered. Game 3 we went to turns and on turn 4 I hit for 7 with a Batterskull equipped to a Restoration Angel and dropped him to 6 life. He was turn 5 and we had to take a draw even though I had lethal next turn.

Round 6: 2-0 over Splinter Twin

This game was all about destroying his lands and hitting him with Blade Splicer tokens.

Round 7: 2-0 over Tarmo Twin

This deck is a little harder against me because Tarmogoyf is a very strong card to deal with. Luckily game 1 was pretty quick and I had a fast start. Game 2 I sided in Dismember and Relic of Progenitus. He went for the combo and I was able to Dismember his Pestermite. After that I continued to bash in 2 more turns and he conceded.

Round 8: 0-2 loss to Merfolk

As I said earlier this is a very tough match up for me. Game 1 I had to mull to 5 and lost to a turn 1 Aether Vial. Game 2 was also pretty rough as he had triple Spreading Seas to lock me out of a white source for a turn and he just hit me with islandwalk creatures to win.

Round 9: Drop

I knew I had no chance to make day 2 because of the draw I had earlier. I felt pretty good with the deck and I do feel like it is well positioned against the current meta.

PTQ Update

TheAshenKnight, 11 years ago

Saturday I went to my very first PTQ, and it was certainly an interesting experience. Really, it was more of an FNM with (many) more people, a larger entry fee, and a larger prize at the end.

I didn't really do so well, though. There were 7 rounds with 119 people, and a combination of bad draws and tough decks did me in. As for what happened, well...

Round 1 - Orzhov Midrange - Record: 0-2

I say Orzhov Midrange, but it was really a mono-black devotion deck with a splash of white for Blood Baron of Vizkopa and Obzedat, Ghost Council. Strangely enough, I didn't see a single Sin Collector. Well, I ended up having the same problems against this deck that I normally have against MBD; I can hold them off until they get an Underworld Connections online, at which point I simply can't keep up with the card draw, and get overwhelmed. During the first game, I was unable to deal with a Desecration Demon, and during the second, he got out the demon, Obzedat, and Blood Baron, while I only had a Mizzium Mortars and Anger of the Gods in hand. Needless to say, I was completely obliterated. Had I gotten counters when I needed them, I may have been alright, but as it was, I just couldn't hold on.

Round 2 - Mono-Black - Record: 1-0-1

This match was a strange one. Someone took Liliana of the Dark Realms, stuck in some Corrupts, and put in a sac engine, with some removal thrown in to boot. The first game took forever, with us both having about half our land or more on the battlefield. Eventually, I got an AEtherling out, and managed to finish the game from that point. The second game we never even finished. The game went over on time, and during the last few turns, I countered his Corrupts that actually would've been lethal (Yes, he had that much land.), but I never got a win condition, and the match ended. I was told the match would have counted as a win since I won the first game, but on the Planeswalker Points site it has it counted as a draw. I'm not sure if this is incorrect or if what I was told was wrong, but until I know for sure, my place at the PTQ is unknown. Right now it says 62nd, but if it's wrong, I could get bumped up some. When I know for sure, I'll edit this update.

Round 3 - Mono-Black Devotion - Record: 1-1-1

If it weren't for round 1, I could say I faced nothing but mono-black for the first 3 rounds. Well, this match was a bit odd. During game 1, I managed to stabilize despite his Underworld Connections, mostly because he drew nothing but land and/or useless cards against me, and I finally got an AEtherling out, at which point he scooped. During game 2, he used 3 Thoughtseizes during the first few turns, ripping a ton of cards from me. I think he also used a Duress. I had the opportunity to resolve a Pithing Needle, and should have done so, but I wanted to name a land for Underworld Connections, so I wanted to wait until he played it, but I waited too long and he took both copies with his hand disruption. Really, I should have played it and named Mutavault (not a land, as he had scrylands as well, and it would've been useless to do so.) so he couldn't use that as an attacker. Unfortunately, I didn't, and soon got overwhelmed with stuff, facing down 3 Mutavaults and a Desecration Demon. Game 3 went similar to Game 1, and I managed to stabilize, and probably would have won the round, but we unfortunately went on time, resulting in a draw that may have cost me a top 16 spot.

Round 4 - Jund Monsters - Record: 0-2

The deck was an interesting one, apparently splashing black for Reaper of the Wilds. There was probably something else too, but I never saw it, but the idea intrigues me. The match, however, wasn't even close. In both games he got out a Domri Rade when I didn't have a counter or enough burn to deal with it. In game 1, he managed to ultimate it, and that was game over immediately. In game 2, I managed to get out a Pithing Needle naming Domri, but I kept a hand with 5 land and two spells, and drew almost nothing but land for the rest of the game, and I couldn't deal with everything he already had in hand from a few activations of Domri. Long story short, Domri Rade hates me.

Round 5 - Blue Devotion Splashing White - Record: 1-2

This round, I found out exactly how fast MUD decks, or variations thereof can be. This deck was a bit different, splashing white for Detention Sphere and Ephara, God of the Polis, but otherwise it was the same MUD deck. Game 1 I took a beating, but managed to stabilize when I got out a Stormbreath Dragon, and then proceeded to overload Mizzium Mortars and beat him up with the dragon. He managed to draw a Detention Sphere, but forgot the dragon had protection from white, and when I said that, he immediately scooped. Game 2 and 3 weren't even close, though. In one of them (I don't remember which game it was.), I got overwhelmed by two Master of Waves I didn't have counters for, and in the other game, he just had too much stuff. Mutavault heavily contributed to my downfall in both games.

Round 6 - Maze's End - Record: 0-2

I played a Maze's End deck in this round... and lost horribly. Granted, control decks are horrible against this deck, since there's nothing I can do until at least turn 5 or 6, but I still should have been able to do more, especially after sideboarding. In game 1, I got to my win conditions a bit too slowly, and delayed an AEtherling because I thought he might have removal (afterward I learned he pretty much only had Fogs, and spells with that effect.). By the time I managed to get him out, it was too late, and just for kicks I played my second that I managed to get. During game 2, I had 12 of my 15 sideboard cards in my deck, but unfortunately, I never got to use them. I got mana-screwed because I kept a hand with 1 land in it due to having two copies of Magma Jet. I figured I only needed to draw a single land, at which point I could cast both of them and scry into some more. However, I remained with 1 land until about turn 6, at which point it was far too late for me to do anything.

Round 7 - Bye - Record: 2-0

The last round I got a bye. I was kind of happy, but at that point I was out of the running for anything, and kind of just wanted to play Magic. However, it was good that I did, as I got to leave early.

Due to some comments and experiences I had at the PTQ, I made a few changes to the deck; I switched out the Ratchet Bomb in the mainboard for Pithing Needle. In most cases, the needle is much, much more useful, especially in my bad matchups against MBD and R/G Monsters, since it can get rid of planeswalkers, Underworld Connections, and Mutavault for 1 mana, and because it's game 1, they most likely won't have an answer for it, giving me a slight advantage. I'm not sure if this is a meta-game decision or not, but I'm going to call it one just to sound cool. I'm also moving Stormbreath Dragon to the sideboard in place of Spellheart Chimera, and replacing its spot in the mainboard with AEtherling due to a comment by Krayhaft, though I'm considering putting in Opportunity instead, because I've learned I really, really need the card draw. Also due to his comments, I'm going to try to get a hold of some Mutavaults. From what little testing I've done with them, they've proven invaluable, and really make this deck better.

Overall, the experience was a fun one, but I wish I had done better, and was a bit bummed afterward. That said, I'm still thankful I got to go at all, and I did have fun.

I Broke Down!

wnorris17, 11 years ago

Kaitoghost, 11 years ago

Skuloth, 11 years ago

totosx, 11 years ago

Added Temple Garden and Ghostly Prison in Board

CurdBrosBrewingCo, 11 years ago

Side Change & Note for Pod Matches

Trying out Ghostly Prison post-TO match. Its a powerful sideboard card against Zoo, Affinity, Twin (they can only attack with 2-3 of their "infinite"); etc. May not be good enough and gotta make sure I have enough white via Temple Garden, Misty Rainforest (to grab Temples), Horizon Canopy, and Abundant Growth.

Also; as an aside; if you play against Pod decks and they hit the "infinite life" combo; make them give you a number. You have ways of doing "infinite" damage; so it's not game over with Kitchen Finks :).

Update #2

Yosituna, 11 years ago

REMOVED:

• Crusader of Odric
• Minion Reflector
• Strionic Resonator
• Wurmcalling
• 1x Forest

ADDED:

• Ajani Goldmane
• Khalni Garden
• Leyline of the Meek
• Mirror Gallery
• Soul Foundry

A few minor changes: Minion Reflector and Strionic Resonator weren't as helpful as I was hoping. Minion Reflector's tokens go away at the end of turn, even when populated (unlike, say, Mimic Vat's) and therefore are less useful than I'd like. Strionic Resonator only works with triggered abilities, and the most commonly used one of those - Trostani, Selesnya's Voice's - isn't really worth doubling up on unless you have something big out giving you life (an Avatar token), which is the definition of win-more. Crusader of Odric is basically the exact same as Voice of Resurgence tokens, or Wayfaring Temple without the populate benefit, so I'm removing her. Finally, Wurmcalling is an actual useful spell, but it bugs me that I have no token to go with it, so I'm temporarily removing it until I can put together a proper Time Spiral block X/X Wurm token with official art (a lot harder than it sounds).

I'm adding Ajani Goldmane, for lifegain and awesome token purposes; Leyline of the Meek, to bump all my tokens up a notch; and Mirror Gallery, so that I can populate Tolsimir Wolfblood's Voja token, and if I get the opportunity, I can populate copies of Rhys the Redeemed, Trostani, or Tolsimir himself. Leyline unfortunately helps any opponents playing token strategies as well, but I have faith I can take on any enemy tokeneers! (Um, except Elf token decks; in that situation, I will just probably avoid playing it until I get their forces whittled down considerably, and hope I haven't already boned myself by putting it out from the opening hand.) Finally, I replaced Minion Reflector with Soul Foundry, whose tokens remain even without populating (but only of your own exiled cards).

Oh, and I added Khalni Garden back in to replace one of my basic Forests. Free tokens plus a land is just too good to pass up.

Can't find Felidar Umbra anywhere!!!

Teletubbby25, 11 years ago

Cuts previously made

Skuloth, 11 years ago

Deacon, 11 years ago

FNM 03/07/14 Results: 2-2 (8th out of 17)

ivohkoch, 11 years ago

Round 1: Azorius Heroic (WIN 2-0)

1-0: Just killed everything he managed to put down and milled the hell out of him with Jace, Memory Adept.

2-0: Both me and he got terribly mana screwed, we were on turn 15 and had only four lands each. Codex Shredder did its job; milled him down with Consuming Aberration (had to play an Omenspeaker and Doom Blade it for the win. The best player at my LGS was watching the game and I think he almost had a heart attack before realising what I'd done.

Round 2: White Weenie (LOST 1-2)

0-1: Let's say that he had 3 Boros Elite and 2 Soldier of the Pantheon on play by turn 3. Could have held him back but that damn Ajani just stole it. My oportunity to try the sideboard.

1-1: Anddddd... It worked out! Pithing Neddled his Ajani on the second turn and started Milling him down with 2 Codex Shredders. Milled him down with Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver. (World Record: had 23 Loyalty Counters on it at the end of the game :P)

1-2: So, what do you do when your opponent has a 4/4 Hoplite in play, no untapped mana and you have a Doom Blade in hand and 8 life? Forget that you have it and pass the turn :D :D :D :D (Really, I'm sooooo dumb!)

Round 3: Esper Control (WIN 2-1)

0-1: Damn AEtherling! First turn I Thoughtseized his Elixir of Immortality instead of it and 2 Revelations. He just smiled and said "Okay, you are playing mill, right?"... :-\ We both had like, 20 lands in play when he came down. Put the opponent down to one life three times, and he pulled it off with his Sphinx's Revelations. He used a Supreme Veredict just to kill my aberration. I brought it back with Codex Shredder and he used a Devour Flash on it. I tried Far / Awaying it back, but he used Hero's Downfall on it. Sad.

1-1: Sideboard doing it's work again! Pithing Needled his Jace, Architect of Thought, then casted Slaughter Games naming Elspeth, Sun's Champion and another one naming Detention Sphere. (was unsure whether I should name it or AEtherling BUT I had already milled one and Detention Sphere could screw up my 4 Codex Shredders in play pretty badly (they won the game this time, too :D)

2-1: Same thing as previous game. He managed to counter my Slaughter Games naming Elspeth, but I kept the Dreadbore just in case and was lucky to get the Anger of the Gods I sided in, killing his tokens AND the walker. Killed him by swinging with an Omenspeaker and Lazav, Dimir Mastermind (wich was actually pretty useless during this FNM) for 4. Countered ALL HIS 4 REVELATIONS, too. So happy! :D

Round 4: Azorius Heroic (LOST 0-2)

0-1: Mulligan down to 4 (my first mulligan EVER with this deck) and only managed to get to 2 lands before getting killed by a bunch of thingies.

0-2: Kept a bad hand (2 Aberrations, 2 Ashiok, 3 Lands, black and blue only). Then, he tried the 3-turn kill combo with Favored Hoplite + 2 Ethereal Armors + Ajani, Caller of the Pride. Drew a doom blade and killed it as soon as Ajani gave it double strike and flying. Played both Ashiok, Nightmare Weavers and sent the other one to the bottom of my library with an Omenspeaker. Ashiok gave me about 15 extra life. Why so much hate...? I managed to survive until an Aberration hit the board but it was already too late (1 life vs 5 or 6 thingies with only an Omenspeaker and a 3/3 Aberration to block. Sad.)

So, I thought that I made some terrible mistakes during games 2 and 4, which hurt my performance by al lot. However, I'm very happy with this deck. Finishing in 8th out of 17 (instead of 27th out of 28 in Game Day (hadn't splashed red yet, though)) made me quite happy and I want to try this deck again as soon as I can.

EwRecK86, 11 years ago