Funny story to start things off: I was short 3 copies of Unbridled Growth and was going to make it just in time, so I called ahead to ask if anyone could look for a few. When I got there everyone was curious what deck I was on that needed a random junk common. No one got it right on first guess, but my matches got a lot of attention.
Now that's out of the way, let's get into the tournament report!
Round 1 - RB Artifacts
I've played against my round 1 opponent once before in limited, so I had no idea what to expect for constructed. Game 1 I kept a slow hand with a single two-drop, my first mistake of the night. My opponent played a turn 1 Ornithopter and I couldn't tell if he was on Aetherflux Reservoir or some sort of Improvise deck but I figured out what he was doing when he dropped a turn three Pia's Revolution. I got stuck on two lands making the beatdowns really difficult, but then he dropped a second Revolution, more artifacts, Ravenous Intruder, and Key to the City, comboing out lethal. Cursing myself for not moving Fatal Push to the mainboard before filling out my decklist, I headed to the sideboard. I immediately brought in some relevant removal while taking out the slower options in the main deck.
Out: -2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher, -2 Essence Flux, -1 Duskwatch Recruiter
Flip
In: +3 Fatal Push, +2 Fragmentize
Game 2 I kept a much faster hand while my opponent's opening looked very similar. Then he dropped a turn four Herald of Anguish. There really wasn't anything I could do against that as he just kept shooting down all my creatures and I flooded out, so I scooped it up and took a few minutes to cool off before the next round.
0-1
Round 2 - Esper Dynavolt Tower
I sat across from our resident Esper Control player, so it was no surprise to me that he was on this deck. Game 1 went fairly quickly with turn two Greenwheel Liberator with revolt into turn three Nissa, Voice of Zendikar. I immediately -2'd Nissa to get early damage in and force my opponent to have Grasp of Darkness, which he eventually drew into, but another Liberator and a large Walking Ballista sealed the deal. Much like last game, I sided out the slower options to bring in relevant removal. I also expected him to be playing Yahenni's Expertise (he confirmed after the match that it was in his list) so I brought in some protection against that.
Out: -2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher, -2 Essence Flux, -2 Vengeful Rebel, -1 Duskwatch Recruiter
Flip
In: +2 Fragmentize, +2 Eerie Interlude, +3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Game 2 I was able to drop Greenwheel Liberator
+
Hidden Herbalists
+
Hidden Herbalists
with revolt on turn two for a massive 8 damage the next turn. My opponent used the one removal spell in his opening hand and couldn't draw a board wipe before I beat him down on turn five.
1-1
Round 3 - BG Energy/Counters (Snek.dek)
Game 1 I was able to get a turn two Greenwheel Liberator with revolt by casting a Walking Ballista for zero, something I figured would happen at least once that night. He stabilized with a combination of Fatal Push, Longtusk Cub, and Bristling Hydra, but I was able to push damage through with a large enough boardstate through Renegade Rallier and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar. I decided to bring in some removal to deal with Writhing Constrictor if it showed its face and try to go big if the game got too grindy.
Out: -2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher, -1 Renegade Rallier, -2 Essence Flux, -1 Duskwatch Recruiter
Flip
In: +3 Fatal Push, +3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Game 2 went very poorly from my end. My opponent quickly built up a wall of creatures that I couldn't break through and I didn't draw a single copy of Fatal Push before he beat me down. Not much else to say here.
Game 3 I managed to find Greenwheel Liberator
+
Hidden Herbalists
with revolt and kept his board under control with a combination of Fatal Push and Vengeful Rebel. He played a Bristling Hydra that started eating my board, but I ulted a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar into a second one to stabilize. After a few turns of both of us flooding out, I slammed down a Walking Ballista on 4 and closed out the game.
2-1
Round 4 - GW Tokens
After mulling to six, I threw down a turn two Greenwheel Liberator with revolt after seeing a Metallic Mimic naming "Servo" from my opponent. He cast a Servo Exhibition before taking four to the face while I threw down Duskwatch Recruiter
Flip
+
Hidden Herbalists
+
Unbridled Growth
. I was immediately put on the defensive when my opponent's turn four play was Hanweir Militia Captain
Flip
+
Sram's Expertise
. I didn't draw into a Vengeful Rebel, so I quickly lost to his consistent token generation and a very large Westvale Cult Leader
Flip.
Out: -2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher, -1 Renegade Rallier
In: +3 Fatal Push
Game 2 was incredibly intense the whole way through. My opponent played Authority of the Consuls on turn one, but I got a good early start with turn two Greenwheel Liberator with revolt and a few other early creatures. He stabilized with Master Trinketeer and some servos, but I had plenty of removal in the forms of Fatal Push and Vengeful Rebel. I almost got beat by Angel of Invention brick-walling my Selfless Spirit, but I drew into a Walking Ballista and took out the rest of his board for the win.
Game 3 went much more in my favor, mostly due to my opponent being stuck on two lands. He still put up quite the fight, though, with a few copies of Servo Exhibition, but eventually Nissa, Voice of Zendikar just made my board too big for him to deal with.
3-1
Round 5 - Split into top 8
3-1-1
Quarterfinals - GW Midrange
I heard a lot of people hyping up my opponent, so I had a good idea of what was going on in his deck before we sat down. Game 1 he set up quite the roadblock with a turn three Thalia, Heretic Cathar while getting rid of my creatures with multiple copies of Stasis Snare. I ran out of gas and he beat me down with a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. I decided to try and match his midrange by going big but I neglected to side in Fatal Push which turned out to be my downfall.
Out: -2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher, -1 Renegade Rallier, -2 Essence Flux, -1 Vengeful Rebel
In: +3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, +1 Nissa, Vital Force, +2 Fragmentize
Game 2 started off his favor with some early copies of Lambholt Pacifist
Flip but I quickly caught up with Greenwheel Liberator and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar. My opponent started dealing with my threats and put up a Gisela, the Broken Blade
Meld as a roadblock until I threw down Nissa, Vital Force and took him down to 5 life. Shortly after, however, he resolved a Rishkar, Peema Renegade and a Verdurous Gearhulk, shooting his Gisela up to an 8/7 which made quick work of my Nissa. Two turns later I was taken out very quickly by a flier I couldn't kill because I didn't bring in Fatal Push.
Overall, I was very happy with the deck's performance. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to play the Copy Cat matchup, but I have a friend who plays the deck so I can get in plenty of practice time before the next big Standard event. I'm definitely going to be tweaking the list, but I love the way the deck can play out and I'm looking forward to bashing control decks for 8 damage on turn three in the future!
