This thread contains the results for week 4 of All Blind Tournament #11 and is the start of week 1 of ABT#12.
I did wonder if this week might turn into an Eldrazi theme week. Variations on that plan were certainly the most obvious deck. However, there was also a lot of effort put in to locking opponents out. Possibly misplaced effort... because in rounds like this it's easy to win on the play anyway and the trick is to find ways to win on the draw. I haven't even called a winner this time (not that I tend to get those right). It's going to be close, I suspect!
Clairval has kindly agreed to moderate ABT 12 and has provided us with a most unusual special format - all entries to him for next week, please!
Week 4 of ABT#11
This round was Justice League 5CB.
Deck size:
205 cards
Land Rule:
20None
Special Rules:
Each individual card in your deck must either have a mana ability or be a legal 1CB with Land Rule deck (in particular, it must be able to win).
The Entries
Next Round will be '5CB Toothless'.
Entries are due Tuesday morning at 4:00 am GMT (Submit to Clairval).
5CB Toothless Description:
Welcome to Theros month! Your landing on the plane hasn't gone well; you planeswalked right into the middle of a group of minotaurs, who greeted you by repetitively stomping your face until nothing funny came out of it anymore. As as result, the verbal component of your spells is a bit compromised. Hopefully by next week, you'll have found some healer (unless you're a white mage yourself, in which case you obviously didn't need a bull party to be completely broken).
Deck size:
">20None
Special Rules:
20Entrants may only submit card names that start with a vowel. (Vowels are "a", "e", "i", "o", "u" and "y". Entrants may only submit English card names. No "μαύρο λωτού". Seriously, the card hasn't been printed in Greek ever, and "μ" isn't even a vowel to begin with.).px;">205 cards
Land Rule:
20None
Special Rules:
20Entrants may only submit card names that start with a vowel. (Vowels are "a", "e", "i", "o", "u" and "y". Entrants may only submit English card names. No "μαύρο λωτού". Seriously, the card hasn't been printed in Greek ever, and "μ" isn't even a vowel to begin with.).
Additional Banned List
None
Full Banned List
Blind Magic is an online Magic format played here on the forums. Players play with an extremely limited deck size, such as 3 cards. Players begin with their entire deck (ie: those three cards) in hand and have no library (players don't lose when they fail to draw a card because of this). Due to the extremely limited number of play options given with their small deck size, games are calculated, rather then played, with an absolute determined winner (or a tie). Each player plays a match of two games against each other player who submitted - once going first, and once going second. Wins, losses, and ties for each of those two games are calculated by the moderator and players. The actual fun of the game comes from trying to decide which cards you will be playing.
What is the All Blind Tournament?
The All Blind Tournament is a four-week XCB tournament, which spans all card blind formats and embraces a progressive anti-metagame. For each week of the four-week tournament, a new XCB format is announced for players to enter. Players compete for points (similiar to the PotM points for previous XCB games) each round. At the end of the four-week tournament, the player who has accumulated the most points over the four weeks wins the tournament, and receives a real-world prize.
Basic Rules of All Blind Tournament
Below lies the rules of ABT written in laymen's terms for ease of understanding.
While a comprehensive rule system exists, new players and quick glances are best left for this basic explanation.Overview
The All Blind Tournament (ABT) is a Magic tournament that consists of four rounds of X Card Blind (XCB), run entirely within this forum. To compete, entrants submit decks containing X cards which are played against each other. Scoring assumes optimal play, without randomness or concealed information.
Deck Construction Rules
1. A deck must contain exactly X cards.
2. A deck may contain any number of copies of any Vintage-legal card, but can't contain any cards on the ABT Banned List.
3. A player's deck must not enable that player to win the game before an opponent's second turn.
4. A player's deck must not enable that player to force an opponent to lose any cards in his or her hand before an opponent's second turn.
5. A player's deck must enable that player to win the game.
Deck Submission Rules
6. An entrant submits his or her deck to the ABT moderator by private message (pm).
Playing the Decks
7. Entrants don't actually play their decks, because game results can be determined theoretically.
8. Each player starts the game with the cards in his or her deck in his or her hand.
9. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
10. A random effect resolves in favor of the opponent of the owner of that effect.
11. Players know all information that would normally be concealed from them.
12. Each player plays one two-game match against each other player, and each player is the starting player once per match.
Points
13. The entrant with the most points in a round is the round winner. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game. However, an entrant earns only 2 points for a split match (each player wins a game).
14. The entrant with the most points in the four rounds comprising the ABT is the tournament winner.
Extra Rules
15. Some optional rules may be used; see Optional Rules.
16. The Basic Rules don't cover every issue. For in-depth rules, see Comprehensive Rules.
Optional Rules
Land Rule
Any player may play a basic land of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land.
Expanded Land Rule
Any player may play a basic land of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
Alternative Land Rule
If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land card of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
Sanctioned Magic Format
A deck may contain only cards contained in sets legal in the specified format.
Counter Rule
Until each player has completed two turns, each player ignores any part of an effect of a source an opponent owns that would counter a spell that player controls.
Life Rule
If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game. Determine whether a deck enables the player of that deck to win the game as though this rule didn't exist.
Special Format
Other rules are specified.
XCB Comprehensive Rules
Below lies the comprehensive rules system for the ABT.
Rules are written for precision and game clarification. They are not written for ease of reading. Game Rules
1.1. There are many versions of XCB. Each version has a name, of the form XCB 'Land Rule' 'Sanctioned Magic Format' 'Special Format' '(Bonus)' 'Counter Rule' 'Life Rule'.
1.1a. X is a number.
1.1b. 'Land Rule' can be LR, ELR, ALR, or nothing. LR indicates that the basic land rule is in effect, ELR indicates that the expanded land rule is in effect, and ALR indicates that the alternative land rule is in effect (see Rule 1.7).
1.1c. 'Sanctioned Magic Format' can be the name of a sanctioned Magic constructed format or nothing. The name of a format indicates that only cards contained in sets legal in that format may be submitted. This is an exception to rule 2.3c.
1.1d. 'Special Format' can be the name of at least one special format or nothing. The name of a special format indicates that the special format in effect (see Rule 1.8).
1.1e. 'Bonus' can be (Bonus) or nothing. (Bonus) modifies the preceding special format, indicating that an entrant must not follow the rules of that format, but that entrant will earn a specified number of bonus points if he or she does (see Rule 2.4f).
1.1f. 'Counter Rule' can be C or nothing. C indicates that the counter rule is in effect (see Rule 1.9).
1.1g. 'Life Rule' can be LF, AL, or nothing. LF indicates that the life rule is in effect and AL indicates that the alternative life rule is in effect (see Rule 1.10).
1.2. Decks are not played, but are scored as though they were. The player of a deck is the entrant who submitted that deck.
1.3. Except for the changes described in these rules, games follow the rules for a normal game of Magic.
1.3a. Ignore any part of an instruction that isn't covered by these rules or the rules of Magic.
1.4. An entrant's deck contains exactly X cards (see Rule 1.1).
1.4a. A player's opening hand contains the cards in his or her deck.
1.4b. Players don't draw hands or mulligan.
1.4c. Players don't have sideboards.
1.5. Players' libraries begin the game empty.
1.5a. A player doesn't lose the game as a result of being unable to draw a card.
1.6. A cost or effect that would produce a random result produces the result that least benefits the player who paid the cost or the owner of the source of the effect instead.
1.7. Some versions of XCB use a land rule.
1.7a. This is the Basic Land Rule. Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land.
1.7b. This is the Extra Land Rule. Any player may play a basic land or basic snow land of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game any time he or she could normally play a land. Any player may play an additional land on each of his or her turns from his or her hand.
1.7c. This is the Draw Land Rule. If a player would draw a card from an empty library, that player puts a basic land or basic snow land card of the subtype of his or her choice from outside the game into his or her hand instead. The starting player doesn't skip the draw step of his or her first turn.
1.8. Some versions of XCB use a special format. A special format is an extra set of rules. These rules overwrite any other applicable rules. A non-comprehensive list of special formats is maintained here.
1.8a. Some special formats cause an emblem to be put into the command zone. Abilities of those emblems can't be countered by spells or abilities, except as modified by a special format.
1.8b. Some special formats cause players to draw hands. The drawn cards become part of that player's opening hand.
1.8c. Some special formats generate continuous effects. Continuous effects generated by special formats are applied in the order those formats are listed in the XCB version name, before any other effects that could be applied in a layer.
1.8d. Some special formats require an entrant to make some number of decisions in addition to or instead of submitting a deck. An entrant's submission is that entrant's deck and any decisions that entrant makes. An entrant's submission must not violate rule 2.3 if all instances of the word 'deck' in that rule are replaced with 'submission'.
1.8e. Some special formats require entrants to make decisions "before the start of each game". For these decisions, follow the "Active Player, Nonactive Player order" rule, replacing "active player" with "starting player".
1.8f. Some special formats refer to decks that obtain or could obtain results. Saying that a deck obtains or could obtain a result means that the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result in a game or match against another player (see Rule 1.11). If a deck obtains or could obtain a result against another deck, then the player of that deck obtains or could obtain that result against the player of the other deck.
1.9. Some versions of XCB use the counter rule.
1.9a. This is the counter rule (C). Until each player has completed two turns, each player ignores any part of an effect of a source an opponent owns that would counter a spell that player controls.
1.10. Some versions of XCB use a life rule.
1.10a. This is the life rule (LF). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game. Determine whether a deck enables the player of that deck to win a match as though this rule didn't exist (see Rule 2.3b).
1.10b. This is the alternative life rule (AL). If neither player would win otherwise, then the player who maintains the higher life total wins the game.
1.11. Each player plays one match against each other player.
1.11a. Each match has two games.
1.11b. Each player is the starting player for one game in each match.
1.11c. Games are played with perfect information; players know the identities of face-down cards and cards in hidden zones, and players know which decisions have been made by other players.
1.11d. Games are played optimally. The best outcome for a player is to win the game and the worst outcome is to lose the game.
1.11e. If a game would continue indefinitely, then the game is a draw.
Tournament Rules
2.1. Entrants compete in a competition.
2.1a. The shortest type of competition is a round. Typically, each round lasts one week.
2.1b. The ABT is a competition consisting of four rounds.
2.2. An entrant submits his or her deck to the ABT moderator.
2.2a. An entrant submits his or her deck by private message (pm).
2.2b. An entrant may submit multiple decks, but only the most recently submitted deck is counted.
2.2c. An illegal deck is not counted. At the moderator’s discretion, an illegal deck may be replaced by a similar deck – in which any cards causing that deck to be illegal have been removed or replaced.
2.2d. The moderator determines the result of each match. Entrants may challenge results, but not after the results of the first round of a new ABT has been posted, except at the moderator's discretion.
2.2e. An entrant may name his or her deck. If an entrant doesn't, then the moderator may name it.
2.3. Decks are subject to some restrictions.
2.3a. An entrant may not submit a deck that could enable the player of that deck to win the game or force any cards in an opponent's hand to change zones before an opponent's second turn. A card is forced to change zones if the owner of that card could make no sequence of decisions that would not result in either that card changing zones or that player losing the game before his or her second turn. Ignore this rule in the following cases:
i. All cards in an opponent's hand that would be forced to change zones would not be cast by that opponent and would enter the battlefield under that opponent's control. For example, a 4CB deck with two copies of Black Lotus could contain Stronghold Gambit but could not contain Wild Evocation.
ii. All cards in an opponent's hand that weren't there as a result of a cost or effect that opponent controlled that would be forced to change zones during the resolution of a spell or ability would be in that opponent's hand after that spell or ability resolved. For example, a 3CB deck could contain Timetwister and Black Lotus but an 8CB deck could not.
iii. Cards in an opponent's hand would be forced to change zones only if cards in that opponent's hand that started outside the game would cause that opponent's maximum hand size at the start of the game to be exceeded. For example, a 3CB LR deck could contain two copies of Ancestral Recall.
iv. The rule would be violated only in a game that existed as a result of an effect that resolved not before the specified turn or until each player had completed the specified number of turns that restarted the game or created a subgame. For example, a 2CB LR deck could contain Karn Liberated.
v. The rule wouldn't be violated if opponents' cards had no rules text. For example, a 2CB deck could contain Plains and Eager Cadet if a special format read "Each player gets an emblem with 'You control your opponents during your turn'" and an opponent's deck could contain Dryad Arbor and Pact of Negation.
2.3b. An entrant may not submit a deck that wouldn't enable the player of that deck to win a match (see Rule 2.4d) against the player of at least one deck satisfying all rules.
2.3c. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card legal in Vintage (Type 1). Except as modified by a special format, all cards used in a game must be legal in Vintage.
2.3d. A deck may contain any number of copies of any card that will become legal in Vintage upon release of a set that's been revealed fully and officially since the start of the round.
2.3e. A deck may not contain any cards on the ABT Banned List.
2.4. Points determine round standings.
2.4a. Entrants are ranked – first to last – in order of decreasing number of points.
2.4b. For each match, an entrant earns 3 points per game win and 1 point per drawn game.
2.4c. The combined result of both games in a match is called a match result. Possible match results are: 6 – two wins, 4 – a win and a draw, 3 or 2 or S – a win and a loss, 2 – two draws, 1 – a draw and a loss, and 0 – two losses.
2.4d. Some match results are also denoted by names: two wins – match win, a win and a loss – split match, two draws – draw, and two losses – match loss. An entrant wins the match if he or she wins both games, splits the match if he or she wins a game and loses a game, draws a match if he or she draws both games, and loses the match if he or she loses both games.
2.4e. An entrant earns only 2 points for a split match. This is an exception to rule 2.4b.
2.4f. An entrant may earn a number of bonus points defined by a special format. An entrant earns these points in addition to any other points.
2.4g. A table of match results is posted at the end of each round. Its rows represent entrants and its columns represent those entrants' opponents. An entrant's total number of points is listed at the end of his or her row.
2.5. The entrant with the most tournament points over the course of the ABT is the tournament winner.
2.5a. Each round, an entrant receives tournament points equal to his or her average match result for that round multiplied by 100, rounded to the nearest integer or some number of decimal places chosen at the moderator's discretion. For example, an entrant scoring 6-6-6-6-X-0-0-0 in a round with 8 entrants receives 340 tournament points ((6 + 6 + 6 + 6) / (8 - 1) x 100).
2.5b. If two or more entrants would win the ABT, then each of those entrants competes in additional rounds specified by the moderator, until only one entrant has the most tournament points. Each additional round contains only the entrants who have the most tournament points. The moderator may specify a limit to the number of additional rounds.
3. Prize Rules
3.1. A prize shall be given to the tournament winner.
3.1a. The winner of the tournament shall be given the prize described within the tournament, or a suitable replacement upon the tournament's end.
3.1b. If the winner of the tournament has won two or more tournaments, then the highest ranked entrant who hasn't won two or more tournaments shall be given the prize instead.
3.1c. If the winner was a moderator for two or more rounds of the tournament, then the highest ranked entrant who wasn't the moderator for two or more rounds of that tournament shall be given the prize instead. This is to ensure fair play.
3.1d. An entrant may decline the prize. If he or she does, then that entrant may designate another entrant to receive the prize.
3.1e. Entrants under the age of 18 are ineligible for prizes, due to federal laws regarding the sharing of personal information of minors.
3.1f. In the event that a prize can't be given to an entrant, the moderator will do his best to find another suitable way to reward that entrant.
3.1g. No prize is 100% guaranteed, but is assumed upon a good faith basis. Let's face it, with international customs, weird laws, etc, we can't guarantee anything. We'll do our best.
3.2. As a prized tournament, special scoring rules and practices are in place.
3.2a. Entrants are responsible for their own scoring. Assistance will be given, especially to new entrants, but it is ultimately up to each entrant to ensure his or her scoring is completed and accurate.
3.2b. Incomplete scores are considered losses, even to both players in a match if necessary. This is to make sure a winner is determined at the end of a tournament.
3.2c. The moderator always has the final word regarding scores and rules. Entrants may question any scoring the moderator does, until the moderator says that a match's scoring is final.
3.2d. The moderator may, at his or her discretion, determine a match is too difficult to calculate and give it a tie score, or his or her best guess. Again, this is final.
3.2e. Once a winner has been announced as final, that entrant shall receive the prize, even if errors in scoring or points are shown later.
Permanently Banned Cards
The following cards are permanently banned in the All Blind Tournament.
Each round will have an additional banned list that extends beyond, but always includes, these cards.Acceleration
Art! (See ABT 11.1 thread for details)Nobody knows yet!Player Standings
Previous standings will always be posted below the opening post of each week's thread.
Standings will be updated after the current week has been completed and score checking has finished.
--
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
--
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
vs. 01 (bateleur): 2-2. Faerie Macabre stops Salvagers, but I can't use LED without discarding it... darn it.
vs. 02 (Clairval): 2-2. If Clairval plays a land, I can kill it with Ulamog, so he leads with Plains (leading with Karakas is lose) and I blow it up. Sadly, stupid Karakas.
vs. 03 (Reyemile): 4-1. On the play, first turn Ulamog wins. On the DRAW, I can stop him from getting a reshuffle with Emrakul via. Faerie, and force him to sacrifice the Drakeling to stop MY Eldrazi.
vs. 04 (ajfirecracker): 4-1. On the play, first turn Ulamog wins. On the draw ajfirecracker can threaten to Dust Bowl my land for the draw (Faerie OR Ulamog makes trying to win pointless)
vs. 05 (tomsloger): 3-3. Magus or Ulamog wins.
vs. 07 (knobbodi): 0-6. Don't mock the Cloudskate, it beats resolved Ulamog.
01 bateleur :: "Sapphire and Steel"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Auriok Salvagers / Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre / Kederekt Leviathan
vs
02 Clairval :: "Trope Killers"
Plains / Karakas / Karoo / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben / Mangara of Corondor
Karakas was a nice touch, but not being able to cast Thalia on turn one was unwise.
3-3 On the play I populate the board. He bounces Ulamog. I play Ulamog again, destroying Karakas. On the draw Thalia locks me out.
2-2 Faerie breaks my combo, but his combo leaves him without access to Faerie. We both do nothing instead.
07 knobbodi :: "Voidstoned"
Island / City of Traitors / Black Lotus / Riftwing Cloudskate / Voidstone Gargoyle
3-3 On the play I populate the board and nothing he can bounce actually helps. On the draw, Gargoyle locks me out.
08 cruelshy :: "The Very Big Revoker Plan"
Black Lotus / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben / Phyrexian Revoker / Mishra's Workshop / Steel Overseer
3-3 Same as the other Thalia matchups (see above).
09 Mogg :: "Moonstone"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / City of Traitors / Magus of the Moon / Voidstone Gargoyle
3-3 On the play I populate the board and nothing he can do deals with Ulamog. On the draw, Gargoyle locks me out.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
--
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
Against bateleur:
On the play, voidstone shuts lotus down. On the draw, I can't both lock lotus out and bounce anything. 3-3
Against Clairval:
Voidstone names Mangara, then outraces thalia. 6-0
Against Reyemile:
On the play I lock him out with voidstone. On the draw, I can pay for spiketail to cast lotus but then I get annihilated. 3-3
Against ajfirecracker:
Voidstone stops emrakul, and LED can't be used to cast Griffin. If he exiles Griffin, voidstone just names Griffin. 6-0
Against tomsloger:
Voidstone locks him out on the play, but on the draw titan + thalia slows me down just enough. 3-3
Against WhammWhamme:
On the play, voidstone does what he does. On the draw, cloudskate bounces ulamog. 6-0
Against cruelshy:
On the play voidstone names overseer, then I wait til cloudskate comes out of suspend and kill him with it. On the draw, he kills me the turn before cloudskate un suspends. 3-3
Against Mogg:
Neither of us beats turn 1 voidstone. 3-3
OTP:
T1: Dust Bowl LED
...T1: Plains (Karakas loses to Dust Bowl+T3 Emrakul)
T2: Exile Grif, stack library: LED Emrakul, cast Grif
...T2+: Karoo comes in tapped, loses to Dust Bowl, Griffin wins the race
OTD:
T1: Plains
...T1: Dust Bowl LED
T2: Karoo
...T2: Shelldock, in response sac Shelldock to blow up Karoo, exile Griffin, stack library Shelldock LED Emrakul
T3+: I take some damage but Thalia alone clearly loses
alternately
T2: Karakas, Thalia
...T2: Cast Griffin put LED on top
T3+: Karoo comes in tapped and gets blown up
OTD I just lose to protected Emrakul
OTP He holds Shelldock and goes for beatdown, if I play my own Shelldock he can safely play his (countering LED to make me burn a turn)
2-2 Unearth is sorcery speed, so if he ever plays Shelldock I can Dust Bowl him and then win (or at least draw) the game. If I ever activate LED, Faerie Macabre exiles LED and Emrakul for the win. Therefore we stare at each other.
Racing was never an issue, so my score just reflects whether my disruption was relevant.
A note on WW's deck: Fatestitcher used to be a good combo with Progenitus, but so far as I can tell, it doesn't work with Ulamog, since it gets shuffled into WW's library before it can be unearthed.
However, there was also a lot of effort put in to locking opponents out. Possibly misplaced effort... because in rounds like this it's easy to win on the play anyway and the trick is to find ways to win on the draw.
The problem was that the first turn lock components – Gargoyle, Magus, Revoker, Thalia – were too good this round, in the absence of cards like Foil and Ratchet Bomb. It was bound to be a low-scoring round, and if you weren't able to lock someone out, then you were throwing away points, since there was a good chance you'd lose on the draw anyway to a soft-lock or a fattie.
..oh derp. I derped and submitted a deck that can't win. Please remove my deck from the week entirely.
I can't remove it, because it can win and therefore is legal and has an impact on the scores of the other players.
Apologies for not spotting the problem, though!
Edit: I'll wait for all the corrections to come in before confirming, but provisionally it looks as though Mogg has overtaken Reyemile to take ABT 11 overall! Well played!
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(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
titan, btw, allows whichever piece of disruption is better AND a 6/6 t1 because it returns a lotus when it etb
Yes, obviously - I was referring to the fact that having a 6/6 is basically no use in this format... but actually it turns out it earns you your 3-3 against Mogg, so I'll let you off.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
--
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
This thread contains the results for week 4 of All Blind Tournament #11 and is the start of week 1 of ABT#12.
I did wonder if this week might turn into an Eldrazi theme week. Variations on that plan were certainly the most obvious deck. However, there was also a lot of effort put in to locking opponents out. Possibly misplaced effort... because in rounds like this it's easy to win on the play anyway and the trick is to find ways to win on the draw. I haven't even called a winner this time (not that I tend to get those right). It's going to be close, I suspect!
Clairval has kindly agreed to moderate ABT 12 and has provided us with a most unusual special format - all entries to him for next week, please!
Week 4 of ABT#11 Next Round : Week 1 of ABT#12
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
Mogg 1689
reyemile 1481
tomsloger 1342
WhammWhamme 1033
aurorasparrow 775
knobbodi 964
bateleur 600
clairval 428
cruelshy 300
ajfirecracker 100
Mogg Wins ABT 11 - Congratulations!
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
if anyone cares my deck was going to be
Swamp
Ancient Tomb
Phyrexian Revoker
Bone Shredder
Coffin Queen
and I'm guessing AEther Storm and such cards do not count as starting with a vowel, yes?
4th place at CCC&G Pro Tour
Chances of bad hands (<2 or >4 land):
21: 28.9%
22: 27.5%
23: 26.3%
24: 25.5%
25: 25.1%
26: 25.3%
vs. 01 (bateleur): 2-2. Faerie Macabre stops Salvagers, but I can't use LED without discarding it... darn it.
vs. 02 (Clairval): 2-2. If Clairval plays a land, I can kill it with Ulamog, so he leads with Plains (leading with Karakas is lose) and I blow it up. Sadly, stupid Karakas.
vs. 03 (Reyemile): 4-1. On the play, first turn Ulamog wins. On the DRAW, I can stop him from getting a reshuffle with Emrakul via. Faerie, and force him to sacrifice the Drakeling to stop MY Eldrazi.
vs. 04 (ajfirecracker): 4-1. On the play, first turn Ulamog wins. On the draw ajfirecracker can threaten to Dust Bowl my land for the draw (Faerie OR Ulamog makes trying to win pointless)
vs. 05 (tomsloger): 3-3. Magus or Ulamog wins.
vs. 07 (knobbodi): 0-6. Don't mock the Cloudskate, it beats resolved Ulamog.
vs. 08 (cruelshy): 3-3. Ulamog vs. Thalia.
vs. 09 (Mogg): 3-3. Ulamog vs. Magus.
1 | X 3 3 6 3 2 3 3 3 | 20 |
01 bateleur :: "Sapphire and Steel"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Auriok Salvagers / Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre / Kederekt Leviathan
vs
02 Clairval :: "Trope Killers"
Plains / Karakas / Karoo / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben / Mangara of Corondor
Karakas was a nice touch, but not being able to cast Thalia on turn one was unwise.
3-3 On the play I populate the board. He bounces Ulamog. I play Ulamog again, destroying Karakas. On the draw Thalia locks me out.
03 Reyemile :: "Drakeling Aggro"
Black Lotus / Spiketail Drakeling / Lion's Eye Diamond / Shelldock Isle / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
3-3 On the play I populate the board. Anything he does gets wrecked when Ulamog attacks. On the draw, Spiketail counters a Lotus.
04 ajfirecracker :: "Griffin Beatdown"
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn / Shelldock Isle / Dust Bowl / Lion's Eye Diamond / Misthollow Griffin
6-0 Ulamog destroys Isle when cast (if it's in play) and on all other turns destroys everything by attacking.
05 tomsloger :: "Sun Titan, He's the Fun Titan!"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Sun Titan / Magus of the Moon / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3-3 On the play I populate the board. Anything he does gets wrecked when Ulamog attacks. On the draw, Thalia locks me out.
06 WhammWhamme :: "First Turn Ulamog!"
Lion's Eye Diamond / Shelldock Isle / Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre / Fatestitcher / Faerie Macabre
2-2 Faerie breaks my combo, but his combo leaves him without access to Faerie. We both do nothing instead.
07 knobbodi :: "Voidstoned"
Island / City of Traitors / Black Lotus / Riftwing Cloudskate / Voidstone Gargoyle
3-3 On the play I populate the board and nothing he can bounce actually helps. On the draw, Gargoyle locks me out.
08 cruelshy :: "The Very Big Revoker Plan"
Black Lotus / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben / Phyrexian Revoker / Mishra's Workshop / Steel Overseer
3-3 Same as the other Thalia matchups (see above).
09 Mogg :: "Moonstone"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / City of Traitors / Magus of the Moon / Voidstone Gargoyle
3-3 On the play I populate the board and nothing he can do deals with Ulamog. On the draw, Gargoyle locks me out.
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
On the play, voidstone shuts lotus down. On the draw, I can't both lock lotus out and bounce anything. 3-3
Against Clairval:
Voidstone names Mangara, then outraces thalia. 6-0
Against Reyemile:
On the play I lock him out with voidstone. On the draw, I can pay for spiketail to cast lotus but then I get annihilated. 3-3
Against ajfirecracker:
Voidstone stops emrakul, and LED can't be used to cast Griffin. If he exiles Griffin, voidstone just names Griffin. 6-0
Against tomsloger:
Voidstone locks him out on the play, but on the draw titan + thalia slows me down just enough. 3-3
Against WhammWhamme:
On the play, voidstone does what he does. On the draw, cloudskate bounces ulamog. 6-0
Against cruelshy:
On the play voidstone names overseer, then I wait til cloudskate comes out of suspend and kill him with it. On the draw, he kills me the turn before cloudskate un suspends. 3-3
Against Mogg:
Neither of us beats turn 1 voidstone. 3-3
7 | 3 6 3 6 3 6 X 3 3 | 28
0-6 Because wow
OTP:
T1: Dust Bowl LED
...T1: Plains (Karakas loses to Dust Bowl+T3 Emrakul)
T2: Exile Grif, stack library: LED Emrakul, cast Grif
...T2+: Karoo comes in tapped, loses to Dust Bowl, Griffin wins the race
OTD:
T1: Plains
...T1: Dust Bowl LED
T2: Karoo
...T2: Shelldock, in response sac Shelldock to blow up Karoo, exile Griffin, stack library Shelldock LED Emrakul
T3+: I take some damage but Thalia alone clearly loses
alternately
T2: Karakas, Thalia
...T2: Cast Griffin put LED on top
T3+: Karoo comes in tapped and gets blown up
6-0
0-6
OTD I just lose to protected Emrakul
OTP He holds Shelldock and goes for beatdown, if I play my own Shelldock he can safely play his (countering LED to make me burn a turn)
X
0-6
2-2 Unearth is sorcery speed, so if he ever plays Shelldock I can Dust Bowl him and then win (or at least draw) the game. If I ever activate LED, Faerie Macabre exiles LED and Emrakul for the win. Therefore we stare at each other.
Voidstone names LED, Cloudskate eventually bounces Griffin if I cast it
0-6
Revoker names LED
0-6
0-6
Check it out!
http://www.eternalcentral.com/resource-advantage-in-magic-part-1-one-shot-resources/
http://www.eternalcentral.com/resource-advantage-in-magic-part2-tempo/
I've also written a short primer on Manaless Dredge in Vintage:
http://www.eternalcentral.com/the-dredge-of-glory-an-introduction-to-manaless-dredge-in-vintage/
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
9| 3 6 6 6 3 6 3 3 X | 32
Racing was never an issue, so my score just reflects whether my disruption was relevant.
A note on WW's deck: Fatestitcher used to be a good combo with Progenitus, but so far as I can tell, it doesn't work with Ulamog, since it gets shuffled into WW's library before it can be unearthed.
The problem was that the first turn lock components – Gargoyle, Magus, Revoker, Thalia – were too good this round, in the absence of cards like Foil and Ratchet Bomb. It was bound to be a low-scoring round, and if you weren't able to lock someone out, then you were throwing away points, since there was a good chance you'd lose on the draw anyway to a soft-lock or a fattie.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
It can still win, just a turn later. You'll redraw LED, which you can use to activate Isle.
BWTeysa, Orzhov Scion
GWRhys the Redeemed
GUKruphix, God of Horizons
GRXenagos, God of Revels
GThrun, the Last Troll
GStompy
I can't remove it, because it can win and therefore is legal and has an impact on the scores of the other players.
Apologies for not spotting the problem, though!
Edit: I'll wait for all the corrections to come in before confirming, but provisionally it looks as though Mogg has overtaken Reyemile to take ABT 11 overall! Well played!
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Sun Titan / Magus of the Moon / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Nice Titan... what's it actually for?
titan, btw, allows whichever piece of disruption is better AND a 6/6 t1 because it returns a lotus when it etb
results:
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / Auriok Salvagers / Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre / Kederekt Leviathan
3-3 lockout on the play. draw not so much
02 Clairval :: "Trope Killers"
Plains / Karakas / Karoo / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben / Mangara of Corondor
6-0 magus keeps you from ever casting mangara, and sun titan beats thalia
03 Reyemile :: "Drakeling Aggro"
Black Lotus / Spiketail Drakeling / Lion's Eye Diamond / Shelldock Isle / Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
6-0 even with one thing countered, i can always resolve magus. that gets rid of emrakul. and if you dont counter anything, i can resolve thalia too
04 ajfirecracker :: "Griffin Beatdown"
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn / Shelldock Isle / Dust Bowl / Lion's Eye Diamond / Misthollow Griffin
6-0 nonbasic lands are mountains
06 WhammWhamme :: "First Turn Ulamog!"
Lion's Eye Diamond / Shelldock Isle / Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre / Fatestitcher / Faerie Macabre
6-0 see above
07 knobbodi :: "Voidstoned"
Island / City of Traitors / Black Lotus / Riftwing Cloudskate / Voidstone Gargoyle
3-3 gargoyle stops my lotus, thalia stops yours
08 cruelshy :: "The Very Big Revoker Plan"
Black Lotus / Thalia, Guardian of Thraben / Phyrexian Revoker / Mishra's Workshop / Steel Overseer
3-3 thalia vs thalia
09 Mogg :: "Moonstone"
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / City of Traitors / Magus of the Moon / Voidstone Gargoyle
3-3 when im first, i have more power. on the play, gargoyle locks me
Yes, obviously - I was referring to the fact that having a 6/6 is basically no use in this format... but actually it turns out it earns you your 3-3 against Mogg, so I'll let you off.
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>