I can't see myself not running JTMS in the 75 tbh. I can't remember my exact sideboard right now but I got good use out of grafdigger's cage out f the side, people didn't expect it when I cast it
I believe so. I think it would be worse than Griselbrand.
For what it's worth, my team got 19th at SCG Las Vegas. I went 7-2 Day 1 and 2-4 Day 2.
Round 1 vs. Grixis Control This game ends on turn 2. I Show and Tell Emrakul on turn 1 with Ancient Tomb and Lotus Petal. Did not have a Blue land, but I had Force of Will and Ponder for his Force of Will. I side in Blood Moons and Red Elemental Blast. This game is drawn out, but I eventually force out Griselbrand and race a Gurmag Angler and a Snapcaster Mage. Made a mistake of not attacking 1 turn because I felt like I had more live draws than him. Then I realized that 7 to him while I gain 7, then taking 7, is fine. 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Turbo Depths. David Long, SCG Lands afficianado. He turn 2s Marit Lage. I turn 2 Griselbrand. I block and turn 3 Emrakul. I swing for game next turn. The next game has him doing some Inquisition of Kozileks that miss. My hand was mana heavy, but I find Sneak Attack and get there. Their team ended up 3rd. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Elves with 4WG flying 5/6 trample, I can't cast spells of a type card. I Show and Tell all 3 games. He puts that 5/6 out in all 3 games. I get there in games 2 and 3. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Sneak Show. He mulls to 5. With 2 cards left, he casts Show and Tell. I let it resolve, assuming he has to go for something drastic. Big mistake. Omniscience and Emrakul beats my Show'ed Emrakul. In the next game, I just draw too many lands and he gets Arcane Artisan to beat me. 0-2.
Round 5 vs. Czech Pile. The homies. Sad times for one of our teams. I have insane draws and it's over quickly. 2-0.
Round 6 vs. Grixis Delver. I can't remember the details, but the first game was drawn out for a while. He had a slow hand, which is not where you want to be. I Force Show and Tell through and then win eventually. In the next game, I get him pretty quickly from what I remember. His team ended up 7th. 2-0.
Round 7 vs. Czech Pile. He didn't draw quite enough countermagic after discard and I Show for the win. In the next game, he gets there with the Surgical Extraction in response to my Brainstorm. I have to counter the Surgical Extraction because it will ship my win card on top, but he Hymns the other piece that I needed in 5 cards. In the final game, I jam after some discard and get there. 2-1.
Round 8 vs. Czech Pile. Jacob Wilson. In the first game, it is drawn out after Thoughtseize/Baleful Strix/Snapcaster Mage + Thoughtseize/Hymn to Tourach. I go for the Show and Tell right before lethal as I finally draw one. He has 5 cards left. He does Force of Will, pitching a Blue card. I have 3 cards. Force of Will pitching a Blue card. Then he does Force of Will, pitching a Blue card, leaving him with 1 card and me with a Griselbrand. I asked him later and the card was indeed Diabolic Edict. He just had to assume that Emrakul was the Show and Tell potential card, which would beat him. Two more attacks by Snap and Strix and I'm dead. In the next one, Thoughtseize on turn 2, then Hymn to Tourach on turn 3, Snap Hymn on turn 4, I go for it 2 turns later. He does Force of Will, pitching Blue card and it's over. 0-2.
Round 9 vs. Sneak Show. He goes for the Show and Tell and we both have Emrakuls. He didn't know what I was because I played Ponder and Misty Rainforest. I'm not sure why Misty Rainforest is that odd? In the next game, he gets me with Arcane Artisan. In the last game, he gets Arcane Artisan and dies to Sneak Attack. Lots of play back and forth. Finally won a mirror! 2-1.
Day 2
Round 10 vs. UW Stoneblade. A guy from my local shop. He has more countermagic than me in game 1. In the next game, it seems that way, but when he resolves Stoneforge Mystic, I have to jam. I jam and out countermagic him. I get there. The last game is insane. The game of the tournament for me. There is a lot of back and forth, but I resolve Jace, the Mind Sculptor. It's almost time, but I find Griselbrand and then swing for lethal after doing Force of Wills on a Vendilion Clique that would have given them a draw. Got there! 2-1.
Round 11 vs. RUG Delver. This game takes a while, but I lose to triple Force of Will late in the game once he got some pressure aboard. In the next game, I wait, wait, wait until it's nearly lethal. I get out Griselbrand. But now he has too many creatures that I die on a swingback and Bolt, which he indeed has. Then I can't play around double Bolt, so I attack after drawing Brainstorm into Show and Tell Emrakul. He goes Ponder, Ponder, and finds Lightning Bolt for exact lethal. There was no way to play around double Bolt. 0-2.
Round 12 vs. Czech Pile. I lose in 3 games. But my team ends 1 turn short of killing in Modern, so they don't scoop and we have a draw. 1-2.
Round 13 vs. Show and Tell. Nearly the same as above. Show and Tell into Omni/Emrakul and I had no countermagic for it and Arcane Artisan drawn by him. 0-2.
Round 14 vs. UW Miracles. I draw 2 nut hands and he has nothing. Even Show and Tell in game 2 with Force of Will backup on turn 2 and he had nothing. Local players and good players. Played against Ross Merriam's team the round before this one. 2-0.
Round 15 vs. Storm. He does Thoughtseize on turn 2 to take my Show and Tell. Then he beats me in the same turn. Nutty. In the next game, I keep a loose 7, but it probably didn't matter as he turn 3ed me after discard with Xantid Swarm. If I Force of Will Swarm, I lose anyway if he goes for it. Their Modern player also drew the Bant Spirits nuts against our Tron player, who stumbled like a mother****er on mana. 0-2.
I finished 9-6 overall. Our record was 9-5-1, so they did a bit better than me. Got slaughtered Day 2.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I went 3-3 today. Got wrecked. 49 person Staples for an Underground Sea.
Round 1 vs. Mono Red Stompy. This guy made the top 8. In the first game, I just dick around, doing Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm, trying to find Show and Tell. He puts pressure with Pia Nalaar, then Goblin Rabblemaster, then I go for it, but he puts in Thunderbreak Regent, sacrifices a Thopter to make me not block with Emrakul, Magma Jet to my face, and exactly 12. In the next game, I put Abrade to the bottom to find the Combo. I figure I can find it later for his Ensnaring Bridge. I do turn 2 Show and Tell Emrakul. He puts Goblin Cratermaker. On turn 3, he blows up my Emrakul. I do Show and Tell Emrakul. He puts in Confusion in the Ranks. He only has Chrome Mox in play. He draws for the turn. Ancient Tomb, play a creature, gain control of my Emrakul. I scoop. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. Tin Fin/Dark Depths Combo. This guy lost his win-and-in to draw into the top 8 in Round 5 to my friend. In game 1, we both mull to 5. He makes me discard and I don't get anything going, losing to a 20/20 on turn 3 or 4. In the next game, I jam Show and Tell, putting in Emrakul. He shows a land and I win. In the final game, I mull to 5. He kills me on turn 1 before I can go to my turn 1 with Children of Korlis, drawing his deck, and eventually Laboratory Maniac. Sad times. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. Nivmagus Elemental Delver? In game 1, I mull to 5 and try to Ponder 3 times, but I don't find a Sneak or Show, while getting 3 big creatures. In the next game, I made a big mistake. He had 3 cards in hand. I had a Sneak Attack that I had just Brainstormed to the top. I go for Show and Tell. He thinks, then Force of Will. I have only the fetch up, which can shuffle the Sneak Attack. I figure he doesn't have Spell Pierce or Flusterstorm or he'd do it. I do Force of Will back, but I exile Spell Pierce instead of Omniscience so I can just take the next turn with Emrakul and win. I don't think he has another answer because this guy hasn't drawn well against me in the past. He played Flusterstorm and I have no way to Spell Pierce the initial Force of Will by him. Big Punt. Oh well, better at 0-2 than playing for something. 0-2.
Round 4 vs. RUG Delver. Long drawn out games, but I outmaneuver in 2 out of 3 to get the win here. Too much to really say here, but when he had only 1 unknown card and a Trop from triple Daze last turn, I go for Jace, the Mind Sculptor with 2 Pyroblast in his graveyard. He had the 3rd one. But I drew Brainstorm the next turn and all 3 cards were gas against him. I go for Blood Moon first and he scoops. Match. 2-1.
Round 5 vs. UB Reanimator. In the first game, he gets Tidespout Tyrant, but I Show and Tell Omniscience. I play Emrakul and he responds by drawing 14 from the Griselbrand that he Showed. His only out is me playing a spell so he can FoW to bounce Emrakul. I don't play a spell and he said he didn't draw Force of Will anyway. In the next game, I do a Show and Tell after he got Force of Willed. I put Griselbrand. He puts Polluted Delta. Not fair. 2-0.
Round 6 vs. BR Reanimator. He mulls to 5. I keep on 7. Not much to see here. He didn't draw a land in time and I win pretty easily. In the next game, I literally have all the answers after he mulls to 6. Leyline of Sanctity, then I find the Combo and kill him with Sneak Attack. I sided out 2 Show and Tell for Arcane Artisan. 2-0.
I finish 3-3, which really sucked. I hadn't practiced in a while.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Round 1 I 20 a mono red prison like deck. He didn't really do much game 1, tried to resolve an early ensnaring bridge. Obviously not letting that happen, then he flooded a lot. I didn't really know what he was doing after that but it fortunately didn't matter as I had the turn 2.
1-0 and pretty happy.
Round 2 I 2-0 4C Loam. I believe I resolved an early Griselbrand and won game 1. Game 2 I got the turn 2 again and he can't do anything.
2-0, so far pretty lucky with hitting decks weak to my deck.
Round 3 I lose to what looked like some kind of deadguy ale deck splashing red for Queen Marchesa. He tears my hand apart game 1, I got the turn 3 show and tell game 2. I kept a hand with a force of will, 3 show and tells plus a few lands game 3. My logic was I could pitch one to a force and just needed a threat. the TLRD version of this game was he thoughtseized me then surgicaled my show and tells after I drew my entire set. I believe I used my force on a thalia
2-1. still in a good spot, just need to win one more and I'm probably fine. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy.
Round 4 I lose 1-2 to GB depths. I turn 2 him game 1, I managed to spell pierce the t1 thoughtseize. Game 2 was back and fourth but he won. Game 3 I kept a risky hand with a fetch land and ancient tomb, blood moon and random cards. He said I probably would have had him if he didn't top deck an abrupt decay (had mox diamond and forest in play).
2-2, things are going downhill.
round 5 is my win and in. I lose 1-2 to my buddy on BR reanimator. G1 I get an early Griselbrand but he has two chancellors of the annex. we pass back and fourth a few times before I start swinging (I believe he was at 12 to my 8, with lifelink off my Griselbrand). he takes the first hit but then has to start blocking. Game 2 he thoughtseizes my grafdigger's cage t1. I didn't draw ino any protection, then a few turns after I got my Griselbrand thoughtseized and then reanimated. I never recovered. G3 I mulled to five and got stomped.
2-3, pretty disappointing finish after the 2-0 start
I feel I probably sequenced a few lines poorly, mostly to do with fetching. I also need to get better at deciding when to mull or keep. I'm gonna watch some content tonight then go back at it tomorrow
I played this at a 54 person Staples/Invitional Qualifier. We almost didn't make it, as a friend's car's transmission blew up 10 mi from the tournament right in the middle of the freeway in traffic. The rest of us went Uber to the tournament and barely made it in time while he made sure his car was taken care of.
Round 1 vs. Buried Alive Arclight Phoenix. This guy has always been on Miracles. I've literally never seen him play anything else. He's also one of the best Miracles players I've ever seen and probably the favorite, in my opinion, to win first place today. He beat me with a bunch of Phoenixes in the first game after and I grinded out the last 2 games. 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Turbo Depths. Tough match, but I barely got there with Blood Moon and good hands. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Infect. Game 1 he mulls to 6. Turn 2, Invigorate and Berserk. I do Force of Will. He does Force of Will. I'm dead. The next 2 games are played out really long, but I get there in the end. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Elves. Two early wins while he didn't do much. Mull to 5 in game 2 didn't help. 2-0. Round 5 vs. Omni Show. My friend who also gave me a ride home and we talked for another hour. He ended up losing in the top 4 to the winner on BR Reanimator and then I lost to Reanimator too. 0-0-3.
Round 6 vs. Red Prison. Almost thought about playing, but there was no incentive to do it. I had nothing to gain. 0-0-3.
Top 8 vs. Antiquities War/Painter's Stone. I remember this guy from drawing his 4th Twin many years ago to beat me in Modern when I had much more than lethal on board in a win-and-in to the top 8. I also remember him from getting the top 2 at a Modern Invitational tournament where the top 2 get the Invitation. 2-1. Top 4 vs. Sneak Show mirror. One of 3 friends that I drove with 44 mi. to the tournament. The games were long and drawn out because I was playing too cautiously. She mostly only played cantrips and a bit of countermagic. 2-0.
Finals vs. BR Reanimator. 1-2.
I lost a rough one in the finals and had to settle for a Savannah instead of an Underground Sea, also not getting the Invitation to their April tournament. Here is some coverage. I will try to get the times I played. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/370344833##
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
elves seems really good for us but maybe I haven't played against any good players. I played a second of 2 1ks the day after I posted the first report but never got around to posting the second post, so here it is
I believe it was 18-20 people, so 5 rounds with cut to top 8.
Round 1 I get paired against one of the people I drove up with on Br reanimator. Funny story is, yesterday I get paired against him in round 5 for the win and in and lose g3 yesterday on mull to 5. Today I mull to 4 g1, with a hand of double force, double island scrying preordain to top. G2 he doesn't open with any chancellors, so I open with grafdigger's cage on the play with surgical backup. I durdle but he doesn't get anything to happen, so I eventually won. G3 I keep a VERY greedy 6 with no lands, grafdigger's cage surgical and a few other cards. He has chancellor of the annex in hand. I top deck ancient tomb to play the cage through the tax. Basically, we pass back and fourth for a very long time before I can resolve a spell and win. I believe I boarded out my show and tells, omnis and a lotus petal for 3 arcane artisans, 2 cages and 2 surgicals. By the way, don't ever do what I did game 3, I could have gotten VERY punished.
1-0
Round 2 I get paired against my buddy on 12 post. Game 1 he mulls to 6, doesn't do much and I cheat in a Griselbrand off a sneak attack, go down low to find an Emrakul and 1 shot him. Game 2 I mull to 6, keep a one land hand with a bunch of cantrips and take a while to find much but this match seems really good and I still won off of an arcane artisan and seeing a lot of creatures. Boarded out I believe 2 omnis, 2 show and tells, 1 cantrip and 2 flusterstorms. Brought in 3 artisans, 2 blood moons and 2 abrades.
2-0, started off 2-0 yesterday but collapsed. I started getting nervous.
Round 3 I get my only loss in Swiss to Death and Taxes due to a punt in game 3. Game 1 he fires on all cylinders and wins. Game 2 he kept a hand of nonbasics and I blood moon him out of the game. Game 3 I abrade a vial to bait teh activation. After the activation resolves, I pyroclasm o kill 3 creatures, leaving Griselbrand up to block Batterskull instead of attacking. I should have just attacked, either gaining me life off of lifelink or forcing the swords to plowshares. He then council's judgement to get rid of it and swing for lethal. The annihilator trigger off Emrakul would have been good for me the next turn. I believe I took out my 2 flusterstorms, 2 forces and a cantrip for 2 blood moons, 2 abrades and a pyroclasm. The reason why I brought in blood moon vs a mono colour deck was because a lot of their utility lands are annoying, I loathe Karakas especially.
2-1, I was tilted more by my punt rather than losing itself. I know I'm still in it and just need to survive by winning my next round.
Round 4 I 2-1 mono red prison. Game 1 he runs over me with an early rabblemaster. Game 2 I got the turn 3 or 4 and won. Game 3 he goes all in on a magus of the moon on the play and is left with barely anything else in hand, except for a Chandra which he couldn't cast until the next few turns due to his own moon effect. My hand was flooded strand, ancient tomb and a pretty good turn 2 setup if he didn't have the moon consisting of omni, show and tell, Griselbrand and JTMS. Fortunately I was able to draw a pyroclasm to 1 for 1 with the magus, which let me combo off next turn if he didn't slow me down. I got there, put in omni with the show and tell, cast JTMS and Griselbrand. He puts in ensnaring bridge, which sucks for me but whatever. I brainstorm with Jace, draw 7 with Griselbrand. I see an abrade and an Emrakul. Abrade the bridge, Emrakul gets me an extra turn and that's the game. I took out a cantrip and my 2 flusterstorms for a pyroclasm and 2 abrades.
3-1, I was 6th in the standings going into last round. I believe all 10 pointers would have made it and 1-2 9 pointers would have gotten there so a draw was safe. I drew with the burn player in the room. I feel like burn is reasonable but drawing was safe so I drew.
Split top 8 for $125 in credit.
Some random thoughts. Abrade is really good, 2x cage and 2x surgical feels like the correct amount of grave hate for me. I might try cutting the pyroblast for another pyroclasm or a Boseiju. The arcane artisans seem good, but I wanna get through the breaches due to the recent reprint. I don't ever really wish I had leylines of sanctity and I'm still working on city of traitors x2.
I feel like I'm still playing lose but the deck is pretty forgiving of mistakes due to it being pretty straightforward and powerful. A lot of the sequencing will come with learning the format
Played in a 30 person Legacy tournament for a Tropical Island. Round 1 vs. Deathblade variant. Our first game took a long time because I couldn't find the Combo in time. He got some key attacks and had me on the back foot. I decide not to scoop after I do Show/Omni/Emrakul because he may think I can Sneak in a Griselbrand to block. He tanks for a while, then goes for it. I lose. I Ponder a Blood Moon to the top in game 2. He Wastelands me, which I didn't even know he had that. I do City/Petal/Blood Moon and he literally only plays 2 Surgical Extraction and a Force of Will after this. I eventually find Blue and it takes a million draws before I find a creature. But I do. For the last game, we end up running out of time after he answers literally every single card I have after double Force of Will beats my SINGLE Force of Will. We got to turns of a Tidehollow Sculler beating me down. I strongly consider scooping, but don't. It was a big mistake, but we both won the next 2 rounds. He won the next 3, then drew into the Top 8. Cool guy and friend. Yep, I definitely should have scooped. 1-1-1.
Round 2 vs. Enchantress. In game 1, I power out Show/Omni. He puts Journey to Nowhere into play. I then cast Griselbrand. I draw 7 and immediately find Emrakul. GG. In the next game, I can't find a creature and he eventually gets a late game Helm of Obedience to go with his RIP and game me. In the last game, I jam a Sneak Attack and get there through Karakas. GGs. Supposedly this is a terrible matchup for me and he literally played this deck today to own Sneak Show. He usually runs Red Prison and crushes tournaments. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Miracles. In the first game, I can't find a win-con. He hits with Snappy. Finally he flashed in a 2nd Snappy and I do actually draw Show and Tell to go with Omni and Emrakul, but I can't fetch or pay 2 life from Ancient Tomb anymore because I'm at 1. In the next game, it is grindy, but I get there through some Force of Wills. The last game, is similar. I barely get there in the end. Omni/Griselbrand and find Emrakul. GG. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. UR Painter. In the first game, I durdle and don't do much but draw lands. I don't have a creature and he assembles 2 Goblin Welder, which I should have Force of Willed Trinket Mage so Tormod's Crypt couldn't get in the yard. I see the writing on the wall. In the next game, it is similar, but since he mulled to 5, I have barely enough to go past him. In the final game, I literally can't find a creature or a cantrip. I have Abrade, which can prevent me from dying to the Painter Stone and Tormod's Crypt combo, but he finds Goblin Welder. He has a Grindstone in hand with 2 other cards. I draw a creature and play Show and Tell, but he exiles Engineered Explosives to Force it. He had already played 2 earlier Force of Wills. I end up drawing a Lotus Petal, so I am pretty dead. I know that he knows to win with Goblin Welder and his combo, which he didn't go for earlier. So I tap 9 mana from 3 Volcanic Island, 1 Ancient Tomb, 3 Island, 1 Mountain, and then 1 mana from a Lotus Petal. I can then go for Emrakul and try to win, but I only have 1 Lotus Petal up, not enough for my Abrade. He goes for Grinding in response. I scoop and show him that I was 1 short of Abrade and didn't have Red Elemental Blast. He shows that he had Flusterstorm. He ended up the number 1 seed later on. 1-2.
Round 5 vs. Jeskai Stoneblade. I'm paired against another 2-1-1, so we have to play it out for the Top 8 berth. In the first game, he doesn't play anything. I eventually decide there's no better time. I do Show and Tell. He does Counterspell. I do FoW. He does FoW. I do FoW. He does FoW. I draw Spell Pierce 2 turns later, so I could have gone to the discard a few turns, then won this counterwar. Oh well. I had Omniscience and Griselbrand in my hand. I drew lands and he drew stuff to kill me with. The next game is pretty frustrating. He deals with an Omniscience and then 2 Sneak Attacks, but he has an empty hand, while I have Omniscience and Emrakul. Unfortunately for me, I drew lands and Lotus Petal (the 1 left in deck). I never draw a dude. 0-2.
I lost 2 win-and-ins in a row. No Top 8. Frustrating day for me. Many things that could go wrong DID.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
44 person Store Invitational where first place is an Underground Sea and 2nd place is a Bayou. Some good prizes further down as well.
Round 1 vs. Slow Depths. He does Duress. I mistakenly Spell Pierce it, despite having Show and Tell and Sneak Attack. Then he does Hymn to Tourach. Literally the only card in my 5 card hand that I don't want to lose is City of Traitors because it is my 3rd land. I lose it AND Show and Tell. I draw 2 more Show and Tell and Omniscience and lose with 2 lands in play. In game 2, I get Ponder Blood Moon to the top. He does Hymn to Tourach, but turn 2 Blood Moon runs away with it. He literally plays no 3rd land even for 5 turns before playing a few Mountains. In the final game, turn 0 Leyline of Sanctity slowed him enough for me to Combo off. 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Red Prison. My opponent from Round 2 in the tournament above. ^ In the first game, I counter just enough stuff to find a dude in time to win. In the next 2 games, Confusion in the Ranks wrecked my face. I now know I have to play on Level 3 vs. this card, as he put in FOUR, yes, FOUR Confusion in the Ranks. He mulled to 5, which I thought meant he probably didn't find the 2 copies that I thought he only had. Oh well. I need to put in Blood Moon to take my Enchantment back after Confusion is in play. I need to think this out next time I play this guy. All of the players I played make a lot of Top 8s, but this guy is absolutely insane. The first 6 times I played him years ago, I beat him 6 times. Since then, he's 6 out of 7 vs. me. He's been truly getting his revenge. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. Death and Taxes. He gets a game loss for 58 cards. His last round was pretty intense, so it was just a mistake. We don't SB and I play around Karakas by jamming Sneak Attack, waiting a turn to not do Omniscience off Show and Tell. I should have been wrecked this round, as this guy is also pretty insane. In fact, he beat me in a PPTQ final with Burn over Abzan Company in the only Modern PPTQ season that I didn't qualify for an RPTQ. I have nothing against the guy personally, but that loss HUUUURT. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. Grixis Delver. In the first game, he does Thoughtseize into Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek, but I am able to hide Sneak Attack and get there as he double Bolts me to 1 just to do it. But I know the last card is Spell Pierce because he revealed it to Delver and I gain life with Griselbrand. In the next game, I get turn 0 Leyline of Sanctity, which seemingly does nothing. He tells me later that those are his only 3 discard spells in the deck. Leyline stops Diabolic Edict, which I forgot about as well. He thought my sideboarding was pretty bad too. He seemed very upset, which I can understand since I went 0-3 drop at a Modern 1K (which is MY format) the day before. 2-0.
Round 5 vs. UW Delver. In the first game, I jam Show and Tell into Force of Will, but I also have Force of Will. I am scared about a 2nd one, but if he has it, he has it. Nope, got there. In the next game, he mulliganed and couldn't get off 2 lands. I was literally just scared of Containment Priest, but when he tapped the Blue and not the Karakas to Ponder and then shuffle, I knew he was missing land drops. I end up getting there with a Sneak Attack and 3 Red mana up (only 2 needed to play around a Karakas). 2-0.
Round 6 vs. RUG Punishing Fire. 0-0-3. We ID into the top 8, as tables 1-3 can all do this.
Top 8 vs. Mono Blue Painter. He mulls to 5 and still nearly gets there. I have just enough countermagic and allow a Painter combo since I have Emrakul in play and them in the deck to reshuffle. If he had played his last card and it was Tormod's Crypt, I would have Force of Willed that. In the next 2 games, I just was missing one piece, but couldn't find it while he played answers after answers. In game 2, he killed me with Antiquities War. In game 3, I went for Show and Tell early with Force of Will backup. He did Force of Will, then a 2nd one, exiling Darksteel Citadel since Painter's Servant was out on "Blue." He had 0 cards in hand. I had just Griselbrand, but Emrakul on top. From that point on, I drew nothing of relevance while he got just Trinket Mage and Painter's Servant. I only had 1 Abrade and too many targets. I killed Aether Spellbomb since I can't win if he leaves that up. 2 Brainstorms would have been "draw 6" since my hand had multiple dudes and kept drawing lands. Sad times. I wanted that Underground Sea. 1-2.
I was really disappointed not to even make the top 4 or the finals, getting the invitation(s). The top 2 get invitations and then play it out for the Sea. Sad times as another friend lost in the top 4, while the 3rd friend went 2-0 to 2-3.
I got 7th for a Snappy Doo. 4-1-1 in the Swiss. 0-1 in the top 8.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Played in a 72 person Staples tournament. Lots of good prizes in this one. Cut to 6 rounds, despite the attendance requiring 7.
Round 1 vs. Stoneblade. I am able to resolve a 2nd Show and Tell for Griselbrand. He scoops after I counter a Swords to Plowshares with a Force of Will and a Council's Judgment with a Spell Pierce. In the next game, I go for the Show and Tell with 6 cards in his hand after I did Red Elemental Blast on a turn 3 Vendilion Clique. I have enough to play around Spell Pierce after doing Force of Will and Flusterstorm. He doesn't HAVE Spell Pierce though. He does Surgical Extraction on my Red Elemental Blast. It resolves. Then he does Force of Will, exiling Snapcaster Mage, on Show and Tell. I do Force of Will, exiling Ponder. He does Force of Will, exiling Counterspell. I do Flusterstorm with Emrakul and Griselbrand in hand. His last card is Flusterstorm. He counters all of my Flusterstorm copies, leaving him with 0 cards. I have just the 2 fatties. I just hope to not draw air while he draws Stoneforge Mystic. He draws Stoneforge Mystic for B Skull on that empty hand. I end up drawing 3 Scalding Tarn and Misty Rainforest and lose to the B Skull Germ. In the final game, I keep on 1 land, Preordain, Ponder, and some combo pieces. I get stuck on Ancient Tomb and land, allowing him to Spell Pierce my stuff 3 times, despite me trying to be patient. 3 Force of Will, exiling 2 Snapcaster Mage, then drawing Surgical Extraction on Show and Tell, Snap SE on Sneak Attack leaves me with not much. I play Jace the Mind Sculptor, just hoping to keep Fatesealing while Snappy attacks him. He draws for the turn, True-Name Nemesis. I literally did not deserve to win this game. I wonder if there was something different I could have done or maybe just mulligan the 1 land hand. This round left a sour taste in my mouth because I probably could have won had I played perfectly. 1-2.
Round 2 vs. Death and Taxes. He notices my Show and Tell playmat and says that he hopes I don't play that card on him. I assume he's Mono Red Prison. I get Omniscience off Show and Tell and Force of Will enough to allow Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn to get there, beating Karakas. In the next game, I have a lot. I Abrade the Aether Vial, then Pyroclasm to slow him down. I make a mistake of not Force of Willing the Thalia back on the way down after he bounce it with Karakas. It left him with 7 permanents instead of 6, which I Sneak Attack Emrakul the next turn. I figured if I drew Show and Tell, I'd rather have the Omniscience. He kept Aether Vial and then played land, but I drew the Emrakul again the next turn to win. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Sneak and Show mirror. He let Show and Tell resolve and I got Sneak Attack into Emrakul. he said that was HIS plan next turn. In the next game, I Force of Will Arcane Artisan, but the 2nd one next turn ended up getting me. I had that plan too, but it was a turn late. In the final game, I Sneak Attack Emrakul and wipe his lands. He rebuilds, but I have Spell Pierce and Force of Will (hard cast if I want) in hand. I draw a Lotus Petal, then Ponder and Brainstorm to find the Emrakul and it's over. 2-1. Round 4 vs. Stoneblade with Back to Basics. Rough game. I do Ponder and Brainstorm early to set up. But I just draw lands. I go for turn 7 Omniscience and he Spell Pierces. My last 4 cards in hand were 3 more lands and an Emrakul. In the next game, I literally just draw lands and Emrakul. I kept on 1 Emrakul and kept drawing more. I made a mistake on turn 7 of playing City of Traitors because my only out as the game went on was drawing the 5th Sol land AND another mana source to hard cast Emrakul. On the turn before lethal with me at 1 life and Containment Priest and Snappy in play, I drew Brainstorm. Sneak Attack, Force of Will. Sneak Attack, Force of Will. I didn't have mana to activate anyway. Brainstormed 2 Emrakul to the top, leaving only 2 in my hand. Felt good to only have 2 Emrakul in hand. 0-2.
Round 5 vs. Storm. He Duresses Omniscience instead of Ponder after I Ponder to the top. Show and Tell Emrakul instead and he Storms off to kill me. In the next game, I have an early Griselbrand and he can't handle that because he had no discard. In the final game, I keep on 1 land, Leyline of Sanctity. He scoops a few turns later, saying he had no answer to Leyline. 2-1.
Round 6 vs. Big Eldrazi. He turn 1s Chalice of the Void on 1. I let it resolve. He Thought-Knot Seer my Show and Tell. I Force of Will the first Thought-Knot Seer. I am about to lose after he casts Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. I'm at 7 life with Ugin and TKS in play for him. I hard cast Omniscience. I cast Emrakul, beating his Karakas. I have to attack Ugin or else he has 7 damage next turn. I get that and he has no answer for Emrakul. In the next game, I go for Blood Moon, but Thought-Knot Seer gets me until I do Show and Tell with 1 card in hand for him. Ensnaring Bridge. Ugh. I have Blood Moon out too. This locks us until he gets Endbringer and pings me for a few turns. In the next game, I do turn 2 Blood Moon, but he turn 2s triple Grim Monolith, Thran Dynamo, Thought-Knot Seer, taking my Sneak Attack. I draw another one, but have to do Abrade on Sorcerous Spyglass first. I do it, but he draws and plays another Thought-Knot Seer. I wish I had draw that Sneak Attack 1 turn later. I draw nothing and lose to those Thought-Knot Seers. 13 Sol lands drawn by me and 5 Thought-Knot Seers drawn by him in 3 games. Not a good recipe. Maybe I should have gone for a more aggressive hand, but I felt that turn 2 Blood Moon was strong because it plays around Trinisphere, which he also played in this match. 1-2.
I finish 3-3. Rough times, as outside of shuffling, I literally see no way to have won Rounds 3 or 6. I may have been able to play better in Game 3 of Round 1, but I couldn't figure it out in the end.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Got wrecked at a 69 person Staples tournament. Maybe it's time for me to play test some?
Round 1 vs. Grixis Delver. This is the same player that I played in Round 1 the last tournament. I did turn 2 Show and Tell Griselbrand. He scooped and jokingly said "at least you don't know my deck." I assumed he's still on UW Stoneblade since he had an unfetched Polluted Delta. In the next game, he Stifled and Wastelanded me early on, which I did not expect. I realized that he's on Grixis Delver by then, but my sluggishness allowed him to land a Young Pyromancer, then Delver, then counter a Show and Tell (although it was lethal anyway since I only had Emrakul) to win it. In the next game, I keep on 1 land, but I have a lot of sculpting cards. I use them to get my 2nd and 3rd land, but he doesn't Stifle OR Wasteland in this game (maybe a super late Wasteland). I end up with 7 lands in play and drawing 3 more Show and Tell during the course of this game. On the final turn before lethal (or lethal if Show and Tell Griselbrand does NOT come up), I go for Show and Tell. He does Force of Will. I do another Show and Tell. He does Force of Will. I had 2 more Show and Tell and a land in hand. This guy ended up winning the whole tournament, beating Storm in the finals. 1-2.
Round 2 vs. Jeskai Stoneblade. In the first game, I set up a Show and Tell that I jam and I don't even have to respond to countermagic. He scoops after I Sneak Attack Emrakul, killing Germ and Batterskull as well. In the next game, he just literally has a hand of countermagic. I probably should have been patient when I missed a few land drops and went to discard, but I forced the action and ended up with only Arcane Artisans and Jace, the Mind Sculptor as outs in the deck. He lands Jace, the Mind Sculptor and it didn't matter much because I didn't draw much after that. In the next game, I don't do much. I draw an extra Griselbrand and an Emrakul, so I had 3 dudes in hand. I prayed that he drew all 3 Surgical Extraction because I literally could not find Show and Tell or Sneak Attack. This is the deck. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. UR Delver. The deck that my friend was playing, but not my friend. In the first game, I resolve Show and Tell and play Omniscience. I cast Ponder and then shuffle. I lose with Show and Tell, 2 Sneak Attack, and Omniscience in my hand. They have a quick clock! In the next game, I have the dude and he extends out to triple Young Pyromancer. I go all in trying to resolve the Show and Tell that I just drew. He ends up having multiple Flusterstorms and Red Elemental Blast, so he wins the counterwar. I only had Emrakul once again, so with all the tokens he generated from the counterwar, he had the game anyway. He also had it if he had Bolt because he could Bolt the creature that I block with Griselbrand IF, yes IF I had it. 0-2.
Round 4 vs. Infect. Guy mulled to 5. He then did Invigorate on a Glistener Elf and I thought I was dead on turn 2 after Brainstorm doesn't find me something. Nope. I kill him 2 turns later with Sneak Attack. He scooped to losing his permanents. In the next game, I kill a Blighted Agent and then I resolve Blood Moon. I had Blood Moon AND Sneak Attack (but no activation that turn), so I figured I'd let Blood Moon get countered and then hopefully wreck him with Sneak Attack. Nope, Blood Moon was it. 2-0.
Round 5 vs. Aluren. In the first game, he double Thoughtseized me, then with 2 cards left did Aluren, Recruiter of the Guard, and then the combo. In the next game, pregame Leyline of Sanctity wrecked him and I eventually got what I needed. In the final game, he just really flooded out and I was able to resolve Griselbrand. I couldn't find what else I needed to beat him, but eventually found Force of Will to stop a Cavern Harpy from blocking and bouncing back on my Griselbrand, thus giving me no extra life. 2-1.
Round 6 vs. Maverick. I got thoroughly wrecked this round. I do turn 1 Show and Tell after he does Mana dude. He puts Knight of the Reliquary and I put Sneak Attack since I know he'll find Knight for Karakas (I watched him play 2 rounds ago. I EoT Sneak Emrakul. I go to combat, he bounces, I replay with the only mana I have and attack him to 2. He sacrifices all permanents except a Knight of the Reliquary and Thalia to swing me for 11 next turn. I had miscounted the damage, so I thought he'd have to keep Karakas and Knight in case I don't draw a 2nd Red source, which I didn't. I lost either way. In the next game, I have a solid turn 2 Show and Tell into Omniscience and Emrakul. I do it and I wait for the Knight of Autumn. I see it and he then plays Knight of the Reliquary and now even Show and Tell Emrakul does nothing. I calculated that if I do Emrakul, 4 Knight of the Reliquary and Karakas beat me. If I do Omniscience, 4 Knight of Autumn beat me. Later he said he had 2 Knight of Autumn. Yep. Best hands of the tournament BY FAR and got completely and thoroughly wrecked. 0-2.
Round 7 vs. Dredge. In the first game, I Force of Will Lion Eye's Diamond, but he has Faithless Looting and enough Cabal Therapy effects to keep me off Show and Tell Griselbrand. In the next game, I Force of Will Lion Eye's Diamond and have turn 2 Griselbrand. I get there. In the final game, he plays Lion Eye's Diamond. No Force of Will in either my 7 card hand or 6 card hand. He does Breakthrough, sacrificing LED and holding priority. The Dredges are not super good, but the flashback of Faithless Looting gets him 2 more Narcomoeba to Dread Return a Golgari Grave Troll. I get Show and Tell Griselbrand, as his hand is empty, but after activating it, I find Brainstorm, Force of Will, and more lands. Sad times, as I have my only out to Brainstorm for Omniscience, Lotus Petal, and Emrakul. I do actually DRAW Emrakul for the turn, but Brainstorm finds none of the other stuff. GGs. 1-2.
I finish 2-5. I got thoroughly wrecked. In Rounds 6 and 7, I drew insane hands. But I knew my opponent either probably had me dead if they played right (which they did) or could stop me in so many ways. Sheesh! I may stay off this deck for a while.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
got top 4 of a 12 player $500 in credit to top 4 on Saturday and top 8d a 16 player 1k on Sunday.
I'll start with Saturday
Round 1 I got paired against my buddy on BR reanimator. Game 1 I kept a slow hand and he stripped my Griselbrand. Game 2 was back and fourth but tiop decking a JTMS was able to help me control his threats. game 3 he got greedy and tried to strip my hand rather than just casting a trophy on my sneak attack
1-0. I have a joke that whenever I beat this buddy round 1 i prize the event
round 2 I 2-0 miracles. Game 1 I sensed he was hurting for answers so I went all in and got rewarded. game 2 I got him to fight me over a show and tell, then was able to jam a sneak attack 2 turns later and went all in
2-0
round 3 I lose to 12 post. He got an early Karakas game 1 and I kinda just spun my wheels. I got him early game 2 and he ran me over g3.
2-1. One more round and I was second place in the swiss. my loss being first seed. I got paired against my buddy who was in third going into the last round and we drew. he was on turbo depths and neither of us wanted to play that match. Now we just gotta wait and see if we got punished. I snuck into 4th seed and he got bumped down to 6th place. we did top 4 split for $125 credit each
Sunday also went 2-1-1 for top 8.
Round 1 I quickly 2-0 UW helm combo. Game 1 he got stuck on 2 lands for a while and I eventually just force through a threat. Game 2 he put up a bit more of a fight but I countered his RIP and cast a show and tell next turn. went all in and won.
1-0
Got paired against same buddy on BR reanimator again. Played against him at every legacy event I've been to this year. He got an early triple threat board game 1. I killed him quickly game 2. I mulled to 5 game 3 and he was able to cast 2 reanimation spells turn 1.
1-1
Got paired against Death and Taxes round 3, which I quickly 2-0. He mulls to 6 both games. Game 1 he didn't get much going and I won. Game 2 he leads with a mother of runes, then a revoker t3. I forced the mom activation with an abrade then wiped the board with a pyroclasm. He untapped and cast a Thalia, heretic cathar, which i forced and went off on my turn.
2-1
I was seventh place in the swiss going into last round and hadn't played 6th or 8th yet. I figured 6th would take the draw no question and 8th might but it would be risky, since 9th winning could place us at risk. I got paired against 8th and eventually we drew, agreeing if one of use didn't make it we would prize split. 9th place got a concession from the one guy in my car who was dead for prizing. Turns out it was a clean cut and we prize split in top 8 for $125 each
I still don't know how well I'm playing the deck but I've prized 3 legacy events this year with the deck. One thing I learned from the weekend though was I'm never registering the deck without blood moons in the side but maybe it's a crutch for me
also can I get some tips for the turbo depths matchup?
Nice! You got some good store credit. I've been getting wrecked lately, so I'm pretty jealous. There is a player who is running Eldrazi Aggro who has won 2 of the last 3 events that he's gone to. Pretty insane stuff, considering these tournaments are packed with players who have top 8ed and won events. He's gotten an Underground Sea and a Volcanic Island for his efforts.
I am really a Legacy noob compared with many of these players. Many of these players literally ONLY play Legacy or Legacy/Vintage/Old School. But I think you need Omniscience in the Turbo Depths matchup, for the Karakas (in addition to Sneak Attack) and also the potential 20/20 flier. I sided in 4 Leyline of Sanctity, 2 Blood Moon, and Abrade (for Mox Diamond under Moon or Dark Confidant). Just pray to have Leyline in your opener. I've been lucky to have Leyline, Blood Moon, and a quick hand against them. I could see it being a tough matchup otherwise.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Team Trios. Capped at 16 teams with the Team qualifying for their store Invitational.
Round 1 vs. Storm. I thought he was on UB Shadow, then on Grixis Control, so I took my time. Then I jammed Show and Tell Griselbrand. He went for Cabal Ritual, but I had Spell Pierce to tap his mana, then Force of Will to stop the Ritual. In the next 2 games, I'm pretty sure I made a bit mistake. I should have mulliganed to 5 until I hit Leyline of Sanctity because he had NOT sided in Echoing Truth or Empty the Warrens. I was tring to gauge whether he'd do it or not and I thought he would. So I didn't want to mulligan too low. I saw 11 cards in game 2 from Ad Nauseam, so I should have known that it probably was NOT in there. I struggled in these games to find the combo and he barely eeked out a win in Game 2. Game 3 was easier, as he had 3 discard spells on opportune turns and I didn't play around the 3rd one by keeping the 3rd Brainstorm in my hand, so I lost my win-con. Still it looked like he would probably have won with that win-con still in play. I should have mulliganed until I found Leyline. I went 1-2 and our team lost as well. 0-1.
Round 2 vs. Stoneblade. In the first game, he plays Karakas, which made me think D and T. He has played RB Reanimator the past 5 events I'd seen him at. But then he ran out 2 Scalding Tarn. I made a communication mistake of not Sneaking a Griselbrand when I had Omniscience in play and almost lost because of that. I couldn't find Emrakul and only had 15 or fewer cards left in library. But it finds me Emrakul and I get the extra turn to swing for lethal. In the next game, I went for a Show and Tell early in the game and I Force of Willed his Force of Will. I get Griselbrand and it's easy after that. In the I went 2-0, but our team lost. 0-1.
Round 3 vs. Mono Red Prison. He has turn 1 Chalice of the Void on 1, so I Brainstorm in response and get Show and Tell Griselbrand shortly thereafter. Easy game, easy life. In the next game, he mulls to 5 and has double Sorcerous Spyglass on Griselbrand because he sees Abrade in my hand. I end up Sneak Attacking a Griselbrand just to kill a Chandra Torch of Defiance the turn after I did Pyroclasm on a Goblin Rabblemaster. I drew very well and he didn't. I go 2-0 and our team won too. 1-0.
Round 4 vs. Dredge. He does Faithless Looting and I let it go, but I Spell Pierce Lion's Eye Diamond and then Force of Will Breakthrough, but he has Breakthrough the next turn and I got stuck with Ancient Tombs in play and 2 Griselbrand in play while he goes off. In the next game, he has a slow hand and does Cabal Therapy, which misses because I had 2 Brainstorm. In the final game, I made a mistake of not doing Grafdigger's Cage on turn 2 while I would had Spell Pierce up. He didn't look like he had Nature's Claim and I felt like the chances of him going off the next turn are worth trying it on turn 1. He did Claim it and then he went bonkers while the first blind Cabal Therapy named Show and Tell, nabbing 2 of them on turn 3. Then later he nabbed 2 Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn with another blind Therapy and won soon thereafter. He may have not needed the 2nd one, but it made the game no contest. I went 1-2 and our team won. 1-0.
Round 5 vs. UWR Delver. I combo on turn 2 with Flusterstorm backup, but he didn't have a single piece of countermagic. The game got close because there were 2 True-Name Nemesis in play, but I got there barely. Griselbrand's lifelink was the important factor. In the next game, I punted horribly. I shouldn't even admit this because it shows how BAD I am. I went for turn 4 Sneak Attack. He did Spell Pierce and I pay it with just Lotus Petal up now. He does another Spell Pierce and I do Force of Will. He does Flusterstorm on FoW. I Flusterstorm the Flusterstorm. All I had to do was let his Flusterstorm counter my FoW, then do my own Flusterstorm on his Spell Pierce. He paid a single copy and Sneak Attack did NOT come into play. I went 2-1 and our team won. In the final game, I jam like game 1 and get there easily. 1-0.
We went 3-2, which was good for 8th place. We got prizes, but only the Top 4 played it out.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Round 1 vs. Lands. Although I didn't know until I saw the slip, I had a feeling this was the player that won the last Staples tournament here with Lands, procuring himself an Underground Sea. In the first game, I sculpt trying to find Griselbrand or Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn. I do and then Sneak it to kill his 4 lands, including the DD/Stage combo that came too late. In the next game, I get Blood Moon and then I also have Show and Tell Griselbrand. Had it all! 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Burning Wish Storm. I Show and Tell Griselbrand on turn 2 after he does turn 1 Ponder. It was vulnerable to discard, but he didn't know what I was on and I saw him beat my friend in Round 1. In the next game, I can't find a dude, but he made me discard some stuff. I draw Leyline of Sanctity and Show and Tell it into play. He goes off 2 turns later with 2 Burning Wish, 1 getting Void Snare to bounce my Leyline and the other to find Tendrils of Agony for game. I needed to draw some countermagic in 2 draw steps. The same thing happened in the next game. I needed Show and Tell or Sneak Attack, but drew 2 more Emrakuls. I die to Ad Nauseam again. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. UR Delver. The friend I drove with. In the first game, he doesn't have much countermagic and Griselbrand races True-Name Nemesis and 2 Delver. The next game is similar, but I draw Boseiju, Who Shelters All on the first turn and play it on turn 2 tapped so I can Show and Tell next turn. Griselbrand again and I get there. Good draws. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. Eldrazi Post. He agrees to scoop to me since he's 1-2 and can't make it. I ask him if he wants to play for fun after I go to the bathroom. I should have signed the damn slip! He changes his mind twice and then thinks that 3-2 can make Top 4, which it doesn't. We play it out. I Show and Tell on turn 2, putting Griselbrand into play. He puts Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger into play. I try to find cards, but eventually have 7 cards in library with 2 scryed to the bottom that have 2 Omniscience, so I can't Omniscience in Emrakul and I die to milling. In the next game, I turn 2 Blood Moon, but he has turn 2 Grim Monolith off 2 Eldrazi Temple "Mountains." Then he does Sorcerous Spyglass on my Sneak Attack, followed by double Thought-Knot Seer. I draw Omniscience this time. Sweet! 0-2.
Round 5 vs. UR Delver. In the first game, I get Wastelanded 3 times, so I'm slowed down. But he has no pressure and I eventually jam Show and Tell to find he has only 2 Spell Pierce in hand. He flooded out badly. In the next game, he gets there with pressure, Pyroclasm gets a few creatures, but he gets me with triple Spell Pierce. I pay, then Force of Will, then I can't pay the 3rd one. In the final game, I am kept off lands again for a while, but jam a few Show and Tells when I finally find something to Show. I get there with a Griselbrand, racing Delver and Young Pyromancer. 2-1.'
I finish 3-2 and miss the top 4. Sad times, especially considering my Round 4 opponent offered the scoop. I guess I didn't expect him to change his mind. Gotta play more ruthlessly.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Round 1 vs. Abzan Rector. Never seen this guy before. I have the nuts hand and go for a turn 1 Show and Tell Griselbrand. He puts Academy Rector into play. I groan inside my head, but I literally have no idea about what's going to happen. The next turn he does Cabal Therapy. I Force of Will it. Then he flashes it back. I consider drawing 7 with Griselbrand, but think "what's the worst that can happen?" I find out. He puts out a Overwhelming Splendor and since he doesn't have to target the Curse, I can't respond with a Griselbrand activation. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I can't beat that. In the next game, I mull to 5 and have my hand stripped apart. Then he does the Academy Rector thing again on turn 5. He gets Omniscience and hard casts Curse of Death's Hold, the Humility Curse, and then Dovescape. GGs. I guess that's why they call it wrecktor? 0-2.
Round 2 vs. Eldrazi Aggro. This guy has won 2 Win-A-Dual Legacy tournaments with this very deck within the past month. I congratulated him last week at a tournament when I saw him. He's been killing it. Turn 1 Chalice of the Void for him. Then Eldrazi Mimic. I Show and Tell early and have an option of Emrakul or Griselbrand. I assume he has few outs to either, so Emrakul will end it sooner. In the next game, I turn 2 Blood Moon after turn 1 Chalice of the Void. He gets out a 2/2 Endless One and spanks me while I Force of Will hard cast 2 others. I finally use Abrade on the 2/2 Endless One while at 5, which I wanted to save for whatever he Show and Tells when I cast it since I had it AND Omniscience since forever. He said he was 2 lands away from Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger when I drew Sneak Attack and Emrakul, finally drawing Griselbrand 2 turns later to win. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Mono Red Prison The dude had to play my 2 friends and I in Rounds 1-3. He drew because he took too long in Round 1 with my Miracles friend and then lost Rounds 2-3 to my friend and I on Sneak and Show. The games were pretty easy. I had the Combo and just had to let Chalice of the Void resolve and cast a Lotus Petal on turn 1 in case he had multiple Chalices on turn 1. Got there. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. UW Delver. He mulls to 5, but ends up getting there because I can't find Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn, but Snuck 4 Griselbrand to keep up with Batterskull. I Show and Told the Sneak Attack because I can beat Karakas easier and Council's Judgment can be Spell Pierced. The next 2 games were very tough and I can't remember all the details, but I ended up getting there. There was a part in the final game where he could have Wastelanded me and then when I fetch, win the counter war, as I resolved Sneak Attack. Then he Disenchanted it, but my last 2 cards were Sneak Attack and Emrakul. I drew Brainstorm for the turn and then won. I'm pretty sure I still win since I had plenty of mana to play around Disenchant with my 2nd Sneak anyway. 2-1.
Round 5 vs. Sneak Show. 0-0-3.
Top 8 vs. Bomberman. In the first game, he did Chalice of the Void on 1. Then, I Show and Tell Emrakul after he mulled to 6. I hoped it wasn't Auriok Salvagers, but it was. Then I hoped he didn't play Lion's Eye Diamond, but he did after casting Monastery Mentor. I thought he could do infinite Monks, but he didn't do it. He miscalculated and thought he could still do it the following turn for lethal. In the next game, he beats me with multiple Containment Priest, turn 1 Chalice of the Void, and freaking Cast Out. In the final game, I do Show and Tell, expecting Cast Out. I have Omniscience and get Emrakul to win as he only has … Karakas. Yeah buddy! This guy has also been killing it with this deck. 2-1.
Top 4 vs. UW Stoneblade. One of a group of 3 guys from my local store that came. Cool guy. In the first game, he misses some land drops and I hit them to save up for a big counterwar. I draw a 2nd copy of Show and Tell and believe it's the time. I go for it and sure enough, he Force of Will X 2 and Counterspell. I lose the war, but Show and Tell next turn with 3 Griselbrand in hand. I get there, easily racing the True-Name Nemesis that comes out next turn. In the next game, I consider Force of Willing while tapped out to resolve Sneak Attack. But I have to exile Arcane Artisan, which I think will win the game anyway. I am asked to speed up play since I tanked. I knew saving the Arcane Artisan was the play, but I Force of Will and he has no answer. Now I hope to dodge Council's Judgment + a counter for my FoW and he digs, digs, digs, and doesn't find it. Whew, thank God I let Narset, Parter of Veils resolve instead of Force of Willing. But he did get a Force of Will off it, so maybe that was wrong. It turns out he sided out both Council's Judgment. He's a really strong player, but hasn't played much Legacy. I don't actually know for sure what is the correct call here, but I've played against Stoneblade enough to know that they usually do leave it in and add Disenchant. 2-0.
Finals vs. Death and Taxes. He's one of the 3 guys from my shop. He's a very seasoned Death and Taxes player. When we play tested this matchup a year ago, he beat me 7 of 9 times, while I beat my friend 6 of 8 times on the same deck (not this friend). He just took out my friend on Sneak Show. We agree to split to leave early since 1st and 2nd BOTH get Invitations. That's mostly what I wanted; to be able to play in a bigger, more competitive tournament for big prizes. He actually scooped to me. 2-0.
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
can anyone give me advice on how to play against decks like infect, death's shadow and delver decks? I have a hard time knowing when to just go all in and when to prepare for a counter war. any kind of advice will be great
I believe so. I think it would be worse than Griselbrand.
For what it's worth, my team got 19th at SCG Las Vegas. I went 7-2 Day 1 and 2-4 Day 2.
Round 1 vs. Grixis Control This game ends on turn 2. I Show and Tell Emrakul on turn 1 with Ancient Tomb and Lotus Petal. Did not have a Blue land, but I had Force of Will and Ponder for his Force of Will. I side in Blood Moons and Red Elemental Blast. This game is drawn out, but I eventually force out Griselbrand and race a Gurmag Angler and a Snapcaster Mage. Made a mistake of not attacking 1 turn because I felt like I had more live draws than him. Then I realized that 7 to him while I gain 7, then taking 7, is fine. 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Turbo Depths. David Long, SCG Lands afficianado. He turn 2s Marit Lage. I turn 2 Griselbrand. I block and turn 3 Emrakul. I swing for game next turn. The next game has him doing some Inquisition of Kozileks that miss. My hand was mana heavy, but I find Sneak Attack and get there. Their team ended up 3rd. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Elves with 4WG flying 5/6 trample, I can't cast spells of a type card. I Show and Tell all 3 games. He puts that 5/6 out in all 3 games. I get there in games 2 and 3. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Sneak Show. He mulls to 5. With 2 cards left, he casts Show and Tell. I let it resolve, assuming he has to go for something drastic. Big mistake. Omniscience and Emrakul beats my Show'ed Emrakul. In the next game, I just draw too many lands and he gets Arcane Artisan to beat me. 0-2.
Round 5 vs. Czech Pile. The homies. Sad times for one of our teams. I have insane draws and it's over quickly. 2-0.
Round 6 vs. Grixis Delver. I can't remember the details, but the first game was drawn out for a while. He had a slow hand, which is not where you want to be. I Force Show and Tell through and then win eventually. In the next game, I get him pretty quickly from what I remember. His team ended up 7th. 2-0.
Round 7 vs. Czech Pile. He didn't draw quite enough countermagic after discard and I Show for the win. In the next game, he gets there with the Surgical Extraction in response to my Brainstorm. I have to counter the Surgical Extraction because it will ship my win card on top, but he Hymns the other piece that I needed in 5 cards. In the final game, I jam after some discard and get there. 2-1.
Round 8 vs. Czech Pile. Jacob Wilson. In the first game, it is drawn out after Thoughtseize/Baleful Strix/Snapcaster Mage + Thoughtseize/Hymn to Tourach. I go for the Show and Tell right before lethal as I finally draw one. He has 5 cards left. He does Force of Will, pitching a Blue card. I have 3 cards. Force of Will pitching a Blue card. Then he does Force of Will, pitching a Blue card, leaving him with 1 card and me with a Griselbrand. I asked him later and the card was indeed Diabolic Edict. He just had to assume that Emrakul was the Show and Tell potential card, which would beat him. Two more attacks by Snap and Strix and I'm dead. In the next one, Thoughtseize on turn 2, then Hymn to Tourach on turn 3, Snap Hymn on turn 4, I go for it 2 turns later. He does Force of Will, pitching Blue card and it's over. 0-2.
Round 9 vs. Sneak Show. He goes for the Show and Tell and we both have Emrakuls. He didn't know what I was because I played Ponder and Misty Rainforest. I'm not sure why Misty Rainforest is that odd? In the next game, he gets me with Arcane Artisan. In the last game, he gets Arcane Artisan and dies to Sneak Attack. Lots of play back and forth. Finally won a mirror! 2-1.
Day 2
Round 10 vs. UW Stoneblade. A guy from my local shop. He has more countermagic than me in game 1. In the next game, it seems that way, but when he resolves Stoneforge Mystic, I have to jam. I jam and out countermagic him. I get there. The last game is insane. The game of the tournament for me. There is a lot of back and forth, but I resolve Jace, the Mind Sculptor. It's almost time, but I find Griselbrand and then swing for lethal after doing Force of Wills on a Vendilion Clique that would have given them a draw. Got there! 2-1.
Round 11 vs. RUG Delver. This game takes a while, but I lose to triple Force of Will late in the game once he got some pressure aboard. In the next game, I wait, wait, wait until it's nearly lethal. I get out Griselbrand. But now he has too many creatures that I die on a swingback and Bolt, which he indeed has. Then I can't play around double Bolt, so I attack after drawing Brainstorm into Show and Tell Emrakul. He goes Ponder, Ponder, and finds Lightning Bolt for exact lethal. There was no way to play around double Bolt. 0-2.
Round 12 vs. Czech Pile. I lose in 3 games. But my team ends 1 turn short of killing in Modern, so they don't scoop and we have a draw. 1-2.
Round 13 vs. Show and Tell. Nearly the same as above. Show and Tell into Omni/Emrakul and I had no countermagic for it and Arcane Artisan drawn by him. 0-2.
Round 14 vs. UW Miracles. I draw 2 nut hands and he has nothing. Even Show and Tell in game 2 with Force of Will backup on turn 2 and he had nothing. Local players and good players. Played against Ross Merriam's team the round before this one. 2-0.
Round 15 vs. Storm. He does Thoughtseize on turn 2 to take my Show and Tell. Then he beats me in the same turn. Nutty. In the next game, I keep a loose 7, but it probably didn't matter as he turn 3ed me after discard with Xantid Swarm. If I Force of Will Swarm, I lose anyway if he goes for it. Their Modern player also drew the Bant Spirits nuts against our Tron player, who stumbled like a mother****er on mana. 0-2.
I finished 9-6 overall. Our record was 9-5-1, so they did a bit better than me. Got slaughtered Day 2.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Mono Red Stompy. This guy made the top 8. In the first game, I just dick around, doing Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm, trying to find Show and Tell. He puts pressure with Pia Nalaar, then Goblin Rabblemaster, then I go for it, but he puts in Thunderbreak Regent, sacrifices a Thopter to make me not block with Emrakul, Magma Jet to my face, and exactly 12. In the next game, I put Abrade to the bottom to find the Combo. I figure I can find it later for his Ensnaring Bridge. I do turn 2 Show and Tell Emrakul. He puts Goblin Cratermaker. On turn 3, he blows up my Emrakul. I do Show and Tell Emrakul. He puts in Confusion in the Ranks. He only has Chrome Mox in play. He draws for the turn. Ancient Tomb, play a creature, gain control of my Emrakul. I scoop. 0-2.
Round 2 vs. Tin Fin/Dark Depths Combo. This guy lost his win-and-in to draw into the top 8 in Round 5 to my friend. In game 1, we both mull to 5. He makes me discard and I don't get anything going, losing to a 20/20 on turn 3 or 4. In the next game, I jam Show and Tell, putting in Emrakul. He shows a land and I win. In the final game, I mull to 5. He kills me on turn 1 before I can go to my turn 1 with Children of Korlis, drawing his deck, and eventually Laboratory Maniac. Sad times. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. Nivmagus Elemental Delver? In game 1, I mull to 5 and try to Ponder 3 times, but I don't find a Sneak or Show, while getting 3 big creatures. In the next game, I made a big mistake. He had 3 cards in hand. I had a Sneak Attack that I had just Brainstormed to the top. I go for Show and Tell. He thinks, then Force of Will. I have only the fetch up, which can shuffle the Sneak Attack. I figure he doesn't have Spell Pierce or Flusterstorm or he'd do it. I do Force of Will back, but I exile Spell Pierce instead of Omniscience so I can just take the next turn with Emrakul and win. I don't think he has another answer because this guy hasn't drawn well against me in the past. He played Flusterstorm and I have no way to Spell Pierce the initial Force of Will by him. Big Punt. Oh well, better at 0-2 than playing for something. 0-2.
Round 4 vs. RUG Delver. Long drawn out games, but I outmaneuver in 2 out of 3 to get the win here. Too much to really say here, but when he had only 1 unknown card and a Trop from triple Daze last turn, I go for Jace, the Mind Sculptor with 2 Pyroblast in his graveyard. He had the 3rd one. But I drew Brainstorm the next turn and all 3 cards were gas against him. I go for Blood Moon first and he scoops. Match. 2-1.
Round 5 vs. UB Reanimator. In the first game, he gets Tidespout Tyrant, but I Show and Tell Omniscience. I play Emrakul and he responds by drawing 14 from the Griselbrand that he Showed. His only out is me playing a spell so he can FoW to bounce Emrakul. I don't play a spell and he said he didn't draw Force of Will anyway. In the next game, I do a Show and Tell after he got Force of Willed. I put Griselbrand. He puts Polluted Delta. Not fair. 2-0.
Round 6 vs. BR Reanimator. He mulls to 5. I keep on 7. Not much to see here. He didn't draw a land in time and I win pretty easily. In the next game, I literally have all the answers after he mulls to 6. Leyline of Sanctity, then I find the Combo and kill him with Sneak Attack. I sided out 2 Show and Tell for Arcane Artisan. 2-0.
I finish 3-3, which really sucked. I hadn't practiced in a while.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 I 20 a mono red prison like deck. He didn't really do much game 1, tried to resolve an early ensnaring bridge. Obviously not letting that happen, then he flooded a lot. I didn't really know what he was doing after that but it fortunately didn't matter as I had the turn 2.
1-0 and pretty happy.
Round 2 I 2-0 4C Loam. I believe I resolved an early Griselbrand and won game 1. Game 2 I got the turn 2 again and he can't do anything.
2-0, so far pretty lucky with hitting decks weak to my deck.
Round 3 I lose to what looked like some kind of deadguy ale deck splashing red for Queen Marchesa. He tears my hand apart game 1, I got the turn 3 show and tell game 2. I kept a hand with a force of will, 3 show and tells plus a few lands game 3. My logic was I could pitch one to a force and just needed a threat. the TLRD version of this game was he thoughtseized me then surgicaled my show and tells after I drew my entire set. I believe I used my force on a thalia
2-1. still in a good spot, just need to win one more and I'm probably fine. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy.
Round 4 I lose 1-2 to GB depths. I turn 2 him game 1, I managed to spell pierce the t1 thoughtseize. Game 2 was back and fourth but he won. Game 3 I kept a risky hand with a fetch land and ancient tomb, blood moon and random cards. He said I probably would have had him if he didn't top deck an abrupt decay (had mox diamond and forest in play).
2-2, things are going downhill.
round 5 is my win and in. I lose 1-2 to my buddy on BR reanimator. G1 I get an early Griselbrand but he has two chancellors of the annex. we pass back and fourth a few times before I start swinging (I believe he was at 12 to my 8, with lifelink off my Griselbrand). he takes the first hit but then has to start blocking. Game 2 he thoughtseizes my grafdigger's cage t1. I didn't draw ino any protection, then a few turns after I got my Griselbrand thoughtseized and then reanimated. I never recovered. G3 I mulled to five and got stomped.
2-3, pretty disappointing finish after the 2-0 start
I feel I probably sequenced a few lines poorly, mostly to do with fetching. I also need to get better at deciding when to mull or keep. I'm gonna watch some content tonight then go back at it tomorrow
Round 1 vs. Buried Alive Arclight Phoenix. This guy has always been on Miracles. I've literally never seen him play anything else. He's also one of the best Miracles players I've ever seen and probably the favorite, in my opinion, to win first place today. He beat me with a bunch of Phoenixes in the first game after and I grinded out the last 2 games. 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Turbo Depths. Tough match, but I barely got there with Blood Moon and good hands. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Infect. Game 1 he mulls to 6. Turn 2, Invigorate and Berserk. I do Force of Will. He does Force of Will. I'm dead. The next 2 games are played out really long, but I get there in the end. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Elves. Two early wins while he didn't do much. Mull to 5 in game 2 didn't help. 2-0.
Round 5 vs. Omni Show. My friend who also gave me a ride home and we talked for another hour. He ended up losing in the top 4 to the winner on BR Reanimator and then I lost to Reanimator too. 0-0-3.
Round 6 vs. Red Prison. Almost thought about playing, but there was no incentive to do it. I had nothing to gain. 0-0-3.
Top 8 vs. Antiquities War/Painter's Stone. I remember this guy from drawing his 4th Twin many years ago to beat me in Modern when I had much more than lethal on board in a win-and-in to the top 8. I also remember him from getting the top 2 at a Modern Invitational tournament where the top 2 get the Invitation. 2-1.
Top 4 vs. Sneak Show mirror. One of 3 friends that I drove with 44 mi. to the tournament. The games were long and drawn out because I was playing too cautiously. She mostly only played cantrips and a bit of countermagic. 2-0.
Finals vs. BR Reanimator. 1-2.
I lost a rough one in the finals and had to settle for a Savannah instead of an Underground Sea, also not getting the Invitation to their April tournament. Here is some coverage. I will try to get the times I played. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/370344833##
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I believe it was 18-20 people, so 5 rounds with cut to top 8.
Round 1 I get paired against one of the people I drove up with on Br reanimator. Funny story is, yesterday I get paired against him in round 5 for the win and in and lose g3 yesterday on mull to 5. Today I mull to 4 g1, with a hand of double force, double island scrying preordain to top. G2 he doesn't open with any chancellors, so I open with grafdigger's cage on the play with surgical backup. I durdle but he doesn't get anything to happen, so I eventually won. G3 I keep a VERY greedy 6 with no lands, grafdigger's cage surgical and a few other cards. He has chancellor of the annex in hand. I top deck ancient tomb to play the cage through the tax. Basically, we pass back and fourth for a very long time before I can resolve a spell and win. I believe I boarded out my show and tells, omnis and a lotus petal for 3 arcane artisans, 2 cages and 2 surgicals. By the way, don't ever do what I did game 3, I could have gotten VERY punished.
1-0
Round 2 I get paired against my buddy on 12 post. Game 1 he mulls to 6, doesn't do much and I cheat in a Griselbrand off a sneak attack, go down low to find an Emrakul and 1 shot him. Game 2 I mull to 6, keep a one land hand with a bunch of cantrips and take a while to find much but this match seems really good and I still won off of an arcane artisan and seeing a lot of creatures. Boarded out I believe 2 omnis, 2 show and tells, 1 cantrip and 2 flusterstorms. Brought in 3 artisans, 2 blood moons and 2 abrades.
2-0, started off 2-0 yesterday but collapsed. I started getting nervous.
Round 3 I get my only loss in Swiss to Death and Taxes due to a punt in game 3. Game 1 he fires on all cylinders and wins. Game 2 he kept a hand of nonbasics and I blood moon him out of the game. Game 3 I abrade a vial to bait teh activation. After the activation resolves, I pyroclasm o kill 3 creatures, leaving Griselbrand up to block Batterskull instead of attacking. I should have just attacked, either gaining me life off of lifelink or forcing the swords to plowshares. He then council's judgement to get rid of it and swing for lethal. The annihilator trigger off Emrakul would have been good for me the next turn. I believe I took out my 2 flusterstorms, 2 forces and a cantrip for 2 blood moons, 2 abrades and a pyroclasm. The reason why I brought in blood moon vs a mono colour deck was because a lot of their utility lands are annoying, I loathe Karakas especially.
2-1, I was tilted more by my punt rather than losing itself. I know I'm still in it and just need to survive by winning my next round.
Round 4 I 2-1 mono red prison. Game 1 he runs over me with an early rabblemaster. Game 2 I got the turn 3 or 4 and won. Game 3 he goes all in on a magus of the moon on the play and is left with barely anything else in hand, except for a Chandra which he couldn't cast until the next few turns due to his own moon effect. My hand was flooded strand, ancient tomb and a pretty good turn 2 setup if he didn't have the moon consisting of omni, show and tell, Griselbrand and JTMS. Fortunately I was able to draw a pyroclasm to 1 for 1 with the magus, which let me combo off next turn if he didn't slow me down. I got there, put in omni with the show and tell, cast JTMS and Griselbrand. He puts in ensnaring bridge, which sucks for me but whatever. I brainstorm with Jace, draw 7 with Griselbrand. I see an abrade and an Emrakul. Abrade the bridge, Emrakul gets me an extra turn and that's the game. I took out a cantrip and my 2 flusterstorms for a pyroclasm and 2 abrades.
3-1, I was 6th in the standings going into last round. I believe all 10 pointers would have made it and 1-2 9 pointers would have gotten there so a draw was safe. I drew with the burn player in the room. I feel like burn is reasonable but drawing was safe so I drew.
Split top 8 for $125 in credit.
Some random thoughts. Abrade is really good, 2x cage and 2x surgical feels like the correct amount of grave hate for me. I might try cutting the pyroblast for another pyroclasm or a Boseiju. The arcane artisans seem good, but I wanna get through the breaches due to the recent reprint. I don't ever really wish I had leylines of sanctity and I'm still working on city of traitors x2.
I feel like I'm still playing lose but the deck is pretty forgiving of mistakes due to it being pretty straightforward and powerful. A lot of the sequencing will come with learning the format
Round 1 vs. Deathblade variant. Our first game took a long time because I couldn't find the Combo in time. He got some key attacks and had me on the back foot. I decide not to scoop after I do Show/Omni/Emrakul because he may think I can Sneak in a Griselbrand to block. He tanks for a while, then goes for it. I lose. I Ponder a Blood Moon to the top in game 2. He Wastelands me, which I didn't even know he had that. I do City/Petal/Blood Moon and he literally only plays 2 Surgical Extraction and a Force of Will after this. I eventually find Blue and it takes a million draws before I find a creature. But I do. For the last game, we end up running out of time after he answers literally every single card I have after double Force of Will beats my SINGLE Force of Will. We got to turns of a Tidehollow Sculler beating me down. I strongly consider scooping, but don't. It was a big mistake, but we both won the next 2 rounds. He won the next 3, then drew into the Top 8. Cool guy and friend. Yep, I definitely should have scooped. 1-1-1.
Round 2 vs. Enchantress. In game 1, I power out Show/Omni. He puts Journey to Nowhere into play. I then cast Griselbrand. I draw 7 and immediately find Emrakul. GG. In the next game, I can't find a creature and he eventually gets a late game Helm of Obedience to go with his RIP and game me. In the last game, I jam a Sneak Attack and get there through Karakas. GGs. Supposedly this is a terrible matchup for me and he literally played this deck today to own Sneak Show. He usually runs Red Prison and crushes tournaments. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Miracles. In the first game, I can't find a win-con. He hits with Snappy. Finally he flashed in a 2nd Snappy and I do actually draw Show and Tell to go with Omni and Emrakul, but I can't fetch or pay 2 life from Ancient Tomb anymore because I'm at 1. In the next game, it is grindy, but I get there through some Force of Wills. The last game, is similar. I barely get there in the end. Omni/Griselbrand and find Emrakul. GG. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. UR Painter. In the first game, I durdle and don't do much but draw lands. I don't have a creature and he assembles 2 Goblin Welder, which I should have Force of Willed Trinket Mage so Tormod's Crypt couldn't get in the yard. I see the writing on the wall. In the next game, it is similar, but since he mulled to 5, I have barely enough to go past him. In the final game, I literally can't find a creature or a cantrip. I have Abrade, which can prevent me from dying to the Painter Stone and Tormod's Crypt combo, but he finds Goblin Welder. He has a Grindstone in hand with 2 other cards. I draw a creature and play Show and Tell, but he exiles Engineered Explosives to Force it. He had already played 2 earlier Force of Wills. I end up drawing a Lotus Petal, so I am pretty dead. I know that he knows to win with Goblin Welder and his combo, which he didn't go for earlier. So I tap 9 mana from 3 Volcanic Island, 1 Ancient Tomb, 3 Island, 1 Mountain, and then 1 mana from a Lotus Petal. I can then go for Emrakul and try to win, but I only have 1 Lotus Petal up, not enough for my Abrade. He goes for Grinding in response. I scoop and show him that I was 1 short of Abrade and didn't have Red Elemental Blast. He shows that he had Flusterstorm. He ended up the number 1 seed later on. 1-2.
Round 5 vs. Jeskai Stoneblade. I'm paired against another 2-1-1, so we have to play it out for the Top 8 berth. In the first game, he doesn't play anything. I eventually decide there's no better time. I do Show and Tell. He does Counterspell. I do FoW. He does FoW. I do FoW. He does FoW. I draw Spell Pierce 2 turns later, so I could have gone to the discard a few turns, then won this counterwar. Oh well. I had Omniscience and Griselbrand in my hand. I drew lands and he drew stuff to kill me with. The next game is pretty frustrating. He deals with an Omniscience and then 2 Sneak Attacks, but he has an empty hand, while I have Omniscience and Emrakul. Unfortunately for me, I drew lands and Lotus Petal (the 1 left in deck). I never draw a dude. 0-2.
I lost 2 win-and-ins in a row. No Top 8. Frustrating day for me. Many things that could go wrong DID.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Slow Depths. He does Duress. I mistakenly Spell Pierce it, despite having Show and Tell and Sneak Attack. Then he does Hymn to Tourach. Literally the only card in my 5 card hand that I don't want to lose is City of Traitors because it is my 3rd land. I lose it AND Show and Tell. I draw 2 more Show and Tell and Omniscience and lose with 2 lands in play. In game 2, I get Ponder Blood Moon to the top. He does Hymn to Tourach, but turn 2 Blood Moon runs away with it. He literally plays no 3rd land even for 5 turns before playing a few Mountains. In the final game, turn 0 Leyline of Sanctity slowed him enough for me to Combo off. 2-1.
Round 2 vs. Red Prison. My opponent from Round 2 in the tournament above. ^ In the first game, I counter just enough stuff to find a dude in time to win. In the next 2 games, Confusion in the Ranks wrecked my face. I now know I have to play on Level 3 vs. this card, as he put in FOUR, yes, FOUR Confusion in the Ranks. He mulled to 5, which I thought meant he probably didn't find the 2 copies that I thought he only had. Oh well. I need to put in Blood Moon to take my Enchantment back after Confusion is in play. I need to think this out next time I play this guy. All of the players I played make a lot of Top 8s, but this guy is absolutely insane. The first 6 times I played him years ago, I beat him 6 times. Since then, he's 6 out of 7 vs. me. He's been truly getting his revenge. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. Death and Taxes. He gets a game loss for 58 cards. His last round was pretty intense, so it was just a mistake. We don't SB and I play around Karakas by jamming Sneak Attack, waiting a turn to not do Omniscience off Show and Tell. I should have been wrecked this round, as this guy is also pretty insane. In fact, he beat me in a PPTQ final with Burn over Abzan Company in the only Modern PPTQ season that I didn't qualify for an RPTQ. I have nothing against the guy personally, but that loss HUUUURT. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. Grixis Delver. In the first game, he does Thoughtseize into Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek, but I am able to hide Sneak Attack and get there as he double Bolts me to 1 just to do it. But I know the last card is Spell Pierce because he revealed it to Delver and I gain life with Griselbrand. In the next game, I get turn 0 Leyline of Sanctity, which seemingly does nothing. He tells me later that those are his only 3 discard spells in the deck. Leyline stops Diabolic Edict, which I forgot about as well. He thought my sideboarding was pretty bad too. He seemed very upset, which I can understand since I went 0-3 drop at a Modern 1K (which is MY format) the day before. 2-0.
Round 5 vs. UW Delver. In the first game, I jam Show and Tell into Force of Will, but I also have Force of Will. I am scared about a 2nd one, but if he has it, he has it. Nope, got there. In the next game, he mulliganed and couldn't get off 2 lands. I was literally just scared of Containment Priest, but when he tapped the Blue and not the Karakas to Ponder and then shuffle, I knew he was missing land drops. I end up getting there with a Sneak Attack and 3 Red mana up (only 2 needed to play around a Karakas). 2-0.
Round 6 vs. RUG Punishing Fire. 0-0-3. We ID into the top 8, as tables 1-3 can all do this.
Top 8 vs. Mono Blue Painter. He mulls to 5 and still nearly gets there. I have just enough countermagic and allow a Painter combo since I have Emrakul in play and them in the deck to reshuffle. If he had played his last card and it was Tormod's Crypt, I would have Force of Willed that. In the next 2 games, I just was missing one piece, but couldn't find it while he played answers after answers. In game 2, he killed me with Antiquities War. In game 3, I went for Show and Tell early with Force of Will backup. He did Force of Will, then a 2nd one, exiling Darksteel Citadel since Painter's Servant was out on "Blue." He had 0 cards in hand. I had just Griselbrand, but Emrakul on top. From that point on, I drew nothing of relevance while he got just Trinket Mage and Painter's Servant. I only had 1 Abrade and too many targets. I killed Aether Spellbomb since I can't win if he leaves that up. 2 Brainstorms would have been "draw 6" since my hand had multiple dudes and kept drawing lands. Sad times. I wanted that Underground Sea. 1-2.
I was really disappointed not to even make the top 4 or the finals, getting the invitation(s). The top 2 get invitations and then play it out for the Sea. Sad times as another friend lost in the top 4, while the 3rd friend went 2-0 to 2-3.
I got 7th for a Snappy Doo. 4-1-1 in the Swiss. 0-1 in the top 8.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Stoneblade. I am able to resolve a 2nd Show and Tell for Griselbrand. He scoops after I counter a Swords to Plowshares with a Force of Will and a Council's Judgment with a Spell Pierce. In the next game, I go for the Show and Tell with 6 cards in his hand after I did Red Elemental Blast on a turn 3 Vendilion Clique. I have enough to play around Spell Pierce after doing Force of Will and Flusterstorm. He doesn't HAVE Spell Pierce though. He does Surgical Extraction on my Red Elemental Blast. It resolves. Then he does Force of Will, exiling Snapcaster Mage, on Show and Tell. I do Force of Will, exiling Ponder. He does Force of Will, exiling Counterspell. I do Flusterstorm with Emrakul and Griselbrand in hand. His last card is Flusterstorm. He counters all of my Flusterstorm copies, leaving him with 0 cards. I have just the 2 fatties. I just hope to not draw air while he draws Stoneforge Mystic. He draws Stoneforge Mystic for B Skull on that empty hand. I end up drawing 3 Scalding Tarn and Misty Rainforest and lose to the B Skull Germ. In the final game, I keep on 1 land, Preordain, Ponder, and some combo pieces. I get stuck on Ancient Tomb and land, allowing him to Spell Pierce my stuff 3 times, despite me trying to be patient. 3 Force of Will, exiling 2 Snapcaster Mage, then drawing Surgical Extraction on Show and Tell, Snap SE on Sneak Attack leaves me with not much. I play Jace the Mind Sculptor, just hoping to keep Fatesealing while Snappy attacks him. He draws for the turn, True-Name Nemesis. I literally did not deserve to win this game. I wonder if there was something different I could have done or maybe just mulligan the 1 land hand. This round left a sour taste in my mouth because I probably could have won had I played perfectly. 1-2.
Round 2 vs. Death and Taxes. He notices my Show and Tell playmat and says that he hopes I don't play that card on him. I assume he's Mono Red Prison. I get Omniscience off Show and Tell and Force of Will enough to allow Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn to get there, beating Karakas. In the next game, I have a lot. I Abrade the Aether Vial, then Pyroclasm to slow him down. I make a mistake of not Force of Willing the Thalia back on the way down after he bounce it with Karakas. It left him with 7 permanents instead of 6, which I Sneak Attack Emrakul the next turn. I figured if I drew Show and Tell, I'd rather have the Omniscience. He kept Aether Vial and then played land, but I drew the Emrakul again the next turn to win. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Sneak and Show mirror. He let Show and Tell resolve and I got Sneak Attack into Emrakul. he said that was HIS plan next turn. In the next game, I Force of Will Arcane Artisan, but the 2nd one next turn ended up getting me. I had that plan too, but it was a turn late. In the final game, I Sneak Attack Emrakul and wipe his lands. He rebuilds, but I have Spell Pierce and Force of Will (hard cast if I want) in hand. I draw a Lotus Petal, then Ponder and Brainstorm to find the Emrakul and it's over. 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Stoneblade with Back to Basics. Rough game. I do Ponder and Brainstorm early to set up. But I just draw lands. I go for turn 7 Omniscience and he Spell Pierces. My last 4 cards in hand were 3 more lands and an Emrakul. In the next game, I literally just draw lands and Emrakul. I kept on 1 Emrakul and kept drawing more. I made a mistake on turn 7 of playing City of Traitors because my only out as the game went on was drawing the 5th Sol land AND another mana source to hard cast Emrakul. On the turn before lethal with me at 1 life and Containment Priest and Snappy in play, I drew Brainstorm. Sneak Attack, Force of Will. Sneak Attack, Force of Will. I didn't have mana to activate anyway. Brainstormed 2 Emrakul to the top, leaving only 2 in my hand. Felt good to only have 2 Emrakul in hand. 0-2.
Round 5 vs. Storm. He Duresses Omniscience instead of Ponder after I Ponder to the top. Show and Tell Emrakul instead and he Storms off to kill me. In the next game, I have an early Griselbrand and he can't handle that because he had no discard. In the final game, I keep on 1 land, Leyline of Sanctity. He scoops a few turns later, saying he had no answer to Leyline. 2-1.
Round 6 vs. Big Eldrazi. He turn 1s Chalice of the Void on 1. I let it resolve. He Thought-Knot Seer my Show and Tell. I Force of Will the first Thought-Knot Seer. I am about to lose after he casts Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. I'm at 7 life with Ugin and TKS in play for him. I hard cast Omniscience. I cast Emrakul, beating his Karakas. I have to attack Ugin or else he has 7 damage next turn. I get that and he has no answer for Emrakul. In the next game, I go for Blood Moon, but Thought-Knot Seer gets me until I do Show and Tell with 1 card in hand for him. Ensnaring Bridge. Ugh. I have Blood Moon out too. This locks us until he gets Endbringer and pings me for a few turns. In the next game, I do turn 2 Blood Moon, but he turn 2s triple Grim Monolith, Thran Dynamo, Thought-Knot Seer, taking my Sneak Attack. I draw another one, but have to do Abrade on Sorcerous Spyglass first. I do it, but he draws and plays another Thought-Knot Seer. I wish I had draw that Sneak Attack 1 turn later. I draw nothing and lose to those Thought-Knot Seers. 13 Sol lands drawn by me and 5 Thought-Knot Seers drawn by him in 3 games. Not a good recipe. Maybe I should have gone for a more aggressive hand, but I felt that turn 2 Blood Moon was strong because it plays around Trinisphere, which he also played in this match. 1-2.
I finish 3-3. Rough times, as outside of shuffling, I literally see no way to have won Rounds 3 or 6. I may have been able to play better in Game 3 of Round 1, but I couldn't figure it out in the end.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Grixis Delver. This is the same player that I played in Round 1 the last tournament. I did turn 2 Show and Tell Griselbrand. He scooped and jokingly said "at least you don't know my deck." I assumed he's still on UW Stoneblade since he had an unfetched Polluted Delta. In the next game, he Stifled and Wastelanded me early on, which I did not expect. I realized that he's on Grixis Delver by then, but my sluggishness allowed him to land a Young Pyromancer, then Delver, then counter a Show and Tell (although it was lethal anyway since I only had Emrakul) to win it. In the next game, I keep on 1 land, but I have a lot of sculpting cards. I use them to get my 2nd and 3rd land, but he doesn't Stifle OR Wasteland in this game (maybe a super late Wasteland). I end up with 7 lands in play and drawing 3 more Show and Tell during the course of this game. On the final turn before lethal (or lethal if Show and Tell Griselbrand does NOT come up), I go for Show and Tell. He does Force of Will. I do another Show and Tell. He does Force of Will. I had 2 more Show and Tell and a land in hand. This guy ended up winning the whole tournament, beating Storm in the finals. 1-2.
Round 2 vs. Jeskai Stoneblade. In the first game, I set up a Show and Tell that I jam and I don't even have to respond to countermagic. He scoops after I Sneak Attack Emrakul, killing Germ and Batterskull as well. In the next game, he just literally has a hand of countermagic. I probably should have been patient when I missed a few land drops and went to discard, but I forced the action and ended up with only Arcane Artisans and Jace, the Mind Sculptor as outs in the deck. He lands Jace, the Mind Sculptor and it didn't matter much because I didn't draw much after that. In the next game, I don't do much. I draw an extra Griselbrand and an Emrakul, so I had 3 dudes in hand. I prayed that he drew all 3 Surgical Extraction because I literally could not find Show and Tell or Sneak Attack. This is the deck. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. UR Delver. The deck that my friend was playing, but not my friend. In the first game, I resolve Show and Tell and play Omniscience. I cast Ponder and then shuffle. I lose with Show and Tell, 2 Sneak Attack, and Omniscience in my hand. They have a quick clock! In the next game, I have the dude and he extends out to triple Young Pyromancer. I go all in trying to resolve the Show and Tell that I just drew. He ends up having multiple Flusterstorms and Red Elemental Blast, so he wins the counterwar. I only had Emrakul once again, so with all the tokens he generated from the counterwar, he had the game anyway. He also had it if he had Bolt because he could Bolt the creature that I block with Griselbrand IF, yes IF I had it. 0-2.
Round 4 vs. Infect. Guy mulled to 5. He then did Invigorate on a Glistener Elf and I thought I was dead on turn 2 after Brainstorm doesn't find me something. Nope. I kill him 2 turns later with Sneak Attack. He scooped to losing his permanents. In the next game, I kill a Blighted Agent and then I resolve Blood Moon. I had Blood Moon AND Sneak Attack (but no activation that turn), so I figured I'd let Blood Moon get countered and then hopefully wreck him with Sneak Attack. Nope, Blood Moon was it. 2-0.
Round 5 vs. Aluren. In the first game, he double Thoughtseized me, then with 2 cards left did Aluren, Recruiter of the Guard, and then the combo. In the next game, pregame Leyline of Sanctity wrecked him and I eventually got what I needed. In the final game, he just really flooded out and I was able to resolve Griselbrand. I couldn't find what else I needed to beat him, but eventually found Force of Will to stop a Cavern Harpy from blocking and bouncing back on my Griselbrand, thus giving me no extra life. 2-1.
Round 6 vs. Maverick. I got thoroughly wrecked this round. I do turn 1 Show and Tell after he does Mana dude. He puts Knight of the Reliquary and I put Sneak Attack since I know he'll find Knight for Karakas (I watched him play 2 rounds ago. I EoT Sneak Emrakul. I go to combat, he bounces, I replay with the only mana I have and attack him to 2. He sacrifices all permanents except a Knight of the Reliquary and Thalia to swing me for 11 next turn. I had miscounted the damage, so I thought he'd have to keep Karakas and Knight in case I don't draw a 2nd Red source, which I didn't. I lost either way. In the next game, I have a solid turn 2 Show and Tell into Omniscience and Emrakul. I do it and I wait for the Knight of Autumn. I see it and he then plays Knight of the Reliquary and now even Show and Tell Emrakul does nothing. I calculated that if I do Emrakul, 4 Knight of the Reliquary and Karakas beat me. If I do Omniscience, 4 Knight of Autumn beat me. Later he said he had 2 Knight of Autumn. Yep. Best hands of the tournament BY FAR and got completely and thoroughly wrecked. 0-2.
Round 7 vs. Dredge. In the first game, I Force of Will Lion Eye's Diamond, but he has Faithless Looting and enough Cabal Therapy effects to keep me off Show and Tell Griselbrand. In the next game, I Force of Will Lion Eye's Diamond and have turn 2 Griselbrand. I get there. In the final game, he plays Lion Eye's Diamond. No Force of Will in either my 7 card hand or 6 card hand. He does Breakthrough, sacrificing LED and holding priority. The Dredges are not super good, but the flashback of Faithless Looting gets him 2 more Narcomoeba to Dread Return a Golgari Grave Troll. I get Show and Tell Griselbrand, as his hand is empty, but after activating it, I find Brainstorm, Force of Will, and more lands. Sad times, as I have my only out to Brainstorm for Omniscience, Lotus Petal, and Emrakul. I do actually DRAW Emrakul for the turn, but Brainstorm finds none of the other stuff. GGs. 1-2.
I finish 2-5. I got thoroughly wrecked. In Rounds 6 and 7, I drew insane hands. But I knew my opponent either probably had me dead if they played right (which they did) or could stop me in so many ways. Sheesh! I may stay off this deck for a while.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I'll start with Saturday
Round 1 I got paired against my buddy on BR reanimator. Game 1 I kept a slow hand and he stripped my Griselbrand. Game 2 was back and fourth but tiop decking a JTMS was able to help me control his threats. game 3 he got greedy and tried to strip my hand rather than just casting a trophy on my sneak attack
1-0. I have a joke that whenever I beat this buddy round 1 i prize the event
round 2 I 2-0 miracles. Game 1 I sensed he was hurting for answers so I went all in and got rewarded. game 2 I got him to fight me over a show and tell, then was able to jam a sneak attack 2 turns later and went all in
2-0
round 3 I lose to 12 post. He got an early Karakas game 1 and I kinda just spun my wheels. I got him early game 2 and he ran me over g3.
2-1. One more round and I was second place in the swiss. my loss being first seed. I got paired against my buddy who was in third going into the last round and we drew. he was on turbo depths and neither of us wanted to play that match. Now we just gotta wait and see if we got punished. I snuck into 4th seed and he got bumped down to 6th place. we did top 4 split for $125 credit each
Sunday also went 2-1-1 for top 8.
Round 1 I quickly 2-0 UW helm combo. Game 1 he got stuck on 2 lands for a while and I eventually just force through a threat. Game 2 he put up a bit more of a fight but I countered his RIP and cast a show and tell next turn. went all in and won.
1-0
Got paired against same buddy on BR reanimator again. Played against him at every legacy event I've been to this year. He got an early triple threat board game 1. I killed him quickly game 2. I mulled to 5 game 3 and he was able to cast 2 reanimation spells turn 1.
1-1
Got paired against Death and Taxes round 3, which I quickly 2-0. He mulls to 6 both games. Game 1 he didn't get much going and I won. Game 2 he leads with a mother of runes, then a revoker t3. I forced the mom activation with an abrade then wiped the board with a pyroclasm. He untapped and cast a Thalia, heretic cathar, which i forced and went off on my turn.
2-1
I was seventh place in the swiss going into last round and hadn't played 6th or 8th yet. I figured 6th would take the draw no question and 8th might but it would be risky, since 9th winning could place us at risk. I got paired against 8th and eventually we drew, agreeing if one of use didn't make it we would prize split. 9th place got a concession from the one guy in my car who was dead for prizing. Turns out it was a clean cut and we prize split in top 8 for $125 each
I still don't know how well I'm playing the deck but I've prized 3 legacy events this year with the deck. One thing I learned from the weekend though was I'm never registering the deck without blood moons in the side but maybe it's a crutch for me
also can I get some tips for the turbo depths matchup?
I am really a Legacy noob compared with many of these players. Many of these players literally ONLY play Legacy or Legacy/Vintage/Old School. But I think you need Omniscience in the Turbo Depths matchup, for the Karakas (in addition to Sneak Attack) and also the potential 20/20 flier. I sided in 4 Leyline of Sanctity, 2 Blood Moon, and Abrade (for Mox Diamond under Moon or Dark Confidant). Just pray to have Leyline in your opener. I've been lucky to have Leyline, Blood Moon, and a quick hand against them. I could see it being a tough matchup otherwise.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Storm. I thought he was on UB Shadow, then on Grixis Control, so I took my time. Then I jammed Show and Tell Griselbrand. He went for Cabal Ritual, but I had Spell Pierce to tap his mana, then Force of Will to stop the Ritual. In the next 2 games, I'm pretty sure I made a bit mistake. I should have mulliganed to 5 until I hit Leyline of Sanctity because he had NOT sided in Echoing Truth or Empty the Warrens. I was tring to gauge whether he'd do it or not and I thought he would. So I didn't want to mulligan too low. I saw 11 cards in game 2 from Ad Nauseam, so I should have known that it probably was NOT in there. I struggled in these games to find the combo and he barely eeked out a win in Game 2. Game 3 was easier, as he had 3 discard spells on opportune turns and I didn't play around the 3rd one by keeping the 3rd Brainstorm in my hand, so I lost my win-con. Still it looked like he would probably have won with that win-con still in play. I should have mulliganed until I found Leyline. I went 1-2 and our team lost as well. 0-1.
Round 2 vs. Stoneblade. In the first game, he plays Karakas, which made me think D and T. He has played RB Reanimator the past 5 events I'd seen him at. But then he ran out 2 Scalding Tarn. I made a communication mistake of not Sneaking a Griselbrand when I had Omniscience in play and almost lost because of that. I couldn't find Emrakul and only had 15 or fewer cards left in library. But it finds me Emrakul and I get the extra turn to swing for lethal. In the next game, I went for a Show and Tell early in the game and I Force of Willed his Force of Will. I get Griselbrand and it's easy after that. In the I went 2-0, but our team lost. 0-1.
Round 3 vs. Mono Red Prison. He has turn 1 Chalice of the Void on 1, so I Brainstorm in response and get Show and Tell Griselbrand shortly thereafter. Easy game, easy life. In the next game, he mulls to 5 and has double Sorcerous Spyglass on Griselbrand because he sees Abrade in my hand. I end up Sneak Attacking a Griselbrand just to kill a Chandra Torch of Defiance the turn after I did Pyroclasm on a Goblin Rabblemaster. I drew very well and he didn't. I go 2-0 and our team won too. 1-0.
Round 4 vs. Dredge. He does Faithless Looting and I let it go, but I Spell Pierce Lion's Eye Diamond and then Force of Will Breakthrough, but he has Breakthrough the next turn and I got stuck with Ancient Tombs in play and 2 Griselbrand in play while he goes off. In the next game, he has a slow hand and does Cabal Therapy, which misses because I had 2 Brainstorm. In the final game, I made a mistake of not doing Grafdigger's Cage on turn 2 while I would had Spell Pierce up. He didn't look like he had Nature's Claim and I felt like the chances of him going off the next turn are worth trying it on turn 1. He did Claim it and then he went bonkers while the first blind Cabal Therapy named Show and Tell, nabbing 2 of them on turn 3. Then later he nabbed 2 Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn with another blind Therapy and won soon thereafter. He may have not needed the 2nd one, but it made the game no contest. I went 1-2 and our team won. 1-0.
Round 5 vs. UWR Delver. I combo on turn 2 with Flusterstorm backup, but he didn't have a single piece of countermagic. The game got close because there were 2 True-Name Nemesis in play, but I got there barely. Griselbrand's lifelink was the important factor. In the next game, I punted horribly. I shouldn't even admit this because it shows how BAD I am. I went for turn 4 Sneak Attack. He did Spell Pierce and I pay it with just Lotus Petal up now. He does another Spell Pierce and I do Force of Will. He does Flusterstorm on FoW. I Flusterstorm the Flusterstorm. All I had to do was let his Flusterstorm counter my FoW, then do my own Flusterstorm on his Spell Pierce. He paid a single copy and Sneak Attack did NOT come into play. I went 2-1 and our team won. In the final game, I jam like game 1 and get there easily. 1-0.
We went 3-2, which was good for 8th place. We got prizes, but only the Top 4 played it out.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Lands. Although I didn't know until I saw the slip, I had a feeling this was the player that won the last Staples tournament here with Lands, procuring himself an Underground Sea. In the first game, I sculpt trying to find Griselbrand or Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn. I do and then Sneak it to kill his 4 lands, including the DD/Stage combo that came too late. In the next game, I get Blood Moon and then I also have Show and Tell Griselbrand. Had it all! 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Burning Wish Storm. I Show and Tell Griselbrand on turn 2 after he does turn 1 Ponder. It was vulnerable to discard, but he didn't know what I was on and I saw him beat my friend in Round 1. In the next game, I can't find a dude, but he made me discard some stuff. I draw Leyline of Sanctity and Show and Tell it into play. He goes off 2 turns later with 2 Burning Wish, 1 getting Void Snare to bounce my Leyline and the other to find Tendrils of Agony for game. I needed to draw some countermagic in 2 draw steps. The same thing happened in the next game. I needed Show and Tell or Sneak Attack, but drew 2 more Emrakuls. I die to Ad Nauseam again. 1-2.
Round 3 vs. UR Delver. The friend I drove with. In the first game, he doesn't have much countermagic and Griselbrand races True-Name Nemesis and 2 Delver. The next game is similar, but I draw Boseiju, Who Shelters All on the first turn and play it on turn 2 tapped so I can Show and Tell next turn. Griselbrand again and I get there. Good draws. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. Eldrazi Post. He agrees to scoop to me since he's 1-2 and can't make it. I ask him if he wants to play for fun after I go to the bathroom. I should have signed the damn slip! He changes his mind twice and then thinks that 3-2 can make Top 4, which it doesn't. We play it out. I Show and Tell on turn 2, putting Griselbrand into play. He puts Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger into play. I try to find cards, but eventually have 7 cards in library with 2 scryed to the bottom that have 2 Omniscience, so I can't Omniscience in Emrakul and I die to milling. In the next game, I turn 2 Blood Moon, but he has turn 2 Grim Monolith off 2 Eldrazi Temple "Mountains." Then he does Sorcerous Spyglass on my Sneak Attack, followed by double Thought-Knot Seer. I draw Omniscience this time. Sweet! 0-2.
Round 5 vs. UR Delver. In the first game, I get Wastelanded 3 times, so I'm slowed down. But he has no pressure and I eventually jam Show and Tell to find he has only 2 Spell Pierce in hand. He flooded out badly. In the next game, he gets there with pressure, Pyroclasm gets a few creatures, but he gets me with triple Spell Pierce. I pay, then Force of Will, then I can't pay the 3rd one. In the final game, I am kept off lands again for a while, but jam a few Show and Tells when I finally find something to Show. I get there with a Griselbrand, racing Delver and Young Pyromancer. 2-1.'
I finish 3-2 and miss the top 4. Sad times, especially considering my Round 4 opponent offered the scoop. I guess I didn't expect him to change his mind. Gotta play more ruthlessly.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Round 1 vs. Abzan Rector. Never seen this guy before. I have the nuts hand and go for a turn 1 Show and Tell Griselbrand. He puts Academy Rector into play. I groan inside my head, but I literally have no idea about what's going to happen. The next turn he does Cabal Therapy. I Force of Will it. Then he flashes it back. I consider drawing 7 with Griselbrand, but think "what's the worst that can happen?" I find out. He puts out a Overwhelming Splendor and since he doesn't have to target the Curse, I can't respond with a Griselbrand activation. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I can't beat that. In the next game, I mull to 5 and have my hand stripped apart. Then he does the Academy Rector thing again on turn 5. He gets Omniscience and hard casts Curse of Death's Hold, the Humility Curse, and then Dovescape. GGs. I guess that's why they call it wrecktor? 0-2.
Round 2 vs. Eldrazi Aggro. This guy has won 2 Win-A-Dual Legacy tournaments with this very deck within the past month. I congratulated him last week at a tournament when I saw him. He's been killing it. Turn 1 Chalice of the Void for him. Then Eldrazi Mimic. I Show and Tell early and have an option of Emrakul or Griselbrand. I assume he has few outs to either, so Emrakul will end it sooner. In the next game, I turn 2 Blood Moon after turn 1 Chalice of the Void. He gets out a 2/2 Endless One and spanks me while I Force of Will hard cast 2 others. I finally use Abrade on the 2/2 Endless One while at 5, which I wanted to save for whatever he Show and Tells when I cast it since I had it AND Omniscience since forever. He said he was 2 lands away from Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger when I drew Sneak Attack and Emrakul, finally drawing Griselbrand 2 turns later to win. 2-0.
Round 3 vs. Mono Red Prison The dude had to play my 2 friends and I in Rounds 1-3. He drew because he took too long in Round 1 with my Miracles friend and then lost Rounds 2-3 to my friend and I on Sneak and Show. The games were pretty easy. I had the Combo and just had to let Chalice of the Void resolve and cast a Lotus Petal on turn 1 in case he had multiple Chalices on turn 1. Got there. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. UW Delver. He mulls to 5, but ends up getting there because I can't find Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn, but Snuck 4 Griselbrand to keep up with Batterskull. I Show and Told the Sneak Attack because I can beat Karakas easier and Council's Judgment can be Spell Pierced. The next 2 games were very tough and I can't remember all the details, but I ended up getting there. There was a part in the final game where he could have Wastelanded me and then when I fetch, win the counter war, as I resolved Sneak Attack. Then he Disenchanted it, but my last 2 cards were Sneak Attack and Emrakul. I drew Brainstorm for the turn and then won. I'm pretty sure I still win since I had plenty of mana to play around Disenchant with my 2nd Sneak anyway. 2-1.
Round 5 vs. Sneak Show. 0-0-3.
Top 8 vs. Bomberman. In the first game, he did Chalice of the Void on 1. Then, I Show and Tell Emrakul after he mulled to 6. I hoped it wasn't Auriok Salvagers, but it was. Then I hoped he didn't play Lion's Eye Diamond, but he did after casting Monastery Mentor. I thought he could do infinite Monks, but he didn't do it. He miscalculated and thought he could still do it the following turn for lethal. In the next game, he beats me with multiple Containment Priest, turn 1 Chalice of the Void, and freaking Cast Out. In the final game, I do Show and Tell, expecting Cast Out. I have Omniscience and get Emrakul to win as he only has … Karakas. Yeah buddy! This guy has also been killing it with this deck. 2-1.
Top 4 vs. UW Stoneblade. One of a group of 3 guys from my local store that came. Cool guy. In the first game, he misses some land drops and I hit them to save up for a big counterwar. I draw a 2nd copy of Show and Tell and believe it's the time. I go for it and sure enough, he Force of Will X 2 and Counterspell. I lose the war, but Show and Tell next turn with 3 Griselbrand in hand. I get there, easily racing the True-Name Nemesis that comes out next turn. In the next game, I consider Force of Willing while tapped out to resolve Sneak Attack. But I have to exile Arcane Artisan, which I think will win the game anyway. I am asked to speed up play since I tanked. I knew saving the Arcane Artisan was the play, but I Force of Will and he has no answer. Now I hope to dodge Council's Judgment + a counter for my FoW and he digs, digs, digs, and doesn't find it. Whew, thank God I let Narset, Parter of Veils resolve instead of Force of Willing. But he did get a Force of Will off it, so maybe that was wrong. It turns out he sided out both Council's Judgment. He's a really strong player, but hasn't played much Legacy. I don't actually know for sure what is the correct call here, but I've played against Stoneblade enough to know that they usually do leave it in and add Disenchant. 2-0.
Finals vs. Death and Taxes. He's one of the 3 guys from my shop. He's a very seasoned Death and Taxes player. When we play tested this matchup a year ago, he beat me 7 of 9 times, while I beat my friend 6 of 8 times on the same deck (not this friend). He just took out my friend on Sneak Show. We agree to split to leave early since 1st and 2nd BOTH get Invitations. That's mostly what I wanted; to be able to play in a bigger, more competitive tournament for big prizes. He actually scooped to me. 2-0.
I finally get there. 1st place!
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Mostly interested in how people are boarding for delver and SFM decks.
Thanks!