And here we go with the group phase! These are the 4 groups, randomly created. The 64 decks will face off to win their group, then the winners of the 4 groups will play the semifinals (A vs C, B vs D).
Two very unconventional decks face off in this first match of Group A. Invasion is an anti-aggro oriented deck, but could still trouble Scars of Mirrodin, that relies on creatures to win the game. Invasion will need to beware of Koth of the Hammer for his final ability, and of course of Liquimetal Coating, that could help Scars getting rid of Invasion's key cards, especially Collective Restraint.
Game 1
Scars of Mirrodin wins the roll for first turn. It's a slow start, as could be expected, with Invasion making the first play of the game with an Elfhame Sanctuary, folloed by a turn-3 Tumble Magnet by Scars of Mirrdon. Invasion does not make use of the Sanctuary, instead draws, plays a land and then an Harrow to fix the mana base.
The first aggressive move is by Scars: a Koth of the Hammer. A mountain is animated and slams Invasion for 4 damage. Invasion searches its deck for a Plains, then focuses its attention on Koth. The planeswalker must go immediately, since allowing him to activate the final ability would spell doom for Invasion. Luckily, Invasion has just the right tool for the job: a Tribal Flames, with all 5 types of basic land in play. A wave of fire blasts away the valiant Koth, and Invasion passes. Scars of Mirrodin is short on land, but plays two Iron Myr, maybe preparing for a big play the following turn?
Invasion searches for a second Plains, then plays a kicked Probe. Scars of Mirrodin discards two Shatter, while Invsion draws three and discards a Tangle and a Forest. Then it's time for the second big play of the game: a Hoard-Smelter Dragon. Invasion doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it searches for a third Plains and plays a Global Ruin! Scars of Mirrodin is forced to remain with only one Mountain (and the two Myrs), while Invasion keeps its land intacted and also plays the Plains it just searched with the Sanctuary. Needless to say, a Rout in the situation would be nothing less than deadly... and with Invasion repeatedly searching for Plains... Scars fears the worst.
Still, now is the time to attack! Scars attacks with the two Myrs and the Dragon, then adds a Galvanic Blast (4 damage) for good measure. Invasion falls down to 5, and everything comes down to one thing... what is Invasion gonna play next turn?
And there it is – the Rout! Scars of Mirrodin now sit on an empty board with an empty hand, and when the following turn Invasion shows a Fact or Fiction, Scars decides it's time to move on to game two.
Game 2
Once again, both decks start slow. Scars gets a turn 3 Tumble Magnet in play, while Invasion goes for a turn 3 non-kicked Probe, discarding two lands. And then comes again the Koth of the Hammer, slamming immediately for 4 damage.
Invasion is worried. This time it doesn't have an immediate answer. The best it can do for now is playing Harrow and complete the set of five basic lands. Scars of Mirrodin plays a second Tumble Magnet, then attacks again with an animated Mountain... just one more turn, and scars could quickly seal this game!
But Invasion has other plans. As it gets a sixth land in play, it shows a Ghitu Fire aimed at Koth. Exactly 5 damage! The planeswalker goes to the graveyard and Scars is forced to find a plan B quickly. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any for now, as the hand and the board are full of cards useful against more “normal” decks.
And then it's once again Invasion's turn to drop a bomb: a Global Ruin! Disaster! Still, this time Scars is determined to fight to the bitter end. It has saved a land in hand just for times like these, and it can at least still try to fight. Invasion can appreciate its opponent force of will, but it knows that the game is over. For now, it plays an Ordered Migration and passes.
Scars plays a Contagion Clasp to remove one of the Birds, then passes. Since it has been luckily drawing lands, Scars will soon have 4 lands in play, allowing it to Proliferate and keep the Magnet active. This means that only two of the birds will be able to attack each turn, giving Scars plenty of times to recover.
But Invasion is not done! After attacking with the birds, a second Ordered Migration adds 5 more of them to the board, forcing Scars to reevaluate the situation. Is there still any hope left? Scars needs to believe there is. For now, it plays a second Contagion Clasp to kill one more bird, then passes.
Invasion gets two of its birds tapped, so it can attack only with six, bringing Scars down to 12. Then, Invasion plays a kicked Probe. Scars happily takes the chance to discard a Kuldotha Phoenix, and then plays it with a discount from the graveyard in its next upkeep.
Can Scars stabilize the board? Invasion sadly shakes its hand. It can appreciate the efforts of Scars, but the game is over. Invasion attacks with the birds, then plays an all-out Ghitu Fire for 7 damage, and that's enough to kill Scars.
Game 3
Scars starts with a turn 2 Iron Myr, answered by a turn 2 Elfhame Sanctuary by Invasion. Scars adds a Tumble Magnet to the board, while Invasion keeps fixing its mana base with an Harrow. Scars seems short on mana, but not on Myrs, as a second is played while the first one attacks Invasion. One damage is not much, but who knows? It might be decisive later on.
And then Invasion plays a Collective Restraint. Now Scars will have to pay 5 mana for each of its attacking creature. This is gonna be tough. But until Invasion shows a Global Ruin, there's hope. Scars plays a Kuldotha Phoenix, and unable to immediately attack with it, passes. Invasion answers with an Ordered Migration, then passes.
Scars finally plays a fourth mountain, then thinks for a second. In the end, it decides to play a Wurmcoil Engine, instead of attacking with the Phoenix. Invasion has an evil look on its face as it plays... a second Collective Restraint! Now Scars needs to pay 10 (!) mana to attack with a single creature. That's obviously impossible. Scars absolutely need a Liquimetal Coating now, or it's going to lose this game spectacularly.
The game then freezes, with only Invasion able to play. First a kicked Probe, then a Ghitu Fire for 7. Invasion is in no hurry. Even if Scars should find an answer to its double Collective Restraint, Invasion is confident the game is in its pocket. The following turn, still no answer from Scars. Invasion plays another Ghitu Fire for 7. And then it's over. The next turn, a Tribal Flame, plus an all out attack of the Birds, it's enough to deal the 6 damage needed to kill Scars.
A bit of bad luck prevented Scars from ever drawing the card it needed the most in this matchup: the Liquimetal Coating. But would it have made a difference? Probably not. Invasion showed a total control of the game, mostly thanks to Global Ruin (but let's not forget Collective Restraint). Invasion is making a statement: I'm here to fight for the final victory. Who can stop me?
Born of the Gods vs Innistrad
Innistrad is a nightmare for most decks relying on creatures to win, since it can simply outlast them, waiting until it can make use of all the card advantage directly or indirectly generated by its graveyard. As such, there is only one strategy that Born of the Gods can follow: kill its opponent as quickly as possible. Will it be able to do so?
Game 1
Born of the Gods wins the roll to start first. Innistrad immediately starts by Dream Twist-ing the first three cards of its own library to the graveyard. On tuen 2, Born of the Gods plays a Pain Seer, while Innistrad gets a Deranged Assistant into play.
Born of the Gods attacks with the Seer, then plays a Satyr Firedancer and passes. Innstrad gets a second Deranged Assistant into play, then passes. The Pain Seer reveals an Asphyxiate for 3 damage, then Born of the Gods plays a Bolt of Keranos for 3 damage to Innistrad, activating the Satyr for 3 damage to one of the Assistants. Then the Pain Seer attacks for 2 more damage. Innistrad keeps filling its own graveyard with Dream Twist, gets an Avacyn's Pilgrim in play and passes.
The Pain Seer untaps to bring a Flame-wreathed Phoenix to Born of the Gods's hand, then an Oracle of Bones is played. Innistrad fears a Fated Conflagration or something like that in Born of the Gods's hand, so decides to pay the Tribute. But this unfortunately means that a raging 5/3 is ready to smash on Innistrad, along with the usual Pain Seer, bringing Innistrad down to 6. Born of the Gods seems on an unstoppable rampage. Can Innistrad turn the tide?
For now, it just plays another Dream Twist, probably searching desperately for a Gnaw to the Bone, but it's nowhere to be found. So it just adds one more Deranged Assistant to the defense line before passing.
Pain Seer allows Born of the Gods to draw another Bolt of Keranos, that is immediately played, removing the Pilgrim and dealing 3 damage to Innistrad. Then Born of the Gods attacks with the Seer and the Oracle. Innistrad is forced to block the Oracle or die, and falls to 1 for the damage from the Seer.
Innistrad draws only a land, then flahsbacks a Dream Twist, but no Gnaw to the Bone is found, or nothing else that could be useful in this situation. Innistrad concedes and moves on to game 2.
Game 2
Innistrad starts with an Avacyn's Pilgrim followed by a Deranged Assistant. Born of the Gods answers with a turn 2 Pain Seer. Innsitrad activates the Assistant to get a card into the graveyard (a useful Silent Departure) then plays a second Pilgrim and passes. Born of the Gods removes one of the pilgrims with a Searing Blood, then attacks with the Seer. On its turn, Innistrad bounces back the Seer with the flashbacked Silent Departure, denying Born of the Gods the card draw. Born of the Gods then play an Oracle of Bones, and Innistrad decides not to play the tribute, allowing its opponent to play a Fated Conflagration – that hurt! The Oracle then attacks and trades for the Pilgrim.
The following turn, Innistrad is ready for the counterattack: a Boneyward Wurm and a Splinterfright. Born of the Gods needs to close the game quickly, and plays a Flame-wreathed Phoenix. Innistrad has 10 life points and can sustain 4 attacks of the Phoenix (4 turns), or 2 if the Tribute is not paid (3 turns since the phoenix doesn't gain haste). Innistrad doesn't pay the tribuet and falls down to 7.
Three turns. Innistrad has three turns to find an answer to the Phoenix. Luckily for Innistrad, a Spider Spawning is put to the graveyard by the Splinterfright. Unluckily, Innistrad has no souce of black mana to flash back it – yet. For now, Innistrad attacks with a 3/3 Splinterfright and passes.
Born of the Gods plays an Oracle of Bones, and Innstrad decides to play the Tribute. The Oracle attacks and trades for the Boneyard Wurm, while the Phoenix brings Innistrad down to 4.
Nothing useful is put to the graveyard by the Splinterfright, but then innistrad draws and plays a Mulch, and there goes a Gnaw to the Bone! A Dream Twist is also put to the graveyard and immediately flashbacked, putting a second Gnaw to the Bone to the graveyard! One of the two is played by Innistrad this turn, raising Innistrad's life points to 12. Then the Splinterfright attacks for 6.
Born of the Gods feels the game is most likely lost. Another Oracle of Bones is played (Innistrad pays the tribute), allowing Born of the Gods to strike for 8. Not bad, but not good enough. The following turn, two more creatures go to the graveyard, allowing Innistrad to heal for 16 before attacking for 8 with the Splinterfright. To make things worse, Innistrad has played a Shimmering Grotto, meaning that the black mana is finally available and, while Innistrad has not enough mana to play Gnaw to the Bone + Spider Spawning in this turn, the spiders are definitely coming in the near future. Also, the Splinterfright has Trample.
Born of the Gods must hope to draw a creature removal, but it's only a Bolt of Keranos. Born of the Gods considers the situation for a few seconds, then it's forced to accept the hard reality and concede. The two decks are now even and moving on to game 3.
Game 3
Both decks are forced to mulligan. Born of the Gods start, but it's Innistrad that makes the first move with a Dream Twist, putting a Spider Spawning and a couple of creatures in the graveyard. Born of the Gods keeps playing lands, two Temple of Malice, scrying and putting cards on the bottom of the library, apparently not satisfied with them. Innistrad smiles: more time means more chances of success for the graveyard-based deck. Innistrad plays a second land, flashbacks the Dream Twist (three more lands in the graveyard), then passes.
Still no play from Born of the Gods, while on turn three Innistrad plays an Armored Skaab, getting a Gnaw to the Bone in the gra veyard. Things are definitely looking good for Innistrad. Then Born of the Gods finally gets a Flame-wreathed Phoenix in play, and Innistrad decides not to play the Tribute, allowing the Phoenix to attacks for three. Innistrad plays a second Skaab, attacks with the first, and passes. Born of the Gods seems to be having mana flood troubles, and can only play a land, attack with the phoenix and pass.
Innistrad feels now totally in control. As it plays its fifth land, it shows a Spider Spawning from its hand, putting six tokens in play, then attacks with the two Skaabs. Born of the Gods draws one more land and can only pass. Time is running out for the aggro deck. Innistrad plays a Kessig Cagebreakers, attacks with the two Skaab (one is blocked by the Phoenix), then passes.
Born of the Gods plays a Gild on the Cagebreakers, then sacrifice the token to play a Fated Conflagration for 5 damage to Innistrad and passes.
Innistrad is now at 9 life points, and decides not to take any risk, playing the flashback cost for Gnaw to the Bone to gain 12 life points, then attacks with the two Skaabs and passes. Born of the Gods plays an Oracle of Bones (Innistrad pays the Tribute), and attacks with both creatures. Three spiders block the Phoenix, three spiders block the Oracle. Both the attacking creatures die, along with three spiders. The Phoenix goes back to Born of the Gods's hand, that plays it again immediately. Innistrad once again pays the Tribute for the Phoenix.
Innistrad plays a second Kessig Cagebreakers, then a Silent Departure to bounce back the Phoenix and attacks again with the two Skaabs. Born of the Gods knows all too well that the Cagebreakers are going to be lethal very quickly, so its only hope is to draw a creature removal, but only a second Phoenix is drawn. Born of the Gods concedes and moves on to game 4.
Game 4
Born of the Gods decides to mulligan, then keeps the second hand. Innistrad starts with a turn 1 Avacyn's Pilgrim, followed by a turn 2 Armored Skaab that puts a Gnaw to the Bone and three creatures to the graveyard. Definitely an uphill start for Born of the Gods! The first play from the aggro deck is a turn 3 Pain Seer, that is answered by a Splinterfright. Not good for Born of the Gods, not good at all. Luckily, it draws and plays an Asphyxiate, immediately removing the dangerous creature. Still, the Seer cannot attack or it's going to die for sure, so Born of the Gods just passes.
The following turn, Innistrad plays a Mulch and then a Boneyard Wurm... already a 7/7. The Wurm roars over the battlefield, ready for destruction. Unfortunately, Born of the Gods has no answer available, so for now it plays a Mogis, God of Slaughter, and passes. Innistrad decides to take the two damage, then plays a Gnaw to the Bone from its hand to gain 14 life points, and attacks with the wurm. Born of the Gods decides not to block with the Seer.
Born of the Gods plays a Searing Blood on the Pilgrim, allowing the Pain Seer to attack without dying (even though it's blocked by the Skaab), then plays a second Seer and passes. The Boneyard Wurm is now 8/8, and to make things worse, is joined by a second Wurm! The first one attacks and it's chump-blocked by the untapped Seer.
Born of the Gods draws an Oracle of Bones thanks to the Seer, then a land – still no creature removal. Born of the Gods plays the Oracle, and Innistrad decides to pay the tribute. There's actually not much that Born of the Gods can do now: attack, and be quickly killed; don't attack, and be slowly killed.
Born of the Gods decides that burning fast is better, and more appropriate. Both creatures attack: the Seer is blocked by the Wurm, the Oracle by the Skaab. And with that, the game is over: Innistrad wins and moves on to the next round.
Coldsnap vs Magic 2015
None of these decks is an heavyweight of Battle of the Sets, but this should be a fun game nonetheless. Coldsnap is a very simple deck, playing the "old way": draw-go, countermagic and a large late game finisher. Magic 2015 is totally unconventional, with many different plays and win conditions, yet weirdly synergic. It's hard to pick a favorite: this game could go either way.
Game 1
Magic 2015 gets first turn, while Coldsnap is forced to mulligan. Magic 2015 gets the first play of the game with a Chief Engineer, who is then tapped the following turn to fuel a Haunted Plate Mail. This is not good news for Coldsnap, that is unable to counter, and for now can only play a Phyrexian Ironfoot and pass (on the bright side, one of the three lands for Coldsnap is a Scrying Sheets).
On the following turn, Magic 2015 plays an Hoarding Dragon, searching for a Scuttling Doom Engine, then passes. More bad news for Coldsnap! The snowy deck gets its fourth land in play, and passes. Magic 2015 draws, plays a Mountain and attacks with the Dragon. Coldnsap thinks for a second, then shows a Surging Æther from its hand, aimed at the dragon – and there goes the Doom Engine as well, lost in deep space! Nasty trick from Coldsnap. The rippling doesn't reveal any more Surging Aether, and Magic 2015 is free to act again. The Hoarding Dragon is played again, once again searching for a Scuttling Doom Engine.
Coldsnap draws, plays a land and passes. Magic 2015 is quite sure of itself, now, and equips the Plate Mail to the dragon, attacking again – but Coldsnap has one more Surging Aether to play! The dragon flies back to Magic 2015's hand, but thankfully there's no Ripple. With not much mana open, Magic 2015 is forced again to pass.
Coldsnap once again draws, plays a land and passes – the quintessential draw-go deck! Magic 2015 thinks for a little while, devising a strategy, then decides once again to play the Dragon – this time, Coldsnap has mana available to counter it, and a Controvert is immediately played. Magic 2015 then passes.
And Coldsnap is finally ready to go the offensive! A Rimefeather Owl joins the battle, and it's no small bird – a flying 9/9 threat for Magic 2015 to handle. Coldsnap then passes, feeling the inertia of the game is moving in its favor. But Magic 2015 is not out of aces up its sleeve. Another Hoarding Dragon is played, searching once again for a Doom Engine, then a Phyrexian Revoker, aimed at the Owl – Magic 2015 wants to keep the big bird under control.
Coldsnap draws, plays another land, then attacks with the Owl (now a 10/10). Magic 2015 makes a grim face and announces that it will take the damage, falling down to 9 life points. Quite the gamble here! The following turn, Magic 2015 equips the Dragon with the Plate Mail, then passes. Coldsnap plays another land, then attacks with the now 11/11 Owl. Magic 2015 blocks with the Dragon, then shows a Lightning Strike aimed at the Owl – 4+4+3 = 11! But Coldsnap smiles and reveals a Commandeer from its hand, gets control of the red spell and throws it at the Revoker! Disaster!
Certainly, Magic 2015 gets the Doom Engine finally in its hand, but it's also facing almost certain death in the following turn. Can some miracle happen?
Unfortunately not. Magic 2015 draws a Shivan Reef, and has a Scrapyard Mongrel and a Scuttling Doom Engine in hand. Nothing that can save it from the huge bird. Magic 2015 concedes and moves to game 2.
Game 2
This time it's Magic 2015's turn to take a mulligan. Coldsnap starts with a turn 2 Martyr of Frost, and Magic 2015 answers with a turn 2 Chief Engineer. Coldsnap then adds another land and passes. Magic 2015 does the same, and again Coldsnap. This time, though, Magic 2015 plays an end-of-turn Lightning Strike at the Martyr. Coldsnap thinks for a second, then moves the poor Martyr to the graveyard. Magic 2015 then attacks with the Engineer, and plays a Scrapyard Mongrel, that is countered by a Rune Snag.
Coldsnap is stuck at three lands, but luckily that's enough to play a Vexing Sphinx. Magic 2015 answers with an Aeronaut Tinkerer, that gains Flying thanks to the two Darksteel Citadel in play. Coldsnap discards a Controvert, then draws a card - still no land. Coldsnap activates the Scrying Sheets in play, revealing... a Snow-covered Island! The land is immediately played, then Coldsnap decides to pass. Magic 2015 plays an end-of-turn Shrapnel Blast aimed at the Sphinx (one of the two Darksteel Citadel is sacrificed), clearing the way for its own creatures. The coming turn, Magic 2015 plays another land, attacks with its creatures, then passes.
Coldsnap for now plays a Rimewind Taskmage, then passes. Magic 2015 draws and attacks for 3 more. Coldsnap activates an end-of-turn Scrying Sheets, revealing another snowy land, then plays a land (a second Scrying Sheets) and passes.
The Tinkerer is tapped by the Taskmage, and Magic 2015 can attack for only one more damage. Magic 2015 seems unable to draw any significant threat, while Coldsnap keeps filling its hand thanks to the Sheets. But that's not the worst of it: Coldsnap gets a seventh land in play and shows once again a Rimefeather Owl! Things look grim for Magic 2015 now.
There doesn't seem to be much that can save Magic 2015 now. For now, it can only draw, play one more land, and pass. Coldsnap taps the Tinkerer with the Taskmage, plays an Ironfoot and attacks for 11 damage with the Owl. Magic 2015 draws... then shakes his head with a sardonic smile on its face... three Shrapnel Blast in hand, and only one artifact to sacrifice. And with that, game 2 is over, with Coldsnap easily ahead 2-0.
Game 3
Magic 2015 starts, but the first play is a Rimewind Taskmage by Coldsnap. Magic 2015 doesn't want the annoying taskmage in play, though, so it decides to kill him with a Lightning Strike. Turn 3, and still no play from Magic 2015. Coldsnap decides to go on the offensive and plays a Vexing Sphinx. Finally, Magic 2015 answers with a Haunted Plate Mail.
Coldsnap discards an Island, plays its fourth land, then decides to keep the Sphinx on the defensive. The reasoning is clear: the game will probably be over as soon as Coldsnap can get a Rimefeather Owl in play, so there's no need to rush. Time is on Coldsnap's side.
Magic 2015 thinks for a second, then decides to not sacrifice the animated Mail. Instead, it plays a Chief Engineer and passes. Coldsnap decides to sacrifice the Sphinx, getting two cards from it, then plays a Martyr of the Frost and passes. Magic 2015 equips the Plate Mail to the Engineer and attacks. Coldsnap decides to chump-block with the Martyr (who continues to honor his name).
On the following turn, Coldsnap remains stuck at five lands, and passes. Magic 2015 attacks for five damage, then plays a second Haunted Plate Mail. Coldsnap smiles again its best evil smile and reveals a Commandeer, exiling a Rune Snag and a Vexing Sphinx from the game. Magic 2015 thinks for a while, then decides that the priority here is keep dealing damage with the Engineer. So it plays a Phyrexian Revoker aimed at the Haunted Plate Mail, but Coldsnap shows a Controvert and neutralizes it.
On its turn, Coldsnap plays its sixth land, then passes. Magic 2015 attacks, and Coldsnap sacrifices the stolen Plate Mail to block the Engineer and remain at 15 life points. Magic 2015 then passes, and Coldsnap can finally get its seventh land in play – and the Rimefeather Owl! Magic 2015's nemesis is once again in play.
But Magic 2015 feels that this time it can change history. First of all, it attacks with the Engineer. Coldsnap feels a trap, and decides to take the damage. Then, Magic 2015 plays a Scuttling Doom Engine and passes. With Coldsnap at 10 life points, a Shrapnel Blast would be lethal right now, but Coldsnap has now its mana open again – does it also have a counter? Time will tell. For now, Coldsnap plays a Phyrexian Ironfoot and passes.
Magic 2015 attacks with both creatures. The Ironfoot sacrifices itself to block the Engineer, while the Doom Engine crashes on the Owl. Magic 2015 then plays a Shrapnel Blast, but Coldsnap immediately reacts with a Controvert. Coldsnap takes 6 damage and falls to 4. For now, though, its's safe... or so it thinks. But this time it's Magic 2015's turn to laugh last, as it shows a second Doom Engine, practically closing the game. Coldsnap draws a second Rimefeather Owl, but that's entirely useless. Magic 2015 wins its first game and move on to game 4.
Game 4
Coldsnap starts with a turn 1 Martyr of Frost. Then the two decks only play lands for a couple of turns, with the Martyr attacking, until on turn 3 Coldsnap plays a Vexing Sphinx. Magic 2015 answers with an Aeronaut Tinkerer. Codsnap discards a Phyrexian Ironfoot to the Sphinx, then attacks with it and passes. Magic 2015, once again, plays a land and passes.
Coldsnap sacrifices the Sphinx to draw 2, then plays a Heidar, Rimewind Master and passes. Magic 2015 definitely doesn't want that wizard in play, and directly kills him end-of-turn with a Lighning Strike. Then Magic 2015 plays a Chief Engineer (a little late to the party), attacks with the Tinkerer and passes. Coldsnap plays a Rimewind Taskmage and passes.
Magic 2015 plays a Phyrexian Revoker targeted at the Taskmage, then attacks with the Tinkerer. Coldsnap plays one more land, then another Heidar, Rimewind Master. As it passes, though, Magic 2015 kills it again with a Lightning Strike.
Magic 2015 draws and check the open mana for Coldsnap: only two. That means a Rune Snag or the activation of the Martyr, with two cards in Coldsnap's hand – at most two more mana needed. And then it's the time to unleash the Scuttling Doom Engine, by tapping the Phyrexian Revoker to keep two lands open (better safe than sorry). The Doom Engine stalks the battlefield, and this is definitely trouble for Coldsnap, more so since no creature currently in play can block it.
The following turn, Coldsnap plays a Phyrexian Ironfoot and passes. Magic 2015 can then finally unleash the Doom Engine, forcing Coldsnap to block it or fall at 6 life points (with the Tinkerer still attacking each turn). Then, Magic 2015 shows a second Doom Engine!
As Coldsnap draws a Rune Snag, there's nothing it can do to avoid being trampled by the deadly war machines. The match is now 2-2 and moves on to game 5.
Game 5
Who will triumph in this close match? We're about to find out. Coldsnap starts well with a turn 2 Rimewind Taskmage, but Magic 2015 immediately answers with a Phyrexian Revoker to block its tapping ability. Coldsnap gets a Scrying Sheets in play and decides to pass, probably willing to start abusing its card advantage engine. Magic 2015 plays an Aeronaut Tinkerer, that doesn't get countered. Coldsnap activates the Sheets, revealing a Rune Snag. The following turn, it plays a Martyr of Frost and passes. Magic 2015 attacks with the Tinkerer, then plays a Haunted Plate Mail, forcing Coldsnap to spend its Rune Snag. Then Coldsnap plays a Vexing Sphinx and passes. Magic 2015 draws and passes.
Coldsnap discards a Phyrexian Ironfoot to the Sphinx, then passes. End of turn, Magic 2015 kills the Martyr (once again, poor Martyr) with a Lightnins Strike, probably preparing for a big play. In fact, the following turn, Magic 2015 plays a Hoarding Dragon, but a Controvert is ready from Coldsnap. The Tinkerer cannot attack with the Sphinx on the defensive, so Magic 2015 just passes. Coldsnap sacrifices the Sphinx, deciding to pay the mana to Recover the Controvert. Then Coldsnap plays one more land, getting to six, and passes. Magic 2015 eyes nervously the opposing side of the board, fearing the possible appearance of a Rimefeather Owl.
Magic 2015 gets its sixth land in play as well, attacks with the Tinkerer, then tries playing one more Dragon, but once again it's met with a counterspell – a Rune Snag. Coldsnap draws and passes. Magic 2015 keeps chipping away Coldsnap's life points with the Tinkerer, then plays one more Hoarding Dragon – and once again Coldsnap answers with a Controvert!
Coldsnap plays one more land and passes. This game is rapidly becoming unnerving for Magic 2015, that shows one more Hoarding Dragon – the fourth! - and Coldsnap incredibly answers with another Controvert! There's no end to the countermagic!
Now it's time to Coldsnap to try to regain the initiative, with a Heidar, Rimewind Master. On its turn, Magic 2015 fears another Rune Snage, but decides to risk, and plays a Haunted Plate Mail... no countermagic, finally. A Phyrexian Revoker is then played, locking down Heidar.
Coldsnap cannot allow all these Revokers, and decides to activate a Mouth of Ronom to kill one of the two, precisely the one on Heidar. The wizard's abiity is then activated to bounce back the Plate Mail to Magic 2015's hand. Still, now Coldsnap is all tapped out. What will Magic 2015 do?
The answer is simple: go on quantity over quality. A Chief Engineer and a Scrapyard Mongrel are played, and again the Tinkerer strikes: Coldsnap is now at 8 life points.
A second Mouth of Ronom is activated, this time killing the Aeronaut Tinkerer, while Heidar bounces the Mongrel. It's clear that Coldsnap is on the defensive, and slowly losing ground – but for now, it's keeping magic 2015 at bay.
Not for long, though. Magic 2015 plays the Haunted Plate Mail, then a Shrapnel Blast, sacrificing a Darksteel Citadel, to kill Heidar. The chief Engineer then attacks for 1. Coldsnap sacrifices a third Mouth of Ronom to kill the second Revoker, and free the Taskmage. All these Mouths of Ronom are woking well for Coldsnap to clear the threats from Magic 2015, but at the same time it's undermining Coldsnap's manbase, that once again has no mana open for counterspells.
Knowing that Coldsnap has exactly one mana open to tap the Chief Engineer, Magic 2015 decides not to equip the Plate Mail, instead playing again the Mongrel, and trying to attack with the Engineer (that obviously gets tapped).
Coldsnap gets a second Taskmage in play and passes. Magic 2015 equips the Plate Mail to the Chief Engineer and attacks with both creatures. Coldsnap can only tap one of the two (since the second Taskmage cannot yet tap himself), and is forced to take 5 damage, falling down to 2 life points. Coldsnap trembles, waiting for Magic 2015 to reveal a Lightning Strike or a Shrapnel Blast, but Magic 2015 only passes. Coldsnap exhales a sigh of relief, activates Scrying Sheets, revealing a Controvert, then on its turn draws and passes.
The game is now in stasis, with the two Taskmage tapping the two Magic 2015 creatures. Magic 2015 gets another Haunted Plate Mail in play, and Coldsnap decides not to counter it. Coldsnap is also locked, since it has 7 lands in play, 2 are needed for the Taskmages, 4 must be kept open for the Controvert, and so only one can be actually used to play spells. Not enough, Coldsnap is forced to pass.
The game proceeds like this for a few turns, until Magic 2015 is ready to break the standstill. A Phyrexian Revoker, aimed at the Taskmasters, is played, and met with a Controvert. But Magic 2015 has a second Phyrexian Revoker ready! Before it can enter in play, Coldsnap taps the opponent's creatures, then allows the Revoker to resolve. But Magic 2015 is not finished yet: a Scuttling Doom Engine gets into play as well!
End of turn, Coldsnap bounces back the Revoker with a Surging Æther, then on its turn plays a Rimefeather Owl and passes. The Owl will be enough next turn to kill Magic 2015, that must act now, or be lost. Luckily, Coldsnap is almost completely tapped out, and Magic 2015 has finally just drawn a Lightning Strike. Magic 2015 plays the Revoker, forcing Coldsnap to answer immediately by tapping its three remaining mana to tap the opponent's most dangerous creatures. Finally, Magic 2015 shows the Lightning Strike... and Coldsnap shows its Commandeer!
And with that, it's finally over. At the end of an incredibly close fifth game, Coldsnap wins 3-2 and eliminates Magic 2015. The little snowy deck continues its road in BOTS!
Onslaught vs Zendikar
And here comes a clash of the titans! One of the best, if not the best, aggro decks in the tournament (arguably the best deck, period), against one of the most feared anti-aggro deck in BOTS, Onslaught's Slide. Slide has a long history of punishing aggro decks, having eliminated heavyweights like Antiquities and Mirrodin in previous editions of the tournament, and it's definitely an opponent Zendikar would have preferred to avoid. Still, Zendikar has the pride of the champions, and it's ready to show everyone once again why it is the most feared deck in BOTS.
Game 1
Onslaught wins the roll for the first turn, but as expected the first play of the game is from Zendikar, a turn 1 Steppe Lynx. Onslaught answers with a turn 2 Lightning Rift. Zendikar plays and immediately activates a Scalding Tarn, attacking for 4 with the Lynx, then plays a Plated Geopede. Onslaught is immediately under heavy attack! But Onslaught's reputation as most fearsome anti-aggro deck in the torunament is well-deserved: a Starstorm for 1 is enough to kill both creatures and set Zendikar back to square one!
But Zendikar is not done yet: a second Plated Geopede and a Goblin Guide are played in the following turn, with the Guide attacking immediately (revealing an Exalted Angel). Zendikar is stuck at three mana for now, and decides to remove the dangerous Geopede with a Shock, then passes. Zendikar plays a Teetering Peaks, boosts the Guide and hits for 4 (revealing a second Exalted Angel!), then plays a Kor Skyfisher and brings the Peaks back to Zendika'r hand.
Onslaught must now face a tough choice. It only has three lands. It could play an Astral Slide, but it would not be able to activate it immediately, and would fall down to 4 life points in the following turn – dangerously low. It could also play a morphed Exalted Angel and use it to block the Guide (assuming that Zendikar doesn't have a Journey to Nowhere or Kor Hookmaster in hand), or perhaps keep it alive and with some luck unmorph it in the following turn. After thinking for a few seconds, Onslaught decides to play the morphed Exalted Angel.
Unfortunately for Onslaught, Zendikar has exactly the card it needs: a Journey to Nowhere! The Angel is sent away into exile before even being able of showing its wings, then Zendikar attacks for 6 with the Skyfisher and a Teetering Peaks-boosted Goblin Guide. The Guide reveals a Starstorm over the top of Onslaught's deck, but again, Onslaught is stuck at three lands, and that's not enough to kill the Guide, or the Skyfisher. Onslaught plays a second morphed Angel and passes, but the game is quickly over when Zendikar shows a Burst Lightning from its hand.
Game 2
Onslaught starts but again is Zendikar that takes the initiative with a turn 1 Goblin Guide (revealing a Renewed Faith). Onslaught plays a second land and cycles a Secluded Steppe and a Forgotten Cave, apparently searching for something... the Slide perhaps? Zendikar attacks with the Guide (still stubbornly refusing to send any land to Onslaught's hand, as it revelas an Akroma's Blessing), then plays a Plated Geopede and passes. Onslaught just plays one more land and passes.
The following turn, disaster happens! Zendikar plays an Adventuring Gear and equips it to Goblin Guide. Onslaught immediately answers with a Starstorm for 1 to remove at least the Plated Geopede – it's definitely not optimal, but Onslaught cannot risk to take 11 damage so early in the game. Still, the Guide attacks for 6 as a Scalding Tarn is played and sacrificed (with an Akroma's Venegance being revealed... Onslaught smiles and shakes its head). On its turn, Onslaught cycles a Renewed Faith to gain 2 life and passes.
Zendikar plays a Kor Skyfisher to bounce back one of its own lands, then plays it again to boost the Goblin Guide, attacking for 4 (and finally sending a Forgotten Cave to Onslaught's hand!), then plays a Lightning Burst to send Onslaught down to 6 life points! The situation is definitely dangerou for Onslaught. Luckily, there is an answer available for the control deck: a second Starstorm, for three damage to all creatures, it's enough to clear the board and stabilize the situation, at least for now.
But how long will this peace last? Zendikar immediately plays a Steppe Lynx followed by a Punishing Fire, and once again Onslaught is facing the threat of an imminent death.
Onslaught has five lands in play, and adds a Forgotten Cave to it... only one white mana source, not enought to play the Akroma's Vengeance in its hand. So for now it just plays a morphed Exalted Angel and passes.
Unfortunately for Zendikar, it has not drawn any land, and cannot immediately kill Onslaught. For now, then, it just plays a Kor Hookmaster directed at the morphed Angel and passes.
It's time for Onslaught to finally launch a counterattack: it plays a Lightning Rift, cycles an Akroma Blessing and then it's faced with a dilemma... kill the Lynx or the Hookmaster? Remove the certain 2 damage or the uncertain 4 damage, that would kill Onslaught for good? Zendikar has still two cards in hand, probably there's some direct damage there... probably, but not surely. Osnlaught is forced to make a difficult choice here, and in the end decides to remove the Hookmaster. If only it had a second white mana source it could cycle a second Blessing and kill both creatures, but alas, it was not meant to be.
Zendikar draws... and it's not a land... but close enough. Zendikar plays the just drawn Kor Skyfisher, bounces back a land, plays it again, attacks for two with the Lynx and shows a Burst Lightning! Game over again for Onslaught!
Game 3
As usual, the first play is from Zendikar with a turn 1 Steppe Lynx. Onslaught is still playing lands when Zendikar plays and sacrifices an Arid Mesa, plays an Adventuring Gear and a Goblin Guide and attacks immediately for 6 with the two creatures (the Guide reveals a Lightning Rift). The Lightning Rift is immediately played, and gives some hope for the future, but it's the present that troubles Onslaught.
In fact, Zendikar equips the Gear to the Guide, then plays a second Goblin Guide (!), plays and sacrifices a Marsh Flats and attacks for 12 on turn 3. Onslaught is under shock now, and also at 2 life points. At least he got a Plains from one of the Guides, but that doesn't look enough to save Onslaught.
Still, there's some hope. Onslaught plays a Shock to remove the Lynx, then cycles a Renewed Faith to gain 2 life and kill one of the Guides, then it can only pass and hope.
Unfortunately, there's no hope left. Zendikar equips the Gear to the second Guide, plays a Plains and attacks for 4. It also shows a Lightning Burst from its hand, as if to underline that the game was totally under Zendikar's control.
This is a huge display of dominance by Zendikar, defeating 3-0 one of the best control decks in the tournament. The question is still waiting for an answer: who will stop Zendikar?
Been busy this week and weekend, only a couple of games this time (and not particularly fascinating ones, I fear). Still, moving on
Urza's Saga vs Khans of Tarkir
This match clearly shows the strengths and weaknesses of Urza's Saga. In 2 games out of 5, Urza's Saga struggled to complete its combo, and was killed by Khans through simple creature damage, even though Khans is not a particularly fast deck, and like most decks in BOTS, doesn't have many cards that are effective against Urza's Saga. The remaining games, urza's Saga managed to complete its combo, and Khans could do nothing except watch it powerlessly. That's Urza's Saga for you: all or nothing.
Urza's Saga 3 - Khans of Tarkir 2
Mirrodin Besieged vs The Dark
The powerful Infect midrange against the fan-favorite (sort of...) The Dark. A victory of The Dark is probably less likely than Leicester winning the Premier Lea- uh, wait. Well, you never know, but certainly it looks like a mission impossible for The Dark.
Game 1
The Dark starts and is immediatelt aggressive with a Scavenger Folk. Mirrodin Besieged is not known for its quick starts, especially when it doesn't get a turn 1 Inkmoth Nexus, so for the first couple of turns it just plays lands. The Dark would like to push the offensive, but it's unfortunately stuck at two lands, so it can just attack with the Scavenger Folk and pass.
Mirrodin Besieged is then ready to crush its feeble opponent, getting its third land in play (an Inkmoth Nexus) and then a Phyrexian Crusader. The Dark, still stuck at two lands, plays an Elves of Deep Sahdow and passes. Mirrodin Besieged adds a Phyrexian Vatmother to the board, then attacks with the Crusader, that The Dark cannot possibly block, taking its first two Poison counters.
The Dark draws and plays a City of Shadows, that is not much useful as it is. Still nothing to do, then. Mirrodin besieged adds a second Phyrexian Vatmother to the board, attacking with the two other creatures. The first Vatmother is blocked by the Scavenger Folk, that is then removed with City of Shadows, and The Dark takes two more Poison counters from the Crusader.
Finally drawing a second Forest, The Dark plays a Wormwood Treefolk, trying to at least put up a fight. If it lasts long enough, The Dark thinks, perhaps Mirrodin Besieged will just kill itself with the Vatmothers. But it will not be so simple. Mirrodin besieged laughs like an evil overlord and shows a Corrupted Conscience, taking control of the Treefolk, ready to spread the glory of Phyrexia. With no more creatures to block, The Dark must take the attack of the Crusader and the two Vatmothers, and the game is over.
Game 2
The Dark is once again quick with a turn 1 Scavenger Folk. Mirrodin Besieged gets into play a turn 2 Spehere of the Suns, that is answered by a turn 3 Land Leeches by the Dark. Mirrodin Besieged just plays a disdainful Black Sun's Zenith for 2, clearing the board.
On its turn, The Dark plays a Scarwood Bandits and passes. Then it's time for Mirrodin besieged to get serious: a Phyrexian Crusader joins the battle for the army of corruption. The Dark thinks for a second about activating the Bandits to steal the Sphere of Suns, but Mirrodin Besieged has two mana available, so it would probably end up with nothing. Instead, The Dark plays Knights of Thorn and passes.
Mirrodin Besieged attacks with the Crusader, that is protected from the Knight of Thorn, meaning that only the Bandits and the Elves could be able to block it. Not enough to kill the annoying creatures. The Dark decides to take the damage. Then, the situation takes a turn for the worse as a second Crusader is played.
On its turn, The Dark plays a Land Leeches and passes. Finally, it can block at least one Crusader. Mirrodin Besieged doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it attacks again with both creatures. One of them trades with the Leeches, the other one hits the target, bringing The Dark to four poison counters. Then, Mirrodin Besieged plays a third (!) Crusader and passes.
The Dark has emptied its hand and draws only a land, and is definitely short on answers to the army of Crusaders that it's crashing down the defenses. For now, it can only pass. Mirrodin Besieged attacks with the two Crusaders, and The Dark, after thinking for a second, takes the damage. And then, Mirrodin Besieged plays its fourth Crusader! Unbelievable! The Dark just shakes its head sadly, and after drawin a second Knights of Thorn, concedes, moving on to game 3.
Game 3
The Dark is forced to mulligan, then starts the game with an Elves of Deep Shadow. On its side, Mirrodin Besieged gets its best start: a turn one Inkmoth Nexus. At least, the following turn, The Dark gets a Scavenger Folk in play – that will keep the Nexus at bay. Mirrodoin Besieged just plays a Sphere of the Suns and passes.
The Dark attacks with the Elves of Deep Shadows, deciding to keep the Scavenger Folk untapped to counter the Nexus. On its turn, Mirrodin Besieged shows once again a Phyrexian Crusader – The Dark's nemesis!
The Dark is stuck with lots of lands but only one white mana source, and a Preacher in hand. So far, it can only play one more Forest and pass. Mirrodin Besieged plays a second Sphere of the Suns, then a Go for the Throat to the Scavenger Folk, forcing its activation to destroy one of the Spheres. Then the Crusader attacks for two Poison counters.
The Dark draws a Witch Hunter – and still only one Plains! The Elves attacks for one more damage, then it's once again Mirrodin's Besieged turn, that attacks with the Crusader and the animated Nexus, for a total of three Poison counters. Still more Forest for The Dark, that this time decides to keep the Elves on the defensive, blocking the Crusader and taking only one damage on Mirrodin's Besieged following turn. On the bright side for The Dark, Mirrodin Besieged seems stuck at three lands, and it's not playing anything else for the moment.
Still no Plains for The Dark, though, that takes three more Poison counters on the following turn – and that's 9 of them by now! With the board empty and the Inkmoth Nexus virtually unblockable for The Dark, the game is then over. The Dark is utterly and totally crushed. “Know your place!”, sneers Mirrodin Besieged, and advances to the following turn.
This is Alfred (I used to run the tournament with Legend/eap). Really glad you decided to pick it up again! Good decklists for the new sets as well.
If you need someone to help you with the writing, or the matches, let me know. Also, Fated Conflagration can't deal damage to your opponent's face (not really important anyway, considering BotG lost).
This is Alfred (I used to run the tournament with Legend/eap). Really glad you decided to pick it up again! Good decklists for the new sets as well.
If you need someone to help you with the writing, or the matches, let me know. Also, Fated Conflagration can't deal damage to your opponent's face (not really important anyway, considering BotG lost).
Oh, hello there I really loved the old BOTS, and this is sort of a tribute to them, so I'm really happy to have you following the tournament
Thanks for pointing out the mistake, got to be more careful, luckily it's just minor issues
A few more games for you, with some interesting and unexpected results
Timespiral vs Eventide
On paper, this should be an easy win for Eventide. Timespiral is a funny metagame deck, that could actually be effective against... yeah, not sure, probably slow decks that could be punished by recurring Avalanche Riders and Riftwing Cloudskate. Surely not a quick, consistent deck like Eventide. But you never know... stranger things have happened, right?
Game 1
Timespiral starts first with a Terramorphic Expanse to find an Island, needed to suspend an Ancestral Vision in the following turn. Eventide seems to be having a slow start, with nothing played in the first two turns. Surely Timespiral has no complains about it, and suspends a Riftwing Cloudskate before passing again. Eventide's strength is its speed: without that, will it be able to kill Timespiral?
On turn three, Eventide finally plays a Stillmoon Cavalier and passes. Timespiral's situation is not bad, except maybe for the manabase: three mountains and an island. Does it have a Rift Bolt, or a Disintegrate? That would allow Timespiral to deal quickly with the Cavalier. But apparently Timespiral has not drawn them, or doesn't want to use them, as it just suspends another Ancestral Vision and passes. There's a lot of good stuff coming in for Timespiral soon, but how much damage can Eventide do in the meantime?
In its turn, Eventide plays a Nightsky Mimic and attacks with the Cavalier, spending two mana to give him +1/+0. Timespiral falls down to 17, but it's only one more turn left before the first Vision and the Cloudskate come into play. For now, though, it just suspends a second Cloudskate and passes.
Eventide is ready to hit hard. First it plays and Edge of the Divinity on the Mimic, then attacks with both creatures, spending two mana to give +1/+0 to the Cavalier, for a total of 10 damage! Surely a nice comeback from Eventide, that also plays a Figure of Destiny and spends one mana to turn it into a 2/2.
Finally Timespiral resolves its first two suspended spells. The Cloudskate bounces back the Mimic, and the Edge of the Divinity is sent to the graveyard. But more than that, Timespiral can draw 4 cards, and finally play its first white mana source. This open some plays for Timespiral, but for now it just passes.
Eventide studies its options, then attacks with both its creatures. Things are going to be hard from now on with all the tricks that Timespiral can use, but Eventide also has some of its own. Timespiral decides to block the Figure with the Cloudksate, then Momentary Blink it to bounce the Cavalier. Unfortunately, Eventide answers with an Unmake to remove the Riftwing from game. Timespiral takes two more damage, loses the Cloudskate, and to make things worse, Eventide plays a second Stillmoon Cavalier.
Timespiral would need to resist only one more turn to allow the second Cloudskate to come into play from Suspend, but will it be able to? Timespiral holds in hand a Vesuvan Shape*****er, a Temporal Isolation and a Bogardan Hellkite (and two lands). Six lands in play. Playing the Vesuvan Shapeshifter as a copy of a Cavalier would allow Timespiral to block one of the enemy creatures, but two would be enough to kill Timespiral. Same goes for the Temporal Isolation. And there's not enough mana to play both of them.
Only one way then: play the Shapeshifter face down AND the Temporal Isolation. It's not an optimal use of the Shapeshifter, as it will just chump-block, but still, it's the only way. The Temporal Isolation flies over to a Cavalier, as they could gain Flying and just ignore the morphed Shapeshifter to kill Timespiral (now at 5 life points). Timespiral then passes and crosses its fingers.
Eventide has six lands in play as well, so it's not enough to give Flying to the Cavalier and also give him +3/+0. So Eventide turns the Figure of Destiny into a 4/4 and attacks with both creatures. The morphed Shapeshifter chump-blocks the Figure of Destiny, while the Cavalier deals two damage to Tiemspiral. Eventide then plays a Nightsky Mimic and passes.
Timespiral finally resolves the Cloudskate and bounces back the Figure of Destiny. Then draws four cards – and two Momentary Blink! Both are played immediately on the Cloudskate to bounce back a Cavalier and the Mimic. Now Eventide has only a Cavalier in play, the one with Temporal Isolation on it. Timespiral has incredibly been successful in stabilizing the board – can it win, against all odds?
But Eventide is determined not to lose. It plays back all three creatures, immediately boosting the Figure of Destiny to a 2/2, then passes. But Eventide doesn't know about the Hellkite in Timespiral's hand... and here comes the eighth land! The huge dragon bursts onto the battlefield, annihilating Eventide's creatures in a wave of fire and destruction! In a single shot, Timespiral has cleared the board and is now in a winning position, even more so as it reveals a second Hellkite the following turn! Eventide can find no answer to the dragon onslaught and is forced to concede. Timespiral wins game one!
Game 2
Eventide this time starts quicker with a turn 1 Figure of Destiny. No play from Timespiral on turn one, so Eventide just boosts the Figure of Destiny to a 2/2 and attacks with it. Timespiral once again only plays a land and passes.
Luckily for Timespiral, Eventide is stuck with only two lands, so it can only attack with the Figure, that is met with a Temporal Isolation. But Eventide is not finished yet – a second Figure of Destiny joins the battlefield, and immediately transforms into a 2/2. Timespiral plays its third land, suspends a Riftwing Cloudskate and passes.
Eventide is still stuck at two lands, so it just attacks and passes. While things don't look particularly good for Eventide, the good news for the aggro deck is that Timespiral is having mana problems of its own, as it fails to play a fourth land. Timespiral, stuck at three lands, decides to play a face-down Vesuvan Shapeshifter and pass.
Still no lands for Eventide, that decides to play an Edge of the Divinity on the Figure of Destiny and attack. The Edge only gives the Figure +1/+2, but that would be enough to kill the Shapeshifter wothout dieing, should Timespiral decide to block. But Timespiral simply takes the 3 damage. And on its turn simply attacks for 2, still failing to find a fourth land. Eventide attacks again with the Figure, then plays a Nightsky Mimic and passes.
The next turn is huge for Timespiral. First of all, the suspended Cloudskate enters the battelfield, bouncing back the Mimic. Then, a fourth land is also played, revealing an Avalanche Riders! Eventide's mana problems are about to become much worse! Timespiral attacks with all its creatures for 6 damage, then passes.
Eventide is still searching for another land, without success. For now, it decides to keep the Figure as a defender, and passes.
Instead of paying the Echo cost, Timespiral just Momentary Blink-s the Riders, destroying Eventide's only remaining land! Then 2 more damage are dealt by the Cloudskate, before Timespiral passes again. Eventide finally draws and plays a land, but it's definitely way too late, as in the following turn Timespiral just blinks the Riders again to destroy it!
Eventide draws a Deathbringer Liege and realizes the game is practically over, as Timespiral only needs to Flashback one of the two Momentary Blink in the graveyard to bounce the Figure of Destiny to completely shut down Eventide. Timespiral is surprisingly up 2-0 and moving on to game 3.
Game 3
Both decks take a mulligan. Eventide makes the first play of the game with a turn 2 Nightsky Mimic, that is answered by a suspended Riftwing Cloudskate by Timespiral. Eventide plays a second Mimic, then the first one strikes for 4. Is Eventide finally getting its desired quick and deadly start?
On its third turn, Timespiral plays a face-down Vesuvan Shapeshifter and passes. Luckily for Timespiral, Eventide is this time facing mana flood problems, and it's unable to play any spell to turn the two Mimic into deadly flying creatures. Eventide decides to just pass and it's Timespiral's turn once again. Timespiral gets its fourth land and plays a Lightning Angel, immediately attacking for 3.
Eventide draws and plays a Nip Gwyllion. Nothing huge, but at least allows Eventide to attacks with two flying 4/4. Timespiral thinks for a second about sacrificing the angel, then decides to take the full 8 damage and falling down to 8.
The following turn, the suspended Cloudskate comes into play and bounces one of the Mimics. A second Angel is also played, and Timespiral declares to attack with all its creatures – it's now or never! Eventide falls down to 7 life points.
Eventide plays the Mimic again, then passes. What's it thinking? Timespiral is wary of possible traps, but the game seems solidly in its pocket now. The first move is morphing the Shapeshifter and copying one of the Angels, then all creatures are turned to attack – three 3/4 angels and the Cloudskate. Is this the end for Eventide?
Not yet, says Eventide. Not yet. It shows an Unmake to remove the Shapeshifter from the board, then gets ready to block the angels... but Timespiral shows a Momentary Blink on the Shapeshifter, bringing it back as a Cloudskate and bouncing one of the Mimics, while at the same time nullifying the Unmake. The remaining Mimic blocks and kills one of the angels, while the other angel and the Cloudskate hits for 5 damage. Eventide is now down to 2 life points – but still alive!
Eventide draws... a Restless Apparition! Nothing that can keep it alive for one more turn. The third game is over and Timespiral gets an unpredictable 3-0 win. Sure, Eventide had some bad luck, but Timespiral made perfect use of its versatility to always hit Eventide's weak spot and earn a deserved win against one of the favorites of the tournament! Way to go Timespiral!
Timespiral 3 - Eventide 0
Ravnica vs Mercadian Masques
This is an interesting match, where a superior deck (Ravnica) has to deal with a deck that's not a favorable matchup. In fact, Masques is particularly weak against mass removal, while can use its recruitment capability to overpower over time any deck that's unable to wipe the board. Definitely an interesting game to watch.
DISCLAIMER: this is a very long game summary, with two decks playing lots of creatures and slowly grinding each other to death. I'll add a brief description of the games in spoiler for those who don't wish to read the whole thing.
The games were very close, with Masques winning 2 out of the 5. Masques won a game when it dealt quickly with the opponent's Dark Confidant, and Ravnica couldn't find another; plus one more game where a Story Circle resolved, and Ravnica couldn't find quickly a Faith's Fetters to deal with it. In the other games, Ravnica manages to slowly gain an advantage thanks to the confidant and ultimately outmatch its opponent (with some luck in Game 4 where Masques had sever mana screw problem).
Game 1
Ravnica goes first, but it's Masques to make the first move with a turn one Ramosian Sergeant. The proud rebel is immediately dispatched by a Last Gasp, though, the same fate that awaits a Ramosian Captain two turns later. So far, so good. But despite looking in control of the game, Ravnica is still to play anything at all, and while there's a Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree in play, it's unlikely that Ravnica could reach victory only thanks to an army of saprolings... or can it?
The following turn, Masques shows a Nightwind Glider – this one, at least, can't be killed with a Last Gasp. On the following turn, it's finally Ravnica's turn to play something – a Dark Confidant. This could mean troubles for Masques, that at the moment can't get rid of him in any way. On its turn, Masques is finally able to start an offensive, with the Glider, but Ravnica quickly shows a Devouring Light! Masques thinks for a few seconds, then decides to spend a Reverent Mantra to give the Glider protection from White and safeguard it. The flying rebel is then free to fly thorugh and inflict the fist two damage of the game to Ravnica. Masques then plays a Ramosian Sergeant and passes.
Ravnica gets a Temple Garden through the Confidant, then plays a Faith's Fetters on the Sergeant – definitely an overkill, but Ravnica has so far managed to keep the board clear of rebels, and wants to keep things that way. The Confidant then strikes for two damage, and Ravnica passes.
The following turn, Masques deals two more damage with the Glider, then plays a Ramosian Sky Marshal – will it stick long enough to start the recruiting? The answer seems to be yes. The Confidant reveals a Plains, and no removal spell is immediately played by Ravnica, that decides to attack with the Confidant anyway. Fearing another Devouring Light, Masques decides to take the damage.
Masques attacks with the Glider (that is removed by a Devouring Light), gets its seventh land in play and passes. One more land is revealed by the Confidant (zero damage so far for three cards drawn, not bad at all), that then attacks for two damage. A second Confidant is then played, and Ravnica passes. EoT, the Sky Marshal taps to fetch a Ramosian Commander, but the newly arrived Rebel is immediately destroyed by a Putrefy – if masques wants to keep recruiting, it will have to pay a lot of mana for it.
Or maybe not, as in the following turn Masques draws and plays a Ramosian Sergeant, followed by a Cho-Manno, Revolutionary. Ravnica has three mana open and possibly another Devouring Light, but Masques decides to take the risk and attacks with the Marshal... no Light, and three more damage to Ravnica. The two Confidant show another Confidant and a Watchwolf, for a total of 4 damage. Ravnica then plays the Watchwolf and a Selesnya Guildmage, and passes.
Masques plays a Ramosian Lieutenant and attacks for three more with the Sky Marshal. End of turn, Ravnica puts a Saproling token in play, then draws a Loxodon Hierarch and a Swamp with the Confidants, falling down to 8 life points. The Hierarch is immediately played, while a Last Gasp takes care of Cho-Manno. Then Ravnica attacks with all its creatures excpet the token.
Masques taps the Sergeant to bring in another Lieutenant, that is then sacrificed to block the watchwolf. Ravnica takes six damage and falls down to 8.
Despite its recruiting, Masques is falling behind to the insane card advantage of the Confidants. The only hope is keep chipping away at Ravnica's life points and hope that the Confidants pick up some high-cc cards. So, the Marshal attacks again, then Masques plays from its hand a Thermal Glider and passes.
The Confidants show a land a Vigor Mortis for 4 damage. Masques is probably going to win next turn, so Ravnica must close the deal this one, if possible. All creatures attack. Masques brings in a Nightwind Glider with the Lieutenant, using it to block one of the Confidant, while the Thermal Glider and the Sergeant sacrifices to stop the Watchwolf and the Hierarch. The token, the second Confidant and the Guildmage slip past Masques's defenses, and get boosted +2/+2 by the Guildamege, for a total of 11 damage. That's enough to kill Masques, and give the first win to Ravnica.
Game 2
Masques gets ready for revenge with a turn one Ramosian Sergeant, followed by a turn 2 Ramosian Lieutenant. Ravnica answers with a Dark Confidant, and passes. This time, though, Masques has the tools to answer: an Afterlife immediately deals with the black creature. This is bad news for Ravnica, but the game is still long: for now, it plays a Selesnya Guildmage and passes.
The small rebels are not particularly hreatening, and the Guildmage is perfectly able to deal with them for the moment. Masques needs to raise the threat level, and it does so with a Ramosian Commander. Ravnica on its turn plays one more Dark Confidant and passes.
Masques attacks with the Commander, and Ravnica decides to take the damage, then passes, getting ready to start fetching for rebels in the deck. Ravnica is for now stuck with no white mana sources, and the Confidant doesn't help to find any, so for now Ravnica can only pass. End of turn, Masques fetches a Thermal Glider with the Lieutenant.
Masques then attacks with the Glider and the Commander. The Glider trades with the 1/1 spirit from the previously played Afterlife, while the Commander is chump-blocked by a Saproling token readily created by the Selesnya Guildmage. Masques then passes. Ravnica loses 4 more life to a Vigor Mortis revealed by the Confidant, and yet again is unable to draw white mana, being forced to pass. Masques recruits a Nightwind Glider and gets ready to push the offensive.
The Glider is now free to attack for 2 damage, while the Commander is chump-blocked one more time. Masques then hits seven lands and plays a Thermal Glider from its hand, while at the same time getting ready to recruit one more with the Lieutenant.
Ravnica finally draws a Temple Garden and takes two damage to play it untapped. With the mana source, a Faith's Fetters is played on the Nightwind Glider, but end of turn another one is imemdiately fetched by Masques. As Masques strikes for 4 more damage with the Gliders, and gets ready to recruit even more of them, Ravnica realizes that this battle is lost and concedes. On to game 3.
Game 3
Masques starts as usual with a turn one Ramosian Sergeant, that is removed by a Putrefy before being able to start recruiting other rebels. The following turn, though, a Ramosian Lieutenant is played, and Ravnica decides to immediatly deal with him with a Faith's Fetters. Ravnica's strategy is clear: for as long as possible, stop Masques's recruiting capability.
Masques on its turn plays a Thermal Glider and passes. Ravnica asnwers with a Selesnya Guildmage and passes. Masques attacks with the Glider, then plays a Story Circle aimed at Green, and passes. The Story Circle could be bad news for Ravnica, that doesn't have many answers to it. It becomes more important than ever, now, to find a Dark Confidant. For now, though, Ravnica draws and passes.
On its turn, Masques attacks, but the Glider is met by a Devouring Light. Then, a Ramosian Lieutenant is played, and that's definitely a threat that Ravnica needs to answer. During the following turn's upkeep, moreover, Masques uses a Rishadan Port to tap the opponent's Temple Garden, leaving Ravnica with only one white mana source and no green mana source (the untapped lands are: Plains, Swamp, Swamp and Svogthos, the Restless Tomb). Ravnica decides to answer by creating at instant speed a Saproling token with the Guildmage. The Guildmage then attacks, but the damage is prevented by the Story Circle.
Masques just draws and passes. Once again the Temple Garden is tapped, and once again a Saproling token is created. While this doesn't look terribly bad on paper, practically all mana from Ravnica is tapped, and no other play is possible for the deck, allowing Masques to control the flow of the game, at least for now. Ravnica is forced to pass, and Masques at end of turn recruits a Ramosian Captain.
The following turn, Ravnica creates one more token, but also manages to draw and play a Dark Confidant. This could shake things up. End of turn, Masques recruits a Ramosian Commander to reinforce the defense. Then, it's time to start building the flying army: a Thermal Glider is played from Masques's hand, with more mana open to recruit one more.
This time, Ravnica is able to use its mana as it wishes, since Masques decides to not activate the Port and keep the mana open for recruitment (or Story Circle activation, if need be). The Story Circle is a problem for Ravnica, practically preventing any attack for the time being. So, Ravnica just passes, and Masques fetches one more Glider into play.
The two Gliders attack, but are met with a Devouring Light and a Last Gasp. Thanks to the Convoke ability of Devouring Light, Ravnica also has the mana to create one more token. Masques decides that the Rishadan's Port strategy should not have been abandoned, and in the following upkeep once more taps the Temple Garden. Ravnica once again creates a token at instant speed. Can Ravnica keep up with the Rebels army thanks to the efforts of the heroic Guildmage? Time will tell. In the meantime, the Confidant revela a Loxodon Hierarch for 4 damage. Ravnica doesn't have enough mana open to cast the Hierarch immediately, but instead decides to add a Watchwolf to the board. End of turn, Masques gets a Glider and attacks with it on its turn, before passing again.
Ravnica gets one more Saproling in its upkeep, then passes, and Masques gets one more Glider in play. One of the two (a Thermal Glider) is immediately removed by a Putrefy, meaning that only one will be able to attack for two damage (Ravnica is at 12 now). Then Masques plays a second Rishadan Port – and Ravnica knows it must break the stalemate, and quickly.
On Ravnica's upkeep, the Temple Garden and a Plains are tapped, basically the only two white mana sources currently available to Ravnica. Ravnica decides to give +1/+1 to all its creatures with the Guildmage, and then hopes to draw something good. It draws a Selesnya Guildmage (2 damage) and a Temple Garden. The Garden is played untapped to fuel a Loxodon Hierarch. Ravnica then decides to attack with the 6 tokens (now 2/2) and the 4/4 Watchwolf. Two of the tokens are killed by the Captain and the Commander, while the others force multiple activations of Story Circle, preventing Masques from actually recruiting anything this turn.
Still, things doesn't look bad for Masques as it deals 2 more damage with the Nightwind Glider to bring Ravnica down to 8. Until the Story Circle stands, Masques can easily control Ravnica and slowly kill it with the Glider.
The following turn, Ravnica decides to create two tokens, plus it adds another Guildmage to the board. Since two tokens died the previous turn, Ravnica would just lose two more by attacking again, and still not obtaining much. Ravnica can only raise a large army and then hope to draw a Faith's Fetters to neutralize the Story circle. Masques is then able to recruit another Glider this turn.
Coming into the next turn, Masques draws a Reverent Mantra and plays it for free by exiling a Disenchant, giving all its cratures Protection from Green and attacking with all it's got: two Gliders, a Captain and a Commander. 9 Damage, more than enough to kill Ravnica, that must sacrifice the Dark Confidant on the Commander to prevent 2 damage and fall down to 1 life points.
Ravnica is desperate, but can still survive one more turn: the Hierarch is sacrificed and then brought back thanks to a Vigor Mortis, netting 4 life points for Ravnica and bringing it up to 5.
The following turn, the Gliders attack for 4 damage, and Ravnica is back to one life point!
Ravnica finally manages to draw a Faith's Fetters, but it's still losing life points under the attacks of the Gliders, and to make things worse, Masques just draws a second Story Circle, practically closing the game. Ravnica has learned that Faith's Fetters must always be ketp as backup to answer Story Circle, and never used for any other threat, no matter what. Will this hard-learnt lesson be enough for Ravnica to come back from this 1-2 disadvantage in the coming games? Time will tell.
Game 4
Both decks are forced to mulligan, and while Ravnica gets a good start, Masques remain stuck at two lands for the first 8 turns or so, without anything to play for that mana. The game is quickly over with Ravnica's win, and the two contenders move on to the decisive battle.
Game 5
Masques is forced to mulligan again, but this time at least the lands flow in regularly. Not so much the creatures, since the first play is once again by Ravnica, a Dark Confidant. Masques immediately removes it with an Afterlife. Ravnica doesn't seem particularly worried, as it just shows another Confidant the following turn, after attacking for one with the spirit. Masques is once again stuck with mana, this time at three, but can at least play something: a Ramosian Lieutenant.
The Confidant shows a Devouring Light for three damage, then a Last Gasp takes care of the possibly annoying rebel before it can recruit anything, also allowing ther Confidant to attack along the spirit for three.
On its turn, Masques plays a Ramosian Sergeant and passes. No damage from the Confidant for Ravnica, since it reveals a Plains, then the spirit attacks for one and a Loxodon Hierarch is played.
Masques draws a second Afterlife and after thinking a few seconds decides to immediately play it to remove the Confidant and stop the card drawing by Ravnica. This unfortunately leaves Masques completely defenseless as Ravnica keeps attacking with its creatures. To make things worse for Masques, a second Loxodon Hierarch joins the battlefield on Ravnica's side.
Masques finally gets its fourth land in play, followed by a Cho-Manno, Revolutionary that should help Masques contain the Hierarchs. That at least in theory, since in practice a Devouring Light immediately takes care of him. Ravnica also adds a Selesnya Guildmage to the board.
With Masques sitting at 3 life points, the game is practically over, as not even a Story Circle could save Masques, that graciously concedes. After going dangerously down 1-2, Ravnica recovers and snatches back the match, advancing to the quarterfinals of the group.
Ravnica 3 - Mercadian Masques 2
Apocalypse vs Worldwake
Definitely an interesting matchup between two good midrange decks. In term of raw power, it's undeniable that Apocalypse has the upper hand, but Worldwake can field one of the most broken Magic cards ever - Jace, the Mind Sculptor, plus some late game beasts like Avenger of Zendikar and Terastodon. Apocalypse will then have to apply pressure from the early game, gain an advantage position and then keep it until the end. Will it be able to?
Game 1
Worldwake wins the roll for first turn and starts quick with a turn 1 Basilisk Collar followed by a turn 2 Treasure Hunt that leads to a Forest and a Calcite Snapper. Worldwake keeps pushing the advantage with a turn 3 Explore. The only trouble for Worldwake right now is that it only has a single Island – since most of its early game key cards (most notable Jace, the Mind Sculptor) require two blue mana, Worldwake must find quickly another blue mana source, or inevitably fall behind.
Given that the situation on the board is still calm, Apocalypse prepares for the long term and plays a Phyrexian Arena. On Worldwake's side, a second Treasure Hunt finally reveals a second Island, that is immediately played. Starting next turn, Worldwake will finally have two blue mana available.
Or maybe not, as Apocalypse just Vindicates one of the two islands! Nasty one from Apocalypse. And Worldwake is stuck once more. It plays an Explore to draw one more card, but no more Islands in sight. Things definitely look good for Apocalypse at the moment, but the game is still long, as Apocalypse itself has no clear threat on the board at the moment.
But that, too, is destined to change quickly, as Apocalypse gets its fifth land in play and then shows a growling Spiritmonger! Worldwake draws and plays another Treasure Hunt, revealing a Khalni Garden... and then an Island, plus an Explore! Jackpot! The Island is immediately played, followed by the Explore and the Khalni Garden, then another Basilisk Collar. The plant token will be able to chump-block the Spiritmonger, and while that will increase the size of the beast, it will also prevent Worldwake from taking an heavy hit. Once the board is stabilized, Worldwake thinks, the Spiritmonger can be easily dealt with by Jace.
But Apocalypse is as relentless as its name suggests. After attacking with the Spiritmonger (chump-blocked by the token), a second Vindicate is shown, removing once again an Island! But not everything is lost, as Worldwake draws a Forest and gets it into play, netting seven mana and playing an Avenger of Zendikar. An army of animated plants stand now in the way of Apocalypse!
Once again, Apocalypse shows to be in complete control of the situation as it plays a Pernicious Deed and activates it for one, removing not only the Plant tokens, but the two Basilisk Collar as well! The Spiritmonger then attacks, and Worldwake decides to take the damage. Finally, Apocalypse play a Gerrard's Verdict, forcing Worldwake to discard one Jace and one Calcite Snapper.
One more Forest in play for Worldwake, that decides to attack with the Avenger, bringing Apocalypse down to 11 life points – the Arena is slowly exacting its toll.
But Apocalypse is ready to close the game. With Worldwake at 13 life points, it attacks with the Spiritmonger (7) and then plays a Death Grasp for the remaining 6. Worldwake knows now that Apocalypse will get too far ahead with an uncontested Phyrexian Arena, but what can it do to answer the threat?
Game 2
Worldwake starts with a Khalni Garden, then a turn 2 Everflowing Chalice. Apocalypse answers with a turn 2 Spectral Lynx. This time around Worldwake has already 2 Islands in play, and also adds another Chalice (with 2 counters) to the board. Impressive mana ramp, and Apocalypse can't help feeling a little worried about what's coming next. Unfortunately, Apocalypse is stuck with no black mana sources, and this means no removal. So for now it just attacks with the Lynx and passes.
Worldwake untaps, plays one more Forest... and passes. Apocalypse smiles, relieved: all the mana in the world, but no threat.
Finally Apocalypse draws a Swamp, quickly plays a Pernicious Deed and activates it to remove both the Chalices! Worldwake is now more than slighly annoyed at Apocalypse's overpowered removals.
But finally it's Worldwake's turn to play something. As it gets anothe Forest into play, and has three green mana sources available, a Leatherback Baloth is played, followed by a Basilisk Collar. While the threat level is not huge, due to the green-protected Spectral Lynx, Apocalypse still decides to Vindicate the creature, and keep attacking with the Lynx, bringing Worldwake down to 14.
Worldwake feels almost like screaming in joy as it draws and plays a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Jace will definitely be attacked by the Lynx the following turn, and even though Worldwake also gets a plant token into play via anotehr Khalni Garden, the plant token is green and won't be able to block the Lynx. Worldwake then decides to activate the +2 ability, looking at its own deck and removing a useless Forest, hoping to draw something more useful the following turn. A Calcite Snapper, humble as it is, would actually be perfect.
Apocalypse first attacks Jace with the Lynx, then decides to go for the large threat: a Necravolver, double kicked – 5/5 with Trample and Lifelink. Now, that's something that Worldwake needs to worry about. The answer would be simple with Jace, but the planeswalker sits at 3 tokens, and removing one would mean that the Lynx will get an easy kill.
Worldwake hopes to draw something that could resolve its problems.... but it's only one more Forest. No choice, then, the -1 ability from Jace is activated to bounce back the Necravolver. On the following turn, the Lynx kills Jace, then Apocalypse decides to play a Phyrexian Area instead of the Necravolver. Worldwake can only draw, play a land, and pass.
Apocalypse keeps attacking with the Lynx, and plays once again the fully-kicked Necravolver. It's clear that this turn is crucial for Worldwake, and Worldwake doesn't disappoint: it gets its ninth land in play, and a Terastodon! Worldwake destroys the Arena, but more than that: two Swamps! The only black mana sources currently available to Apocalypse! Will that be enough to re-open the game?
The answer seems to be yes, as Apocalypse can't draw a black mana source, and for the moment just attacks with the Lynx and passes.
Worldwake's comeback continues as it plays a Jace and, a little surprisingly, bounces one of the Elephant tokens from the Terastodon. The Terastodon itself is then equipped with the Basilisk Collar and attacks. Now, Worldwake's plot is clear. With just two tokens, Apocalypse can't kill the Terastodon unless it also blocks with the Necravolver, but that would allow Worldwake to get rid of the annoying Lifelink creature. Apocalypse would like to save the Necravolver, but it clearly can't have a 9/9 with Lifelink attacking each turn, and with no guarantee to draw a black mana source in the next couple of turns, Apocalypse is forced to make the trade: the Necravolver and the two tokens for the huge Terastodon. At the same time, Apocalypse gains 5 life points, and Worldwake 9, meaning that the Lynx alone will hardly be enough to kill Worldwake now.
Apocalypse draws a Caves of Koilos, and stares blankly at it for a couple of seconds. As the Lynx is enough to kill Jace for now, and fearing another Terastodon in the near future, Apocalypse decides to keep the land in hand, and passes.
Worldwake is now living on the draw. This turn, it gets an Arbor Elf – not much, but equipped with the Basilisk Collar, it should at least keep the Lynx on the defensive. Apocalypse draws a Llanowar Wastes – the irony of it! This time, the land is played, following by a Pernicious Deed activated for one. The target is not so much the Elf, but rather the Collar. The Lynx then attacks for 2, and Apocalypse passes.
Worldwake plays a Treasure Hunt, then an Explore, then passes. Apocalypse sees that single card in Worldwake's hand, and thinks. It's not a land, as it would probably have been played immediately. It's not a Chalice or a Baloth or an Arbor Elf, as Worldwake had the mana to play them right away. So, it must be something good. Apocalypse has just drawn a Gerrard's Verdict, and decids to play it immediately. Worldwake curses and shows a Terastodon – nice move from Apocalypse!
Worldwake then draws a land, while on the following turn Apocalypse plays a second Spectral Lynx and a Phyrexian Arena! The game seems to be slipping out of Worldwake's hand. One more land drawn by Worldwake, while Apocalypse adds a Necravolver to the board.
The following turn, Worldwake can add a Leatherback Baloth to the board, but it gest quickly Vindicated as Apocalypse attacks with the two Lynxes and the 5/5 Necravolver for 9 damage, exactly kiling off Worldwake. 2-0 now, moving on to the third and possibly final game of the match.
Game 3
This game starts slow, with Apocalypse having troubles finding white mana sources, so that the actual first play is a Jace, the Mind Sculptor by Worldwake, that immediately activates the +0 ability to start the card advantage engine.
Apocalypse is still stuck with no white mana, and Worldwake pushes the offensive with a Leatherback Baloth followed by a Basilisk Collar, plus a +2 activation on Apocalypse that reveals... a Caves of Koilos! Worldwake smiles in revenge as it puts the land on the bottom of the graveyard.
But at least Apocalypse still draws something useful, a Necravolver, that is played with a single kicker (4/4 Trample).
Worldwake is not particularly worried by the creature, as it equips the Baloth with the Collar and attacks (Apocalypse decides to take the damage), then plays a second Baloth! The +2 ability is then activated, revealing a Gerrard's Verdict that Worldwake is more than happy to leave there.
Apocalypse understands that the game is over and it's slowly being strangled, so decides to concede. It's interesting how both decks could win by affecting the opponent's manabase, Apocalypse by clinically removing the blue mana sources with Vindicate, Worldwake by simply abusing the deck manipulation power of its fearsome planeswalker. Behold the power of Jace, one could say, if it wasn't already well known how incredibly broken that card is. But Apocalypse feel sure that it can win at least one of the two remaining matches. How will it go?
Game 4
Apocalypse starts, but no plays are available to the decks on turn one, ecept for Worldwake getting a Plant token into play thanks to Khalni Garden. On turn two, still no play from Apocalypse, while Worldwake gets an Everflowing Chalice for one in play.
Apocalypse thinks for a few seconds, but doesn't like the prospect of having a Jace into play the following turn, especially since at the moment Apocalypse would have no counterplay. So, a Pernicious Deed is played and activated, removing the Chalice and the plant token.
Worldwake doesn't look too troubled as it plays a Treasure Hunt, drawing a Calcite Snapper. Apocalypse plays one more land and passes. And then it's finally Jace's time! Worldwake plays it and activates the +0 ability. Now Apocalypse must find an answer, or quickly lose the game like it happened last time!
The answer is immediate and effective: a Death Grasp for 3. Worldwake regrets not activating the +2 ability, but as they say, don't cry over spilt milk. Things still look good for Worldwake as it plays a Leatherback Baloth and passes.
Apocalypse sneers at the Baloth as it gets on the board a Spiritmonger. Now, it's Worldwake's turn to find an answer quickly. For now, it plays a second Baloth, followed by a Treasure Hunt that unfortunately only gets an Explore.
Apocalypse attacks with the Spiritmonger. Knowing that it can regenerate, Worldwake decides to take the damage, perhaps wanting to attack with the two Baloths the following turn, but Apocalypse is not finished yet and plays a second Spiritmonger! Not good for Worldwake, not good at all.
Worldwake plays a Forest, then the Explore followed by a second Forest, then a Calcite Snapper. The defense line is ready, but how long will it last?
Apocalypse attacks with the two Spiritmongers, and Worldwake sacrifices the Snapper and one of the Baloth to block them. A fully kicked Necravolver then hits the board, more bad news for Jace's team.
Worldwake has a Terastodon in hand, and that could balance things out, but it needs one more land. It goes for the draw... an Arbor Elf. Not what it wanted, but better than nothing. The Elf is immediately played, along with a Calcite Snapper, and Worldwake hopes to survive one more turn.
Apocalypse attacks with all its creatures, and Worldwake sacrifices the Baloth and the Snapper to block the two Spiritmongers, taking five damage from the Necravolver. Apocalypse then shows a Gerrard's Verdict, forcing Worldwake to discard the Terastodon (with Worldwake feeling an unpleasant sense of deja-vu).
There's not much hope left for Worldwake now, but then it draws an Avenger of Zendikar! Just the card it needs. It's probably too late for Worldwake to make a comeback, but with a couple more lucky draws... who knows? For now, 8 Plant tokens are created, allowing Worldwake to easily survive a few turns more.
Apocalypse is more annoyed than worried, at the moment. As usual, it attacks with all its creatures. The Necravolver trades with the Avenger, while the two Spiritmongers are chump-blocked. Apocalypse then plays another Necravolver, and passes.
Worldwake draws and plays a Leatherback Baloth, then passes. Apocalypse attacks full out again. The Necravolver is killed by the Leatherback Baloth and the Arbor Elf, while the Spiritmongers once again are blocked by the plant's army. Apocalypse then plays a third Spiritmonger and passes.
From then on, Worldwake only draws an Island and two Arbor Elf, and is slowly but eventually grinded down by the raging Spiritmongers.
Apocalypse must praise its opponent's resilience, but this is Battle of the Sets, and only one gets to win. Apocalypse moves on to the quarterfinals of Group B.
This is Alfred (I used to run the tournament with Legend/eap). Really glad you decided to pick it up again! Good decklists for the new sets as well.
If you need someone to help you with the writing, or the matches, let me know. Also, Fated Conflagration can't deal damage to your opponent's face (not really important anyway, considering BotG lost).
Do I really need to write anything about this match? Champions had all the time in the world to set up its Hazelock combo and completely shut down the slow midrange deck that is Prophecy, that has no way of ever winning outside of attacking with creatures. These games were quick and brutal.
Prophecy 0 - Champions of Kamigawa 3
Fate Reforged vs Darksteel
An interesting matchup against two decks that get better as the game progresses, getting progressively in control of the game. It's easy to say that Darksteel has the upper hand, thanks to its broken Arcbound Ravager, but will things really be that simple for the artifact deck? Let's find out.
Game 1
Fate Reforged wins the roll, but it's Darksteel that makes the first play with a turn 1 Æther Vial. Fate Reforged answers with a turn 2 Soul Summons, manifesting its first creature of the match. On the following turn, Darksteel too gets a creature in play, in the form of an Arcbound Slith. Fate Reforged will have to be careful, or Darksteel will quickly escalate out of control with all its +1/+1 counters. Fow now, Fate Reforged attacks with its manifested creature and adds a Monastery Mentor to the board, to keep the Slith in check.
Darksteel gets the second counter on the Vial, ready to make use of it, while at the same time taps three mana to get into play a Sword of Fire and Ice. Luckily, Fate Reforged has an immediate answer in the form of a Return to the Earth, also spawning a Monk Token. Fate Reforged then attacks with both the Mentor (3/3) and the manifested creature. Darksteel thinks for a second, then gets a Viridian Zealot into play at instant speed with the Vial and uses him to block the manifested creature, resulting in both creatures dead.
The following turn, Darksteel gets another Zealot in play, followed by a Skullclamp. The Zealot is immediately sacrificed to draw two cards, then Darksteel passes. On its turn, Fate Reforged drops its first bomb: a Whisperwood Elemental. This will keep the manifested creatures coming, and while Darksteel is also a deck that like to snowball over time, seems like Fate Reforged could be able to keep up with its pace. Fate Reforged then attacks with the Monk token for one damage, and passes. End of turn, Darksteel taps the vial to get an Arcbound Stinger into play. Bad news for Fate Reforged, that has no creatures with Flying and few answers to them.
On its turn, Darksteel taps four mana for an Arcbound Crusher, then attacks with the Stinger and passes. Fate Reforged plays a Wildcall at five mana, manifesting a creature with three +1/+1 counters on it, also spawning a second token. Fate Reforged then attacks with the other Monk token (2/2), the Monastery Mentor (3/3), the Elemental, and one manifested creature (from the Elemental at the previous end step). Darksteel looks a little worried now, as Fate Reforged has managed to gathered quite the army, and could overrun the artifact deck's defenses before Darksteel can actually get its deadly engine at full speed.
But for now it's time to worry about defending from this attack. Darksteel gets an Arcbound Ravager into play at instant speed and declares blockers: the Ravager itself on the Elemental, the Crusher on the Monastery Mentor and the Slith on the manifested creature. The Crusher and the Slith are then sacrificed to boost the Ravager: Darksteel has decided that the Elemental must die, too dangerous in this moment of the game. Darksteel ends the turn at 13 life points, with a 2/2 Stinger and a 5/5 Ravager.
On its turn, Daksteel plays another Arcbound Crusher, attacks with the Stinger and passes. Fate Reforged plays two Whisperer of the Wilds and passes. End of turn, Darksteel gets a second Stinger in play. Then Darksteel sacrifices this new Stinger to the Skullclamp, then gets a Sword of Fire and Ice into play, attacks with the other Stinger and passes. Most likely, Darksteel will be able to attack for the kill with the Stinger in the following turn, and this puts a lot of pressure on Fate Reforged.
But Fate Reforged manages to play a Sandsteppe Mastodon in the following turn, bolstering one of the Monk tokens, but more importantly, getting into play a creature that can block the Stinger. Then, Fate Reforged declares an attack with all its creatures (except a single untapped Whisperer of the Wilds, and obviously the Mastodon).
Darksteel blocks the 5/5 manifested creatures and the 6/6 token with the Crusher and the Ravager respectively, then sacrifices the Crusher to the Ravager to kill the bolstered token. The remaining small creatures from Fate Reforged gets past Darksteel's defenses, reducing its life points to 8.
On its turn, Darksteel puts another Stinger in play with the Vial, then sacrifices it to the Skullclamp. No luck on the draw, as no more creatures are played, so Darksteel just equips the Sword to the Stinger and attacks with it. The Stinger is a 4/4, gets to 6/6 with the Sword and can therefore kill the Mastodon without being killed. The road is once again clear: on the following turn, the Stinger will be able to strike for the kill. Now everything lasts on Fate Reforged... what will it draw? A Forest! The two manifested creatures are a Whisperer of the Wilds and a Map the Wastes, so nothing can be gained from that. Only one card in hand: a Whisperwood Elemental, a very good card, but not helpful here. Fate Reforged can only attack with all its creatures, but its largest hitting creature, the 5/5 manifested creature, gets blocked by the Ravager, and the remaining creatures get through only 6 damage, bringing Darksteel down to 2. To think that any sorcery/instant spell would have been enough to kill Darksteel, triggering the prowess from the mentor and the monk token. But it was not meant to be. Darksteel wins the first game of the match!
Game 2
Both decks have to mulligan this game, Fate Reforged actually has to mulligan twice, but at least gets a good start with a turn one Warden of the First Tree. Darksteel is just as good though, with a turn 1 Skullclamp. On its following turn, Fate Reforged attacks for one with the Warden and passes, getting a tapped Blossoming Sands into play.
Darksteel plays a Genesis Chamber and passes – the engine is in place, token creation and card drawing. But Darksteel will have to move quickly, because Fate Reforged will also benefit fro the Chamber, and it has shown in the previous game that it can quickly create a threatening army. In fact, Fate Reforged gets a Monastery Mentor in game this turn, creating a Myr token, then attacks for one more with the Warden.
On its turn, Darksteel gets a Viridian Zealot into play, spawning a token, then passes. Fate Reforged plays a Soul Summons, getting a Monk token, then a Myr token, and boosting the Mentor to 3/3. The Mentor then attacks, along with a Myr token, and Darksteel decides to take the 4 damage.
Then it's Darksteel's turn to shine. An Arcbound Worker is played, followed by an Arcbound Ravager, and two more Myr tokens, that are exceptional fodder for the Ravager. Time to start worrying for Fate Reforged. The Worker is immediately sacrificed to the Skullclamp, then Darksteel passes.
Fate Reforged turns the Warden into a 3/3 creature, then passes. Darksteel plays an Aether Vial, then a second Genesis Chamber, and an Arcbound Slith. The Zealot and then the Slith are killed to fuel the Skullclamp, then Darksteel passes. End of turn, Fate Reforged flips over the manifested creature, revealing a Whisperer of the Wilds. On its turn, Fate Reforged activates the second ability of the Warden, giving him Trample and Lifelink, then passes. From the following turn, Fate Reforged will have the mana to activate its last ability: will this game become a clash of the titans between the Ravager and the Warden?
Darksteel plays an Arcbound Crusher, that generates two tokens, immediately becoming a 3/3, then plays a second Skullclamp, boosting the Crusher up to 4/4. Fate Reforged activates the Warden's third ability, turning him into an 8/8. It certainly is impressive, but sadly it looks like it won't be enough.
On its turn, Darksteel plays two more Arcbound Ravager, then an Arcbound Slith through the Vial, each one of them spawning two Myr tokens and overall boosting the Crusher to a whopping 13/13. The Crusher then turns to attack, and is boosted above 30/30 by the Myr tokens sacrificed to the Ravager, and finally the Ravager sacrificing itself. Fate Reforged can only watch as a monstruos robot, as large as a mountain, slides over to bring death and destruction, impossible to stop. Darkstell wins game two and seems ready to sweep a crushing 3-0 victory.
Game 3
Fate Reforged starts with a Blossoming Sand, Darksteel with a Blinkmoth Nexus. On its second turn, Fate Reforged plays a Soul Summons and passes. Darksteel plays a second Blinkmoth Nexus and then shows an Arcbound Ravager – immediately bad news for Fate Reforged, that on its turn plays a Whisperer of the Wilds and attacks with the manifested creature, before passing.
Luckily for Fate Reforged, Darksteel has yet to show the other key parts of its engine: Skullclamp and Genesis Chamber. The Ravager by itself is definitely fearsome, but not unstoppable. On its turn, Darksteel plays a Sword of Fire and Ice and passes.
Fate Reforged gets a Whisperwood Elemental in play, attacks with the manifested creature, and passes. Fate Reforged doesn't know it at the moment, but Darksteel is having serious mana flood problem, with an hand full of Forests. That's why it decides to animate the Nexus, equip it with the Sword, and attack. The two damage go to kill one of the manifested creatures (that turns out to be a Plains), and the drawn card... is just one more Forest!
Fate Reforged pushes the offensive with a Temur War Shaman, then taks a look at the situation. Darksteel is all tapped out, and apart from sacrificing the Sword (which would be a very bad move) has no way to boost the Ravager. It seems safe, then, to attack with the Elemental (Fate Reforged doesn't want to lose it as it happened in game 1, since that was probably the key point that led to Fate Reforged's loss). So, the Elemental and one manifested creature attack, forcing Darksteel to take 6 damage.
Darksteel on its turn equips the Sword to the Ravager and passes. On its following turn, Fate Reforged grins as it flips one of the manifested creatures, revealing... a Whisperwood Elemental! The War Shaman allows it to fight with the Ravager, killing it and opening the way for Fate Reforged's creature to kill its opponent. And just like that, game over! Fate Reforged shows its pride and tries to raise morale for an unlikely, but definitely possible, comeback win!
Game 4
Darkstell starts with a turn 1 Arcbound Worker, followed by a turn 2 Arcbound Slith, for the most aggro start so far from the artifact deck. Fate Reforged gets into play a Whisperer of the Wilds, that should at least be able to block the Slith and prevent it from growing in size. At least that's the theory, since in practice Darksteel gets a Skullclamp into play, kills the Worker and then attacks with the 2/2 Slith – at that point, Fate Reforged decides to save the Whisperer and take the damage.
Fate Reforged seems stuck at 2 lands, unfortunately, and for the coming turn can only play a Monastery Mentor and pass. Darksteel smeels blood, and gets ready to kick its opponent while it's down. On its turn, in fact, Darksteel plays an Arcbound Ravager and an Arcbound Stinger, while at the same time attacking again with the Slith for three more damage.
Things look dire for Fate Reforged, all the more so since it's still struggling to find mana. No choice for Fate Reforged than to play a Map the Wastes to get a land – and a Monk token. The Monk could at least chump-block the Slith, but it's far too easy for Darksteel to sacrifice the Slith to the Ravager and move its token on the Stinger, attacking for four more damage. Darksteel then plays a Viridian Zealot, sacrifices it to the Skullclamp, then plays two more Skullclamps and passes.
Fate Reforged draws – still no lands! - and is meekly forced to pass. Fate Reforged is at 11 life points and Darksteel is now ready to go for the kill. The Ravager sacrifices two Darksteel Citadels, then sacrifices itself, bringing a total of eight counters on the Stinger, that it's then equipped with the three Skullclamp – or at least should be so, since at that point Fate Reforged reveals its trump card: a Return to the Earth! The Stinger is destroyed at instant speed, before the Skullclamp could be equipped! Luckily for Darksteel, not all is lost – at least it can animate a Blinkmoth Nexus and move the +1/+1 counters there. But the Nexus came into play this turn, and cannot be animated to attack yet. Still, the land got into play at the right moment and managed to save Darksteel's metallic ass.
Fate Reforged has manages to gain one turn, will it be enough? Fate Reforged would need another Return to the Earth to kill the Nexus and probably win the game, but it just draws a Whisperwood Elemental, and has no way of stopping the Nexus in the coming turn.
So close. Both in game one and game four, Fate Reforged was so close to winning and eliminating a fearsome opponent, but Lady Luck smiled on the steel army of Darksteel, that advances to the following round.
Thanks Machinus. BTW, I have an interesting idea for magic's worst sets for the next BotS. The Dark, Alliances, Homelands & Fallen Empires should be allowed to use rainbow lands (basic lands that count as every basic land type). There are a lot of interesting cards in those sets, but are unable to shine because the set they're in sucks and are much smaller than usual expansions. Perhaps allowing these weak sets to use all of their cards would make things more interesting.
A very interesting matchup, that also came up in the last BOTS I held, resulting in a 3-2 victory for Dragon's Maze. The two decks are completely different in philosophy: sheer power for Dragon's Maze, versatility and tricks for Llorwyn. And that's what makes this pairing so interesting. One last thing to note: the unexpected MVP here is Skylasher, potentially a true nightmare for Llorwyn. Once that creature gets played, in fact, Llorwyn can remove it only with one card in the whole deck: Nameless Inversion.
Game 1
Llorwyn starts first with a Secluded Glen, revealing a Spellstutter Sprite, that is immediately played at instant speed at the end of Dragon's Maze second turn. As soon as the faerie hits the stack, Dragon's Maze taps its two mana and shows a Skylasher, immediately gaining the upper hand. But Llorwyn has the answer ready, in the form of a Nameless Inversion, clearing the way for the small faerie to deal the first damage of the game. On its turn, Dragon's Maze plays a Zhur-Taa Druid and passes.
Llorwyn attacks with the Spellstutter Sprite, then passes, and during Dragon's Maze upkeep plays a Mistbind Clique to tap all its opponent's lands. Not much that Dragon's Maze can do with no mana, so it just taps the Druid to deal one damage, and passes. On its turn, Llorwyn attacks with the Clique and passes.
Time for Dragon's Maze to start the counterattack. The first move is an Exava, Rakdos Blood With, activating the Unleash and immediately ready to attack – except for a Pestermite coming in to tap her! The classic annoying faerie gameplay at its best. Can Dragon's Maze break the lock?
On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Scion of Oona, boosting its other creatures to deal 8 damage to Dragon's Maze, that falls down to six life points. Game over? As Dragon's Maze draws only a Spike Jester, and has no creatures to block Llorwyin's faeries, the answer is clearly yes. Moving on to game two.
Game 2
Time for Dragon's Maze to start, and start aggressive, with a turn two Spike Jester, followed by a Varolz, the Scar-Striped that is quickly neutralized by a Broken Ambitions. The two deck clash, and Dragon's Maze wins with a Rot Farm Skeleton over a Pestermite. The Pestermite is definitely good news for Llorwyn, that will be able to use it to stop the Jester's onslaught. For now, then, Llorwyn draws and passes.
On Dragon's Maze turn, the Pestermite is used to tap the Spike Jester before it can attack. Dragon's Maze just plays the Rot Farm Skeleton and passes. Llorwyn plays a Thoughtseize, revealing a Flesh // Blood, a Putrefy and a land. Both cards could be troublesome for Llorwyn, but for now Flesh/Blood looks like the greater threat, and gets discarded. Llorwyn then passes.
Dragon's Maze tries to push in a death blow playing an Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch, but Llorwyn has one more Broken Ambitions ready. Both decks reveal a land in the clash, and both decks put them on the bottom of the library. Dragon's Maze then attacks with both creatures: the Jester trades for the Pestermite, and the skeleton dishes in four damage. Llorwyn falls down to 8 and starts worrying.
On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Ponder, decides to shuffle the deck, draws and passes. On Dragon's Maze turn, the Skeleton is bounced to Dragon's Maze hand by a Cryptic Command, with Llorwyn also drawing a card. Dragon's Maze plays once more the Skeleton, then passes. Llorwyn draws and considers the situation. A Spellstutter Sprite, a Nameless Inversion and a Mistbind Clique in hand. Quite good overall... but Dragon's Maze has a Putrefy in hand, Llorwyn knows that from its previous Thoughtseize. The Putrefy could easily be cast at instant speed to kill the Clique. For now, Llorwyn decides to just pass.
On its turn, Dragon's Maze attacks with the skeleton, and Llorwyn decides to kill it with the Nameless Inversion. Dragon's Maze doesn't look particularly worried as it just plays another Rot Farm Skeleton and passes. End of turn, Llorwyn plays the Spellstutter Sprite.
This draw would be crucial for Llorwyn, but unfortunately it's just a Secluded Glen. Llorwyn passes, and decides that it can't be kept in check by a Putrefy. On Dragon's Maze upkeep, the Clique comes into play, championing the Sprite, and as predicted, is immediately killed by the Putrefy. Still, all Dragon's Maze lands are now tapped, and the Sprite is perfectly able to trade for the Skeleton. Amd that's exactly what happens.
Both decks take a second of relax to recover after the heated match. Both decks have six lands and an empty board, one card in hand. 18 life points for Dragon's Maze, 8 life points for Llorwyn. Llorwyn draws – a Spellstutter Sprite, not cool – and passes.
And here comes the big bomb – Dragon's Maze plays a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed! Terrible, terrible news for Llorwyn. After drawing a Nameless Inversion on its turn, Llorwyn decides that there's nothing it can do to prevent being crushed by the Ogre, so gracefully concedes and moves on to game three.
Game 3
Llorwyn starts with a turn one Thoughtseize, revealing a hand of: Stomping Grounds, Overgrown Tomb, Swamp, Savageborn Hydra, Skylasher and two Varolz, the Scar-Striped. The choice is relatively simple, and Llorwyn decides to take out its nemesis, the Skylasher. The following turn, another Thoughtseize – revealing a just drawn Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. With the memory from the last game still fresh in mind, Llorwyn decides to take him ojut immediately.
Turn three, there's no more Thoughtseize. Llorwyn just draws and passes. Dragon's Maze plays its first Varolz, and is answered by an end of turn Scion of Oona from Llorwyn. On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Ponder, draws and passes. Dragon's Maze exiles the Skylasher thanks to Varolz's ability and puts two +1/+1 counters on the Troll, then plays a Spike Jester, that is countered by a Spellstutter Sprite. Varolz then attacks for four, and Llorwyn takes the damage.
On its turn, Llorwyn attacks for three damage with its faeries, then passes. On Dragon's Maze upkeep, a Mistbind Clique is played, championing the Spellstutter Sprite. Dragon's Maze has now no lands available, and the Clique is a 5/5 while Varolz only a 4/4. Nothing to do than pass, then.
Llorwyn attacks with both its creatrues for six damage, bringing Dragon's Maze down to 6. Another Thoughtseize is then showed to discard a Flesh // Blood, and finally Llorwyn passes. Dragon's Maze grumbles about unfairness as it draws and activates Varolz's ability to exile the Spike Jester and boost the troll up to a 7/7, and gets ready to smash Llorwyn's face. But it turns out Llorwyn has other prorgrams, as it shows a Cryptic Command to bounce back Varolz and draw a card. Since Llorwyn is all tapped out, Dragon's Maze decides to play a Putrefy, just drawn this turn, to remove the dangerous Clique.
Llorwyn still has the upper hand, though, as it can keep attacking with two faeries while Dragon's Maze has an empty board, and only seven life points. Can it come back from this dangerous situation?
Dragon's Maze considers that Llorwyn has only one card in hand, but that card could very well be a counterspell, and Llorwyn has all its mana open. If it's a Broken Ambitions or a Cryptic Command, there's nothing to do. But if it's a Spellstutter Sprite, it can only counter a spell with mana cost up to three. Dragon's Maze has only five mana open, so there's no way it can play two spells this turn. Better go all in with something big, then. Best choice here is a Savageborn Hydra for five mana. Crossed fingers for Dragon's Maze, but Llorwyn just shakes its head as it neutralizes the dangerous beast with a Broken Ambitions. Both decks reveal a land, Llorwyn puts it at the bottom of the deck. Then, on its turn... draws another land! Not good news for Llorwyn, that decides to keep the land in hand as a bluff, before attacking for three damage with the faeries. Dragon's Maze is now at 4 life points.
This is the decisive turn for Dragon's Maze, that despite the risky situation, plays a Stomping Grounds... untapped! As it falls down to 2 life points, it quickly becomes clear the reason behind the choice: Dragon's Maze needed a sixth land to play a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed!
Llorwyn is unable to kill Dragon's Maze this turn, as Ruric Thar would easily block the 2/2 Spellstutter Sprite, leaving only the 1/1 Scion of Oona to deal damage. Luckily, it has just drawn one more Sprite, and that will be enough to kill Dragon's Maze in the following turn. For now, then, Llorwyn passes.
Dragon's Maze unfortunately draws only a Zhur-Taa Druid, attacks with Ruric Thar, and plays the Druid and a Varolz. But then, it's over. End of turn, the second Spellstutter Sprite joins the battlefield, and Llorwyn is able to attack for the kill. What a crazy game! Llorwyn wins and moves on to game 4.
Game 4
Both decks have to mulligan this time. Llorwyn plays a Thoughtseize on turn one, revaling a hand of... four lands and a Putrefy. The instant spell goes directly to the graveyard, but Llorwyn has not even the time to feel satisfied, as Dragon's Maze draws and plays a Spike Jester. Nothing new happens on turn three, as Dragon's Maze just keeps attacking, and Llorwyn as usual draws and passes.
On turn 4, Dargon's Maze shows an Exava, Rakdos Blood With, but Llorwyn is quick to neutralize her with a Broken Ambitions. Dragon's Maze wins the clash with a Rot Farm Skeleton, while Llorwyn reveals a land and puts it on the bottom of the library. Meanwhile, the Jester is still attacking like crazy, and Llorwyn is down to 9 life points – definitely not good.
Llorwyn draws and passes, then Dragon's Maze attacks again with the Jester. Llorwyn knows that the Skeleton is coming this turn, so it decides to take the damage, then counter the Rot Farm Skeleton with a Cryptic Command and also draw a card.
On its turn, Llorwyn draws and passes again. As Dragon's Maze attacks again on the following turn, Llorwyn is finally forced to react, play a Scion of Oona and sacrifice it as a blocker, at least killing the Jester in return. But then Dragon's Maze plays a Varolz, the Scar-Striped, and immediately activates its ability to exile the Spike Jester and put three +1/+1 counters on the troll. A last goodbye from the Spike Jester, as if it hadn't already done enough damage!
Llorwyn draws a Nameless Inversion, not enough to deal with Varolz, and as usual it passes right away. Dragon's Maze activates again Varolz's ability on Exava, bringing the troll up to a 9/9, then attacks. Nine damage would be more than enough to kill Llorwyn, that is then forced to sacrifice a second Scion of Oona to chump-block it. On its following tun, Llorwyn just draws an Island, and knows it's over. Both decks move on to the fifth and decisive game.
Game 5
Llorwyn starts the game with a turn 1 Secluded Glen (reevaling a Spellstutter Sprite) followed by a Ponder. On turn two, Dragon's Maze plays a Spike Jester, and Llorwyn decides to immediately take care of it with a Spellstutter Sprite casted to block. On its turn, Llorwyn again draws and passes.
Dragon's Maze draws and passes, and Llorwyn shows an end-of-turn Scion of Oona, that is immediately answered with a Putrefy by Dragon's Maze.
On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Thoughtseize, revealing a Skylasher, a Putrefy and three lands. Llorwyn thinks for a couple of seconds, then surprisingly decides to discard the Putrefy. What's going on here? On its turn, Dragon's Maze plays the Skylasher and passes. Llorwyn plays a Scion of Oona at instant speed, then draws... and plays a second Scion of Oona! That explains the choice to discard the Putrefy, that could have removed one of the Scion before the two could protect each other with Shroud. Still, the Skylasher can easily trade for any of them, and the game will remain a stalemate until Llorwyn can play a Nameless Inversion... or Dragon's Maze can find some bigger threat.
And that's exactly what happens in the following turn, as Dragon's Maze plays an Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch (a 4/4 thanks to Unleash), and attacks immediately. For now, Llorwyn decides to take the damage. On its turn, Llorwyn as usual draws and passes.
That's when things get serious for Llorwyn, as Dargon's Maze draws and plays a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed! Does Llorwyn have a counterspell? The control deck sadly shakes its head, and the big ogre joins the battle, ready to devast the faerie army once again. Exava tries to attack again, but this time Llorwyn taps her at instant with a Pestermite.
Llorwyn once again draws (a Cryptic Command, but only two blue mana sources in play), and passes. Dragon's Maze continues its incredible sequence of lucky draws with a Savageborn Hydra, immediately cast for seven mana – a 5/5 Double Strike that will only keep growing, and there's nothing Dragon's Maze can do, without the mana to counter. Ruric Thar has to attack each turn, and along with him comes Exava. Llorwyn plays an instant speed a Spellstutter Sprite and assigns both her and the Pestermite to block Ruric Thar, trading two for one and taking four damage from Exava. Things are not looking good for Llorwyn right now.
And then, the irony! Llorwyn draws a Broken Ambitions – if only it had come one turn earlier. Now Llorwyn can only watch as the Hydra is boosted up to 8/8 and then turned to attack along with Exava, forcing Llorwyn to block with its two Scion of Oona. And as Llorwyn draws a Secluded Glen in the following turn, it becomes clear that victory is shining on Dragon's Maze!
Once again, a very close matchup between the two decks, but once again, Llorwyn is forced to taste defeat! In the end, it was decisive an incredible series of cards drawn by Dragon's Maze in the fifth and decisive game - Exava, then Ruric Thar, then Savageborn Hydra. Not many decks could answer something like that, and certainly not Llorwyn on a bad day. The faerie deck swears revenge, while Dragon's Maze advances to the following turn.
Damn, this is a big one. Me and my group weren't playing much Magic in the "Return to Ravnica" period, so we're not familiar with the cards from direct playing experience. And I was sure I read "to target creature or player", I played the card like that and no one actually bothered to check. Big fail sorry.
Apart from the match itself, the card wouldn't make sense in Gatecrash if it can't target creatures. The deck should be modified, even though it's not optimal since the tournament already started. Any suggestion?
One more game for today's update. Been a little busy, being summer and all. Also, won't be able to post anything until around the 20th of August, but hopefully I'll have some more games to post by then.
Sorry again for the Gatecrash's disaster. The deck will be fixed and the match retaken for the next update. Since some of the games we play on Magic Workstation, it's easier for a mistake like that to happen than when playing with actual cards. We'll be more careful in coming games, and I'll double check the cards of any deck.
That said, enjoy today's game, hopefully everything's all right this time Have a nice summer, everyone
Oath of the Gatewatch vs Scourge
Monowhite against monoblack, control vs aggro, good vs evil. It doesn't get any more direct than this. Who will win the fight?
Game 1
Scourge starts and gets the first play of the game with a turn two Silver Knight, that is quickly answered by a a Slaughter Drone from Oath. On turn three, Scourge is forced to cycle an Eternal Dragon to find its third Plains, then the Knight is kept on the defensive. Oath plays an Eldrazi Mimic and passes.
On its fourth turn, Scourge plays a Dawn Elemental and passes. So far, it looks like Scourge will successfully keep the aggro deck at bay. But it's also time for Oath to step up its game: a Thought-Knot Seer is played, revealing a Noble Templar, a Daru Warchief, a Dawn Elemental and a Wing Shards. Oath decides to remove the second Dawn Elemental, then thinks for a second whether to attack or not, and decides to pass.
On its turn, Scourge plays a Daru Warchief and passes. Oath plays an Oblivion Strike on the Dawn Elemental, then passes as well. The groundwork is almost completely done: Oath is ready to strike. But Scourge will be found ready: a second Daru Warchief is played. The battle line for Scourge is now a 2/2 First Strike and two 3/5. Oath will have serious troubles getting anything through.
So Oath is forced to exile one of the two daru Warchief from the board with a second Oblivion Strike, then adds a Reaver Drone to the board and passes.
Scourge draws... a Dawn Elemental! Lucky one. The creature is immediately played, then Scourge passes. Oath of the Gatewatch just draws and passes. Scourge plays a Guilty Conscience on the Thought-knot Seer and passes. End of turn, Oath activates a Mirrorpool to put a copy of the Seer in play and remove the Wing Shards from Scourge's hand. Then, on Oath's turn, another Thought-Knot Seer is played to trigger the Mimic Eldrazi, removing a Noble Templar from Scourge's hand. And then it's finally time to attack with all creatures! Scourge blocks the Slaughter Drone with the Silver Knight, killing it. The Seer enchanted with Guilty Conscience is let through, while the other one is blocked by the Dawn Elemental and the Daru Warchief to kill it and draw as many cards as possible (the Daru is killed in combat).
10 damage pass through to Scourge. Definitely a bad hit. Two cards are drawn when the Seers leave play, but it's just two Temple of the False God. On its turn, Scourge draws... a Plains. Not good, not good at all. Will the control deck be able to endure another turn of Eldrazi slaughter? Oath draws and plays another Oblivion Strike ro remove the Dawn Elemental, then attacks with all its creatures. Scourge thinks for a couple of seconds, then block the Mimic with the Knight, killing it, but also taking six more damage and falling down to 4 life points.
On the coming turn, it's another tough choice for Scourge, that finally decides to pay the mana to get the Eternal Dragon back from the graveyard. It turns out to be the right choice, as Scourge only draws another land. The ball goes back to Oath. Can it close the game this turn?
It can't, but sure as hell it can be nasty. After attacking with both creatures (Scourge is forced to chump-block the Seer with the knight and take two damage from the drone), Oath sacrifices another Mirrorpool to bring another Seer token in play – and remove the Eternal Dragon!
And then the enxt turn, Scourge only draws a Silver Knight. Game over. The Eldrazi grasps the first victory with their tentacles, and move on to game two.
Game 2
Scourge gets first turn, but the first play is a turn one Reaver Drone by Oath. Luckily for Scourge, a Silver Knight is ready to go to the rescue, guaranteeing a solid defense to Scourge at least for the following couple of turns. Oath plays a tapped Mirrorpool, then a second Reaver Drone, and passes.
Scourge cycles an Eternal Dragon to fetch a Plains, then plays it and passes.
Oath is now ready to begin its offensive. A Spatial Contortion dissolves the knight into nothingness, clearing the way for the two drones, brining Scourge's life points to 16.
Scourge is stuck at 3 lands, so it cycles a Wipe Clean, but still fails to draw any Plains and is forced to pass. Oath decides to go all in, exploiting its opponent's weakness. A Slaughter Drone and an Eldrazi Mimic are played, while the two Drones strikes for 4 more damage. Scourge draws... one more Wipe Clean! The situation looks dire, as the best Scourge can do is playing three (!) Guilty Conscience on Oath's creature – that won't prevent any damage, but at least should clear the board and give Scourge a chance in the coming turns.
Oath plays a Matter Reshaper, turning the Mimic into a 3/2, then attacks for 9 damage. Oath loses three creatures this way, but Scourge is now down to 3 life points. Can it survive? As it draws a Noble Templar, the answer is certainly no. Oath of the Gatewatch takes the second game by storm, and gets ready to close the match on game 3.
Game 3
The first play is once again a Reaver Drone by Gatewatch, and Scourge, this time without any handy Silver Knight, decides to enchant it with a Guilty Conscience to reduce the damage taken to a minimum. Oath plays a tapped Mirrorpool, then attacks with the suicidal drone before passing.
On Scourge third turn, here comes the cavalry: the always useful Silver Knight to the rescue. On its turn, Oath plays a Matter Reshaper and passes.
Scourge plays a Dawn Elemental and passes. Scourge's defensive line looks good, but Oath has already shown that can easily destroy it. Will it be able to do it this time, as well? For now, Oath plays a Bearer of Silence, paying the additional cost and forcing Scourge to sacrifice the knight. Then Oath passes. Scourge plays a Temple of the False God, then a Noble Templar, and finally passes. Oath doesn't seem particularly worried as it shows a Reality Smasher and passes.
Scourge plays a Daru Warchief and passes. Both decks are stacking up creatures, but clearly this can't go on for long. In fact, Oath looks finally ready to break the loop and begin smashing Scourge. A Thought-knot Seer is played, removing a Wing Shards from Scourge's hand, then a Spatial Contortion takes care of the Dawn Elemental, and Oath is finally ready to strike with all its creatures. Scourge decides to kill the Reality Smasher, blocking it with both its creatures and losing the Warchief in the process. Scourge then takes 5 damage from the remaining attacking creatures.
Scourge has now only a Noble Templar, and an empty hand, but at least the Templar can block any creature Oath has, except the flying Bearer of Silence.
On its turn, Scourge draws and passes. Oath plays a second Bearer of Silence, forcing Scourge to sacrifice the Templar, then attacks with all its creatures. Game over? Not yet, as Scourge shows... a Decree of Justice. Four soldier tokens line up to block and kill the Seer, allowing Scourge to draw two cards – one from the cycling, one from the dead seer. With the usual luck Scourge has had this game, those are two lands! The two other Eldrazi are free to strike for 5 damage, bringing Scourge down to 8. Despite the powerful Decree, still not an optimal situation for the control deck.
Scourge draws a Wipe Clean and cycles it for an Eternal Dragon! If only it had drawn it earlier! The game is almost surely lost, but being the decisive one, Scourge decides to see it to the bitter end, and passes. Oath attacks with its creatures to bring Scourge to one life points.
Then Scourge draws a Silver Knight, and plays both its creatures. Three attacking creatures from Oath, two blocking creatures from Scourge. That's it, then. an unlucky Socurge couldn't hold off the Eldrazi tide. Oath of the Gatewatch wins and moves on to the quarterfinals.
And here we go again. Hope you had a nice summer and holidays
Today we close up Group B, then will move on to Group C in the coming days. Stay tuned
Alliances vs Gatecrash
Back for the rematch! What to say? Gatecrash is still the clear favorite, but Alliances is such a weird deck, you never know. On we go!
Game 1
Gatecrash gets first turn, but it's a very slow start, with the first play being an Orzhov Keyrune, answered by an Elvish Ranger from Alliances. On its following turn, Gatecrash plays an Obzedat, Ghost Council, then passes. Alliances is stuck at three lands – and worse than that, all Forests. For now, then, it decides to pass.
Gatecrash attacks with Obzedat. Alliances thinks for a second, then blocks with the Ranger and throws in a Pyrokinesis to remove the annoying creature (exiling a Balduvian Horde). Gatecrash just shrugs and adds a second Obzedat to the board. Bad news for Alliances, that is still facing its mana troubles, and it's forced to pass again. Gatecrash attacks with Obzedat and then plays an Assemble the Legion. Alliances understands that the game is over, and concedes. A lightning win by Gatecrash, and the two decks move on to game two.
Game 2
Alliances is forced to mulligan. Gatecrash gets to make the first play with a turn two Truefire Paladin, but the valiant knight is immediately removed by an end-of-turn Guerrilla Tactics from Alliances. The second creature to join the battlefield is then an Elvish Ranger from Alliances. Gatecrash doesn't seem much worried, as it plays a Boros Reckoner and passes.
Since Gatecrash doesn't currently have the mana to give the Reckoner First Strike, Alliances decides to attack while it still can, and Gatecrash takes the damage. Not much more to do for Alliances, that for now just passes.
Gatecrash plays its fourth land and passes. Alliances draws a Pillage and decides to immediately use it to keep Gatecrash away from the five lands mark, where most of its dangerous spells lay. Gatecrash plays one more land and passes. Alliances does just the same, and the ball goes back to Gatecrash, that this time adds a Basilica Guards to the board before passing again. More of the same for Alliances, draw, land and pass.
Then it's time for Gatecrash to break the stalemate. First of all, the Reckoner turns sideways to attack, and Alliances decides to take the damage. Then a second Reckoner is played, activating the Extort from the Guards. Finally, a Sacred Foundry is played untapped, allowing Gatecrash to keep one mana open to give First Strike to the Reckoner.
Clearly, the two minotaurs are an headache for Alliances, and most likely an unconquerable defense. But Alliances cannot give up yet, as it draws a Deadly Insect and plays it. Then, Alliances passes. Gatecrash is ready to press the advantage. A Spark Trooper is played (without activating Extort to keep one mana open) and immediately turned to attack along with a Reckoner. Alliances takes the damage from the Trooper, but is forced to try and block at least the Reckoner, sacrificing the Ranger (Gatecrash spends one mana to give First Strike to the minotaur).
Alliances knows in its heart that it's over, but decides to at least try and do as much damage as possible. The Guards are removed by two Guerrilla Tactics, then Alliances attacks with the Deadly Insect. Gatecrash decides to save the Reckoner and takes the damage. Then Gatecrash plays another Basilica Guards, and attacks with one Reckoner. Gatecrash is now down to 6 life points. As Alliances draws a forest, with a Death Spark and a Primitive Justice in hand, there's nothing left to do except concede and move on to game 3.
Game 3
The game starts slow as usual, with the first play being a Pillage from Alliances on a Sacred Foundry. On the following turn, Gatecrash plays a Truefire Paladin and passes. Then it's time for Alliances to drop its first bomb: a Balduvian Horde (Alliances curses when another Pillage gets randomly discarded). Gatecrash plays an untapped Godless Shrine, then a Basilica Guards, and passes. Alliances attacks (Gatecrash takes the damage), adds a second Balduvian Horde to the board (discarding a Deadly Insect), then passes. Gatecrash just plays a land and passes.
Alliances knows it needs to kill its opponent quickly. The two Balduvian Horde attacks, and Gatecrash blocks one of them with the Paladin and the Guards, boosting the Paladin to ensure the kill. The Paladin is, in turn, killed by the Horde, while Gatecrash takes five more damage and falls down to 8. Alliances then plays a Deadly Insect and passes.
Then Gatecrash draws... a Boros Reckober. Here comes the powerful minotaur to the saving... again. Truly and entirely, Alliances's nemesis in this match. Gatecrash can also activate the Extort from the Guards, and still maintain one mana open to give the Reckoner First Strike, if need be.
Luck is still smiling on Alliances, though, as it draws a Pyrokinesis, with exactly six mana in play for it. The burn spell incinerates the Reckoner, that can only place the damage on the Horde. Then, the road is clear once again for the attack, and both creatures are turned sideways. The Insect is blocked by the Guards, while the Horde strikes to bring Gatecrash down to 4.
Gatecrash draws and plays an Obzedat, Ghost Council, then plays its sixth land (a tapped Godless Shrine), and passes. The Horde attacks again, trading for the Ghost Council, then Alliances passes as well. Looking at an empty board, Gatecrash plays a Gideon, Champion of Justice and passes. And then it's over: Alliances draws and plays a Yavimaya Ants, followed by a Guerrilla Tactics, for a total of seven damage. 2-1 for Gatecrash, the two decks move on to game 4.
Game 4
Alliances is forced to mulligan, while Gatecrash gets the first play of the game with a turn three Basilica Guards, answered by Alliances with a turn three Elvish Ranger. Gatecrash adds an High Priest of Penance to the board (activating the Extort from the Guards), then passes. Alliances attacks with the Elvish Ranger, that trades for the High Priest, then passes. Gatecrash plays a Spark Trooper (activating the Extort once again), but the Elemental is unfortunately killed at instant speed by a Guerrilla Tactics. Furthermore, an end of turn Pyrokinesis (exiling a Pillage) kills the Guards, too, clearing the way for the attacks of some Yavimaya Ants on the following turn.
But Gatecrash draws just the right tool for this pesky insect troubles: a Truefire Paladin. Alliances look at the Paladin, thinks for a few seconds, then decides to pay the mana for the upkeep of the Ants, before drawing and passing. On its turn, Gatecrash attacks with the Paladin (Alliances takes the damage), then passes. Alliances doesn't pay the upkeep for the Ants this time, then adds a Balduvian Horde to the board (discarding a second Yavimaya Ants), before passing. Gatecrash shows a sadistic smile and a One Thousand Lashes at the same time, disabling the fearsome red creature before attacking again with the Paladin (boosted to a 4/2, and Alliances falls down to 12 life points).
Luckily for Alliances, it draws and plays a second Balduvian Horde. Unfortunately, Gatecrash has now enough mana to boost the Paladin up to a whopping 8/2 AND give it First Strike at the same time. Alliances must hope to draw a burn spell and remove it – there's no other option. For now, though, it can only pass.
Gatecrash attacks with the Paladin, and Alliances considers the situation. Only 11 life points left, one to be lost from the One Thousand Lashes... and the Paladin can be boosted up to 10/2. No choice then – the Horde sacrifices itself to chump-block the Paladin. Gatecrash boosts him up to 6/2 and gives him First Strike to kill his opponent. Gatecrash then adds an High Priest of Penance to the board and passes. Alliances draws a Mountain... and it's game over!
Gatecrash trampled its opponent, mostly thanks to its MVP, the Boros Reckoner, that proved practically impossible to handle for its opponent without piling up a large amount of card disadvantage. Gatecrash advances to the quarterfinals of Group B.
Alliances 1 - Gatecrash 3
Dissension vs Dark Ascension
Those are two decks I really like, and I'll be very sad to see one of the two leaving on the first match. Certainly, this was not an easy draw for Dissension, that greatly prefer to thrash control and combo decks with its great hand destruction power and quick damage dealing potential. Dark Ascension, on the other hand, is the perfect midrange deck, exactly the category that causes most troubles to Dissension. The decisive cards will most likely be Lyzolda, the Blood Witch on Dissension's side, and Huntmaster of the Fells for Dark Ascension.
Game 1
Dissension wins the roll to start first and gets the first play of the game with a turn two Rakdos Guildmage. Dark Ascension quickly answers with a Strangleroot Geist, that is prudently kept on the defensive. The geis is indeed annoying for Dissension, that can't easily deal with it. So for now it just plays two Seal of Fire and passes.
Dark Ascension draws, plays a land, and gets ready to attack, turning the Geist sideways. Dissension immediately reacts by killing the annoying Spirit (with one Seal), but Dark Ascension shows a Fling in response, sacrificing the Geist to kill the Guildmage – and have it return thanks to undying. Dissension still wants it dead, though – and for good. The second Seal of Fire is sacrificed to remove the Geist.
On its turn, Dissension plays a Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace and then a Rakdos Augermage, before passing. Dark Ascension plays a Predator Ooze and passes. Dissension shows its most diabolic smile as it plays a Hit // Run to kill the Ooze, deal three damage to Dark Ascension, and then attack for three more with the Augermage. Dissension always knows how to hurt its opponent badly!
On its turn, Dark Ascension starts its recovery plan, with a Dawntreader Elk and a Strangleroot Geist. The ball goes back to Dissension, that only has a Squealing Devil in hand. Dissension knows that it can't do any damage to Dark Ascension this turn, considering the Geist in defense, so it's best to start chipping off at Dark Ascension's hand. First of all, the Squealing Devil is played for its basic cost of two mana, emptying Dissension's hand. Then Rix Maadi is activated, forcing Dark Ascension to discard a Flayer of the Hatebound. Then the Rakdos Augermage ability is activated, showing a hand of Hunger of the Howlpack and Vorapede – the dangerous creature is immediately discarded, especially considering that by sacrificing the Elk, Dark Ascension would hit five mana in the coming turn.
Dark Ascension has taken a heavy blow in the last turn, but the situation is still promising. The Elk is sacrificed to fetch a land, allowing Dark Ascension to play Hunger of the Howlpack with the Morbid power-up to turn the Geist into a 5/4. Then, considering the situation, Dark Ascension decides to keep it on the defensive one more turn.
Dissension draws, attacks with the Devil, then plays a Demonfire for 5 damage – Dark Ascension falls down to 7 life points! To make things worse, the Rakdos Augermage is tapped to force Dark Ascension to discard the only card in its hand – another Flayer of the Hatebound.
The game looks headed towards a one-sided conclusion, as even with the boosted Geist, Dark Ascension can't hope to win the damage race. So Dark Ascension hopes and draws... a Mountain! Not good. Dark Ascension passes, and hopes to survive another turn.
But that's not the case. Dissension draws and plays a Hit // Run, killing the Geist for good and also dealing two damage at Dark Ascension – plus the five damage from its two creatures, it's exactly seven. Dissension sweeps game one with the power of its hand disruption, and moves on to game 2.
Game 2
Dark Ascension starts, but it's Dissension to play first with a turn one Seal of Fire. Dark Ascension gets the first creature in play with a turn two Dawntreader Elk. Dissension gets a Gobhobbler Rats in play, then thinks for a second whether to kill the Elk, then decides to keep the Seal for another target. Dark Ascension plays an Evolving Wilds, sacrifice it to get another Forest in play, then passes.
Dissension draws and attacks with the Rats. Dark Ascension blocks with the Elk, then sacrifices the poor animal to fetch another Forest. Dissension then plays a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch, and passes. Not good news for Dark Ascension, as Lyzolda is probably the most dangerous card in Dissension's deck. But Dark Ascension is ready for a big move, too, as it plays a Vorapede (and cross its fingers, hoping that Dissension doesn't have a Hit // Run in hand).
It turns out that it doesn't. The Vorapede stands – and that's definitely trouble for Dissension. For now, the Rakdos deck can only play a Rise // Fall (revealing an Increasing Savagery and a Forest, before passing).
Dark Ascension finally can see a bright future ahead. It took a risk, and got a massive gain for it. Now it's time to press the advantage. First of all, its time to attack. Or more correctly, it should be. The Rats are sacrificed to Lyzolda for two damage to the Vorapede and a card drawn, then the Seal of Fire is sacrificed as well for a total of four damage – and a killed Vorapede. No worries – the huge Insect is immediately back thanks to Undying, but will not attack this turn. So Dark Ascension adds a Predator Ooze and a Dawntreader Elk to the board and passes.
Dissension is forced on the defensive, a position that the aggro deck definitely doesn't like. For now, it can only play a Rakdos Pit Dragon and a Seal of Fire, and then pass.
Dark Ascension is ready to go all out. The Elk is sacrificed to fuel a Morbid Hunger of the Howlpack, turning the Vorapede into a monstruous 9/8, then a Strangleroot Geist is played, and an all-in attack is declared (the Vorapede with Vigilance will still be able to defend next turn, if needed).
Dissension considers the situation. By blocking the Vorapede with all its creatures, it could kill it this turn, but then it would remain totally defenseless (especially considering that Dissension only has two lands in hand at the moment). On the other hand, if Dissension waits and manages to trigger the Hellbent ability of the Dragon, it could trade one on one with the Vorapede with relative ease. The choice is made, then. The Dragon blocks the Geist, killing it (it then returns with Undying), and Dissension takes 11 damage from the other two creatures.
Dissension draws, plays a Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace and activates it to discard the second land in hand, then a Seal of Fire is played to empty its hand and trigger the Hellbent for the dragon – with a red mana open to activate the +1/+0 ability. The Seal of Fire is activated to kill the Geist, and Dissension passes.
Dissension knows its chances are slim, but what it doesn't know, it's that they're about to become zero. As Dark Ascension plays a seventh land, the Flashback ability for Increasing Savagery can be activated. The Vorapede grows beyond Eldrazi's size, and Dissension's destiny is sealed. On to game three.
Game 3
Dissension starts once again with its usual turn one Seal of Fire. Dark Ascension answers with a Wolfbittern Captive. Dark Ascension gets a Rakdos Guildmage in play then, after thinking for a couple of seconds, decides to immediately kill the Captive with the Seal. Dark Ascension plays a Strangleroot Geist, decides not to attack, and passes. On its turn, Dissension plays a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch, and passes.
None of the two decks want to break the balance, for now. Dark Ascension plays a Dawntreader Elk and passes, keeping the mana open to sacrifice it in case of need. Dissension draws and ponders about its options. Considering that Dark Ascension is about to ramp mana with the Elk, Dissension decides to try and neutralize the opponent's threats before they're played,with a Rise/Fall. Luck doesn't seem to be on Dissension's side, though, as the discarded cards are a Wolfbitten Captive (hardly a threat) and the Flashback-able Increasing Savagery. Before the end of Dissension's turn, Dark Ascension sacrifices the Elk to fetch a land.
On its turn, Dark Ascension attacks with the Geist (Dissension decides to take the damage), then plays a Huntmaster of the Fells and passes. Dissension knows that the Huntmaster has to die – too dangerous to keep him alive. So, Dissension gets its fourth land in play and sacrifices the Guildmage to Lyzolda to kill the Huntmaster and draw a card. The other two mana are used on a Demonfire targeted at the Geits, that gets incinerated and immediately exiled from the game. End of turn, Lyzolda and a lonely wolf token look at each other from opposing sides of the board.
Dark Ascension draws and considers the situation. Four lands in play, two Vorapede and a Hunger of the Howlpack in hand. Dark Ascension only needs a land to push the game towards a likely victory. For now, it attacks with the wolf (Dissension takes the damage), and passes.
Dark Ascension draws, plays a Squealing Devil for five mana, boosting Lyzolda +3/+0, then attacks with the witch for six damage. The balance of power looks like it's shifting towards Dissension's side, but Dark Ascension is ready to counterattack. A Dawntreader Elk is played and immediately sacrificed to fetch that precious fifth land, then the Hunger of the Howlpack is played to turn the little wolf into a huge 5/5 beast.
Dissension plays a Gobhobbler Rats, attacks with the Squealing Devil and passes, deciding to first watch Dark Ascension's moves and then react to them. Dark Ascension gets a sixth land in play, then attacks with the Wolf. Dissension blocks it with the Rats, then sacrifices them to Lyzolda for two damage to Dark Ascension and a card drawn. Dark Ascension then plays the first Vorapede and passes.
Dissension attacks again with the Devil, the considers the situation. Seven lands, a Hit // Run in hand, Lyzolda and the Devil in play. Dark Ascension at 10 life points. A Demonfire would close the game, if drawn quickly. Otherwise, Dissension risks to be overpowered by its opponent's larger creatures. Dissension decides to pass without doing anything else.
Dark Ascension attacks with both its creatures, and Dissension decides to block the Wolf with Lyzolda, before sacrificing the witch to her own ability to deal two more damage to Dark Ascension and draw a card. Dissension takes five damage from the Vorapede and falls down to 11. Then Dark Ascension plays its second Vorapede and passes.
Dissension had just drawn a Lyzolda from... Lyzolda's ability, then draws again... another Lyzolda! Dissension decides it's best to keep drawing cards and putting out damage, so it only plays one of the Lyzoldas, ready to activate her ability. The Devil attacks again for two damage,and Dark Ascension falls down to 6 life points.
The attrition war would probably end in Dissension's favor, but Dark Ascensions has a trump card ready to be played... the Increasing Savagery in the graveyard! One of the Vorapede increases to huge size, and thanks to its Trample ability, Dark Ascension can close the game! Game over for Dissension!
Game 4
Dissension starts, while Dark Ascension is forced to mulligan. On turn one, the only movement is a Wolfbitten Captive from Dark Ascension. Dissension doesn't want to fall behind, though, and answers with a Rakdos Guildmage. Dark Ascension draws, plays a land, and passes. The Captive transforms at the beginning of Dissension's upkeep.
Dissension plays its third land, but has a problem: only red mana available. So, for now it plays a second Rakdos Guildmage and passes. Dark Ascension gets a third land in play, decides not to attack,and passes.
No more lands for Dissension, that must choose what to dowith its limited resources. It has a Demonfire in hand, that could kill its opponent's creature, but surely a spell like that it's best used against an Undying creature. It could play a Squealing Devil, but it would immediatelyt die because of no black mana. The other spells in its hand are a Rise // Fall, Hit // Run and Gobhobbler Rats – all require black mana. Dissension simply decides to attack with the two Guildmage. One of them trades with Dark Ascension's creature, the other strikes for two damage.
Dark Ascension is stuck with three lands, as well, but luckily draws and plays a Dawntreader Elk, before passing. Dark Ascension draws a Rakdos Pit Dragon, not particularly useful at the moment. The Rakdos Guildmage attacks, but it's blocked by the Elk, that gets immediately sacrificed to fetch the much needed fourth land.
On its turn, Dark Ascension plays a Huntmaster of the Fells and passes. Bad news for Dissension. Luckily, the Rakdos deck draws its fourth land. Unluckily, it's another Mountain! Dissension's priority at the moment is removing the Huntmaster before it can do much damage, and there goes the Demonfire. Dissension then passes.
But there are more bad news coming for Dissension. After attacking with the wolf token (Dissension takes the damage), Dark Ascension shows a second Huntmaster! Can Dissension find an answer quickly? Only if it draws a removal... but the top card of Dissension's deck is a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch. Dissension can still play the Rakdos Pit Dragon to prevent the Huntmaster from transforming, and the dragon is a very strong creature, but surely the inertia of the game seems to be moving towards Dark Ascension.
And surely much more so, as an Increasing Savagery is played on the Huntmaster, turning him into a fearsome 7/7. Dark Ascension attacks with all its creatures, and Dark Ascension decides to chumpblock the Huntmaster with the Guildmage, taking only 4 damage.
Dissension draws yet another Mountain, and starts to despair. The situation is dire and a comeback looks impossible, but never say never. Dissension passes, and the Huntmaster transforms, dealing two more damage to Dissension and two to the Dragon. Once again, Dark Ascension attacks with all its creatures, then shows a Fling – with Dissension at 12 life points, the math is simple: Dark Ascension wins the fourth game! The endurance of the undying deck proved too much for the blazing fast aggro deck. Dark Ascension moves on to the next round of Battle of the Sets!
Dissension 1 - Dark Ascension 3
Magic 2014 vs Arabian Nights
An interesting matchup featuring two streamlined aggro decks. Arabian Nights is the fastest one, with the potential for being one of the most explosive decks in the tournament. Magic 2014 is more mid-rangeish, stacking up Slivers to create an unstoppable horde. Arabian Nights has not much in terms of removal (the sole Oubliette), so it's vital that the game is closed quickly, or the Sliver deck will surely gain the upper hand.
Game 1
Magic 2014 gets first turn and starts with a Mutavault, followed by a Manaweft Sliver on turn two. Arabian Nights seems to be having a slow start, and the next play is once again from Magic 2014: a Hive Stirrings. Lots of mana for Magic 2014... will the deck show some bomb in the nect turn? Time will tell. In the meantime, it's Arabian Nights's turn to make its first move, a Serendib Efreet.
On its next turn, Magic 2014 can only show a Sentinel Sliver... mana flood trouble, perhaps? It certainly seems so, as it would have at least seven mana available. Bad news for Magic 2014, good news for Arabian Nights, that adds a Juzám Djinn to the board and attacks for three with the Efreet.
Magic 2014 draws... one more Manaweft Sliver! But Magic 2014 can't just sit back forever, so it attacks with all its creatures: the Sentinel Sliver, the two tokens, the other Manaweft Sliver and the animated Mutavault. Arabian Nights decides to block the Sentinel Sliver with the Djinn, and takes the remaining damage, falling down to 13 (and then 11 at the beginning of its next upkeep).
Arabian Nights, faithful to its nature of suicide aggro deck, goes all in with another Juzám Djinn, then casts an Unstable Mutation on the Serendib Efreet and attacks with both the Djinn and the Efreet. The Djinn is chump-blocked by a Sliver token, while the Efreet can strike for six damage uncontested.
Magic 2014 draws... one more land! With not much damage potential left, it decides to pass and hope to draw something useful in the coming turn. Arabian Nights plays a Sorceress Queen, then attacks with the Efreet and one Djinn, forcing Magic 2014 to sacrifice the remaining Sliver token and still fall down to 6 life points for the damage from the efreet.
And then finally Magic 2014 draws a Bonescythe Sliver. Too little too late? Probably so, but Magic 2014 still declares to attack with all its creatures. The animated Mutavault is blocked by the Djinn that Arabian Nights kept in defense, while one of the Slivers crashes on the Sorceress Queen. The remaining one can hit Arabian Nigjhts for two damage, but it's not enough. The following turn, Arabian Nights has an open way to victory by attacking with all its creatures.
Game 2
Magic 2014 hopes for some more luck this time around. The start is not bad with a Mutavault, but it pales in comparison with the Library of Alexandria played by Arabian Nights. Still, Magic 2014 can't get discouraged yet, so on its second turn plays its first creature with a Predatory Sliver. Arabian Nights start drawing cards with the Library (end of Magic 2014 turn), then plays an Erg Raiders and passes.
Magic 2014 gets a second Predatory Sliver in play and attacks with the other one. Arabian Nights knows that the Erg Raiders will have to attack on its following turn, and it's definitely going to die, so it's better they at least sacrifice themselves on the defensive, preventing the damage.
On its turn, Arabian Night plays a Serendib Efreet and passes. The 3/4 should be able to keep at bay the Slivers until Arabian Nights can bring more large creatures to the battlefield.
Magic 2014 seems to be having mana screw problems this time, and can only draw and pass for the time being. Arabian Nights draws, then activates the Library of Alexandria, plays a land and a Sorceress Queen. After considering the situation, the best course of action seems once more to keep the Efreet on the defensive, so Arabian Nights passes.
Lukckily, Magic 2014 draws a Manaweft Sliver. This one is immediately played, then the two Predatory Sliver and the third land are tapped to play a Hive Stirrings. Things finally look on the upside for Magic 2014. How will Arabian Nights respond?
By playing a Serendib Djinn and atacking with the Serendib Efreet. The balance of power is broken – all hell is about to break loose. And in fact, here comes a Megantic Sliver! There are two untapped Predatory Sliver and a Sliver token, and all of them are now 6/6, and ready to attack. Bad news for Arabian Nights, that can't actually do much about it. The best course of action is blocking two of the three slivers with the Sorceress Queen and the Serendib Djinn, then activating the Queen on the Sliver blocked by the Efreet. This turns the 1/1 into 0/2, and then 5/7 after the buffs from the other slivers,allowing the djiin to survive. The Sorceress Queen then dies, but at least Arabian Nights has only got 6 damage from this combat phase.
It's all or nothing now. Arabian Nights plays an Oubliette on the Megantic Sliver, then an Unstable Mutation on the Serendib Efreet, and attacks with both its creatures for 11 damage. Magic 2014 falls down to 6 life points, but on its next turn shows a Bonescythe Sliver, and that's game over for Arabian Nights. The two decks stand on 1-1, and move to game 3.
Game 3
Arabian Nights starts this game and begins the offensive with a turn two Erg Raiders. Magic 2014 has nothing to play on its second turn, so Arabian Night can add another Erg Raiders, then cast an Unstable Mutation on the first one, and attack for 5. Definitely not a promising beginning for Magic 2014, and even more so since it has nothing to play on turn three, as well.
And as Magic 2014 struggles to even start the game,Arabian Nights is already close to finishing it: a Serendib Efreet is played on the fourth turn, along with a second Unstable Mutation on the remaining Erg Raiders. Then Arabian Nights attacks for 9, and Magic 2014 is already at 6 life points.
Magic 2014 could finally play a Bonescythe Sliver, but that wouldn't be enough. Instead of wasting any more time, Magic 2014 concedes and moves on to game 4.
Game 4
Magic 2014 begins the game with a Mutavault, followed on the second turn by a Sentinel Sliver. Arabian Nights on its side got a turn one Library of Alexandria, followed by a turn two Erg Raiders. Both decks are trying to avoid losing ground this time – Magic 2014 knows by now how Arabian Nights can easily become deadly in the early game.
On turn three Magic 2014 adds a second Mutavault to the board, then after considering the situation decides to pass. Arabian Nights activates the Library, then plays a second Erg Raiders and attacks with the first one – Magic 2014 decides to take the damage.
The following tun, Magic 2014 plays its first bomb: a Bonescythe Sliver. Still, being the Raiders a 2/3 and not wanting to lose any creature, decides to pass without attacking. Arabian Nights activates the Library once again, then plays a Serendib Efreet and attacks with both the Raiders – Magic 2014 once more decides to take the damage.
On its turn, Magic 2014 plays a Manaweft Sliver, then animates a Mutavault and attacks with it and the Sentinel Sliver. Arabian Nights thinks for a second, then decides to trade the Serendib Efreet for the Sentinel Sliver, taking only 4 damage.
Arabian Nights main trouble at the moment is having only one black mana source in play, despite all the cards drawn with the Library. So for this turn it only plays an Unstable Mutation on one of the Erg Raiders and attacks with both. Magic 2014 decides to take the damage, falling at seven life points.
On its turn Magic 2014 plays a Groundshaker Sliver, then turns its small Sliver Army to attack for six damage. The next turn will be decisive, both decks can feel it. Arabian Nights needs that second swamp, to play an Oubliette and remove the dangerous Groundshaker Sliver... so it draws... activates the Library to draw again... and no Swamp. What incredible bad luck! Arabian Nights adds one more Island to the board, plays a Serendib Djinn, then after thinking for a second decides to keep the Raiders on the defensive. Sure,each one of them will deliver two points of damage to Arabian Nights itself, but at least each one can block a 2/2 sliver and kill it.
Or at least, that was the original idea. Magic 2014 draws and plays a Predatory Sliver, then attacks with all its creatures. There are one 6/6, three 3/3 and one 2/2, all with double strike and trample. The math is simple: Arabian Nights is dead. 2-2 and moving on to the decisive match.
Game 5
Arabian Nights starts, but has nothing to play on its first two turns. Magic 2014, on its side, plays a turn 1 Mutavault, that is animated to attack on turn 2. Turn three sees the first play of the game from Arabian Nights, in the shape of a Serendib Efreet. Magic 2014 just adds a second Mutavault to the board and passes.
Arabian Nights plays a Sorceress Queen, then an Unstable Mutation on the Serendib Efreet, and attacks for 6. On its turn, Magic 2014 plays a Bonescythe Sliver and passes.
Arabian Nights feels a situation of advantage and attacks again with the Efreet for 5 damage, before playing a Serendib Djinn. Looking at the board, Arabian Nights will be able to attack for 9 damage in the following turn, with flying creatures, killing Magic 2014.
Can the slivers deck do something about it? Is it able to kill its opponent this turn? The answer to both answer is, unfortunately, no. Even attacking with all its creatures, Magic 2014 has a damage potential of only 12 damage, and Arabian Nights could easily block two creatures
And with that, the final game is quickly over. Magic 2014 showed its main weakness, unable to deal with the opponent's fliers. Arabian Nights earn a deserved victory and moves on to the quarterfinals of Group B.
I'm so glad to see this back after summer. As a lurker, it's one of my favorite series on MTG Salvation (even if Onslaught, my pet favorite set, had an inglorious first-round exit :(). Thank you so much for all the work and effort you put into this!
Back with the first three games from Group 3. Enjoy the read
Alara Reborn vs Judgment
Two midrange decks face off in today's first game. Alara Reborn's more rock-ish build offer some removal, that could be essential in dealing with Judgment's key pieces. On Judgment's side are the innate resilience of its creatures, and Mirari's Wake, one of the defining cards of those years of old Magic history.
Game 1
Alara Reborn starts first and gets the first play with a turn two Qasali Pridemage. Judgment is only playing lands for now (one of them being a Krosan Verge), so Alara Reborn can attack for 2 and then play a Behemoth Sledge. Judgemtn adds one more land to the board, sacrifices the Krosan Verge and passes. Alara Reborn attacks for 2 more, plays a Marisi's Twinclaws and passes. Bad news for Judgment: the Twinclaws equipped with the Slede might definitely be bad news for the phantom deck, especially given its slow start. But Judgment draws, plays one more land... and passes again! What's going on here?
Alara Reborn gets ready to wreak havoc. The Sledge is equipped to the Twinclaws, and both creatures are turned to attack. Judgment smiles... and reveals a Chastise! The Twinclaws is destroyed, and Judgment gains 5 life points. To complete the comeback, Judgment on its turn plays a Phantom Flock, then passes.
But Alara Reborn is not out of cards to play, as a second Twinclaws is immediately played. Can Judgment find another answer? Maybe not a direct answer, but two Elephant Guide casted on the Phantom Flock are surely a good start! The huge bird is kept on the defensive, though, as the Sledge means that Alara Reborn will surely win any damage race. Judgment passes.
Alara Reborn draws a Maelstrom Pulse, and starts chuckling devilishly. The powerful sorcery is immediately played to remove both Elephant Guide-s, and while there's no mana left to enchant the Twinclaws, the cat warrior is definitely capable of handling the phantom bird. The Twinclaws is then turned to attack, and Judgment decides to take the damage directly instead of blocking.
Comes Judgment's turn, and a Mirari's Wake, plus a Phantom Nantuko are played. Alara Reborn doesn't want to keep the Wake in play one second more than necessary, and the Pridemage immediately sacrifices himself to remove it. Judgment then passes, preparing for the worst. And the worst happens when the Twinclaws is equipped with the Sledge and turned sideways. A 4/6 trample, lifelink, and double strike. Not much Judgment can do against it, unfortunately, so it decides to block it with the Phantom Flock, that loses two of its counters, but manages to soak most of the damage from the opponent's creature.
Judgment would truly need another Chastise right now, but it just draws a Forest. So it plays a land and passes, preparing for one more onslaught from the Twinclaws. Alara Reborn is ready to do even more than the previous turn, though, as it plays a Knight of New Alara, boosting the Twinclaws up to 7/9. The cat warrior is then turned to attack, and Judgment tries to reduce damage by blocking with the Phantom Nantuko, that also taps to gain a third +1/+1 counter. The Nantuko survives, with only one counter left, but Judgment is now dangerously low on life points, while Alara Reborn sits comfortably at 42.
Judgment draws a Phantom Centaur – not bad, but not enought to save Judgment against the almighty Twinclaws. Judgment concedes, and the two decks move on to game 2.
Game 2
Judgment starts, but is forced to mulligan once before finding a suitable hand. Still, the first play is from Alara Reborn, with a Grizzled Leotau. Judgment is ready to answer quickly, though, with a Phantom Nantuko. Alara Reborn draws, plays a Behemoth Sledge, and passes. Judgment looks worried. The Sledge definitely won Alara Reborn the previous game, and Judgment has got no direct answers to it. Still, the game has just begun. Judgment plays a Krosan Verge, then an Unquestioned Authority on the Phantom Nantuko, and passes.
Alara Reborn draws a Marisi's Twinclaws and immediately plays it, recreating the team that annihilated Judgment in the previous game. Judgment plays an Elephant Guide on the Nantuko and passes. Now, the Nantuko is an unkillable 5/5 (soon to become 6/6 thanks to its ability). More than unkillable, it will prevent any damage received from creatures. So, Alara Reborn is currently unable to press the offensive. A Knight of New Alara is then played,and Alara Reborn passes (EoT the Nantuko taps to add one counter). On its turn, Judgment plays a Mirari's Wake, then a Phantom Nomad, then passes. All in all, things are going well for Judgment. Only two cards can really ruin the party now: Qasali Pridemage and Maelstrom Pulse.
Alara Reborn seems to have none for the moment. But thanks to the lifelink from the Sledge, Alara Reborn can rest assured that the Nantuko must be kept on the defensive... at least until it's big enough to kill in one turn,and that's far from coming. Alara Reborn plays its sixth land, equips the Sledge to the Twinclaws, and plays a secon Sledge, before passing (one more counter on the Nantuko).
Judgment plays a second Mirari's Wake, then sacrifices a Krosan Verge and plays a Phantom Flock. The flying creature means trouble for Alara Reborn, that cannot block it. The stalemate is finally broken, but what can Alara Reborn do against the immortal Nantuko? For now, it plays a seventh land, a second Knight of New Alara, and equips the second Sledge to the Twinclaws. The Twinclaws is now a huge 12/14, trample, double strike and lifelink. Enough to end most games, but not this one. The Nantuko is a 9/9 (10/10 once it can tap itself to add one more counter), and will completely prevent any damage. Add the Flock to the equation, and the Twinclaws will die without doing any damage to Judgment, and netting less than 10 life points to Alara Reborn. Considering that Judgment will not be able to kill in a single blow in the following tun, Alara Reborn decides to wait for the moment.
Judgment draws, attacks with the Flock for five damage, then passes. Alara Reborn draws... a Maelstrom Pulse! Yes! Luck is on its side. After thinking for some seconds, Alara Reborn decides to kill the Nantuko, then plays a Mycoid Shepherd and – after looking at the card in Judgment's hand with a little worry - attacks with the Twinclaws. Judgment shakes its head (the card in hand was a Forest, not played to bluff a Chastise). Judgment must now block with both its untapped creatures (one being the 3/3 token from the Guide), and without the Nantuko preventing the damage, Alara Reborn gains 24 life points and can now look at the game with much more tranquillity.
Judgment draws a Phantom Nantuko. Not enough. Once again, the phantom deck concedes before being utterly crashed. Alara Reborn sees the quarterfinals as the two decks move to game 3.
Game 3
This time is Alara Reborn's turn to take a mulligan, and as usual make the first play with a Qasali Pridemage. Judgment seems to be going very slow once again, with only lands in play, while Alara Reborn is stuck at two lands, but plays a second Qasali Pridemage before attacking and passing.
Still no play from Judgment, then Alara Reborn attacks with the two Pridemage, gets a third land in play and plays a Grizzled Leotau.
From then, the game is quickly over. Judgment still can't play anything, while Alara Reborn gets its fourth land and a Knight of New Alara – the Pridemage are now 4/4, and the Leotau 3/7. There's no way Judgment can come back from this situation, and is quickly crushed for a somewhat incredible 3-0 victory for Alara Reborn. Certainly, a little luck helped Alara Reborn, but in the end its capability to remove the opponent's key pieces with Qasali Pridemage and Maelstrom Pulse was crucial to the victory. Alara Reborn moves on to the quarterfinals.
Alara Reborn 3 - Judgment 0
Shadowmoor vs Magic 2011
Two decks that speak a very different language. On one side, Shadowmoor's blazing fast aggro, one of the best in the format. On the other side, the still new and untested land destruction deck from M11. All bets are open - who is going to win?
Game 1
Shadowmoor gets first turn, but doesn't have a one-mana drop in hand, while Magic 2011 starts the game with a Birds of Paradise. We won't have to wait long to see Shadowmoor begin the offensive, though, as a turn two Mudbrawler Cohort immediately attacks for one damage. M11 quietly keeps ramping up mana, with a turn two Cultivate. Then it's once again Shadowmoor's turn, and the aggro deck plays an Ashenmoor Gouger, before attacking for two with the Cohort.
M11 plays a land, then a Fireball to remove the Gouger, and passes. Shadowmoor plays a Murderous Redcap, looks for a second at the Birds, then decides to throw the damage directly at M11, and finally attacks with the Cohort and passes.
M11 plays a Mistifying Maze and passes. On its turn, Shadowmoor plays a Demigod of Revenge and attacks with all its creatures. The Demigod is removed by the Maze, M11 takes four damage and falls down to 11. The situation is not yet critical, but may soon be. M11 has to find an answer quickly.
And then M11 draws a Destructive Force. M11 considers the situation. Sure, the land destruction spell is best cast with a Titan on the board, but no Titan was drawn so far, and Shadowmoor is slowly gaining momentum. Plus, Magic 2011 has four lands in hand, so it can rebuild its mana base quickly. The only annoying thing is the Murderous Redcap, but it will be a 1/1, and can probably be handled in a few turns. M11 decides to play the powerful spell, and reset the board.
No land to play for Shadowmoor, that can only attack with the Redcap and pass. The situation stays stationary for a couple of turns, until Shadowmoor can finally draw a land and play a Tattermunge Maniac. Luckily for M11, the following turn an Obstinate Baloth comes into play on its side, raising its life points to 11 and, more importantly, dropping a good body to block the small creatures from Shadowmoor. On the following turn, the poor Maniac is forced to attack and suicide itself on the waiting Baloth. With only one land in play, the situation does not really look good for Shadowmoor right now.
M11 hits five mana and can once again activate the Maze, if needed. So, the Baloth is turned to attack for 4 damage, then M11 passes. Shadowmoor gets a second land in play, then a Vexing Shusher, then passes. M11 gets a second Baloth in play, attacks with the other one, and passes. Shadowmoor gets a third land in play, plays an Ashenmoor Gouger, and passes.
And then, with a thundering roar, a Primeval Titan walks on the battlefield! The two Baloth are ready to attack again,confident in the giant at their back, and with the Gouger unable to block, Shadowmoor can only drop to 4, and concede. M11 was able to stem the quick offensive of the aggro deck with its powerhouse card Destructive Force, and then gain control of the game. Shadowmoor knows that will have to hit even quicker, and adapt its strategies to its opponent. Will the aggro deck be able to make a comeback in the coming games?
Game 2
Shadowmoor starts quick this time, with a turn one Tattermunge Maniac, answered by a Birds of Paradise from M11. No turn two play from Shadowmoor, that attacks with the Maniac and passes. M11 only plays a land and passes. Shadowmoor attacks again with the Maniac, only to see the poor Goblin annihilated by a Lightning Bolt, then plays a second Maniac and passes. Things don't seem to be going all too well for the aggro deck, that hasn't managed to seem really threatening so far. Even more so, since M11 plays a turn three Obstinate Baloth, gaining 4 precious life points and practically blocking any possible offensive from Shadowmoor.
Or at least, that would be the plan, but Shadowmoor has different programs. A Flame Javelin is cast at the Baloth, taking him out of the equation and allowing the Maniac to strike for two more damage. To make things worse for M11, the ramp deck is incredibly struck at three mana (plus the Birds), and that's definitely a much needed assist for Shadowmoor. M11 decides to safeguard its life points as much as possible, playing a Fireball for four mana: one damage to the Maniac, one damage to Shadowmoor.
They say revenge is best served cold, but not for Shadowmoor: a Murderous Redcap is immediately played to kill the Birds, making M11 mana problems imediately worse. M11 only draws and passes. Then Shadowmoor is finally ready to unleash its full potential: a Demigod of Revenge is played, and immediately turns to attack, along with the Redcap. M11 plays a Lightning Bolt to kill the Redcap, taking the full damage from the Demigod. On its turn, M11 draws a Destructive Force, and still has no lands to play. After watching its opponent add a Boggart Ram-Gang to the board, M11 understands the game is over, and concedes to move on to game 3.
Game 3
Shadowmoor is forced to take a mulligan. M11 starts first and starts quite well, with a turn one Birds of Paradise followed by a turn two Sylvan Ranger. Shadowmoor, on the other hand, is quite slow and has no play on the first two turns. Finally, on its third turn, Shadowmoor gets its first play: an Ashenmoor Gouger. M11 gets a second Sylvan Ranger in play, attacks with the other one, and passes. Shadowmoor attacks with the Gouger, that is blocked by the untapped Ranger. Then M11 plays a Lightning Bolt to deal the remaining three damage and kill the 4/4 Elemental. Shadowmoor has nothing more to do, unfortunately, and passes.
On its turn, M11 just plays a Cultivate, attacks with the Ranger, then passes. The situation looks calm enough, but it's only the quiet before the storm. On the following turn, Shadowmoor plays its fifth land and a Demigod of Revenge, immediately attacking for five damage. M11 thinks for a second about blocking wth the Birds of Paradise, then decides not to. On its turn, the ramp deck plays an Obstinate Baloth, attacks with the Ranger, then passes.
It's all or nothing for Shadowmoor now, that plays a second Demigod of Revenge and attacks with both. One of them is blocked by the Birds, and M11 falls down to 14. Then, it's once again M11's turn. After attacking with the Baloth and the Ranger, the ramp deck thinks for a few seconds. In the end, the safest choice is one: Destructive Force! As in game one, the powerful spell comes down to wipe the board almost completely clean. Sahdowmoor remains with one land and three cards in hand, M11 with two lands and three cards in hand. Back to square one. Shadowmoor on its turn plays a land and passes – good news for M11, that is quickly recovering: one more land is played, then a Birds of Paradise. The game stalls for the next couple of turns, then Sahdowmoor decides to throw a Burn Trail to the Birds, in order to slow down its opponent.
Things speed up again the following turn. First M11 plays a Cultivate, getting back to five lands. Then Shadowmoor gets a Mudbrawler Cohort in play, retaking the offensive. The following turn, Sahdowmoor adds an Ashenmoor Gouger to the fight, and with M11 at 10 life points, the situation is clearly not optimal for the ramp deck.
Can M11 survive this renewed offensive from its opponent? There's only one answer, the usual one. Destructive Force. M11 hits seven lands again, and unleash the red sorcery for the second time in a row, cleaning the board once more. The game crawls down to an almost complete stop again. Sahdowmoor draws only one land in the next six turns, and a couple of Tattermunge Maniac are quickly removed by a Lightning Bolt and a Fireball. M11 draws a few more lands, and when finally hitting six unleashes an Inferno Titan. From that, the game is quickly over.
Game 4
Shadowmoor is starting quicker this time,with a turn two Mudbrawler Cohort followed by a turn three Ashenmoor Gouger. On its side, M11 has actually a very good hand, but no green mana – and it isn't drawing any! Shadowmoot on turn four adds a Vexing Shusher and a second Mudbrawler Cohort, and while its opponent is still struggling, on turn five close the deal with an all-out attack from its creatures. This time, the blazing fast aggro lived up to its reputation, and M11 was quickly dispatched by the red onslaught. On to the decisive game 5!
Game 5
Shadowmoor has to mulligan again, but at least gets a good start with a turn one Tattermunge Maniac followed by a turn two Mudbrawler Cohort. The Cohort is quickly dealt by a Lightning Bolt from M11, that for now is just stacking up mana. On its third turn, Shadowmoor attacks with the Maniac and plays an Ashenmoor Gouger. This time, M11 is ready to answer in kind, and on its fourth turn plays an Obstinate Baloth.
Shadowmoor is sort of having mana flood trouble, and while unable to play anything except a land, can still attack with both its creatures. M11 decides to block the Maniac with the Baloth, taking 4 damage from the Gouger. On its following turn, M11 adds a Mistifying Maze to the board, before attacking with the Baloth for 4 damage. Still only lands drawn from Shadowmoor, with the Gouger easily kept at bay by M11 with the Maze. On the following turn, M11 plays a Sylvan Ranger and a Cultivate, before attacking for 4 more damage with the Baloth.
Shadowmoor finally draws and plays a Vexing Shusher, then attacks again with the Gouger, that is chump-blocked by the Ranger. Things are looking good for M11, that adds a second Baloth to the board, before attacking with the other one to bring Shadowmoor down to 8 life points. M11 shows a Fireball and a Mountain in its hand. Adding to the eight lands already in play, this means a clean 8 damage right on Shadowmoor's face. And since the aggro deck can't possibly kill its opponent in one turn... it's game over! Quite surprisingly, M11 eliminates one of the favorites to the final victory, and advances to the quarterfinals. Destructive Force shows all its potential and metagame breaking power, in a format that's scarcely equipped to deal with land destruction on a mass scale. How far will M11 be able to go?
Shadowmoor 2 - Magic 2011 3
Theros vs Journey into Nyx
It's always interesting to see matches featuring decks from the same block. They tend to be compatible, having similar speed and/or mechanics.
Game 1
Journey into Nyx wins the roll and starts with a turn 2 Aegis of the Gods, that is promptly answered by a Sylvan Caryatid on the other side of the board. On the following turn, Nyx plays a Grim Guardian and passes. On its turn, Theros taps for four and plays a Polis Crusher. The Protection from Enchantments is definitely bad news for Nyx, potentially gamebreaking. But the game is just getting started. Nyx plays a Temple of Malady, then a second Grim Guardian. The two decks seems to be setting up for a long game.
Theros plays a second Sylvan Caryatid, then a Voyaging Satyr. There are four creatures on the board for Theros, more than enough to control the enemy's offensive. The Polis Crusher is then turned to attack, practically unblockable for Nyx, bringing the opponent's life points down to 19.
Nyx gets its fifth land in play and plays an Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. The Aegis of the Gods is boosted up to 3/2, and one of the two Guardians up to 3/6. These two creatures are then turned to attack. Nyx decides to chump-block with the Satyr, taking only three damage. Still, that Ajani is definitely something that needs to be taken care of.
So Theros decides to answer with brute force. A Stormbreath Dragon is played and, along with the Polis Crusher, amounts to more than enough damage to kill the planeswalker. Still, Theros is exposed again. Nyx takes a look at the cards in its hand: one Banishing Light, one Eidolon of Blossoms. The Banishing Light is useless against both the Dragon and the crusher, so Nyx decides to play the Eidolon, triggering the Guardians and drawing a card... another Banishing Light. Oh, well. Finally Nyx attacks with its three able creatures, with Theros deciding to block with both the Caryatids (one dies) and taking only three damage.
Theros is now at 9 life points, and it's definitely a possibility to be killed by the damage from the Guardians. Luckily, Theros has precisely the right man (or giant) for the job. The Polis Crusher is turned monstrous, then unleashed on Nyx, that takes 7 damage and sees one of the two guardians destroyed (the one with the +1/+1 counters from Ajani, obviously). The dragon is kept on the defensive, and Theros passes.
Nyx draws a land, and is stuck with two Banishing Lights in hand, that cannot target anything on Theros's side of the board. Considering the situation, the best course of action seems to deal as much damage as possible, so Nyx attacks with all its three creaturs. Theros decides to block and kill the Guardian, taking five damage and falling down to 4.
The game would be over now if Theros had two red mana sources, as it could activate the Monstruous ability for the Dragon and attack for 14 damage. But Theros only has one red mana source, and therefore Nyx can live one more turn. Theros attacks with the Crusher, destroys the Eidolon, then plays a Xenagos, the Reveler, activates its +1 ability and uses that mana to play an Arbor Colossus. Finally, it passes.
Nyx now has a legal target for Banishing Light, but nothing to trigger with it. It has no way of dealing 4 damage to Theros this turn, and in the coming turn it will certainly be game over. Nothing else to do than concede and move on to game 2.
Game 2
Nyx starts the game with a turn one Temple of Malady, followed by a turn two Brain Maggot. Theros has in hand a Temple of Triumph, two Forest, one Mountain, one Polukranos, World Eater, one Sylvan Caryatid, one Fleecemane Lion. The Lion will surely be annoying, but the most dangerous card is definitely Polukranos, and that's immediately removed. On its turn, as expected, Theros plays the Lion and passes. Nyx plays a Grim Guardian and passes. Theros plays the Temple of Triumph, then the Sylvan Cariatid, and finally passes. Nyx seems to be short on cards to play, as it only adds a Temple of Malady to the board before passing.
Theros is finally ready to shake things up a bit. It plays a Xenagos, the Reveler; activates its +0 ability to create a Satyr token, then considers the situation and decides to pass for the moment. Nyx is ready to answer, though, with a Doomwake Giant. Nyx, too, decides to pass without attacking.
Theros decides that the Giant is too dangerous and throws a Destructive Revelry at it, before creating another token and finally attacking with all its creatures. Nyx is able to block the Lion with the Guardian, and takes 4 damage from the Satyr tokens. Nyx must now seize the opportunity to try and remove that Xenagos: a Dictate of Heliod is played, and Nyx's two creatures dash towards the planeswalker, with Theros unable to do anything to save it.
It's now Theros turn, that must do as much damage as possible, working on the opening left from Nyx. All its three creatures attack for a total of 7 damage (Nyx falls down to 10), then an Arbor Colossus is played. Bad news for Nyx.
But not all hope is lost, as an Ajani, Mentor of Heros is played by Nyx, putting three +1/+1 counters on the Grim Guardian, that is now a powerful 6/9. Theros doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it plays a Stormbreath Dragon and simply flies over Nyx's blockers to bring the opponent's life points down to 6. Nyx needs something to survive the dragon, and quickly. It draws an Eidolon of Blossoms, then activates the second +1 ability from Ajani, revealing a Dictate of Heliod, another Ajani, a Forest, and another Eidolon. Nyx decides to take the Eidolon, then plays one of the two, drawing a Brain Maggot. The Maggot is played as well (Theros has only a Mountain in hand, so nothing to remove), allowing to draw a Mana Confluence. And that's it. Nyx has 8 life points, and no way to survive the Dragon as it will get monstruous (including the damage from the activation of the ability). Game over. The two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Nyx starts with a Temple of Malady, Theros answers with a Temple of Abandon. On the following turn, Nyx plays a Brain Maggot, revealing a hand of one Temple of Abandon, one Forest, two Plains, one Xenagos, the Reveler, and TWO Stormbreath Dragon. Those are definitely Nyx's number one danger, and so one of the two is removed. On its turn, Theros plays a Sylvan Caryatid and passes. Nyx plays a Kruphix's Insight, gaining an Aegis of the Gods, a Doomwake Giant and a Banishing Light.
Theros plays the Xenagos, creating a Satyr token, then passes. Nyx gets an Eidolon of Blossoms into play, then passes. Theros sees its opponent drawing more and more cards, and knows that it must act quickly or seriously risk losing the game. The Stormbreath Dragon is then played, by activating the +1 ability from Xenagos, and turned to attacks for 4 damage. Nyx plays a Temple of Malady tapped, then a Banishing Light to remove the Satyr token, and attacks Xenagos with both the Eidolon and the Maggot. The Eidolon is blocked by the Caryatid, while the Maggot manages to deal one damage.
Nyx is now sitting at 14 life points (the damage from the dragon plus two activations of Mana Confluence). It has 7 cards in hand. The math is relatively simple: the +1 ability from Xenagos is activated, fueling the Monstruous activation from the Dragon for 7 damage, and 7 more damage from attacking. Nyx stands shocked, completely dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. But there's no mistaking it: Theros won very convincingly, moving to the group quarterfinals. The decisive factor were those Monstruous creatures that could not be blocked, nor removed, by Nyx: the Polis Crusher in the first game, and the Stormbreath Dragon.
Back with three games from group C. Surprisingly, lots of lock decks have gathered in this group, and some of them will shortly come head-to-head. Will be interesting to watch - or possibly boring, given that it's lock decks we are talking about. Anyway, enjoy today's matches
Nemesis vs Exodus
Nemesis is not a fast deck, and relies only on creature damage to kill its opponents. That's exactly the type of decks Exodus prays upon, so it's easy to say this should be a one-sided match. Nemesis's only hope is using Parallax Tide, possibly multiple copies of it, to slow down its opponent long enough to deal the killing blow before Exodus's soft lock is in place.
Game 1
The match does not start well for Nemesis, forced to mulligan twice and also losing the roll for first turn to Exodus. The first move is by Exodus, with a turn two Pigmy Troll, answered by a Cloudskate from Nemesis. On its turn, Exodus attacks with the Troll (Nemesis takes the damage), then passes (it has two Oath of Ghouls in hand, but at the moment it might just end up in Nemesis's favor). Nemesis draws a card with Accumulated Knowledge, attacks with the Cloudskate, then plays a Seal of Removal. The ball goes back to Exodus, that attacks with the Troll, then plays its fourth land and quickly after, a Spike Weaver. Bad news for Nemesis, but not everything is lost yet.
Nemesis gets its fourth land in play, as well, then plays a Parallax Tide to remove three lands from Exodus. The Spike Weaver is then bounced with the Seal of Removal, and Nemesis it's sure it won't be coming back for the next three turns. Finally, two more damage are dealt from the Cloudskate. Exodus can only get another land in play, attack with the Troll, and pass. The Cloudskate dies, but it's quickly replaced by a second one played by Nemesis. Once gain, it's Exodus's turn, that plays another land, attacks with the troll, and passes again.
One more turn until the lands go back to Exodus, but Nemesis just won't have it that way... and there comes a second Parallax Tide, removing three more lands from Exodus. As it stands, Exodus won't be able to play its Spike Weaver in the coming turn. The Cloudskate is turned to attack, bringing Exodus down to 12, then Nemesis passes.
Exodus is getting more than slightly annoyed at its opponent, but luckily it draws another land, meaning that in the coming turn, with one of the Tides leaving play, it'll be back to four and finally able to play the Weaver. For now, it attacks with the Troll and passes. Nemesis sacrifices one of the two tides, then plays an Accumulated Knowledge to draw two, and adds Skyshroud Ridgeback to the board.
Exodus finally taps four and plays its Spike Weaver... and then Nemesis shows a Daze! The Weaver goes to the graveyard, and Exodus is left unprotected once again, grinding its teeth in frustration. Nemesis attacks with its two creatures (the Troll chump-blocks the Ridgeback), then adds a second Ridgeback to the board and passes. Exodus plays a Survival of the Fittest, discards a Thopter Squadron and fetches another Spike Weaver, then finally passes. The second Tide goes away, returning all lands to Exodus (that now has seven)... except that Nemesis draws and plays another Parallax Tide! Inredible! Four lands are removed from Exodus, while the two Ridgeback attacks and bring it down to 4 life points. What's going to happen now?
Luck shines on Exodus as it draws another Forest and plays the Spike Weaver. Not only it can block a Ridgeback, but it will enforce the lock starting from the following turn. Exodus passes, Nemesis sacrifices one of the two Ridgebacks due to Fading, then gets a sixth land in play and a Rhox. Nemesis passes, and so does Exodus quickly after. All lands return to Exodus, that starts preventing combat damage with the Weaver, and needs only a Recurring Nightmare to completely enforce the lock. Exodus first plays a Dauthi Jackal, then on the following turn a Recurring Nightmare and a Pigmy Troll. A Rath's Edge could still win the game for Nemesis, but it must turn out quickly, and as a couple of turn passes without seeing that land, Nemesis is forced to admit defeat.
Game 2
Nemesis starts quickly this time around, with a turn one Skyshroud Ridgeback followed by a turn two Cloudskate. Exodus's first move is a turn two Pygmy Troll. Nemesis attacks with both creatures, bringing Exodus down to 14. Since the Ridgeback is going to die in the coming turn, Exodus attacks with the Troll, then plays a Dauthi Jackal and finally passes. Nemesis has four lands in play, but only one Island and one Forest (the other two being a Rath's Edge and a Terrain Generator), so for now it can only play another Cloudskate and keep attacking. Exodus is now at 12 life points. Exodus attacks as well (since its creatures couldn't block Flying anyway), and adds another Pygmy Troll and a Thrull Surgeon to the board.
Nemesis attacks again (Exodus at 8), then draws a card with Accumulated Knowledge, finally gets a second Island in play, and plays a Seal of Removal, before passing. Exodus sacrifices the Surgeon to reveal a hand of two Parallax Tide! Exodus is more than happy to make Nemesis discard one. Nemesis decides to play the remaining Tide rather than risking another discard effect, and removes three lands from Exodus. The first offensive has proceeded well: with six damage from each Cloudksate and 4 from the Ridgeback, Exodus sits now at 4 life points. Nemesis only needs one more push – but needs it quickly: Exodus has two Trolls and the Jackal in play, and it's starting to chip away at Nemesis's life points as well.
No land to play for Exodus on its turn, so it just keeps attacking, bringing Nemesis down to 8. On its turn, Nemesis draws and plays a Saproling Burst, immediately creating 3 4/4 tokens. Things don't look good for Exodus right now, that only draws and plays a Forest.
The game it's over: one of Exodus's creatures is bounced by the Seal of Removed, allowing one of the Saproling to strike home for three damage plus one damage from Rath's Edge. Nemesis gets back on par with Exodus, and the two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Exodus starts, but the first move is from Nemesis on turn one: a Seal of Removal. Exodus is not particularly concerned, as it starts getting its combo into place with a Survival of the Fittest. Nemesis draws a Skyshroud Ridgeback and, knowing that it has to deal as much damage, as quickly as possible, decides to immediately play it. Exodus plays a Thrull Surgeon, then discards a Pygmy Troll to fetch a Spike Weaver. On its turn, Nemesis attacks for two with the Ridgeback, then plays an Accumulated Knowledge and passes.
Exodus sacrifices the Surgeon, revealing a hand of a Seal of Removal, a Rhox and two Saproling Burst. Exodus decides to have Nemesis discard one of the two Saproling Burst, then plays an Oath of Ghouls and passes. Nemesis attacks again, then plays the second Seal of Removal and passes. Exodus feels in control of the game right now, as it recovers the Thrull Surgeon thanks to the Oath of Ghouls, then plays it again and sacrifices it to remove the second Saproling Burst. Finally, it discards a second Pygmy Troll to fetch a Dauthi Jackal. Nemesis gets a Rath's Edge in play, and passes. Exodus's recursion is really starting to hurt badly Nemesis in this game. And it's not over: Exodus gets again the Thrull back, plays it and forces Nemesis to discard the Rhox.
The ball goes back to Nemesis, that draws a Parallax Tide... with only one blue mana available. Definitely not Nemesis's lucky day, that is forced to pass once more, and forced to watch as the Surgeon loop is repeated, and the Parallax Tide discarded. At the same time, Exodus discards a Spike Weaver and fetches a second one with Survival of the Fittest, bringing more creatures to the graveyard.
Nemesis draws and play an Accumulated Knowledge, drawing an Island and a Forest. Not particularly good, but at least now it can play its second blue mana source. Exodus feels that it's time to actually start dealing damage, and plays the Jackal and, once more, the Thrull Surgeon. Still only a land drawn by Nemesis, that passes again. The game goes on for a couple of turn, with Exodus strengthening its position, until Nemesis finally draws and plays a Rhox. Unfortunately, the green creature is immediately answered by a Slaughter, and Nemesis is finally forced to admit that the game's over.
Game 4
Nemesis starts the game with a turn two Cloudskate, that is answered by a turn two Pygmy Troll from Exodus. Nemesis attacks with the Cloudskate, then plays an Accumulated Knowledge and a Skyshroud Ridgeback. Exodus plays a Survival of the Fittest, keeping a Forest untapped to regenerate the Troll, then passes. Nemesis attacks with both its creatures (the Ridgeback is blocked by the troll), then pushes the offensive with a Blastoderm. Exodus plays a Dauthi Jackal, once again keeping an open land, then passes.
Nemesis is frustrated by that pesky Troll soaking up so much damage, but at the moment there's not much more it can do, so it just attacks with all its creatures, dealing 4 damage to Exodus (the Blastoderm obviously being blocked by the Troll). Exodus gets its fifth land in play, attacks with the Jackal, then plays a Spike Weaver, preparing to enforce the lock – and at the same time, keeping a mana open to keep regenerating the Troll. Nemesis thinks for a second, then decides to play a Daze, forcing Exodus to tap its final mana. That counter is unlikely to become useful as the game progresses, and at the moment can open the way for the Blastoderm, or at least force Exodus to sacrifice the Troll for good. And that's what happen on the coming turn – the Troll chump-blocks the Blastoderm and dies. Nemesis also plays a Rhox, then passes.
Exodus attacks with the jackal, then reveals a Slaughter targeted at the Rhox – leaving two mana open to activate the Spike Weaver. Things definitely don't look good for Nemesis right now. On its turn, Nemesis draws a Parallax Tide – too little, too late. The enchantment is not enough to prevent Nemesis from activating the Weaver. From then on, the games progresses slowly towards its inevitable ending: a victory for Exodus. The powerful cage of Exodus's soft lock was too much for Nemesis to break. Exodus moves on to the quarterfinals!
Nemesis 1 - Exodus 3
Fifth Dawn vs Magic 2013
This game looked very much like the previous one - a soft lock deck against a slow aggro deck. I thought it would have been quick and totally one-sided - boy, was i wrong.
Game 1
Fifth Dawn wins the roll to go first, then both decks have to take a mulligan. Both decks have a slow start, with the first spell played being a Divination from M13. Still no play from Fifth Dawn, and M13 keeps stacking resources with a Ranger's Path. Finally, Fifth Dawn draws something useful: a Bringer of the Red Dawn. Fueled by a Channel the Suns, the red creatures enters the battlefield, ready to start bashing at M13. M13 doesn't seem particularly worried, though, as it plays a Jace, Memory Adept, and starts milling the opponent's deck. Fifth Dawn draws, then turns the bringer to attack Jace, but M13 reveals a Fog and disables the opponent's creature. The game looks to be over for Fifth Dawn, but is it really? There's one last trick up Fifth Dawn's sleeve: an Engineered Explosives, fueled by a Channel the Suns – exactly what's needed to destroy the planeswalker! The artifact is immediately activated, and the game is open once again. M13 thought this would have been an easy matchup, but it's actually not. Anything can happen now.
For now, M13 draws, plays a Sleep and passes. Fifth Dawn has practically emptied its hand, but luckily draws and plays an Etched Oracle... only to see it countered by a Rewind. The ball goes quickly back to M13. M13 draws, plays a Divination, then a Revive to get back the Fog, then passes.
Fifth Dawn draws... another Etched Oracle! Incredible luck. First of all, Fifth Dawn attacks with the Bringer (M13 takes the damage), then plays the oracle and passes. Things seem to be getting better for Fifth Dawn, but things can change really quickly. And that's just what happens, as M13 plays a second Jace and mills 10 more cards! Fifth Dawn knows that its opponent has a Fog in hand, so it must find another Engineered Explosives – and quickly. The Oracle is sacrificed to draw three (end of M13 turn)... an Eternal Witness. Good. The artifact is retrieved from the graveyard, but Fifth Dawn has only four different mana colora available! Fifth Dawn will now need a Joiner Adept, Channel the Suns, or Pentad Prism too... but no trace of any of the them. And time is running out. For now, Fifth Dawn can only attack and see its opponent use a Fog. Then it's once again M13's turn.
M13 mills 10 more cards... then shows a Revive to bring back the Fog. Fifth Dawn crosses its fingers... and draws a Pentad Prism! The Engineered Explosives are played and activated again, saving Fifth Dawn at the last minute. M13 also takes 7 damage from the Bringer and the Witness (deciding not to use the Fog for now). On its turn, M13 draws and passes.
Fifth Dawn attacks again (M13 falls down to 1 life point), then plays a Bringer of the Green Dawn and passes. M13 again, draws and passes. Fifth Dawn attacks for the kill, but it's stopped by a Fog. Then M13 plays a Revive to get the Fog back, and passes. Fifth Dawn seems close to the kill... but it will have to wait. One more Fog... and then finally M13 is out of defenses. Fifth Dawn's creatures rush in, and the game ends in a bloodbath. Fifth Dawn was very lucky to draw exactly what it needed to remove Jace every time, and still ended the game with only 7 cards left in the deck. Still, with 4 Engineered Explosives and 4 Eternal Witness, it's clear that Fifth Dawn has all the tools it needs to win this matchup. It seemed an easy battle for M13, but actually, things are definitely even between the two decks.
Game 2
M13 starts and gets things rolling with a turn 2 Farseek. No play from Fifth Dawn on turn 2, nor from M13 on its third turn. Then Fifth Dawn adds a Joiner Adept to the board, but fails to play a third land. M13 is definitely not having such mana screw problems, as it plays a fourth land and then a Ranger's Path. Fifth Dawn draws, gets a third land in play, then attacks with the Adept and passes.
M13 is now ready to get serious, as it plays a Sphinx of Uthuun, hoping to put its hands on a copy of Jace. Unfortunately, the cards revealed are: two Island, a Fog, a Farseek and an Archaeomancer. Fifth Dawn makes one pile of the Archaeomancer and the lands, the other pile of the Fog and the Farseek. M13 gets the larger one, with the Archaeomancer and the Islands, then passes. Fifth Dawn draws and plays a Pentad Prism, then passes. M13 attacks with the Sphinx, gets an Archaeomancer to recycle the Ranger's Path, then passes.
Finally, Fifth Dawn can get its game started, removing a counter from the Prism to fuel a Channel the Suns and then a Bringer of the Blue Dawn. Is it too late? Time will tell. What's sure is that M13 seems close to sealing the game. As Fifth Dawn's life points fall down to ten, a Jace, Memory Adept finally hits the board and mills for ten. Fifth Dawn is now looking at two ways to die, and no answers to them.
Fifth Dawn draws three, then attacks Jace with both its creatures. A Fog is played to prevent the damage. Then Fifth Dawn plays a Bringer of the Red Dawn and passes. M13 plays the Ranger's Path, then a second Archaeomancer to bring back the Fog, and finally attacks to bring its opponent dawn to 5 life points. The game looks to be over, especially as M13 reveals a hand of two Fog and two Revive. Fifth Dawn concedes, and the two decks move on game 3.
Game 3
Fifth dawn has to take a mulligan, but can open the game with a good Joiner Adept on turn two. On its second turn, M13 plays a Farseek and passes. Fifth Dawn remains stuck at two lands and can only attack with the Adept. M13 plays a lands and passes, while Fifth Dawn is still in mana screw full mode, and keeps attacking with the Adept.
The following turn, things get finally serious: M13 plays a Jace, Memory Adept and activates its 0 ability. Fifth Dawn watches disappointed 8 lands out of 10 cards go to the graveyard. On the following turn, still no lands for Fifth Dawn, that chips off two counters from Jace before passing again. M13 casts a Divination, mills ten more cards, then passes. Fifth Dawn can finally smile a little, as it plays a Pentad Prism. The Adept attacks Jace again, but this time M13 has a Fog ready to answer it.
On its turn, M13 mills for ten more, then plays a Sphinx of Uthuun, revealing a second Sphinx, two Reliquary Tower, one Forest and one Divination. Fifth Dawn puts the land and the divination on one pile, the Sphinx in the second – M13 chooses this last one. Time is running out for Fifth Dawn: the first threat to answer is Jace. A Channel the Suns is played, followed immediately by an Engineered Explosives. No more mana open for Fifth Dawn, though, that has to pass for the moment. M13 mills for ten more, leaving only eight cards in Fifth Dawn's deck. Not wanting to drag this game on for too long, M13 shows a second Sphinx and Jace in its hand, and Fifth Dawn gracefully concedes.
Game 4
Fifth Dawn gets a good start again with a turn two Joiner Adept, while M13 has to wait turn three for its first play, a Divination (a Forest is then discarded due to having eight cards in hand). Fifth Dawn is then ready for its first big move: a Channel the Suns to play a Bringer of the Blue Dawn. This time, things won't be so easy for its opponent.
The ball goes back to M13, that plays a Reliquary Tower followed by another Divination. After that, M13 passes. Fifth Dawn draws three cards, and quite surprisingly fails to find a land to play. Still, four lands are enough to play a fully charged Etched Oracle. Then, Fifth Dawn attacks for 7, and M13 takes the damage, going down to 9 (some damage was done by the Adept in the early turns).
M13 plays an Archaeomancer to bring back a Divination, then passes. Fifth Dawn draws three, plays a land, then attacks with all its creatures. The Archaeomancer sacrifices himself to block the Oracle, and M13 takes 7 more damage, falling down to 2. Fifth Dawn then adds a Bringer of the Green Dawn to the board and passes.
M13 plays a Divination and passes. Fifth Dawn is now ready to kill any turn, so the question is: how long will the Fog-wall of M13 last? Surely, there's a Fog for this turn, and the game goes on. On the following turn, M13 plays a Sleep and passes. On the following turn, M13 finally plays a Jace, the Memory Adept, surprisingly activates the +1 ability, then plays a Revive to get back the Fog, and passes. The Fog is played on Fifth Dawn's following turn, then Fifth Dawn plays and activates an Engineered Explosives for five. M13 plays a Ranger's Path, then a Revive to get back the Fog, then finally passes. Fifth Dawn plays an Eternal Witness to get back the Explosives, its attack is Fogged out again, and finally passes.
Time is running out for M13. It can't just keep recycling that Fog, or it will end up certainly losing. It needs an high risk, and possibly high reward, move. So it plays an Archaeomancer to get back a Divination, and play it. Unfortunately, it draws a Sphinx of Uthuun and an Island. No more tricks to postpone the inevitable. Fifth Dawn wins and the two decks move on to game 5.
Game 5
M13 starts quick with a Farseek followed by a Ranger's Path. Fifth Dawn answers with a Pentad Prism followed by a fully charged Etched Oracle. M13 watches the creature and smiles, revealing a Sphinx of Uthuun to play on its fourth turn – nice ramp from M13 this time around. Quite incredibly, though, the Sphinx reveals five lands! M13 takes the pile of three, and thinks that it was indeed lucky to remove five dead draws in one shot.
Fifth Dawn doesn't want to fall behind, though, as it plays a Channel the Suns followed by a Bringer of the Blue Dawn. The ball goes back to M13, that just plays a land, then attacks for 5 with the Sphinx and passes.
Fifth Dawn draws three, then attacks for 9 (M13 takes the Damage), finally plays a Bringer of the Green Dawn and passes.
M13 gets its ninth land and plays a Jace, Memory Adept (milling for 10) followed by a Sleep. 5 more damage are dealt by the Sphinx, and finally it's Fifth Dawn's turn again. Fifth Dawn draws three, getting a Joiner Adept and a Pentad Prism in play, then passes. M13 mills for then more, attacks for 5 (Fifth Dawn is now at 5 life points), then plays an Archaeomancer to get back the Sleep and plays it again.
Fifth Dawn counts the lands in play... six. M13 is at 11 life points, with an Archaeomancer available to block. Fifth Dawn shakes its head sadly as it reveals a Rude Awakening... meaning that it could attack with 6 2/2 animated lands... and deal ten damage. Not enough. At the end of an incredibly and unexpectedly close match, M13 wins and proceeds to the quarterfinals of group C.
Fifth Dawn 2 - Magic 2013 3
Stronghold vs Tempest
Well, I don't want to dwell too long on this one. Tempest was easily able to neutralize the few threats from Stronghold, while leisurely enforcing its lock and slowly grinding down its opponent. Not much to do for Stronghold this time around.
Closing up Group C today with a couple of strength displays from high-tier decks. Still, an enjoyable read. Next time will open up group D
Avacyn Restored vs Urza's Destiny
Humans against beasts in today's opening match. The odds are all in Urza's Destiny favor, but one never knows. Avacyn Restored already snatched a surprise win against Guildpact in the eliminatory phase, can it repeat itself?
Game 1
Not a good beginning for Avacyn Restored, that is forced to mulligan twice and still doesn't look satisfied for its starting hand. Meanwhile, Destiny wins the roll to start and starts well, with a turn 2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, followed by a turn 3 Ancient Silverback. Avacyn Restored realizes then that the game is probably over before even starting, but still decides to give it a go, playing a Riot Ringleader and passing.
Destiny attacks with the Silverback (Avacyn Restored takes the damage), then plays a Thorn Elemental. Avacyn Restored shakes its head as it realizes it won't even be able to chump-block. The game is clearly over, and the two decks move on to game 2.
Game 2
Again Urza's Destiny starts the game with a turn 2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, and Avacyn Restored feels a dark omen of premonition. More so, since the deck is still struggling with its mana base, as it only draws Mountains and is forced to play a suboptimal (in the situation) Kessig Malcontents.
And then comes the Ancient Silverback – just like last game. What can Avacyn Restored do? Apparently not much, at the moment, as it is forced to just pass. Luckily for Avacyn Restored, Destiny seems to be short on mana, failing to play a fourth land – but that's not really a salvation for its opponent, as an Emperor Crocodile still manages to find its way to the board. Plus, the Silverback slams in six damage on Avacyn Restored.
Still only red mana for Avacyn Restored, that throws in a Thatcher Revolt just for the pleasure of doing some damage to its opponent, then concedes on the following turn as Urza's Destiny adds a second Emperor Crocodile to the board.
Game 3
Destiny has to take a mulligan this game, and finally this gives some hope to Avacyn Restored. No play from both decks on the first two turns, then Avacyn Restored plays a Kessig Malcontents on turn three. Urza's Destiny answers with a Yavimaya Elder and passes. Avacyn Restored plays an Angel of Jubilation, then surprisingly passes without attacking.
Urza's Destiny misses a land drop... but that's not gonna mean much, as it finally gets a Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary into play. The green deck is picking up steam, but maybe this time Avacyn Restored can deliver the killing blow before it's too late. The next card played is, in fact, a second Angel of Jubilation! The remaining two creatures are turned to attack – a 5/3 Kessig Malcontents and a 4/4 Angel of Jubilation. That's why Avacyn Restored didn't attack the previous turn: the Malcontents is now out of reach for the Elder, that can only chump-block without killing the opponent's creature. Destiny takes 4 damage and falls down to 16.
On its turn, Destiny draws, plays a Thorn Elemental and passes. And then it's finally time for Avacyn Restored to shine: a Silverblade Paladin is played and bound with one of the angels, then they're turned sideways to attack. Destiny takes 12 damage and falls down to 4. Destiny concedes and the two decks move on to game 4.
Game 4
Destiny starts and makes the first play with a turn two Warden of the Heart. Avacyn Restored answers with a Lightning Mauler. On its third turn, Destiny fails to play a land but can still tap the Warden to play a Yavimaya Elder. Avacyn Restored wants to close the game quickly and plays a Silverblade Paladin, bound to the Mauler, and turns them both to attack. Destiny chump-blocks with the Elder and takes 4 damage.
On its turn, Destiny plays an Emperor Crocodile and passes. Avacyn Restored answers with a Riot Ringleader, then considers the situation and decides to pass. Destiny plays a second Emperor Crocofile and passes again. Avacyn Restored plays a Nearheath Pilgrim, bound to the Ringleader, then decides to pass again. The game seems to be stalling, but it's Avacyn Restored that must try, as soon as possible, to break the balance.
Destiny is satisfied with its current defense line and taps its five lands for a Plow Under, moving two Plains on top of Avacyn Restored deck. This is definiely bad news for Avacyn Restored, that needed another land to play the Thunderous Wrath in its hand, or even better a third Plains to play a Jubilation Angel. Now Avacyn Restored has two options: go on an all-out attack, losing most of its creatures, or wait and see how things evolve. In the end, the risk of another Plow Under is what forces Avacyn Restored's hand: all its creatures launch an all-out attack!
One Emperor Crocodile blocks the Silverblade Paladin, and the two creatures kill each other. The other Crocodile blocks the Ringleader, while the Warden cannot block, or the surviving Crocodile will be lost as well. Destiny takes 9 damage and falls down to six, while Avacyn Restored gains six. On the board, a Mauler and a Pilgrim for Avacyn Restored (both unpaired), and a Warden and a Crocodile for Destiny.
It is now Destiny's turn, though, that plays an Ancient Silverback and attacks with the Crocodile (Avacyn takes the damage). Avacyn Restored draws again the last of the lands lost to Plow Under, and passes. Destiny attacks with the Crocodile and the Silverback (Avacyn Restored takes the damage and falls down to 10), then plays another Emperor Crocodile and passes.
Avacyn Restored draws... a Kessig Malcontents! The human is immediately played to deal 3 damage to Destiny, that is now at 3 life points. The Malcontents is paired with the Pilgrim for the lifelink (Avacyn Restored could have bound it to the Mauler and launched an all-out attack, but with the Warden and the Crocodile open to block, Destiny would have taken only 2 damage and survived, killing Avacyn Restored in the following turn).
Destiny plays a land, then attacks with the two Crocodile and the Silverback. Avacyn Restored is forced to block or die, and does so with the Malcontents, relying on Lifelink to survive the combat phase. Another Silverback is played, and Destiny passes.
It's the decisive moment of the game. Just one land drawn, and Avacyn Restored can unleash a Thunderous Wrath to kill its opponent. Avacyn Restored picks up the card... and it's a Lightning Mauler! Unfortunately, not good enough. On Destiny's following turn, an army of huge beats trample over the few heroic humans in Avacyn Restored's fort, and the match is sealed. Urza's Destiny moves on to the quarterfinals.
Avacyn Restored 1 - Urza's Destiny 3
Battle for Zendikar vs Antiquities
Not many decks in BOTS can survive a good start from Antiquities, and Battle for Zendikar is probably not one of them. So, the midrange Eldrazi deck will need to rely on a little luck to win this game. In particular, should Antiquities fail to draw Mishra's Workshop in its starting hand, the game could become just slow enough for Zendikar to ramp up its big fatties - and then things could get interesting.
Game 1
Antiquities starts, and it's a merciless start. A turn one Mishra's Workshop for Onulet, it's about as good as it gets. Battle for Zendikar plays a Lumbering Falls and passes. Antiquities attacks for two, then nonchalantly throws in a Strip Mine to destroy the opponent's land. Battle for Zendikar is still unable to play anything, except for a Fertile Thicket to get an Island. Antiquities attacks for two more, then plays a Tawnos's Coffin and passes.
It's finally Battle for Zendikar's turn to play something: a Mist Intruder. Not much, but at least it opens some tactical option for the Eldrazi deck. Unfortunately, though, Antiquities gets its third land and a Clockwork Avian in play. The Onulet strikes for two more, and the ball goes back to Battle for Zendikar. The Eldrazi deck thinks for a few seconds, then reveal a Titan's Presence to remove the Avian, and attacks with the Intruder. A Triskelion gets ingested, much to Battle for Zendikar's satisfaction.
Still, Antiquities is far from being out of options. A Primal Clay is played as a 2/2 with Flying, then the Onulet attacks for two more – Battle for Zendikar is now at 12 life points. And unfortunately, Battle for Zendikar misses a land drop this turn. The best it can do is playing a Blisterpod and passing. Antiquities attacks with both its creatures (the Blisterpod chump-blocks the Onulet, the Clay strikes for two), then plays a second Clockwork Avian and passes. Battle for Zendikar plays a Murk Strider, bouncing the Avian, then attacks with the Intruder to Ingest yet another Clockwork Avian. The Eldrazi deck is managing to stall the game somewhat, yet it's slowly but surely losing ground. Can it manage a comeback?
Antiquities gets a fourth land in play and attacks again with both creatures. The Onulet trades for the Strider, while the Clay deals two more damage. Then Antiquities plays a Tetravus and passes. Battle for Zendikar immediately shows a second Titan's Presence to remove the dangerous creature, then attacks with both creatures (the token and the Intruder), and cheers as a Strip Mine is ingested by the Intruder. That would probably have been the killing blow.
Still, the game is over, as Antiquities completes the Tron and plays two Rocket Launchers. There's no way Battle for Zendikar can close the game this turn, before being blasted out by the very much un-fantasy but extremely effective artifact. The two decks move on to game 2.
Game 2
Antiquities decides to take a mulligan in this second game, allowing Battle for Zendikar to hope for some better chances of victory. Unfortunately, Antiquities is ready to reveal a Mishra's Workshop on its first turn. On its second second turn, Battle for Zendikar plays a Mist Intruder and passes. The ball goes back to Antiquities, that plays a Su-Chi and passes. Battle for Zendikar attacks with the Intruder (ingesting a Triskelion), then plays a Blighted Cataract and a Blisterpod.
Antiquities starts attacking, with the Su-Chi being chump-blocked by the Blisterpod, then plays a Clockwork Avian and passes. Again, Battle for Zendikar's bad luck continues as it gets stuck with three lands. Not much to do at the moment, so the Eldrazi deck decides to just pass.
And there it goes: Antiquities smiles satanically as it plays a Strip Mine to remove one of the few precious lands on Battle for Zendikar's side. To make things worse, a second Su-chi is then played. Battle for Zendikar realizes that this game, too, is gone, and concedes.
Game 3
Battle for Zendikar starts with a Fertile Thicket, followed by a Lumbering Falls. No turn one Mishra's Workshop for Antiquities this time around... but it draws it on turn two! Battle for Zendikar raises its hands and shakes its head, while Antiquities proceeds to play an Onulet and passes.
But the Eldrazi deck has not lost hope this time around: the lands are coming in, and the hand is actually good. Who knows what might happen? For now, it plays a Ruination Guide and passes. Antiquities attacks with the Onulet (Battle for Zendikar takes the damage), then plays a Clockwork Avian and passes. Battle for Zendikar gets another Lumbering Falls in play, then a Mist Intruder, and finally passes.
More bad news are coming the way of the Eldrazi deck, though, as Antiquities plays a Triskelion. Things once again don't look good for Battle for Zendikar, especially as the Onulet and the Avian are turned to attack. Battle for Zendikar thinks for a second, then decides to take the damage.
Battle for Zendikar attacks with the Intruder, ingesting an Urza's Mine, then plays an Endless One for 5 mana. Finally, Battle for Zendikar can field a fatty of its own.
Antiquities doesn't want to see too many lands on Battle for Zendikar's side, so once again plays a Strip Mine to remove one. Then, a Tetravus joins the army of robots, while the Avian and the Onulet turn sideways to attack. Battle for Zendikar takes three damage from the Avian, then decides to block the Onulet with the Guide. The two creatures kills each other, and it's once again Battle for Zendikar's turn.
The Eldrazi deck is going good this time around, as it plays another land followed by a second Mist Intruder and Ruination Guide. Then, it decides to attack with the Endless One. Antiquities thinks for a second, then decides to take the damage. On the artifact's deck turn, a Tawnos's Coffin is played to remove the Endless One. Battle of Zendikar curses the unfairness of broken sets, but is soon faced with another challenge, as the Tetravus and the Avian are turned sideways to attack. While theoretically the two Intruders now sum up o 4 in power, and could trade for the Tetravus, the Triskelion is surely ready to kill the Ruination guide as soon as the blockers are declared. Still, sitting at 9 life points, waiting is not really an option for Battle for Zendikar. The two Intruders block the Tetravus, and as could be easily foreseen, the Triskelion kills the Guide to safeguard the Tetravus. End of turn: an empty board for Battle for Zendikar, while a 1/4 Avian, a 2/2 Triskelion and a 4/4 Tetravus rest comfortably on Antiquities's side. Battle for Zendikar has now 7 life points.
On its turn, Battle for Zendikar play an Oblivion Sower (getting two more lands in play) and passes. It's not good enough, though. Antiquities throws in a second Triskelion for good measure, then attacks with its flyers for the killing blow. The overbearing power of Antiquities, that got a series of incredibly good starts, was way too much for the Eldrazi deck to handle. Antiquities move on to the quarterfinals.
High risk, high reward. It relies a lot on the workshop to work well. Not my favorite type of deck, but well, it can be truly devastating, there's no denying that.
Two games from group D, involving three potential winners of the tournament. Let's see how well they did
New Phyrexia vs Visions
Two decks playing on a completely different level: one bashes with creatures, the other one tries to enforce a lock to remove all the opponent's creatures. I won't put up the report for this match exactly because it wouldn't be particularly fun, as the two decks didn't practically interact with each other. In the end, Visions wasn't very lucky, unable to collect the combo pieces quickly enough in most of the games. Sword of War and Peace was precious for New Phyrexia as Visions usually had plenty of cards in hand, boosting the damage output for the aggro deck. New Phyrexia won this pairing, advancing to the quarterfinals.
New Phyrexia 3 - Visions 2
Torment vs Magic 2012
Two giants face off in this match. One is the Lord Torment, the premiere MBC deck in BOTS, featuring powerhouse cards like Nantuko Shade and Mutilate. The other one is Magic 2012, an incredibly sturdy and resilient Rock deck with signature cards like Grave Titan and Gideon Jura. Anything can happen, as both decks are strong contenders to the final victory of the tournament!
Game 1
Torment gets first turn and starts well with a turn 2 Mesmeric Fiend, showing a hand of 2 Grave Titan, 2 Solemn Simulacrum, Naturalize and Oblivion Ring, plus a Swamp. While the two Titans are surely troublesome, in the end Torment decides to remove the white enchantment. Nothing to do for M12 this turn, except playing a land. On its turn, Torment adds a Nantuko Shade to the board, attacks with the Fiend, and passes.
Still no play from M12, so Torment decides to press the advantage and strikes for 7 with the Fiend and a boosted Shade. Things don't look particularly good for M12, but this turn it can at least start playing, with a Solemn Simulacrum. Torment plays a Cabal Coffers, obtaining a total of 6 black mana to play a Faceless Butcher and a Mesmeric Fiend. The Fiend reveals a hand of Naturalize, Solemn Simulacrum and 3 (!) Grave Titan. There are no lands, though. Torment decides to remove the Simulacrum, and crosses its fingers – if M12 doesn't draw a land, it will be game over on the following turn. For now, with the Butcher removing the Simulacrum already in play, Torment strikes for 3 more and passes.
M12 draws... a Rampant Growth! That won't do, unfortunately. Torment wins the first game by storm!
Game 2
With Torment having to mulligan to 5, things seem setting up well for M12 to start its comeback. A turn 2 Skinshifter starts pounding for 4 in the following turns, with Torment still playing lands. After taking two attacks and falling down to 12, Torment can finally tap for four mana and play a Mutilate to remove the annoying creature before it's too late. On the following turn, M12 plays its fifth land and a Gideon Jura. Things don't look too well for Torment now.
The black deck is stuck at four lands and can only play a Shambling Swarm to try and slow down its opponent. M12 plays a Rampant Growth, then an Oblivion Ring to remove the Swarm and open the way to Gideon. Torment falls down to six, one step from the grave. As a second Shambling Swarm is met by a second Oblivion Ring, it's clear that the game it's over. The two deck moves on to game 3.
Game 3
This time Torment opens the game with a turn two Nantuko Shade. No answer from M12, and this means that on its following turn Torment can hit for five damage. M12 gets a third land in play and plays an Oblivion Ring to remove the dangerous Shade. Torment plays a Cabal Coffers and passes. M12, too, only plays a land and passes. On the followin turn Torment finally has the needed mana for a big play: a Laquatus's Champion! M12 falls down to 9 - things are looking well for the monoblack deck.
M12 draws... a Timely Reinforcements! Faithful to its name, it comes up at the right moment. Not only M12 is now again at 15 life points, but it can easily chump-block the Champion for the following three turns. Torment plays another Swamp, then a Mind Sludge! M12 is forced to discard its whole hand! Two lands, a Naturalize, a Doom Blade, and worst of all – a Garruk, Primal Hunter. This one definitely hurt M12. The Champion then attacks, and is blocked by one heroic Soldier.
M12 draws, attacks with one of the tokens, then passes. Torment is surely not having mana problem, as a second Cabal Coffers enters the battlefield. On the other hand, it seems to have nothing to play, as it just attacks with the Champion (chump-blocked) and passes.
Once again draw-go from M12. Torment shows a second Mind Sludge, discarding a Doom Blade and a second Garruk, Primal Hunter (M12 lacks a third Forest, so it couldn't play it). The Champion is blocked by the last token, and Torment finally passes.
M12 needs to draw something good... a Solemn Simulacrum. Well, not that bad. The creature is immediately played. M12 has two plains, two forests and a swamp in play. Considering that two Garruks are already out of the picture, and hoping to draw a Grave Titan, M12 decides to fetch a second swamp.
Incredibly, another Cabal Coffers from Torment! The Champion is blocked by the heroic Simulacrum, that dies and allows M12 to draw one. A Plains... then, on M12's turn... another Simulacrum! The artifact creature is immediately played, fetching a Forest this time, then M12 passes. Torment chuckles as it finally draws a Faceless Butcher, removing the annoying Simulacrum and finally opening the way to Laquatus's Champion.
On its turn, M12 draws a Skinshifter. That's good... if it stays in play. Luckily, Torment doesn't seem to have another removal, at the moment. The Butcher needs to stay on the defensive, or be easily killed, and the Champion can be blocked by the Skinshifter. The situation is a standoff, for the moment.
Good for M12, but unfortunately it can only draw a Rampant Growth... while on its turn Torment draws a second Faceless Butcher! Torment attacks again and M12 falls down to 1. On its following turn, it draws a Skinshifter... not enough to save it this time. Torment wins game 3!
Game 4
M12 starts, but the first play is a turn two Mesmeric Fiend from Torment. M12 reveals a hand of Garruk, Primal Hunter, Timely Reinforcements, Solemn Simulacrum, Grave Titan, Skinshifter, Rampant Growth. Torment is happy to see its opponent has no lands in hand, with a Swamp and an Island in play. After thinking for a few seconds, it decides to remove the Rampant Growth – this way, even if its opponent draws a Forest, it won't be able to ramp mana.
M12 draws... a Forest! Feeling lucky for the first time in the match, it plays the Skinshifter and passes. Unfortunately, Torment draws a Chainer's Edict and plays it – bye bye Skinshifter. Torment decides to not attack, keeping in mind the Timely Reinforcements in the opponent's hand.
With considerable luck, M12 draws another Forest! A Solemn Simulacrum is played, fetching another land... Garruk is coming soon! Torment looks annoyed, but it's definitely not falling behind, as it plays a Nantuko Shade and passes. It's again M12's turn, that finally plays the powerful green Planeswalker, creating a 3/3 Beast token and passing.
Torment has no removal to open the way for the Shade, but there's one thing it can do: play a Sengir Vampire. Starting next turn, it will be able to kill the dangerous Planeswalker. Or at least, that's the plan... but this time it's M12's turn to shock its opponent. An Oblivion Ring hits the board, removing the vampire. At the same time, a second Beast token is created, reinforcing M12's defense line.
Clearly, Garruk's final ability would mean game over for Torment, creating no less than 5 6/6 Wurms... with no Mutilate in sight, so far. But what can it do? Not much, unfortunately. There are too many blockers on the board already, and at best Torment can Flashback the Chainer's Edict. The Shade turns to attack, and it's chump-blocked by the Simulacrum. Then, the evil Torment shows a Mind Sludge, forcing M12 to discard two Grave Titan and two Timely Reinforcements (not bad at all), before passing.
M12 puts its sixth loyalty counter on Garruk, creating a third Beast token, then passes. Torment draws, attacks with the Shade (chump-blocked again), then plays a second Sengir Vampire, and finally passes. M12 would have actually liked to keep Garruk in play one more turn, before activating the -6 ability, but the Vampire won't allow that. So, the Planeswalker is sacrificed to create 6 huge Wurm tokens. Then M12 passes.
Now, Torment reeeeeally needs a Mutilate. But it's nowhere to be found, unfortunately. Torment plays a Shambling Swarm to block, then passes. M12 knows its opponent can kill in one turn with a huge Nantuko Shade. Plus, M12 can't yet kill its opponent in one turn, considering that Torment can block up to 4 creatures. M12 decides, surprisingly, to pass for the moment. Torment is happy to gain some time, plays the Chainer's Edict from the graveyard with Flashback, then passes.
And here it goes: M12 gets a second white mana source in play and... a Gideon Jura! Is it game over? The answer is yes! Torment only draws a Swamp, and is forced to attack full force on the white Planeswalker, opening the way to a swarm of angry wurms! The two decks move on to the decisive game 5.
Game 5
Torment starts, but it's a slow start, with no plays on the first three turns. M12, on the contrary, has a quick start, with a turn 2 Rampant Growth followed by a turn 3 Solemn Simulacrum. On its fourth turn, Torment plays its first creature: a Faceless Butcher, removing the Simulacrum. But M12 is ready to play the heavyweights: a Grave Titan enters the battlefield, towering and intimidating. Can Torment find an answer? Yes and no. For now, a Shambling Swarm will have to do – preventing the Titan from attacking, at least. Somewhat troublesome for Torment is having missed a land drop, though – the monoblack deck remains stuck at 4.
Things get troublesome for Torment when M12 plays a Gideon Jura, activating the +2 ability. Torment is forced to attack with the Swarm and the Butcher. The Butcher crashes on the Titan and dies, while the Swarm is chump-blocked by a Zombie token. M12 gets back the Simulacrum, then Torment plays a Nantuko Shade and passes.
M12 attacks with the Titan, the Simulacrum and the Zombie token. This last one is killed by the Shade (boosted to 4/3), and Torment takes 8 damage. Then M12 activates the +2 ability from Gideon and plays a second Grave Titan! Things don't look good for Torment now. At all.
But Torment hasn't lost hope. It has a Mutilate in hand... and now draws a fifth Swamp. Only one more to clear the board. Can it survive one turn? For now, Torment is forced to attack with both creatures (chump-blocked by Zombies from M12). On the following turn, M12 will have two 6/6 (3 if it activates the +0 from Gideon) and 3 2/2 to attack with, for a total of 18 (24) damage. Torment has 12 life points, meaning that it needs to block the two Titans, plus Gideon if it's activated.
There's no way it can do that. With a hand of Mind Sludge, two Sengir Vampire, a Mutilate, a Chainer's Edict; and five lands in play, no combination of actions can save Torment now. The monoblack deck feels the bitter taste of defeat, so rarely tasted in the past, and passes the turn, watching as M12 declares an all-out attack to win the game.
Just for curiosity, Torment looks at the top card of its deck... another Mutilate. No way to survive the army of Titans, then. A complete, although honorable, defeat for Torment. M12 wins this clash of giants, and advances to the quarterfinals of Group D!
Three more games from Group D, and we will soon move to the quarterfinals. Things are about to become interesting
Morningtide vs Future Sight
Morningtide's flavorful warriors deck faces off Future Sight's Goyf build. This is an interesting matchup, as it pitches one against the other two very different philosophies. On one side, the highly synergistic tribal deck, with the "all for one, one for all" motto. On the other side, Future Sight is assembled by putting together some of the best cards in the set, with little to no synergy and all aimed at empowering the core card in the deck - the Tarmogoyf.
Game 1
Future Sight starts, but the first play is from Morningtide, with a Mudbutton Clanger. Future Sight answers with an Augur of Skulls, then passes. Morningtide looks at the first card of its deck and reveals another Mudbutton Clanger, playing it immediately and attacking with the other one. Future Sight takes two damage. On its turn, Future Sight plays an Edge of Autumn to fetch another land, then passes.
No warrior to reveal for Morningtide this time, but Future Sight has no mana open to regenerate the Augur, so both Clangers are turned to attack, dealing two damage. Morningtide then passes. Future Sight plays its fifth land, then a Stronghold Rats, and finally passes.
Morningtide reveals a Bramblewood Paragon and attacks with the 2/2 Clangers. One of them is blocked by the Augur, that is then regenerated, while the other one strikes for two more. Morningtide then plays the Paragon and passes. On its turn, Future Sight sacrifices the Augur to have Morningtide discard two cards (two lands), then attacks with the Rats for one more card – a Chameleon Colossus! Finally a Tarmogoyf is played (3 / 4 at the moment), along with a second Stronghold Rats.
Morningtide reveals another Chameleon Colossus to boost the Clangers, but can't unfortunately play it since it lacks a second forest. Instead, a Vengeful Firebrand is played, gaining Haste and a +1/+1 counter and Trample from the Paragon. The two Clangers and the Firebrand are then turned to attack. Future Sight decides to trade the Tarmogoyf for the Firebrand, and takes 4 damage from the Clangers (plus 2 from the Firebrand due to Trample).
Future Sight cycles an Edge of Autumn, sacrificing a Forest to draw... a Swamp. Not gamebreaking, surely. The two Stronghold Rats attack, emptying both players's hands. Future Sight is now at 8 life points, Morningtide at 14.
Then Morningtide reveals and plays a second Bramblewood Paragon, attacking for six. Even as Future Sight draws a Tombstalker the following turn, the game is clearly in Morningtide's pocket. Moving on to game 2.
Game 2
Lady Luck smiles on Morningtide as Future Sight is forced to take a mulligan. Morningtide also gets a good start, with a turn one Mudbutton Clanger. Future Sight answers with a suspended Nihilith, then Morningtide adds a Bramblewood Paragon to its growing armies of warriors, before attacking with the Clanger. On its third turn, Future Sight plays an Augur of Skulls and passes.
Still no warrior to reveal to boost the Clanger, but Morningtide can still attack for 3.
Future Sight sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Vengeful Firebrand and a Game-Trail Changeling), then plays an Imperiosaur and passes. Morningtide draws a Forest, plays it, then shows a Chameleon Colossus. With a +1/+1 counter and Trample from the Paragon, this is definitely bad news for Future Sight – and thinks weren't going bad at all.
Future Sight attacks with the Imperiosaur (Morningtide takes the damage), then plays a second Imperiosaur and passes. Another land drawn by Morningtide, and the Clanger still stays 1/1. But it's no big deal, as the Colossus is turned to attack. Future Sight blocks with an Imperiosaur, so Morningtide spends 4 to turn the Colossus into a 10/10. The dinosaur is crushed, and Future Sight drops to 11 life points.
Future Sight draws and plays a Tarmogoyf, but with only creatures in graveyards, it's only a 1 / 2. The Imperiosaur is turned to attack again, and chump-blocked by the Clanger. Then it's again Morningtide's turn. Morningtide attacks with both creatures. The Tarmogoyf blocks the Colossus, Morningtide does not boost it, and Future Sight falls down to 6. Then Morningtide plays an Obsidian Battle Axe and passes.
The Nihilith finally joins the battle, along with a second Imperiosaur. The Nihilith strikes for 4 and Future Sight passes. Morningtide equips the Axe to the Colossus and attacks with both creatures. Morningtide still has the mana open to activate the Colossus's ability once, meaning that it can be turned into a 14/13 with Trample. The two Imperiosaur can team up to soak up 10 damage, and that means 4 are getting through – plus the 2 from the Paragon. Again, game over for Future Sight. The two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Morningtide gets the first play, again, with a Mudbutton Clanger. Future Sight answers with an Augur of Skulls. Morningtide draws a Mountain, plays a Mutavault and attacks with the Clanger, before passing. Future Sight sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Titan's Revenge and a Game-Trail Changeling), then plays a Tarmogoyf and passes. Not much to do for Morningtide this time around, so it just plays a second Mutavault and passes. The warrior deck is missing green mana, and isn't drawing any.
Future Sight plays another Augur of Skulls, attacks for 2 with the Tarmogoyf, then passes. Morningtide reveals a Taurean Mauler to boost the Clanger, then plays a Vengeful Firebrand and attacks with both its creatures for 7 damage – except Future Sight shows a Slaughter Pact to kill the Firebrand! Once again Future Sight's turn, that sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Bramblewood Paragon and a Chameleon Colossus), then attacks with the now 3 / 4 Tarmogoyf and finally passes (all mana is tapped for the Pact).
Morningtide reveals an Obsidian Battle Axe, attacks for 2 with the Clanger, then plays the Taurean Mauler and passes. Future Sight plays another Tarmogoyf and passes. Morningtide draws and plays another Taurean Mauler, then passes again. The situation is somewhat troublesome for Future Sight now. It can't play many spells, or the game will be quickly ended by the Maulers. For now, it plays a Death Rattle by exiling two Augur of Skulls, to kill one of the two Maulers, and passes. Morningtide plays the Obsidian Battle Axe and passes.
Future Sight plays a Quiet Disrepair on the Battle Axe. The Mauler grows to 4/4, but soon the Goyfs will grow as well, with an enchantment and an artifact in the graveyard. Morningtide draws and plays a Brighthearth Banneret, then passes. Future Sight triggers the Quiet Disrepair to destroy the Axe, then turns the two 5/6 Goyfs to attack. Morningtide chumps block one with the Clanger, takes 5 damage and falls down to 10. Then Future Sight plays a third Tarmogoyf and passes.
Morningtide draws a Bramblewood Paragon... still with no Forests in play. Morningtide is forced to pass again. Future Sight draws, cycles a Street Wraith, then attacks with the 3 Goyfs. One is killed by teaming up a Mutavault with the Mauler, one is chump-blocked by the Banneret, and Morningtide falls down to 5 life points.
Morningtide needs to draw something really good to make a comeback – but it's just a Brighthearth Banneret. That's it, then. Morningtide concedes, and the two decks move on to Game 4.
Game 4
Both decks take a mulligan. The first play is on turn 2 from Future Sight with a suspended Nihilith. Morningtide answers with an Obsidian Battle Axe. Future Sight plays an Augur of Skulls and passes.
It's time for Morningtide to get serious, with a Brighthearth Banneret followed by a Taurean Mauler, that gets equipped with the Axe (strange to imagine, a bull with a battle axe, but well...) and strikes for 4. Future Sight sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Mountain and a Chameleon Colossus), then plays a Tarmogoyf and passes.
Morningtide draws and plays a Forest, then attacks for 5 with the Mauler, and passes. Future Sight gets a second Forest in play followed immediately by an Imperiosaur, then cycles an Edge of Autumn and passes. The Tarmogoyf is now a 3 / 4.
The Mauler is now a 6/5 and can be easily killed by the Imperiosaur, leaving the way open for the Goyf – and later on the Nihilith. Morningtide decides to pass, for the moment. Future Sight draws and passes.
Morningtide draws a Titan's Revenge. There is already one in its hand, that Morningtide was keeping aside to kill the Nihilith. But now that there are two... Morningtide immediately plays it for three damage to Future Sight. The two decks clash: Future Sight reveals a Forest, Morningtide another Titan's Revenge! Morningtide wins the clash, and both decks decide to put the revealed cards on bottom of the deck.
The Nihilith comes into play, and Future Sight also adds an Augur of Skulls to the board. With only 8 life points left, it's imeprative that the Titan's Revenge is removed as quickly as possible. The Nihilith is immediately turned to attack, then Future Sight passes.
Morningtide draws a Vengeful Firebrand and considers the situation. In the end, it decides to play the Firebrand and attack with it and the Mauler. At 8 life points left, Future Sight cannot afford to take any damage. The Mauler is blocked by the Augur that regenerates, while the Firebrand trades for the Imperiosaur.
The Augur sacrifices herself to discard two cards from morningtide's hand – two Titan's Revenge. Then Future Sight plays its sixth land and another Nihilith. The one already in play attacks, bringing Morningtide down to 12. Morningtide draws and plays a Mutavault, attacks with the Mauler (chump-blocked by the tarmogoyf), then passes.
The two Nihilith attacks, bringing Morningtide down to 4. Future Sight now only needs a blocker for the Mauler? Does it have it? Yes it does! An Augur of Skulls is played, and Future Sight passes.
The game is over, but in one of the greatest WTF moment of the tournament so far, Morningtide draws a Bramblewood Paragon! The huge Mauler gains Trample and walks right over the Augur to deliver the killing blow! What an incredible turn on events! Morningtide wins game 4 and the whole match, advancing to the quarterfinals!
Morningtide 3 - Future Sight 1
Mirrodin vs Odissey
Ah, I love infinite turns deck. Annoying as they are, they usually require some careful buildup and clever mechanism that's much more intriguing than other combo decks. That said, fast aggro decks are troublesome for Odissey, especially if they can close the game with direct damage. That's exactly the kind of deck Mirrodin is, unfortunately. Most games were quickly over, with Mirrodin dealing the killing blow in turns 4 or 5. Not much to do for Odissey, except defend its honor with a game won.
Mirrodin 3 - Odissey 1
Shards of Alara vs Magic 2010
Shards of Alara Naya's deck clashes with M10's monoblack control. There's no clear favorite here, even though the offensive planeswalkers could give an edge to Shards. Let's get the match going!
Game 1
Shards starts, but the first move is a Duress from M2010. Shards reveals a hand of two lands, two Oblivion Ring, a Woolly Thoctar and a Spearbreaker Behemoth. Not much choice – one of the Oblivion Ring goes to the graveyard, and M10 knows he'll have to worry about the Thoctar soon. Comes turn three, and as predicted Shards plays the big beast. But no worries, as M10 draws and plays a white-protected Black Knight. No more play from Shards, then on its turn M10 plays a Mind Rot (Shards discards a land and the Spearbreaker Behemoth).
Shards of Alara then plays a second Woolly Thoctar, but as it is quickly removed by a Tendrils of Corruption, is surely seems like the inertia of the game is moving towards M10. On the following turn, Shards draws and plays a third Woolly Thoctar, and on its following turn, M10 dispatches it to the graveyard with another Tendrils of Corruption! The monoblack deck seems solidly in control – but will it be able to close the game?
Shards draws and passes, while M10 is ready to increase its advantage with a Sign in Blood followed by a Hypnotic Specter. Shards take care of the Specter with an Oblivion Ring, then passes. M10 plays a second Hypnotic Specter and passes, but the Specter is immediately removed end-of-turn by a Naya Charm. Shards draws and plays a Knight-Captain of Eos, but this one too is immediately killed by a Doom Blade! No card has managed to stay on the board for long so far, except for the single Thoctar and the Knight facing each other across the battlefield from the beginning of the game!
Comes M10's turn, and another Hypnotic Specter is played, followed by a second Doom Blade on the Thoctar – finally the Black Knight can ride in to deal the first two damage to Shards. On its turn, Shards draws and plays an Elspeth, Knight-Errant, giving +3/+3 and flying to one Soldier token to dish in 4 damage to M10.
M10 plays a Liliana Vess and activates the -2 ability to fetch a Nightmare that will, hopefully, close the game. Then, both the Knight and the Specter crash on Elspeth, bringing her down to 1 loyalty counter. On its turn, Shards activates again the boost ability from Elspecth to allow one soldier to kill Liliana. Then, an Oblivion Ring is played to remove the Specter (that would otherwise force Shards to discard it).
M10 finally draws and plays its finsisher: a 7/7 flying Nightmare. The Knight attacks to kill Elspecth, and again it's Shards's turn. A little late, Shards draws a Magma Spray and can finally kill the annoying Knight, but has no answers to the Nightmare, that it's going to end the game quite quickly. And to make things worse, M10 just draws and plays a second Nightmare! As Shards draws a Spearbreaker Behemoth, there's nothing that it can do to prevent M10 from winning the first game of the match!
Game 2
Game 2 doesn't start well for Shards, that is forced to mulligan. On its secodn turn, Shards makes the opening play of the game with a Druid of the Anima. M10 answers with a Sign in Blood and passes. Shards keeps ramping mana with a Steward of Valeron, then passes. M10 plays an Hypnotic Specter and passes.
Shards attacks with the Steward (M10 takes the damage), then it's ready to get serious with a Knight-Captain of Eos. M10 needs to answer quickly, or its opponent will snowball out of control. But the monoblack deck can always find an answer to its troubles: as it gets a fourth land in play, two Doom Blades fly over the battlefield to remove the Steward and the Knight-captain. Then, the Specter is turned to attack, forcing Shards to discard an Oblivion Ring.
Shards attacks with the tokens, then throws a Naya Charm at the annoying Specter, and finally passes. But it's once again M10's time to shine. As it hits five lands, it plays a Black Knight and another Hypnotic Specter. Bad news for Shards of Alara, but the Naya deck can still smile as it plays a second Knight-Captain of Eos before passing.
Shards has now an empty hand. Still, the Specter flyes over Shards's blockers to deal two more damage, then M10 taps six Swamps to play a Nightmare! Things are getting worse and worse for Shards. Luckily, it draws an Oblivion Ring to remove the Nightmare, and gain some time. With the Black Knight on the defensive, though, it's forced to pass.
The game goes on slowly a couple of turns, with M10 attacking with the Specter, until finally the monoblack deck can find a Tendrils of Corruption to kill the Knight-captain. Shards is now at 14 life points, while M10 sits comfortably at 21. Shards keeps drawing lands for two more turns, while M10 keeps attacking and also plays a Sign in Blood to draw and play a second Black Knight.
The clock is ticking faster now for Shards of Alara, that draws... another Mountain! M10 attacks with all its creatures to bring its opponent down to 2, and then it's over. Shards draws an Oblivion Ring, and concedes. As M10 feels an unexpected crushing win getting closer, the two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Shards starts well this time around with a turn two Druid of the Anima... and then remains stuck at two lands. Still, with a Steward of Valeron entering the battlefield in the following turn, it will somehow manage to keep up in the mana race. Meanwhile, M10 is not playing anything of interest. The ball goes back to Shards, that attacks with the Steward, then playd an Elspeth, Knight-Errant, creating a Soldier token before passing (still stuck at two lands).
M10 seems to be having mana flood troubles, and still can't play anything. Shards pushed the advantage giving +3/+3 to the Soldier token, and striking for 6 before playing a Woolly Thoctar. As M10 can't play anything on turn 5, the game reaches a quick conclusion with Shards's first victory.
Game 4
M10 starts immediately with a turn one Duress. Shards reveals two lands, two Oblivion Ring, one Woolly Thoctar, one Ajani Vengeant and one Steward of Valeron. The planeswalker is immediately discarded. On the following turn, M10 plays a Black Knight and passes. Shards answers with a Druid of the Anima, and passes as well. M10 attacks with the Knight, then plays an Hypnotic Specter and passes.
Shards is still stuck at two lands, but thanks to the Druid can play an Oblivion Ring to remove the Specter, before it starts attacking. Luckily for Shards, M10 is stuck as well, with only three lands in play, but that doesn't prevent it from playing a second Black Knight. That's not good for Shards, but at least it gets a Jungle Shrine in play, followed by a Steward of Valeron and a Magma Spray to remove one of the annoying Knights. Things are smiling again for Shards.
M10 just attacks with the Knight and passes. Shards attacks with the Steward, then plays a second Druid of the Anima and a Woolly Thoctar. The beast is killed end-of-turn by a Tendrils of Corruption, though, then M10 plays a Liliana Vess and activates its +1 ability to force M10 to discard an Oblivion Ring. The Knight is kept on the defensive this turn.
Shards smiles and shows... another Oblivion Ring! The planeswalker is removed, then Shards passes. M10 doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it plays a Sign in Blood followed by another Black Knight, then attacks for two more and passes.
Shards can smile again when it draws an Ajani Vengeant and plays it immediately to kill the untapped Knight, opening the way to the Steward to deal two damage. The two Druid are kept untapped to chump-block the Knight. Yes, things are definitely looking good for Shards now.
And yet M10 again looks calm as it plays another Sign in Blood, then a land, then attacks with the Knight (chump-blocked by one Druid), and passes.
Sahrds activates the +1 ability from Ajani to keep the Knight tapped, then attacks for three and passes. Again M10's turn, and finally we know why it was so relaxed: a Nightmare is played! Currently, Shards has no answer to the 6/6 flying monster. And as it draws a Magma Spray, it's clear that Ajani is as good as dead. Still, the +1 ability is activated to keep the Knight tapped one more turn, and Shards passes. M10 plays a Gorgon Flail, kills Ajani as expected, then passes.
Sahrds attacks with its two creatures, then plays a land and the Magma Spray to kill the Black Knight. Finally, it passes. End of turn, a Tendrils of Corruption kills the Steward, raising M10's life points to 18. M10 then equips the Flail to the nightmare and strikes for seven, taking Shards down to 8 life points.
A Woolly Thoctar on the following turn is met by another Tendrils, and as M10 plays another land and attacks with a 8/8 Nightmare, the game is over. M10 made perfect use of its removal and discard to keep control of the board and generate card advantage, while Shards failed to enforce the power of its Planeswalker, that couldn't be drawn in time, or protected. M10 moves on to the quarterfinals of Group D.
And here we go... starting from next week, the group quarterfinals!
Magic Origins vs Mirage
A truly unlucky pairing for Mirage. The monoblack deck's strategy is removing the key creatures of its opponent and bring them back under its command with Ashen Powder. Unfortunately, Magic Origins does not have key creatures. It only has small creatures that work together to spawn and support a large army of flying Thopters. As such, this was a very one-sided match, with Magic Origins achieving an easy win.
Magic Origins 3 - Mirage 0
Conflux vs Legions
Conflux is a strange 5c control deck that tries to pack an answer to everything. Against Legions, though, there is only one thing that's needed - the capability of dealing with armies of creatures. This is not exactly Conflux's strong point, but I would still declare the control deck as favorite, since its overall quality level is clearly higher.
Game 1
Conflux starts, but has to take a mulligan. Legions makes the first play with a turn one Plated Sliver, while Conflux shows a turn two Kaleidostone. No play on the following turn from the two decks, while Legions on turn three shows a Glowrider. Still nothing from Conflux, and Legions presses the advantage by playing an Essence Sliver and attacking with its creatures. Conflux thinks about Path of Exile-ing one, but sees that its opponent lacks Swamps, and doesn't want to give it any. So, Conflux falls at 15 and Legions gain one life point.
And finally it's time for Conflux to answer back: a Thornling makes its appearance! But Legions is ready with a trick of its own: a Shifting Sliver. The Essence and Plated are turned to attack for four damage and four life points gained! Things are going well so far for the Sliver deck.
Conflux draws, plays a Noble Hierarch, and passes. Legions draws, plays a Swamp, and turns its Sliver to attack – Conflux smiles as it shows Path of Exile to remove the Shifting Sliver and moves the Thornling to block the Essence Sliver. In one strike, the two most dangerous creatures on Legions's side of the board, removed. Conflux regains control of the game. Legions then adds a Toxic Sliver to the board and passes. Conflux plays another Noble Hierarch, then passes.
And then things change again! Legions draws and plays a Ward Sliver, declaring Protection from Green! The Toxin and Ward Sliver can now attack freely, and Conflux falls down to 6 life points... with only one turn left to live!
Conflux needs to draw something useful, and fast... but it's only a Cylian Sunsinger! Game over! Legions wins game one.
Game 2
Conflux starts with a Noble Hierarch followed quickly by a second Noble Hierarch, attacking with the other one for two damage. On its turn, Legions answers with a Crypt Sliver. Conflux is stuck at two lands, but luckily it can play a Shard Comvergence to refill its hand of lands, before playing a Plains and passing. Legions draws, plays a land, decides to keept its Sliver on the defensive, and passes. The aggro deck is currently lacking white manas sources, and that might be what it's slowing it down. Conflux plays a Cylian Sunsinger, a Wall of Reverence, and then passes. Legions draws and plays a second Crypt Sliver, then passes.
Conflux has nothing to do at the moment, except attack with the Sunsinger and boosting her (still blocked by a regenerating Sliver), gaining seven life points from the Wall of Reverence, before passing. Legions plays a Spectral Sliver and passes. And then Conflux can finally play its signature card: Conflux! It fetches a Thornling, an Ethersworn Adjudicator, a Magister Sphinx, a Martial Coup and a second Conflux, then passes. Legions knows it has to do something quickly, but it's still lacking white mana, and can only play a Synapse Sliver. Legions then declares an attack with its three Slivers. One of the Crypt Slivers is blocked by the Wall, the Spectral trades for the Sunsinger, and one manages to deal damage and allows Legions to draw one... not a Plains.
Conflux plays the Magister Sphinx to bring its opponent down to 10, then passes. Still no Plains for Legions... and a hand full of only white cards! The Sliver deck knows it's over and concedes. The two deck move on to game 3.
Game 3
Legions begins with a Crypt Sliver, but it's quickly answered by a Cylian Sunsinger from Conflux. Nothing from Legions on the following turn, while Conflux adds a Knight of the Reliquary. Legions adds a dangerous Toxin Sliver, then passes. Conflux draws and passes. On its turn, Legions turns the Toxin Sliver to attack, and Conflux shows a Path of Exile to get rid of it. Legions is still happy to get an Island, as it was missing it, and adds another Toxin Sliver to the board before passing. End of turn, the Knight taps to destroy a Forest and fetch an Island instead. Then Conflux plays a Thornling and passes.
Then legions get lucky: it draws a Ward Sliver and immediately plays it, selecting Green as the colour! The Toxin Sliver is immediately turned to attack for three, and there's nothing Conflux can do to stop it. End of turn, another land is traded via the Knight, then a second Thornling joins the board, and finally Conflux passes. Legions plays a Synapse Sliver, then a Plated Sliver, and attacks for five damage and two cards drawn with the Ward and Toxin Sliver.
Conflux is still activating the Knight to remove lands from the deck, but it's still drawing only lands. So for now it can only pass.
Legions cannot yet deliver the killing blow, but it still attacks for nine and adds another Toxin Sliver to the board. Only a Martial Coup can at this point save Conflux... but it only draws another Thornling! Legions wins game 3. Conflux has learned that its true enemy it's the Ward Sliver, and the Path of Exile must be saved for it. But can the control deck recover and win?
Game 4
Luckily for Conflux, Legions has to mulligan, and its start it's not particularly good, with a turn three Glowrider being the first play. Conflux has played a turn two Kaleidostone, and plays a Wall of Reverence to answer its opponent's creature. Legions plays a Toxin Sliver and passes. Conflux plays a Thornling and passes (and now it's starting to gain some serious life points, and that's troubling Legions).
But here comes the Ward Sliver again! Again all Slivers gain protection from Green, and the Toxin is turned to attack. Conflux decides not to sacrifice the Wall, and takes the three damage. This time around, Conflux has an answer ready: the Kaleidostone is sacrificed to fuel an Ethersworn Adjudicator. Not only this is a blue creature, but it can easily destroy the most dangerous Slivers.
Legions plays a Spectral Sliver and turns the Ward and Toxin to attack. Conflux doesn't want to sacrifice its creatures, and takes the damage (with the Ward boosted +1/+1 from the Spectral's ability). Still, with the life points gained from the Wall, Conflux is still sitting comfortably at 20 life points.
Conflux still needs the black mana to activate the Adjudicator, and plays a Rupture Spire to get it – starting from next turn. For now, a Cylian Sunsinger and a Noble Hierarch are also played, the Adjudicator attacks, then finally Conflux passes. Legions adds an Essence Sliver to the board, then attacks for eight damage and eight life points gained.
And finally Conflux can tap the Adjudicator to kill the Ward Sliver! Conflux it's almost giggling now as it passes the ball back to Legions. But it's Legions to laugh last, after all, when it draws another Ward Sliver! What to do with it? Conflux is still at 20 life points,thanks to the Wall, and it's not going to die quickly. The Adjudicator can snipe down its Slivers, slowly and surely. So Legions decide to give them protection from Blue. Then Legions passes.
Conflux is quite annoyed at the moment, but at least it can now use its green creatures to block. So, after attacking with the Adjudicator, a second Thornling is added to the board. Then Conflux passes.
Legions draws and plays a Crypt Sliver, then passes.
Conflux is ready to press its advantage by playing a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and activating its +3 ability to destroy the opponent's only Swamp. The Adjudicator attacks again, then Conflux passes. Legions decides to attack Nicol Bolas with one Sliver, mostly to gain life points, as the Thornling can be made indestructible. The two decks can survive until the end of time by trading attacks and gaining life points, but Conflux has the clear advantage here, thanks to the Planeswalker.
Another Thornling played by Conflux, another land destroyed. Legions would really need a Shifting Sliver now, but it only draws a Plated Sliver. Not good enough. Still, Legions must act – an all out attack is declared on Nicol Bolads, keeping only the Ward Sliver (and the newly played Plated Sliver) back. The Glowrider, the Essence Sliver and the Toxin Sliver crash on the Thornlings and are destroyed, with no loss on Conflux side (the Thornlings blocking the Slivers get indestructible). The Noble Hierarch and the Sunsinger sacrifices themselves to block the remaining two Slivers. Legions gain 12 life points, but it has lost most of its Slivers without even managing its objective: removing Loyalty Counters from Nicol Bolas.
And then it comes: the final ability from Nicol Bolas is activated, and Legions is forced to sarcifice almost everything. After remaining with only three lands and a lonely Ward Sliver, it finally concedes, and the two decks move on to the final game.
Game 5
It's not a quick start for Legions, with the first play being a turn three Glowrider, answered by a Reliquary Knight from Conflux. Legions immediately gets much more dangerous, though, with a Shifting Sliver. Then, the Glowrider attacks for two, and finally Legions passes. Conflux just plays a Cylian Sunsinger and passes. A second Shifting Sliver joins the first one on Legions's side of the board, with the other one attacking for two. Then, Legions passes and Conflux starts fetching lands with the Knight.
Conflux turns its creatures to attack, and Legions block the Sunsinger with the Glowrider. The Sunsinger is boosted to save it, and Conflux passes. Legions adds a Toxin Sliver to the board, attacks for four, and passes. Conflux attacks with the Sunsinger, and Legions decides to take the damage (Conflux activates its ability once, making it five damage). Then, it's once again Legions's turn.
The Sliver deck plays a Synapse Sliver and attacks with all its creatures. A Path of Exile is spent here to remove the Toxin Sliver and Conflux takes only 4 damage, with Legions drawing two and then passing. End of turn, Conflux activates the Knight again, then attacks with both its creatures. Legions blocks the Sunsinger with the Synapse Sliver, and the ability from the Sunsinger is activated once to kill its blocker. The two decks are now at 8 life points.
Legions plays another Synapse Sliver, then a Crypt Sliver, and finally attacks with the two Shifting Sliver. Conflux falls at 4 life points. Game over? Legions is already tasting the savour of an almost impossible win, when Conflux taps its six lands for mana, then the Knight, then again the new land... and shows a Martial Coup for 5! The board is wiped clean of all the precious slivers!
This is a very hard blow for Legions. But the Sliver deck still can fight. In the following turn, it empties its hand to play a Glowrider and two Crypt Sliver. Conflux has now a clear advantage, and declares an all-out attack with all the Soldier token. Legions doesn't want to take all the damage, so one of the Crypt Sliver is sacrificed to block and kill a token. Legions takes four damage and falls down to 4. Conflux plays a Thornling to defend itself and passes. Now, it needs some luck. Legions draws... a Spectral Sliver. Will it be enough? With only one Sliver (and the Glowrider) able to attack and the Thornling on the defensive, Legions can't kill its opponent right now. Legions has to pass for now. Conflux declares an all out attack.
The Spectral Sliver blocks the Thornling, the Crypt Sliver one of the Tokens, and the Glowrider another token. Legions would take only two damge this way... but the Thornling is quickly turned into a 7/1 with Trample. Legions taps four mana to give +2/+2 to the Spectral Sliver... but it's not enough! Conflux wins and moves on to the quarterfinals. Legions can still keep its head high, as its participation in BOTS far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Conflux 3 - Legions 2
Return to Ravnica vs Rise of Eldrazi
An interesting matchup between a pure control deck and a pure ramp deck. An element of interest here is that the Eldrazi titans's effects apply on cast, reducing the utility of Return to Ravnica many counterspells. That said, the control deck has plenty of tools to deal with any kind of creature. Rise of Eldrazi will need some luck if it wants to win this one.
Game 1
Return to Ravnica wins the roll to start, but has to mulligan once to find an acceptable hand. Luckily, Rise of Eldrazi is not having a quick start, and the first play is by Return to Ravnica with a turn three Chromatic Lantern. Rise of Eldrazi answers with a Mul Daya Channelers and passes. Return to Ravnica has an Izzet Charm in hand, but the Channeler is currently a 5/5 as the card on top of the Eldrazi deck is another Mul Daya Channelers. So for now Return to Ravnica only plays a Frostburn Weird and passes.
Rise of the Eldrazi draws, and this time there's a Forest on top of its deck. The channeler is then tapped for mana, allowing the green deck to play the second Channeler and a Growth Spasm. Return to Ravnica answers the Spasm by killing one of the Channelers with the Izzet Charm, and then it's again the control deck's turn.
Return to Ravnica is a little short on options at the moment, so it decides to play a Sphinx's Revelation for two. Not much, but it should get the control deck going again.
Again Rise of the Eldrazi's turn, and again a Forest on top of its deck. Seeing its opponent it's all tapped out, the Eldrazi deck has no trouble playing a Pelakka Wurm followed by Ancient Stirrings to get unfortunately only an Eldrazi Temple. Now, it's Return to Ravnica's turn, and the control deck needs to deal with the huge wurm. How? Well, the answer is simple. As an Angel of Serenity enters the battlefield, Rise of Eldrazi is suddenly deprived of all its creatures, down to the eldrazi token!
This is terrible news for the green deck, that seems unable to recover as it can only draw and pass, with nothing to play. Return to Ravnica starts hitting hard with the angel and the weird, and Rise of Eldrazi is suddenly on a very short clock.
But here comes the light at the end of the tunnel: another Pelakka Wurm is drawn and immediately played! The game is balanced again, and Return to Ravnica only attacks with the angel before passing again. Rise of Eldrazi attacks with the wurm, dealing seven damage, then plays a Joraga Treespeaker, levels it up once, and passes. Rise of Eldrazi is now at 19 life points, Return to Ravnica at 15.
Return to Ravnica attacks with both the Angel and and the Weird, dealing nine damage, then passes again. Rise of Eldrazi is ready to go all in: an Eldrazi Conscription is casted targeting the Treespeaker, but Return to Ravnica is quick to asnwer by bouncing the elf with a Cyclonic Rift! The elf is tapped for mana, though, as Rise of Eldrazi decides to play a Momentous Fall on the wurm. This is the key point of the game: can Rise of Eldrazi refill its hand and life points? No, it can't. Return to Ravnica smiles as it shows a Syncopate, the last card in its hand! The wurm goes to the graveyard anyway, netting only a single card to Rise of the Eldrazi, and with that, the game is most likely over.
Return to Ravnica attacks for nine more damage, then Rise of Eldrazi draws... and shows an hand of two Forests and a Joraga Treespeaker! The two decks move on to game two.
Game 2
Rise of Eldrazi is starting much faster this time, with a turn one Joraga Treespeaker, leveled up in turn two to fuel an Overgrown Battlement. Nothing yet for Return to Ravnica, so Rise of Eldrazi can play a Growth Spasm and then attack for one with the Treespeaker. It's finally time for Return to Ravnica to play something: a Frostburn Weird. Then the control deck passes again.
Rise of Eldrazi draws... and passes. A grand total of more than 10 mana, considering the two Eldrazi Temple in play... and nothing to do with it. Not a lucky day for the ramp deck. Return to Ravnica can leisurely control the flow of the game, then, playing a Chromatic Lantern before passing again. Still only a land drawn by Rise of Eldrazi, and nothing to do. Return to Ravnica plays an Izzet Charm to draw two, discards another Weird and a land, and passes.
Rise of Eldrazi incredibly draws another Overgrown Battlement, plays it and passes. Return to Ravnica draws and passes as well. A truly slow game. Again a land for Rise of Eldrazi, while Return to Ravnica plays another Frostburn Weird and attacks with the first one, trading with the Joraga Treespeaker (Rise of Eldrazi surely doesn't need the elf for mana anymore). On the following turn, Rise of Eldrazi draws and plays an Ondu Giant, continuing to stack up mana. Return to Ravnica simply draws and passes.
If you've been trying to stifle a yawn so far, rejoice: this is where things get interesting. Finally, Rise of Eldrazi draws an Ancient Stirrings, fetching an Eldrazi Conscription that is immediately played targeting the Giant. Return to Ravnica has a Syncopate in hand, but even with Rise of Eldrazi tapping for nine, the green deck has still more mana available than the control deck!
This time, there's nothing to prevent the powerful aura to enter into play. The giant grows into an horror from out of time and space, and slams in into Return to Ravnica. Two lands are sacrificed to Annihilator, then the Weird sacrifices itself to reduce the damage taken to 8. Return to Ravnica falls to 11.
On its turn, the control deck shows a Supreme Verdict to clear the board... but Rise of Eldrazi shows a Momentous Fall! Again, the control deck cannot counter, and the green deck draws 12 cards and gain 14 life points! Things don't look good for Return to Ravnica, definitely.
Rise of Eldrazi looks like an happy kid as it draws, plays a Kozilek, Butcher of Thruts, a Mul Daya Channelers, discards a few cards, and finally passes. But Return to Ravnica won't go down without a fight: an Angel of Serenity is played to remove the dangerous creatures from the board, and gain the control deck some time. Rise of Eldrazi just shrugs, plays a Pelakka Wurm (flying up to 41 life points), then passes.
Return to Ravnica draws a breath of relief: apparently, despite having drawn some 15+ cards, the Eldrazi deck hasn't managed to found an Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre to kill the angel. The angel attacks, then a Detention Sphere deals with the wurm, and finally the control deck passes.
But here comes the Ulamog: the Angel is reduced to nothingness, and a few creatures go back to Rise of Eldrazi's hand. Luckily, Return to Ravnica can Syncopate the powerful Eldrazi, so at least it won't enter play. Rise of Eldrazi plays the Mul Daya Channelers, then suprisingly discards the Kozilek. The reason is simple: its deck was starting to run low on cards, and Rise of Eldrazi wanted to avoid losing dumbly after having gained a large advantage. Rise of Eldrazi reshuffles, then passes.
As the top deck of Rise of Eldrazi deck is an Eldrazi Conscription, the Channelers can be quickly dispatched by an Izzet Charm, then Return to Ravnica passes. Rise of Eldrazi, like it's nothing, plays another Pelakka Wurm and enchants it with an Eldrazi Conscription. Luckily, Return to Ravnica can end-of-turn bounce it with a Cyclonic Rift, but this is only a temporary solution – and the control deck's hand is now empty.
Return to Ravnica draws and passes. Rise of Eldrazi, again, with a Pelakka Wurm + Eldrazi Conscription, this time joined by a Joraga Treespeaker. End of turn, Return to Ravnica bounces the wurm again with another Cyclonic Rift!
Return to Ravnica draws and passes again. Rise of Eldrazi shows a third Eldrazi Conscription, targeting the Treespeaker. That's an 11/11, and Return to Ravnica is exactly at 11 life points. Can the control deck survive this time, too? Only one card in hand... a Supreme Verdict! Game over! 1-1, and the two decks move on to game three.
Game 3
The first play of the game is a Joraga Treespeaker from Rise of the Eldrazi. On the following turn, the level up cost is payed, but is immediately answered by an Izzet Charm to kill the poor elf. Then, on its turn, Return to Ravnica just draws and passes. On the following turn, Rise of Eldrazi gets two more Joraga Treespeaker in play. End of turn, Return to Ravnica use another Izzet Charm to draw two and then discards two lands. Then, it passes.
Rise of Eldrazi misses a land drop, but taps two mana to level up one treespeaker, then taps that creature to level up the other treespeaker, and finally plays a Mul Daya Channelers – invasion of the elves! Return to Ravnica misses a land drop as well, but it's not particularly worried by all the mana creatures as it shows a Supreme Verdict to clear the board.
Rise of Eldrazi draws and plays its fourth land, then fetches two more lands with two Ancient Stirrings, and finally passes. Return to Ravnica draws, plays a land and passes. Same for Rise of Eldrazi, then on the following turn a Frostburn Weird is played by Return to Ravnica. Rise of Eldrazi gets its third Eldrazi Temple in play before passing.
Return to Ravnica looks worried by the possibility of having a giant Eldrazi stomping the battlefield at this points of the game, so it decides to keep mana open for counterspells, attacking with the Weird for three damage only. Rise of Eldrazi knows its opponent can probably counter, but still plays a Kozilek, Butcher of Thruth, simply because drawing four cards is exactly what the green deck needs at the moment. The big Eldrazi,though, is countered by a Syncopate.
Return to Ravnica then plays a Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius, attacks again with the Frostburn Weird, and finally passes. What will rise of Eldrazi unleash now? The answer is simple – a Mul Daya Channelers... enchanted with an Eldrazi Conscription! The huge monstrosity towers above Return to Ravnica, threatening to end the game quickly is an answer can't be found.
But Return to Ravnica has already shown many times that it can handle these kind of threats. After attacking with Niv-Mizzet to draw one, it plays an Angel of Serenity ro remove the dangerous Channeler. Rise of Eldrazi is now at 10 life points.
Rise of Eldrazi draws an Overgrown Battlement, and looks at its hand: one land, two Momentous Fall, one Joraga Treespeaker, and the wall. The best it can do is play the Battlement and sacrifice it to gain 4 points, and maybe survive one more turn, but as Return to Ravnica draws and plays a Mountain, it has enough mana of the correct colors to activate 4 times Niv-Mizzet's ability... and along with the attack, that makes 14 damage, just about right. Return to Ravnica wins game three!
Game 4
Return to Ravnica has to mulligan once, while its opponent twice! Despite that, Rise of Eldrazi quickly gets its engine going, with an Overgrown Battlement followed by a Growth Spasm, while Return to Ravnica only plays lands and passes. Rise of Eldrazi increases its army of creatures with a second Overgrown Battlement followed by a Mul Daya Channelers (revealing a good Kozilek, Butcher of Thruth on top of the deck!).
Return to Ravnica knows it has to prepare for the big Eldrazi entering the battlefield soon, so it decides to play a Sphinx's Revelation for two and passes. And here it comes: Rise of Eldrazi taps out four lands (one Eldrazi Temple), two Battlements, and sacrifices the token to play Kozilek! The Channelers stays a 2/2 this round, with no creatures or lands on top of the deck, but can still attack for two damage.
Return to Ravnica draws and prepares the countermeasures: a Detention Sphere to exile Kozilek, followed by an Izzet Charm to take care of the Channelers. The control deck looks satisfied, and passes. But Rise of Eldrazi is not done yet: another Mul Daya Channelers enter the battlefield, followed by a Growth Spasm. An Ondu Giant sits on top of Rise of Eldrazi deck at the end of the turn, meaning that the Channelers are a 5/5. Return to Ravnica, surprisingly, draws and passes.
Rise of Eldrazi draws the Giant and reveals a Forest. The Giant is played, but before it resolves, an Izzet Charm flies to kill the Channelers. Rise of Eldrazi then passes.
Return to Ravnica decides to take the chance of a calm situation on the board to play a Sphinx's Revelation for three, keeping two mana open... for what? Rise of Eldrazi can guess, by this time. So, instead of playing an Eldrazi Conscription, it decides to go for an Ancient Stirrings... getting an Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, and immediately playing it. The Sphere of Detention is destroyed... and Kozilek is free! The two titans are now walking freely on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Giant strikes for two, but this is definitely the least of Return to Ravnica's worries.
Fear not, thinks Return to Ravnica - as it has already done many times before, here comes to the rescue... an Angel of Serenity. In a single move, the two Eldrazi are removed from the battlefield, along with the giant!
Rise of Eldrazi is almost ready to start weeping, but decides for one last gamble: an Eldrazi Conscription on a Battlement, that should be followed by a Momentous Fall. But Return to Ravnica still has two mana opens... and that's a Cyclonic Rift to destroy the Eldrazi deck B plan. Game over? Rise of Eldrazi wants to fight until the end.
So, the game goes on. Return to Ravnica draws, attacks and passes. Rise of Eldrazi plays an Ondu Giant, then the Momentous Fall to draw two and gain four life, and passes. Return to Ravnica attacks again, plays a Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius and finally passes.
Rise of Eldrazi tries to start a counteroffensive with a Kozilek, Butcher of Thruth... and it resolves! Rise of Eldrazi draws four and passes. End of turn, Return to Ravnica pings for two with Niv-Mizzet, drawing two. On its turn, the control deck shows a Detention Sphere for the Eldrazi titan, that is answered by a Momentous Fall from Rise of Eldrazi. Return to Ravnica thinks for a second, then neutralizes the spell with a Syncopate. At this point, Return to Ravnica attacks with its two creatures to bring Rise of Eldrazi down to two... and draws a card. Return to Ravncia needs another land to play to ping for the last two damage with Niv-Mizzet, as it only has three mana open right now. It draws... an island! And the match is over! The control deck was able to keep the dangerous Eldrazi at bay, mostly thanks to the MVP Angel of Serenity that repeatedly cleared the board of the most dangerous creatures from the green dack. Return to Ravnica moves on to the quarterfinals!
Scars of Mirrodin vs Invasion
Two very unconventional decks face off in this first match of Group A. Invasion is an anti-aggro oriented deck, but could still trouble Scars of Mirrodin, that relies on creatures to win the game. Invasion will need to beware of Koth of the Hammer for his final ability, and of course of Liquimetal Coating, that could help Scars getting rid of Invasion's key cards, especially Collective Restraint.
Game 1
Scars of Mirrodin wins the roll for first turn. It's a slow start, as could be expected, with Invasion making the first play of the game with an Elfhame Sanctuary, folloed by a turn-3 Tumble Magnet by Scars of Mirrdon. Invasion does not make use of the Sanctuary, instead draws, plays a land and then an Harrow to fix the mana base.
The first aggressive move is by Scars: a Koth of the Hammer. A mountain is animated and slams Invasion for 4 damage. Invasion searches its deck for a Plains, then focuses its attention on Koth. The planeswalker must go immediately, since allowing him to activate the final ability would spell doom for Invasion. Luckily, Invasion has just the right tool for the job: a Tribal Flames, with all 5 types of basic land in play. A wave of fire blasts away the valiant Koth, and Invasion passes. Scars of Mirrodin is short on land, but plays two Iron Myr, maybe preparing for a big play the following turn?
Invasion searches for a second Plains, then plays a kicked Probe. Scars of Mirrodin discards two Shatter, while Invsion draws three and discards a Tangle and a Forest. Then it's time for the second big play of the game: a Hoard-Smelter Dragon. Invasion doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it searches for a third Plains and plays a Global Ruin! Scars of Mirrodin is forced to remain with only one Mountain (and the two Myrs), while Invasion keeps its land intacted and also plays the Plains it just searched with the Sanctuary. Needless to say, a Rout in the situation would be nothing less than deadly... and with Invasion repeatedly searching for Plains... Scars fears the worst.
Still, now is the time to attack! Scars attacks with the two Myrs and the Dragon, then adds a Galvanic Blast (4 damage) for good measure. Invasion falls down to 5, and everything comes down to one thing... what is Invasion gonna play next turn?
And there it is – the Rout! Scars of Mirrodin now sit on an empty board with an empty hand, and when the following turn Invasion shows a Fact or Fiction, Scars decides it's time to move on to game two.
Game 2
Once again, both decks start slow. Scars gets a turn 3 Tumble Magnet in play, while Invasion goes for a turn 3 non-kicked Probe, discarding two lands. And then comes again the Koth of the Hammer, slamming immediately for 4 damage.
Invasion is worried. This time it doesn't have an immediate answer. The best it can do for now is playing Harrow and complete the set of five basic lands. Scars of Mirrodin plays a second Tumble Magnet, then attacks again with an animated Mountain... just one more turn, and scars could quickly seal this game!
But Invasion has other plans. As it gets a sixth land in play, it shows a Ghitu Fire aimed at Koth. Exactly 5 damage! The planeswalker goes to the graveyard and Scars is forced to find a plan B quickly. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any for now, as the hand and the board are full of cards useful against more “normal” decks.
And then it's once again Invasion's turn to drop a bomb: a Global Ruin! Disaster! Still, this time Scars is determined to fight to the bitter end. It has saved a land in hand just for times like these, and it can at least still try to fight. Invasion can appreciate its opponent force of will, but it knows that the game is over. For now, it plays an Ordered Migration and passes.
Scars plays a Contagion Clasp to remove one of the Birds, then passes. Since it has been luckily drawing lands, Scars will soon have 4 lands in play, allowing it to Proliferate and keep the Magnet active. This means that only two of the birds will be able to attack each turn, giving Scars plenty of times to recover.
But Invasion is not done! After attacking with the birds, a second Ordered Migration adds 5 more of them to the board, forcing Scars to reevaluate the situation. Is there still any hope left? Scars needs to believe there is. For now, it plays a second Contagion Clasp to kill one more bird, then passes.
Invasion gets two of its birds tapped, so it can attack only with six, bringing Scars down to 12. Then, Invasion plays a kicked Probe. Scars happily takes the chance to discard a Kuldotha Phoenix, and then plays it with a discount from the graveyard in its next upkeep.
Can Scars stabilize the board? Invasion sadly shakes its hand. It can appreciate the efforts of Scars, but the game is over. Invasion attacks with the birds, then plays an all-out Ghitu Fire for 7 damage, and that's enough to kill Scars.
Game 3
Scars starts with a turn 2 Iron Myr, answered by a turn 2 Elfhame Sanctuary by Invasion. Scars adds a Tumble Magnet to the board, while Invasion keeps fixing its mana base with an Harrow. Scars seems short on mana, but not on Myrs, as a second is played while the first one attacks Invasion. One damage is not much, but who knows? It might be decisive later on.
And then Invasion plays a Collective Restraint. Now Scars will have to pay 5 mana for each of its attacking creature. This is gonna be tough. But until Invasion shows a Global Ruin, there's hope. Scars plays a Kuldotha Phoenix, and unable to immediately attack with it, passes. Invasion answers with an Ordered Migration, then passes.
Scars finally plays a fourth mountain, then thinks for a second. In the end, it decides to play a Wurmcoil Engine, instead of attacking with the Phoenix. Invasion has an evil look on its face as it plays... a second Collective Restraint! Now Scars needs to pay 10 (!) mana to attack with a single creature. That's obviously impossible. Scars absolutely need a Liquimetal Coating now, or it's going to lose this game spectacularly.
The game then freezes, with only Invasion able to play. First a kicked Probe, then a Ghitu Fire for 7. Invasion is in no hurry. Even if Scars should find an answer to its double Collective Restraint, Invasion is confident the game is in its pocket. The following turn, still no answer from Scars. Invasion plays another Ghitu Fire for 7. And then it's over. The next turn, a Tribal Flame, plus an all out attack of the Birds, it's enough to deal the 6 damage needed to kill Scars.
A bit of bad luck prevented Scars from ever drawing the card it needed the most in this matchup: the Liquimetal Coating. But would it have made a difference? Probably not. Invasion showed a total control of the game, mostly thanks to Global Ruin (but let's not forget Collective Restraint). Invasion is making a statement: I'm here to fight for the final victory. Who can stop me?
Born of the Gods vs Innistrad
Innistrad is a nightmare for most decks relying on creatures to win, since it can simply outlast them, waiting until it can make use of all the card advantage directly or indirectly generated by its graveyard. As such, there is only one strategy that Born of the Gods can follow: kill its opponent as quickly as possible. Will it be able to do so?
Game 1
Born of the Gods wins the roll to start first. Innistrad immediately starts by Dream Twist-ing the first three cards of its own library to the graveyard. On tuen 2, Born of the Gods plays a Pain Seer, while Innistrad gets a Deranged Assistant into play.
Born of the Gods attacks with the Seer, then plays a Satyr Firedancer and passes. Innstrad gets a second Deranged Assistant into play, then passes. The Pain Seer reveals an Asphyxiate for 3 damage, then Born of the Gods plays a Bolt of Keranos for 3 damage to Innistrad, activating the Satyr for 3 damage to one of the Assistants. Then the Pain Seer attacks for 2 more damage. Innistrad keeps filling its own graveyard with Dream Twist, gets an Avacyn's Pilgrim in play and passes.
The Pain Seer untaps to bring a Flame-wreathed Phoenix to Born of the Gods's hand, then an Oracle of Bones is played. Innistrad fears a Fated Conflagration or something like that in Born of the Gods's hand, so decides to pay the Tribute. But this unfortunately means that a raging 5/3 is ready to smash on Innistrad, along with the usual Pain Seer, bringing Innistrad down to 6. Born of the Gods seems on an unstoppable rampage. Can Innistrad turn the tide?
For now, it just plays another Dream Twist, probably searching desperately for a Gnaw to the Bone, but it's nowhere to be found. So it just adds one more Deranged Assistant to the defense line before passing.
Pain Seer allows Born of the Gods to draw another Bolt of Keranos, that is immediately played, removing the Pilgrim and dealing 3 damage to Innistrad. Then Born of the Gods attacks with the Seer and the Oracle. Innistrad is forced to block the Oracle or die, and falls to 1 for the damage from the Seer.
Innistrad draws only a land, then flahsbacks a Dream Twist, but no Gnaw to the Bone is found, or nothing else that could be useful in this situation. Innistrad concedes and moves on to game 2.
Game 2
Innistrad starts with an Avacyn's Pilgrim followed by a Deranged Assistant. Born of the Gods answers with a turn 2 Pain Seer. Innsitrad activates the Assistant to get a card into the graveyard (a useful Silent Departure) then plays a second Pilgrim and passes. Born of the Gods removes one of the pilgrims with a Searing Blood, then attacks with the Seer. On its turn, Innistrad bounces back the Seer with the flashbacked Silent Departure, denying Born of the Gods the card draw. Born of the Gods then play an Oracle of Bones, and Innistrad decides not to play the tribute, allowing its opponent to play a Fated Conflagration – that hurt! The Oracle then attacks and trades for the Pilgrim.
The following turn, Innistrad is ready for the counterattack: a Boneyward Wurm and a Splinterfright. Born of the Gods needs to close the game quickly, and plays a Flame-wreathed Phoenix. Innistrad has 10 life points and can sustain 4 attacks of the Phoenix (4 turns), or 2 if the Tribute is not paid (3 turns since the phoenix doesn't gain haste). Innistrad doesn't pay the tribuet and falls down to 7.
Three turns. Innistrad has three turns to find an answer to the Phoenix. Luckily for Innistrad, a Spider Spawning is put to the graveyard by the Splinterfright. Unluckily, Innistrad has no souce of black mana to flash back it – yet. For now, Innistrad attacks with a 3/3 Splinterfright and passes.
Born of the Gods plays an Oracle of Bones, and Innstrad decides to play the Tribute. The Oracle attacks and trades for the Boneyard Wurm, while the Phoenix brings Innistrad down to 4.
Nothing useful is put to the graveyard by the Splinterfright, but then innistrad draws and plays a Mulch, and there goes a Gnaw to the Bone! A Dream Twist is also put to the graveyard and immediately flashbacked, putting a second Gnaw to the Bone to the graveyard! One of the two is played by Innistrad this turn, raising Innistrad's life points to 12. Then the Splinterfright attacks for 6.
Born of the Gods feels the game is most likely lost. Another Oracle of Bones is played (Innistrad pays the tribute), allowing Born of the Gods to strike for 8. Not bad, but not good enough. The following turn, two more creatures go to the graveyard, allowing Innistrad to heal for 16 before attacking for 8 with the Splinterfright. To make things worse, Innistrad has played a Shimmering Grotto, meaning that the black mana is finally available and, while Innistrad has not enough mana to play Gnaw to the Bone + Spider Spawning in this turn, the spiders are definitely coming in the near future. Also, the Splinterfright has Trample.
Born of the Gods must hope to draw a creature removal, but it's only a Bolt of Keranos. Born of the Gods considers the situation for a few seconds, then it's forced to accept the hard reality and concede. The two decks are now even and moving on to game 3.
Game 3
Both decks are forced to mulligan. Born of the Gods start, but it's Innistrad that makes the first move with a Dream Twist, putting a Spider Spawning and a couple of creatures in the graveyard. Born of the Gods keeps playing lands, two Temple of Malice, scrying and putting cards on the bottom of the library, apparently not satisfied with them. Innistrad smiles: more time means more chances of success for the graveyard-based deck. Innistrad plays a second land, flashbacks the Dream Twist (three more lands in the graveyard), then passes.
Still no play from Born of the Gods, while on turn three Innistrad plays an Armored Skaab, getting a Gnaw to the Bone in the gra veyard. Things are definitely looking good for Innistrad. Then Born of the Gods finally gets a Flame-wreathed Phoenix in play, and Innistrad decides not to play the Tribute, allowing the Phoenix to attacks for three. Innistrad plays a second Skaab, attacks with the first, and passes. Born of the Gods seems to be having mana flood troubles, and can only play a land, attack with the phoenix and pass.
Innistrad feels now totally in control. As it plays its fifth land, it shows a Spider Spawning from its hand, putting six tokens in play, then attacks with the two Skaabs. Born of the Gods draws one more land and can only pass. Time is running out for the aggro deck. Innistrad plays a Kessig Cagebreakers, attacks with the two Skaab (one is blocked by the Phoenix), then passes.
Born of the Gods plays a Gild on the Cagebreakers, then sacrifice the token to play a Fated Conflagration for 5 damage to Innistrad and passes.
Innistrad is now at 9 life points, and decides not to take any risk, playing the flashback cost for Gnaw to the Bone to gain 12 life points, then attacks with the two Skaabs and passes. Born of the Gods plays an Oracle of Bones (Innistrad pays the Tribute), and attacks with both creatures. Three spiders block the Phoenix, three spiders block the Oracle. Both the attacking creatures die, along with three spiders. The Phoenix goes back to Born of the Gods's hand, that plays it again immediately. Innistrad once again pays the Tribute for the Phoenix.
Innistrad plays a second Kessig Cagebreakers, then a Silent Departure to bounce back the Phoenix and attacks again with the two Skaabs. Born of the Gods knows all too well that the Cagebreakers are going to be lethal very quickly, so its only hope is to draw a creature removal, but only a second Phoenix is drawn. Born of the Gods concedes and moves on to game 4.
Game 4
Born of the Gods decides to mulligan, then keeps the second hand. Innistrad starts with a turn 1 Avacyn's Pilgrim, followed by a turn 2 Armored Skaab that puts a Gnaw to the Bone and three creatures to the graveyard. Definitely an uphill start for Born of the Gods! The first play from the aggro deck is a turn 3 Pain Seer, that is answered by a Splinterfright. Not good for Born of the Gods, not good at all. Luckily, it draws and plays an Asphyxiate, immediately removing the dangerous creature. Still, the Seer cannot attack or it's going to die for sure, so Born of the Gods just passes.
The following turn, Innistrad plays a Mulch and then a Boneyard Wurm... already a 7/7. The Wurm roars over the battlefield, ready for destruction. Unfortunately, Born of the Gods has no answer available, so for now it plays a Mogis, God of Slaughter, and passes. Innistrad decides to take the two damage, then plays a Gnaw to the Bone from its hand to gain 14 life points, and attacks with the wurm. Born of the Gods decides not to block with the Seer.
Born of the Gods plays a Searing Blood on the Pilgrim, allowing the Pain Seer to attack without dying (even though it's blocked by the Skaab), then plays a second Seer and passes. The Boneyard Wurm is now 8/8, and to make things worse, is joined by a second Wurm! The first one attacks and it's chump-blocked by the untapped Seer.
Born of the Gods draws an Oracle of Bones thanks to the Seer, then a land – still no creature removal. Born of the Gods plays the Oracle, and Innistrad decides to pay the tribute. There's actually not much that Born of the Gods can do now: attack, and be quickly killed; don't attack, and be slowly killed.
Born of the Gods decides that burning fast is better, and more appropriate. Both creatures attack: the Seer is blocked by the Wurm, the Oracle by the Skaab. And with that, the game is over: Innistrad wins and moves on to the next round.
Coldsnap vs Magic 2015
None of these decks is an heavyweight of Battle of the Sets, but this should be a fun game nonetheless. Coldsnap is a very simple deck, playing the "old way": draw-go, countermagic and a large late game finisher. Magic 2015 is totally unconventional, with many different plays and win conditions, yet weirdly synergic. It's hard to pick a favorite: this game could go either way.
Game 1
Magic 2015 gets first turn, while Coldsnap is forced to mulligan. Magic 2015 gets the first play of the game with a Chief Engineer, who is then tapped the following turn to fuel a Haunted Plate Mail. This is not good news for Coldsnap, that is unable to counter, and for now can only play a Phyrexian Ironfoot and pass (on the bright side, one of the three lands for Coldsnap is a Scrying Sheets).
On the following turn, Magic 2015 plays an Hoarding Dragon, searching for a Scuttling Doom Engine, then passes. More bad news for Coldsnap! The snowy deck gets its fourth land in play, and passes. Magic 2015 draws, plays a Mountain and attacks with the Dragon. Coldnsap thinks for a second, then shows a Surging Æther from its hand, aimed at the dragon – and there goes the Doom Engine as well, lost in deep space! Nasty trick from Coldsnap. The rippling doesn't reveal any more Surging Aether, and Magic 2015 is free to act again. The Hoarding Dragon is played again, once again searching for a Scuttling Doom Engine.
Coldsnap draws, plays a land and passes. Magic 2015 is quite sure of itself, now, and equips the Plate Mail to the dragon, attacking again – but Coldsnap has one more Surging Aether to play! The dragon flies back to Magic 2015's hand, but thankfully there's no Ripple. With not much mana open, Magic 2015 is forced again to pass.
Coldsnap once again draws, plays a land and passes – the quintessential draw-go deck! Magic 2015 thinks for a little while, devising a strategy, then decides once again to play the Dragon – this time, Coldsnap has mana available to counter it, and a Controvert is immediately played. Magic 2015 then passes.
And Coldsnap is finally ready to go the offensive! A Rimefeather Owl joins the battle, and it's no small bird – a flying 9/9 threat for Magic 2015 to handle. Coldsnap then passes, feeling the inertia of the game is moving in its favor. But Magic 2015 is not out of aces up its sleeve. Another Hoarding Dragon is played, searching once again for a Doom Engine, then a Phyrexian Revoker, aimed at the Owl – Magic 2015 wants to keep the big bird under control.
Coldsnap draws, plays another land, then attacks with the Owl (now a 10/10). Magic 2015 makes a grim face and announces that it will take the damage, falling down to 9 life points. Quite the gamble here! The following turn, Magic 2015 equips the Dragon with the Plate Mail, then passes. Coldsnap plays another land, then attacks with the now 11/11 Owl. Magic 2015 blocks with the Dragon, then shows a Lightning Strike aimed at the Owl – 4+4+3 = 11! But Coldsnap smiles and reveals a Commandeer from its hand, gets control of the red spell and throws it at the Revoker! Disaster!
Certainly, Magic 2015 gets the Doom Engine finally in its hand, but it's also facing almost certain death in the following turn. Can some miracle happen?
Unfortunately not. Magic 2015 draws a Shivan Reef, and has a Scrapyard Mongrel and a Scuttling Doom Engine in hand. Nothing that can save it from the huge bird. Magic 2015 concedes and moves to game 2.
Game 2
This time it's Magic 2015's turn to take a mulligan. Coldsnap starts with a turn 2 Martyr of Frost, and Magic 2015 answers with a turn 2 Chief Engineer. Coldsnap then adds another land and passes. Magic 2015 does the same, and again Coldsnap. This time, though, Magic 2015 plays an end-of-turn Lightning Strike at the Martyr. Coldsnap thinks for a second, then moves the poor Martyr to the graveyard. Magic 2015 then attacks with the Engineer, and plays a Scrapyard Mongrel, that is countered by a Rune Snag.
Coldsnap is stuck at three lands, but luckily that's enough to play a Vexing Sphinx. Magic 2015 answers with an Aeronaut Tinkerer, that gains Flying thanks to the two Darksteel Citadel in play. Coldsnap discards a Controvert, then draws a card - still no land. Coldsnap activates the Scrying Sheets in play, revealing... a Snow-covered Island! The land is immediately played, then Coldsnap decides to pass. Magic 2015 plays an end-of-turn Shrapnel Blast aimed at the Sphinx (one of the two Darksteel Citadel is sacrificed), clearing the way for its own creatures. The coming turn, Magic 2015 plays another land, attacks with its creatures, then passes.
Coldsnap for now plays a Rimewind Taskmage, then passes. Magic 2015 draws and attacks for 3 more. Coldsnap activates an end-of-turn Scrying Sheets, revealing another snowy land, then plays a land (a second Scrying Sheets) and passes.
The Tinkerer is tapped by the Taskmage, and Magic 2015 can attack for only one more damage. Magic 2015 seems unable to draw any significant threat, while Coldsnap keeps filling its hand thanks to the Sheets. But that's not the worst of it: Coldsnap gets a seventh land in play and shows once again a Rimefeather Owl! Things look grim for Magic 2015 now.
There doesn't seem to be much that can save Magic 2015 now. For now, it can only draw, play one more land, and pass. Coldsnap taps the Tinkerer with the Taskmage, plays an Ironfoot and attacks for 11 damage with the Owl. Magic 2015 draws... then shakes his head with a sardonic smile on its face... three Shrapnel Blast in hand, and only one artifact to sacrifice. And with that, game 2 is over, with Coldsnap easily ahead 2-0.
Game 3
Magic 2015 starts, but the first play is a Rimewind Taskmage by Coldsnap. Magic 2015 doesn't want the annoying taskmage in play, though, so it decides to kill him with a Lightning Strike. Turn 3, and still no play from Magic 2015. Coldsnap decides to go on the offensive and plays a Vexing Sphinx. Finally, Magic 2015 answers with a Haunted Plate Mail.
Coldsnap discards an Island, plays its fourth land, then decides to keep the Sphinx on the defensive. The reasoning is clear: the game will probably be over as soon as Coldsnap can get a Rimefeather Owl in play, so there's no need to rush. Time is on Coldsnap's side.
Magic 2015 thinks for a second, then decides to not sacrifice the animated Mail. Instead, it plays a Chief Engineer and passes. Coldsnap decides to sacrifice the Sphinx, getting two cards from it, then plays a Martyr of the Frost and passes. Magic 2015 equips the Plate Mail to the Engineer and attacks. Coldsnap decides to chump-block with the Martyr (who continues to honor his name).
On the following turn, Coldsnap remains stuck at five lands, and passes. Magic 2015 attacks for five damage, then plays a second Haunted Plate Mail. Coldsnap smiles again its best evil smile and reveals a Commandeer, exiling a Rune Snag and a Vexing Sphinx from the game. Magic 2015 thinks for a while, then decides that the priority here is keep dealing damage with the Engineer. So it plays a Phyrexian Revoker aimed at the Haunted Plate Mail, but Coldsnap shows a Controvert and neutralizes it.
On its turn, Coldsnap plays its sixth land, then passes. Magic 2015 attacks, and Coldsnap sacrifices the stolen Plate Mail to block the Engineer and remain at 15 life points. Magic 2015 then passes, and Coldsnap can finally get its seventh land in play – and the Rimefeather Owl! Magic 2015's nemesis is once again in play.
But Magic 2015 feels that this time it can change history. First of all, it attacks with the Engineer. Coldsnap feels a trap, and decides to take the damage. Then, Magic 2015 plays a Scuttling Doom Engine and passes. With Coldsnap at 10 life points, a Shrapnel Blast would be lethal right now, but Coldsnap has now its mana open again – does it also have a counter? Time will tell. For now, Coldsnap plays a Phyrexian Ironfoot and passes.
Magic 2015 attacks with both creatures. The Ironfoot sacrifices itself to block the Engineer, while the Doom Engine crashes on the Owl. Magic 2015 then plays a Shrapnel Blast, but Coldsnap immediately reacts with a Controvert. Coldsnap takes 6 damage and falls to 4. For now, though, its's safe... or so it thinks. But this time it's Magic 2015's turn to laugh last, as it shows a second Doom Engine, practically closing the game. Coldsnap draws a second Rimefeather Owl, but that's entirely useless. Magic 2015 wins its first game and move on to game 4.
Game 4
Coldsnap starts with a turn 1 Martyr of Frost. Then the two decks only play lands for a couple of turns, with the Martyr attacking, until on turn 3 Coldsnap plays a Vexing Sphinx. Magic 2015 answers with an Aeronaut Tinkerer. Codsnap discards a Phyrexian Ironfoot to the Sphinx, then attacks with it and passes. Magic 2015, once again, plays a land and passes.
Coldsnap sacrifices the Sphinx to draw 2, then plays a Heidar, Rimewind Master and passes. Magic 2015 definitely doesn't want that wizard in play, and directly kills him end-of-turn with a Lighning Strike. Then Magic 2015 plays a Chief Engineer (a little late to the party), attacks with the Tinkerer and passes. Coldsnap plays a Rimewind Taskmage and passes.
Magic 2015 plays a Phyrexian Revoker targeted at the Taskmage, then attacks with the Tinkerer. Coldsnap plays one more land, then another Heidar, Rimewind Master. As it passes, though, Magic 2015 kills it again with a Lightning Strike.
Magic 2015 draws and check the open mana for Coldsnap: only two. That means a Rune Snag or the activation of the Martyr, with two cards in Coldsnap's hand – at most two more mana needed. And then it's the time to unleash the Scuttling Doom Engine, by tapping the Phyrexian Revoker to keep two lands open (better safe than sorry). The Doom Engine stalks the battlefield, and this is definitely trouble for Coldsnap, more so since no creature currently in play can block it.
The following turn, Coldsnap plays a Phyrexian Ironfoot and passes. Magic 2015 can then finally unleash the Doom Engine, forcing Coldsnap to block it or fall at 6 life points (with the Tinkerer still attacking each turn). Then, Magic 2015 shows a second Doom Engine!
As Coldsnap draws a Rune Snag, there's nothing it can do to avoid being trampled by the deadly war machines. The match is now 2-2 and moves on to game 5.
Game 5
Who will triumph in this close match? We're about to find out. Coldsnap starts well with a turn 2 Rimewind Taskmage, but Magic 2015 immediately answers with a Phyrexian Revoker to block its tapping ability. Coldsnap gets a Scrying Sheets in play and decides to pass, probably willing to start abusing its card advantage engine. Magic 2015 plays an Aeronaut Tinkerer, that doesn't get countered. Coldsnap activates the Sheets, revealing a Rune Snag. The following turn, it plays a Martyr of Frost and passes. Magic 2015 attacks with the Tinkerer, then plays a Haunted Plate Mail, forcing Coldsnap to spend its Rune Snag. Then Coldsnap plays a Vexing Sphinx and passes. Magic 2015 draws and passes.
Coldsnap discards a Phyrexian Ironfoot to the Sphinx, then passes. End of turn, Magic 2015 kills the Martyr (once again, poor Martyr) with a Lightnins Strike, probably preparing for a big play. In fact, the following turn, Magic 2015 plays a Hoarding Dragon, but a Controvert is ready from Coldsnap. The Tinkerer cannot attack with the Sphinx on the defensive, so Magic 2015 just passes. Coldsnap sacrifices the Sphinx, deciding to pay the mana to Recover the Controvert. Then Coldsnap plays one more land, getting to six, and passes. Magic 2015 eyes nervously the opposing side of the board, fearing the possible appearance of a Rimefeather Owl.
Magic 2015 gets its sixth land in play as well, attacks with the Tinkerer, then tries playing one more Dragon, but once again it's met with a counterspell – a Rune Snag. Coldsnap draws and passes. Magic 2015 keeps chipping away Coldsnap's life points with the Tinkerer, then plays one more Hoarding Dragon – and once again Coldsnap answers with a Controvert!
Coldsnap plays one more land and passes. This game is rapidly becoming unnerving for Magic 2015, that shows one more Hoarding Dragon – the fourth! - and Coldsnap incredibly answers with another Controvert! There's no end to the countermagic!
Now it's time to Coldsnap to try to regain the initiative, with a Heidar, Rimewind Master. On its turn, Magic 2015 fears another Rune Snage, but decides to risk, and plays a Haunted Plate Mail... no countermagic, finally. A Phyrexian Revoker is then played, locking down Heidar.
Coldsnap cannot allow all these Revokers, and decides to activate a Mouth of Ronom to kill one of the two, precisely the one on Heidar. The wizard's abiity is then activated to bounce back the Plate Mail to Magic 2015's hand. Still, now Coldsnap is all tapped out. What will Magic 2015 do?
The answer is simple: go on quantity over quality. A Chief Engineer and a Scrapyard Mongrel are played, and again the Tinkerer strikes: Coldsnap is now at 8 life points.
A second Mouth of Ronom is activated, this time killing the Aeronaut Tinkerer, while Heidar bounces the Mongrel. It's clear that Coldsnap is on the defensive, and slowly losing ground – but for now, it's keeping magic 2015 at bay.
Not for long, though. Magic 2015 plays the Haunted Plate Mail, then a Shrapnel Blast, sacrificing a Darksteel Citadel, to kill Heidar. The chief Engineer then attacks for 1. Coldsnap sacrifices a third Mouth of Ronom to kill the second Revoker, and free the Taskmage. All these Mouths of Ronom are woking well for Coldsnap to clear the threats from Magic 2015, but at the same time it's undermining Coldsnap's manbase, that once again has no mana open for counterspells.
Knowing that Coldsnap has exactly one mana open to tap the Chief Engineer, Magic 2015 decides not to equip the Plate Mail, instead playing again the Mongrel, and trying to attack with the Engineer (that obviously gets tapped).
Coldsnap gets a second Taskmage in play and passes. Magic 2015 equips the Plate Mail to the Chief Engineer and attacks with both creatures. Coldsnap can only tap one of the two (since the second Taskmage cannot yet tap himself), and is forced to take 5 damage, falling down to 2 life points. Coldsnap trembles, waiting for Magic 2015 to reveal a Lightning Strike or a Shrapnel Blast, but Magic 2015 only passes. Coldsnap exhales a sigh of relief, activates Scrying Sheets, revealing a Controvert, then on its turn draws and passes.
The game is now in stasis, with the two Taskmage tapping the two Magic 2015 creatures. Magic 2015 gets another Haunted Plate Mail in play, and Coldsnap decides not to counter it. Coldsnap is also locked, since it has 7 lands in play, 2 are needed for the Taskmages, 4 must be kept open for the Controvert, and so only one can be actually used to play spells. Not enough, Coldsnap is forced to pass.
The game proceeds like this for a few turns, until Magic 2015 is ready to break the standstill. A Phyrexian Revoker, aimed at the Taskmasters, is played, and met with a Controvert. But Magic 2015 has a second Phyrexian Revoker ready! Before it can enter in play, Coldsnap taps the opponent's creatures, then allows the Revoker to resolve. But Magic 2015 is not finished yet: a Scuttling Doom Engine gets into play as well!
End of turn, Coldsnap bounces back the Revoker with a Surging Æther, then on its turn plays a Rimefeather Owl and passes. The Owl will be enough next turn to kill Magic 2015, that must act now, or be lost. Luckily, Coldsnap is almost completely tapped out, and Magic 2015 has finally just drawn a Lightning Strike. Magic 2015 plays the Revoker, forcing Coldsnap to answer immediately by tapping its three remaining mana to tap the opponent's most dangerous creatures. Finally, Magic 2015 shows the Lightning Strike... and Coldsnap shows its Commandeer!
And with that, it's finally over. At the end of an incredibly close fifth game, Coldsnap wins 3-2 and eliminates Magic 2015. The little snowy deck continues its road in BOTS!
Onslaught vs Zendikar
And here comes a clash of the titans! One of the best, if not the best, aggro decks in the tournament (arguably the best deck, period), against one of the most feared anti-aggro deck in BOTS, Onslaught's Slide. Slide has a long history of punishing aggro decks, having eliminated heavyweights like Antiquities and Mirrodin in previous editions of the tournament, and it's definitely an opponent Zendikar would have preferred to avoid. Still, Zendikar has the pride of the champions, and it's ready to show everyone once again why it is the most feared deck in BOTS.
Game 1
Onslaught wins the roll for the first turn, but as expected the first play of the game is from Zendikar, a turn 1 Steppe Lynx. Onslaught answers with a turn 2 Lightning Rift. Zendikar plays and immediately activates a Scalding Tarn, attacking for 4 with the Lynx, then plays a Plated Geopede. Onslaught is immediately under heavy attack! But Onslaught's reputation as most fearsome anti-aggro deck in the torunament is well-deserved: a Starstorm for 1 is enough to kill both creatures and set Zendikar back to square one!
But Zendikar is not done yet: a second Plated Geopede and a Goblin Guide are played in the following turn, with the Guide attacking immediately (revealing an Exalted Angel). Zendikar is stuck at three mana for now, and decides to remove the dangerous Geopede with a Shock, then passes. Zendikar plays a Teetering Peaks, boosts the Guide and hits for 4 (revealing a second Exalted Angel!), then plays a Kor Skyfisher and brings the Peaks back to Zendika'r hand.
Onslaught must now face a tough choice. It only has three lands. It could play an Astral Slide, but it would not be able to activate it immediately, and would fall down to 4 life points in the following turn – dangerously low. It could also play a morphed Exalted Angel and use it to block the Guide (assuming that Zendikar doesn't have a Journey to Nowhere or Kor Hookmaster in hand), or perhaps keep it alive and with some luck unmorph it in the following turn. After thinking for a few seconds, Onslaught decides to play the morphed Exalted Angel.
Unfortunately for Onslaught, Zendikar has exactly the card it needs: a Journey to Nowhere! The Angel is sent away into exile before even being able of showing its wings, then Zendikar attacks for 6 with the Skyfisher and a Teetering Peaks-boosted Goblin Guide. The Guide reveals a Starstorm over the top of Onslaught's deck, but again, Onslaught is stuck at three lands, and that's not enough to kill the Guide, or the Skyfisher. Onslaught plays a second morphed Angel and passes, but the game is quickly over when Zendikar shows a Burst Lightning from its hand.
Game 2
Onslaught starts but again is Zendikar that takes the initiative with a turn 1 Goblin Guide (revealing a Renewed Faith). Onslaught plays a second land and cycles a Secluded Steppe and a Forgotten Cave, apparently searching for something... the Slide perhaps? Zendikar attacks with the Guide (still stubbornly refusing to send any land to Onslaught's hand, as it revelas an Akroma's Blessing), then plays a Plated Geopede and passes. Onslaught just plays one more land and passes.
The following turn, disaster happens! Zendikar plays an Adventuring Gear and equips it to Goblin Guide. Onslaught immediately answers with a Starstorm for 1 to remove at least the Plated Geopede – it's definitely not optimal, but Onslaught cannot risk to take 11 damage so early in the game. Still, the Guide attacks for 6 as a Scalding Tarn is played and sacrificed (with an Akroma's Venegance being revealed... Onslaught smiles and shakes its head). On its turn, Onslaught cycles a Renewed Faith to gain 2 life and passes.
Zendikar plays a Kor Skyfisher to bounce back one of its own lands, then plays it again to boost the Goblin Guide, attacking for 4 (and finally sending a Forgotten Cave to Onslaught's hand!), then plays a Lightning Burst to send Onslaught down to 6 life points! The situation is definitely dangerou for Onslaught. Luckily, there is an answer available for the control deck: a second Starstorm, for three damage to all creatures, it's enough to clear the board and stabilize the situation, at least for now.
But how long will this peace last? Zendikar immediately plays a Steppe Lynx followed by a Punishing Fire, and once again Onslaught is facing the threat of an imminent death.
Onslaught has five lands in play, and adds a Forgotten Cave to it... only one white mana source, not enought to play the Akroma's Vengeance in its hand. So for now it just plays a morphed Exalted Angel and passes.
Unfortunately for Zendikar, it has not drawn any land, and cannot immediately kill Onslaught. For now, then, it just plays a Kor Hookmaster directed at the morphed Angel and passes.
It's time for Onslaught to finally launch a counterattack: it plays a Lightning Rift, cycles an Akroma Blessing and then it's faced with a dilemma... kill the Lynx or the Hookmaster? Remove the certain 2 damage or the uncertain 4 damage, that would kill Onslaught for good? Zendikar has still two cards in hand, probably there's some direct damage there... probably, but not surely. Osnlaught is forced to make a difficult choice here, and in the end decides to remove the Hookmaster. If only it had a second white mana source it could cycle a second Blessing and kill both creatures, but alas, it was not meant to be.
Zendikar draws... and it's not a land... but close enough. Zendikar plays the just drawn Kor Skyfisher, bounces back a land, plays it again, attacks for two with the Lynx and shows a Burst Lightning! Game over again for Onslaught!
Game 3
As usual, the first play is from Zendikar with a turn 1 Steppe Lynx. Onslaught is still playing lands when Zendikar plays and sacrifices an Arid Mesa, plays an Adventuring Gear and a Goblin Guide and attacks immediately for 6 with the two creatures (the Guide reveals a Lightning Rift). The Lightning Rift is immediately played, and gives some hope for the future, but it's the present that troubles Onslaught.
In fact, Zendikar equips the Gear to the Guide, then plays a second Goblin Guide (!), plays and sacrifices a Marsh Flats and attacks for 12 on turn 3. Onslaught is under shock now, and also at 2 life points. At least he got a Plains from one of the Guides, but that doesn't look enough to save Onslaught.
Still, there's some hope. Onslaught plays a Shock to remove the Lynx, then cycles a Renewed Faith to gain 2 life and kill one of the Guides, then it can only pass and hope.
Unfortunately, there's no hope left. Zendikar equips the Gear to the second Guide, plays a Plains and attacks for 4. It also shows a Lightning Burst from its hand, as if to underline that the game was totally under Zendikar's control.
This is a huge display of dominance by Zendikar, defeating 3-0 one of the best control decks in the tournament. The question is still waiting for an answer: who will stop Zendikar?
This match clearly shows the strengths and weaknesses of Urza's Saga. In 2 games out of 5, Urza's Saga struggled to complete its combo, and was killed by Khans through simple creature damage, even though Khans is not a particularly fast deck, and like most decks in BOTS, doesn't have many cards that are effective against Urza's Saga. The remaining games, urza's Saga managed to complete its combo, and Khans could do nothing except watch it powerlessly. That's Urza's Saga for you: all or nothing.
Urza's Saga 3 - Khans of Tarkir 2
Mirrodin Besieged vs The Dark
The powerful Infect midrange against the fan-favorite (sort of...) The Dark. A victory of The Dark is probably less likely than Leicester winning the Premier Lea- uh, wait. Well, you never know, but certainly it looks like a mission impossible for The Dark.
Game 1
The Dark starts and is immediatelt aggressive with a Scavenger Folk. Mirrodin Besieged is not known for its quick starts, especially when it doesn't get a turn 1 Inkmoth Nexus, so for the first couple of turns it just plays lands. The Dark would like to push the offensive, but it's unfortunately stuck at two lands, so it can just attack with the Scavenger Folk and pass.
Mirrodin Besieged is then ready to crush its feeble opponent, getting its third land in play (an Inkmoth Nexus) and then a Phyrexian Crusader. The Dark, still stuck at two lands, plays an Elves of Deep Sahdow and passes. Mirrodin Besieged adds a Phyrexian Vatmother to the board, then attacks with the Crusader, that The Dark cannot possibly block, taking its first two Poison counters.
The Dark draws and plays a City of Shadows, that is not much useful as it is. Still nothing to do, then. Mirrodin besieged adds a second Phyrexian Vatmother to the board, attacking with the two other creatures. The first Vatmother is blocked by the Scavenger Folk, that is then removed with City of Shadows, and The Dark takes two more Poison counters from the Crusader.
Finally drawing a second Forest, The Dark plays a Wormwood Treefolk, trying to at least put up a fight. If it lasts long enough, The Dark thinks, perhaps Mirrodin Besieged will just kill itself with the Vatmothers. But it will not be so simple. Mirrodin besieged laughs like an evil overlord and shows a Corrupted Conscience, taking control of the Treefolk, ready to spread the glory of Phyrexia. With no more creatures to block, The Dark must take the attack of the Crusader and the two Vatmothers, and the game is over.
Game 2
The Dark is once again quick with a turn 1 Scavenger Folk. Mirrodin Besieged gets into play a turn 2 Spehere of the Suns, that is answered by a turn 3 Land Leeches by the Dark. Mirrodin Besieged just plays a disdainful Black Sun's Zenith for 2, clearing the board.
On its turn, The Dark plays a Scarwood Bandits and passes. Then it's time for Mirrodin besieged to get serious: a Phyrexian Crusader joins the battle for the army of corruption. The Dark thinks for a second about activating the Bandits to steal the Sphere of Suns, but Mirrodin Besieged has two mana available, so it would probably end up with nothing. Instead, The Dark plays Knights of Thorn and passes.
Mirrodin Besieged attacks with the Crusader, that is protected from the Knight of Thorn, meaning that only the Bandits and the Elves could be able to block it. Not enough to kill the annoying creatures. The Dark decides to take the damage. Then, the situation takes a turn for the worse as a second Crusader is played.
On its turn, The Dark plays a Land Leeches and passes. Finally, it can block at least one Crusader. Mirrodin Besieged doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it attacks again with both creatures. One of them trades with the Leeches, the other one hits the target, bringing The Dark to four poison counters. Then, Mirrodin Besieged plays a third (!) Crusader and passes.
The Dark has emptied its hand and draws only a land, and is definitely short on answers to the army of Crusaders that it's crashing down the defenses. For now, it can only pass. Mirrodin Besieged attacks with the two Crusaders, and The Dark, after thinking for a second, takes the damage. And then, Mirrodin Besieged plays its fourth Crusader! Unbelievable! The Dark just shakes its head sadly, and after drawin a second Knights of Thorn, concedes, moving on to game 3.
Game 3
The Dark is forced to mulligan, then starts the game with an Elves of Deep Shadow. On its side, Mirrodin Besieged gets its best start: a turn one Inkmoth Nexus. At least, the following turn, The Dark gets a Scavenger Folk in play – that will keep the Nexus at bay. Mirrodoin Besieged just plays a Sphere of the Suns and passes.
The Dark attacks with the Elves of Deep Shadows, deciding to keep the Scavenger Folk untapped to counter the Nexus. On its turn, Mirrodin Besieged shows once again a Phyrexian Crusader – The Dark's nemesis!
The Dark is stuck with lots of lands but only one white mana source, and a Preacher in hand. So far, it can only play one more Forest and pass. Mirrodin Besieged plays a second Sphere of the Suns, then a Go for the Throat to the Scavenger Folk, forcing its activation to destroy one of the Spheres. Then the Crusader attacks for two Poison counters.
The Dark draws a Witch Hunter – and still only one Plains! The Elves attacks for one more damage, then it's once again Mirrodin's Besieged turn, that attacks with the Crusader and the animated Nexus, for a total of three Poison counters. Still more Forest for The Dark, that this time decides to keep the Elves on the defensive, blocking the Crusader and taking only one damage on Mirrodin's Besieged following turn. On the bright side for The Dark, Mirrodin Besieged seems stuck at three lands, and it's not playing anything else for the moment.
Still no Plains for The Dark, though, that takes three more Poison counters on the following turn – and that's 9 of them by now! With the board empty and the Inkmoth Nexus virtually unblockable for The Dark, the game is then over. The Dark is utterly and totally crushed. “Know your place!”, sneers Mirrodin Besieged, and advances to the following turn.
Mirrodin Besieged 3 - The Dark 0
This is Alfred (I used to run the tournament with Legend/eap). Really glad you decided to pick it up again! Good decklists for the new sets as well.
If you need someone to help you with the writing, or the matches, let me know. Also, Fated Conflagration can't deal damage to your opponent's face (not really important anyway, considering BotG lost).
Oh, hello there I really loved the old BOTS, and this is sort of a tribute to them, so I'm really happy to have you following the tournament
Thanks for pointing out the mistake, got to be more careful, luckily it's just minor issues
On paper, this should be an easy win for Eventide. Timespiral is a funny metagame deck, that could actually be effective against... yeah, not sure, probably slow decks that could be punished by recurring Avalanche Riders and Riftwing Cloudskate. Surely not a quick, consistent deck like Eventide. But you never know... stranger things have happened, right?
Game 1
Timespiral starts first with a Terramorphic Expanse to find an Island, needed to suspend an Ancestral Vision in the following turn. Eventide seems to be having a slow start, with nothing played in the first two turns. Surely Timespiral has no complains about it, and suspends a Riftwing Cloudskate before passing again. Eventide's strength is its speed: without that, will it be able to kill Timespiral?
On turn three, Eventide finally plays a Stillmoon Cavalier and passes. Timespiral's situation is not bad, except maybe for the manabase: three mountains and an island. Does it have a Rift Bolt, or a Disintegrate? That would allow Timespiral to deal quickly with the Cavalier. But apparently Timespiral has not drawn them, or doesn't want to use them, as it just suspends another Ancestral Vision and passes. There's a lot of good stuff coming in for Timespiral soon, but how much damage can Eventide do in the meantime?
In its turn, Eventide plays a Nightsky Mimic and attacks with the Cavalier, spending two mana to give him +1/+0. Timespiral falls down to 17, but it's only one more turn left before the first Vision and the Cloudskate come into play. For now, though, it just suspends a second Cloudskate and passes.
Eventide is ready to hit hard. First it plays and Edge of the Divinity on the Mimic, then attacks with both creatures, spending two mana to give +1/+0 to the Cavalier, for a total of 10 damage! Surely a nice comeback from Eventide, that also plays a Figure of Destiny and spends one mana to turn it into a 2/2.
Finally Timespiral resolves its first two suspended spells. The Cloudskate bounces back the Mimic, and the Edge of the Divinity is sent to the graveyard. But more than that, Timespiral can draw 4 cards, and finally play its first white mana source. This open some plays for Timespiral, but for now it just passes.
Eventide studies its options, then attacks with both its creatures. Things are going to be hard from now on with all the tricks that Timespiral can use, but Eventide also has some of its own. Timespiral decides to block the Figure with the Cloudksate, then Momentary Blink it to bounce the Cavalier. Unfortunately, Eventide answers with an Unmake to remove the Riftwing from game. Timespiral takes two more damage, loses the Cloudskate, and to make things worse, Eventide plays a second Stillmoon Cavalier.
Timespiral would need to resist only one more turn to allow the second Cloudskate to come into play from Suspend, but will it be able to? Timespiral holds in hand a Vesuvan Shape*****er, a Temporal Isolation and a Bogardan Hellkite (and two lands). Six lands in play. Playing the Vesuvan Shapeshifter as a copy of a Cavalier would allow Timespiral to block one of the enemy creatures, but two would be enough to kill Timespiral. Same goes for the Temporal Isolation. And there's not enough mana to play both of them.
Only one way then: play the Shapeshifter face down AND the Temporal Isolation. It's not an optimal use of the Shapeshifter, as it will just chump-block, but still, it's the only way. The Temporal Isolation flies over to a Cavalier, as they could gain Flying and just ignore the morphed Shapeshifter to kill Timespiral (now at 5 life points). Timespiral then passes and crosses its fingers.
Eventide has six lands in play as well, so it's not enough to give Flying to the Cavalier and also give him +3/+0. So Eventide turns the Figure of Destiny into a 4/4 and attacks with both creatures. The morphed Shapeshifter chump-blocks the Figure of Destiny, while the Cavalier deals two damage to Tiemspiral. Eventide then plays a Nightsky Mimic and passes.
Timespiral finally resolves the Cloudskate and bounces back the Figure of Destiny. Then draws four cards – and two Momentary Blink! Both are played immediately on the Cloudskate to bounce back a Cavalier and the Mimic. Now Eventide has only a Cavalier in play, the one with Temporal Isolation on it. Timespiral has incredibly been successful in stabilizing the board – can it win, against all odds?
But Eventide is determined not to lose. It plays back all three creatures, immediately boosting the Figure of Destiny to a 2/2, then passes. But Eventide doesn't know about the Hellkite in Timespiral's hand... and here comes the eighth land! The huge dragon bursts onto the battlefield, annihilating Eventide's creatures in a wave of fire and destruction! In a single shot, Timespiral has cleared the board and is now in a winning position, even more so as it reveals a second Hellkite the following turn! Eventide can find no answer to the dragon onslaught and is forced to concede. Timespiral wins game one!
Game 2
Eventide this time starts quicker with a turn 1 Figure of Destiny. No play from Timespiral on turn one, so Eventide just boosts the Figure of Destiny to a 2/2 and attacks with it. Timespiral once again only plays a land and passes.
Luckily for Timespiral, Eventide is stuck with only two lands, so it can only attack with the Figure, that is met with a Temporal Isolation. But Eventide is not finished yet – a second Figure of Destiny joins the battlefield, and immediately transforms into a 2/2. Timespiral plays its third land, suspends a Riftwing Cloudskate and passes.
Eventide is still stuck at two lands, so it just attacks and passes. While things don't look particularly good for Eventide, the good news for the aggro deck is that Timespiral is having mana problems of its own, as it fails to play a fourth land. Timespiral, stuck at three lands, decides to play a face-down Vesuvan Shapeshifter and pass.
Still no lands for Eventide, that decides to play an Edge of the Divinity on the Figure of Destiny and attack. The Edge only gives the Figure +1/+2, but that would be enough to kill the Shapeshifter wothout dieing, should Timespiral decide to block. But Timespiral simply takes the 3 damage. And on its turn simply attacks for 2, still failing to find a fourth land. Eventide attacks again with the Figure, then plays a Nightsky Mimic and passes.
The next turn is huge for Timespiral. First of all, the suspended Cloudskate enters the battelfield, bouncing back the Mimic. Then, a fourth land is also played, revealing an Avalanche Riders! Eventide's mana problems are about to become much worse! Timespiral attacks with all its creatures for 6 damage, then passes.
Eventide is still searching for another land, without success. For now, it decides to keep the Figure as a defender, and passes.
Instead of paying the Echo cost, Timespiral just Momentary Blink-s the Riders, destroying Eventide's only remaining land! Then 2 more damage are dealt by the Cloudskate, before Timespiral passes again. Eventide finally draws and plays a land, but it's definitely way too late, as in the following turn Timespiral just blinks the Riders again to destroy it!
Eventide draws a Deathbringer Liege and realizes the game is practically over, as Timespiral only needs to Flashback one of the two Momentary Blink in the graveyard to bounce the Figure of Destiny to completely shut down Eventide. Timespiral is surprisingly up 2-0 and moving on to game 3.
Game 3
Both decks take a mulligan. Eventide makes the first play of the game with a turn 2 Nightsky Mimic, that is answered by a suspended Riftwing Cloudskate by Timespiral. Eventide plays a second Mimic, then the first one strikes for 4. Is Eventide finally getting its desired quick and deadly start?
On its third turn, Timespiral plays a face-down Vesuvan Shapeshifter and passes. Luckily for Timespiral, Eventide is this time facing mana flood problems, and it's unable to play any spell to turn the two Mimic into deadly flying creatures. Eventide decides to just pass and it's Timespiral's turn once again. Timespiral gets its fourth land and plays a Lightning Angel, immediately attacking for 3.
Eventide draws and plays a Nip Gwyllion. Nothing huge, but at least allows Eventide to attacks with two flying 4/4. Timespiral thinks for a second about sacrificing the angel, then decides to take the full 8 damage and falling down to 8.
The following turn, the suspended Cloudskate comes into play and bounces one of the Mimics. A second Angel is also played, and Timespiral declares to attack with all its creatures – it's now or never! Eventide falls down to 7 life points.
Eventide plays the Mimic again, then passes. What's it thinking? Timespiral is wary of possible traps, but the game seems solidly in its pocket now. The first move is morphing the Shapeshifter and copying one of the Angels, then all creatures are turned to attack – three 3/4 angels and the Cloudskate. Is this the end for Eventide?
Not yet, says Eventide. Not yet. It shows an Unmake to remove the Shapeshifter from the board, then gets ready to block the angels... but Timespiral shows a Momentary Blink on the Shapeshifter, bringing it back as a Cloudskate and bouncing one of the Mimics, while at the same time nullifying the Unmake. The remaining Mimic blocks and kills one of the angels, while the other angel and the Cloudskate hits for 5 damage. Eventide is now down to 2 life points – but still alive!
Eventide draws... a Restless Apparition! Nothing that can keep it alive for one more turn. The third game is over and Timespiral gets an unpredictable 3-0 win. Sure, Eventide had some bad luck, but Timespiral made perfect use of its versatility to always hit Eventide's weak spot and earn a deserved win against one of the favorites of the tournament! Way to go Timespiral!
Timespiral 3 - Eventide 0
Ravnica vs Mercadian Masques
This is an interesting match, where a superior deck (Ravnica) has to deal with a deck that's not a favorable matchup. In fact, Masques is particularly weak against mass removal, while can use its recruitment capability to overpower over time any deck that's unable to wipe the board. Definitely an interesting game to watch.
DISCLAIMER: this is a very long game summary, with two decks playing lots of creatures and slowly grinding each other to death. I'll add a brief description of the games in spoiler for those who don't wish to read the whole thing.
Game 1
Ravnica goes first, but it's Masques to make the first move with a turn one Ramosian Sergeant. The proud rebel is immediately dispatched by a Last Gasp, though, the same fate that awaits a Ramosian Captain two turns later. So far, so good. But despite looking in control of the game, Ravnica is still to play anything at all, and while there's a Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree in play, it's unlikely that Ravnica could reach victory only thanks to an army of saprolings... or can it?
The following turn, Masques shows a Nightwind Glider – this one, at least, can't be killed with a Last Gasp. On the following turn, it's finally Ravnica's turn to play something – a Dark Confidant. This could mean troubles for Masques, that at the moment can't get rid of him in any way. On its turn, Masques is finally able to start an offensive, with the Glider, but Ravnica quickly shows a Devouring Light! Masques thinks for a few seconds, then decides to spend a Reverent Mantra to give the Glider protection from White and safeguard it. The flying rebel is then free to fly thorugh and inflict the fist two damage of the game to Ravnica. Masques then plays a Ramosian Sergeant and passes.
Ravnica gets a Temple Garden through the Confidant, then plays a Faith's Fetters on the Sergeant – definitely an overkill, but Ravnica has so far managed to keep the board clear of rebels, and wants to keep things that way. The Confidant then strikes for two damage, and Ravnica passes.
The following turn, Masques deals two more damage with the Glider, then plays a Ramosian Sky Marshal – will it stick long enough to start the recruiting? The answer seems to be yes. The Confidant reveals a Plains, and no removal spell is immediately played by Ravnica, that decides to attack with the Confidant anyway. Fearing another Devouring Light, Masques decides to take the damage.
Masques attacks with the Glider (that is removed by a Devouring Light), gets its seventh land in play and passes. One more land is revealed by the Confidant (zero damage so far for three cards drawn, not bad at all), that then attacks for two damage. A second Confidant is then played, and Ravnica passes. EoT, the Sky Marshal taps to fetch a Ramosian Commander, but the newly arrived Rebel is immediately destroyed by a Putrefy – if masques wants to keep recruiting, it will have to pay a lot of mana for it.
Or maybe not, as in the following turn Masques draws and plays a Ramosian Sergeant, followed by a Cho-Manno, Revolutionary. Ravnica has three mana open and possibly another Devouring Light, but Masques decides to take the risk and attacks with the Marshal... no Light, and three more damage to Ravnica. The two Confidant show another Confidant and a Watchwolf, for a total of 4 damage. Ravnica then plays the Watchwolf and a Selesnya Guildmage, and passes.
Masques plays a Ramosian Lieutenant and attacks for three more with the Sky Marshal. End of turn, Ravnica puts a Saproling token in play, then draws a Loxodon Hierarch and a Swamp with the Confidants, falling down to 8 life points. The Hierarch is immediately played, while a Last Gasp takes care of Cho-Manno. Then Ravnica attacks with all its creatures excpet the token.
Masques taps the Sergeant to bring in another Lieutenant, that is then sacrificed to block the watchwolf. Ravnica takes six damage and falls down to 8.
Despite its recruiting, Masques is falling behind to the insane card advantage of the Confidants. The only hope is keep chipping away at Ravnica's life points and hope that the Confidants pick up some high-cc cards. So, the Marshal attacks again, then Masques plays from its hand a Thermal Glider and passes.
The Confidants show a land a Vigor Mortis for 4 damage. Masques is probably going to win next turn, so Ravnica must close the deal this one, if possible. All creatures attack. Masques brings in a Nightwind Glider with the Lieutenant, using it to block one of the Confidant, while the Thermal Glider and the Sergeant sacrifices to stop the Watchwolf and the Hierarch. The token, the second Confidant and the Guildmage slip past Masques's defenses, and get boosted +2/+2 by the Guildamege, for a total of 11 damage. That's enough to kill Masques, and give the first win to Ravnica.
Game 2
Masques gets ready for revenge with a turn one Ramosian Sergeant, followed by a turn 2 Ramosian Lieutenant. Ravnica answers with a Dark Confidant, and passes. This time, though, Masques has the tools to answer: an Afterlife immediately deals with the black creature. This is bad news for Ravnica, but the game is still long: for now, it plays a Selesnya Guildmage and passes.
The small rebels are not particularly hreatening, and the Guildmage is perfectly able to deal with them for the moment. Masques needs to raise the threat level, and it does so with a Ramosian Commander. Ravnica on its turn plays one more Dark Confidant and passes.
Masques attacks with the Commander, and Ravnica decides to take the damage, then passes, getting ready to start fetching for rebels in the deck. Ravnica is for now stuck with no white mana sources, and the Confidant doesn't help to find any, so for now Ravnica can only pass. End of turn, Masques fetches a Thermal Glider with the Lieutenant.
Masques then attacks with the Glider and the Commander. The Glider trades with the 1/1 spirit from the previously played Afterlife, while the Commander is chump-blocked by a Saproling token readily created by the Selesnya Guildmage. Masques then passes. Ravnica loses 4 more life to a Vigor Mortis revealed by the Confidant, and yet again is unable to draw white mana, being forced to pass. Masques recruits a Nightwind Glider and gets ready to push the offensive.
The Glider is now free to attack for 2 damage, while the Commander is chump-blocked one more time. Masques then hits seven lands and plays a Thermal Glider from its hand, while at the same time getting ready to recruit one more with the Lieutenant.
Ravnica finally draws a Temple Garden and takes two damage to play it untapped. With the mana source, a Faith's Fetters is played on the Nightwind Glider, but end of turn another one is imemdiately fetched by Masques. As Masques strikes for 4 more damage with the Gliders, and gets ready to recruit even more of them, Ravnica realizes that this battle is lost and concedes. On to game 3.
Game 3
Masques starts as usual with a turn one Ramosian Sergeant, that is removed by a Putrefy before being able to start recruiting other rebels. The following turn, though, a Ramosian Lieutenant is played, and Ravnica decides to immediatly deal with him with a Faith's Fetters. Ravnica's strategy is clear: for as long as possible, stop Masques's recruiting capability.
Masques on its turn plays a Thermal Glider and passes. Ravnica asnwers with a Selesnya Guildmage and passes. Masques attacks with the Glider, then plays a Story Circle aimed at Green, and passes. The Story Circle could be bad news for Ravnica, that doesn't have many answers to it. It becomes more important than ever, now, to find a Dark Confidant. For now, though, Ravnica draws and passes.
On its turn, Masques attacks, but the Glider is met by a Devouring Light. Then, a Ramosian Lieutenant is played, and that's definitely a threat that Ravnica needs to answer. During the following turn's upkeep, moreover, Masques uses a Rishadan Port to tap the opponent's Temple Garden, leaving Ravnica with only one white mana source and no green mana source (the untapped lands are: Plains, Swamp, Swamp and Svogthos, the Restless Tomb). Ravnica decides to answer by creating at instant speed a Saproling token with the Guildmage. The Guildmage then attacks, but the damage is prevented by the Story Circle.
Masques just draws and passes. Once again the Temple Garden is tapped, and once again a Saproling token is created. While this doesn't look terribly bad on paper, practically all mana from Ravnica is tapped, and no other play is possible for the deck, allowing Masques to control the flow of the game, at least for now. Ravnica is forced to pass, and Masques at end of turn recruits a Ramosian Captain.
The following turn, Ravnica creates one more token, but also manages to draw and play a Dark Confidant. This could shake things up. End of turn, Masques recruits a Ramosian Commander to reinforce the defense. Then, it's time to start building the flying army: a Thermal Glider is played from Masques's hand, with more mana open to recruit one more.
This time, Ravnica is able to use its mana as it wishes, since Masques decides to not activate the Port and keep the mana open for recruitment (or Story Circle activation, if need be). The Story Circle is a problem for Ravnica, practically preventing any attack for the time being. So, Ravnica just passes, and Masques fetches one more Glider into play.
The two Gliders attack, but are met with a Devouring Light and a Last Gasp. Thanks to the Convoke ability of Devouring Light, Ravnica also has the mana to create one more token. Masques decides that the Rishadan's Port strategy should not have been abandoned, and in the following upkeep once more taps the Temple Garden. Ravnica once again creates a token at instant speed. Can Ravnica keep up with the Rebels army thanks to the efforts of the heroic Guildmage? Time will tell. In the meantime, the Confidant revela a Loxodon Hierarch for 4 damage. Ravnica doesn't have enough mana open to cast the Hierarch immediately, but instead decides to add a Watchwolf to the board. End of turn, Masques gets a Glider and attacks with it on its turn, before passing again.
Ravnica gets one more Saproling in its upkeep, then passes, and Masques gets one more Glider in play. One of the two (a Thermal Glider) is immediately removed by a Putrefy, meaning that only one will be able to attack for two damage (Ravnica is at 12 now). Then Masques plays a second Rishadan Port – and Ravnica knows it must break the stalemate, and quickly.
On Ravnica's upkeep, the Temple Garden and a Plains are tapped, basically the only two white mana sources currently available to Ravnica. Ravnica decides to give +1/+1 to all its creatures with the Guildmage, and then hopes to draw something good. It draws a Selesnya Guildmage (2 damage) and a Temple Garden. The Garden is played untapped to fuel a Loxodon Hierarch. Ravnica then decides to attack with the 6 tokens (now 2/2) and the 4/4 Watchwolf. Two of the tokens are killed by the Captain and the Commander, while the others force multiple activations of Story Circle, preventing Masques from actually recruiting anything this turn.
Still, things doesn't look bad for Masques as it deals 2 more damage with the Nightwind Glider to bring Ravnica down to 8. Until the Story Circle stands, Masques can easily control Ravnica and slowly kill it with the Glider.
The following turn, Ravnica decides to create two tokens, plus it adds another Guildmage to the board. Since two tokens died the previous turn, Ravnica would just lose two more by attacking again, and still not obtaining much. Ravnica can only raise a large army and then hope to draw a Faith's Fetters to neutralize the Story circle. Masques is then able to recruit another Glider this turn.
Coming into the next turn, Masques draws a Reverent Mantra and plays it for free by exiling a Disenchant, giving all its cratures Protection from Green and attacking with all it's got: two Gliders, a Captain and a Commander. 9 Damage, more than enough to kill Ravnica, that must sacrifice the Dark Confidant on the Commander to prevent 2 damage and fall down to 1 life points.
Ravnica is desperate, but can still survive one more turn: the Hierarch is sacrificed and then brought back thanks to a Vigor Mortis, netting 4 life points for Ravnica and bringing it up to 5.
The following turn, the Gliders attack for 4 damage, and Ravnica is back to one life point!
Ravnica finally manages to draw a Faith's Fetters, but it's still losing life points under the attacks of the Gliders, and to make things worse, Masques just draws a second Story Circle, practically closing the game. Ravnica has learned that Faith's Fetters must always be ketp as backup to answer Story Circle, and never used for any other threat, no matter what. Will this hard-learnt lesson be enough for Ravnica to come back from this 1-2 disadvantage in the coming games? Time will tell.
Game 4
Both decks are forced to mulligan, and while Ravnica gets a good start, Masques remain stuck at two lands for the first 8 turns or so, without anything to play for that mana. The game is quickly over with Ravnica's win, and the two contenders move on to the decisive battle.
Game 5
Masques is forced to mulligan again, but this time at least the lands flow in regularly. Not so much the creatures, since the first play is once again by Ravnica, a Dark Confidant. Masques immediately removes it with an Afterlife. Ravnica doesn't seem particularly worried, as it just shows another Confidant the following turn, after attacking for one with the spirit. Masques is once again stuck with mana, this time at three, but can at least play something: a Ramosian Lieutenant.
The Confidant shows a Devouring Light for three damage, then a Last Gasp takes care of the possibly annoying rebel before it can recruit anything, also allowing ther Confidant to attack along the spirit for three.
On its turn, Masques plays a Ramosian Sergeant and passes. No damage from the Confidant for Ravnica, since it reveals a Plains, then the spirit attacks for one and a Loxodon Hierarch is played.
Masques draws a second Afterlife and after thinking a few seconds decides to immediately play it to remove the Confidant and stop the card drawing by Ravnica. This unfortunately leaves Masques completely defenseless as Ravnica keeps attacking with its creatures. To make things worse for Masques, a second Loxodon Hierarch joins the battlefield on Ravnica's side.
Masques finally gets its fourth land in play, followed by a Cho-Manno, Revolutionary that should help Masques contain the Hierarchs. That at least in theory, since in practice a Devouring Light immediately takes care of him. Ravnica also adds a Selesnya Guildmage to the board.
With Masques sitting at 3 life points, the game is practically over, as not even a Story Circle could save Masques, that graciously concedes. After going dangerously down 1-2, Ravnica recovers and snatches back the match, advancing to the quarterfinals of the group.
Ravnica 3 - Mercadian Masques 2
Definitely an interesting matchup between two good midrange decks. In term of raw power, it's undeniable that Apocalypse has the upper hand, but Worldwake can field one of the most broken Magic cards ever - Jace, the Mind Sculptor, plus some late game beasts like Avenger of Zendikar and Terastodon. Apocalypse will then have to apply pressure from the early game, gain an advantage position and then keep it until the end. Will it be able to?
Game 1
Worldwake wins the roll for first turn and starts quick with a turn 1 Basilisk Collar followed by a turn 2 Treasure Hunt that leads to a Forest and a Calcite Snapper. Worldwake keeps pushing the advantage with a turn 3 Explore. The only trouble for Worldwake right now is that it only has a single Island – since most of its early game key cards (most notable Jace, the Mind Sculptor) require two blue mana, Worldwake must find quickly another blue mana source, or inevitably fall behind.
Given that the situation on the board is still calm, Apocalypse prepares for the long term and plays a Phyrexian Arena. On Worldwake's side, a second Treasure Hunt finally reveals a second Island, that is immediately played. Starting next turn, Worldwake will finally have two blue mana available.
Or maybe not, as Apocalypse just Vindicates one of the two islands! Nasty one from Apocalypse. And Worldwake is stuck once more. It plays an Explore to draw one more card, but no more Islands in sight. Things definitely look good for Apocalypse at the moment, but the game is still long, as Apocalypse itself has no clear threat on the board at the moment.
But that, too, is destined to change quickly, as Apocalypse gets its fifth land in play and then shows a growling Spiritmonger! Worldwake draws and plays another Treasure Hunt, revealing a Khalni Garden... and then an Island, plus an Explore! Jackpot! The Island is immediately played, followed by the Explore and the Khalni Garden, then another Basilisk Collar. The plant token will be able to chump-block the Spiritmonger, and while that will increase the size of the beast, it will also prevent Worldwake from taking an heavy hit. Once the board is stabilized, Worldwake thinks, the Spiritmonger can be easily dealt with by Jace.
But Apocalypse is as relentless as its name suggests. After attacking with the Spiritmonger (chump-blocked by the token), a second Vindicate is shown, removing once again an Island! But not everything is lost, as Worldwake draws a Forest and gets it into play, netting seven mana and playing an Avenger of Zendikar. An army of animated plants stand now in the way of Apocalypse!
Once again, Apocalypse shows to be in complete control of the situation as it plays a Pernicious Deed and activates it for one, removing not only the Plant tokens, but the two Basilisk Collar as well! The Spiritmonger then attacks, and Worldwake decides to take the damage. Finally, Apocalypse play a Gerrard's Verdict, forcing Worldwake to discard one Jace and one Calcite Snapper.
One more Forest in play for Worldwake, that decides to attack with the Avenger, bringing Apocalypse down to 11 life points – the Arena is slowly exacting its toll.
But Apocalypse is ready to close the game. With Worldwake at 13 life points, it attacks with the Spiritmonger (7) and then plays a Death Grasp for the remaining 6. Worldwake knows now that Apocalypse will get too far ahead with an uncontested Phyrexian Arena, but what can it do to answer the threat?
Game 2
Worldwake starts with a Khalni Garden, then a turn 2 Everflowing Chalice. Apocalypse answers with a turn 2 Spectral Lynx. This time around Worldwake has already 2 Islands in play, and also adds another Chalice (with 2 counters) to the board. Impressive mana ramp, and Apocalypse can't help feeling a little worried about what's coming next. Unfortunately, Apocalypse is stuck with no black mana sources, and this means no removal. So for now it just attacks with the Lynx and passes.
Worldwake untaps, plays one more Forest... and passes. Apocalypse smiles, relieved: all the mana in the world, but no threat.
Finally Apocalypse draws a Swamp, quickly plays a Pernicious Deed and activates it to remove both the Chalices! Worldwake is now more than slighly annoyed at Apocalypse's overpowered removals.
But finally it's Worldwake's turn to play something. As it gets anothe Forest into play, and has three green mana sources available, a Leatherback Baloth is played, followed by a Basilisk Collar. While the threat level is not huge, due to the green-protected Spectral Lynx, Apocalypse still decides to Vindicate the creature, and keep attacking with the Lynx, bringing Worldwake down to 14.
Worldwake feels almost like screaming in joy as it draws and plays a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Jace will definitely be attacked by the Lynx the following turn, and even though Worldwake also gets a plant token into play via anotehr Khalni Garden, the plant token is green and won't be able to block the Lynx. Worldwake then decides to activate the +2 ability, looking at its own deck and removing a useless Forest, hoping to draw something more useful the following turn. A Calcite Snapper, humble as it is, would actually be perfect.
Apocalypse first attacks Jace with the Lynx, then decides to go for the large threat: a Necravolver, double kicked – 5/5 with Trample and Lifelink. Now, that's something that Worldwake needs to worry about. The answer would be simple with Jace, but the planeswalker sits at 3 tokens, and removing one would mean that the Lynx will get an easy kill.
Worldwake hopes to draw something that could resolve its problems.... but it's only one more Forest. No choice, then, the -1 ability from Jace is activated to bounce back the Necravolver. On the following turn, the Lynx kills Jace, then Apocalypse decides to play a Phyrexian Area instead of the Necravolver. Worldwake can only draw, play a land, and pass.
Apocalypse keeps attacking with the Lynx, and plays once again the fully-kicked Necravolver. It's clear that this turn is crucial for Worldwake, and Worldwake doesn't disappoint: it gets its ninth land in play, and a Terastodon! Worldwake destroys the Arena, but more than that: two Swamps! The only black mana sources currently available to Apocalypse! Will that be enough to re-open the game?
The answer seems to be yes, as Apocalypse can't draw a black mana source, and for the moment just attacks with the Lynx and passes.
Worldwake's comeback continues as it plays a Jace and, a little surprisingly, bounces one of the Elephant tokens from the Terastodon. The Terastodon itself is then equipped with the Basilisk Collar and attacks. Now, Worldwake's plot is clear. With just two tokens, Apocalypse can't kill the Terastodon unless it also blocks with the Necravolver, but that would allow Worldwake to get rid of the annoying Lifelink creature. Apocalypse would like to save the Necravolver, but it clearly can't have a 9/9 with Lifelink attacking each turn, and with no guarantee to draw a black mana source in the next couple of turns, Apocalypse is forced to make the trade: the Necravolver and the two tokens for the huge Terastodon. At the same time, Apocalypse gains 5 life points, and Worldwake 9, meaning that the Lynx alone will hardly be enough to kill Worldwake now.
Apocalypse draws a Caves of Koilos, and stares blankly at it for a couple of seconds. As the Lynx is enough to kill Jace for now, and fearing another Terastodon in the near future, Apocalypse decides to keep the land in hand, and passes.
Worldwake is now living on the draw. This turn, it gets an Arbor Elf – not much, but equipped with the Basilisk Collar, it should at least keep the Lynx on the defensive. Apocalypse draws a Llanowar Wastes – the irony of it! This time, the land is played, following by a Pernicious Deed activated for one. The target is not so much the Elf, but rather the Collar. The Lynx then attacks for 2, and Apocalypse passes.
Worldwake plays a Treasure Hunt, then an Explore, then passes. Apocalypse sees that single card in Worldwake's hand, and thinks. It's not a land, as it would probably have been played immediately. It's not a Chalice or a Baloth or an Arbor Elf, as Worldwake had the mana to play them right away. So, it must be something good. Apocalypse has just drawn a Gerrard's Verdict, and decids to play it immediately. Worldwake curses and shows a Terastodon – nice move from Apocalypse!
Worldwake then draws a land, while on the following turn Apocalypse plays a second Spectral Lynx and a Phyrexian Arena! The game seems to be slipping out of Worldwake's hand. One more land drawn by Worldwake, while Apocalypse adds a Necravolver to the board.
The following turn, Worldwake can add a Leatherback Baloth to the board, but it gest quickly Vindicated as Apocalypse attacks with the two Lynxes and the 5/5 Necravolver for 9 damage, exactly kiling off Worldwake. 2-0 now, moving on to the third and possibly final game of the match.
Game 3
This game starts slow, with Apocalypse having troubles finding white mana sources, so that the actual first play is a Jace, the Mind Sculptor by Worldwake, that immediately activates the +0 ability to start the card advantage engine.
Apocalypse is still stuck with no white mana, and Worldwake pushes the offensive with a Leatherback Baloth followed by a Basilisk Collar, plus a +2 activation on Apocalypse that reveals... a Caves of Koilos! Worldwake smiles in revenge as it puts the land on the bottom of the graveyard.
But at least Apocalypse still draws something useful, a Necravolver, that is played with a single kicker (4/4 Trample).
Worldwake is not particularly worried by the creature, as it equips the Baloth with the Collar and attacks (Apocalypse decides to take the damage), then plays a second Baloth! The +2 ability is then activated, revealing a Gerrard's Verdict that Worldwake is more than happy to leave there.
Apocalypse understands that the game is over and it's slowly being strangled, so decides to concede. It's interesting how both decks could win by affecting the opponent's manabase, Apocalypse by clinically removing the blue mana sources with Vindicate, Worldwake by simply abusing the deck manipulation power of its fearsome planeswalker. Behold the power of Jace, one could say, if it wasn't already well known how incredibly broken that card is. But Apocalypse feel sure that it can win at least one of the two remaining matches. How will it go?
Game 4
Apocalypse starts, but no plays are available to the decks on turn one, ecept for Worldwake getting a Plant token into play thanks to Khalni Garden. On turn two, still no play from Apocalypse, while Worldwake gets an Everflowing Chalice for one in play.
Apocalypse thinks for a few seconds, but doesn't like the prospect of having a Jace into play the following turn, especially since at the moment Apocalypse would have no counterplay. So, a Pernicious Deed is played and activated, removing the Chalice and the plant token.
Worldwake doesn't look too troubled as it plays a Treasure Hunt, drawing a Calcite Snapper. Apocalypse plays one more land and passes. And then it's finally Jace's time! Worldwake plays it and activates the +0 ability. Now Apocalypse must find an answer, or quickly lose the game like it happened last time!
The answer is immediate and effective: a Death Grasp for 3. Worldwake regrets not activating the +2 ability, but as they say, don't cry over spilt milk. Things still look good for Worldwake as it plays a Leatherback Baloth and passes.
Apocalypse sneers at the Baloth as it gets on the board a Spiritmonger. Now, it's Worldwake's turn to find an answer quickly. For now, it plays a second Baloth, followed by a Treasure Hunt that unfortunately only gets an Explore.
Apocalypse attacks with the Spiritmonger. Knowing that it can regenerate, Worldwake decides to take the damage, perhaps wanting to attack with the two Baloths the following turn, but Apocalypse is not finished yet and plays a second Spiritmonger! Not good for Worldwake, not good at all.
Worldwake plays a Forest, then the Explore followed by a second Forest, then a Calcite Snapper. The defense line is ready, but how long will it last?
Apocalypse attacks with the two Spiritmongers, and Worldwake sacrifices the Snapper and one of the Baloth to block them. A fully kicked Necravolver then hits the board, more bad news for Jace's team.
Worldwake has a Terastodon in hand, and that could balance things out, but it needs one more land. It goes for the draw... an Arbor Elf. Not what it wanted, but better than nothing. The Elf is immediately played, along with a Calcite Snapper, and Worldwake hopes to survive one more turn.
Apocalypse attacks with all its creatures, and Worldwake sacrifices the Baloth and the Snapper to block the two Spiritmongers, taking five damage from the Necravolver. Apocalypse then shows a Gerrard's Verdict, forcing Worldwake to discard the Terastodon (with Worldwake feeling an unpleasant sense of deja-vu).
There's not much hope left for Worldwake now, but then it draws an Avenger of Zendikar! Just the card it needs. It's probably too late for Worldwake to make a comeback, but with a couple more lucky draws... who knows? For now, 8 Plant tokens are created, allowing Worldwake to easily survive a few turns more.
Apocalypse is more annoyed than worried, at the moment. As usual, it attacks with all its creatures. The Necravolver trades with the Avenger, while the two Spiritmongers are chump-blocked. Apocalypse then plays another Necravolver, and passes.
Worldwake draws and plays a Leatherback Baloth, then passes. Apocalypse attacks full out again. The Necravolver is killed by the Leatherback Baloth and the Arbor Elf, while the Spiritmongers once again are blocked by the plant's army. Apocalypse then plays a third Spiritmonger and passes.
From then on, Worldwake only draws an Island and two Arbor Elf, and is slowly but eventually grinded down by the raging Spiritmongers.
Apocalypse must praise its opponent's resilience, but this is Battle of the Sets, and only one gets to win. Apocalypse moves on to the quarterfinals of Group B.
Apocalypse 3 - Worldwake 1
Glad to see you return in this thread.
Prophecy vs Champions of Kamigawa
Do I really need to write anything about this match? Champions had all the time in the world to set up its Hazelock combo and completely shut down the slow midrange deck that is Prophecy, that has no way of ever winning outside of attacking with creatures. These games were quick and brutal.
Prophecy 0 - Champions of Kamigawa 3
Fate Reforged vs Darksteel
An interesting matchup against two decks that get better as the game progresses, getting progressively in control of the game. It's easy to say that Darksteel has the upper hand, thanks to its broken Arcbound Ravager, but will things really be that simple for the artifact deck? Let's find out.
Game 1
Fate Reforged wins the roll, but it's Darksteel that makes the first play with a turn 1 Æther Vial. Fate Reforged answers with a turn 2 Soul Summons, manifesting its first creature of the match. On the following turn, Darksteel too gets a creature in play, in the form of an Arcbound Slith. Fate Reforged will have to be careful, or Darksteel will quickly escalate out of control with all its +1/+1 counters. Fow now, Fate Reforged attacks with its manifested creature and adds a Monastery Mentor to the board, to keep the Slith in check.
Darksteel gets the second counter on the Vial, ready to make use of it, while at the same time taps three mana to get into play a Sword of Fire and Ice. Luckily, Fate Reforged has an immediate answer in the form of a Return to the Earth, also spawning a Monk Token. Fate Reforged then attacks with both the Mentor (3/3) and the manifested creature. Darksteel thinks for a second, then gets a Viridian Zealot into play at instant speed with the Vial and uses him to block the manifested creature, resulting in both creatures dead.
The following turn, Darksteel gets another Zealot in play, followed by a Skullclamp. The Zealot is immediately sacrificed to draw two cards, then Darksteel passes. On its turn, Fate Reforged drops its first bomb: a Whisperwood Elemental. This will keep the manifested creatures coming, and while Darksteel is also a deck that like to snowball over time, seems like Fate Reforged could be able to keep up with its pace. Fate Reforged then attacks with the Monk token for one damage, and passes. End of turn, Darksteel taps the vial to get an Arcbound Stinger into play. Bad news for Fate Reforged, that has no creatures with Flying and few answers to them.
On its turn, Darksteel taps four mana for an Arcbound Crusher, then attacks with the Stinger and passes. Fate Reforged plays a Wildcall at five mana, manifesting a creature with three +1/+1 counters on it, also spawning a second token. Fate Reforged then attacks with the other Monk token (2/2), the Monastery Mentor (3/3), the Elemental, and one manifested creature (from the Elemental at the previous end step). Darksteel looks a little worried now, as Fate Reforged has managed to gathered quite the army, and could overrun the artifact deck's defenses before Darksteel can actually get its deadly engine at full speed.
But for now it's time to worry about defending from this attack. Darksteel gets an Arcbound Ravager into play at instant speed and declares blockers: the Ravager itself on the Elemental, the Crusher on the Monastery Mentor and the Slith on the manifested creature. The Crusher and the Slith are then sacrificed to boost the Ravager: Darksteel has decided that the Elemental must die, too dangerous in this moment of the game. Darksteel ends the turn at 13 life points, with a 2/2 Stinger and a 5/5 Ravager.
On its turn, Daksteel plays another Arcbound Crusher, attacks with the Stinger and passes. Fate Reforged plays two Whisperer of the Wilds and passes. End of turn, Darksteel gets a second Stinger in play. Then Darksteel sacrifices this new Stinger to the Skullclamp, then gets a Sword of Fire and Ice into play, attacks with the other Stinger and passes. Most likely, Darksteel will be able to attack for the kill with the Stinger in the following turn, and this puts a lot of pressure on Fate Reforged.
But Fate Reforged manages to play a Sandsteppe Mastodon in the following turn, bolstering one of the Monk tokens, but more importantly, getting into play a creature that can block the Stinger. Then, Fate Reforged declares an attack with all its creatures (except a single untapped Whisperer of the Wilds, and obviously the Mastodon).
Darksteel blocks the 5/5 manifested creatures and the 6/6 token with the Crusher and the Ravager respectively, then sacrifices the Crusher to the Ravager to kill the bolstered token. The remaining small creatures from Fate Reforged gets past Darksteel's defenses, reducing its life points to 8.
On its turn, Darksteel puts another Stinger in play with the Vial, then sacrifices it to the Skullclamp. No luck on the draw, as no more creatures are played, so Darksteel just equips the Sword to the Stinger and attacks with it. The Stinger is a 4/4, gets to 6/6 with the Sword and can therefore kill the Mastodon without being killed. The road is once again clear: on the following turn, the Stinger will be able to strike for the kill. Now everything lasts on Fate Reforged... what will it draw? A Forest! The two manifested creatures are a Whisperer of the Wilds and a Map the Wastes, so nothing can be gained from that. Only one card in hand: a Whisperwood Elemental, a very good card, but not helpful here. Fate Reforged can only attack with all its creatures, but its largest hitting creature, the 5/5 manifested creature, gets blocked by the Ravager, and the remaining creatures get through only 6 damage, bringing Darksteel down to 2. To think that any sorcery/instant spell would have been enough to kill Darksteel, triggering the prowess from the mentor and the monk token. But it was not meant to be. Darksteel wins the first game of the match!
Game 2
Both decks have to mulligan this game, Fate Reforged actually has to mulligan twice, but at least gets a good start with a turn one Warden of the First Tree. Darksteel is just as good though, with a turn 1 Skullclamp. On its following turn, Fate Reforged attacks for one with the Warden and passes, getting a tapped Blossoming Sands into play.
Darksteel plays a Genesis Chamber and passes – the engine is in place, token creation and card drawing. But Darksteel will have to move quickly, because Fate Reforged will also benefit fro the Chamber, and it has shown in the previous game that it can quickly create a threatening army. In fact, Fate Reforged gets a Monastery Mentor in game this turn, creating a Myr token, then attacks for one more with the Warden.
On its turn, Darksteel gets a Viridian Zealot into play, spawning a token, then passes. Fate Reforged plays a Soul Summons, getting a Monk token, then a Myr token, and boosting the Mentor to 3/3. The Mentor then attacks, along with a Myr token, and Darksteel decides to take the 4 damage.
Then it's Darksteel's turn to shine. An Arcbound Worker is played, followed by an Arcbound Ravager, and two more Myr tokens, that are exceptional fodder for the Ravager. Time to start worrying for Fate Reforged. The Worker is immediately sacrificed to the Skullclamp, then Darksteel passes.
Fate Reforged turns the Warden into a 3/3 creature, then passes. Darksteel plays an Aether Vial, then a second Genesis Chamber, and an Arcbound Slith. The Zealot and then the Slith are killed to fuel the Skullclamp, then Darksteel passes. End of turn, Fate Reforged flips over the manifested creature, revealing a Whisperer of the Wilds. On its turn, Fate Reforged activates the second ability of the Warden, giving him Trample and Lifelink, then passes. From the following turn, Fate Reforged will have the mana to activate its last ability: will this game become a clash of the titans between the Ravager and the Warden?
Darksteel plays an Arcbound Crusher, that generates two tokens, immediately becoming a 3/3, then plays a second Skullclamp, boosting the Crusher up to 4/4. Fate Reforged activates the Warden's third ability, turning him into an 8/8. It certainly is impressive, but sadly it looks like it won't be enough.
On its turn, Darksteel plays two more Arcbound Ravager, then an Arcbound Slith through the Vial, each one of them spawning two Myr tokens and overall boosting the Crusher to a whopping 13/13. The Crusher then turns to attack, and is boosted above 30/30 by the Myr tokens sacrificed to the Ravager, and finally the Ravager sacrificing itself. Fate Reforged can only watch as a monstruos robot, as large as a mountain, slides over to bring death and destruction, impossible to stop. Darkstell wins game two and seems ready to sweep a crushing 3-0 victory.
Game 3
Fate Reforged starts with a Blossoming Sand, Darksteel with a Blinkmoth Nexus. On its second turn, Fate Reforged plays a Soul Summons and passes. Darksteel plays a second Blinkmoth Nexus and then shows an Arcbound Ravager – immediately bad news for Fate Reforged, that on its turn plays a Whisperer of the Wilds and attacks with the manifested creature, before passing.
Luckily for Fate Reforged, Darksteel has yet to show the other key parts of its engine: Skullclamp and Genesis Chamber. The Ravager by itself is definitely fearsome, but not unstoppable. On its turn, Darksteel plays a Sword of Fire and Ice and passes.
Fate Reforged gets a Whisperwood Elemental in play, attacks with the manifested creature, and passes. Fate Reforged doesn't know it at the moment, but Darksteel is having serious mana flood problem, with an hand full of Forests. That's why it decides to animate the Nexus, equip it with the Sword, and attack. The two damage go to kill one of the manifested creatures (that turns out to be a Plains), and the drawn card... is just one more Forest!
Fate Reforged pushes the offensive with a Temur War Shaman, then taks a look at the situation. Darksteel is all tapped out, and apart from sacrificing the Sword (which would be a very bad move) has no way to boost the Ravager. It seems safe, then, to attack with the Elemental (Fate Reforged doesn't want to lose it as it happened in game 1, since that was probably the key point that led to Fate Reforged's loss). So, the Elemental and one manifested creature attack, forcing Darksteel to take 6 damage.
Darksteel on its turn equips the Sword to the Ravager and passes. On its following turn, Fate Reforged grins as it flips one of the manifested creatures, revealing... a Whisperwood Elemental! The War Shaman allows it to fight with the Ravager, killing it and opening the way for Fate Reforged's creature to kill its opponent. And just like that, game over! Fate Reforged shows its pride and tries to raise morale for an unlikely, but definitely possible, comeback win!
Game 4
Darkstell starts with a turn 1 Arcbound Worker, followed by a turn 2 Arcbound Slith, for the most aggro start so far from the artifact deck. Fate Reforged gets into play a Whisperer of the Wilds, that should at least be able to block the Slith and prevent it from growing in size. At least that's the theory, since in practice Darksteel gets a Skullclamp into play, kills the Worker and then attacks with the 2/2 Slith – at that point, Fate Reforged decides to save the Whisperer and take the damage.
Fate Reforged seems stuck at 2 lands, unfortunately, and for the coming turn can only play a Monastery Mentor and pass. Darksteel smeels blood, and gets ready to kick its opponent while it's down. On its turn, in fact, Darksteel plays an Arcbound Ravager and an Arcbound Stinger, while at the same time attacking again with the Slith for three more damage.
Things look dire for Fate Reforged, all the more so since it's still struggling to find mana. No choice for Fate Reforged than to play a Map the Wastes to get a land – and a Monk token. The Monk could at least chump-block the Slith, but it's far too easy for Darksteel to sacrifice the Slith to the Ravager and move its token on the Stinger, attacking for four more damage. Darksteel then plays a Viridian Zealot, sacrifices it to the Skullclamp, then plays two more Skullclamps and passes.
Fate Reforged draws – still no lands! - and is meekly forced to pass. Fate Reforged is at 11 life points and Darksteel is now ready to go for the kill. The Ravager sacrifices two Darksteel Citadels, then sacrifices itself, bringing a total of eight counters on the Stinger, that it's then equipped with the three Skullclamp – or at least should be so, since at that point Fate Reforged reveals its trump card: a Return to the Earth! The Stinger is destroyed at instant speed, before the Skullclamp could be equipped! Luckily for Darksteel, not all is lost – at least it can animate a Blinkmoth Nexus and move the +1/+1 counters there. But the Nexus came into play this turn, and cannot be animated to attack yet. Still, the land got into play at the right moment and managed to save Darksteel's metallic ass.
Fate Reforged has manages to gain one turn, will it be enough? Fate Reforged would need another Return to the Earth to kill the Nexus and probably win the game, but it just draws a Whisperwood Elemental, and has no way of stopping the Nexus in the coming turn.
So close. Both in game one and game four, Fate Reforged was so close to winning and eliminating a fearsome opponent, but Lady Luck smiled on the steel army of Darksteel, that advances to the following round.
Fate Reforged 1 - Darksteel 3
You're doing a great job with the BotS write-ups! That was part of the reason that I think it was so successful and fun to read in the first place.
Llorwyn vs Dragon's Maze
A very interesting matchup, that also came up in the last BOTS I held, resulting in a 3-2 victory for Dragon's Maze. The two decks are completely different in philosophy: sheer power for Dragon's Maze, versatility and tricks for Llorwyn. And that's what makes this pairing so interesting. One last thing to note: the unexpected MVP here is Skylasher, potentially a true nightmare for Llorwyn. Once that creature gets played, in fact, Llorwyn can remove it only with one card in the whole deck: Nameless Inversion.
Game 1
Llorwyn starts first with a Secluded Glen, revealing a Spellstutter Sprite, that is immediately played at instant speed at the end of Dragon's Maze second turn. As soon as the faerie hits the stack, Dragon's Maze taps its two mana and shows a Skylasher, immediately gaining the upper hand. But Llorwyn has the answer ready, in the form of a Nameless Inversion, clearing the way for the small faerie to deal the first damage of the game. On its turn, Dragon's Maze plays a Zhur-Taa Druid and passes.
Llorwyn attacks with the Spellstutter Sprite, then passes, and during Dragon's Maze upkeep plays a Mistbind Clique to tap all its opponent's lands. Not much that Dragon's Maze can do with no mana, so it just taps the Druid to deal one damage, and passes. On its turn, Llorwyn attacks with the Clique and passes.
Time for Dragon's Maze to start the counterattack. The first move is an Exava, Rakdos Blood With, activating the Unleash and immediately ready to attack – except for a Pestermite coming in to tap her! The classic annoying faerie gameplay at its best. Can Dragon's Maze break the lock?
On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Scion of Oona, boosting its other creatures to deal 8 damage to Dragon's Maze, that falls down to six life points. Game over? As Dragon's Maze draws only a Spike Jester, and has no creatures to block Llorwyin's faeries, the answer is clearly yes. Moving on to game two.
Game 2
Time for Dragon's Maze to start, and start aggressive, with a turn two Spike Jester, followed by a Varolz, the Scar-Striped that is quickly neutralized by a Broken Ambitions. The two deck clash, and Dragon's Maze wins with a Rot Farm Skeleton over a Pestermite. The Pestermite is definitely good news for Llorwyn, that will be able to use it to stop the Jester's onslaught. For now, then, Llorwyn draws and passes.
On Dragon's Maze turn, the Pestermite is used to tap the Spike Jester before it can attack. Dragon's Maze just plays the Rot Farm Skeleton and passes. Llorwyn plays a Thoughtseize, revealing a Flesh // Blood, a Putrefy and a land. Both cards could be troublesome for Llorwyn, but for now Flesh/Blood looks like the greater threat, and gets discarded. Llorwyn then passes.
Dragon's Maze tries to push in a death blow playing an Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch, but Llorwyn has one more Broken Ambitions ready. Both decks reveal a land in the clash, and both decks put them on the bottom of the library. Dragon's Maze then attacks with both creatures: the Jester trades for the Pestermite, and the skeleton dishes in four damage. Llorwyn falls down to 8 and starts worrying.
On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Ponder, decides to shuffle the deck, draws and passes. On Dragon's Maze turn, the Skeleton is bounced to Dragon's Maze hand by a Cryptic Command, with Llorwyn also drawing a card. Dragon's Maze plays once more the Skeleton, then passes. Llorwyn draws and considers the situation. A Spellstutter Sprite, a Nameless Inversion and a Mistbind Clique in hand. Quite good overall... but Dragon's Maze has a Putrefy in hand, Llorwyn knows that from its previous Thoughtseize. The Putrefy could easily be cast at instant speed to kill the Clique. For now, Llorwyn decides to just pass.
On its turn, Dragon's Maze attacks with the skeleton, and Llorwyn decides to kill it with the Nameless Inversion. Dragon's Maze doesn't look particularly worried as it just plays another Rot Farm Skeleton and passes. End of turn, Llorwyn plays the Spellstutter Sprite.
This draw would be crucial for Llorwyn, but unfortunately it's just a Secluded Glen. Llorwyn passes, and decides that it can't be kept in check by a Putrefy. On Dragon's Maze upkeep, the Clique comes into play, championing the Sprite, and as predicted, is immediately killed by the Putrefy. Still, all Dragon's Maze lands are now tapped, and the Sprite is perfectly able to trade for the Skeleton. Amd that's exactly what happens.
Both decks take a second of relax to recover after the heated match. Both decks have six lands and an empty board, one card in hand. 18 life points for Dragon's Maze, 8 life points for Llorwyn. Llorwyn draws – a Spellstutter Sprite, not cool – and passes.
And here comes the big bomb – Dragon's Maze plays a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed! Terrible, terrible news for Llorwyn. After drawing a Nameless Inversion on its turn, Llorwyn decides that there's nothing it can do to prevent being crushed by the Ogre, so gracefully concedes and moves on to game three.
Game 3
Llorwyn starts with a turn one Thoughtseize, revealing a hand of: Stomping Grounds, Overgrown Tomb, Swamp, Savageborn Hydra, Skylasher and two Varolz, the Scar-Striped. The choice is relatively simple, and Llorwyn decides to take out its nemesis, the Skylasher. The following turn, another Thoughtseize – revealing a just drawn Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. With the memory from the last game still fresh in mind, Llorwyn decides to take him ojut immediately.
Turn three, there's no more Thoughtseize. Llorwyn just draws and passes. Dragon's Maze plays its first Varolz, and is answered by an end of turn Scion of Oona from Llorwyn. On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Ponder, draws and passes. Dragon's Maze exiles the Skylasher thanks to Varolz's ability and puts two +1/+1 counters on the Troll, then plays a Spike Jester, that is countered by a Spellstutter Sprite. Varolz then attacks for four, and Llorwyn takes the damage.
On its turn, Llorwyn attacks for three damage with its faeries, then passes. On Dragon's Maze upkeep, a Mistbind Clique is played, championing the Spellstutter Sprite. Dragon's Maze has now no lands available, and the Clique is a 5/5 while Varolz only a 4/4. Nothing to do than pass, then.
Llorwyn attacks with both its creatrues for six damage, bringing Dragon's Maze down to 6. Another Thoughtseize is then showed to discard a Flesh // Blood, and finally Llorwyn passes. Dragon's Maze grumbles about unfairness as it draws and activates Varolz's ability to exile the Spike Jester and boost the troll up to a 7/7, and gets ready to smash Llorwyn's face. But it turns out Llorwyn has other prorgrams, as it shows a Cryptic Command to bounce back Varolz and draw a card. Since Llorwyn is all tapped out, Dragon's Maze decides to play a Putrefy, just drawn this turn, to remove the dangerous Clique.
Llorwyn still has the upper hand, though, as it can keep attacking with two faeries while Dragon's Maze has an empty board, and only seven life points. Can it come back from this dangerous situation?
Dragon's Maze considers that Llorwyn has only one card in hand, but that card could very well be a counterspell, and Llorwyn has all its mana open. If it's a Broken Ambitions or a Cryptic Command, there's nothing to do. But if it's a Spellstutter Sprite, it can only counter a spell with mana cost up to three. Dragon's Maze has only five mana open, so there's no way it can play two spells this turn. Better go all in with something big, then. Best choice here is a Savageborn Hydra for five mana. Crossed fingers for Dragon's Maze, but Llorwyn just shakes its head as it neutralizes the dangerous beast with a Broken Ambitions. Both decks reveal a land, Llorwyn puts it at the bottom of the deck. Then, on its turn... draws another land! Not good news for Llorwyn, that decides to keep the land in hand as a bluff, before attacking for three damage with the faeries. Dragon's Maze is now at 4 life points.
This is the decisive turn for Dragon's Maze, that despite the risky situation, plays a Stomping Grounds... untapped! As it falls down to 2 life points, it quickly becomes clear the reason behind the choice: Dragon's Maze needed a sixth land to play a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed!
Llorwyn is unable to kill Dragon's Maze this turn, as Ruric Thar would easily block the 2/2 Spellstutter Sprite, leaving only the 1/1 Scion of Oona to deal damage. Luckily, it has just drawn one more Sprite, and that will be enough to kill Dragon's Maze in the following turn. For now, then, Llorwyn passes.
Dragon's Maze unfortunately draws only a Zhur-Taa Druid, attacks with Ruric Thar, and plays the Druid and a Varolz. But then, it's over. End of turn, the second Spellstutter Sprite joins the battlefield, and Llorwyn is able to attack for the kill. What a crazy game! Llorwyn wins and moves on to game 4.
Game 4
Both decks have to mulligan this time. Llorwyn plays a Thoughtseize on turn one, revaling a hand of... four lands and a Putrefy. The instant spell goes directly to the graveyard, but Llorwyn has not even the time to feel satisfied, as Dragon's Maze draws and plays a Spike Jester. Nothing new happens on turn three, as Dragon's Maze just keeps attacking, and Llorwyn as usual draws and passes.
On turn 4, Dargon's Maze shows an Exava, Rakdos Blood With, but Llorwyn is quick to neutralize her with a Broken Ambitions. Dragon's Maze wins the clash with a Rot Farm Skeleton, while Llorwyn reveals a land and puts it on the bottom of the library. Meanwhile, the Jester is still attacking like crazy, and Llorwyn is down to 9 life points – definitely not good.
Llorwyn draws and passes, then Dragon's Maze attacks again with the Jester. Llorwyn knows that the Skeleton is coming this turn, so it decides to take the damage, then counter the Rot Farm Skeleton with a Cryptic Command and also draw a card.
On its turn, Llorwyn draws and passes again. As Dragon's Maze attacks again on the following turn, Llorwyn is finally forced to react, play a Scion of Oona and sacrifice it as a blocker, at least killing the Jester in return. But then Dragon's Maze plays a Varolz, the Scar-Striped, and immediately activates its ability to exile the Spike Jester and put three +1/+1 counters on the troll. A last goodbye from the Spike Jester, as if it hadn't already done enough damage!
Llorwyn draws a Nameless Inversion, not enough to deal with Varolz, and as usual it passes right away. Dragon's Maze activates again Varolz's ability on Exava, bringing the troll up to a 9/9, then attacks. Nine damage would be more than enough to kill Llorwyn, that is then forced to sacrifice a second Scion of Oona to chump-block it. On its following tun, Llorwyn just draws an Island, and knows it's over. Both decks move on to the fifth and decisive game.
Game 5
Llorwyn starts the game with a turn 1 Secluded Glen (reevaling a Spellstutter Sprite) followed by a Ponder. On turn two, Dragon's Maze plays a Spike Jester, and Llorwyn decides to immediately take care of it with a Spellstutter Sprite casted to block. On its turn, Llorwyn again draws and passes.
Dragon's Maze draws and passes, and Llorwyn shows an end-of-turn Scion of Oona, that is immediately answered with a Putrefy by Dragon's Maze.
On its turn, Llorwyn plays a Thoughtseize, revealing a Skylasher, a Putrefy and three lands. Llorwyn thinks for a couple of seconds, then surprisingly decides to discard the Putrefy. What's going on here? On its turn, Dragon's Maze plays the Skylasher and passes. Llorwyn plays a Scion of Oona at instant speed, then draws... and plays a second Scion of Oona! That explains the choice to discard the Putrefy, that could have removed one of the Scion before the two could protect each other with Shroud. Still, the Skylasher can easily trade for any of them, and the game will remain a stalemate until Llorwyn can play a Nameless Inversion... or Dragon's Maze can find some bigger threat.
And that's exactly what happens in the following turn, as Dragon's Maze plays an Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch (a 4/4 thanks to Unleash), and attacks immediately. For now, Llorwyn decides to take the damage. On its turn, Llorwyn as usual draws and passes.
That's when things get serious for Llorwyn, as Dargon's Maze draws and plays a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed! Does Llorwyn have a counterspell? The control deck sadly shakes its head, and the big ogre joins the battle, ready to devast the faerie army once again. Exava tries to attack again, but this time Llorwyn taps her at instant with a Pestermite.
Llorwyn once again draws (a Cryptic Command, but only two blue mana sources in play), and passes. Dragon's Maze continues its incredible sequence of lucky draws with a Savageborn Hydra, immediately cast for seven mana – a 5/5 Double Strike that will only keep growing, and there's nothing Dragon's Maze can do, without the mana to counter. Ruric Thar has to attack each turn, and along with him comes Exava. Llorwyn plays an instant speed a Spellstutter Sprite and assigns both her and the Pestermite to block Ruric Thar, trading two for one and taking four damage from Exava. Things are not looking good for Llorwyn right now.
And then, the irony! Llorwyn draws a Broken Ambitions – if only it had come one turn earlier. Now Llorwyn can only watch as the Hydra is boosted up to 8/8 and then turned to attack along with Exava, forcing Llorwyn to block with its two Scion of Oona. And as Llorwyn draws a Secluded Glen in the following turn, it becomes clear that victory is shining on Dragon's Maze!
Once again, a very close matchup between the two decks, but once again, Llorwyn is forced to taste defeat! In the end, it was decisive an incredible series of cards drawn by Dragon's Maze in the fifth and decisive game - Exava, then Ruric Thar, then Savageborn Hydra. Not many decks could answer something like that, and certainly not Llorwyn on a bad day. The faerie deck swears revenge, while Dragon's Maze advances to the following turn.
Llorwyn 2 - Dragon's Maze 3
Damn, this is a big one. Me and my group weren't playing much Magic in the "Return to Ravnica" period, so we're not familiar with the cards from direct playing experience. And I was sure I read "to target creature or player", I played the card like that and no one actually bothered to check. Big fail sorry.
Apart from the match itself, the card wouldn't make sense in Gatecrash if it can't target creatures. The deck should be modified, even though it's not optimal since the tournament already started. Any suggestion?
For now I'll remove the match summary.
Sorry again for the Gatecrash's disaster. The deck will be fixed and the match retaken for the next update. Since some of the games we play on Magic Workstation, it's easier for a mistake like that to happen than when playing with actual cards. We'll be more careful in coming games, and I'll double check the cards of any deck.
That said, enjoy today's game, hopefully everything's all right this time Have a nice summer, everyone
Monowhite against monoblack, control vs aggro, good vs evil. It doesn't get any more direct than this. Who will win the fight?
Game 1
Scourge starts and gets the first play of the game with a turn two Silver Knight, that is quickly answered by a a Slaughter Drone from Oath. On turn three, Scourge is forced to cycle an Eternal Dragon to find its third Plains, then the Knight is kept on the defensive. Oath plays an Eldrazi Mimic and passes.
On its fourth turn, Scourge plays a Dawn Elemental and passes. So far, it looks like Scourge will successfully keep the aggro deck at bay. But it's also time for Oath to step up its game: a Thought-Knot Seer is played, revealing a Noble Templar, a Daru Warchief, a Dawn Elemental and a Wing Shards. Oath decides to remove the second Dawn Elemental, then thinks for a second whether to attack or not, and decides to pass.
On its turn, Scourge plays a Daru Warchief and passes. Oath plays an Oblivion Strike on the Dawn Elemental, then passes as well. The groundwork is almost completely done: Oath is ready to strike. But Scourge will be found ready: a second Daru Warchief is played. The battle line for Scourge is now a 2/2 First Strike and two 3/5. Oath will have serious troubles getting anything through.
So Oath is forced to exile one of the two daru Warchief from the board with a second Oblivion Strike, then adds a Reaver Drone to the board and passes.
Scourge draws... a Dawn Elemental! Lucky one. The creature is immediately played, then Scourge passes. Oath of the Gatewatch just draws and passes. Scourge plays a Guilty Conscience on the Thought-knot Seer and passes. End of turn, Oath activates a Mirrorpool to put a copy of the Seer in play and remove the Wing Shards from Scourge's hand. Then, on Oath's turn, another Thought-Knot Seer is played to trigger the Mimic Eldrazi, removing a Noble Templar from Scourge's hand. And then it's finally time to attack with all creatures! Scourge blocks the Slaughter Drone with the Silver Knight, killing it. The Seer enchanted with Guilty Conscience is let through, while the other one is blocked by the Dawn Elemental and the Daru Warchief to kill it and draw as many cards as possible (the Daru is killed in combat).
10 damage pass through to Scourge. Definitely a bad hit. Two cards are drawn when the Seers leave play, but it's just two Temple of the False God. On its turn, Scourge draws... a Plains. Not good, not good at all. Will the control deck be able to endure another turn of Eldrazi slaughter? Oath draws and plays another Oblivion Strike ro remove the Dawn Elemental, then attacks with all its creatures. Scourge thinks for a couple of seconds, then block the Mimic with the Knight, killing it, but also taking six more damage and falling down to 4 life points.
On the coming turn, it's another tough choice for Scourge, that finally decides to pay the mana to get the Eternal Dragon back from the graveyard. It turns out to be the right choice, as Scourge only draws another land. The ball goes back to Oath. Can it close the game this turn?
It can't, but sure as hell it can be nasty. After attacking with both creatures (Scourge is forced to chump-block the Seer with the knight and take two damage from the drone), Oath sacrifices another Mirrorpool to bring another Seer token in play – and remove the Eternal Dragon!
And then the enxt turn, Scourge only draws a Silver Knight. Game over. The Eldrazi grasps the first victory with their tentacles, and move on to game two.
Game 2
Scourge gets first turn, but the first play is a turn one Reaver Drone by Oath. Luckily for Scourge, a Silver Knight is ready to go to the rescue, guaranteeing a solid defense to Scourge at least for the following couple of turns. Oath plays a tapped Mirrorpool, then a second Reaver Drone, and passes.
Scourge cycles an Eternal Dragon to fetch a Plains, then plays it and passes.
Oath is now ready to begin its offensive. A Spatial Contortion dissolves the knight into nothingness, clearing the way for the two drones, brining Scourge's life points to 16.
Scourge is stuck at 3 lands, so it cycles a Wipe Clean, but still fails to draw any Plains and is forced to pass. Oath decides to go all in, exploiting its opponent's weakness. A Slaughter Drone and an Eldrazi Mimic are played, while the two Drones strikes for 4 more damage. Scourge draws... one more Wipe Clean! The situation looks dire, as the best Scourge can do is playing three (!) Guilty Conscience on Oath's creature – that won't prevent any damage, but at least should clear the board and give Scourge a chance in the coming turns.
Oath plays a Matter Reshaper, turning the Mimic into a 3/2, then attacks for 9 damage. Oath loses three creatures this way, but Scourge is now down to 3 life points. Can it survive? As it draws a Noble Templar, the answer is certainly no. Oath of the Gatewatch takes the second game by storm, and gets ready to close the match on game 3.
Game 3
The first play is once again a Reaver Drone by Gatewatch, and Scourge, this time without any handy Silver Knight, decides to enchant it with a Guilty Conscience to reduce the damage taken to a minimum. Oath plays a tapped Mirrorpool, then attacks with the suicidal drone before passing.
On Scourge third turn, here comes the cavalry: the always useful Silver Knight to the rescue. On its turn, Oath plays a Matter Reshaper and passes.
Scourge plays a Dawn Elemental and passes. Scourge's defensive line looks good, but Oath has already shown that can easily destroy it. Will it be able to do it this time, as well? For now, Oath plays a Bearer of Silence, paying the additional cost and forcing Scourge to sacrifice the knight. Then Oath passes. Scourge plays a Temple of the False God, then a Noble Templar, and finally passes. Oath doesn't seem particularly worried as it shows a Reality Smasher and passes.
Scourge plays a Daru Warchief and passes. Both decks are stacking up creatures, but clearly this can't go on for long. In fact, Oath looks finally ready to break the loop and begin smashing Scourge. A Thought-knot Seer is played, removing a Wing Shards from Scourge's hand, then a Spatial Contortion takes care of the Dawn Elemental, and Oath is finally ready to strike with all its creatures. Scourge decides to kill the Reality Smasher, blocking it with both its creatures and losing the Warchief in the process. Scourge then takes 5 damage from the remaining attacking creatures.
Scourge has now only a Noble Templar, and an empty hand, but at least the Templar can block any creature Oath has, except the flying Bearer of Silence.
On its turn, Scourge draws and passes. Oath plays a second Bearer of Silence, forcing Scourge to sacrifice the Templar, then attacks with all its creatures. Game over? Not yet, as Scourge shows... a Decree of Justice. Four soldier tokens line up to block and kill the Seer, allowing Scourge to draw two cards – one from the cycling, one from the dead seer. With the usual luck Scourge has had this game, those are two lands! The two other Eldrazi are free to strike for 5 damage, bringing Scourge down to 8. Despite the powerful Decree, still not an optimal situation for the control deck.
Scourge draws a Wipe Clean and cycles it for an Eternal Dragon! If only it had drawn it earlier! The game is almost surely lost, but being the decisive one, Scourge decides to see it to the bitter end, and passes. Oath attacks with its creatures to bring Scourge to one life points.
Then Scourge draws a Silver Knight, and plays both its creatures. Three attacking creatures from Oath, two blocking creatures from Scourge. That's it, then. an unlucky Socurge couldn't hold off the Eldrazi tide. Oath of the Gatewatch wins and moves on to the quarterfinals.
Oath of the Gatewatch 3 - Scourge 0
Today we close up Group B, then will move on to Group C in the coming days. Stay tuned
Back for the rematch! What to say? Gatecrash is still the clear favorite, but Alliances is such a weird deck, you never know. On we go!
Game 1
Gatecrash gets first turn, but it's a very slow start, with the first play being an Orzhov Keyrune, answered by an Elvish Ranger from Alliances. On its following turn, Gatecrash plays an Obzedat, Ghost Council, then passes. Alliances is stuck at three lands – and worse than that, all Forests. For now, then, it decides to pass.
Gatecrash attacks with Obzedat. Alliances thinks for a second, then blocks with the Ranger and throws in a Pyrokinesis to remove the annoying creature (exiling a Balduvian Horde). Gatecrash just shrugs and adds a second Obzedat to the board. Bad news for Alliances, that is still facing its mana troubles, and it's forced to pass again. Gatecrash attacks with Obzedat and then plays an Assemble the Legion. Alliances understands that the game is over, and concedes. A lightning win by Gatecrash, and the two decks move on to game two.
Game 2
Alliances is forced to mulligan. Gatecrash gets to make the first play with a turn two Truefire Paladin, but the valiant knight is immediately removed by an end-of-turn Guerrilla Tactics from Alliances. The second creature to join the battlefield is then an Elvish Ranger from Alliances. Gatecrash doesn't seem much worried, as it plays a Boros Reckoner and passes.
Since Gatecrash doesn't currently have the mana to give the Reckoner First Strike, Alliances decides to attack while it still can, and Gatecrash takes the damage. Not much more to do for Alliances, that for now just passes.
Gatecrash plays its fourth land and passes. Alliances draws a Pillage and decides to immediately use it to keep Gatecrash away from the five lands mark, where most of its dangerous spells lay. Gatecrash plays one more land and passes. Alliances does just the same, and the ball goes back to Gatecrash, that this time adds a Basilica Guards to the board before passing again. More of the same for Alliances, draw, land and pass.
Then it's time for Gatecrash to break the stalemate. First of all, the Reckoner turns sideways to attack, and Alliances decides to take the damage. Then a second Reckoner is played, activating the Extort from the Guards. Finally, a Sacred Foundry is played untapped, allowing Gatecrash to keep one mana open to give First Strike to the Reckoner.
Clearly, the two minotaurs are an headache for Alliances, and most likely an unconquerable defense. But Alliances cannot give up yet, as it draws a Deadly Insect and plays it. Then, Alliances passes. Gatecrash is ready to press the advantage. A Spark Trooper is played (without activating Extort to keep one mana open) and immediately turned to attack along with a Reckoner. Alliances takes the damage from the Trooper, but is forced to try and block at least the Reckoner, sacrificing the Ranger (Gatecrash spends one mana to give First Strike to the minotaur).
Alliances knows in its heart that it's over, but decides to at least try and do as much damage as possible. The Guards are removed by two Guerrilla Tactics, then Alliances attacks with the Deadly Insect. Gatecrash decides to save the Reckoner and takes the damage. Then Gatecrash plays another Basilica Guards, and attacks with one Reckoner. Gatecrash is now down to 6 life points. As Alliances draws a forest, with a Death Spark and a Primitive Justice in hand, there's nothing left to do except concede and move on to game 3.
Game 3
The game starts slow as usual, with the first play being a Pillage from Alliances on a Sacred Foundry. On the following turn, Gatecrash plays a Truefire Paladin and passes. Then it's time for Alliances to drop its first bomb: a Balduvian Horde (Alliances curses when another Pillage gets randomly discarded). Gatecrash plays an untapped Godless Shrine, then a Basilica Guards, and passes. Alliances attacks (Gatecrash takes the damage), adds a second Balduvian Horde to the board (discarding a Deadly Insect), then passes. Gatecrash just plays a land and passes.
Alliances knows it needs to kill its opponent quickly. The two Balduvian Horde attacks, and Gatecrash blocks one of them with the Paladin and the Guards, boosting the Paladin to ensure the kill. The Paladin is, in turn, killed by the Horde, while Gatecrash takes five more damage and falls down to 8. Alliances then plays a Deadly Insect and passes.
Then Gatecrash draws... a Boros Reckober. Here comes the powerful minotaur to the saving... again. Truly and entirely, Alliances's nemesis in this match. Gatecrash can also activate the Extort from the Guards, and still maintain one mana open to give the Reckoner First Strike, if need be.
Luck is still smiling on Alliances, though, as it draws a Pyrokinesis, with exactly six mana in play for it. The burn spell incinerates the Reckoner, that can only place the damage on the Horde. Then, the road is clear once again for the attack, and both creatures are turned sideways. The Insect is blocked by the Guards, while the Horde strikes to bring Gatecrash down to 4.
Gatecrash draws and plays an Obzedat, Ghost Council, then plays its sixth land (a tapped Godless Shrine), and passes. The Horde attacks again, trading for the Ghost Council, then Alliances passes as well. Looking at an empty board, Gatecrash plays a Gideon, Champion of Justice and passes. And then it's over: Alliances draws and plays a Yavimaya Ants, followed by a Guerrilla Tactics, for a total of seven damage. 2-1 for Gatecrash, the two decks move on to game 4.
Game 4
Alliances is forced to mulligan, while Gatecrash gets the first play of the game with a turn three Basilica Guards, answered by Alliances with a turn three Elvish Ranger. Gatecrash adds an High Priest of Penance to the board (activating the Extort from the Guards), then passes. Alliances attacks with the Elvish Ranger, that trades for the High Priest, then passes. Gatecrash plays a Spark Trooper (activating the Extort once again), but the Elemental is unfortunately killed at instant speed by a Guerrilla Tactics. Furthermore, an end of turn Pyrokinesis (exiling a Pillage) kills the Guards, too, clearing the way for the attacks of some Yavimaya Ants on the following turn.
But Gatecrash draws just the right tool for this pesky insect troubles: a Truefire Paladin. Alliances look at the Paladin, thinks for a few seconds, then decides to pay the mana for the upkeep of the Ants, before drawing and passing. On its turn, Gatecrash attacks with the Paladin (Alliances takes the damage), then passes. Alliances doesn't pay the upkeep for the Ants this time, then adds a Balduvian Horde to the board (discarding a second Yavimaya Ants), before passing. Gatecrash shows a sadistic smile and a One Thousand Lashes at the same time, disabling the fearsome red creature before attacking again with the Paladin (boosted to a 4/2, and Alliances falls down to 12 life points).
Luckily for Alliances, it draws and plays a second Balduvian Horde. Unfortunately, Gatecrash has now enough mana to boost the Paladin up to a whopping 8/2 AND give it First Strike at the same time. Alliances must hope to draw a burn spell and remove it – there's no other option. For now, though, it can only pass.
Gatecrash attacks with the Paladin, and Alliances considers the situation. Only 11 life points left, one to be lost from the One Thousand Lashes... and the Paladin can be boosted up to 10/2. No choice then – the Horde sacrifices itself to chump-block the Paladin. Gatecrash boosts him up to 6/2 and gives him First Strike to kill his opponent. Gatecrash then adds an High Priest of Penance to the board and passes. Alliances draws a Mountain... and it's game over!
Gatecrash trampled its opponent, mostly thanks to its MVP, the Boros Reckoner, that proved practically impossible to handle for its opponent without piling up a large amount of card disadvantage. Gatecrash advances to the quarterfinals of Group B.
Alliances 1 - Gatecrash 3
Dissension vs Dark Ascension
Those are two decks I really like, and I'll be very sad to see one of the two leaving on the first match. Certainly, this was not an easy draw for Dissension, that greatly prefer to thrash control and combo decks with its great hand destruction power and quick damage dealing potential. Dark Ascension, on the other hand, is the perfect midrange deck, exactly the category that causes most troubles to Dissension. The decisive cards will most likely be Lyzolda, the Blood Witch on Dissension's side, and Huntmaster of the Fells for Dark Ascension.
Game 1
Dissension wins the roll to start first and gets the first play of the game with a turn two Rakdos Guildmage. Dark Ascension quickly answers with a Strangleroot Geist, that is prudently kept on the defensive. The geis is indeed annoying for Dissension, that can't easily deal with it. So for now it just plays two Seal of Fire and passes.
Dark Ascension draws, plays a land, and gets ready to attack, turning the Geist sideways. Dissension immediately reacts by killing the annoying Spirit (with one Seal), but Dark Ascension shows a Fling in response, sacrificing the Geist to kill the Guildmage – and have it return thanks to undying. Dissension still wants it dead, though – and for good. The second Seal of Fire is sacrificed to remove the Geist.
On its turn, Dissension plays a Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace and then a Rakdos Augermage, before passing. Dark Ascension plays a Predator Ooze and passes. Dissension shows its most diabolic smile as it plays a Hit // Run to kill the Ooze, deal three damage to Dark Ascension, and then attack for three more with the Augermage. Dissension always knows how to hurt its opponent badly!
On its turn, Dark Ascension starts its recovery plan, with a Dawntreader Elk and a Strangleroot Geist. The ball goes back to Dissension, that only has a Squealing Devil in hand. Dissension knows that it can't do any damage to Dark Ascension this turn, considering the Geist in defense, so it's best to start chipping off at Dark Ascension's hand. First of all, the Squealing Devil is played for its basic cost of two mana, emptying Dissension's hand. Then Rix Maadi is activated, forcing Dark Ascension to discard a Flayer of the Hatebound. Then the Rakdos Augermage ability is activated, showing a hand of Hunger of the Howlpack and Vorapede – the dangerous creature is immediately discarded, especially considering that by sacrificing the Elk, Dark Ascension would hit five mana in the coming turn.
Dark Ascension has taken a heavy blow in the last turn, but the situation is still promising. The Elk is sacrificed to fetch a land, allowing Dark Ascension to play Hunger of the Howlpack with the Morbid power-up to turn the Geist into a 5/4. Then, considering the situation, Dark Ascension decides to keep it on the defensive one more turn.
Dissension draws, attacks with the Devil, then plays a Demonfire for 5 damage – Dark Ascension falls down to 7 life points! To make things worse, the Rakdos Augermage is tapped to force Dark Ascension to discard the only card in its hand – another Flayer of the Hatebound.
The game looks headed towards a one-sided conclusion, as even with the boosted Geist, Dark Ascension can't hope to win the damage race. So Dark Ascension hopes and draws... a Mountain! Not good. Dark Ascension passes, and hopes to survive another turn.
But that's not the case. Dissension draws and plays a Hit // Run, killing the Geist for good and also dealing two damage at Dark Ascension – plus the five damage from its two creatures, it's exactly seven. Dissension sweeps game one with the power of its hand disruption, and moves on to game 2.
Game 2
Dark Ascension starts, but it's Dissension to play first with a turn one Seal of Fire. Dark Ascension gets the first creature in play with a turn two Dawntreader Elk. Dissension gets a Gobhobbler Rats in play, then thinks for a second whether to kill the Elk, then decides to keep the Seal for another target. Dark Ascension plays an Evolving Wilds, sacrifice it to get another Forest in play, then passes.
Dissension draws and attacks with the Rats. Dark Ascension blocks with the Elk, then sacrifices the poor animal to fetch another Forest. Dissension then plays a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch, and passes. Not good news for Dark Ascension, as Lyzolda is probably the most dangerous card in Dissension's deck. But Dark Ascension is ready for a big move, too, as it plays a Vorapede (and cross its fingers, hoping that Dissension doesn't have a Hit // Run in hand).
It turns out that it doesn't. The Vorapede stands – and that's definitely trouble for Dissension. For now, the Rakdos deck can only play a Rise // Fall (revealing an Increasing Savagery and a Forest, before passing).
Dark Ascension finally can see a bright future ahead. It took a risk, and got a massive gain for it. Now it's time to press the advantage. First of all, its time to attack. Or more correctly, it should be. The Rats are sacrificed to Lyzolda for two damage to the Vorapede and a card drawn, then the Seal of Fire is sacrificed as well for a total of four damage – and a killed Vorapede. No worries – the huge Insect is immediately back thanks to Undying, but will not attack this turn. So Dark Ascension adds a Predator Ooze and a Dawntreader Elk to the board and passes.
Dissension is forced on the defensive, a position that the aggro deck definitely doesn't like. For now, it can only play a Rakdos Pit Dragon and a Seal of Fire, and then pass.
Dark Ascension is ready to go all out. The Elk is sacrificed to fuel a Morbid Hunger of the Howlpack, turning the Vorapede into a monstruous 9/8, then a Strangleroot Geist is played, and an all-in attack is declared (the Vorapede with Vigilance will still be able to defend next turn, if needed).
Dissension considers the situation. By blocking the Vorapede with all its creatures, it could kill it this turn, but then it would remain totally defenseless (especially considering that Dissension only has two lands in hand at the moment). On the other hand, if Dissension waits and manages to trigger the Hellbent ability of the Dragon, it could trade one on one with the Vorapede with relative ease. The choice is made, then. The Dragon blocks the Geist, killing it (it then returns with Undying), and Dissension takes 11 damage from the other two creatures.
Dissension draws, plays a Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace and activates it to discard the second land in hand, then a Seal of Fire is played to empty its hand and trigger the Hellbent for the dragon – with a red mana open to activate the +1/+0 ability. The Seal of Fire is activated to kill the Geist, and Dissension passes.
Dissension knows its chances are slim, but what it doesn't know, it's that they're about to become zero. As Dark Ascension plays a seventh land, the Flashback ability for Increasing Savagery can be activated. The Vorapede grows beyond Eldrazi's size, and Dissension's destiny is sealed. On to game three.
Game 3
Dissension starts once again with its usual turn one Seal of Fire. Dark Ascension answers with a Wolfbittern Captive. Dark Ascension gets a Rakdos Guildmage in play then, after thinking for a couple of seconds, decides to immediately kill the Captive with the Seal. Dark Ascension plays a Strangleroot Geist, decides not to attack, and passes. On its turn, Dissension plays a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch, and passes.
None of the two decks want to break the balance, for now. Dark Ascension plays a Dawntreader Elk and passes, keeping the mana open to sacrifice it in case of need. Dissension draws and ponders about its options. Considering that Dark Ascension is about to ramp mana with the Elk, Dissension decides to try and neutralize the opponent's threats before they're played,with a Rise/Fall. Luck doesn't seem to be on Dissension's side, though, as the discarded cards are a Wolfbitten Captive (hardly a threat) and the Flashback-able Increasing Savagery. Before the end of Dissension's turn, Dark Ascension sacrifices the Elk to fetch a land.
On its turn, Dark Ascension attacks with the Geist (Dissension decides to take the damage), then plays a Huntmaster of the Fells and passes. Dissension knows that the Huntmaster has to die – too dangerous to keep him alive. So, Dissension gets its fourth land in play and sacrifices the Guildmage to Lyzolda to kill the Huntmaster and draw a card. The other two mana are used on a Demonfire targeted at the Geits, that gets incinerated and immediately exiled from the game. End of turn, Lyzolda and a lonely wolf token look at each other from opposing sides of the board.
Dark Ascension draws and considers the situation. Four lands in play, two Vorapede and a Hunger of the Howlpack in hand. Dark Ascension only needs a land to push the game towards a likely victory. For now, it attacks with the wolf (Dissension takes the damage), and passes.
Dark Ascension draws, plays a Squealing Devil for five mana, boosting Lyzolda +3/+0, then attacks with the witch for six damage. The balance of power looks like it's shifting towards Dissension's side, but Dark Ascension is ready to counterattack. A Dawntreader Elk is played and immediately sacrificed to fetch that precious fifth land, then the Hunger of the Howlpack is played to turn the little wolf into a huge 5/5 beast.
Dissension plays a Gobhobbler Rats, attacks with the Squealing Devil and passes, deciding to first watch Dark Ascension's moves and then react to them. Dark Ascension gets a sixth land in play, then attacks with the Wolf. Dissension blocks it with the Rats, then sacrifices them to Lyzolda for two damage to Dark Ascension and a card drawn. Dark Ascension then plays the first Vorapede and passes.
Dissension attacks again with the Devil, the considers the situation. Seven lands, a Hit // Run in hand, Lyzolda and the Devil in play. Dark Ascension at 10 life points. A Demonfire would close the game, if drawn quickly. Otherwise, Dissension risks to be overpowered by its opponent's larger creatures. Dissension decides to pass without doing anything else.
Dark Ascension attacks with both its creatures, and Dissension decides to block the Wolf with Lyzolda, before sacrificing the witch to her own ability to deal two more damage to Dark Ascension and draw a card. Dissension takes five damage from the Vorapede and falls down to 11. Then Dark Ascension plays its second Vorapede and passes.
Dissension had just drawn a Lyzolda from... Lyzolda's ability, then draws again... another Lyzolda! Dissension decides it's best to keep drawing cards and putting out damage, so it only plays one of the Lyzoldas, ready to activate her ability. The Devil attacks again for two damage,and Dark Ascension falls down to 6 life points.
The attrition war would probably end in Dissension's favor, but Dark Ascensions has a trump card ready to be played... the Increasing Savagery in the graveyard! One of the Vorapede increases to huge size, and thanks to its Trample ability, Dark Ascension can close the game! Game over for Dissension!
Game 4
Dissension starts, while Dark Ascension is forced to mulligan. On turn one, the only movement is a Wolfbitten Captive from Dark Ascension. Dissension doesn't want to fall behind, though, and answers with a Rakdos Guildmage. Dark Ascension draws, plays a land, and passes. The Captive transforms at the beginning of Dissension's upkeep.
Dissension plays its third land, but has a problem: only red mana available. So, for now it plays a second Rakdos Guildmage and passes. Dark Ascension gets a third land in play, decides not to attack,and passes.
No more lands for Dissension, that must choose what to dowith its limited resources. It has a Demonfire in hand, that could kill its opponent's creature, but surely a spell like that it's best used against an Undying creature. It could play a Squealing Devil, but it would immediatelyt die because of no black mana. The other spells in its hand are a Rise // Fall, Hit // Run and Gobhobbler Rats – all require black mana. Dissension simply decides to attack with the two Guildmage. One of them trades with Dark Ascension's creature, the other strikes for two damage.
Dark Ascension is stuck with three lands, as well, but luckily draws and plays a Dawntreader Elk, before passing. Dark Ascension draws a Rakdos Pit Dragon, not particularly useful at the moment. The Rakdos Guildmage attacks, but it's blocked by the Elk, that gets immediately sacrificed to fetch the much needed fourth land.
On its turn, Dark Ascension plays a Huntmaster of the Fells and passes. Bad news for Dissension. Luckily, the Rakdos deck draws its fourth land. Unluckily, it's another Mountain! Dissension's priority at the moment is removing the Huntmaster before it can do much damage, and there goes the Demonfire. Dissension then passes.
But there are more bad news coming for Dissension. After attacking with the wolf token (Dissension takes the damage), Dark Ascension shows a second Huntmaster! Can Dissension find an answer quickly? Only if it draws a removal... but the top card of Dissension's deck is a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch. Dissension can still play the Rakdos Pit Dragon to prevent the Huntmaster from transforming, and the dragon is a very strong creature, but surely the inertia of the game seems to be moving towards Dark Ascension.
And surely much more so, as an Increasing Savagery is played on the Huntmaster, turning him into a fearsome 7/7. Dark Ascension attacks with all its creatures, and Dark Ascension decides to chumpblock the Huntmaster with the Guildmage, taking only 4 damage.
Dissension draws yet another Mountain, and starts to despair. The situation is dire and a comeback looks impossible, but never say never. Dissension passes, and the Huntmaster transforms, dealing two more damage to Dissension and two to the Dragon. Once again, Dark Ascension attacks with all its creatures, then shows a Fling – with Dissension at 12 life points, the math is simple: Dark Ascension wins the fourth game! The endurance of the undying deck proved too much for the blazing fast aggro deck. Dark Ascension moves on to the next round of Battle of the Sets!
Dissension 1 - Dark Ascension 3
Magic 2014 vs Arabian Nights
An interesting matchup featuring two streamlined aggro decks. Arabian Nights is the fastest one, with the potential for being one of the most explosive decks in the tournament. Magic 2014 is more mid-rangeish, stacking up Slivers to create an unstoppable horde. Arabian Nights has not much in terms of removal (the sole Oubliette), so it's vital that the game is closed quickly, or the Sliver deck will surely gain the upper hand.
Game 1
Magic 2014 gets first turn and starts with a Mutavault, followed by a Manaweft Sliver on turn two. Arabian Nights seems to be having a slow start, and the next play is once again from Magic 2014: a Hive Stirrings. Lots of mana for Magic 2014... will the deck show some bomb in the nect turn? Time will tell. In the meantime, it's Arabian Nights's turn to make its first move, a Serendib Efreet.
On its next turn, Magic 2014 can only show a Sentinel Sliver... mana flood trouble, perhaps? It certainly seems so, as it would have at least seven mana available. Bad news for Magic 2014, good news for Arabian Nights, that adds a Juzám Djinn to the board and attacks for three with the Efreet.
Magic 2014 draws... one more Manaweft Sliver! But Magic 2014 can't just sit back forever, so it attacks with all its creatures: the Sentinel Sliver, the two tokens, the other Manaweft Sliver and the animated Mutavault. Arabian Nights decides to block the Sentinel Sliver with the Djinn, and takes the remaining damage, falling down to 13 (and then 11 at the beginning of its next upkeep).
Arabian Nights, faithful to its nature of suicide aggro deck, goes all in with another Juzám Djinn, then casts an Unstable Mutation on the Serendib Efreet and attacks with both the Djinn and the Efreet. The Djinn is chump-blocked by a Sliver token, while the Efreet can strike for six damage uncontested.
Magic 2014 draws... one more land! With not much damage potential left, it decides to pass and hope to draw something useful in the coming turn. Arabian Nights plays a Sorceress Queen, then attacks with the Efreet and one Djinn, forcing Magic 2014 to sacrifice the remaining Sliver token and still fall down to 6 life points for the damage from the efreet.
And then finally Magic 2014 draws a Bonescythe Sliver. Too little too late? Probably so, but Magic 2014 still declares to attack with all its creatures. The animated Mutavault is blocked by the Djinn that Arabian Nights kept in defense, while one of the Slivers crashes on the Sorceress Queen. The remaining one can hit Arabian Nigjhts for two damage, but it's not enough. The following turn, Arabian Nights has an open way to victory by attacking with all its creatures.
Game 2
Magic 2014 hopes for some more luck this time around. The start is not bad with a Mutavault, but it pales in comparison with the Library of Alexandria played by Arabian Nights. Still, Magic 2014 can't get discouraged yet, so on its second turn plays its first creature with a Predatory Sliver. Arabian Nights start drawing cards with the Library (end of Magic 2014 turn), then plays an Erg Raiders and passes.
Magic 2014 gets a second Predatory Sliver in play and attacks with the other one. Arabian Nights knows that the Erg Raiders will have to attack on its following turn, and it's definitely going to die, so it's better they at least sacrifice themselves on the defensive, preventing the damage.
On its turn, Arabian Night plays a Serendib Efreet and passes. The 3/4 should be able to keep at bay the Slivers until Arabian Nights can bring more large creatures to the battlefield.
Magic 2014 seems to be having mana screw problems this time, and can only draw and pass for the time being. Arabian Nights draws, then activates the Library of Alexandria, plays a land and a Sorceress Queen. After considering the situation, the best course of action seems once more to keep the Efreet on the defensive, so Arabian Nights passes.
Lukckily, Magic 2014 draws a Manaweft Sliver. This one is immediately played, then the two Predatory Sliver and the third land are tapped to play a Hive Stirrings. Things finally look on the upside for Magic 2014. How will Arabian Nights respond?
By playing a Serendib Djinn and atacking with the Serendib Efreet. The balance of power is broken – all hell is about to break loose. And in fact, here comes a Megantic Sliver! There are two untapped Predatory Sliver and a Sliver token, and all of them are now 6/6, and ready to attack. Bad news for Arabian Nights, that can't actually do much about it. The best course of action is blocking two of the three slivers with the Sorceress Queen and the Serendib Djinn, then activating the Queen on the Sliver blocked by the Efreet. This turns the 1/1 into 0/2, and then 5/7 after the buffs from the other slivers,allowing the djiin to survive. The Sorceress Queen then dies, but at least Arabian Nights has only got 6 damage from this combat phase.
It's all or nothing now. Arabian Nights plays an Oubliette on the Megantic Sliver, then an Unstable Mutation on the Serendib Efreet, and attacks with both its creatures for 11 damage. Magic 2014 falls down to 6 life points, but on its next turn shows a Bonescythe Sliver, and that's game over for Arabian Nights. The two decks stand on 1-1, and move to game 3.
Game 3
Arabian Nights starts this game and begins the offensive with a turn two Erg Raiders. Magic 2014 has nothing to play on its second turn, so Arabian Night can add another Erg Raiders, then cast an Unstable Mutation on the first one, and attack for 5. Definitely not a promising beginning for Magic 2014, and even more so since it has nothing to play on turn three, as well.
And as Magic 2014 struggles to even start the game,Arabian Nights is already close to finishing it: a Serendib Efreet is played on the fourth turn, along with a second Unstable Mutation on the remaining Erg Raiders. Then Arabian Nights attacks for 9, and Magic 2014 is already at 6 life points.
Magic 2014 could finally play a Bonescythe Sliver, but that wouldn't be enough. Instead of wasting any more time, Magic 2014 concedes and moves on to game 4.
Game 4
Magic 2014 begins the game with a Mutavault, followed on the second turn by a Sentinel Sliver. Arabian Nights on its side got a turn one Library of Alexandria, followed by a turn two Erg Raiders. Both decks are trying to avoid losing ground this time – Magic 2014 knows by now how Arabian Nights can easily become deadly in the early game.
On turn three Magic 2014 adds a second Mutavault to the board, then after considering the situation decides to pass. Arabian Nights activates the Library, then plays a second Erg Raiders and attacks with the first one – Magic 2014 decides to take the damage.
The following tun, Magic 2014 plays its first bomb: a Bonescythe Sliver. Still, being the Raiders a 2/3 and not wanting to lose any creature, decides to pass without attacking. Arabian Nights activates the Library once again, then plays a Serendib Efreet and attacks with both the Raiders – Magic 2014 once more decides to take the damage.
On its turn, Magic 2014 plays a Manaweft Sliver, then animates a Mutavault and attacks with it and the Sentinel Sliver. Arabian Nights thinks for a second, then decides to trade the Serendib Efreet for the Sentinel Sliver, taking only 4 damage.
Arabian Nights main trouble at the moment is having only one black mana source in play, despite all the cards drawn with the Library. So for this turn it only plays an Unstable Mutation on one of the Erg Raiders and attacks with both. Magic 2014 decides to take the damage, falling at seven life points.
On its turn Magic 2014 plays a Groundshaker Sliver, then turns its small Sliver Army to attack for six damage. The next turn will be decisive, both decks can feel it. Arabian Nights needs that second swamp, to play an Oubliette and remove the dangerous Groundshaker Sliver... so it draws... activates the Library to draw again... and no Swamp. What incredible bad luck! Arabian Nights adds one more Island to the board, plays a Serendib Djinn, then after thinking for a second decides to keep the Raiders on the defensive. Sure,each one of them will deliver two points of damage to Arabian Nights itself, but at least each one can block a 2/2 sliver and kill it.
Or at least, that was the original idea. Magic 2014 draws and plays a Predatory Sliver, then attacks with all its creatures. There are one 6/6, three 3/3 and one 2/2, all with double strike and trample. The math is simple: Arabian Nights is dead. 2-2 and moving on to the decisive match.
Game 5
Arabian Nights starts, but has nothing to play on its first two turns. Magic 2014, on its side, plays a turn 1 Mutavault, that is animated to attack on turn 2. Turn three sees the first play of the game from Arabian Nights, in the shape of a Serendib Efreet. Magic 2014 just adds a second Mutavault to the board and passes.
Arabian Nights plays a Sorceress Queen, then an Unstable Mutation on the Serendib Efreet, and attacks for 6. On its turn, Magic 2014 plays a Bonescythe Sliver and passes.
Arabian Nights feels a situation of advantage and attacks again with the Efreet for 5 damage, before playing a Serendib Djinn. Looking at the board, Arabian Nights will be able to attack for 9 damage in the following turn, with flying creatures, killing Magic 2014.
Can the slivers deck do something about it? Is it able to kill its opponent this turn? The answer to both answer is, unfortunately, no. Even attacking with all its creatures, Magic 2014 has a damage potential of only 12 damage, and Arabian Nights could easily block two creatures
And with that, the final game is quickly over. Magic 2014 showed its main weakness, unable to deal with the opponent's fliers. Arabian Nights earn a deserved victory and moves on to the quarterfinals of Group B.
Magic 2014 2 - Arabian Nights 3
Two midrange decks face off in today's first game. Alara Reborn's more rock-ish build offer some removal, that could be essential in dealing with Judgment's key pieces. On Judgment's side are the innate resilience of its creatures, and Mirari's Wake, one of the defining cards of those years of old Magic history.
Game 1
Alara Reborn starts first and gets the first play with a turn two Qasali Pridemage. Judgment is only playing lands for now (one of them being a Krosan Verge), so Alara Reborn can attack for 2 and then play a Behemoth Sledge. Judgemtn adds one more land to the board, sacrifices the Krosan Verge and passes. Alara Reborn attacks for 2 more, plays a Marisi's Twinclaws and passes. Bad news for Judgment: the Twinclaws equipped with the Slede might definitely be bad news for the phantom deck, especially given its slow start. But Judgment draws, plays one more land... and passes again! What's going on here?
Alara Reborn gets ready to wreak havoc. The Sledge is equipped to the Twinclaws, and both creatures are turned to attack. Judgment smiles... and reveals a Chastise! The Twinclaws is destroyed, and Judgment gains 5 life points. To complete the comeback, Judgment on its turn plays a Phantom Flock, then passes.
But Alara Reborn is not out of cards to play, as a second Twinclaws is immediately played. Can Judgment find another answer? Maybe not a direct answer, but two Elephant Guide casted on the Phantom Flock are surely a good start! The huge bird is kept on the defensive, though, as the Sledge means that Alara Reborn will surely win any damage race. Judgment passes.
Alara Reborn draws a Maelstrom Pulse, and starts chuckling devilishly. The powerful sorcery is immediately played to remove both Elephant Guide-s, and while there's no mana left to enchant the Twinclaws, the cat warrior is definitely capable of handling the phantom bird. The Twinclaws is then turned to attack, and Judgment decides to take the damage directly instead of blocking.
Comes Judgment's turn, and a Mirari's Wake, plus a Phantom Nantuko are played. Alara Reborn doesn't want to keep the Wake in play one second more than necessary, and the Pridemage immediately sacrifices himself to remove it. Judgment then passes, preparing for the worst. And the worst happens when the Twinclaws is equipped with the Sledge and turned sideways. A 4/6 trample, lifelink, and double strike. Not much Judgment can do against it, unfortunately, so it decides to block it with the Phantom Flock, that loses two of its counters, but manages to soak most of the damage from the opponent's creature.
Judgment would truly need another Chastise right now, but it just draws a Forest. So it plays a land and passes, preparing for one more onslaught from the Twinclaws. Alara Reborn is ready to do even more than the previous turn, though, as it plays a Knight of New Alara, boosting the Twinclaws up to 7/9. The cat warrior is then turned to attack, and Judgment tries to reduce damage by blocking with the Phantom Nantuko, that also taps to gain a third +1/+1 counter. The Nantuko survives, with only one counter left, but Judgment is now dangerously low on life points, while Alara Reborn sits comfortably at 42.
Judgment draws a Phantom Centaur – not bad, but not enought to save Judgment against the almighty Twinclaws. Judgment concedes, and the two decks move on to game 2.
Game 2
Judgment starts, but is forced to mulligan once before finding a suitable hand. Still, the first play is from Alara Reborn, with a Grizzled Leotau. Judgment is ready to answer quickly, though, with a Phantom Nantuko. Alara Reborn draws, plays a Behemoth Sledge, and passes. Judgment looks worried. The Sledge definitely won Alara Reborn the previous game, and Judgment has got no direct answers to it. Still, the game has just begun. Judgment plays a Krosan Verge, then an Unquestioned Authority on the Phantom Nantuko, and passes.
Alara Reborn draws a Marisi's Twinclaws and immediately plays it, recreating the team that annihilated Judgment in the previous game. Judgment plays an Elephant Guide on the Nantuko and passes. Now, the Nantuko is an unkillable 5/5 (soon to become 6/6 thanks to its ability). More than unkillable, it will prevent any damage received from creatures. So, Alara Reborn is currently unable to press the offensive. A Knight of New Alara is then played,and Alara Reborn passes (EoT the Nantuko taps to add one counter). On its turn, Judgment plays a Mirari's Wake, then a Phantom Nomad, then passes. All in all, things are going well for Judgment. Only two cards can really ruin the party now: Qasali Pridemage and Maelstrom Pulse.
Alara Reborn seems to have none for the moment. But thanks to the lifelink from the Sledge, Alara Reborn can rest assured that the Nantuko must be kept on the defensive... at least until it's big enough to kill in one turn,and that's far from coming. Alara Reborn plays its sixth land, equips the Sledge to the Twinclaws, and plays a secon Sledge, before passing (one more counter on the Nantuko).
Judgment plays a second Mirari's Wake, then sacrifices a Krosan Verge and plays a Phantom Flock. The flying creature means trouble for Alara Reborn, that cannot block it. The stalemate is finally broken, but what can Alara Reborn do against the immortal Nantuko? For now, it plays a seventh land, a second Knight of New Alara, and equips the second Sledge to the Twinclaws. The Twinclaws is now a huge 12/14, trample, double strike and lifelink. Enough to end most games, but not this one. The Nantuko is a 9/9 (10/10 once it can tap itself to add one more counter), and will completely prevent any damage. Add the Flock to the equation, and the Twinclaws will die without doing any damage to Judgment, and netting less than 10 life points to Alara Reborn. Considering that Judgment will not be able to kill in a single blow in the following tun, Alara Reborn decides to wait for the moment.
Judgment draws, attacks with the Flock for five damage, then passes. Alara Reborn draws... a Maelstrom Pulse! Yes! Luck is on its side. After thinking for some seconds, Alara Reborn decides to kill the Nantuko, then plays a Mycoid Shepherd and – after looking at the card in Judgment's hand with a little worry - attacks with the Twinclaws. Judgment shakes its head (the card in hand was a Forest, not played to bluff a Chastise). Judgment must now block with both its untapped creatures (one being the 3/3 token from the Guide), and without the Nantuko preventing the damage, Alara Reborn gains 24 life points and can now look at the game with much more tranquillity.
Judgment draws a Phantom Nantuko. Not enough. Once again, the phantom deck concedes before being utterly crashed. Alara Reborn sees the quarterfinals as the two decks move to game 3.
Game 3
This time is Alara Reborn's turn to take a mulligan, and as usual make the first play with a Qasali Pridemage. Judgment seems to be going very slow once again, with only lands in play, while Alara Reborn is stuck at two lands, but plays a second Qasali Pridemage before attacking and passing.
Still no play from Judgment, then Alara Reborn attacks with the two Pridemage, gets a third land in play and plays a Grizzled Leotau.
From then, the game is quickly over. Judgment still can't play anything, while Alara Reborn gets its fourth land and a Knight of New Alara – the Pridemage are now 4/4, and the Leotau 3/7. There's no way Judgment can come back from this situation, and is quickly crushed for a somewhat incredible 3-0 victory for Alara Reborn. Certainly, a little luck helped Alara Reborn, but in the end its capability to remove the opponent's key pieces with Qasali Pridemage and Maelstrom Pulse was crucial to the victory. Alara Reborn moves on to the quarterfinals.
Alara Reborn 3 - Judgment 0
Shadowmoor vs Magic 2011
Two decks that speak a very different language. On one side, Shadowmoor's blazing fast aggro, one of the best in the format. On the other side, the still new and untested land destruction deck from M11. All bets are open - who is going to win?
Game 1
Shadowmoor gets first turn, but doesn't have a one-mana drop in hand, while Magic 2011 starts the game with a Birds of Paradise. We won't have to wait long to see Shadowmoor begin the offensive, though, as a turn two Mudbrawler Cohort immediately attacks for one damage. M11 quietly keeps ramping up mana, with a turn two Cultivate. Then it's once again Shadowmoor's turn, and the aggro deck plays an Ashenmoor Gouger, before attacking for two with the Cohort.
M11 plays a land, then a Fireball to remove the Gouger, and passes. Shadowmoor plays a Murderous Redcap, looks for a second at the Birds, then decides to throw the damage directly at M11, and finally attacks with the Cohort and passes.
M11 plays a Mistifying Maze and passes. On its turn, Shadowmoor plays a Demigod of Revenge and attacks with all its creatures. The Demigod is removed by the Maze, M11 takes four damage and falls down to 11. The situation is not yet critical, but may soon be. M11 has to find an answer quickly.
And then M11 draws a Destructive Force. M11 considers the situation. Sure, the land destruction spell is best cast with a Titan on the board, but no Titan was drawn so far, and Shadowmoor is slowly gaining momentum. Plus, Magic 2011 has four lands in hand, so it can rebuild its mana base quickly. The only annoying thing is the Murderous Redcap, but it will be a 1/1, and can probably be handled in a few turns. M11 decides to play the powerful spell, and reset the board.
No land to play for Shadowmoor, that can only attack with the Redcap and pass. The situation stays stationary for a couple of turns, until Shadowmoor can finally draw a land and play a Tattermunge Maniac. Luckily for M11, the following turn an Obstinate Baloth comes into play on its side, raising its life points to 11 and, more importantly, dropping a good body to block the small creatures from Shadowmoor. On the following turn, the poor Maniac is forced to attack and suicide itself on the waiting Baloth. With only one land in play, the situation does not really look good for Shadowmoor right now.
M11 hits five mana and can once again activate the Maze, if needed. So, the Baloth is turned to attack for 4 damage, then M11 passes. Shadowmoor gets a second land in play, then a Vexing Shusher, then passes. M11 gets a second Baloth in play, attacks with the other one, and passes. Shadowmoor gets a third land in play, plays an Ashenmoor Gouger, and passes.
And then, with a thundering roar, a Primeval Titan walks on the battlefield! The two Baloth are ready to attack again,confident in the giant at their back, and with the Gouger unable to block, Shadowmoor can only drop to 4, and concede. M11 was able to stem the quick offensive of the aggro deck with its powerhouse card Destructive Force, and then gain control of the game. Shadowmoor knows that will have to hit even quicker, and adapt its strategies to its opponent. Will the aggro deck be able to make a comeback in the coming games?
Game 2
Shadowmoor starts quick this time, with a turn one Tattermunge Maniac, answered by a Birds of Paradise from M11. No turn two play from Shadowmoor, that attacks with the Maniac and passes. M11 only plays a land and passes. Shadowmoor attacks again with the Maniac, only to see the poor Goblin annihilated by a Lightning Bolt, then plays a second Maniac and passes. Things don't seem to be going all too well for the aggro deck, that hasn't managed to seem really threatening so far. Even more so, since M11 plays a turn three Obstinate Baloth, gaining 4 precious life points and practically blocking any possible offensive from Shadowmoor.
Or at least, that would be the plan, but Shadowmoor has different programs. A Flame Javelin is cast at the Baloth, taking him out of the equation and allowing the Maniac to strike for two more damage. To make things worse for M11, the ramp deck is incredibly struck at three mana (plus the Birds), and that's definitely a much needed assist for Shadowmoor. M11 decides to safeguard its life points as much as possible, playing a Fireball for four mana: one damage to the Maniac, one damage to Shadowmoor.
They say revenge is best served cold, but not for Shadowmoor: a Murderous Redcap is immediately played to kill the Birds, making M11 mana problems imediately worse. M11 only draws and passes. Then Shadowmoor is finally ready to unleash its full potential: a Demigod of Revenge is played, and immediately turns to attack, along with the Redcap. M11 plays a Lightning Bolt to kill the Redcap, taking the full damage from the Demigod. On its turn, M11 draws a Destructive Force, and still has no lands to play. After watching its opponent add a Boggart Ram-Gang to the board, M11 understands the game is over, and concedes to move on to game 3.
Game 3
Shadowmoor is forced to take a mulligan. M11 starts first and starts quite well, with a turn one Birds of Paradise followed by a turn two Sylvan Ranger. Shadowmoor, on the other hand, is quite slow and has no play on the first two turns. Finally, on its third turn, Shadowmoor gets its first play: an Ashenmoor Gouger. M11 gets a second Sylvan Ranger in play, attacks with the other one, and passes. Shadowmoor attacks with the Gouger, that is blocked by the untapped Ranger. Then M11 plays a Lightning Bolt to deal the remaining three damage and kill the 4/4 Elemental. Shadowmoor has nothing more to do, unfortunately, and passes.
On its turn, M11 just plays a Cultivate, attacks with the Ranger, then passes. The situation looks calm enough, but it's only the quiet before the storm. On the following turn, Shadowmoor plays its fifth land and a Demigod of Revenge, immediately attacking for five damage. M11 thinks for a second about blocking wth the Birds of Paradise, then decides not to. On its turn, the ramp deck plays an Obstinate Baloth, attacks with the Ranger, then passes.
It's all or nothing for Shadowmoor now, that plays a second Demigod of Revenge and attacks with both. One of them is blocked by the Birds, and M11 falls down to 14. Then, it's once again M11's turn. After attacking with the Baloth and the Ranger, the ramp deck thinks for a few seconds. In the end, the safest choice is one: Destructive Force! As in game one, the powerful spell comes down to wipe the board almost completely clean. Sahdowmoor remains with one land and three cards in hand, M11 with two lands and three cards in hand. Back to square one. Shadowmoor on its turn plays a land and passes – good news for M11, that is quickly recovering: one more land is played, then a Birds of Paradise. The game stalls for the next couple of turns, then Sahdowmoor decides to throw a Burn Trail to the Birds, in order to slow down its opponent.
Things speed up again the following turn. First M11 plays a Cultivate, getting back to five lands. Then Shadowmoor gets a Mudbrawler Cohort in play, retaking the offensive. The following turn, Sahdowmoor adds an Ashenmoor Gouger to the fight, and with M11 at 10 life points, the situation is clearly not optimal for the ramp deck.
Can M11 survive this renewed offensive from its opponent? There's only one answer, the usual one. Destructive Force. M11 hits seven lands again, and unleash the red sorcery for the second time in a row, cleaning the board once more. The game crawls down to an almost complete stop again. Sahdowmoor draws only one land in the next six turns, and a couple of Tattermunge Maniac are quickly removed by a Lightning Bolt and a Fireball. M11 draws a few more lands, and when finally hitting six unleashes an Inferno Titan. From that, the game is quickly over.
Game 4
Shadowmoor is starting quicker this time,with a turn two Mudbrawler Cohort followed by a turn three Ashenmoor Gouger. On its side, M11 has actually a very good hand, but no green mana – and it isn't drawing any! Shadowmoot on turn four adds a Vexing Shusher and a second Mudbrawler Cohort, and while its opponent is still struggling, on turn five close the deal with an all-out attack from its creatures. This time, the blazing fast aggro lived up to its reputation, and M11 was quickly dispatched by the red onslaught. On to the decisive game 5!
Game 5
Shadowmoor has to mulligan again, but at least gets a good start with a turn one Tattermunge Maniac followed by a turn two Mudbrawler Cohort. The Cohort is quickly dealt by a Lightning Bolt from M11, that for now is just stacking up mana. On its third turn, Shadowmoor attacks with the Maniac and plays an Ashenmoor Gouger. This time, M11 is ready to answer in kind, and on its fourth turn plays an Obstinate Baloth.
Shadowmoor is sort of having mana flood trouble, and while unable to play anything except a land, can still attack with both its creatures. M11 decides to block the Maniac with the Baloth, taking 4 damage from the Gouger. On its following turn, M11 adds a Mistifying Maze to the board, before attacking with the Baloth for 4 damage. Still only lands drawn from Shadowmoor, with the Gouger easily kept at bay by M11 with the Maze. On the following turn, M11 plays a Sylvan Ranger and a Cultivate, before attacking for 4 more damage with the Baloth.
Shadowmoor finally draws and plays a Vexing Shusher, then attacks again with the Gouger, that is chump-blocked by the Ranger. Things are looking good for M11, that adds a second Baloth to the board, before attacking with the other one to bring Shadowmoor down to 8 life points. M11 shows a Fireball and a Mountain in its hand. Adding to the eight lands already in play, this means a clean 8 damage right on Shadowmoor's face. And since the aggro deck can't possibly kill its opponent in one turn... it's game over! Quite surprisingly, M11 eliminates one of the favorites to the final victory, and advances to the quarterfinals. Destructive Force shows all its potential and metagame breaking power, in a format that's scarcely equipped to deal with land destruction on a mass scale. How far will M11 be able to go?
Shadowmoor 2 - Magic 2011 3
Theros vs Journey into Nyx
It's always interesting to see matches featuring decks from the same block. They tend to be compatible, having similar speed and/or mechanics.
Game 1
Journey into Nyx wins the roll and starts with a turn 2 Aegis of the Gods, that is promptly answered by a Sylvan Caryatid on the other side of the board. On the following turn, Nyx plays a Grim Guardian and passes. On its turn, Theros taps for four and plays a Polis Crusher. The Protection from Enchantments is definitely bad news for Nyx, potentially gamebreaking. But the game is just getting started. Nyx plays a Temple of Malady, then a second Grim Guardian. The two decks seems to be setting up for a long game.
Theros plays a second Sylvan Caryatid, then a Voyaging Satyr. There are four creatures on the board for Theros, more than enough to control the enemy's offensive. The Polis Crusher is then turned to attack, practically unblockable for Nyx, bringing the opponent's life points down to 19.
Nyx gets its fifth land in play and plays an Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. The Aegis of the Gods is boosted up to 3/2, and one of the two Guardians up to 3/6. These two creatures are then turned to attack. Nyx decides to chump-block with the Satyr, taking only three damage. Still, that Ajani is definitely something that needs to be taken care of.
So Theros decides to answer with brute force. A Stormbreath Dragon is played and, along with the Polis Crusher, amounts to more than enough damage to kill the planeswalker. Still, Theros is exposed again. Nyx takes a look at the cards in its hand: one Banishing Light, one Eidolon of Blossoms. The Banishing Light is useless against both the Dragon and the crusher, so Nyx decides to play the Eidolon, triggering the Guardians and drawing a card... another Banishing Light. Oh, well. Finally Nyx attacks with its three able creatures, with Theros deciding to block with both the Caryatids (one dies) and taking only three damage.
Theros is now at 9 life points, and it's definitely a possibility to be killed by the damage from the Guardians. Luckily, Theros has precisely the right man (or giant) for the job. The Polis Crusher is turned monstrous, then unleashed on Nyx, that takes 7 damage and sees one of the two guardians destroyed (the one with the +1/+1 counters from Ajani, obviously). The dragon is kept on the defensive, and Theros passes.
Nyx draws a land, and is stuck with two Banishing Lights in hand, that cannot target anything on Theros's side of the board. Considering the situation, the best course of action seems to deal as much damage as possible, so Nyx attacks with all its three creaturs. Theros decides to block and kill the Guardian, taking five damage and falling down to 4.
The game would be over now if Theros had two red mana sources, as it could activate the Monstruous ability for the Dragon and attack for 14 damage. But Theros only has one red mana source, and therefore Nyx can live one more turn. Theros attacks with the Crusher, destroys the Eidolon, then plays a Xenagos, the Reveler, activates its +1 ability and uses that mana to play an Arbor Colossus. Finally, it passes.
Nyx now has a legal target for Banishing Light, but nothing to trigger with it. It has no way of dealing 4 damage to Theros this turn, and in the coming turn it will certainly be game over. Nothing else to do than concede and move on to game 2.
Game 2
Nyx starts the game with a turn one Temple of Malady, followed by a turn two Brain Maggot. Theros has in hand a Temple of Triumph, two Forest, one Mountain, one Polukranos, World Eater, one Sylvan Caryatid, one Fleecemane Lion. The Lion will surely be annoying, but the most dangerous card is definitely Polukranos, and that's immediately removed. On its turn, as expected, Theros plays the Lion and passes. Nyx plays a Grim Guardian and passes. Theros plays the Temple of Triumph, then the Sylvan Cariatid, and finally passes. Nyx seems to be short on cards to play, as it only adds a Temple of Malady to the board before passing.
Theros is finally ready to shake things up a bit. It plays a Xenagos, the Reveler; activates its +0 ability to create a Satyr token, then considers the situation and decides to pass for the moment. Nyx is ready to answer, though, with a Doomwake Giant. Nyx, too, decides to pass without attacking.
Theros decides that the Giant is too dangerous and throws a Destructive Revelry at it, before creating another token and finally attacking with all its creatures. Nyx is able to block the Lion with the Guardian, and takes 4 damage from the Satyr tokens. Nyx must now seize the opportunity to try and remove that Xenagos: a Dictate of Heliod is played, and Nyx's two creatures dash towards the planeswalker, with Theros unable to do anything to save it.
It's now Theros turn, that must do as much damage as possible, working on the opening left from Nyx. All its three creatures attack for a total of 7 damage (Nyx falls down to 10), then an Arbor Colossus is played. Bad news for Nyx.
But not all hope is lost, as an Ajani, Mentor of Heros is played by Nyx, putting three +1/+1 counters on the Grim Guardian, that is now a powerful 6/9. Theros doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it plays a Stormbreath Dragon and simply flies over Nyx's blockers to bring the opponent's life points down to 6. Nyx needs something to survive the dragon, and quickly. It draws an Eidolon of Blossoms, then activates the second +1 ability from Ajani, revealing a Dictate of Heliod, another Ajani, a Forest, and another Eidolon. Nyx decides to take the Eidolon, then plays one of the two, drawing a Brain Maggot. The Maggot is played as well (Theros has only a Mountain in hand, so nothing to remove), allowing to draw a Mana Confluence. And that's it. Nyx has 8 life points, and no way to survive the Dragon as it will get monstruous (including the damage from the activation of the ability). Game over. The two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Nyx starts with a Temple of Malady, Theros answers with a Temple of Abandon. On the following turn, Nyx plays a Brain Maggot, revealing a hand of one Temple of Abandon, one Forest, two Plains, one Xenagos, the Reveler, and TWO Stormbreath Dragon. Those are definitely Nyx's number one danger, and so one of the two is removed. On its turn, Theros plays a Sylvan Caryatid and passes. Nyx plays a Kruphix's Insight, gaining an Aegis of the Gods, a Doomwake Giant and a Banishing Light.
Theros plays the Xenagos, creating a Satyr token, then passes. Nyx gets an Eidolon of Blossoms into play, then passes. Theros sees its opponent drawing more and more cards, and knows that it must act quickly or seriously risk losing the game. The Stormbreath Dragon is then played, by activating the +1 ability from Xenagos, and turned to attacks for 4 damage. Nyx plays a Temple of Malady tapped, then a Banishing Light to remove the Satyr token, and attacks Xenagos with both the Eidolon and the Maggot. The Eidolon is blocked by the Caryatid, while the Maggot manages to deal one damage.
Nyx is now sitting at 14 life points (the damage from the dragon plus two activations of Mana Confluence). It has 7 cards in hand. The math is relatively simple: the +1 ability from Xenagos is activated, fueling the Monstruous activation from the Dragon for 7 damage, and 7 more damage from attacking. Nyx stands shocked, completely dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. But there's no mistaking it: Theros won very convincingly, moving to the group quarterfinals. The decisive factor were those Monstruous creatures that could not be blocked, nor removed, by Nyx: the Polis Crusher in the first game, and the Stormbreath Dragon.
Theros 3 - Journey into Nyx 0
Nemesis vs Exodus
Nemesis is not a fast deck, and relies only on creature damage to kill its opponents. That's exactly the type of decks Exodus prays upon, so it's easy to say this should be a one-sided match. Nemesis's only hope is using Parallax Tide, possibly multiple copies of it, to slow down its opponent long enough to deal the killing blow before Exodus's soft lock is in place.
Game 1
The match does not start well for Nemesis, forced to mulligan twice and also losing the roll for first turn to Exodus. The first move is by Exodus, with a turn two Pigmy Troll, answered by a Cloudskate from Nemesis. On its turn, Exodus attacks with the Troll (Nemesis takes the damage), then passes (it has two Oath of Ghouls in hand, but at the moment it might just end up in Nemesis's favor). Nemesis draws a card with Accumulated Knowledge, attacks with the Cloudskate, then plays a Seal of Removal. The ball goes back to Exodus, that attacks with the Troll, then plays its fourth land and quickly after, a Spike Weaver. Bad news for Nemesis, but not everything is lost yet.
Nemesis gets its fourth land in play, as well, then plays a Parallax Tide to remove three lands from Exodus. The Spike Weaver is then bounced with the Seal of Removal, and Nemesis it's sure it won't be coming back for the next three turns. Finally, two more damage are dealt from the Cloudskate. Exodus can only get another land in play, attack with the Troll, and pass. The Cloudskate dies, but it's quickly replaced by a second one played by Nemesis. Once gain, it's Exodus's turn, that plays another land, attacks with the troll, and passes again.
One more turn until the lands go back to Exodus, but Nemesis just won't have it that way... and there comes a second Parallax Tide, removing three more lands from Exodus. As it stands, Exodus won't be able to play its Spike Weaver in the coming turn. The Cloudskate is turned to attack, bringing Exodus down to 12, then Nemesis passes.
Exodus is getting more than slightly annoyed at its opponent, but luckily it draws another land, meaning that in the coming turn, with one of the Tides leaving play, it'll be back to four and finally able to play the Weaver. For now, it attacks with the Troll and passes. Nemesis sacrifices one of the two tides, then plays an Accumulated Knowledge to draw two, and adds Skyshroud Ridgeback to the board.
Exodus finally taps four and plays its Spike Weaver... and then Nemesis shows a Daze! The Weaver goes to the graveyard, and Exodus is left unprotected once again, grinding its teeth in frustration. Nemesis attacks with its two creatures (the Troll chump-blocks the Ridgeback), then adds a second Ridgeback to the board and passes. Exodus plays a Survival of the Fittest, discards a Thopter Squadron and fetches another Spike Weaver, then finally passes. The second Tide goes away, returning all lands to Exodus (that now has seven)... except that Nemesis draws and plays another Parallax Tide! Inredible! Four lands are removed from Exodus, while the two Ridgeback attacks and bring it down to 4 life points. What's going to happen now?
Luck shines on Exodus as it draws another Forest and plays the Spike Weaver. Not only it can block a Ridgeback, but it will enforce the lock starting from the following turn. Exodus passes, Nemesis sacrifices one of the two Ridgebacks due to Fading, then gets a sixth land in play and a Rhox. Nemesis passes, and so does Exodus quickly after. All lands return to Exodus, that starts preventing combat damage with the Weaver, and needs only a Recurring Nightmare to completely enforce the lock. Exodus first plays a Dauthi Jackal, then on the following turn a Recurring Nightmare and a Pigmy Troll. A Rath's Edge could still win the game for Nemesis, but it must turn out quickly, and as a couple of turn passes without seeing that land, Nemesis is forced to admit defeat.
Game 2
Nemesis starts quickly this time around, with a turn one Skyshroud Ridgeback followed by a turn two Cloudskate. Exodus's first move is a turn two Pygmy Troll. Nemesis attacks with both creatures, bringing Exodus down to 14. Since the Ridgeback is going to die in the coming turn, Exodus attacks with the Troll, then plays a Dauthi Jackal and finally passes. Nemesis has four lands in play, but only one Island and one Forest (the other two being a Rath's Edge and a Terrain Generator), so for now it can only play another Cloudskate and keep attacking. Exodus is now at 12 life points. Exodus attacks as well (since its creatures couldn't block Flying anyway), and adds another Pygmy Troll and a Thrull Surgeon to the board.
Nemesis attacks again (Exodus at 8), then draws a card with Accumulated Knowledge, finally gets a second Island in play, and plays a Seal of Removal, before passing. Exodus sacrifices the Surgeon to reveal a hand of two Parallax Tide! Exodus is more than happy to make Nemesis discard one. Nemesis decides to play the remaining Tide rather than risking another discard effect, and removes three lands from Exodus. The first offensive has proceeded well: with six damage from each Cloudksate and 4 from the Ridgeback, Exodus sits now at 4 life points. Nemesis only needs one more push – but needs it quickly: Exodus has two Trolls and the Jackal in play, and it's starting to chip away at Nemesis's life points as well.
No land to play for Exodus on its turn, so it just keeps attacking, bringing Nemesis down to 8. On its turn, Nemesis draws and plays a Saproling Burst, immediately creating 3 4/4 tokens. Things don't look good for Exodus right now, that only draws and plays a Forest.
The game it's over: one of Exodus's creatures is bounced by the Seal of Removed, allowing one of the Saproling to strike home for three damage plus one damage from Rath's Edge. Nemesis gets back on par with Exodus, and the two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Exodus starts, but the first move is from Nemesis on turn one: a Seal of Removal. Exodus is not particularly concerned, as it starts getting its combo into place with a Survival of the Fittest. Nemesis draws a Skyshroud Ridgeback and, knowing that it has to deal as much damage, as quickly as possible, decides to immediately play it. Exodus plays a Thrull Surgeon, then discards a Pygmy Troll to fetch a Spike Weaver. On its turn, Nemesis attacks for two with the Ridgeback, then plays an Accumulated Knowledge and passes.
Exodus sacrifices the Surgeon, revealing a hand of a Seal of Removal, a Rhox and two Saproling Burst. Exodus decides to have Nemesis discard one of the two Saproling Burst, then plays an Oath of Ghouls and passes. Nemesis attacks again, then plays the second Seal of Removal and passes. Exodus feels in control of the game right now, as it recovers the Thrull Surgeon thanks to the Oath of Ghouls, then plays it again and sacrifices it to remove the second Saproling Burst. Finally, it discards a second Pygmy Troll to fetch a Dauthi Jackal. Nemesis gets a Rath's Edge in play, and passes. Exodus's recursion is really starting to hurt badly Nemesis in this game. And it's not over: Exodus gets again the Thrull back, plays it and forces Nemesis to discard the Rhox.
The ball goes back to Nemesis, that draws a Parallax Tide... with only one blue mana available. Definitely not Nemesis's lucky day, that is forced to pass once more, and forced to watch as the Surgeon loop is repeated, and the Parallax Tide discarded. At the same time, Exodus discards a Spike Weaver and fetches a second one with Survival of the Fittest, bringing more creatures to the graveyard.
Nemesis draws and play an Accumulated Knowledge, drawing an Island and a Forest. Not particularly good, but at least now it can play its second blue mana source. Exodus feels that it's time to actually start dealing damage, and plays the Jackal and, once more, the Thrull Surgeon. Still only a land drawn by Nemesis, that passes again. The game goes on for a couple of turn, with Exodus strengthening its position, until Nemesis finally draws and plays a Rhox. Unfortunately, the green creature is immediately answered by a Slaughter, and Nemesis is finally forced to admit that the game's over.
Game 4
Nemesis starts the game with a turn two Cloudskate, that is answered by a turn two Pygmy Troll from Exodus. Nemesis attacks with the Cloudskate, then plays an Accumulated Knowledge and a Skyshroud Ridgeback. Exodus plays a Survival of the Fittest, keeping a Forest untapped to regenerate the Troll, then passes. Nemesis attacks with both its creatures (the Ridgeback is blocked by the troll), then pushes the offensive with a Blastoderm. Exodus plays a Dauthi Jackal, once again keeping an open land, then passes.
Nemesis is frustrated by that pesky Troll soaking up so much damage, but at the moment there's not much more it can do, so it just attacks with all its creatures, dealing 4 damage to Exodus (the Blastoderm obviously being blocked by the Troll). Exodus gets its fifth land in play, attacks with the Jackal, then plays a Spike Weaver, preparing to enforce the lock – and at the same time, keeping a mana open to keep regenerating the Troll. Nemesis thinks for a second, then decides to play a Daze, forcing Exodus to tap its final mana. That counter is unlikely to become useful as the game progresses, and at the moment can open the way for the Blastoderm, or at least force Exodus to sacrifice the Troll for good. And that's what happen on the coming turn – the Troll chump-blocks the Blastoderm and dies. Nemesis also plays a Rhox, then passes.
Exodus attacks with the jackal, then reveals a Slaughter targeted at the Rhox – leaving two mana open to activate the Spike Weaver. Things definitely don't look good for Nemesis right now. On its turn, Nemesis draws a Parallax Tide – too little, too late. The enchantment is not enough to prevent Nemesis from activating the Weaver. From then on, the games progresses slowly towards its inevitable ending: a victory for Exodus. The powerful cage of Exodus's soft lock was too much for Nemesis to break. Exodus moves on to the quarterfinals!
Nemesis 1 - Exodus 3
Fifth Dawn vs Magic 2013
This game looked very much like the previous one - a soft lock deck against a slow aggro deck. I thought it would have been quick and totally one-sided - boy, was i wrong.
Game 1
Fifth Dawn wins the roll to go first, then both decks have to take a mulligan. Both decks have a slow start, with the first spell played being a Divination from M13. Still no play from Fifth Dawn, and M13 keeps stacking resources with a Ranger's Path. Finally, Fifth Dawn draws something useful: a Bringer of the Red Dawn. Fueled by a Channel the Suns, the red creatures enters the battlefield, ready to start bashing at M13. M13 doesn't seem particularly worried, though, as it plays a Jace, Memory Adept, and starts milling the opponent's deck. Fifth Dawn draws, then turns the bringer to attack Jace, but M13 reveals a Fog and disables the opponent's creature. The game looks to be over for Fifth Dawn, but is it really? There's one last trick up Fifth Dawn's sleeve: an Engineered Explosives, fueled by a Channel the Suns – exactly what's needed to destroy the planeswalker! The artifact is immediately activated, and the game is open once again. M13 thought this would have been an easy matchup, but it's actually not. Anything can happen now.
For now, M13 draws, plays a Sleep and passes. Fifth Dawn has practically emptied its hand, but luckily draws and plays an Etched Oracle... only to see it countered by a Rewind. The ball goes quickly back to M13. M13 draws, plays a Divination, then a Revive to get back the Fog, then passes.
Fifth Dawn draws... another Etched Oracle! Incredible luck. First of all, Fifth Dawn attacks with the Bringer (M13 takes the damage), then plays the oracle and passes. Things seem to be getting better for Fifth Dawn, but things can change really quickly. And that's just what happens, as M13 plays a second Jace and mills 10 more cards! Fifth Dawn knows that its opponent has a Fog in hand, so it must find another Engineered Explosives – and quickly. The Oracle is sacrificed to draw three (end of M13 turn)... an Eternal Witness. Good. The artifact is retrieved from the graveyard, but Fifth Dawn has only four different mana colora available! Fifth Dawn will now need a Joiner Adept, Channel the Suns, or Pentad Prism too... but no trace of any of the them. And time is running out. For now, Fifth Dawn can only attack and see its opponent use a Fog. Then it's once again M13's turn.
M13 mills 10 more cards... then shows a Revive to bring back the Fog. Fifth Dawn crosses its fingers... and draws a Pentad Prism! The Engineered Explosives are played and activated again, saving Fifth Dawn at the last minute. M13 also takes 7 damage from the Bringer and the Witness (deciding not to use the Fog for now). On its turn, M13 draws and passes.
Fifth Dawn attacks again (M13 falls down to 1 life point), then plays a Bringer of the Green Dawn and passes. M13 again, draws and passes. Fifth Dawn attacks for the kill, but it's stopped by a Fog. Then M13 plays a Revive to get the Fog back, and passes. Fifth Dawn seems close to the kill... but it will have to wait. One more Fog... and then finally M13 is out of defenses. Fifth Dawn's creatures rush in, and the game ends in a bloodbath. Fifth Dawn was very lucky to draw exactly what it needed to remove Jace every time, and still ended the game with only 7 cards left in the deck. Still, with 4 Engineered Explosives and 4 Eternal Witness, it's clear that Fifth Dawn has all the tools it needs to win this matchup. It seemed an easy battle for M13, but actually, things are definitely even between the two decks.
Game 2
M13 starts and gets things rolling with a turn 2 Farseek. No play from Fifth Dawn on turn 2, nor from M13 on its third turn. Then Fifth Dawn adds a Joiner Adept to the board, but fails to play a third land. M13 is definitely not having such mana screw problems, as it plays a fourth land and then a Ranger's Path. Fifth Dawn draws, gets a third land in play, then attacks with the Adept and passes.
M13 is now ready to get serious, as it plays a Sphinx of Uthuun, hoping to put its hands on a copy of Jace. Unfortunately, the cards revealed are: two Island, a Fog, a Farseek and an Archaeomancer. Fifth Dawn makes one pile of the Archaeomancer and the lands, the other pile of the Fog and the Farseek. M13 gets the larger one, with the Archaeomancer and the Islands, then passes. Fifth Dawn draws and plays a Pentad Prism, then passes. M13 attacks with the Sphinx, gets an Archaeomancer to recycle the Ranger's Path, then passes.
Finally, Fifth Dawn can get its game started, removing a counter from the Prism to fuel a Channel the Suns and then a Bringer of the Blue Dawn. Is it too late? Time will tell. What's sure is that M13 seems close to sealing the game. As Fifth Dawn's life points fall down to ten, a Jace, Memory Adept finally hits the board and mills for ten. Fifth Dawn is now looking at two ways to die, and no answers to them.
Fifth Dawn draws three, then attacks Jace with both its creatures. A Fog is played to prevent the damage. Then Fifth Dawn plays a Bringer of the Red Dawn and passes. M13 plays the Ranger's Path, then a second Archaeomancer to bring back the Fog, and finally attacks to bring its opponent dawn to 5 life points. The game looks to be over, especially as M13 reveals a hand of two Fog and two Revive. Fifth Dawn concedes, and the two decks move on game 3.
Game 3
Fifth dawn has to take a mulligan, but can open the game with a good Joiner Adept on turn two. On its second turn, M13 plays a Farseek and passes. Fifth Dawn remains stuck at two lands and can only attack with the Adept. M13 plays a lands and passes, while Fifth Dawn is still in mana screw full mode, and keeps attacking with the Adept.
The following turn, things get finally serious: M13 plays a Jace, Memory Adept and activates its 0 ability. Fifth Dawn watches disappointed 8 lands out of 10 cards go to the graveyard. On the following turn, still no lands for Fifth Dawn, that chips off two counters from Jace before passing again. M13 casts a Divination, mills ten more cards, then passes. Fifth Dawn can finally smile a little, as it plays a Pentad Prism. The Adept attacks Jace again, but this time M13 has a Fog ready to answer it.
On its turn, M13 mills for ten more, then plays a Sphinx of Uthuun, revealing a second Sphinx, two Reliquary Tower, one Forest and one Divination. Fifth Dawn puts the land and the divination on one pile, the Sphinx in the second – M13 chooses this last one. Time is running out for Fifth Dawn: the first threat to answer is Jace. A Channel the Suns is played, followed immediately by an Engineered Explosives. No more mana open for Fifth Dawn, though, that has to pass for the moment. M13 mills for ten more, leaving only eight cards in Fifth Dawn's deck. Not wanting to drag this game on for too long, M13 shows a second Sphinx and Jace in its hand, and Fifth Dawn gracefully concedes.
Game 4
Fifth Dawn gets a good start again with a turn two Joiner Adept, while M13 has to wait turn three for its first play, a Divination (a Forest is then discarded due to having eight cards in hand). Fifth Dawn is then ready for its first big move: a Channel the Suns to play a Bringer of the Blue Dawn. This time, things won't be so easy for its opponent.
The ball goes back to M13, that plays a Reliquary Tower followed by another Divination. After that, M13 passes. Fifth Dawn draws three cards, and quite surprisingly fails to find a land to play. Still, four lands are enough to play a fully charged Etched Oracle. Then, Fifth Dawn attacks for 7, and M13 takes the damage, going down to 9 (some damage was done by the Adept in the early turns).
M13 plays an Archaeomancer to bring back a Divination, then passes. Fifth Dawn draws three, plays a land, then attacks with all its creatures. The Archaeomancer sacrifices himself to block the Oracle, and M13 takes 7 more damage, falling down to 2. Fifth Dawn then adds a Bringer of the Green Dawn to the board and passes.
M13 plays a Divination and passes. Fifth Dawn is now ready to kill any turn, so the question is: how long will the Fog-wall of M13 last? Surely, there's a Fog for this turn, and the game goes on. On the following turn, M13 plays a Sleep and passes. On the following turn, M13 finally plays a Jace, the Memory Adept, surprisingly activates the +1 ability, then plays a Revive to get back the Fog, and passes. The Fog is played on Fifth Dawn's following turn, then Fifth Dawn plays and activates an Engineered Explosives for five. M13 plays a Ranger's Path, then a Revive to get back the Fog, then finally passes. Fifth Dawn plays an Eternal Witness to get back the Explosives, its attack is Fogged out again, and finally passes.
Time is running out for M13. It can't just keep recycling that Fog, or it will end up certainly losing. It needs an high risk, and possibly high reward, move. So it plays an Archaeomancer to get back a Divination, and play it. Unfortunately, it draws a Sphinx of Uthuun and an Island. No more tricks to postpone the inevitable. Fifth Dawn wins and the two decks move on to game 5.
Game 5
M13 starts quick with a Farseek followed by a Ranger's Path. Fifth Dawn answers with a Pentad Prism followed by a fully charged Etched Oracle. M13 watches the creature and smiles, revealing a Sphinx of Uthuun to play on its fourth turn – nice ramp from M13 this time around. Quite incredibly, though, the Sphinx reveals five lands! M13 takes the pile of three, and thinks that it was indeed lucky to remove five dead draws in one shot.
Fifth Dawn doesn't want to fall behind, though, as it plays a Channel the Suns followed by a Bringer of the Blue Dawn. The ball goes back to M13, that just plays a land, then attacks for 5 with the Sphinx and passes.
Fifth Dawn draws three, then attacks for 9 (M13 takes the Damage), finally plays a Bringer of the Green Dawn and passes.
M13 gets its ninth land and plays a Jace, Memory Adept (milling for 10) followed by a Sleep. 5 more damage are dealt by the Sphinx, and finally it's Fifth Dawn's turn again. Fifth Dawn draws three, getting a Joiner Adept and a Pentad Prism in play, then passes. M13 mills for then more, attacks for 5 (Fifth Dawn is now at 5 life points), then plays an Archaeomancer to get back the Sleep and plays it again.
Fifth Dawn counts the lands in play... six. M13 is at 11 life points, with an Archaeomancer available to block. Fifth Dawn shakes its head sadly as it reveals a Rude Awakening... meaning that it could attack with 6 2/2 animated lands... and deal ten damage. Not enough. At the end of an incredibly and unexpectedly close match, M13 wins and proceeds to the quarterfinals of group C.
Fifth Dawn 2 - Magic 2013 3
Stronghold vs Tempest
Well, I don't want to dwell too long on this one. Tempest was easily able to neutralize the few threats from Stronghold, while leisurely enforcing its lock and slowly grinding down its opponent. Not much to do for Stronghold this time around.
Stronghold 0 - Tempest 3
Humans against beasts in today's opening match. The odds are all in Urza's Destiny favor, but one never knows. Avacyn Restored already snatched a surprise win against Guildpact in the eliminatory phase, can it repeat itself?
Game 1
Not a good beginning for Avacyn Restored, that is forced to mulligan twice and still doesn't look satisfied for its starting hand. Meanwhile, Destiny wins the roll to start and starts well, with a turn 2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, followed by a turn 3 Ancient Silverback. Avacyn Restored realizes then that the game is probably over before even starting, but still decides to give it a go, playing a Riot Ringleader and passing.
Destiny attacks with the Silverback (Avacyn Restored takes the damage), then plays a Thorn Elemental. Avacyn Restored shakes its head as it realizes it won't even be able to chump-block. The game is clearly over, and the two decks move on to game 2.
Game 2
Again Urza's Destiny starts the game with a turn 2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, and Avacyn Restored feels a dark omen of premonition. More so, since the deck is still struggling with its mana base, as it only draws Mountains and is forced to play a suboptimal (in the situation) Kessig Malcontents.
And then comes the Ancient Silverback – just like last game. What can Avacyn Restored do? Apparently not much, at the moment, as it is forced to just pass. Luckily for Avacyn Restored, Destiny seems to be short on mana, failing to play a fourth land – but that's not really a salvation for its opponent, as an Emperor Crocodile still manages to find its way to the board. Plus, the Silverback slams in six damage on Avacyn Restored.
Still only red mana for Avacyn Restored, that throws in a Thatcher Revolt just for the pleasure of doing some damage to its opponent, then concedes on the following turn as Urza's Destiny adds a second Emperor Crocodile to the board.
Game 3
Destiny has to take a mulligan this game, and finally this gives some hope to Avacyn Restored. No play from both decks on the first two turns, then Avacyn Restored plays a Kessig Malcontents on turn three. Urza's Destiny answers with a Yavimaya Elder and passes. Avacyn Restored plays an Angel of Jubilation, then surprisingly passes without attacking.
Urza's Destiny misses a land drop... but that's not gonna mean much, as it finally gets a Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary into play. The green deck is picking up steam, but maybe this time Avacyn Restored can deliver the killing blow before it's too late. The next card played is, in fact, a second Angel of Jubilation! The remaining two creatures are turned to attack – a 5/3 Kessig Malcontents and a 4/4 Angel of Jubilation. That's why Avacyn Restored didn't attack the previous turn: the Malcontents is now out of reach for the Elder, that can only chump-block without killing the opponent's creature. Destiny takes 4 damage and falls down to 16.
On its turn, Destiny draws, plays a Thorn Elemental and passes. And then it's finally time for Avacyn Restored to shine: a Silverblade Paladin is played and bound with one of the angels, then they're turned sideways to attack. Destiny takes 12 damage and falls down to 4. Destiny concedes and the two decks move on to game 4.
Game 4
Destiny starts and makes the first play with a turn two Warden of the Heart. Avacyn Restored answers with a Lightning Mauler. On its third turn, Destiny fails to play a land but can still tap the Warden to play a Yavimaya Elder. Avacyn Restored wants to close the game quickly and plays a Silverblade Paladin, bound to the Mauler, and turns them both to attack. Destiny chump-blocks with the Elder and takes 4 damage.
On its turn, Destiny plays an Emperor Crocodile and passes. Avacyn Restored answers with a Riot Ringleader, then considers the situation and decides to pass. Destiny plays a second Emperor Crocofile and passes again. Avacyn Restored plays a Nearheath Pilgrim, bound to the Ringleader, then decides to pass again. The game seems to be stalling, but it's Avacyn Restored that must try, as soon as possible, to break the balance.
Destiny is satisfied with its current defense line and taps its five lands for a Plow Under, moving two Plains on top of Avacyn Restored deck. This is definiely bad news for Avacyn Restored, that needed another land to play the Thunderous Wrath in its hand, or even better a third Plains to play a Jubilation Angel. Now Avacyn Restored has two options: go on an all-out attack, losing most of its creatures, or wait and see how things evolve. In the end, the risk of another Plow Under is what forces Avacyn Restored's hand: all its creatures launch an all-out attack!
One Emperor Crocodile blocks the Silverblade Paladin, and the two creatures kill each other. The other Crocodile blocks the Ringleader, while the Warden cannot block, or the surviving Crocodile will be lost as well. Destiny takes 9 damage and falls down to six, while Avacyn Restored gains six. On the board, a Mauler and a Pilgrim for Avacyn Restored (both unpaired), and a Warden and a Crocodile for Destiny.
It is now Destiny's turn, though, that plays an Ancient Silverback and attacks with the Crocodile (Avacyn takes the damage). Avacyn Restored draws again the last of the lands lost to Plow Under, and passes. Destiny attacks with the Crocodile and the Silverback (Avacyn Restored takes the damage and falls down to 10), then plays another Emperor Crocodile and passes.
Avacyn Restored draws... a Kessig Malcontents! The human is immediately played to deal 3 damage to Destiny, that is now at 3 life points. The Malcontents is paired with the Pilgrim for the lifelink (Avacyn Restored could have bound it to the Mauler and launched an all-out attack, but with the Warden and the Crocodile open to block, Destiny would have taken only 2 damage and survived, killing Avacyn Restored in the following turn).
Destiny plays a land, then attacks with the two Crocodile and the Silverback. Avacyn Restored is forced to block or die, and does so with the Malcontents, relying on Lifelink to survive the combat phase. Another Silverback is played, and Destiny passes.
It's the decisive moment of the game. Just one land drawn, and Avacyn Restored can unleash a Thunderous Wrath to kill its opponent. Avacyn Restored picks up the card... and it's a Lightning Mauler! Unfortunately, not good enough. On Destiny's following turn, an army of huge beats trample over the few heroic humans in Avacyn Restored's fort, and the match is sealed. Urza's Destiny moves on to the quarterfinals.
Avacyn Restored 1 - Urza's Destiny 3
Battle for Zendikar vs Antiquities
Not many decks in BOTS can survive a good start from Antiquities, and Battle for Zendikar is probably not one of them. So, the midrange Eldrazi deck will need to rely on a little luck to win this game. In particular, should Antiquities fail to draw Mishra's Workshop in its starting hand, the game could become just slow enough for Zendikar to ramp up its big fatties - and then things could get interesting.
Game 1
Antiquities starts, and it's a merciless start. A turn one Mishra's Workshop for Onulet, it's about as good as it gets. Battle for Zendikar plays a Lumbering Falls and passes. Antiquities attacks for two, then nonchalantly throws in a Strip Mine to destroy the opponent's land. Battle for Zendikar is still unable to play anything, except for a Fertile Thicket to get an Island. Antiquities attacks for two more, then plays a Tawnos's Coffin and passes.
It's finally Battle for Zendikar's turn to play something: a Mist Intruder. Not much, but at least it opens some tactical option for the Eldrazi deck. Unfortunately, though, Antiquities gets its third land and a Clockwork Avian in play. The Onulet strikes for two more, and the ball goes back to Battle for Zendikar. The Eldrazi deck thinks for a few seconds, then reveal a Titan's Presence to remove the Avian, and attacks with the Intruder. A Triskelion gets ingested, much to Battle for Zendikar's satisfaction.
Still, Antiquities is far from being out of options. A Primal Clay is played as a 2/2 with Flying, then the Onulet attacks for two more – Battle for Zendikar is now at 12 life points. And unfortunately, Battle for Zendikar misses a land drop this turn. The best it can do is playing a Blisterpod and passing. Antiquities attacks with both its creatures (the Blisterpod chump-blocks the Onulet, the Clay strikes for two), then plays a second Clockwork Avian and passes. Battle for Zendikar plays a Murk Strider, bouncing the Avian, then attacks with the Intruder to Ingest yet another Clockwork Avian. The Eldrazi deck is managing to stall the game somewhat, yet it's slowly but surely losing ground. Can it manage a comeback?
Antiquities gets a fourth land in play and attacks again with both creatures. The Onulet trades for the Strider, while the Clay deals two more damage. Then Antiquities plays a Tetravus and passes. Battle for Zendikar immediately shows a second Titan's Presence to remove the dangerous creature, then attacks with both creatures (the token and the Intruder), and cheers as a Strip Mine is ingested by the Intruder. That would probably have been the killing blow.
Still, the game is over, as Antiquities completes the Tron and plays two Rocket Launchers. There's no way Battle for Zendikar can close the game this turn, before being blasted out by the very much un-fantasy but extremely effective artifact. The two decks move on to game 2.
Game 2
Antiquities decides to take a mulligan in this second game, allowing Battle for Zendikar to hope for some better chances of victory. Unfortunately, Antiquities is ready to reveal a Mishra's Workshop on its first turn. On its second second turn, Battle for Zendikar plays a Mist Intruder and passes. The ball goes back to Antiquities, that plays a Su-Chi and passes. Battle for Zendikar attacks with the Intruder (ingesting a Triskelion), then plays a Blighted Cataract and a Blisterpod.
Antiquities starts attacking, with the Su-Chi being chump-blocked by the Blisterpod, then plays a Clockwork Avian and passes. Again, Battle for Zendikar's bad luck continues as it gets stuck with three lands. Not much to do at the moment, so the Eldrazi deck decides to just pass.
And there it goes: Antiquities smiles satanically as it plays a Strip Mine to remove one of the few precious lands on Battle for Zendikar's side. To make things worse, a second Su-chi is then played. Battle for Zendikar realizes that this game, too, is gone, and concedes.
Game 3
Battle for Zendikar starts with a Fertile Thicket, followed by a Lumbering Falls. No turn one Mishra's Workshop for Antiquities this time around... but it draws it on turn two! Battle for Zendikar raises its hands and shakes its head, while Antiquities proceeds to play an Onulet and passes.
But the Eldrazi deck has not lost hope this time around: the lands are coming in, and the hand is actually good. Who knows what might happen? For now, it plays a Ruination Guide and passes. Antiquities attacks with the Onulet (Battle for Zendikar takes the damage), then plays a Clockwork Avian and passes. Battle for Zendikar gets another Lumbering Falls in play, then a Mist Intruder, and finally passes.
More bad news are coming the way of the Eldrazi deck, though, as Antiquities plays a Triskelion. Things once again don't look good for Battle for Zendikar, especially as the Onulet and the Avian are turned to attack. Battle for Zendikar thinks for a second, then decides to take the damage.
Battle for Zendikar attacks with the Intruder, ingesting an Urza's Mine, then plays an Endless One for 5 mana. Finally, Battle for Zendikar can field a fatty of its own.
Antiquities doesn't want to see too many lands on Battle for Zendikar's side, so once again plays a Strip Mine to remove one. Then, a Tetravus joins the army of robots, while the Avian and the Onulet turn sideways to attack. Battle for Zendikar takes three damage from the Avian, then decides to block the Onulet with the Guide. The two creatures kills each other, and it's once again Battle for Zendikar's turn.
The Eldrazi deck is going good this time around, as it plays another land followed by a second Mist Intruder and Ruination Guide. Then, it decides to attack with the Endless One. Antiquities thinks for a second, then decides to take the damage. On the artifact's deck turn, a Tawnos's Coffin is played to remove the Endless One. Battle of Zendikar curses the unfairness of broken sets, but is soon faced with another challenge, as the Tetravus and the Avian are turned sideways to attack. While theoretically the two Intruders now sum up o 4 in power, and could trade for the Tetravus, the Triskelion is surely ready to kill the Ruination guide as soon as the blockers are declared. Still, sitting at 9 life points, waiting is not really an option for Battle for Zendikar. The two Intruders block the Tetravus, and as could be easily foreseen, the Triskelion kills the Guide to safeguard the Tetravus. End of turn: an empty board for Battle for Zendikar, while a 1/4 Avian, a 2/2 Triskelion and a 4/4 Tetravus rest comfortably on Antiquities's side. Battle for Zendikar has now 7 life points.
On its turn, Battle for Zendikar play an Oblivion Sower (getting two more lands in play) and passes. It's not good enough, though. Antiquities throws in a second Triskelion for good measure, then attacks with its flyers for the killing blow. The overbearing power of Antiquities, that got a series of incredibly good starts, was way too much for the Eldrazi deck to handle. Antiquities move on to the quarterfinals.
Battle for Zendikar 0 - Antiquities 3
High risk, high reward. It relies a lot on the workshop to work well. Not my favorite type of deck, but well, it can be truly devastating, there's no denying that.
New Phyrexia vs Visions
Two decks playing on a completely different level: one bashes with creatures, the other one tries to enforce a lock to remove all the opponent's creatures. I won't put up the report for this match exactly because it wouldn't be particularly fun, as the two decks didn't practically interact with each other. In the end, Visions wasn't very lucky, unable to collect the combo pieces quickly enough in most of the games. Sword of War and Peace was precious for New Phyrexia as Visions usually had plenty of cards in hand, boosting the damage output for the aggro deck. New Phyrexia won this pairing, advancing to the quarterfinals.
New Phyrexia 3 - Visions 2
Torment vs Magic 2012
Two giants face off in this match. One is the Lord Torment, the premiere MBC deck in BOTS, featuring powerhouse cards like Nantuko Shade and Mutilate. The other one is Magic 2012, an incredibly sturdy and resilient Rock deck with signature cards like Grave Titan and Gideon Jura. Anything can happen, as both decks are strong contenders to the final victory of the tournament!
Game 1
Torment gets first turn and starts well with a turn 2 Mesmeric Fiend, showing a hand of 2 Grave Titan, 2 Solemn Simulacrum, Naturalize and Oblivion Ring, plus a Swamp. While the two Titans are surely troublesome, in the end Torment decides to remove the white enchantment. Nothing to do for M12 this turn, except playing a land. On its turn, Torment adds a Nantuko Shade to the board, attacks with the Fiend, and passes.
Still no play from M12, so Torment decides to press the advantage and strikes for 7 with the Fiend and a boosted Shade. Things don't look particularly good for M12, but this turn it can at least start playing, with a Solemn Simulacrum. Torment plays a Cabal Coffers, obtaining a total of 6 black mana to play a Faceless Butcher and a Mesmeric Fiend. The Fiend reveals a hand of Naturalize, Solemn Simulacrum and 3 (!) Grave Titan. There are no lands, though. Torment decides to remove the Simulacrum, and crosses its fingers – if M12 doesn't draw a land, it will be game over on the following turn. For now, with the Butcher removing the Simulacrum already in play, Torment strikes for 3 more and passes.
M12 draws... a Rampant Growth! That won't do, unfortunately. Torment wins the first game by storm!
Game 2
With Torment having to mulligan to 5, things seem setting up well for M12 to start its comeback. A turn 2 Skinshifter starts pounding for 4 in the following turns, with Torment still playing lands. After taking two attacks and falling down to 12, Torment can finally tap for four mana and play a Mutilate to remove the annoying creature before it's too late. On the following turn, M12 plays its fifth land and a Gideon Jura. Things don't look too well for Torment now.
The black deck is stuck at four lands and can only play a Shambling Swarm to try and slow down its opponent. M12 plays a Rampant Growth, then an Oblivion Ring to remove the Swarm and open the way to Gideon. Torment falls down to six, one step from the grave. As a second Shambling Swarm is met by a second Oblivion Ring, it's clear that the game it's over. The two deck moves on to game 3.
Game 3
This time Torment opens the game with a turn two Nantuko Shade. No answer from M12, and this means that on its following turn Torment can hit for five damage. M12 gets a third land in play and plays an Oblivion Ring to remove the dangerous Shade. Torment plays a Cabal Coffers and passes. M12, too, only plays a land and passes. On the followin turn Torment finally has the needed mana for a big play: a Laquatus's Champion! M12 falls down to 9 - things are looking well for the monoblack deck.
M12 draws... a Timely Reinforcements! Faithful to its name, it comes up at the right moment. Not only M12 is now again at 15 life points, but it can easily chump-block the Champion for the following three turns. Torment plays another Swamp, then a Mind Sludge! M12 is forced to discard its whole hand! Two lands, a Naturalize, a Doom Blade, and worst of all – a Garruk, Primal Hunter. This one definitely hurt M12. The Champion then attacks, and is blocked by one heroic Soldier.
M12 draws, attacks with one of the tokens, then passes. Torment is surely not having mana problem, as a second Cabal Coffers enters the battlefield. On the other hand, it seems to have nothing to play, as it just attacks with the Champion (chump-blocked) and passes.
Once again draw-go from M12. Torment shows a second Mind Sludge, discarding a Doom Blade and a second Garruk, Primal Hunter (M12 lacks a third Forest, so it couldn't play it). The Champion is blocked by the last token, and Torment finally passes.
M12 needs to draw something good... a Solemn Simulacrum. Well, not that bad. The creature is immediately played. M12 has two plains, two forests and a swamp in play. Considering that two Garruks are already out of the picture, and hoping to draw a Grave Titan, M12 decides to fetch a second swamp.
Incredibly, another Cabal Coffers from Torment! The Champion is blocked by the heroic Simulacrum, that dies and allows M12 to draw one. A Plains... then, on M12's turn... another Simulacrum! The artifact creature is immediately played, fetching a Forest this time, then M12 passes. Torment chuckles as it finally draws a Faceless Butcher, removing the annoying Simulacrum and finally opening the way to Laquatus's Champion.
On its turn, M12 draws a Skinshifter. That's good... if it stays in play. Luckily, Torment doesn't seem to have another removal, at the moment. The Butcher needs to stay on the defensive, or be easily killed, and the Champion can be blocked by the Skinshifter. The situation is a standoff, for the moment.
Good for M12, but unfortunately it can only draw a Rampant Growth... while on its turn Torment draws a second Faceless Butcher! Torment attacks again and M12 falls down to 1. On its following turn, it draws a Skinshifter... not enough to save it this time. Torment wins game 3!
Game 4
M12 starts, but the first play is a turn two Mesmeric Fiend from Torment. M12 reveals a hand of Garruk, Primal Hunter, Timely Reinforcements, Solemn Simulacrum, Grave Titan, Skinshifter, Rampant Growth. Torment is happy to see its opponent has no lands in hand, with a Swamp and an Island in play. After thinking for a few seconds, it decides to remove the Rampant Growth – this way, even if its opponent draws a Forest, it won't be able to ramp mana.
M12 draws... a Forest! Feeling lucky for the first time in the match, it plays the Skinshifter and passes. Unfortunately, Torment draws a Chainer's Edict and plays it – bye bye Skinshifter. Torment decides to not attack, keeping in mind the Timely Reinforcements in the opponent's hand.
With considerable luck, M12 draws another Forest! A Solemn Simulacrum is played, fetching another land... Garruk is coming soon! Torment looks annoyed, but it's definitely not falling behind, as it plays a Nantuko Shade and passes. It's again M12's turn, that finally plays the powerful green Planeswalker, creating a 3/3 Beast token and passing.
Torment has no removal to open the way for the Shade, but there's one thing it can do: play a Sengir Vampire. Starting next turn, it will be able to kill the dangerous Planeswalker. Or at least, that's the plan... but this time it's M12's turn to shock its opponent. An Oblivion Ring hits the board, removing the vampire. At the same time, a second Beast token is created, reinforcing M12's defense line.
Clearly, Garruk's final ability would mean game over for Torment, creating no less than 5 6/6 Wurms... with no Mutilate in sight, so far. But what can it do? Not much, unfortunately. There are too many blockers on the board already, and at best Torment can Flashback the Chainer's Edict. The Shade turns to attack, and it's chump-blocked by the Simulacrum. Then, the evil Torment shows a Mind Sludge, forcing M12 to discard two Grave Titan and two Timely Reinforcements (not bad at all), before passing.
M12 puts its sixth loyalty counter on Garruk, creating a third Beast token, then passes. Torment draws, attacks with the Shade (chump-blocked again), then plays a second Sengir Vampire, and finally passes. M12 would have actually liked to keep Garruk in play one more turn, before activating the -6 ability, but the Vampire won't allow that. So, the Planeswalker is sacrificed to create 6 huge Wurm tokens. Then M12 passes.
Now, Torment reeeeeally needs a Mutilate. But it's nowhere to be found, unfortunately. Torment plays a Shambling Swarm to block, then passes. M12 knows its opponent can kill in one turn with a huge Nantuko Shade. Plus, M12 can't yet kill its opponent in one turn, considering that Torment can block up to 4 creatures. M12 decides, surprisingly, to pass for the moment. Torment is happy to gain some time, plays the Chainer's Edict from the graveyard with Flashback, then passes.
And here it goes: M12 gets a second white mana source in play and... a Gideon Jura! Is it game over? The answer is yes! Torment only draws a Swamp, and is forced to attack full force on the white Planeswalker, opening the way to a swarm of angry wurms! The two decks move on to the decisive game 5.
Game 5
Torment starts, but it's a slow start, with no plays on the first three turns. M12, on the contrary, has a quick start, with a turn 2 Rampant Growth followed by a turn 3 Solemn Simulacrum. On its fourth turn, Torment plays its first creature: a Faceless Butcher, removing the Simulacrum. But M12 is ready to play the heavyweights: a Grave Titan enters the battlefield, towering and intimidating. Can Torment find an answer? Yes and no. For now, a Shambling Swarm will have to do – preventing the Titan from attacking, at least. Somewhat troublesome for Torment is having missed a land drop, though – the monoblack deck remains stuck at 4.
Things get troublesome for Torment when M12 plays a Gideon Jura, activating the +2 ability. Torment is forced to attack with the Swarm and the Butcher. The Butcher crashes on the Titan and dies, while the Swarm is chump-blocked by a Zombie token. M12 gets back the Simulacrum, then Torment plays a Nantuko Shade and passes.
M12 attacks with the Titan, the Simulacrum and the Zombie token. This last one is killed by the Shade (boosted to 4/3), and Torment takes 8 damage. Then M12 activates the +2 ability from Gideon and plays a second Grave Titan! Things don't look good for Torment now. At all.
But Torment hasn't lost hope. It has a Mutilate in hand... and now draws a fifth Swamp. Only one more to clear the board. Can it survive one turn? For now, Torment is forced to attack with both creatures (chump-blocked by Zombies from M12). On the following turn, M12 will have two 6/6 (3 if it activates the +0 from Gideon) and 3 2/2 to attack with, for a total of 18 (24) damage. Torment has 12 life points, meaning that it needs to block the two Titans, plus Gideon if it's activated.
There's no way it can do that. With a hand of Mind Sludge, two Sengir Vampire, a Mutilate, a Chainer's Edict; and five lands in play, no combination of actions can save Torment now. The monoblack deck feels the bitter taste of defeat, so rarely tasted in the past, and passes the turn, watching as M12 declares an all-out attack to win the game.
Just for curiosity, Torment looks at the top card of its deck... another Mutilate. No way to survive the army of Titans, then. A complete, although honorable, defeat for Torment. M12 wins this clash of giants, and advances to the quarterfinals of Group D!
Torment 2 - Magic 2012 3
Morningtide's flavorful warriors deck faces off Future Sight's Goyf build. This is an interesting matchup, as it pitches one against the other two very different philosophies. On one side, the highly synergistic tribal deck, with the "all for one, one for all" motto. On the other side, Future Sight is assembled by putting together some of the best cards in the set, with little to no synergy and all aimed at empowering the core card in the deck - the Tarmogoyf.
Game 1
Future Sight starts, but the first play is from Morningtide, with a Mudbutton Clanger. Future Sight answers with an Augur of Skulls, then passes. Morningtide looks at the first card of its deck and reveals another Mudbutton Clanger, playing it immediately and attacking with the other one. Future Sight takes two damage. On its turn, Future Sight plays an Edge of Autumn to fetch another land, then passes.
No warrior to reveal for Morningtide this time, but Future Sight has no mana open to regenerate the Augur, so both Clangers are turned to attack, dealing two damage. Morningtide then passes. Future Sight plays its fifth land, then a Stronghold Rats, and finally passes.
Morningtide reveals a Bramblewood Paragon and attacks with the 2/2 Clangers. One of them is blocked by the Augur, that is then regenerated, while the other one strikes for two more. Morningtide then plays the Paragon and passes. On its turn, Future Sight sacrifices the Augur to have Morningtide discard two cards (two lands), then attacks with the Rats for one more card – a Chameleon Colossus! Finally a Tarmogoyf is played (3 / 4 at the moment), along with a second Stronghold Rats.
Morningtide reveals another Chameleon Colossus to boost the Clangers, but can't unfortunately play it since it lacks a second forest. Instead, a Vengeful Firebrand is played, gaining Haste and a +1/+1 counter and Trample from the Paragon. The two Clangers and the Firebrand are then turned to attack. Future Sight decides to trade the Tarmogoyf for the Firebrand, and takes 4 damage from the Clangers (plus 2 from the Firebrand due to Trample).
Future Sight cycles an Edge of Autumn, sacrificing a Forest to draw... a Swamp. Not gamebreaking, surely. The two Stronghold Rats attack, emptying both players's hands. Future Sight is now at 8 life points, Morningtide at 14.
Then Morningtide reveals and plays a second Bramblewood Paragon, attacking for six. Even as Future Sight draws a Tombstalker the following turn, the game is clearly in Morningtide's pocket. Moving on to game 2.
Game 2
Lady Luck smiles on Morningtide as Future Sight is forced to take a mulligan. Morningtide also gets a good start, with a turn one Mudbutton Clanger. Future Sight answers with a suspended Nihilith, then Morningtide adds a Bramblewood Paragon to its growing armies of warriors, before attacking with the Clanger. On its third turn, Future Sight plays an Augur of Skulls and passes.
Still no warrior to reveal to boost the Clanger, but Morningtide can still attack for 3.
Future Sight sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Vengeful Firebrand and a Game-Trail Changeling), then plays an Imperiosaur and passes. Morningtide draws a Forest, plays it, then shows a Chameleon Colossus. With a +1/+1 counter and Trample from the Paragon, this is definitely bad news for Future Sight – and thinks weren't going bad at all.
Future Sight attacks with the Imperiosaur (Morningtide takes the damage), then plays a second Imperiosaur and passes. Another land drawn by Morningtide, and the Clanger still stays 1/1. But it's no big deal, as the Colossus is turned to attack. Future Sight blocks with an Imperiosaur, so Morningtide spends 4 to turn the Colossus into a 10/10. The dinosaur is crushed, and Future Sight drops to 11 life points.
Future Sight draws and plays a Tarmogoyf, but with only creatures in graveyards, it's only a 1 / 2. The Imperiosaur is turned to attack again, and chump-blocked by the Clanger. Then it's again Morningtide's turn. Morningtide attacks with both creatures. The Tarmogoyf blocks the Colossus, Morningtide does not boost it, and Future Sight falls down to 6. Then Morningtide plays an Obsidian Battle Axe and passes.
The Nihilith finally joins the battle, along with a second Imperiosaur. The Nihilith strikes for 4 and Future Sight passes. Morningtide equips the Axe to the Colossus and attacks with both creatures. Morningtide still has the mana open to activate the Colossus's ability once, meaning that it can be turned into a 14/13 with Trample. The two Imperiosaur can team up to soak up 10 damage, and that means 4 are getting through – plus the 2 from the Paragon. Again, game over for Future Sight. The two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Morningtide gets the first play, again, with a Mudbutton Clanger. Future Sight answers with an Augur of Skulls. Morningtide draws a Mountain, plays a Mutavault and attacks with the Clanger, before passing. Future Sight sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Titan's Revenge and a Game-Trail Changeling), then plays a Tarmogoyf and passes. Not much to do for Morningtide this time around, so it just plays a second Mutavault and passes. The warrior deck is missing green mana, and isn't drawing any.
Future Sight plays another Augur of Skulls, attacks for 2 with the Tarmogoyf, then passes. Morningtide reveals a Taurean Mauler to boost the Clanger, then plays a Vengeful Firebrand and attacks with both its creatures for 7 damage – except Future Sight shows a Slaughter Pact to kill the Firebrand! Once again Future Sight's turn, that sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Bramblewood Paragon and a Chameleon Colossus), then attacks with the now 3 / 4 Tarmogoyf and finally passes (all mana is tapped for the Pact).
Morningtide reveals an Obsidian Battle Axe, attacks for 2 with the Clanger, then plays the Taurean Mauler and passes. Future Sight plays another Tarmogoyf and passes. Morningtide draws and plays another Taurean Mauler, then passes again. The situation is somewhat troublesome for Future Sight now. It can't play many spells, or the game will be quickly ended by the Maulers. For now, it plays a Death Rattle by exiling two Augur of Skulls, to kill one of the two Maulers, and passes. Morningtide plays the Obsidian Battle Axe and passes.
Future Sight plays a Quiet Disrepair on the Battle Axe. The Mauler grows to 4/4, but soon the Goyfs will grow as well, with an enchantment and an artifact in the graveyard. Morningtide draws and plays a Brighthearth Banneret, then passes. Future Sight triggers the Quiet Disrepair to destroy the Axe, then turns the two 5/6 Goyfs to attack. Morningtide chumps block one with the Clanger, takes 5 damage and falls down to 10. Then Future Sight plays a third Tarmogoyf and passes.
Morningtide draws a Bramblewood Paragon... still with no Forests in play. Morningtide is forced to pass again. Future Sight draws, cycles a Street Wraith, then attacks with the 3 Goyfs. One is killed by teaming up a Mutavault with the Mauler, one is chump-blocked by the Banneret, and Morningtide falls down to 5 life points.
Morningtide needs to draw something really good to make a comeback – but it's just a Brighthearth Banneret. That's it, then. Morningtide concedes, and the two decks move on to Game 4.
Game 4
Both decks take a mulligan. The first play is on turn 2 from Future Sight with a suspended Nihilith. Morningtide answers with an Obsidian Battle Axe. Future Sight plays an Augur of Skulls and passes.
It's time for Morningtide to get serious, with a Brighthearth Banneret followed by a Taurean Mauler, that gets equipped with the Axe (strange to imagine, a bull with a battle axe, but well...) and strikes for 4. Future Sight sacrifices the Augur (Morningtide discards a Mountain and a Chameleon Colossus), then plays a Tarmogoyf and passes.
Morningtide draws and plays a Forest, then attacks for 5 with the Mauler, and passes. Future Sight gets a second Forest in play followed immediately by an Imperiosaur, then cycles an Edge of Autumn and passes. The Tarmogoyf is now a 3 / 4.
The Mauler is now a 6/5 and can be easily killed by the Imperiosaur, leaving the way open for the Goyf – and later on the Nihilith. Morningtide decides to pass, for the moment. Future Sight draws and passes.
Morningtide draws a Titan's Revenge. There is already one in its hand, that Morningtide was keeping aside to kill the Nihilith. But now that there are two... Morningtide immediately plays it for three damage to Future Sight. The two decks clash: Future Sight reveals a Forest, Morningtide another Titan's Revenge! Morningtide wins the clash, and both decks decide to put the revealed cards on bottom of the deck.
The Nihilith comes into play, and Future Sight also adds an Augur of Skulls to the board. With only 8 life points left, it's imeprative that the Titan's Revenge is removed as quickly as possible. The Nihilith is immediately turned to attack, then Future Sight passes.
Morningtide draws a Vengeful Firebrand and considers the situation. In the end, it decides to play the Firebrand and attack with it and the Mauler. At 8 life points left, Future Sight cannot afford to take any damage. The Mauler is blocked by the Augur that regenerates, while the Firebrand trades for the Imperiosaur.
The Augur sacrifices herself to discard two cards from morningtide's hand – two Titan's Revenge. Then Future Sight plays its sixth land and another Nihilith. The one already in play attacks, bringing Morningtide down to 12. Morningtide draws and plays a Mutavault, attacks with the Mauler (chump-blocked by the tarmogoyf), then passes.
The two Nihilith attacks, bringing Morningtide down to 4. Future Sight now only needs a blocker for the Mauler? Does it have it? Yes it does! An Augur of Skulls is played, and Future Sight passes.
The game is over, but in one of the greatest WTF moment of the tournament so far, Morningtide draws a Bramblewood Paragon! The huge Mauler gains Trample and walks right over the Augur to deliver the killing blow! What an incredible turn on events! Morningtide wins game 4 and the whole match, advancing to the quarterfinals!
Morningtide 3 - Future Sight 1
Mirrodin vs Odissey
Ah, I love infinite turns deck. Annoying as they are, they usually require some careful buildup and clever mechanism that's much more intriguing than other combo decks. That said, fast aggro decks are troublesome for Odissey, especially if they can close the game with direct damage. That's exactly the kind of deck Mirrodin is, unfortunately. Most games were quickly over, with Mirrodin dealing the killing blow in turns 4 or 5. Not much to do for Odissey, except defend its honor with a game won.
Mirrodin 3 - Odissey 1
Shards of Alara vs Magic 2010
Shards of Alara Naya's deck clashes with M10's monoblack control. There's no clear favorite here, even though the offensive planeswalkers could give an edge to Shards. Let's get the match going!
Game 1
Shards starts, but the first move is a Duress from M2010. Shards reveals a hand of two lands, two Oblivion Ring, a Woolly Thoctar and a Spearbreaker Behemoth. Not much choice – one of the Oblivion Ring goes to the graveyard, and M10 knows he'll have to worry about the Thoctar soon. Comes turn three, and as predicted Shards plays the big beast. But no worries, as M10 draws and plays a white-protected Black Knight. No more play from Shards, then on its turn M10 plays a Mind Rot (Shards discards a land and the Spearbreaker Behemoth).
Shards of Alara then plays a second Woolly Thoctar, but as it is quickly removed by a Tendrils of Corruption, is surely seems like the inertia of the game is moving towards M10. On the following turn, Shards draws and plays a third Woolly Thoctar, and on its following turn, M10 dispatches it to the graveyard with another Tendrils of Corruption! The monoblack deck seems solidly in control – but will it be able to close the game?
Shards draws and passes, while M10 is ready to increase its advantage with a Sign in Blood followed by a Hypnotic Specter. Shards take care of the Specter with an Oblivion Ring, then passes. M10 plays a second Hypnotic Specter and passes, but the Specter is immediately removed end-of-turn by a Naya Charm. Shards draws and plays a Knight-Captain of Eos, but this one too is immediately killed by a Doom Blade! No card has managed to stay on the board for long so far, except for the single Thoctar and the Knight facing each other across the battlefield from the beginning of the game!
Comes M10's turn, and another Hypnotic Specter is played, followed by a second Doom Blade on the Thoctar – finally the Black Knight can ride in to deal the first two damage to Shards. On its turn, Shards draws and plays an Elspeth, Knight-Errant, giving +3/+3 and flying to one Soldier token to dish in 4 damage to M10.
M10 plays a Liliana Vess and activates the -2 ability to fetch a Nightmare that will, hopefully, close the game. Then, both the Knight and the Specter crash on Elspeth, bringing her down to 1 loyalty counter. On its turn, Shards activates again the boost ability from Elspecth to allow one soldier to kill Liliana. Then, an Oblivion Ring is played to remove the Specter (that would otherwise force Shards to discard it).
M10 finally draws and plays its finsisher: a 7/7 flying Nightmare. The Knight attacks to kill Elspecth, and again it's Shards's turn. A little late, Shards draws a Magma Spray and can finally kill the annoying Knight, but has no answers to the Nightmare, that it's going to end the game quite quickly. And to make things worse, M10 just draws and plays a second Nightmare! As Shards draws a Spearbreaker Behemoth, there's nothing that it can do to prevent M10 from winning the first game of the match!
Game 2
Game 2 doesn't start well for Shards, that is forced to mulligan. On its secodn turn, Shards makes the opening play of the game with a Druid of the Anima. M10 answers with a Sign in Blood and passes. Shards keeps ramping mana with a Steward of Valeron, then passes. M10 plays an Hypnotic Specter and passes.
Shards attacks with the Steward (M10 takes the damage), then it's ready to get serious with a Knight-Captain of Eos. M10 needs to answer quickly, or its opponent will snowball out of control. But the monoblack deck can always find an answer to its troubles: as it gets a fourth land in play, two Doom Blades fly over the battlefield to remove the Steward and the Knight-captain. Then, the Specter is turned to attack, forcing Shards to discard an Oblivion Ring.
Shards attacks with the tokens, then throws a Naya Charm at the annoying Specter, and finally passes. But it's once again M10's time to shine. As it hits five lands, it plays a Black Knight and another Hypnotic Specter. Bad news for Shards of Alara, but the Naya deck can still smile as it plays a second Knight-Captain of Eos before passing.
Shards has now an empty hand. Still, the Specter flyes over Shards's blockers to deal two more damage, then M10 taps six Swamps to play a Nightmare! Things are getting worse and worse for Shards. Luckily, it draws an Oblivion Ring to remove the Nightmare, and gain some time. With the Black Knight on the defensive, though, it's forced to pass.
The game goes on slowly a couple of turns, with M10 attacking with the Specter, until finally the monoblack deck can find a Tendrils of Corruption to kill the Knight-captain. Shards is now at 14 life points, while M10 sits comfortably at 21. Shards keeps drawing lands for two more turns, while M10 keeps attacking and also plays a Sign in Blood to draw and play a second Black Knight.
The clock is ticking faster now for Shards of Alara, that draws... another Mountain! M10 attacks with all its creatures to bring its opponent down to 2, and then it's over. Shards draws an Oblivion Ring, and concedes. As M10 feels an unexpected crushing win getting closer, the two decks move on to game 3.
Game 3
Shards starts well this time around with a turn two Druid of the Anima... and then remains stuck at two lands. Still, with a Steward of Valeron entering the battlefield in the following turn, it will somehow manage to keep up in the mana race. Meanwhile, M10 is not playing anything of interest. The ball goes back to Shards, that attacks with the Steward, then playd an Elspeth, Knight-Errant, creating a Soldier token before passing (still stuck at two lands).
M10 seems to be having mana flood troubles, and still can't play anything. Shards pushed the advantage giving +3/+3 to the Soldier token, and striking for 6 before playing a Woolly Thoctar. As M10 can't play anything on turn 5, the game reaches a quick conclusion with Shards's first victory.
Game 4
M10 starts immediately with a turn one Duress. Shards reveals two lands, two Oblivion Ring, one Woolly Thoctar, one Ajani Vengeant and one Steward of Valeron. The planeswalker is immediately discarded. On the following turn, M10 plays a Black Knight and passes. Shards answers with a Druid of the Anima, and passes as well. M10 attacks with the Knight, then plays an Hypnotic Specter and passes.
Shards is still stuck at two lands, but thanks to the Druid can play an Oblivion Ring to remove the Specter, before it starts attacking. Luckily for Shards, M10 is stuck as well, with only three lands in play, but that doesn't prevent it from playing a second Black Knight. That's not good for Shards, but at least it gets a Jungle Shrine in play, followed by a Steward of Valeron and a Magma Spray to remove one of the annoying Knights. Things are smiling again for Shards.
M10 just attacks with the Knight and passes. Shards attacks with the Steward, then plays a second Druid of the Anima and a Woolly Thoctar. The beast is killed end-of-turn by a Tendrils of Corruption, though, then M10 plays a Liliana Vess and activates its +1 ability to force M10 to discard an Oblivion Ring. The Knight is kept on the defensive this turn.
Shards smiles and shows... another Oblivion Ring! The planeswalker is removed, then Shards passes. M10 doesn't look particularly worried, though, as it plays a Sign in Blood followed by another Black Knight, then attacks for two more and passes.
Shards can smile again when it draws an Ajani Vengeant and plays it immediately to kill the untapped Knight, opening the way to the Steward to deal two damage. The two Druid are kept untapped to chump-block the Knight. Yes, things are definitely looking good for Shards now.
And yet M10 again looks calm as it plays another Sign in Blood, then a land, then attacks with the Knight (chump-blocked by one Druid), and passes.
Sahrds activates the +1 ability from Ajani to keep the Knight tapped, then attacks for three and passes. Again M10's turn, and finally we know why it was so relaxed: a Nightmare is played! Currently, Shards has no answer to the 6/6 flying monster. And as it draws a Magma Spray, it's clear that Ajani is as good as dead. Still, the +1 ability is activated to keep the Knight tapped one more turn, and Shards passes. M10 plays a Gorgon Flail, kills Ajani as expected, then passes.
Sahrds attacks with its two creatures, then plays a land and the Magma Spray to kill the Black Knight. Finally, it passes. End of turn, a Tendrils of Corruption kills the Steward, raising M10's life points to 18. M10 then equips the Flail to the nightmare and strikes for seven, taking Shards down to 8 life points.
A Woolly Thoctar on the following turn is met by another Tendrils, and as M10 plays another land and attacks with a 8/8 Nightmare, the game is over. M10 made perfect use of its removal and discard to keep control of the board and generate card advantage, while Shards failed to enforce the power of its Planeswalker, that couldn't be drawn in time, or protected. M10 moves on to the quarterfinals of Group D.
Shards of Alara 1 - Magic 2010 3
Magic Origins vs Mirage
A truly unlucky pairing for Mirage. The monoblack deck's strategy is removing the key creatures of its opponent and bring them back under its command with Ashen Powder. Unfortunately, Magic Origins does not have key creatures. It only has small creatures that work together to spawn and support a large army of flying Thopters. As such, this was a very one-sided match, with Magic Origins achieving an easy win.
Magic Origins 3 - Mirage 0
Conflux vs Legions
Conflux is a strange 5c control deck that tries to pack an answer to everything. Against Legions, though, there is only one thing that's needed - the capability of dealing with armies of creatures. This is not exactly Conflux's strong point, but I would still declare the control deck as favorite, since its overall quality level is clearly higher.
Game 1
Conflux starts, but has to take a mulligan. Legions makes the first play with a turn one Plated Sliver, while Conflux shows a turn two Kaleidostone. No play on the following turn from the two decks, while Legions on turn three shows a Glowrider. Still nothing from Conflux, and Legions presses the advantage by playing an Essence Sliver and attacking with its creatures. Conflux thinks about Path of Exile-ing one, but sees that its opponent lacks Swamps, and doesn't want to give it any. So, Conflux falls at 15 and Legions gain one life point.
And finally it's time for Conflux to answer back: a Thornling makes its appearance! But Legions is ready with a trick of its own: a Shifting Sliver. The Essence and Plated are turned to attack for four damage and four life points gained! Things are going well so far for the Sliver deck.
Conflux draws, plays a Noble Hierarch, and passes. Legions draws, plays a Swamp, and turns its Sliver to attack – Conflux smiles as it shows Path of Exile to remove the Shifting Sliver and moves the Thornling to block the Essence Sliver. In one strike, the two most dangerous creatures on Legions's side of the board, removed. Conflux regains control of the game. Legions then adds a Toxic Sliver to the board and passes. Conflux plays another Noble Hierarch, then passes.
And then things change again! Legions draws and plays a Ward Sliver, declaring Protection from Green! The Toxin and Ward Sliver can now attack freely, and Conflux falls down to 6 life points... with only one turn left to live!
Conflux needs to draw something useful, and fast... but it's only a Cylian Sunsinger! Game over! Legions wins game one.
Game 2
Conflux starts with a Noble Hierarch followed quickly by a second Noble Hierarch, attacking with the other one for two damage. On its turn, Legions answers with a Crypt Sliver. Conflux is stuck at two lands, but luckily it can play a Shard Comvergence to refill its hand of lands, before playing a Plains and passing. Legions draws, plays a land, decides to keept its Sliver on the defensive, and passes. The aggro deck is currently lacking white manas sources, and that might be what it's slowing it down. Conflux plays a Cylian Sunsinger, a Wall of Reverence, and then passes. Legions draws and plays a second Crypt Sliver, then passes.
Conflux has nothing to do at the moment, except attack with the Sunsinger and boosting her (still blocked by a regenerating Sliver), gaining seven life points from the Wall of Reverence, before passing. Legions plays a Spectral Sliver and passes. And then Conflux can finally play its signature card: Conflux! It fetches a Thornling, an Ethersworn Adjudicator, a Magister Sphinx, a Martial Coup and a second Conflux, then passes. Legions knows it has to do something quickly, but it's still lacking white mana, and can only play a Synapse Sliver. Legions then declares an attack with its three Slivers. One of the Crypt Slivers is blocked by the Wall, the Spectral trades for the Sunsinger, and one manages to deal damage and allows Legions to draw one... not a Plains.
Conflux plays the Magister Sphinx to bring its opponent down to 10, then passes. Still no Plains for Legions... and a hand full of only white cards! The Sliver deck knows it's over and concedes. The two deck move on to game 3.
Game 3
Legions begins with a Crypt Sliver, but it's quickly answered by a Cylian Sunsinger from Conflux. Nothing from Legions on the following turn, while Conflux adds a Knight of the Reliquary. Legions adds a dangerous Toxin Sliver, then passes. Conflux draws and passes. On its turn, Legions turns the Toxin Sliver to attack, and Conflux shows a Path of Exile to get rid of it. Legions is still happy to get an Island, as it was missing it, and adds another Toxin Sliver to the board before passing. End of turn, the Knight taps to destroy a Forest and fetch an Island instead. Then Conflux plays a Thornling and passes.
Then legions get lucky: it draws a Ward Sliver and immediately plays it, selecting Green as the colour! The Toxin Sliver is immediately turned to attack for three, and there's nothing Conflux can do to stop it. End of turn, another land is traded via the Knight, then a second Thornling joins the board, and finally Conflux passes. Legions plays a Synapse Sliver, then a Plated Sliver, and attacks for five damage and two cards drawn with the Ward and Toxin Sliver.
Conflux is still activating the Knight to remove lands from the deck, but it's still drawing only lands. So for now it can only pass.
Legions cannot yet deliver the killing blow, but it still attacks for nine and adds another Toxin Sliver to the board. Only a Martial Coup can at this point save Conflux... but it only draws another Thornling! Legions wins game 3. Conflux has learned that its true enemy it's the Ward Sliver, and the Path of Exile must be saved for it. But can the control deck recover and win?
Game 4
Luckily for Conflux, Legions has to mulligan, and its start it's not particularly good, with a turn three Glowrider being the first play. Conflux has played a turn two Kaleidostone, and plays a Wall of Reverence to answer its opponent's creature. Legions plays a Toxin Sliver and passes. Conflux plays a Thornling and passes (and now it's starting to gain some serious life points, and that's troubling Legions).
But here comes the Ward Sliver again! Again all Slivers gain protection from Green, and the Toxin is turned to attack. Conflux decides not to sacrifice the Wall, and takes the three damage. This time around, Conflux has an answer ready: the Kaleidostone is sacrificed to fuel an Ethersworn Adjudicator. Not only this is a blue creature, but it can easily destroy the most dangerous Slivers.
Legions plays a Spectral Sliver and turns the Ward and Toxin to attack. Conflux doesn't want to sacrifice its creatures, and takes the damage (with the Ward boosted +1/+1 from the Spectral's ability). Still, with the life points gained from the Wall, Conflux is still sitting comfortably at 20 life points.
Conflux still needs the black mana to activate the Adjudicator, and plays a Rupture Spire to get it – starting from next turn. For now, a Cylian Sunsinger and a Noble Hierarch are also played, the Adjudicator attacks, then finally Conflux passes. Legions adds an Essence Sliver to the board, then attacks for eight damage and eight life points gained.
And finally Conflux can tap the Adjudicator to kill the Ward Sliver! Conflux it's almost giggling now as it passes the ball back to Legions. But it's Legions to laugh last, after all, when it draws another Ward Sliver! What to do with it? Conflux is still at 20 life points,thanks to the Wall, and it's not going to die quickly. The Adjudicator can snipe down its Slivers, slowly and surely. So Legions decide to give them protection from Blue. Then Legions passes.
Conflux is quite annoyed at the moment, but at least it can now use its green creatures to block. So, after attacking with the Adjudicator, a second Thornling is added to the board. Then Conflux passes.
Legions draws and plays a Crypt Sliver, then passes.
Conflux is ready to press its advantage by playing a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and activating its +3 ability to destroy the opponent's only Swamp. The Adjudicator attacks again, then Conflux passes. Legions decides to attack Nicol Bolas with one Sliver, mostly to gain life points, as the Thornling can be made indestructible. The two decks can survive until the end of time by trading attacks and gaining life points, but Conflux has the clear advantage here, thanks to the Planeswalker.
Another Thornling played by Conflux, another land destroyed. Legions would really need a Shifting Sliver now, but it only draws a Plated Sliver. Not good enough. Still, Legions must act – an all out attack is declared on Nicol Bolads, keeping only the Ward Sliver (and the newly played Plated Sliver) back. The Glowrider, the Essence Sliver and the Toxin Sliver crash on the Thornlings and are destroyed, with no loss on Conflux side (the Thornlings blocking the Slivers get indestructible). The Noble Hierarch and the Sunsinger sacrifices themselves to block the remaining two Slivers. Legions gain 12 life points, but it has lost most of its Slivers without even managing its objective: removing Loyalty Counters from Nicol Bolas.
And then it comes: the final ability from Nicol Bolas is activated, and Legions is forced to sarcifice almost everything. After remaining with only three lands and a lonely Ward Sliver, it finally concedes, and the two decks move on to the final game.
Game 5
It's not a quick start for Legions, with the first play being a turn three Glowrider, answered by a Reliquary Knight from Conflux. Legions immediately gets much more dangerous, though, with a Shifting Sliver. Then, the Glowrider attacks for two, and finally Legions passes. Conflux just plays a Cylian Sunsinger and passes. A second Shifting Sliver joins the first one on Legions's side of the board, with the other one attacking for two. Then, Legions passes and Conflux starts fetching lands with the Knight.
Conflux turns its creatures to attack, and Legions block the Sunsinger with the Glowrider. The Sunsinger is boosted to save it, and Conflux passes. Legions adds a Toxin Sliver to the board, attacks for four, and passes. Conflux attacks with the Sunsinger, and Legions decides to take the damage (Conflux activates its ability once, making it five damage). Then, it's once again Legions's turn.
The Sliver deck plays a Synapse Sliver and attacks with all its creatures. A Path of Exile is spent here to remove the Toxin Sliver and Conflux takes only 4 damage, with Legions drawing two and then passing. End of turn, Conflux activates the Knight again, then attacks with both its creatures. Legions blocks the Sunsinger with the Synapse Sliver, and the ability from the Sunsinger is activated once to kill its blocker. The two decks are now at 8 life points.
Legions plays another Synapse Sliver, then a Crypt Sliver, and finally attacks with the two Shifting Sliver. Conflux falls at 4 life points. Game over? Legions is already tasting the savour of an almost impossible win, when Conflux taps its six lands for mana, then the Knight, then again the new land... and shows a Martial Coup for 5! The board is wiped clean of all the precious slivers!
This is a very hard blow for Legions. But the Sliver deck still can fight. In the following turn, it empties its hand to play a Glowrider and two Crypt Sliver. Conflux has now a clear advantage, and declares an all-out attack with all the Soldier token. Legions doesn't want to take all the damage, so one of the Crypt Sliver is sacrificed to block and kill a token. Legions takes four damage and falls down to 4. Conflux plays a Thornling to defend itself and passes. Now, it needs some luck. Legions draws... a Spectral Sliver. Will it be enough? With only one Sliver (and the Glowrider) able to attack and the Thornling on the defensive, Legions can't kill its opponent right now. Legions has to pass for now. Conflux declares an all out attack.
The Spectral Sliver blocks the Thornling, the Crypt Sliver one of the Tokens, and the Glowrider another token. Legions would take only two damge this way... but the Thornling is quickly turned into a 7/1 with Trample. Legions taps four mana to give +2/+2 to the Spectral Sliver... but it's not enough! Conflux wins and moves on to the quarterfinals. Legions can still keep its head high, as its participation in BOTS far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Conflux 3 - Legions 2
Return to Ravnica vs Rise of Eldrazi
An interesting matchup between a pure control deck and a pure ramp deck. An element of interest here is that the Eldrazi titans's effects apply on cast, reducing the utility of Return to Ravnica many counterspells. That said, the control deck has plenty of tools to deal with any kind of creature. Rise of Eldrazi will need some luck if it wants to win this one.
Game 1
Return to Ravnica wins the roll to start, but has to mulligan once to find an acceptable hand. Luckily, Rise of Eldrazi is not having a quick start, and the first play is by Return to Ravnica with a turn three Chromatic Lantern. Rise of Eldrazi answers with a Mul Daya Channelers and passes. Return to Ravnica has an Izzet Charm in hand, but the Channeler is currently a 5/5 as the card on top of the Eldrazi deck is another Mul Daya Channelers. So for now Return to Ravnica only plays a Frostburn Weird and passes.
Rise of the Eldrazi draws, and this time there's a Forest on top of its deck. The channeler is then tapped for mana, allowing the green deck to play the second Channeler and a Growth Spasm. Return to Ravnica answers the Spasm by killing one of the Channelers with the Izzet Charm, and then it's again the control deck's turn.
Return to Ravnica is a little short on options at the moment, so it decides to play a Sphinx's Revelation for two. Not much, but it should get the control deck going again.
Again Rise of the Eldrazi's turn, and again a Forest on top of its deck. Seeing its opponent it's all tapped out, the Eldrazi deck has no trouble playing a Pelakka Wurm followed by Ancient Stirrings to get unfortunately only an Eldrazi Temple. Now, it's Return to Ravnica's turn, and the control deck needs to deal with the huge wurm. How? Well, the answer is simple. As an Angel of Serenity enters the battlefield, Rise of Eldrazi is suddenly deprived of all its creatures, down to the eldrazi token!
This is terrible news for the green deck, that seems unable to recover as it can only draw and pass, with nothing to play. Return to Ravnica starts hitting hard with the angel and the weird, and Rise of Eldrazi is suddenly on a very short clock.
But here comes the light at the end of the tunnel: another Pelakka Wurm is drawn and immediately played! The game is balanced again, and Return to Ravnica only attacks with the angel before passing again. Rise of Eldrazi attacks with the wurm, dealing seven damage, then plays a Joraga Treespeaker, levels it up once, and passes. Rise of Eldrazi is now at 19 life points, Return to Ravnica at 15.
Return to Ravnica attacks with both the Angel and and the Weird, dealing nine damage, then passes again. Rise of Eldrazi is ready to go all in: an Eldrazi Conscription is casted targeting the Treespeaker, but Return to Ravnica is quick to asnwer by bouncing the elf with a Cyclonic Rift! The elf is tapped for mana, though, as Rise of Eldrazi decides to play a Momentous Fall on the wurm. This is the key point of the game: can Rise of Eldrazi refill its hand and life points? No, it can't. Return to Ravnica smiles as it shows a Syncopate, the last card in its hand! The wurm goes to the graveyard anyway, netting only a single card to Rise of the Eldrazi, and with that, the game is most likely over.
Return to Ravnica attacks for nine more damage, then Rise of Eldrazi draws... and shows an hand of two Forests and a Joraga Treespeaker! The two decks move on to game two.
Game 2
Rise of Eldrazi is starting much faster this time, with a turn one Joraga Treespeaker, leveled up in turn two to fuel an Overgrown Battlement. Nothing yet for Return to Ravnica, so Rise of Eldrazi can play a Growth Spasm and then attack for one with the Treespeaker. It's finally time for Return to Ravnica to play something: a Frostburn Weird. Then the control deck passes again.
Rise of Eldrazi draws... and passes. A grand total of more than 10 mana, considering the two Eldrazi Temple in play... and nothing to do with it. Not a lucky day for the ramp deck. Return to Ravnica can leisurely control the flow of the game, then, playing a Chromatic Lantern before passing again. Still only a land drawn by Rise of Eldrazi, and nothing to do. Return to Ravnica plays an Izzet Charm to draw two, discards another Weird and a land, and passes.
Rise of Eldrazi incredibly draws another Overgrown Battlement, plays it and passes. Return to Ravnica draws and passes as well. A truly slow game. Again a land for Rise of Eldrazi, while Return to Ravnica plays another Frostburn Weird and attacks with the first one, trading with the Joraga Treespeaker (Rise of Eldrazi surely doesn't need the elf for mana anymore). On the following turn, Rise of Eldrazi draws and plays an Ondu Giant, continuing to stack up mana. Return to Ravnica simply draws and passes.
If you've been trying to stifle a yawn so far, rejoice: this is where things get interesting. Finally, Rise of Eldrazi draws an Ancient Stirrings, fetching an Eldrazi Conscription that is immediately played targeting the Giant. Return to Ravnica has a Syncopate in hand, but even with Rise of Eldrazi tapping for nine, the green deck has still more mana available than the control deck!
This time, there's nothing to prevent the powerful aura to enter into play. The giant grows into an horror from out of time and space, and slams in into Return to Ravnica. Two lands are sacrificed to Annihilator, then the Weird sacrifices itself to reduce the damage taken to 8. Return to Ravnica falls to 11.
On its turn, the control deck shows a Supreme Verdict to clear the board... but Rise of Eldrazi shows a Momentous Fall! Again, the control deck cannot counter, and the green deck draws 12 cards and gain 14 life points! Things don't look good for Return to Ravnica, definitely.
Rise of Eldrazi looks like an happy kid as it draws, plays a Kozilek, Butcher of Thruts, a Mul Daya Channelers, discards a few cards, and finally passes. But Return to Ravnica won't go down without a fight: an Angel of Serenity is played to remove the dangerous creatures from the board, and gain the control deck some time. Rise of Eldrazi just shrugs, plays a Pelakka Wurm (flying up to 41 life points), then passes.
Return to Ravnica draws a breath of relief: apparently, despite having drawn some 15+ cards, the Eldrazi deck hasn't managed to found an Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre to kill the angel. The angel attacks, then a Detention Sphere deals with the wurm, and finally the control deck passes.
But here comes the Ulamog: the Angel is reduced to nothingness, and a few creatures go back to Rise of Eldrazi's hand. Luckily, Return to Ravnica can Syncopate the powerful Eldrazi, so at least it won't enter play. Rise of Eldrazi plays the Mul Daya Channelers, then suprisingly discards the Kozilek. The reason is simple: its deck was starting to run low on cards, and Rise of Eldrazi wanted to avoid losing dumbly after having gained a large advantage. Rise of Eldrazi reshuffles, then passes.
As the top deck of Rise of Eldrazi deck is an Eldrazi Conscription, the Channelers can be quickly dispatched by an Izzet Charm, then Return to Ravnica passes. Rise of Eldrazi, like it's nothing, plays another Pelakka Wurm and enchants it with an Eldrazi Conscription. Luckily, Return to Ravnica can end-of-turn bounce it with a Cyclonic Rift, but this is only a temporary solution – and the control deck's hand is now empty.
Return to Ravnica draws and passes. Rise of Eldrazi, again, with a Pelakka Wurm + Eldrazi Conscription, this time joined by a Joraga Treespeaker. End of turn, Return to Ravnica bounces the wurm again with another Cyclonic Rift!
Return to Ravnica draws and passes again. Rise of Eldrazi shows a third Eldrazi Conscription, targeting the Treespeaker. That's an 11/11, and Return to Ravnica is exactly at 11 life points. Can the control deck survive this time, too? Only one card in hand... a Supreme Verdict! Game over! 1-1, and the two decks move on to game three.
Game 3
The first play of the game is a Joraga Treespeaker from Rise of the Eldrazi. On the following turn, the level up cost is payed, but is immediately answered by an Izzet Charm to kill the poor elf. Then, on its turn, Return to Ravnica just draws and passes. On the following turn, Rise of Eldrazi gets two more Joraga Treespeaker in play. End of turn, Return to Ravnica use another Izzet Charm to draw two and then discards two lands. Then, it passes.
Rise of Eldrazi misses a land drop, but taps two mana to level up one treespeaker, then taps that creature to level up the other treespeaker, and finally plays a Mul Daya Channelers – invasion of the elves! Return to Ravnica misses a land drop as well, but it's not particularly worried by all the mana creatures as it shows a Supreme Verdict to clear the board.
Rise of Eldrazi draws and plays its fourth land, then fetches two more lands with two Ancient Stirrings, and finally passes. Return to Ravnica draws, plays a land and passes. Same for Rise of Eldrazi, then on the following turn a Frostburn Weird is played by Return to Ravnica. Rise of Eldrazi gets its third Eldrazi Temple in play before passing.
Return to Ravnica looks worried by the possibility of having a giant Eldrazi stomping the battlefield at this points of the game, so it decides to keep mana open for counterspells, attacking with the Weird for three damage only. Rise of Eldrazi knows its opponent can probably counter, but still plays a Kozilek, Butcher of Thruth, simply because drawing four cards is exactly what the green deck needs at the moment. The big Eldrazi,though, is countered by a Syncopate.
Return to Ravnica then plays a Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius, attacks again with the Frostburn Weird, and finally passes. What will rise of Eldrazi unleash now? The answer is simple – a Mul Daya Channelers... enchanted with an Eldrazi Conscription! The huge monstrosity towers above Return to Ravnica, threatening to end the game quickly is an answer can't be found.
But Return to Ravnica has already shown many times that it can handle these kind of threats. After attacking with Niv-Mizzet to draw one, it plays an Angel of Serenity ro remove the dangerous Channeler. Rise of Eldrazi is now at 10 life points.
Rise of Eldrazi draws an Overgrown Battlement, and looks at its hand: one land, two Momentous Fall, one Joraga Treespeaker, and the wall. The best it can do is play the Battlement and sacrifice it to gain 4 points, and maybe survive one more turn, but as Return to Ravnica draws and plays a Mountain, it has enough mana of the correct colors to activate 4 times Niv-Mizzet's ability... and along with the attack, that makes 14 damage, just about right. Return to Ravnica wins game three!
Game 4
Return to Ravnica has to mulligan once, while its opponent twice! Despite that, Rise of Eldrazi quickly gets its engine going, with an Overgrown Battlement followed by a Growth Spasm, while Return to Ravnica only plays lands and passes. Rise of Eldrazi increases its army of creatures with a second Overgrown Battlement followed by a Mul Daya Channelers (revealing a good Kozilek, Butcher of Thruth on top of the deck!).
Return to Ravnica knows it has to prepare for the big Eldrazi entering the battlefield soon, so it decides to play a Sphinx's Revelation for two and passes. And here it comes: Rise of Eldrazi taps out four lands (one Eldrazi Temple), two Battlements, and sacrifices the token to play Kozilek! The Channelers stays a 2/2 this round, with no creatures or lands on top of the deck, but can still attack for two damage.
Return to Ravnica draws and prepares the countermeasures: a Detention Sphere to exile Kozilek, followed by an Izzet Charm to take care of the Channelers. The control deck looks satisfied, and passes. But Rise of Eldrazi is not done yet: another Mul Daya Channelers enter the battlefield, followed by a Growth Spasm. An Ondu Giant sits on top of Rise of Eldrazi deck at the end of the turn, meaning that the Channelers are a 5/5. Return to Ravnica, surprisingly, draws and passes.
Rise of Eldrazi draws the Giant and reveals a Forest. The Giant is played, but before it resolves, an Izzet Charm flies to kill the Channelers. Rise of Eldrazi then passes.
Return to Ravnica decides to take the chance of a calm situation on the board to play a Sphinx's Revelation for three, keeping two mana open... for what? Rise of Eldrazi can guess, by this time. So, instead of playing an Eldrazi Conscription, it decides to go for an Ancient Stirrings... getting an Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, and immediately playing it. The Sphere of Detention is destroyed... and Kozilek is free! The two titans are now walking freely on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Giant strikes for two, but this is definitely the least of Return to Ravnica's worries.
Fear not, thinks Return to Ravnica - as it has already done many times before, here comes to the rescue... an Angel of Serenity. In a single move, the two Eldrazi are removed from the battlefield, along with the giant!
Rise of Eldrazi is almost ready to start weeping, but decides for one last gamble: an Eldrazi Conscription on a Battlement, that should be followed by a Momentous Fall. But Return to Ravnica still has two mana opens... and that's a Cyclonic Rift to destroy the Eldrazi deck B plan. Game over? Rise of Eldrazi wants to fight until the end.
So, the game goes on. Return to Ravnica draws, attacks and passes. Rise of Eldrazi plays an Ondu Giant, then the Momentous Fall to draw two and gain four life, and passes. Return to Ravnica attacks again, plays a Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius and finally passes.
Rise of Eldrazi tries to start a counteroffensive with a Kozilek, Butcher of Thruth... and it resolves! Rise of Eldrazi draws four and passes. End of turn, Return to Ravnica pings for two with Niv-Mizzet, drawing two. On its turn, the control deck shows a Detention Sphere for the Eldrazi titan, that is answered by a Momentous Fall from Rise of Eldrazi. Return to Ravnica thinks for a second, then neutralizes the spell with a Syncopate. At this point, Return to Ravnica attacks with its two creatures to bring Rise of Eldrazi down to two... and draws a card. Return to Ravncia needs another land to play to ping for the last two damage with Niv-Mizzet, as it only has three mana open right now. It draws... an island! And the match is over! The control deck was able to keep the dangerous Eldrazi at bay, mostly thanks to the MVP Angel of Serenity that repeatedly cleared the board of the most dangerous creatures from the green dack. Return to Ravnica moves on to the quarterfinals!
Return to Ravnica 3 - Rise of Eldrazi 1