Pattern Recognition #230 - Slow Grow Weeks 2 and 3

Features Opinion Pattern Recognition

berryjon

3 March 2022

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Hello everyone! This is Pattern Recognition, TappedOut.Net's longest running article series as written by myself, berryjon. I am something of an Old Fogey who has been around the block quite a few times where Magic is concerned, as as such, I use this series to talk about the various aspects of this game, be it deck design, card construction, mechanics chat, in-universe characters and history. Or whatever happens to cross my mind this week. Please, feel free to dissent in the comments below the article, add suggestions or just plain correct me! I am a Smart Ass, so I can take it.

I've got lots of stuff to go over, so let's get right to it. First, let's go over the points for the Tournament. While most of this is inspired by the Star City Games Vs tournaments, there are a few exceptions and modifications in this rule set.

Rule 0 - Meren of Clan Nel Toth is Banned as a Commander. This deck has too many wins over the past few tournaments, and simply removing it as an option is the best way to go about it.

Rule 0.2 - When at a table with players who are not playing Slow Grow, points can be scored on them, but their actions cannot take points from anyone else. For example, a non Slow Grow player cannot score First Blood, even if they do attack first. Nor does a non Slow Grow player count for the purposes of placing at a table.

+4/+3/+2/+1 - These points are scored for placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th at a table. As per Rule 0.2, for a table with 3 Slow Grow, and one non Slow-Grow, the n-SG player will not count their position at the table against the others. If they win, then the SG player in second scores 4 points. If there is a table with five players, then 5th place scores 1 point.

+1 - Do not use a Partner Commander, or a Commander with Experience Counters. This rule was written to de-incentive some of the more problematic possibilities out there, and was responsible for me not going with my initial plan of tossing Wyleth the first chance I got for Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist as my joint Commanders.

+1 - Don't brag or be an asshole. This is another 'gimmie' point, as a reminder that everyone should be on their best behavior for this. In theory, everyone gets this for every game.

+1 - First Blood. Be the first player to deal Combat damage to another player. Pretty simple, right?

+2 - Perform a Commander Damage kill. This is scored per player, so in theory, someone could get +6 points in a game for killing all other players via Commander Damage.

-2 - Not Casting your Commander. Seriously, this is Commander, you should be playing it! But Commander Ninjitsu, or cheating your Commander into play doesn't count for this.

+2 - Cast your Commander 4 or more times. Hey, you put in the effort, go for it! However, cheating your Commander into play doesn't count. It has to be cast, Commander Tax included.

+3 - Save another Player. This means to perform an action that unambiguously prevents another player from leaving the game. This action must be agreed upon by the whole table.

+1 - Ask a pertinent question of a Judge. This is simple. Have a problem, and get a Judge to resolve it. This applies to everyone at the table, even if they've already lost.

-5 - Abuse the above to get a free point. Go ahead, try it with an inane, stupid or just plain dumb question, and the Judge will dock everyone at the table five points. Unless you've already been defeated. Don't waste the judge's time, people.

+1 - Defeat the person in first place overall. Just a little Dethroneing going on here, nothing to see here.

-2 - Defeat the player in LAST place at your table first. No knocking the poor guy when he's down, and give him or her a chance.

-2 - Going Infinite or "Infinite". No endless loop shenanigans. If your turn takes ten minutes, you're getting hit. See also the "Don't be an Asshole" point if you want.

-2 - Using an "I Win" card. Things like Approach of the Second Sun, Laboratory Maniac and such. This and the infinite looping is what stopped me from using Teferi, Temporal Archmage as my deck. Taking 4 point losses just for winning wasn't my cup of tea.

+/-x - Judge's Discretion And this is the catchall for things that aren't specifically covered. Just in case.

And with knowing all this in the point scoring system, I decided to go with Wyleth, Soul of Steel, and look out for as many Commander Kills as possible. You see, my making a a single Commander Kill, I guarantee myself no worse than 3rd position at a 4 person table, which means a minimum of 2 (Commander Damage) + 2 (Gimme points) + 2 (3rd Place) = 6 points. It might not be enough to win, but it should place me in the top half of the tournament.

That's the goal. Let's go to Round 2.

WEEK 2

IN: Settle the Wreckage, Single Combat, Shadowspear, Mirror Shield, Rabbit Battery
OUT: Odric, Lunarch Marshal, White Sun's Zenith, Memorial to War, Wear / Tear, Response / Resurgence.

I saw a lack of Mass removal in the deck, and while Winds of Rath is in there, I didn't want to low-ball myself with Wrath of God. Instead, I went for the instant speed, and thus usable via Sunforger in Settle, and Single Combat allows me to keep Wyleth around and forcing hard choices on everyone else due to the sacrifice effect. Shadowspear is a redundant lifegain card that's on the cheap, while Mirror Shiled provides Hexproof. And the Energizer Bunny? I mean the Rabbit Battery? Well, haste is a good thing, and as you will see, it's more than earned its keep.

In terms of removal, Odric gets the boot as he's there to support Martial Glory and Zenith, the former staying because it can also act as a boardwipe, while Zenith can't. Memorial to War gets the toss as this deck doesn't need 40 lands, while Wear/Tear is out as I'm not seeing a lot of Enchantments or artifacts. Yet.

GAME ONE

Here, we have Oloro, Ageless Ascetic going first, followed by Lathril, Blade of the Elves, myself, and Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait going last. As I have the cheapest Commander, I wound up getting First Blood on Oloro, while Oreskos Explorer on Turn Four sets me up for all the I could need. Pity there's no dual lands in the deck, like Sacred Foundry. Hell, I would use a Battlefield Forge! Why wasn't in this deck?

Turn 5, Lathril starts to go off, making 6 Elves, and things get worse from there thanks to a Poison-Tip Archer, I draw Relic Seeker, and get permission to hit the Oloro player for the Renowned Trigger, which gets me Sunforger. Now I can threaten a Settle, which keeps anyone from committing to the attack.

Round goes to time, I'm in last place, and so I decide to go for broke. I cast Master Warcraft and force Lathril to attack me, then cast Settle the Wreckage to kill his Elves and leave him open for everyone else. In response, he taps ten elf tokens to Lathril to keep them from swinging, then follows this up with a Skemfar Shadowsage on the second main for 23 damage to everyone total. He wins, I come in last place.

Hey it was 8 mana well spent, for a Glorious End to the round. Too bad nothing actually happened. Still, I can see other outs for that combo over time.

:(

GAME TWO

I go first, with Sevinne, the Chronoclasm next, followed by a non-Slow Grow Tovolar, Dire Overlord  ^Flip, and Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, who is Slow Grow, as they're the Rouge deck from last week, replacing thier Commander with a Ninja and beginning to adjust their deck accordingly. Nice!

There's not a lot to talk about this game, except that the goddamn Energizer Bunny is amazing. Turn 1 play, First Blood again. I get to cast my Commander 4 times. Three from the zone, once from my hand thanks to a Cyclonic Rift. Other than that though, a lot of spinning wheels, and I end up with 7 points on the game thanks to life totals at the end.

GAME THREE

I'm third, behind a non-Slow Grow Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, Tovolar, Dire Overlord  ^Flip again (we checked with the Judge before playing, and he confirmed it), and Shadrix Silverquill, a player who switched out their Commander from the Orzhov... sorry, Silverquill Precon from last year. Cool! This means that I'm guaranteed second or first.

OK, you think I liked the Bunny before? Well, imagine Milling to Five, and getting a hand that winds up being Rabbit Battery, Explorer's Scope, Two Mountains and a Plains.

Turn 1, Rabbit hits the ground running, scoring me First Blood again. Turn two, cast and equip the Scope, Bunny hits a different player, and I flip a friggen Boros Guildgate onto the Battlefield. Turn 3? Wyleth, Reconfigure the Bunny, and start swinging and drawing cards.

I quickly snowball out of control, and Trostani goes down first to Commander Damage, despite having more like than when he started. I'm forced to reset the board with a Winds of Rath, and the Rabbit, being an equipment at the time, falls off and becomes a creature I can swing with while people rebuild. Seriously, RABBIT STRONG! Then he dies to Blazing Volley from Tovolar. Good call. Tovolar then dies on extra turns to me swinging hard on Commander Damage, pulling a lucky Relentless Assault from the Explorer's Scope, and I was able to finish him off on the extra combat, coming in second due to life totals. Massive amount of points though... I'm sure Shadrix was sorry he put Parasitic Impetus onto Wyleth, It's just more card draw!

Next morning I check the points for the current standing. I'm at 35 points, in Second Place overall, with the ElfBall Lathril deck at 37. Not bad, not bad at all. Of course, he's 6-0 so far, while I think I've won... 1 game outright? Those Commander Kill points are paying off, big time.

So going into Round three, I knew I wanted to punch up Wyleth some more. More haste is good, recursion for Artifacts when they get blown up is good, and given the use of the Impetus last week, I had a crazy idea...

WEEK 3

IN: Brilliant Restoration, Escape Velocity, Rune of Speed, Shiny Impetus, Nahiri, the Lithomancer OUT: Rupture Spire, Dualcaster Mage, Wild Ricochet, Return to Dust, Unbreakable Formation

Another land gone, useless Dualcaster in this deck, Wild Ricochet is too niche, Return to Dust too expensive, and Unbreakable Formation is too reactive. Brilliant Restoration brings everything back as a late-game Slam of Doom, Escape Velocity is a good recurring source of Haste should I need it, Rune of Speed is card draw and more Haste, Shiny Impetus can do no wrong, and does no wrong, while Nahiri can make a token, or recur an Equipment. Sadly, I don't see her all week.

GAME ONE

The nice lady who went into Week 1, Game 1 with Silvar, Devourer of the Free and Trynn, Champion of Freedom as her Commanders is back at my table! And she's still playing them. OK, that's her decision, even as Jirina Kudro and Alesha, Who Smiles at Death are in the same precon. She's first. Next is Evangelion Production Model 01... sorry, Shorikai, Genesis Engine. Third is a non-Slow Grow Omnath, Locus of Mana, then me in fourth.

I know how the Omnath deck works. I'm not going to let it get off. Hero's Blade drops on curve, then Wyleth, so be becomes a 5/4 Trample. That's good. I drop a Bonesplitter on Turn 4 and hit him for 7. That's good. My land drop was Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. On Turn 5, the thing only I see coming happens. I swing for 7, he doesn't block, and SURPRISE DOUBLE STRIKE! He's out, and that's a Commander Kill.

Meanwhile, Gendo is busy making pilots, and Mardu Humans is building board state. And I'm trying to establish board state in the face of control. But Swift Reconfiguration puts a damper on that, and I'm stuck trying to crew my Commander with the Rabbit and equipment on the Rabbit, or figuring out how to destroy it with Single Combat. Where is my Cataclysm when I need one?!? Oh right, not in. Yet. Or Ever.

Thankfully I wind up crewing Wyleth to throw him in the way of combat to die horribly, and I can recast him. However, the Humans player is building up a board state, and only needs just a little push into attacking me with her army of Humans. After all, I only have four mana up, what can I do to stop her from hitting me for 23 of my 27 life?

Oh yeah. Settle the Wreckage.

However, she does now have enough mana to cast both her Commanders next turn, and get the Four Castings bonus, so that's not so bad for her.

We do have to call the judge as the Eva player wanted to know how Imposter Mech would work with Westvale Cult Leader  ^Flip, given that if he copied it, it would flip next turn. Judge came over, listened to us, then went back to double check what happens to a non-flippable creature that flips like that. Ruled that nothing would happen, gave the table a point for asking a Judge Question and told everyone else that that was the sort of thing that point was meant for. Yay! More points!

Anyway, game went to time, I didn't win. Sad Face.

GAME TWO

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver is going first, I'm second, Rafiq of the Many is third, and Ezuri, Claw of Progress is fourth. Sure, Experience counters, but they're doing good for themselves. I wind up milling down to five after some atrocious hands, including one with no lands, and another with all the wrong colors. Wilhelt gets First Blood, but no one really gets an advantage as Ezuri gets a Forgotten Ancient, but can't finish the deal.

Rafiq drops Sigarda's Aid a turn before I do, then goes for the throat and swings at me. I look at the board state, and decide that I can't trade my Wyleth yet, so I don't block. Rafiq goes "Stop! Hammer Time!" and drops Colossus Hammer and equips it to Rafiq! We all get a laugh at that.

I'm holding Abrade and Swords to Plowshares in my hand.

However, Wilhelf has priority over me, goes "Cyclonic Rift on Rafiq." And that's +3 points for him for saving me! Nice!

I return the favor two turns later, when his defenses are down, and Ezuri swings at him where a bunch of Decayed Zombies can't block. It's lethal Commander Damage! Wilhelf is going down!

Swords.

We're Save-Buddies now!

After that, the board gets to the point where no one has an advantage over anyone else, and at time, I just with the board with a Martial Coup and it's life totals to determine ranking.

GAME THREE

Three person table, with Shinji.... Sorry, Kotori, Pilot Prodigy, myself and Omnath again. I hit the ground running with the Bunny on Turn 2, and randomize whom I'm attacking with him. Turn 4 though, I use Shiny Impetus on Wyleth, and add on the Bunny. At 6/6, he's a danger, but I decided not to focus fire on Omnath like I should have, because I beat him down last time. Wyeth eventually runs into someone bigger than him, and Omnath closes out the game due to....

GODDAMNED Bane of Progress

Why, not, I'm not salty at all having an Enchantment/Artifact wipe hit the board against a Vehicles deck and a Voltron deck. Not at all. Why do you ask?

Anyway, after Week Three, I got 8+7+7 points, so that puts me at 57 total. Last week's leader only scored 21 points this week, so he's at 58. Third place is 54 points. It's still anyone's game.

Join me next week when I talk about something else. If you have suggestions about what changes I should make, let me tell you that I'm going to finally get a copy of both Magnetic Grip and Open the Armory when I go shopping today, as well as pick up a Light-Eyes for regular Commander. After that, I'm thinking of Axgard Armory and Inventors' Fair for lands that can go get stuff, and maybe something else to spice things up. Not sure yet. But hey, I have time before tomorrow to make decisions. Let me know in the comments below!

Until then please consider donating to my Pattern Recognition Patreon. Yeah, I have a job, but more income is always better. I still have plans to do a audio Pattern Recognition at some point, or perhaps a Twitch stream. And you can bribe your way to the front of the line to have your questions, comments and observations answered!