Tournament Report from Last night: Went 4-1 to come in 4th place, not too shabby.
Round 1 Vs Mono-U TronDrazi (0-2)
Matchup is a nightmare for us. This build runs Elder-Deep Fiend, TKS, Smasher, Reshapers and Chalice of the Void. Not the best was to start the tournament, but got the worst matchup out of the way. Game 1 she plays Chalice on 1 off of a land and Simian Spirit Guide, which I promptly scoop too as I have 2 Paths, a Relic, and Thoughtseize in my hand. Game 2 I never get off of three lands and Stabilize at 4 life before she plays two Reality Smashers in the same turn. Brutal. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think that using Surgical to get their Deep Fiends or Smashers can really help the matchup.
Round 2 vs Naya Burn (2-0)
Matchup was a breeze. Turn 2 I hit a fully escalated Brutality to kill his Swiftspear, take a Lava spike, and gain two. Next turn he draws a rift Bolt and plays an Eidolon. I drew Strangler and Processed the bolt to kill Eidolon, he promptly scooped. Game 2 I hit a turn 3 TKS to take his Boros Charm, then played Sorin to close it out. Wasn't even close. This matchup is great for us.
Round 3 vs Abzan Midrange...flicker...budget? (2-1)
Kind of an oddball deck here. We both had Lingering Souls here, but I drew into Liliana, the last hope. Needless to say, that card alone wins games, and it pulled its weight in spades, getting back Reality smashers and killing off Lingering Soul tokens. I win Game 1 by running over his Resto Angels with Two Smashers. Game 2 He "Gets the Nut" and plays back to back Thoughtseizes, lingering souls, and a Siege Rhino, followed up by Eldrazi Displacer. I have only Lingering Souls as my threats, so he blinks them away and I die. Game 3 he must have brought in Loxodon Smiters, because my first Thoughtseize on t2 gave him just that. He follows his play with a Rhino on T4, and I play and flashback souls on my turn. He vomits his hand on T5, Playing Displacer and Wall of Omens, but he doesn't know I have Damnation in hand. I cast Damnation and put him in topdeck mode. I draw Sorin and Flashback a Lingering Souls to close out the match. It is also worth noting that this was a slow, grindy close. I actually managed to ult Sorin.....Twice. He had voice of resurgences and still more lingering souls, but the grind on my end was real. Fun match.
Round 4 vs Naya Burn (2-1)
Not much to say here. Game 1 I nut and hit T2 TKS, taking his Atarka's Command, follow it up with Lingering Souls, and cast Sorin. The Concession was quick. Game 2 he Kills me through a Timely Reinforcements by having 2 Atarka's Command in his hand. Game 3 my opening hand was Brutality, Brutality, Souls, Souls, Marsh Flats, Shambling Vent, Vault of the Archangel. I play vent and he punishes me with Goblin Guide, revealing Strangler. I untap, play vault, and Brutality him, pitching two Lingering souls to take an Atarka's command, kill his Guide and gain 2. He untaps, holds up two mana, and passes. I draw TKS, but hold off on casting it as I assumed It would eat a Path, so instead I brutality him again to take a Lava spike, leaving an Eidolon and Rift bolt in his hand. (Seem familiar?) He untaps on t4 and Plays Eidolon and Suspends Rift bolt. I untap and Cast Strangler to kill Eidolon and Process the Rift Bolt. Salty concession ensues.
Round 5 vs Non Budget Abzan (2-0)
Played against Kevin Jones' brother, who is an awesome dude. Game 1 I Mull to 6 and lead with a vent, and he inquisitions me to reveal Eldrazi temple, Matter reshaper, strangler, 2x Lingering Souls. He takes reshaper and I draw Marsh flats and pass. He untaps and inquisitions me again, this time taking a lingering Souls. It is at this point that I realize that he must not have his own lingering Souls, so I am quick to cast mine the next turn after drawing Relic. We grind for a few turns with a very small goyf vs my souls tokens, but eventually I draw TKS and some stranglers to win the Game. Game 2 he had double Bitterblossom but it would end up hurting him in the long run as I have two Reality smashers in my hand that punished his small 1/1s. It is worth noting that a Thoughtseize that I cast close to turn 5 revealed Zealous persecution, Damnation, and Murderous Cut from him. I had one smasher and a strangler out already, with the second in hand. He has one bitterblossom token. I think for a second before I swing with the team....and he pitches Damnation to kill Smasher with Murderous Cut. Perfection. I untap slam my other smasher to put him to 4, and he goes to 2 on his upkeep, hits the thinktank for a minute, and decides he has no other outs. Good Games and he is always an absolute pleasure to play against.
Impressions:
Deck is solid! Performed very well tonight and I'm sure that if I wasn't land screwed in the first match, I could have went 5-0. We have very interesting lines of attack and I feel that this deck will do very well. I play with players on the skill level of Kevin Jones (Who is a regular at my LGS) and Joe Countryman, so I sometimes get some really good practice in. Having those players around also helps with healthy deck discussion and testing. Despite the fact that some of the players think the deck is "a pile," I feel very confident that if you put the time in to learn the deck, you can do well with it. Cheers!
Veeeeeeeeeeeery long time lurker, first time poster. (Been playing Kiki decks for about a year now, up to date on most tech and such)
I've been reading and rereading the past 20 or so pages of our discussion, and I think I've arrived at a conclusion that might affect how we look at the deck.
Consider this: We have access to Bolt, Path, and a variety of toolbox effects. I am a firm believer in 4 Bolt and any number of Path, but the main issue and discussion surrounding the deck comes from the toolbox effects. I'm not saying this is a problem with the deck; far from it. What I'd like to iterate is that we need to focus on what the toolbox effects are supposed to DO. We need to solidify our Game 1s before we talk spicy tech for Games 2 and 3.
Our Game 1s should almost always be decided by us comboing out or beating face. Thats it. No spicy maindeck 5-7 drop creature that could maybe win the game, sometimes, IF we're ahead?... What is the creature or spell that will allow us to win by beating face or by stalling the board until we combo out? What creature or spell makes a board presence or amplifies ours by a significant amount? What configuration of creatures and spells gives us the best chance of winning G1 with our strategy?
Once we have solidified what a good stock list is, and what configuration of spells, creatures, and land work best for our strategy, THEN we can talk about spicy tech for Games 2 and 3. I see a lot of us focusing too much on the ability to toolbox, and not on our consistency. WE NEED CONSISTENCY. We have to agree on where to start before we can determine where to go.
2
Round 1 Vs Mono-U TronDrazi (0-2)
Matchup is a nightmare for us. This build runs Elder-Deep Fiend, TKS, Smasher, Reshapers and Chalice of the Void. Not the best was to start the tournament, but got the worst matchup out of the way. Game 1 she plays Chalice on 1 off of a land and Simian Spirit Guide, which I promptly scoop too as I have 2 Paths, a Relic, and Thoughtseize in my hand. Game 2 I never get off of three lands and Stabilize at 4 life before she plays two Reality Smashers in the same turn. Brutal. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think that using Surgical to get their Deep Fiends or Smashers can really help the matchup.
Round 2 vs Naya Burn (2-0)
Matchup was a breeze. Turn 2 I hit a fully escalated Brutality to kill his Swiftspear, take a Lava spike, and gain two. Next turn he draws a rift Bolt and plays an Eidolon. I drew Strangler and Processed the bolt to kill Eidolon, he promptly scooped. Game 2 I hit a turn 3 TKS to take his Boros Charm, then played Sorin to close it out. Wasn't even close. This matchup is great for us.
Round 3 vs Abzan Midrange...flicker...budget? (2-1)
Kind of an oddball deck here. We both had Lingering Souls here, but I drew into Liliana, the last hope. Needless to say, that card alone wins games, and it pulled its weight in spades, getting back Reality smashers and killing off Lingering Soul tokens. I win Game 1 by running over his Resto Angels with Two Smashers. Game 2 He "Gets the Nut" and plays back to back Thoughtseizes, lingering souls, and a Siege Rhino, followed up by Eldrazi Displacer. I have only Lingering Souls as my threats, so he blinks them away and I die. Game 3 he must have brought in Loxodon Smiters, because my first Thoughtseize on t2 gave him just that. He follows his play with a Rhino on T4, and I play and flashback souls on my turn. He vomits his hand on T5, Playing Displacer and Wall of Omens, but he doesn't know I have Damnation in hand. I cast Damnation and put him in topdeck mode. I draw Sorin and Flashback a Lingering Souls to close out the match. It is also worth noting that this was a slow, grindy close. I actually managed to ult Sorin.....Twice. He had voice of resurgences and still more lingering souls, but the grind on my end was real. Fun match.
Round 4 vs Naya Burn (2-1)
Not much to say here. Game 1 I nut and hit T2 TKS, taking his Atarka's Command, follow it up with Lingering Souls, and cast Sorin. The Concession was quick. Game 2 he Kills me through a Timely Reinforcements by having 2 Atarka's Command in his hand. Game 3 my opening hand was Brutality, Brutality, Souls, Souls, Marsh Flats, Shambling Vent, Vault of the Archangel. I play vent and he punishes me with Goblin Guide, revealing Strangler. I untap, play vault, and Brutality him, pitching two Lingering souls to take an Atarka's command, kill his Guide and gain 2. He untaps, holds up two mana, and passes. I draw TKS, but hold off on casting it as I assumed It would eat a Path, so instead I brutality him again to take a Lava spike, leaving an Eidolon and Rift bolt in his hand. (Seem familiar?) He untaps on t4 and Plays Eidolon and Suspends Rift bolt. I untap and Cast Strangler to kill Eidolon and Process the Rift Bolt. Salty concession ensues.
Round 5 vs Non Budget Abzan (2-0)
Played against Kevin Jones' brother, who is an awesome dude. Game 1 I Mull to 6 and lead with a vent, and he inquisitions me to reveal Eldrazi temple, Matter reshaper, strangler, 2x Lingering Souls. He takes reshaper and I draw Marsh flats and pass. He untaps and inquisitions me again, this time taking a lingering Souls. It is at this point that I realize that he must not have his own lingering Souls, so I am quick to cast mine the next turn after drawing Relic. We grind for a few turns with a very small goyf vs my souls tokens, but eventually I draw TKS and some stranglers to win the Game. Game 2 he had double Bitterblossom but it would end up hurting him in the long run as I have two Reality smashers in my hand that punished his small 1/1s. It is worth noting that a Thoughtseize that I cast close to turn 5 revealed Zealous persecution, Damnation, and Murderous Cut from him. I had one smasher and a strangler out already, with the second in hand. He has one bitterblossom token. I think for a second before I swing with the team....and he pitches Damnation to kill Smasher with Murderous Cut. Perfection. I untap slam my other smasher to put him to 4, and he goes to 2 on his upkeep, hits the thinktank for a minute, and decides he has no other outs. Good Games and he is always an absolute pleasure to play against.
Impressions:
Deck is solid! Performed very well tonight and I'm sure that if I wasn't land screwed in the first match, I could have went 5-0. We have very interesting lines of attack and I feel that this deck will do very well. I play with players on the skill level of Kevin Jones (Who is a regular at my LGS) and Joe Countryman, so I sometimes get some really good practice in. Having those players around also helps with healthy deck discussion and testing. Despite the fact that some of the players think the deck is "a pile," I feel very confident that if you put the time in to learn the deck, you can do well with it. Cheers!
1
Veeeeeeeeeeeery long time lurker, first time poster. (Been playing Kiki decks for about a year now, up to date on most tech and such)
I've been reading and rereading the past 20 or so pages of our discussion, and I think I've arrived at a conclusion that might affect how we look at the deck.
Consider this: We have access to Bolt, Path, and a variety of toolbox effects. I am a firm believer in 4 Bolt and any number of Path, but the main issue and discussion surrounding the deck comes from the toolbox effects. I'm not saying this is a problem with the deck; far from it. What I'd like to iterate is that we need to focus on what the toolbox effects are supposed to DO. We need to solidify our Game 1s before we talk spicy tech for Games 2 and 3.
Our Game 1s should almost always be decided by us comboing out or beating face. Thats it. No spicy maindeck 5-7 drop creature that could maybe win the game, sometimes, IF we're ahead?... What is the creature or spell that will allow us to win by beating face or by stalling the board until we combo out? What creature or spell makes a board presence or amplifies ours by a significant amount? What configuration of creatures and spells gives us the best chance of winning G1 with our strategy?
Once we have solidified what a good stock list is, and what configuration of spells, creatures, and land work best for our strategy, THEN we can talk about spicy tech for Games 2 and 3. I see a lot of us focusing too much on the ability to toolbox, and not on our consistency. WE NEED CONSISTENCY. We have to agree on where to start before we can determine where to go.