MTG Salvation

I just came back from a GP Boston Grand Prix Trial, I finished in second place with an overall record of 5-2-1. There were about 25 people in attendance, and it was a very diverse field. Here's my list for reference:



Round 1: Quest for the Holy Relic

The basic idea of this deck is to get out Quest for the Holy Relic and use a bunch of zero-cost artifacts and cheap creatures to be able to cast big artifact equipments, such as Batterskull and Argentum Armor.

Game 1, I started growing my team with Steel Overseer and I eventually overwhelmed his board.
Game 2, He mulled to 5 and kept a hand with 2x Ornithopter, 2x plains, and a Squadron Hawk. I started attacking with Inkmoth Nexus, and after I was able to put some counters on it with a sacrificed Arcbound Ravager, it was a matter of pushing through his flying creatures until he reached 10 infect.

1-0 in matches, 2-0 in games.

Round 2: Mono-Blue Tron

Game 1, he mulled to 5 and I overwhelmed him quickly with a board of multiple zero-cost creatures and an early Steel Overseer.
Game 2, I had the turn 3 kill with Inkmoth Nexus and an Arcbound Ravager with a bunch of creatures.

2-0 in matches, 4-0 in games.

Round 3: U/W/r Control

Game 1, I was able to grind him out with Inkmoth Nexus while he tried to find an answer.
Game 2, I mulled to 6 and kept a shaky hand which he picked apart with counters and bolts. I was able to slightly recover with a Grafdigger's Cage which turned off his Snapcaster Mage, but he eventually beat me down with Celestial Colonnade.
Game 3 was very close. At first, I mulled to 6 and kept a very risky hand that did not allow me to play anything other than Inkmoth Nexus and Mox Opal until turn 3, where I was able to play a zero-cost creature, turn on the inkmoth, and cast Springleaf Drum to somewhat stabilize. Eventually it came down to him at 7 life, me at 6. He had a colonnade, I had an Etched Champion with a cranial plating attached that was presenting exactly lethal. I activated one of my man lands to equal exactly seven damage, and he was able to flash in Snapcaster Mage and Lightning Helix my manland, leaving him at 4 life. He swung back for lethal the next turn with a bolt and a colonnade.

2-1 in matches, 5-2 in games.

Round 4: Merfolk

Game 1, I mulled to 4 and he mulled to 5. I was able to go turn one, Inkmoth --> Skirge --> Mox Opal, holding Thoughcast in my hand. I eventually drew into more lands and Cranial Plating, and he didn't have any flying creatures to block before he reached 10 infect.
Game 2, I kept a shaky hand with mana to produce red, because I had 2x Galvanic Blast in hand with 1 creature. On turns two and three, I Galv Blasted his lords, and he couldn't recover. I eventually ran him over with creatures+plating.

3-1 in matches, 7-2 in games. I was able to draw with my round 5 opponent, leaving me as the third seed going into top 8.

Quarterfinal Round: Jund

Game 1, I was able to get him down to 8 with a plating and an etched champion, and the turn before he killed me I double Galv Blasted for lethal.
Game 2, I got out an early Blood Moon and Thoughtseized away his only threat. It wasn't long before I ran him over with Ravager and other creatures.

4-1-1 in matches, 9-2-1 in games.

Semifinal Round: Concession, opponent was on Mono Blue Tron.

The Top 4 split for about $40 credit each and we decided to play for the byes. My opponent was not going to be attending Boston, so he conceded to me, as he didn't want to play for the byes.

5-1-1 in matches, 9-2-2 in games.

Final Round: B/g Obliterator Rock

Game 1, I mulled to 6 and he completely destroyed me with about 7 removal spells.
Game 2, I was able to kill my opponent in five turns with Inkmoth + Blinkmoth pump, and he couldn't find an answer.
Game 3, I kept a risky 7 with 2x Spellskite, 2x Arcbound Ravager, 1x Vault Skirge, 1x Mox Opal, and 1x Glimmervoid. Looking back, it was probably wrong to keep this hand, as I knew my opponent either had removal or disruption. He cast Inquisition of Kozilek and took my Ravager, even though if he had taken my Mox Opal, I think I would have just lost on the spot. I almost stabilized with an Etched Champion and multiple 1 toughness creatures, but he cast Golgari Charm into Maelstrom Pulse which basically wiped my board. He began beating with his 3/3 manland, and I couldn't find an answer.

5-2-1 in matches, 10-4-2 in games. Finished in 2nd out of about 25.

Some Post-Tournament Observations and Notes: I wanted to play the Master of Etherium version of this deck, but I was only able to come up with 1 before the tournament, so I played 1 master and 3 champions. The champions did very well the entire tournament and I only drew Master once. I think I'll try 3x Master and 2x Champion just to see if it makes the deck any faster. In the board, Blood Moon, Thoughtseize, Spellskite, Spell Pierce, Ancient Grudge, and Dismember all did well. I'm not sure about the Wear//Tear because I only played it once, but I feel like it is necessary to keep in to combat Stony Silence and other enchantments. I also drew way too many hands where my land count was too low, and I feel like 1 more land would help the deck a lot, so I think for the next tournament I'll add a Glimmervoid. Feel free to comment on by board and everything. For Boston, I think I will go with the following list:

Would anyone mind linking to or posting a comprehensive sideboard guide for affinity? Currently, my sideboard is

• 1x Dispatch
  
• 1x Graffdigger's Cage
  
• 1x Whipflare
  
• 2x Spellskite
  
• 1x Spell Pierce
  
• 2x Ancient Grudge
  
• 4x Thoughtseize
  
• 2x Relic of Progenitus
  
• 1x Torpor Orb

Feel free to comment on my sideboard.

Quote from arturo140

if I were to collect foils the same way ( 4 per slot ) will the foil from the cards come off? or will they be safe?

I would recommend getting a 4 pocket binder, preferably monster, which have tighter pockets than the ones I assume you are using that fit in a three-ring binder. In addition, specifically with foils, I would put each card in a perfect-fit sleeve, like these from KMC. With the perfect fits, it restricts any bending or warping because the sleeve is so tight on the card. Put the perfect fits into the monster binder, and I highly doubt you will see any significant bending on the foils.
Although this is if you want to display them, If you don't care about displaying them, I would put them in a hard top loader with a playset in each, possibly with a basic land between each card. You could also use the perfect fits with this technique, just place them next to each other in the top loader and you will not see any movement.

Does anyone sleeve their cards inside their trade binders? I have a monster trade binder and the pockets are becoming a little loose, I am considering sleeving the cards in a clear sleeve but I don't want one too big that it will stretch the pocket even further. I also don't know if perfect fits/pro fits would be too tight on the cards, is there anyone with experience sleeving cards within monster trade binders?

My first attempt at a custom playmat with an old blank mat I had, inspired by the awesome creations of the artists on this page. What do you guys think? It's not done yet but I finished the jace portion. Also, would sharpies rub off on sleeves if I waited for them to dry, or do I have to seal it with some sort of spray?

Quote from YamahaR1

Less than $5, a toploader in an envelope marked "DO NOT MACHINE" with a liberty stamp is easy and safe enough. For that matter, most $10 cards I get are shipped the same way.

Thanks for the reply. Just curious, what is the purpose of putting DO NOT MACHINE on the envelope? I've never heard of that.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone has a lot of experience using ebay, and specifically paypal to sell magic cards. I know it is usually secure when it comes to account security, but I've heard some horror stories from people who tried to sell through paypal/ebay, and because of the actions of some scummy buyers had their accounts frozen by paypal, and therefore lost all of their funds. Does anyone have any suggestions when it comes to selling cards, specifically on ebay through paypal?

Sorry if this is in the wrong thread, it seemed like the most appropriate place to post.

Quote from Magicman657

When you say put them through the wash... describe that process?

I would also like to know the process of putting sleeves through the wash...

In response to your question about which sleeves to get, I think it is generally agreed that regular KMC Mattes are the best in conjunction with KMC perfect fits. Dragon Shields, I believe, are a close second, with Ultra Pro's being far behind in terms of quality.

Deckboxes and singles can usually be bought from the same website, places like starcitygames.com, trollandtoad.com, and cardkingdom.com will have the things you are looking for. In the ways of custom playmats, you could order them directly from an artist or make your own through a website like inkedplaymats.com

Hope I could help.

I recently completed editing my list for a Peasant cube. I am now trying to find some foils of the cards I don't have yet, and I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions of places I can find cheap, common and uncommon foils in bulk for a reasonable shipping price. I know the obvious places like SCG and TCGPlayer, but is there any specific retailers that have C/U foils particularly cheap?

I just thought of this when reading the new gatecrash card, Thrull Parasite. I thought about combining this with Geralf's Messenger as well as Cartel Aristocrat. The only card needed for the combo to complete would be a card that untaps the Thrull Parasite. Does anyone have any suggestions? You would sac the Messenger to the aristocrat, putting an undying counter on it, remove the counter with the parasite, then repeat, all while having your opponent loose two life.

Quote from Eggit

I have been testing the Saito build and its insanely explosive, I am really loving it.
I do feel like the idea of 2-4 Temple Gardens is a pretty good one though, the mana with only 8 green sources can be a bit rough.

Any chance someone could direct me to the list mentioned in this comment?

Quote from StrazIcefalcon

Maybe they will actually create a version of her that sees constructed play.

RRRRR
+1 Chandra deals 5 damage to target creature or player.
-3 Destroy two target lands.
-7 Chandra deals damage equal to the number of cards in your library divided how you chose amongst any number of target creatures or players. Damage cannot be prevented or redirected once targets are chosen.

Starts at 1 counter

Basically my premise on this type of planeswalker is vulnerabilty but with awesome second and third abilties if not dealt with.

This would be at or above the power level of JTMS. 5 damage for a +1 ability?

Streaming stars for GP Atlantic City at 11:30.

Consuming Abberation seems like an absolute bomb in limited, especially in 2HG prereleases.