Congrats! I'm looking forward to seeing people discuss your list on Reddit.
Those are certainly real decks. Any chance you recorded the league?
Good to hear Thing worked for you. I really think it can be a difference maker by bouncing the board and swinging in for those precious last points of damage. I think it's even more potent in the Temur version.
How often did you have a Sorcery in the yard? Did you miss having one? I'll have start counting how many times this matters for Goyf.
Cindervines seems like sweet tech. Garruk is a house. Not sure Crypt is the best option. Why did you go with those? I think Corrosion should keep getting a chance. Whir is dangerous and you'll want something to clear the way.
Funny you should mention those Seas. They were certainly a hold over before I picked up Trophy. I liked them against Tron, Burn, and Bogles where sometimes you just lock them out of the game. They almost always came in over Remand so I kept the cantrip.
That being said I'm eager to replace them now. You see the something I tried out on Sunday was Thing in the Ice. My buddy and I were discussing how my deck performed and the GP in general. Closing out games can sometimes be a problem for the deck so he suggested Thing over Goyf. I told him that's absurd and started my argument against Thing being in the deck. Somewhere in there I realized I could use them in the spot I had Flayer. I love Flayer and it's had some great games for me, but I realized I could slide Thing in that spot and get in roughly the same if not more damage with Thing. So I tried it out.
It was wonderful. Now, you may not be happy to hear that I did place one more Opt in the MD to help flip Thing. I did so by sacrificing Clique. I'm not sure that's right, but that's what I did. Thing is incredibly useful. It's a board reset, allows you to reuse Snap/Witness, and with Vial live flipping at the end of their turn and placing down a beefy Goyf can just close out a game. I'm still in a early stages of testing Thing out, but I like it.
Back to the Seas, I agree they should go. There were a few times on Sunday I went to board and realized I couldn't just put in an Enchantment willy nilly like I had before as I needed the spells to flip Thing.
GP Stockholm I finished at a dismal 0-3-4. Yes, 4 draws. My flight was pushed back and I didn't get to bed until after 0200. It was a long day. I drew against Tron. That doesn't excuse the 2-7 side event record though.
GP Bilbao went much better. I dropped in the first round of the two Last Chance Qualifiers I entered on Friday. I really should have just entered the Double Up.
My opponent was kind enough to remind me Bogles is a deck prompting me to eventually put Explosives into the board. 0-2
Game 1:
He gets off to a strong start and I offer little in the way of interaction.
Board in: Creatures, Languish, and Spreading Seas
Board out: Remands, 1x Cryptic, Push
Game 2:
Slightly better go of it as I was able to keep the enchantment count fairly low, but then a Griffin's Boon allowed him to go over my chump blocking mages for the win.
Second LCT, GDS: 1-2
Game 1:
It was easy to identify my role early on as he starts doing damage to himself at an incredible rate. I don't let him keep anything on the board for long and he never hits me, though I go down to 11 to keep up with the threats he's putting down. Eventually I take two swings and take him out.
Board in: Scooze, Garruk, Countersquall
Board out: 2x Remand, 1x Cryptic
Game 2:
Back in forth game. I keep him off Fulminator Mage and Liliana for a couple of turns. He keeps me from sticking any threat. Eventually he lands one more punch than I do.
Game 3:
He does the thing where he takes his life down low and Stubbornly Denies my removal to take me out.
Nothing like spending 30 Euro on two matches to remind yourself you are here to have fun. Bogles was awful, but I felt I had game against GDS. I wasn't expecting to go day 2 in the GP, and this helped manage those expectations.
GP Bilbao:
Round 1: Bogles
Game 1:
Opponent opens up with land->Bogle, and I'm thanking my opponent from the first LCT for reminding me of how brutal this matchup is. He dispatches me quickly as I had kept a hand of targeted removal and Remands.
Board in: Explosives, Languish, Spreading Seas
Out: Remands and Push
Game 2:
Opponent has a familiar opening after I lay out a Vial. I kept a hand with Seas in it and immediately play it turn two. Sure enough the opponent didn't have a second land. He gets in once with his unenchanted Bogle, and tries again once more before I Vial in a Goyf to take it out. Opponent scoops it up from there.
Game 3:
He starts strong again and this time he didn't miss his land drops. I Pierce a Rancor but he follows it up with more. By turn 3 I'm facing down Coronet with little I can do. He runs away with it thanks to an Umbra protecting his creature. 0-1
Round 2: Grixis Phoenix
Game 1:
Some back and forth play. I have timely removal for his bird friends but eventually run out of gas.
Board: Out goes one each of the decks namesakes and 2x Remand to make way for Surgical and Scooze
Game 2:
I land an early threat and keep him on the back foot. He digs for more answers or at least a creature but only finds air. I comfortably take this one.
Game 3:
I start off stronger than he does and manage to get him down to within on swing of Goyf. He eventually lands 2x Phoenix and we go to turns. On his last turn I Cryptic tap his creatures and set myself up for a Goyf led win. He puts out one more blocker as insurance. I untap and draw another Cryptic and decide to go for it. He Pushes in response and the game ends in a draw. 0-1-1
There was a brief exchange where my opponent asked me whether or not I'd concede to him as he would win on the next turn. I remind him the only reason I Cryptic there is because it wins on the fifth turn. I certainly had outs that would have kept me in the game and the push was his last card.
Round 3: Burn
Game 1:
Burn does burn things and I don't have enough to stop it.
Board: Remands, 1 Cryptic and Clique come out and Seas and life gain go in.
Game 2:
I see all my sideboard cards and this makes me happy. My opponent had to read Kalitas a few times just to make sure how bad a card it was for her deck. I go down to 11 twice, but finish the game with 24 life.
Game 3:
I again see two of my boarded cards only this time my opponent had a hand that didn't care. She ran right over me before I could cast them. I was left with nothing but regret as I could have cast Pulse of Murasa targeting a land just to gain 6 life instead of putting out a road block. That's all hindsight as I had no idea she sandbagged two hasty creatures to launch her final attach for exactsies. 0-2-1
Round 4: Eldrazi and Taxes
Game 1:
I manage to stay out from under Arbitor and other taxing creatures, unfortunately doing so left me vulnerable to having my Vial repeatedly flickered. In the end the set back was too much to overcome.
Board: Removal in and costly spells out.
Game 2:
I locked him out so bad this game he ends up scooping it without me having taken one single point of damage.
Game 3:
He gets his revenge as I mull to 4. I'm forced to keep a one lander, but thankfully another shows up. Unfortunately for me that land was a fetch and it comes down right after Arbitor. Thalia backed up by a Ghost Quarter seal the deal before I see a workable land. 0-3-1
Round 5: Burn
Game 1:
I work this game into the late stages where I eventually establish he EC soft lock. My opponent obliges by only casting a spell a turn and I come out on top after he gets me down to 4.
Board: Same as before.
Game 2:
He manages to knock me down to 2 life, but Pulse of Murasa comes to the rescue. I stabilize from there and take him out with a couple of beefy Goyf swings. 1-3-1
Round 6: Death's Shadow
Game 1:
He mulls to 5 and does enough damage to himself he makes it easy for Goyf and friends to finish the job.
Board: Same as the LCT.
Game 2:
This time I mull to 5. I get close to turning the tables, but he has one more attacker than I have blockers.
Game 3:
Super close finish to this one. We trade removal after removal before we each get down to extremely low life totals. Though all my black removal kept me alive and put me in a position to win, I was left wishing I had one bolt while my opponent sat at 3 life before swinging for the final point. 1-4-1
Round 7: Hardened Scales
Game 1:
I mull to 5. Opponent vomits hand onto the board and is swinging for chunks of damage before I get anything going.
Board: I want to say Remand and a Cryptic came out for the board wipes and Rejections.
Game 2:
I land an impressive Early Goyf that starts taking 5 point chunks out of his life total. I was able to get to this position by destroying everything on sight.
Game 3:
He mulls down to 4 and fails to establish anything. Flayer does most of the work and helps me chain the right spells to keep him off the board. 2-4-1
Round 8: GDS
Game 1:
I mull to 5, and watch as my opponent almost gets low enough for me to steal it. Unfortunately, I run out of gas and his beats get there.
Board: Same as before.
Game 2:
We go back and forth for several turns. Neither of us are keen on letting creatures stick around for long, I keep an Angler off the board using three remands. That proves to be the difference maker as I set it up to take him out.
Game 3:
My had lines up too well against his. I keep him off the board and Vial in an early threat. Eventually I overwhelm him before he even gets a chance to swing at me. 3-4-1
TL;DR: The deck is super fun, but I'm not the best pilot. While my overall record isn't great, I was pleased I took at least one game each round of the GP. I'm taking it as a sign I'm really close to turning the corner and the deck is actually good. Even if it's not, it's a blast to play.
I made someTHING different for the side events on Sunday, but it's late now and I'm going to bed. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions on my list.
I've been following the development of the Wilderness Reclamation deck. I play WR on Arena and the card opens ups some absurd lines. I haven't quite bought into Teachings as the go to route for the deck though.
I do think it could change the makeup of EC by replacing Vial. You'll lose the instant speed Witness lines, but it opens a lot more doors. I haven't been able to build a list I like yet though.
I am running my Sultai EC list this weekend at GP Bilbao. Going with the same 60, though I may ditch Collective Brutality for another card. The sideboard is majorly changed from my last GP. Going to consolidate the counters into 2 Countersqualls. Ditch all but flip Garruk for walkers. Add in Languish as a sweeper. And run three Surgical Extractions to shore up against the combo decks that rely on a few cards from the grave. I've been toying with a 1 of Damping Sphere. Not sure it's where I want to be.
Those are certainly real decks. Any chance you recorded the league?
Good to hear Thing worked for you. I really think it can be a difference maker by bouncing the board and swinging in for those precious last points of damage. I think it's even more potent in the Temur version.
How often did you have a Sorcery in the yard? Did you miss having one? I'll have start counting how many times this matters for Goyf.
Cindervines seems like sweet tech. Garruk is a house. Not sure Crypt is the best option. Why did you go with those? I think Corrosion should keep getting a chance. Whir is dangerous and you'll want something to clear the way.
That being said I'm eager to replace them now. You see the something I tried out on Sunday was Thing in the Ice. My buddy and I were discussing how my deck performed and the GP in general. Closing out games can sometimes be a problem for the deck so he suggested Thing over Goyf. I told him that's absurd and started my argument against Thing being in the deck. Somewhere in there I realized I could use them in the spot I had Flayer. I love Flayer and it's had some great games for me, but I realized I could slide Thing in that spot and get in roughly the same if not more damage with Thing. So I tried it out.
It was wonderful. Now, you may not be happy to hear that I did place one more Opt in the MD to help flip Thing. I did so by sacrificing Clique. I'm not sure that's right, but that's what I did. Thing is incredibly useful. It's a board reset, allows you to reuse Snap/Witness, and with Vial live flipping at the end of their turn and placing down a beefy Goyf can just close out a game. I'm still in a early stages of testing Thing out, but I like it.
Back to the Seas, I agree they should go. There were a few times on Sunday I went to board and realized I couldn't just put in an Enchantment willy nilly like I had before as I needed the spells to flip Thing.
GP Bilbao went much better. I dropped in the first round of the two Last Chance Qualifiers I entered on Friday. I really should have just entered the Double Up.
I entered this list for the main event:
1x Scavenging Ooze
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Tarmogoyf
2x Eternal Witness
1x Vendillion Clique
4x Aether Vial
1x Nihil Spellbomb
3x Fatal Push
2x Assassin's Trophy
1x Collective Brutality
1x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Cryptic
3x Serum Visions
2x Opt
1x Spell Pierce
3x Breeding Pool
2x Darkslick Shores
1x Flooded Grove
4x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
4x Polluted Delta
1x Watery Grave
1x Forest
3x Island
1x Swamp
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Countersquall
3x Surgical Extraction
3x Spreading Seas
1x Pulse of Murasa
1x Languish
1x Garruk Relentless
1x Engineered Explosives
First up the first LCT.
My opponent was kind enough to remind me Bogles is a deck prompting me to eventually put Explosives into the board. 0-2
Game 1:
He gets off to a strong start and I offer little in the way of interaction.
Board in: Creatures, Languish, and Spreading Seas
Board out: Remands, 1x Cryptic, Push
Game 2:
Slightly better go of it as I was able to keep the enchantment count fairly low, but then a Griffin's Boon allowed him to go over my chump blocking mages for the win.
Second LCT, GDS: 1-2
Game 1:
It was easy to identify my role early on as he starts doing damage to himself at an incredible rate. I don't let him keep anything on the board for long and he never hits me, though I go down to 11 to keep up with the threats he's putting down. Eventually I take two swings and take him out.
Board in: Scooze, Garruk, Countersquall
Board out: 2x Remand, 1x Cryptic
Game 2:
Back in forth game. I keep him off Fulminator Mage and Liliana for a couple of turns. He keeps me from sticking any threat. Eventually he lands one more punch than I do.
Game 3:
He does the thing where he takes his life down low and Stubbornly Denies my removal to take me out.
Nothing like spending 30 Euro on two matches to remind yourself you are here to have fun. Bogles was awful, but I felt I had game against GDS. I wasn't expecting to go day 2 in the GP, and this helped manage those expectations.
GP Bilbao:
Round 1: Bogles
Game 1:
Opponent opens up with land->Bogle, and I'm thanking my opponent from the first LCT for reminding me of how brutal this matchup is. He dispatches me quickly as I had kept a hand of targeted removal and Remands.
Board in: Explosives, Languish, Spreading Seas
Out: Remands and Push
Game 2:
Opponent has a familiar opening after I lay out a Vial. I kept a hand with Seas in it and immediately play it turn two. Sure enough the opponent didn't have a second land. He gets in once with his unenchanted Bogle, and tries again once more before I Vial in a Goyf to take it out. Opponent scoops it up from there.
Game 3:
He starts strong again and this time he didn't miss his land drops. I Pierce a Rancor but he follows it up with more. By turn 3 I'm facing down Coronet with little I can do. He runs away with it thanks to an Umbra protecting his creature.
0-1
Round 2: Grixis Phoenix
Game 1:
Some back and forth play. I have timely removal for his bird friends but eventually run out of gas.
Board: Out goes one each of the decks namesakes and 2x Remand to make way for Surgical and Scooze
Game 2:
I land an early threat and keep him on the back foot. He digs for more answers or at least a creature but only finds air. I comfortably take this one.
Game 3:
I start off stronger than he does and manage to get him down to within on swing of Goyf. He eventually lands 2x Phoenix and we go to turns. On his last turn I Cryptic tap his creatures and set myself up for a Goyf led win. He puts out one more blocker as insurance. I untap and draw another Cryptic and decide to go for it. He Pushes in response and the game ends in a draw.
0-1-1
There was a brief exchange where my opponent asked me whether or not I'd concede to him as he would win on the next turn. I remind him the only reason I Cryptic there is because it wins on the fifth turn. I certainly had outs that would have kept me in the game and the push was his last card.
Round 3: Burn
Game 1:
Burn does burn things and I don't have enough to stop it.
Board: Remands, 1 Cryptic and Clique come out and Seas and life gain go in.
Game 2:
I see all my sideboard cards and this makes me happy. My opponent had to read Kalitas a few times just to make sure how bad a card it was for her deck. I go down to 11 twice, but finish the game with 24 life.
Game 3:
I again see two of my boarded cards only this time my opponent had a hand that didn't care. She ran right over me before I could cast them. I was left with nothing but regret as I could have cast Pulse of Murasa targeting a land just to gain 6 life instead of putting out a road block. That's all hindsight as I had no idea she sandbagged two hasty creatures to launch her final attach for exactsies.
0-2-1
Round 4: Eldrazi and Taxes
Game 1:
I manage to stay out from under Arbitor and other taxing creatures, unfortunately doing so left me vulnerable to having my Vial repeatedly flickered. In the end the set back was too much to overcome.
Board: Removal in and costly spells out.
Game 2:
I locked him out so bad this game he ends up scooping it without me having taken one single point of damage.
Game 3:
He gets his revenge as I mull to 4. I'm forced to keep a one lander, but thankfully another shows up. Unfortunately for me that land was a fetch and it comes down right after Arbitor. Thalia backed up by a Ghost Quarter seal the deal before I see a workable land.
0-3-1
Round 5: Burn
Game 1:
I work this game into the late stages where I eventually establish he EC soft lock. My opponent obliges by only casting a spell a turn and I come out on top after he gets me down to 4.
Board: Same as before.
Game 2:
He manages to knock me down to 2 life, but Pulse of Murasa comes to the rescue. I stabilize from there and take him out with a couple of beefy Goyf swings.
1-3-1
Round 6: Death's Shadow
Game 1:
He mulls to 5 and does enough damage to himself he makes it easy for Goyf and friends to finish the job.
Board: Same as the LCT.
Game 2:
This time I mull to 5. I get close to turning the tables, but he has one more attacker than I have blockers.
Game 3:
Super close finish to this one. We trade removal after removal before we each get down to extremely low life totals. Though all my black removal kept me alive and put me in a position to win, I was left wishing I had one bolt while my opponent sat at 3 life before swinging for the final point.
1-4-1
Round 7: Hardened Scales
Game 1:
I mull to 5. Opponent vomits hand onto the board and is swinging for chunks of damage before I get anything going.
Board: I want to say Remand and a Cryptic came out for the board wipes and Rejections.
Game 2:
I land an impressive Early Goyf that starts taking 5 point chunks out of his life total. I was able to get to this position by destroying everything on sight.
Game 3:
He mulls down to 4 and fails to establish anything. Flayer does most of the work and helps me chain the right spells to keep him off the board.
2-4-1
Round 8: GDS
Game 1:
I mull to 5, and watch as my opponent almost gets low enough for me to steal it. Unfortunately, I run out of gas and his beats get there.
Board: Same as before.
Game 2:
We go back and forth for several turns. Neither of us are keen on letting creatures stick around for long, I keep an Angler off the board using three remands. That proves to be the difference maker as I set it up to take him out.
Game 3:
My had lines up too well against his. I keep him off the board and Vial in an early threat. Eventually I overwhelm him before he even gets a chance to swing at me.
3-4-1
TL;DR: The deck is super fun, but I'm not the best pilot. While my overall record isn't great, I was pleased I took at least one game each round of the GP. I'm taking it as a sign I'm really close to turning the corner and the deck is actually good. Even if it's not, it's a blast to play.
I made someTHING different for the side events on Sunday, but it's late now and I'm going to bed. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions on my list.
I do think it could change the makeup of EC by replacing Vial. You'll lose the instant speed Witness lines, but it opens a lot more doors. I haven't been able to build a list I like yet though.
I am running my Sultai EC list this weekend at GP Bilbao. Going with the same 60, though I may ditch Collective Brutality for another card. The sideboard is majorly changed from my last GP. Going to consolidate the counters into 2 Countersqualls. Ditch all but flip Garruk for walkers. Add in Languish as a sweeper. And run three Surgical Extractions to shore up against the combo decks that rely on a few cards from the grave. I've been toying with a 1 of Damping Sphere. Not sure it's where I want to be.