This is a departure from my normal blogging, but it's also the reason I didn't get a chance to update much last week, so here is my tournament report for Mass States.
Anyone who came here from a Magic forum knows what deck I was running, and anyone who didn't probably doesn't care, but I was running
a white, blue, black control deck called "Jeebus WUB's You". If you want to see the decklist, you can search the mtgsalvation forums for it, or just e-mail
me and ask. Massachusetts had 138 people show up, which means 8 rounds, cut to top 8. I could give you a lot of back story on how I designed
the deck and stuff, but fuck it. ROUND ONE, FIGHT!
Round 1: vs Black/Red discard
Round 2: vs. Hellrazer
Round 3: vs. Elf Ball
Round 4: vs. White Weenie
Round 5: vs. Kithkin
Round 6: vs. Torrent
Round 7: vs. Faeries
Round 8: vs. Merfolk
So there you have it. I was one match away from making the top 8, and potentially becoming state champion, but I got paired against the 1 faerie deck among the other people
with 5-1 records. That's how it is though, I had a lot of good luck that day, but all I needed was to hit some bad luck twice and I was out. I
wind up in 20th place after being in 5th two rounds before. Overall, I performed really well and I'm happy with how my deck did. If I could've
played against ANY of the other 5-1's in round 7 then I would've made it tot he top 8, but shit happens.
Props:
Slops:
I wasn't expecting to run into Bruce Deck Wins, and unless you've been to the store where I work for FNM, you'd have no idea why I call it that.
Game 1: I have a decent hand, but my opponent has a much better one. I foolishly drop a Runed Halo naming Hell's Thunder instead of Demigod
of Revenge because I assume the deck would run one or the other. Double demigods smash my face in.
Sideboard: -4 Thoughtseize, +4 Flashfreeze
Game 2: I have a ridiculous hand. My opponent may as well be a goldfish.
Game 3: I probably should've lost this game, but thanks to a couple savage misplays by my opponent, like dropping double Sygg, River Cutthroat,
I won.
Result: Win, 2-1
Match Count: 1-0
After winning a match I probably shouldn't have, I get paired against one of the decks I'm most afraid of. Terrific.
Game 1: I think my opponent is just playing Zoo, which really hurts me this game. He's on the play and drops a bird turn one, and Wooly Thoctor
turn 2. I tap out turn for Kitchen Finks turn 3, which he Magma Sprays, and then drops Realm Razer on his turn. Oops, now I know what I'm playing against.
Sideboard: -4 Thoughtseize, +4 Flashfreeze
Game 2: Thank God I was on the play this game. I drop a CIPT land and pass the turn. He drops a pain land and a bird. I drop another
land and Agony Warp his bird. He drops another pain land and a Bloom Tender. I drop another land and Agony Warp the bloom tender. He misses
his next couple land drops and I drop Battlegrace Angel. Instead of just scooping, he tries to keep going, dropping a Gaddock Teeg, which I didn't
realize he had boarded in. Thanks for the info.
Sideboard: -2? +2 Infest
I don't remember what I removed from the deck, but I know I brought in two Infest to combat Teeg.
Game 3: This game is ridiculous. I start out very strong, then he starts to come back thanks to dropping both Ajani Vengeant and Garruk, Wildspeaker.
I go through a lot of removal, and finally drop Battlegrace Angel. Ajani has 7 counters on it on my turn, so I need to hit it with my Angel. I almost turn
it sideways, then realize he has a bird in play. Would've been terrible if I missed it, but I Agony Warp it and Battlegrace Angel hits Ajani. He taps it down, but
I bounce it with Cryptic Command and take down Ajani, then Garruk, and then my opponent is out of gas thanks to my Runed Halos. At some
point, I also used Esper Charm to hit my opponent when he had 2 cards in hand: a second Garruk, and a Cloudthresher. He gets me down to 2 life, but with his planeswalkers
gone he can't stop the angel. And that ends it.
Result: Win, 2-1
Match Count: 2-0
My opponent insists this should be a good match for him, but I still don't see why. I never playtested against it so I may be wrong, but it
seems like it should be pretty good for me, especially post board.
Game 1: I turn 1 Thoughtseize with another one in hand, which would wreck his tempo. He winds up drawing a Thoughtseize and taking mine out
however, so enough of that plan. Just like his lucky Thoughtseize rip, however, I rip a Wrath of God. A couple turns later his deck completely explodes,
and he goes down to 2 cards in hand with about 14 creatures in play. I wrath with a full grip and that's game. Faerie Conclaves FTW.
Sideboard: -4 Thoughtseize, -4 Runed Halo, +4 Flashfreeze, +4 Infest
Game 2: Opponent mulls to 6 and quickly keeps. I had a double Thoughtseize hand so I could really punish his slow hand, but I also only have
1 land so I mull thanks to his quick decision. I keep a hand of double Faerie Conclave, double Wrath of God, Infest, Cryptic Command. If I can hit
any of the 8 filter lands then I'll have mass removal on line, so I go for it. My opponent turns out to have kept a 1 land hand with explosive potential if he hits
his land drops, but he misses a couple whereas I draw exactly what I need. He triple Thoughtseizes me, but I'm topdecking like a fiend.
I couldn't be drawing better cards if I cheated, and I finally drop Oona to end the game.
Result: Win, 2-0.
Math Count: 3-0. This was my first match to end pretty early, so I take the chance to run and grab some pizza. Good choice, cause my next match is about
to go well past time.
Game 1: He's running Spectral Procession, Cloudgoat Ranger, and Ranger of Eos, which spells trouble for me. I also
stall on land, which doesn't help things either. I make it a long, long game, but I pull this game out somehow.
Sideboard: -4 Thoughtseize, +4 Infest
Game 2: I don't remember the details of this game, but he won. At one point I milled him for 3 with Oona and he flipped a fourth card,
so we had to call the judge he clearly didn't know what the fuck to do, so we had to appeal to the head judge. We get a time extension, and
then after game 2 we get selected for a deck check. Super. I'm not cheating and my opponent is cool enough so I don't suspect anything,
just a pain in the ass since we wind up spending a lot of time just sitting there. We start game 3 with 25 minutes left on the round clock
and a 13 minute extension. What are the odds this match could possibly go to time? Pretty fucking good.
Game 3: This game is fucking ridiculous. I can't remember all the details, but I'm pretty sure I hit 6 or 7 of my board sweepers. I get into
an awful situation thanks to a couple Figure of Destinies, and wind up at 3 life. I keep digging through my deck and finally Wrath
away his board. I drop an angel and he Oblivion Rings it. He already has another O-Ring on one of my Runed Halos. We're both playing
off the top at this point, except he topdecks a land and I topdeck Oona. At his EOT, I mill him for 6 hitting both of his remaining O-Rings.
He no longer has any outs, so at his next EOT I mill him for 13, leaving him with 4 cards in his library, then I untap and end the game just
as time runs out. I thought this was going to be an unintentional draw, but I pulled it out of my ass.
Result: Win, 2-1
Match Count: 4-0
Game 1: I feel really good about my opening hand. Reflecting Pool, Arcane Sanctum, double Agony Warp, Kitchen Finks, double Thoughtseize. I'm
on the draw and my opponent already mulled to 6, so seems very, very solid. Thing is, I never see a third land this game. Even on my very last turn of the game, if I had
drawn a land that didn't come into play tapped, I would've been able to come back. Never draw it though, and I'm pretty pissed, but confident in the matchup.
Sideboard: -4 Thoughtseize, +4 Infest
Game 2: I get a decent draw and run all over my opponent.
Game 3: My opponent is on the play and he drops a turn 2 Thorn of Amethyst. I did not see that shit coming. I stall on 4 land for a couple turns,
and he drops Reveillark so even the 2 Wrath of Gods and the Infest in my hand can't save be because I don't have the mana to cast 2 in one turn.
I'm really unhappy I lost because this should have been an easy match for me, but I got really unlucky and it happens. I already
won games that I probably shouldn't have, so I'm able to be a good loser, especially because I'm still in this thing, and he had the best
possible tech he could on board for me.
Result: Lose, 2-1
Match Count: 4-1
I tested against this deck a lot, so I know exactly how to handle it.
Game 1: I use my counterspells and spot removal sparingly, and Kitchen Finks slow my opponent down long enough for me to get out a
Battlegrace Angel. I let him resolve Bitterblossom and keep gaining life while I slowly bleed him. I keep digging with Esper Charm,
and on the third one I have a full enough hand to just take out his Bitterblossom and take it to his life total. He basically scoops to
Esper Charm.
Sideboard: -4 Thoughtseize, -4 Runed Halo, +4 Infest, +4 Flashfreeze
Game 2: I draw 3x Infest and 3x Flashfreeze. I completely shut him down until I draw Oona. My opponent took this way worse
than he should have, because he should know this is a terrible match for him.
Result: Win, 2-1.
Match Count: 5-1. We see the standings, and I'm in 5th place. A record of 6-1-1 will get me into the top 8, so it all comes down to this. One more good match and I have a chance
at the state championship. Even a tough match like Reveillark that I can make go to time will do it if I win my last match. This is
what it all comes down to.
Motherfucker This is the one deck I needed to avoid more than anything. It's an auto-loss. The worst part is that I felt good
sitting down, because I thought I had seen my opponent playing Quick N Toast earlier in the day, and apparently I was wrong. The
details of the match are irrelevant, as there's pretty much literally no way for me to win.
Result: Lose, 2-0
Match Count: 5-2.
Before the round starts we see the standings. There are enough people ahead of me where if they all intentionally draw their matches,
I can't get in. However, if they all ID then some of them will miss the top 8 on tie breakers. I try to convince everyone to play it out,
but I see early in the match that most of them drew so I can't win, and it basically takes all the fight out of me. I draw the match out to
3 games, but it's still an aggro-control deck so it's a bad match for me. Not as bad as faeries, but still rough so without my head 100% in the game,
I can't really win this one.
Result: Lose, 2-1
Final Match Count: 5-3
To my opponents for all being cool except the Torrent player.
To getting to play against 8 different decks when I was expecting the same 3 matches over and over again.
To Don Spinelli for winning the tournament with elves.
To faeries, just for existing
To the majority of players in all 50 states for a total lack of innovation with the new Shards of Alara cards
To Rob Doherty for the horrific prize support. I understand you need to make money, but you don't need to pocket 80% of the entry fees
Everyone should copy my deck and give me credit for designing it!
© 2008 by Dr. Jeebus