Alright, so the tournament went pretty well. I ended up going 3-1 and placing 5th (missing the top 4 playoff) due to tie breaks.
Round 1 - Tezzeret Control
Game 1
I had a hand of 5 lands, Go for the throat, and Lingering souls. I took a gamble that it was a bad hand, but keepable if my opponent was on aggro. It turns out, GftT was a blank card all game, and I died to a Tez ult with 10 1 mana do nothing artifacts on the table.
Game 2
Game 2 kept a hand of 2 liliana, path, crime, and lands. I open with a t1 tarpit, t2 crime, and a turn 3 liliana and turn 4 hold up mana. He does nothing this time except search for lands with a map a few times. He responds on turn 4 with a tezzeret 5/5 trying to kill liliana, which I path and proceed to kill tez with my tarpit the next turn. I ult lili a few turns later, and ride the tarpit to victory.
Game 3
This was a really long controlling game where he resolved a Tezeret, the Seeker and fetched out 1 mana grave hate spells all game while I help a gifts that I really wanted to get rites and iona with. In hind site, if I just blew my gifts and got threats instead of trying to fight through a nihil spellbomb, a cage, a tormods crypt, and a relic of progenitus I may have won.
0-1
Round 2 - Cruel Control
Game 1
This one was ended rather quickly. I got to inquisition my opponent and saw a hand with only 1 black source, steam vents, nighthawk, a wurmcoil, and some bolts. He never could get above 4 lands thanks to loam and tech edge, and a tarpit/spirit tokens finished him off quickly.
Game 2
I keep a land light hand and do nothing until it's too late.
Game 3
This game is very interesting. I keep a hand of 3 gifts, Iona, and 3 lands. The first play of the game is his turn 3 click. He laughs a lot of my gifts and takes one of them with Vclick. I use the time that he is tapped out to gifts for loam, lands, and crime (to which a spectator commented that my deck is terrible and that I should feel terrible). I did realize a pretty big mistake latter on though. My second gifts I needed some removal to deal with the click and a tarpit (I'm at 9 life), and I realize that the only removal in my deck are path and decay. So I grab path, decay, mana leak, and a basic plains (I have sun titan in my hand, and a finks in the yard from the loam dredge). He gives me leak and the plains, and I get my sun titan and the finks to go to 6 life next turn. I drop to 1 from the next attack, and I use loam to get a tech edge, and suntitan to get a witness for decay. I just pray that he doesn't draw burn, and slam iona on red next turn for the win.
1-1
Round 3 Black White Tokens
Game 1
Nothing to see here, just a turn 5 eleshnorn to seal the game.
Game 2
I set up a winning game state where I can kill him in 2 turns with my shamans and my tarpits. He plays turn 4 spectral into turn 5 Coat of Arms to kill me from 15 life thanks to my 2 tapped spirits.
Game 3
Another Elesh on turn 5. This time he resolves a coat of arms, so his spirits are big enough to live, but they are forced to chump block and he can't draw his path.
2-1
Round 4
I got paired down, and my opponent scooped to me. Sadly it wasn't enough to make top 4 though.
So the controlling version of the deck is really fun to play, but I can see a couple problems with my list. My second path really should have been a dismember. I could have won my grixis game a lot easier if I had some removal I could get.
Hey guys, so I have been playing gifts ungiven control for almost a full year now, and I absolutely love the deck. I was hoping someone could give me a little feedback on the list I'm running right now.
The main deck is pretty standard with just a few meta tweaks, but I made the sideboard without looking at any decklists.
Am I missing something, or is Undying Evil and Whispering Specter an amazing combo? Discard AND an untapped 2/2 infect flying card which we can easily proliferate to a 3/3?
Has anyone here had success with tragic slip? I'm finding about 30% of decks run 4 copies of Mirran Crusader, making tragic slip a dead card while red burn is more effective. Maybe it's just that all the players here have bought into the "play white/blue or lose" thing.
So I have always loved playing this deck combination, and I have been upset that Vampires always fail to place high in competitive tournaments. Through some fluke, I managed to go undefeated in a 50 man FNM until top 4. I was wondering if anyone could take a look at the deck list and give opinions on it.
Round 1 - Tezzeret Control
Game 1
I had a hand of 5 lands, Go for the throat, and Lingering souls. I took a gamble that it was a bad hand, but keepable if my opponent was on aggro. It turns out, GftT was a blank card all game, and I died to a Tez ult with 10 1 mana do nothing artifacts on the table.
Game 2
Game 2 kept a hand of 2 liliana, path, crime, and lands. I open with a t1 tarpit, t2 crime, and a turn 3 liliana and turn 4 hold up mana. He does nothing this time except search for lands with a map a few times. He responds on turn 4 with a tezzeret 5/5 trying to kill liliana, which I path and proceed to kill tez with my tarpit the next turn. I ult lili a few turns later, and ride the tarpit to victory.
Game 3
This was a really long controlling game where he resolved a Tezeret, the Seeker and fetched out 1 mana grave hate spells all game while I help a gifts that I really wanted to get rites and iona with. In hind site, if I just blew my gifts and got threats instead of trying to fight through a nihil spellbomb, a cage, a tormods crypt, and a relic of progenitus I may have won.
0-1
Round 2 - Cruel Control
Game 1
This one was ended rather quickly. I got to inquisition my opponent and saw a hand with only 1 black source, steam vents, nighthawk, a wurmcoil, and some bolts. He never could get above 4 lands thanks to loam and tech edge, and a tarpit/spirit tokens finished him off quickly.
Game 2
I keep a land light hand and do nothing until it's too late.
Game 3
This game is very interesting. I keep a hand of 3 gifts, Iona, and 3 lands. The first play of the game is his turn 3 click. He laughs a lot of my gifts and takes one of them with Vclick. I use the time that he is tapped out to gifts for loam, lands, and crime (to which a spectator commented that my deck is terrible and that I should feel terrible). I did realize a pretty big mistake latter on though. My second gifts I needed some removal to deal with the click and a tarpit (I'm at 9 life), and I realize that the only removal in my deck are path and decay. So I grab path, decay, mana leak, and a basic plains (I have sun titan in my hand, and a finks in the yard from the loam dredge). He gives me leak and the plains, and I get my sun titan and the finks to go to 6 life next turn. I drop to 1 from the next attack, and I use loam to get a tech edge, and suntitan to get a witness for decay. I just pray that he doesn't draw burn, and slam iona on red next turn for the win.
1-1
Round 3 Black White Tokens
Game 1
Nothing to see here, just a turn 5 eleshnorn to seal the game.
Game 2
I set up a winning game state where I can kill him in 2 turns with my shamans and my tarpits. He plays turn 4 spectral into turn 5 Coat of Arms to kill me from 15 life thanks to my 2 tapped spirits.
Game 3
Another Elesh on turn 5. This time he resolves a coat of arms, so his spirits are big enough to live, but they are forced to chump block and he can't draw his path.
2-1
Round 4
I got paired down, and my opponent scooped to me. Sadly it wasn't enough to make top 4 though.
So the controlling version of the deck is really fun to play, but I can see a couple problems with my list. My second path really should have been a dismember. I could have won my grixis game a lot easier if I had some removal I could get.
The main deck is pretty standard with just a few meta tweaks, but I made the sideboard without looking at any decklists.
4 Deathrite Shaman
2 Birds of Paradise
2 Kitchen Finks
1 Eternal Witness
1 Sun Titan
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
SPELLS
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Path to Exile
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Go for the Throat
1 Damnation
4 Lingering Souls
1 Life from the Loam
1 Raven's Crime
1 Unburial Rites
4 Gifts Ungiven
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Godless Shrine
1 Breeding Pool
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Watery Grave
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Dismember
1 Thragtusk
1 Batterskull
1 Kitchen Finks
2 Mana Leak
1 Duress
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Stony Silence
1 Gideon Jura
1 Go for the Throat
2 Surgical Extraction
If anyone is interested, I am taking this list to a tournament tonight and I can do a full report on it.
You could possibly sideboard a few of these?
Also, regarding the Markov Blademaster comments, mutagenic growth saves it from all the mentioned removal.
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Child of Night
4 Vampire Interloper
4 Stromkirk Captain
3 Rakish Heir
2 Markov Blademaster
2 Olivia Voldaren
2 Bloodline Keeper
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
1 Urabrask the Hidden
4 Curse of Stalked Prey
Instants and Sorcerys 6
2 Shock
2 Arc Trail
2 Mutagenic Growth
Land 24
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Dragonskull Summit
4 Evolving Wilds
8 Swamp
8 Mountain
2 Dismember
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Forest
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Shock
1 Tezzeret's Gambit
4 Tragic Slip