PTQ Leeds, I went 6-2 which was good for 11th place. I was technically alive in the tournament up until round 8 of the swiss where I needed some dream crushes but unfortunately the 8 highest in swiss were paired against each other and there were no rushes of blood to the head or friends on the bubble, so IDs all round. Should've won more rounds I guess!
Quick breakdown,
Rd 1 vs Storm 2-0
Rd 2 vs Doran 2-0
Rd 3 vs UWR Delver-Scepter 2-1
Rd 4 vs Confidant Aggro Loam 2-0
Rd 5 vs Caw 0-2
Rd 6 vs Confidant Aggro Loam 0-2
Rd 7 vs Melira Pod 2-1
Rd 8 vs UR Tron 2-0
I don't really want to go into the effort of breaking down the matches further, but essentially over matches (in my opinion):
CAL is a 25% win chance.
Storm is a 40% win chance.
UWR Delver Scepter is a 40-45% win chance.
Melira is a 50% win chance.
Caw is a 55% win chance.
Doran is a 65% win chance.
UR Tron is a 65% win chance.
I misplayed game 1 against Caw. I got lazy and ran lines such as running Ravager into Spell Snare (a legitimate option if you're flush on 2 drops, poor play since I was low on creatures and needed it to stick). Game 2 I went for a real risky choice and boarded in Blood Moon since I was on the play and it could lock him out if early enough. I opened with the Moon, a land, a mox and a bit of pressure. 1 land off turn 2 Moon under counterspells etc. Took me longer to see the land though, so I landed the moon late (baited counters to seal the deal) but he had a plains. He was able to play with Mortarpod for a while until he drew a disenchant.
CAL in round 6, I got wrecked. I can point to a few minor play errors, but realistically he had a very nutty hand both games. Post sideboard especially, his game 2 opening 7 contained 2 ancient grudges and sufficient access to lands for playing and flashing back. I can tighten up my play such as throwing out my relic too early (should hold it until they can't grudge it to force it to pop profitably). But at the same time, I probably could have handpicked my 7 cards and stacked my deck and still not won that one.
I played pretty tight in the games I won. I can point to misplays in them (which is important, I'm not perfect so they're all chances to learn and play better)
Main: Looks like I just took Mary Jacobson's list, but truthfully arrived there after lots of testing. I think the 3rd Ravager is more valuable than the 3rd Shrapnel (a hand with too much burn in your opener is 99% mulligan. There's no such thing as too many creatures unless you're talking 0 mana source.)
Sideboard:
4 Blood Moon because if you want it you want it early before they fix. The amount of matches where it's good though are becoming more infrequent though.
3 Ancient Grudge - Mirror and beating out Vedalken Shackles.
2 Whipflare - Solid in the meta, although CAL is probably gonna shift this.
2 Torpor Orb - Twin and splashes onto pod.
2 Spellskite - Loam. Flame Jab this 4 times. Also good at beating fair decks that want to mainly 1 for 1 removal you. Also splashes onto twin hate.
2 Relic - graveyards are pretty important now. The draw off it is nice, although the amount of ancient grudge probably means it's so risky to run it out and sit it. Might have been better as Tormod's Crypt if I had my time again.
Our LGS runs pretty much only Standard and limited events. The community has been pushing for more variety (I've pushed for Legacy, but to no avail) so the owner finally decided to run a Modern event. He recently had someone offload a collection so 1st prize was a Tarmagoyf. Had this taken place during the Modern PTQ season I think the turnout would have been a lot better. However, there were only twelve players, although the calibre was pretty high as several of the players had top 8'd PTQs in the past, played at Nats, etc.
With no Modern deck to speak of, I went to my existing decks to see what I could port over easily. The one that was the easiest was my Legacy Tezz-Affinity deck, having only to swap out my artifact lands and Ancient Tombs for inferior lands. So this is the list I ended up running
I realize you're looking at my sideboard and going "WTF?!". I'll talk more about it later, as well as main deck changes
Round 1 - Alex Gabriel (RUW Delver)
I sat down across from Alex and said "Well, guess I'm opening the tournament at 0-1". Alex is a really nice guy, and one of the better players at the store.
Game 1 - Alex does himself a lot of damage with fetches and shock lands, making my life a little easier. I drop a Master and a couple of Etched Champions and come race his flipped Delvers
Game 2 - I didn't sideboard anything in. Again, Alex takes most of his damage from his lands. My notes are sketchy but memory seems to indicate that the managed to Disenchant and Helix my good stuff and flew in with flipped Delvers for the win.
Game 3 - Alex recovers from shock/fetch damage with a couple of Helixes, but a resolved Tezzeret allows me to search up answers and deflect damage away from me and towards Tezz. Etched Champions FTW!
1-0 (2-1)
Round 2 - Brandon Vasko (BW Tokens)
Brandon is a regular at the store, fairly good but we seem to have a good split against each other
Game 1 - I mull to six, but a turn one Soul Warden doesn't bode well for me. Midnight Hauntings, Lingering Souls, Raise the Alarm, and it's game over for me
SB - +2 Despise, +2 Dispatch, -4 Myr Enforcer
Game 2 - The swarm comes out, as I manage to swing in for 7, then lethal the next turn
Game 3 - Again, mull to six A Soul Warden, a bunch of tokens, and an Intangible Virtue make semi-quick work of me
1-1 (3-3)
Round 3 - Blake Alty (Aggro-Loam)
Another regular who I routinely split my matches with. I know he's on Aggro-Loam as I've seen him building and testing it over a number of weeks
Game 1 - Shock/Fetch does a bit of work. Etched Champion and Cranial Plating go the distance.
SB - +2 Pithing Needle, +2 Relic of Progenetis, -4 Myr Enforcer
Game 2 - As typical in most matches, Etched Champion does most of the heavy lifting, with support from his friends and Cranial Plating.
2-1 (5-3)
Round 4 - Jeff Mcarthy (UW Affinity)
This is win and in. Never seen Jeff at the store before, which is good because I like to see our community grow even more.
Game 1 - We start throwing our hands on the table and racing. His racing is better than mine, with a Tempered Steel and Steel Overseer overwhelming my Champion-less board
SB - +2 Dispatch, +2 Despise, +2 Pithing Needle, -4 Myr Enforcer, -2 Frogmite
Game 2 - I Dispatch his Overseer early, and I Poison him out for the win with a Cranial Plated Inkmoth.
Game 3 - My notes are non-existent here, but if memory serves me correct, he was getting artifact screwed here. He had to trade his Memnites and Ornithopters for my creatures, so could never get Metalcraft online. Eventually he just caved and I was on my way to top 4
3-1 (7-4)
I placed 4th after swiss, so I played 1st place. Other match was Twin vs BW tokens
Semis - Jamie Hennessey (Jund)
I've seen Jamie a few times, never played him. Again, one of the better players around, hangs out with Alex (from round 1) and Mike (from the next round).
Game 1 - A couple of Etched Champions make it around his Tarmagoyf. The Etched Champions really give him a hard time as he has no way to deal with them. Shock/Fetch does the up front work for me and the Champions do the rest of the work
SB - +2 Relic of Progenetis, +2 Dispatch, +3 Ethersworn Cannonist, -4 Myr Enforcer, -2 Signal Pest, -1 Frogmite
Game 1 - Puke most of my hand onto the table early, allowing for turn 2 Champion, turn 3 Champion, turn 4 Champion. There was a Master in there as well but he was dealt with. Tezzeret made an appearance, allowed me to dig for more answers, but he got dealt with as well. Couple of Tarmagoyfs here on the table but rendered useless by my Champions. Dispatched one of them, then held one back for blocking while the other two went in for the win.
4-1 (9-4)
So I'm onto the finals, and the Tarmagoyf is within my reach. All that stands between him and I is.....
Finals - Mike Giles (BW Tokens)
Mike's a very good player; very deliberate, plays very tightly. We've played a bit in the past, it's always been pleasant, he gives me deck tips and I always listen :). I've managed to get the upper hand on him a few times, but each time I'm always very lucky.
Game 1 - According to my notes, he hits token generators really quickly and decimates my robot army
SB - Can't remember, no notes, but probably similar to round 2 with no Despise
Game 2 - I get a nasty draw, and proceed to yak my hand onto the table with something to the effect of Inkmoth, Mox, Ornithopter, Drum, Memnite, Thoughtcast. By turn 3 I swung in for 9 poison damage with my Plated Inkmoth. Things were coming up Millhouse for me until Mike cast a Lingering Souls, allowing him to stabilize. It went downhill from there as I just couldn't keep up with the tokens
4-2 (9-6)
So I ended up in second, $20 in store credit. For a 12 person tourney, I'm very happy. I beat two really good players and took a ported deck to second place. Etched Champion was a house since no one could deal with it effectively (except for the Affinity player who could block it all day).
I think BU is the optimal build with Tezzeret. It has the explosiveness of Affinity, but can grind out a longer game with a resolved Tezzeret. He becomes an immediate threat since he'll end the game the next turn, and I'll usually have a Champion or two to help protect him.
Now that I've had a couple of weeks to think about this (yes, this report is a couple weeks old, I've posted this elsewhere), I'd probably make the following changes Maindeck: I'm comfortable with the core of the deck. The land base is probably where I'd make the changes. I wasn't aware that City of Brass was Modern legal, otherwise I'd run four of them, with the rest being either Darkslick Shores, Creeping Tar Pits, or Island/Swamps (I didn't have the BU Shocklands).
I'm sure that the Affinity package (Frogmites and Myr Enforcers) are probably the biggest question marks, but they're just as easy to get out with this build as they are in Legacy. If anything, I'd run main deck Dispatches, but only with the Cities in the maindeck. Sideboard: Okay, so this was the sketchiest part of the deck. Based on who I knew was playing and what they had talked about, I was expecting some combination of AggroLoam, Tron, and Storm. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have included the Ravagers and Hex Parasites, main decked the Dispatches. In their place I would have included Disenchant (again, I didn't realize this got reprinted in TSP) for AggroLoam, Affinity, and Pod, Torpor Orb for Twin, and Whipflare or Ratchet Bomb for Tokens. Lesson learned I guess.
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I took affinity to a Grand Prix Trial for San Diego yesterday, so I figured I would write a report. I didn't have my regular game pad, so my memory of the matches is a little fuzzy.
Game 1:
I race him with cranial plating on flyers. He plays Treasure Mage to find Wurm Coil, but I go right over for the win.
Game 2:
I keep a no-land hand with Mox Opal, Memnite, Ornithoptor, and Springleaf Drum, but I ended up ripping Glimmervoid off my first draw anyways. A Spellskite stops my Etched Champion for a bit, but I Galvanic Blast the Spellskite then crash over with a few guys. He has a really slow development. Record: 1-0-0
Round 2:
Opponent's Deck: Mono Red Aggro/Burn
Game 1:
My opponent comes out fast with a T1 Goblin Guide, T2 Ash Zealot, and T3 Ash Zealot + Lightning Bolt to a Vault Skirge. I draw lands off Goblin Guide on T3 and T4. 2 Etched Champion, a cranial plating, and a key Galvanic Blast hold him off and allow me to race. I throw useless guys like Memnite and Ornithoptor away while blocking.
Game 2:
He opens up much of the same, except with a Hellspark Elemental too. I have a Vault Skirge, Ornitopor, Arcbound Ravager, and some Darksteel Citadels on T3. I end up waiting until he's in top deck mode to make an Lightning Bolt-proof Vault Skirge with Ravager and he can't keep up. Record: 2-0-0
Round 3:
Opponent's Deck: Mono Red Burn
Game 1:
This guy's deck was very grindy. He was smart and used his removal on all of my creatures while quickly ticking up a Shrine of Burning Rage. I have an Etched Champion in hand with a Cranial Plating in play, but I only draw 2 lands (without a Mox Opal and a useless Sprigleaf Drum). I get blasted for around 10 and lose. Keldon Megaliths keeps my little guys and manlands out of play.
Game 2:
I open up with Memnite + Vault Skirge turn 1, and he responds with a Forked Bolt. My turn 2 Signal Pest gets killed as well. Shrine of burning Rage gets ticked up and kills me again.
Record: 2-1-0
Round 4:
Opponent's Deck: Red-Green Tron
Game 1:
I open up really fast and he can't find his big guys. He plays Ancient Stirrings with Tron online and only reveals an Chromatic Sphere.
Game 2:
He gets a really quick Tron online while I swarm the field. He plays Oblivion Stone and wipes the board, but I completely blow him out with Boros Charm. He was a good sport about it, though. Record: 3-1-0
Round 5:
Opponent's Deck: -----
We split for a clean cut into top 8. Record: 3-1-1
Game 2:
T1 I play Ornitoptor and Vault Skirge, and he plays T2 Kataki, War's Wage. I let both my guys die and come back with T2 Whipflare. He gets his pod online so I know realize what he's playing. He ends up with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Kitchen Finks (podded once), Murderous Redcap, Deathrite Shamman, and 3 Lingering Souls tokens out. I have a lot of little guys, 1 Etched Champion, and a Cranial Plating. I end up casting Whipflare and blowing him out.
Semi Finals:
Opponent's Deck: UWR Midrange
Game 1:
I open up fast and get a Cranial Plating online. He Path to Exiles when I try to equip. He puts on pressure with burn and flyers while I have no guys. I ended up getting an Etched Champion with two Cranial Platings, but he casts Lightning Helix to stay alive with lethal damage on board. I Boros Charm him to win.
Game 2:
This game was hilarious. My opponent lands a T2 Stony Silence, shutting off my Darksteel Citadel and Springleaf Drum. In turn, I land a T4 Blood Moon, and he has 1 Island, 1 Mountain, and 2 non-basics. The game devolves into me playing generic dudes and him bolting them, using multiple Snapcaster Mages (the only creature he could cast) for value and pressure. I finally draw Etched Champion, then Spellskite and we race. Another Etched Champion and Arcbound Ravager seal it. He reveals a hand full of white cards he couldn't cast, including Supreme Verdict.
Finals:
Opponent's Deck: Blue Affinity
Game 1:
He opens with a super fast hand, lands a Master of Etherium and I play Hill Giant, aka Etched Champion. He crushes me.
Game 2:
We trade blows early with little guys, and we blow up each other's Mox Opal to shut off colors. He lands a Master of Etherium and a Steel Overseer and my guys can't pull through.
$250 and 3 byes were this close, but oh well.
About the list:
This tournament proved to me how awesome Boros Charm is for the deck. I may not have mentioned all the times I played it, but I remember being happy every time I saw it. Every mode has a scenario that it shines. It looks hard to cast, but I cut 1 Inkmoth for 1 Boros Charm and it worked out well. I may go down to 2 Inkmoth for the fourth Glimmervoid. On top of that, every time Blood Moon was boarded in, I would simply board the Boros Charms and Steelshaper's Gifts out, so it wasn't a conflict there. Seriously, this is a home-run hitting type of card for the deck.
Even though I lost to Master of Etherium, I would still choose Etched Champion. He's so tough for opponents to get rid of, and he's unblockable most of the time. I wouldn't have gotten to the finals if he was a Master of Etherium instead.
I get the appeal of Thoughtcast, but I think Galvanic Blast is just too good. The reach is amazing, and the ability to interact with the opponent is key as well.
I have no complaints about the sideboard. This is my generic meta setup, but I would shift the numbers accordingly if local meta was heavily slanted a certain way.
I may cut 1 Boros Charm for a second Arcbound Ravager, and cut 1 Inkmoth Nexus for a fourth Glimmervoid. This will play it a little safer. I feel this deck may have been a little greedy despite my good finish. When I test more I'll report further.
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Round 2 - Game 3, mulligan to 5, he has batterskull and a boros reckoner out and goes infinite while keeping me off of my inkmoths.
Round 3 - Both games was unable to interact with him, turn 4 and 5 combos went off.
Round 8 - Awkward matchup. Game 3, both of us awkwardly attacked with evasion creatures. He was at 1 life and I was at 7; I had 2 etched champs on board and he topdecks a Coronet to put on his Silhana Ledgewalker and hits me for exactly 7.
Round 1: Mono Blue Tron - 2/0
Game 1: Game 1 was pretty quick, I got through by the 5th turn with minimum resistance because he mulled down to 6 and the only relevant spell he played besides the Tron pieces was Solemn Simulcrum.
Sideboard: -3 Etched Champion, -1x Thoughtcast, +1 Galvanic Blast, +3 Blood Moon
Game 2: Game 2 was much longer due to multiple Repeal on relevant targets. I made the mistake of trying to go for a poison kill and sacrificing Arcbound Ravager in response to a Repeal, which took away the posion kill option. I also tried to get through with the minimum amount of spells played, holding creatures in my hand, but it ultimately slowed down the clock because of Repeals. I was lucky in winning because he accidentally played an Island instead of Academy Ruins which would have meant infinite Mindslaver loop.
Round 2: U/B Mill - 2/0
Game 1: It was the most unfair match-up because he had Archive Traps that he could never activate and dealt 7 damage to himself between Watery Grave, 2x Gitaxian Probe, and Underground River.
Sideboard: -3 Etched Champion, +3 Blood Moon
Game 2: Turn 2 Blood Moon quickly ended the game because all his lands were non-basic in the deck.
Round 3: Junk (U/W/B) - 2/1
Game 1: There wasn't much interaction between the two sides, he dropped an early Noble Hierach and Tarmogoyf early. I quickly ran him over with 2x Etched Champion and fliers.
Sideboard: I really didn't know how to sideboard against his deck because I didn't see any removals. I thought I just took out 1 of each Arcbound Ravager, 1x Steel Overseer, 1x Thoughtcast, 2x Vault Skirge and put in 2x Whipflare, 1x Galvanic Blast, 1x Spellskite, 1x Relic of Progenitus.
Game 2: My first mull of the tournament, I went down to 6 and so did he. I kept a terrible hand with Inkmoth Nexus, Blinkmoth Nexus, Ornithopter, Galvanic Blast, Galvanic Blast, Vault Skirge thinking I am on the draw and can get a colored mana. It turns out I never did before he ran me over with a third turn Thundermaw Hellkite after I drew Ornithopter, Thoughtcast, and another land.
Sideboard: -2x Thoughtcast, +1x Arcbound Ravager, +1 Vault Skirge
Game 3: My first game 3 of the tournament, I went down to 6 cards on the play, but it was a quick hand with multiple threats. My opponent kept a greedy hand with 1 land and 2x Noble Hierarch, but I was able to Galvanic Blast his first Hierarch EOT and he missed his second land drop. Even so, the game was close and I eventually went down to 1x Arcbound Ravager after he Abrupt Decayed my Cranial Plating, Path of Exiled my other Arcbound Ravager, and Lightning Bolted my last Arcbound Ravager with a Kitchen Finks in play and with 7 life. I finished the game by transferring 6 counters from Arcbound Ravager to Blinkmoth Nexus with him tapped out.
Round 4: Pod - 2/0
We decided to intentional draw since we already top 4, but nevertheless played out 2 games.
Game 1/2: Because he never drew out his combo or Pod, my creatures outpaced his both games. He did have a noticeable amount of removals, but that didn't really help against the onslaught of robots.
Overall I was very lucky to not see any mass removals used against me or any Stony Silence. However, I think it's easy to prepare for those cards because if the opponent has multiple creatures out, chances are he/she wouldn't use mass removals even if they are running W/B. I did get lucky to not have to fight uphill against Stony Silence, but I think I would have had a decent chance because I had Seal of Primordium on the SB and a forest to search in case of Path of Exile.
For future changes, I would take green out of the sideboard and replace it with white. The reason I didn't do that earlier is because I couldn't find a local store that had stock of Dispatch. I also thought that Steelshaper's Gift would be a lot more useful than Thoughtcast in match-ups simply because I always had an overabundance of creatures, but Cranial Plating never stay on board for a turn or two (it's removed instantly or you've won). I would also add another Whipflare on the sideboard just because of local meta which is mostly U/W/R Delver/Traft and mana dorks.
nice report i like how detailed you wrote it, just one small point, why do you keep taking out thoughtcasts when you sb ? isn't it better to simply board out memnites in almost any of those matchups ?
Just thought I'd note that I've only been playing Modern for about 2 months, so take my words with a grain of salt.
There's not that many other spells I thought I can take out. For Affinity, you need a certain number of artifacts or the synergy just dies. The relevant cards to take out are: Galvanic Blast and Thoughtcast for the most part. The other problem with Thoughtcast is getting the colored mana doesn't always happen, and you want to limit the number of colored spells you have in your deck.
Galvanic Blast tends to be much better in modern which is a creature-based format. Game 2, you don't want to sideboard out creatures because the opponent will assuredly have more removals this time around. Memnites are absolutely core to a good start. I've tried taking out 2x Memnite before and the deck just doesn't run. No spells played on the first turn is a quick way for Affinity to lose the game, and that extra artifact can be important as late as turn 3-4 because of Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer, Master of Etherium, Springleaf Drum, Cranial Plating, etc.
The only match up I feel like Thoughtcast is relevant is against like a UWr control and Jund where you need to push through as many waves of spells as possible to win. Lots of other times you're running against a clock, like versus Pod, Splinter, Tron, Burn, and Infect. Also, the reason I'm not running 4x Thoughtcast like the other competitive decks is that I feel like starting with 1+ Thoughtcast in the hand is going to be a really slow hand, although it's arguably the best card in the deck.
TL;DR: Thoughtcast is a colored spell, not an artifact creature.
Just thought I'd note that I've only been playing Modern for about 2 months, so take my words with a grain of salt.
There's not that many other spells I thought I can take out. For Affinity, you need a certain number of artifacts or the synergy just dies. The relevant cards to take out are: Galvanic Blast and Thoughtcast for the most part. The other problem with Thoughtcast is getting the colored mana doesn't always happen, and you want to limit the number of colored spells you have in your deck.
Galvanic Blast tends to be much better in modern which is a creature-based format. Game 2, you don't want to sideboard out creatures because the opponent will assuredly have more removals this time around. Memnites are absolutely core to a good start. I've tried taking out 2x Memnite before and the deck just doesn't run. No spells played on the first turn is a quick way for Affinity to lose the game, and that extra artifact can be important as late as turn 3-4 because of Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer, Master of Etherium, Springleaf Drum, Cranial Plating, etc.
The only match up I feel like Thoughtcast is relevant is against like a UWr control and Jund where you need to push through as many waves of spells as possible to win. Lots of other times you're running against a clock, like versus Pod, Splinter, Tron, Burn, and Infect. Also, the reason I'm not running 4x Thoughtcast like the other competitive decks is that I feel like starting with 1+ Thoughtcast in the hand is going to be a really slow hand, although it's arguably the best card in the deck.
TL;DR: Thoughtcast is a colored spell, not an artifact creature.
Then you're playing and sideboarding wrong.
I've had more success playing 4 MD Thoughtcast then I have with playing 4 MD Galvanic Blast.
I've had more success playing 4 MD Thoughtcast then I have with playing 4 MD Galvanic Blast.
You are probably right, I'll try play testing 4x Thoughtcast, 2x Galvanic Blast, 1x Whipflare MD. I don't see any Affinity deck using 4x Galvanic Blasts either, as Dispatch and Whipflare are much better on the SB.
What is the argument for using 4x Thoughtcast as opposed 4x Thoughtcast 1x Steelshaper's Gift MD? There are singletons that I feel like make a strong impact on the deck, like 1x Master of Etherium, 1x Steelshaper's Gift, and 1x Shrapnel Blast.
Shrapnel Blast is all but useless now, so I wouldn't run it as a singleton.
For me I run Welding Jar, as it helps fire out fast starts when drawn in the opener and prevents Plating from being axed a lot of the time.
Also Dispatch is useless.
I strongly disagree with your black/white view.
Shrapnel Blast, while I probably wouldn't run it either, is the only burn spell that works against Thundermaw Hellkite, which is becoming more and more popular.
Dispatch stops Tarmgoyf, Thundermaw Hellkite, Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, Voice of Resurgence, and Primeval Titan. Taking into account that Affinity is a tempo deck, a 1 mana answer to practically any threat without any drawback is huge.
I can see running 1-2x Welding Jar over Steelshaper's Gift in a 4x Thoughtcast deck, that's actually a great idea.
Shrapnel Blast, while I probably wouldn't run it either, is the only burn spell that works against Thundermaw Hellkite, which is becoming more and more popular.
Dispatch stops Tarmgoyf, Thundermaw Hellkite, Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, Voice of Resurgence, and Primeval Titan. Taking into account that Affinity is a tempo deck, a 1 mana answer to practically any threat without any drawback is huge.
I can see running 1-2x Welding Jar over Steelshaper's Gift in a 4x Thoughtcast deck, that's actually a great idea.
Affinity is aggro not tempo. You put a bunch of guys on the field and turn them sideways. We want to get them to 0 asap. Tempo is a little different, it uses attrition and card advantage to get ahead of the opponent and then makes sure it stays ahead (for example Geist of St. Win). We Zerg Rush.
Shrapnel Blast is meh, but galvanic blast has its points. It can stop many relevant creatures that combo tries using (kills kiki, angel, and melira), and most importantly it can do 4 damage to the player, which has won me the game many times a turn earlier than if i didnt have it. I always run at least 3 main deck.
Dispatch would be a card that you might run 1 or 2 of as a sideboard only, because Galvanic Blast is more versatile and just as relevant. and even then we have much better sideboard options.
Affinity is aggro not tempo. You put a bunch of guys on the field and turn them sideways. We want to get them to 0 asap. Tempo is a little different, it uses attrition and card advantage to get ahead of the opponent and then makes sure it stays ahead (for example Geist of St. Win). We Zerg Rush.
Shrapnel Blast is meh, but galvanic blast has its points. It can stop many relevant creatures that combo tries using (kills kiki, angel, and melira), and most importantly it can do 4 damage to the player, which has won me the game many times a turn earlier than if i didnt have it. I always run at least 3 main deck.
Dispatch would be a card that you might run 1 or 2 of as a sideboard only, because Galvanic Blast is more versatile and just as relevant. and even then we have much better sideboard options.
That's arguable. I've played plenty of even standard decks that can kill faster than Affinity, especially the current version with 11-12 2 mana drops, 8-9 0 mana drops, and 8 1 mana drops. I think you defined temp well, that it is "attrition and card advantage," and Affinity does both very well with Thoughtcast and 25+ creatures and 7+ manlands.
I'd argue that while the mono R version is aggro, the current U/R or U/W/R versions are more tempo. Seriously, there are so many games where my only play up to 2nd turn is just a Steel Overseer and some mana acceleration. That is not the definition of aggro, especially now that Etched Champion is heavily favored over Master of Etherium.
I think I'm going to start running 1x Galvanic Blast, 1x Whipflare and see how that goes.
Round 6 - Jund 2-0
Round 7 - Living End 2-0
Round 8 - Affinity Mirror 2-1
Tokens just blew me out in the Swiss but he ended up losing to the other Affinity in the Top 8. Made me happy that I get to play against the mirror because I know this match up all too well.
Whipflare was pretty stellar vs Jund and Tokens but everywhere else it was a dead card. Galv Blast would have been the better choice but I can't complain since it did help me win vs Jund taking out the Lingering Souls and Deathrites even if it is an easy match up for us.
The Living End deck caught me off guard because I have never played against it at all nor bothered to research the list. Ravager was the star in that match up.
The Affinity Mirror - Differences from mine was +1 MoE, -1 Ravager, +2 Galv Blast, -2 Whipflare.
Game 1 - I was on the draw with a mull to 6. I drew both Whipflares and Thoughtcasts with no colored sources on board and it threw him completely off on why I kept having +3 cards in my hand. I won due Steel Overseer hitting the board first before his.
Game 2 - He stomped me with Infect.
Game 3 - We did a Vault Skirge with Plating Life Trading. He tapped out to play Ravager and Steel Overseer after double Thoughtcast. Playing the Overseer caused him to not have a Blinkmoth to block with and I swung in with having one more flyer and a Ravager to seal the deal.
I took Paul Rietlz's Main list but replaced Galv Blast with Whipflares. My SB was different though.
Interesting on the whipflares.
Anyway, I also used Rietlz's list, though I ran 3x Galv Blast and 2x Memnite instead of the reverse. I was never unhappy to see a Galv Blast, and only once did I get a hand that was borderline perfect but missing a 0 drop creature. So I think the change was marginal at worst in my creature heavy meta.
Sideboard was:
1x Galvanic Blast
3x Blood Moon
4x Relic of Progenitus (Only because I didn't have RiPs, have since picked up 3)
4x Spellskite
3x Ancient Grudge or Deglammer... I am blanking out on which I decided. I didn't play tron, pod or the mirror, so I never boarded any in.
Round 1: Goblins
Game 1: He out aggro's me.
His T1: Goblin Guide (20-18)
My T1: Citadel, Thopter, Opal, Overseer. So far, so good.
His T2: 2nd guide + One of the Crappy Rituals into Bolt on Overseer and a junk 1 drop goblin (19-14; he cracked a fetch)
My T2: Land, Etched Champion
His T3: Goblin Chieftain. He keeps the Chieftain Back, but swings with the rest of the team. I block the Junk goblin with my Champion, but let the Guides through to drop me to 8. This may have been a play mistake to not block a guide with my thopter... I probably should have just blocked one of his Guides and saved myself 3 damage. (19-8)
My T3: Not sure the exact order that this happened in, but I do manage a 3rd land, Galv Blast the Chieftain, Thoughtcast into a Plating and a vault skirge, play the plating.
His T4: Untap, Bolt + Goblin Grenade to the face, and it's gg.
Playing the plating ahead of the vault skirge was probably a misplay. My problem was that I totally forgot Goblin Grenade was a card. I thought that I was safe as long As I was above 6, so I was planning on swinging once with the plating'd champion, then if he tapped out, moving the plating to the skirge for a bunch of free life. It was a moot point in this game.
SB:
+4 Spellskite, +1 Galvanic Blast
-4 Steel Overseer, -1 Thoughtcast
I dont really know why I sided out Overseer, except that I figured the target on it's face was so big that it would never stick, so why waste 2 mana. I still don't know how to sideboard this deck.
G2: He gets stuck on 2 Land, which isn't really something a goblin deck can complain about. He manages to Shattering Spree for 2, but I had dropped a Spellskite before him on T2 and pay the 4 life. He manages to drop 3! guides, but I top deck a second Spellskite. He manages to Goblin Grenade my second spellskite and finds a third land, but plating + manlands/thopters is GG.
G3: Citadel + Opal+ Cranial Plating + Vault Skirge is just too much for him to handle... Even though he has a fairly agressive hand, and drops 3 Goblin guides in the 1st 3 turns. Vault Skirge keeps me ahead on life, especially when I drop another T3, along with an overseer. He chooses to bolt the overseer, which has to be a misplay. Gut instinct might say bolt the pumper, but either way you need to top deck another removal spell. Bolting the overseer seems like a "lose less" play. Regardless, I'm 1-0.
Round 2: An 11 year old's Elves deck.
Not even worth discussing in depth. G1 I was just too fast, even after he dropped the Elf that can snipe flying creatures (Edit:Lys Alana Bowmaster) turn 2 off of a T1 mana dork. He couldn't race Etched Champion + Signal Pest + Steel Overseer.
Game 2 I got a borderline god hand...Skirge + Plating swinging turn 2 with 0 drops + pest, Ravager T3 so targeted flying removal was useless. Ended up winning 32-0 or something, with man lands and skirge and pests and ravager and god knows what else swinging for 15 on T3 into 2 elves. Literally 4-5 minutes of game play total in both games. Felt really bad, and REALLY wished I had gotten this hand in Round 3. Played him a third time, held stuff back so it would at least be an exciting game. He ended up winning by attrition, though I'm pretty sure I could have ninja-plating'd an Inkmoth and won if I had been paying full attention. The kid was actually a fine player for an 11 year old, and the deck was well curved. But he didn't stand a chance.
Round 3: Naya midrange.
Game 1 was close. I kept a borderline hand that I probably should have sent back. When he dropped Karplusan forest into Birds of Paradise T1, I assumed hewas playing either a budget tron variant or budget Kiki pod. This misread may have cost me the game. I was moderately confused when I saw Land + BoP + Figure of Destiny, and I can't figure out why I still thought it was pod instead of straight Naya Midrange. It became VERY apparent when he dropped a T3 Hero of Bladehold + Bolted my vault skirge. I thought I could race him, and was able to him down to ~7, and thoughtcasted into a blast to take out the Hero. But Kitchen Finks + Lightning Helix on the next turn was brutal. I used Inkmoth + a Blinkmoth Pump to take out the Finks and avoid persist, and swung him down to 6 with some combination of Etched Champions and man lands. I forget exactly what his next play was, but he was tapped out and representing lethal with surviving soldier tokens + figure + some other creature and an all out attack next turn if he had a bolt/helix. All I had left was a Blinkmoth nexus, and 2 Etched Champions, and him at 6 life. About 35% of the cards in my deck win the game (Plating, Ravager, Blast, Blinkmoth Nexus), and Thoughtcast gives me two more chanced to topdeck. Alas, I topdeck something useless, hold my creatures back to block, but he has the bolt.
I misplayed that game... other than the Inkmoth v. Finks, I used my manlands defensively to chump block as opposed to keeping them open for the attack. This is particularly relevant as I was able to get him down to 1(!) before he was able to kill me. And I should have mulliganed. 2 Etched champions are pretty useless when all they're doing is swinging for 2 each every turn.
+4 Spellskite
-4 I forget. Probably 1x of a number of things as opposed to a 4-for-4 switch.
Game 2: This game is still frustrating me, even 24 hours later. I would have been in commanding position of the game but misplayed twice in about 15 seconds. The board state was as follows:
Me: more than enough mana, Ravager (at 4/4) Etched champion (at 3/3) Steel Ovseer (at 2/2) Vault Skirge with a plating (~8/2). Enough colored mana next turn to animate a Blinkmoth, and move the plating at instant speed if i need to. Tapped out to play/equip plating. My turn.
Him: 2 BoP (again!), a Finks, a Hero + 2 tokens (I Blasted the first, he topdecked a second). Life totals are something to the effect of 10 to 14
I activate Overseer. In response he Helixes my vault skirge. I sac it to my ravager instead of sac'ing my ravager to itself to save it. He did have a red mana open for a second bolt, and I'm not sure if he had it. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Skirge would have been like a 10/6 lifelinker if the abilities resolved without a second bolt. I hate myself. Thats the main reason I'm posting this, it's a self shaming. I've haven't played this deck since 2004, but I still hate myself.
Anyway, the game still wasn't over... I had a ravager, an overseer, a champion and a plating and still 10 life. As long as I could survive the next 2 attacks (which I was fairly certain I could), I had two chances to swing with an untargetable, unblockable, un damagable 10/4. Unfortunately, he drops Elspeth, uses her second +1, which means he has a 6/7 flier, 2 1/1 fliers, and 4 2/1 Soldiers. With only 3 blockers (and none with flying) it's G-f'ing-G.
Result: 2-1, and much self loathing.
(Edit: he must have only had 1 soldier token before he attacked, as I just realized my overseer was tapped on the final turn, so I only had 2 blockers. I remember that if he had one less soldier OR no Elspeth topdeck I could have survived at least one more turn)
Game 1: I manage to top deck a Vault Skirge 4th turn after stabilizing with Etched Champion. He didn't have any answers because he had used Lighting Bolt on Steel Overseer. Cranial Plating on Vault Skirge with no answers end the game in another 2 turns.
Sideboard: +3 Spellskite, +2 Whipflare, -2 Si
Game 2: Although I had a 4/4 Etched Champion and a 2/2 Etched Champion plus a Spellskite, he still runs me over with an army of Goblins pumped by Goblin Chieftain and Warcry. I dealt 0 damage to him that game. Legion Loyalist gave all his guys trample and first strike as well.
Game 3: I manage to stabilize with 3x Etched Champion, effectively drawing all 3 of my Champions. I top deck a Cranial Plating and swing in Inkmoth Nexus for a finish.
Match 2: U/B Mill (2/0)
Game 1: He mills throw about half of my deck before I kill him with a resolved topdecked Cranial Plating. Psychic Strikes were annoying. I imagine he had a few dead cards in his hand, namely Archive Traps.
+4 Thoughtseize, +1 Blood Moon, -3 Etched Champion, -1 Welding Jar, -1 Steel Overseer
Game 2: I had an embarrassingly slow clock of Etched Champion, Blinkmoth Nexus, and Vault Skirge. Although the game went for what seemed like 10 turns, I won because he took out most of his mill cards and barely touched my library.
Match 3: Jund (2/0)
I've met the guy before, and he's always playing Jund. But he makes his own brews, except they tend to be pretty bad. Jund with Ghor-Clan Rampager, AEther Vial, you get the idea. I also got misplaced for some reason instead of playing the 2/0 Kiki-Pod deck.
Game 1: I sacrificed 3 artifacts to Arcbound Ravager and then transferred the counters to Inkmoth Nexus when he was tapped out. Since he didn't have any flyers, it was game my next turn after that.
Game 2: He missed his 2nd black mana and couldn't play a Liliana, not that it would've done anything. I hit him for exact damage on turn 4 with Etched Champion with Cranial Plating and flyers after he durdled around for 4 turns.
Overall the deck didn't draw well, but I played weak matchups so it didn't matter as much. I played the Kiki-Pod deck after and I lost 2, won 1 against him without sideboard, my one win being a very close one where I had to play my whole hand and topdeck a Galvanic Blast for Restoration Angel. He did naturally draw Harmonic Sliver both games, which wasn't nice, and comboed out turn 4 and turn 5 after losing his turn 1 mana dork.
There was also a R/B Rack deck at the tournament. I lost the first game because I mulled down to 5, and I then won 1 and lost 1 because I misplayed. The fourth game was terrible for me because I mulled and was still stuck on 1 land for 4 turns. It's a very interesting deck that can consistent beat Melira and combo decks and has plenty of answers for Affinity because of Shattering Spree and Infest.
Level 1 Judge
Currently Playing:
W Death and Taxes
BGR ScapeWish Nic Fit
BGR Punishing Nic Fit
Quick breakdown,
Rd 1 vs Storm 2-0
Rd 2 vs Doran 2-0
Rd 3 vs UWR Delver-Scepter 2-1
Rd 4 vs Confidant Aggro Loam 2-0
Rd 5 vs Caw 0-2
Rd 6 vs Confidant Aggro Loam 0-2
Rd 7 vs Melira Pod 2-1
Rd 8 vs UR Tron 2-0
I don't really want to go into the effort of breaking down the matches further, but essentially over matches (in my opinion):
CAL is a 25% win chance.
Storm is a 40% win chance.
UWR Delver Scepter is a 40-45% win chance.
Melira is a 50% win chance.
Caw is a 55% win chance.
Doran is a 65% win chance.
UR Tron is a 65% win chance.
I misplayed game 1 against Caw. I got lazy and ran lines such as running Ravager into Spell Snare (a legitimate option if you're flush on 2 drops, poor play since I was low on creatures and needed it to stick). Game 2 I went for a real risky choice and boarded in Blood Moon since I was on the play and it could lock him out if early enough. I opened with the Moon, a land, a mox and a bit of pressure. 1 land off turn 2 Moon under counterspells etc. Took me longer to see the land though, so I landed the moon late (baited counters to seal the deal) but he had a plains. He was able to play with Mortarpod for a while until he drew a disenchant.
CAL in round 6, I got wrecked. I can point to a few minor play errors, but realistically he had a very nutty hand both games. Post sideboard especially, his game 2 opening 7 contained 2 ancient grudges and sufficient access to lands for playing and flashing back. I can tighten up my play such as throwing out my relic too early (should hold it until they can't grudge it to force it to pop profitably). But at the same time, I probably could have handpicked my 7 cards and stacked my deck and still not won that one.
I played pretty tight in the games I won. I can point to misplays in them (which is important, I'm not perfect so they're all chances to learn and play better)
Quick decklist and commentary then:
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Glimmervoid
2 Mountain
4 Ornithopter
4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
4 Steel Overseer
4 Etched Champion
3 Arcbound Ravager
2 Shrapnel Blast
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Cranial Plating
4 Blood Moon
3 Ancient Grudge
2 Spellskite
2 Whipflare
2 Torpor Orb
2 Relic of Progenitus
Main: Looks like I just took Mary Jacobson's list, but truthfully arrived there after lots of testing. I think the 3rd Ravager is more valuable than the 3rd Shrapnel (a hand with too much burn in your opener is 99% mulligan. There's no such thing as too many creatures unless you're talking 0 mana source.)
Sideboard:
4 Blood Moon because if you want it you want it early before they fix. The amount of matches where it's good though are becoming more infrequent though.
3 Ancient Grudge - Mirror and beating out Vedalken Shackles.
2 Whipflare - Solid in the meta, although CAL is probably gonna shift this.
2 Torpor Orb - Twin and splashes onto pod.
2 Spellskite - Loam. Flame Jab this 4 times. Also good at beating fair decks that want to mainly 1 for 1 removal you. Also splashes onto twin hate.
2 Relic - graveyards are pretty important now. The draw off it is nice, although the amount of ancient grudge probably means it's so risky to run it out and sit it. Might have been better as Tormod's Crypt if I had my time again.
Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
With no Modern deck to speak of, I went to my existing decks to see what I could port over easily. The one that was the easiest was my Legacy Tezz-Affinity deck, having only to swap out my artifact lands and Ancient Tombs for inferior lands. So this is the list I ended up running
//Land
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Island
3 Swamp
//Creatures
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Etched Champion
4 Master of Etherium
//Spells
3 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Cranial Plating
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4 Thoughtcast
//Sideboard
2 Arcbound Ravager
2 Despise
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenetis
2 Hex Parasite
3 Ethersworn Cannonist
2 Dispatch
I realize you're looking at my sideboard and going "WTF?!". I'll talk more about it later, as well as main deck changes
Round 1 - Alex Gabriel (RUW Delver)
I sat down across from Alex and said "Well, guess I'm opening the tournament at 0-1". Alex is a really nice guy, and one of the better players at the store.
Game 1 - Alex does himself a lot of damage with fetches and shock lands, making my life a little easier. I drop a Master and a couple of Etched Champions and come race his flipped Delvers
Game 2 - I didn't sideboard anything in. Again, Alex takes most of his damage from his lands. My notes are sketchy but memory seems to indicate that the managed to Disenchant and Helix my good stuff and flew in with flipped Delvers for the win.
Game 3 - Alex recovers from shock/fetch damage with a couple of Helixes, but a resolved Tezzeret allows me to search up answers and deflect damage away from me and towards Tezz. Etched Champions FTW!
1-0 (2-1)
Round 2 - Brandon Vasko (BW Tokens)
Brandon is a regular at the store, fairly good but we seem to have a good split against each other
Game 1 - I mull to six, but a turn one Soul Warden doesn't bode well for me. Midnight Hauntings, Lingering Souls, Raise the Alarm, and it's game over for me
SB - +2 Despise, +2 Dispatch, -4 Myr Enforcer
Game 2 - The swarm comes out, as I manage to swing in for 7, then lethal the next turn
Game 3 - Again, mull to six A Soul Warden, a bunch of tokens, and an Intangible Virtue make semi-quick work of me
1-1 (3-3)
Round 3 - Blake Alty (Aggro-Loam)
Another regular who I routinely split my matches with. I know he's on Aggro-Loam as I've seen him building and testing it over a number of weeks
Game 1 - Shock/Fetch does a bit of work. Etched Champion and Cranial Plating go the distance.
SB - +2 Pithing Needle, +2 Relic of Progenetis, -4 Myr Enforcer
Game 2 - As typical in most matches, Etched Champion does most of the heavy lifting, with support from his friends and Cranial Plating.
2-1 (5-3)
Round 4 - Jeff Mcarthy (UW Affinity)
This is win and in. Never seen Jeff at the store before, which is good because I like to see our community grow even more.
Game 1 - We start throwing our hands on the table and racing. His racing is better than mine, with a Tempered Steel and Steel Overseer overwhelming my Champion-less board
SB - +2 Dispatch, +2 Despise, +2 Pithing Needle, -4 Myr Enforcer, -2 Frogmite
Game 2 - I Dispatch his Overseer early, and I Poison him out for the win with a Cranial Plated Inkmoth.
Game 3 - My notes are non-existent here, but if memory serves me correct, he was getting artifact screwed here. He had to trade his Memnites and Ornithopters for my creatures, so could never get Metalcraft online. Eventually he just caved and I was on my way to top 4
3-1 (7-4)
I placed 4th after swiss, so I played 1st place. Other match was Twin vs BW tokens
Semis - Jamie Hennessey (Jund)
I've seen Jamie a few times, never played him. Again, one of the better players around, hangs out with Alex (from round 1) and Mike (from the next round).
Game 1 - A couple of Etched Champions make it around his Tarmagoyf. The Etched Champions really give him a hard time as he has no way to deal with them. Shock/Fetch does the up front work for me and the Champions do the rest of the work
SB - +2 Relic of Progenetis, +2 Dispatch, +3 Ethersworn Cannonist, -4 Myr Enforcer, -2 Signal Pest, -1 Frogmite
Game 1 - Puke most of my hand onto the table early, allowing for turn 2 Champion, turn 3 Champion, turn 4 Champion. There was a Master in there as well but he was dealt with. Tezzeret made an appearance, allowed me to dig for more answers, but he got dealt with as well. Couple of Tarmagoyfs here on the table but rendered useless by my Champions. Dispatched one of them, then held one back for blocking while the other two went in for the win.
4-1 (9-4)
So I'm onto the finals, and the Tarmagoyf is within my reach. All that stands between him and I is.....
Finals - Mike Giles (BW Tokens)
Mike's a very good player; very deliberate, plays very tightly. We've played a bit in the past, it's always been pleasant, he gives me deck tips and I always listen :). I've managed to get the upper hand on him a few times, but each time I'm always very lucky.
Game 1 - According to my notes, he hits token generators really quickly and decimates my robot army
SB - Can't remember, no notes, but probably similar to round 2 with no Despise
Game 2 - I get a nasty draw, and proceed to yak my hand onto the table with something to the effect of Inkmoth, Mox, Ornithopter, Drum, Memnite, Thoughtcast. By turn 3 I swung in for 9 poison damage with my Plated Inkmoth. Things were coming up Millhouse for me until Mike cast a Lingering Souls, allowing him to stabilize. It went downhill from there as I just couldn't keep up with the tokens
4-2 (9-6)
So I ended up in second, $20 in store credit. For a 12 person tourney, I'm very happy. I beat two really good players and took a ported deck to second place. Etched Champion was a house since no one could deal with it effectively (except for the Affinity player who could block it all day).
I think BU is the optimal build with Tezzeret. It has the explosiveness of Affinity, but can grind out a longer game with a resolved Tezzeret. He becomes an immediate threat since he'll end the game the next turn, and I'll usually have a Champion or two to help protect him.
Now that I've had a couple of weeks to think about this (yes, this report is a couple weeks old, I've posted this elsewhere), I'd probably make the following changes
Maindeck: I'm comfortable with the core of the deck. The land base is probably where I'd make the changes. I wasn't aware that City of Brass was Modern legal, otherwise I'd run four of them, with the rest being either Darkslick Shores, Creeping Tar Pits, or Island/Swamps (I didn't have the BU Shocklands).
I'm sure that the Affinity package (Frogmites and Myr Enforcers) are probably the biggest question marks, but they're just as easy to get out with this build as they are in Legacy. If anything, I'd run main deck Dispatches, but only with the Cities in the maindeck.
Sideboard: Okay, so this was the sketchiest part of the deck. Based on who I knew was playing and what they had talked about, I was expecting some combination of AggroLoam, Tron, and Storm. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have included the Ravagers and Hex Parasites, main decked the Dispatches. In their place I would have included Disenchant (again, I didn't realize this got reprinted in TSP) for AggroLoam, Affinity, and Pod, Torpor Orb for Twin, and Whipflare or Ratchet Bomb for Tokens. Lesson learned I guess.
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
4 Inkmoth Nexus
3 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Gemstone Mine
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Mountain
4 Galvanic Blast
3 Shrapnel Blast
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Cranial Plating
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
4 Etched Champion
3 Master of Etherium
2 Arcbound Ravager
2 Steel Overseer
1 Tormod´s Crypt
2 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Blood Moon
3 Topor Orb
3 Whipflare
Quick summary:
Round 1: RG Tron 0-2
Bad and slow hands plus he comboed very quickly. I did not see any of my Blood Moon post sideboard.
Round 2: R/B Burn 1-2
First match was a race, the second i outrace him quickly, in the third i have no chance in damage speed.
Round 3: W/b Tokens 2-1
First and second match i outraced him, the second i mad e a mistake and get overwhelmed with tokens.
Round 4: Team America Delver 2-0
The deck worked like it is supposed to work, devilish fast.
Round 5: Kiki-pod w/Angel 0-2
Both games he comboed rather quickly.
Round 6: Affinity 1-2
Very contested matchs, we ended playing at topdeck.
2-4 for 6 rounds, a bad day, i have to make some changes to the deck.
MTGO Newbie
Current Decks:
Standard: Just drafting for the moment.
Modern: Affinity
List? Or link to list?
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the amazing sig.
NO RUG: Primer
Tempo Thresh: Primer
For reference, here is my list:
4 Ornithoptor
3 Memnite
4 Vault Skirge
4 Steel Overseer
4 Signal Pest
1 Arcbound Ravager
4 Etched Champion
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Cranial Plating
3 Boros Charm
2 Steelshaper's Gift
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Mountain
3 Glimmervoid
3 Whipflare
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Ray of Revelation
2 Torpor Orb
3 Spellskite
Round 1:
Opponent's Deck: Mono-blue Tron
Game 1:
I race him with cranial plating on flyers. He plays Treasure Mage to find Wurm Coil, but I go right over for the win.
Game 2:
I keep a no-land hand with Mox Opal, Memnite, Ornithoptor, and Springleaf Drum, but I ended up ripping Glimmervoid off my first draw anyways. A Spellskite stops my Etched Champion for a bit, but I Galvanic Blast the Spellskite then crash over with a few guys. He has a really slow development.
Record: 1-0-0
Round 2:
Opponent's Deck: Mono Red Aggro/Burn
Game 1:
My opponent comes out fast with a T1 Goblin Guide, T2 Ash Zealot, and T3 Ash Zealot + Lightning Bolt to a Vault Skirge. I draw lands off Goblin Guide on T3 and T4. 2 Etched Champion, a cranial plating, and a key Galvanic Blast hold him off and allow me to race. I throw useless guys like Memnite and Ornithoptor away while blocking.
Game 2:
He opens up much of the same, except with a Hellspark Elemental too. I have a Vault Skirge, Ornitopor, Arcbound Ravager, and some Darksteel Citadels on T3. I end up waiting until he's in top deck mode to make an Lightning Bolt-proof Vault Skirge with Ravager and he can't keep up.
Record: 2-0-0
Round 3:
Opponent's Deck: Mono Red Burn
Game 1:
This guy's deck was very grindy. He was smart and used his removal on all of my creatures while quickly ticking up a Shrine of Burning Rage. I have an Etched Champion in hand with a Cranial Plating in play, but I only draw 2 lands (without a Mox Opal and a useless Sprigleaf Drum). I get blasted for around 10 and lose. Keldon Megaliths keeps my little guys and manlands out of play.
Game 2:
I open up with Memnite + Vault Skirge turn 1, and he responds with a Forked Bolt. My turn 2 Signal Pest gets killed as well. Shrine of burning Rage gets ticked up and kills me again.
Record: 2-1-0
Round 4:
Opponent's Deck: Red-Green Tron
Game 1:
I open up really fast and he can't find his big guys. He plays Ancient Stirrings with Tron online and only reveals an Chromatic Sphere.
Game 2:
He gets a really quick Tron online while I swarm the field. He plays Oblivion Stone and wipes the board, but I completely blow him out with Boros Charm. He was a good sport about it, though.
Record: 3-1-0
Round 5:
Opponent's Deck: -----
We split for a clean cut into top 8.
Record: 3-1-1
Quarter Finals:
Opponent's Deck: Junk Pod
Game 1:
I open up really fast, and I never see a pod. The only cards I see are Deathrite Shaman, Abrupt Decay, and Kitchen Finks.
Game 2:
T1 I play Ornitoptor and Vault Skirge, and he plays T2 Kataki, War's Wage. I let both my guys die and come back with T2 Whipflare. He gets his pod online so I know realize what he's playing. He ends up with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Kitchen Finks (podded once), Murderous Redcap, Deathrite Shamman, and 3 Lingering Souls tokens out. I have a lot of little guys, 1 Etched Champion, and a Cranial Plating. I end up casting Whipflare and blowing him out.
Semi Finals:
Opponent's Deck: UWR Midrange
Game 1:
I open up fast and get a Cranial Plating online. He Path to Exiles when I try to equip. He puts on pressure with burn and flyers while I have no guys. I ended up getting an Etched Champion with two Cranial Platings, but he casts Lightning Helix to stay alive with lethal damage on board. I Boros Charm him to win.
Game 2:
This game was hilarious. My opponent lands a T2 Stony Silence, shutting off my Darksteel Citadel and Springleaf Drum. In turn, I land a T4 Blood Moon, and he has 1 Island, 1 Mountain, and 2 non-basics. The game devolves into me playing generic dudes and him bolting them, using multiple Snapcaster Mages (the only creature he could cast) for value and pressure. I finally draw Etched Champion, then Spellskite and we race. Another Etched Champion and Arcbound Ravager seal it. He reveals a hand full of white cards he couldn't cast, including Supreme Verdict.
Finals:
Opponent's Deck: Blue Affinity
Game 1:
He opens with a super fast hand, lands a Master of Etherium and I play Hill Giant, aka Etched Champion. He crushes me.
Game 2:
We trade blows early with little guys, and we blow up each other's Mox Opal to shut off colors. He lands a Master of Etherium and a Steel Overseer and my guys can't pull through.
$250 and 3 byes were this close, but oh well.
About the list:
This tournament proved to me how awesome Boros Charm is for the deck. I may not have mentioned all the times I played it, but I remember being happy every time I saw it. Every mode has a scenario that it shines. It looks hard to cast, but I cut 1 Inkmoth for 1 Boros Charm and it worked out well. I may go down to 2 Inkmoth for the fourth Glimmervoid. On top of that, every time Blood Moon was boarded in, I would simply board the Boros Charms and Steelshaper's Gifts out, so it wasn't a conflict there. Seriously, this is a home-run hitting type of card for the deck.
Even though I lost to Master of Etherium, I would still choose Etched Champion. He's so tough for opponents to get rid of, and he's unblockable most of the time. I wouldn't have gotten to the finals if he was a Master of Etherium instead.
I get the appeal of Thoughtcast, but I think Galvanic Blast is just too good. The reach is amazing, and the ability to interact with the opponent is key as well.
I have no complaints about the sideboard. This is my generic meta setup, but I would shift the numbers accordingly if local meta was heavily slanted a certain way.
I may cut 1 Boros Charm for a second Arcbound Ravager, and cut 1 Inkmoth Nexus for a fourth Glimmervoid. This will play it a little safer. I feel this deck may have been a little greedy despite my good finish. When I test more I'll report further.
Standard: N/A
Modern: AffinityWR, Delver WUR
Legacy: High TideU, ZombiesWBRG, 12post UG, Delver UR
I am happy with my deck, but now I know what needs changed, after the tournament, I swapped out the Boros Charm for a Steelshaper's Gift.
4x Memnite
4x Ornithopter
4x Signal Pest
4x Vault Skirge
2x Arcbound Ravager
3x Etched Champion
3x Master of Etherium
Artifacts/Equipment:
4x Mox Opal
3x Springleaf Drum
2x Welding Jar
4x Cranial Plating
4x Galvanic Blast
2x Shrapnel Blast
1x Boros Charm
Land:
4x Glimmervoid
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Blinkmoth Nexus
3x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Mountain
1x Plains
2x Rest In Peace
2x Torpor Orb
3x Ancient Grudge
2x Whipflare
1x Ray of Revelation
2x Ethersworn Canonist
2x Blood Moon
1x Dismember
8 Rounds:
Round 1: Twin 2-0
Round 2: UWR 1-2
Round 3: Kiki-pod 0-2
Round 4: RG Aggro 2-0
Round 5: BG Tron 2-1
Round 6: UWR 2-1
Round 7: RG Tron 2-0
Round 8: Hexproof Auras 1-2
Round 2 - Game 3, mulligan to 5, he has batterskull and a boros reckoner out and goes infinite while keeping me off of my inkmoths.
Round 3 - Both games was unable to interact with him, turn 4 and 5 combos went off.
Round 8 - Awkward matchup. Game 3, both of us awkwardly attacked with evasion creatures. He was at 1 life and I was at 7; I had 2 etched champs on board and he topdecks a Coronet to put on his Silhana Ledgewalker and hits me for exactly 7.
3x Memnite
4x Ornithopter
4x Signal Pest
4x Vault Skirge
4x Steel Overseer
3x Arcbound Ravager
4x Etched Champion
Artifacts: 11
4x Mox Opal
3x Springleaf Drum
4x Cranial Plating
4x Galvanic Blast
3x Shrapnel Blast
1x Boros Charm
Land: 15
4x Glimmervoid
4x Darksteel Citadel
4x Blinkmoth Nexus
1x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Mountain
1x Plains
3x Blood Moon
3x Spellskite
2x Torpor Orb
1x Blind Obedience
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Whipflare
1x Ray of Revelation
1x Boros Charm
3x Steel Overseer
4x Vault Skirge
4x Signal Pest
4x Ornithopter
2x Memnite
2x Master of Etherium
3x Etched Champion
4x Cranial Plating
4x Springleaf Drum
4x Mox Opal
3x Galvanic Blast
4x Blinkmoth Nexus
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Glimmervoid
3x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Island
1x Forest
1x Etched Champion
1x Galvanic Blast
3x Blood Moon
2x Whipflare
2x Seal of Primordium
2x Spellskite
3x Relic of Progenitus
1x Torpor Orb
There were 13 players and four rounds.
Round 1: Mono Blue Tron - 2/0
Game 1: Game 1 was pretty quick, I got through by the 5th turn with minimum resistance because he mulled down to 6 and the only relevant spell he played besides the Tron pieces was Solemn Simulcrum.
Sideboard: -3 Etched Champion, -1x Thoughtcast, +1 Galvanic Blast, +3 Blood Moon
Game 2: Game 2 was much longer due to multiple Repeal on relevant targets. I made the mistake of trying to go for a poison kill and sacrificing Arcbound Ravager in response to a Repeal, which took away the posion kill option. I also tried to get through with the minimum amount of spells played, holding creatures in my hand, but it ultimately slowed down the clock because of Repeals. I was lucky in winning because he accidentally played an Island instead of Academy Ruins which would have meant infinite Mindslaver loop.
Round 2: U/B Mill - 2/0
Game 1: It was the most unfair match-up because he had Archive Traps that he could never activate and dealt 7 damage to himself between Watery Grave, 2x Gitaxian Probe, and Underground River.
Sideboard: -3 Etched Champion, +3 Blood Moon
Game 2: Turn 2 Blood Moon quickly ended the game because all his lands were non-basic in the deck.
Round 3: Junk (U/W/B) - 2/1
Game 1: There wasn't much interaction between the two sides, he dropped an early Noble Hierach and Tarmogoyf early. I quickly ran him over with 2x Etched Champion and fliers.
Sideboard: I really didn't know how to sideboard against his deck because I didn't see any removals. I thought I just took out 1 of each Arcbound Ravager, 1x Steel Overseer, 1x Thoughtcast, 2x Vault Skirge and put in 2x Whipflare, 1x Galvanic Blast, 1x Spellskite, 1x Relic of Progenitus.
Game 2: My first mull of the tournament, I went down to 6 and so did he. I kept a terrible hand with Inkmoth Nexus, Blinkmoth Nexus, Ornithopter, Galvanic Blast, Galvanic Blast, Vault Skirge thinking I am on the draw and can get a colored mana. It turns out I never did before he ran me over with a third turn Thundermaw Hellkite after I drew Ornithopter, Thoughtcast, and another land.
Sideboard: -2x Thoughtcast, +1x Arcbound Ravager, +1 Vault Skirge
Game 3: My first game 3 of the tournament, I went down to 6 cards on the play, but it was a quick hand with multiple threats. My opponent kept a greedy hand with 1 land and 2x Noble Hierarch, but I was able to Galvanic Blast his first Hierarch EOT and he missed his second land drop. Even so, the game was close and I eventually went down to 1x Arcbound Ravager after he Abrupt Decayed my Cranial Plating, Path of Exiled my other Arcbound Ravager, and Lightning Bolted my last Arcbound Ravager with a Kitchen Finks in play and with 7 life. I finished the game by transferring 6 counters from Arcbound Ravager to Blinkmoth Nexus with him tapped out.
Round 4: Pod - 2/0
We decided to intentional draw since we already top 4, but nevertheless played out 2 games.
Game 1/2: Because he never drew out his combo or Pod, my creatures outpaced his both games. He did have a noticeable amount of removals, but that didn't really help against the onslaught of robots.
Overall I was very lucky to not see any mass removals used against me or any Stony Silence. However, I think it's easy to prepare for those cards because if the opponent has multiple creatures out, chances are he/she wouldn't use mass removals even if they are running W/B. I did get lucky to not have to fight uphill against Stony Silence, but I think I would have had a decent chance because I had Seal of Primordium on the SB and a forest to search in case of Path of Exile.
For future changes, I would take green out of the sideboard and replace it with white. The reason I didn't do that earlier is because I couldn't find a local store that had stock of Dispatch. I also thought that Steelshaper's Gift would be a lot more useful than Thoughtcast in match-ups simply because I always had an overabundance of creatures, but Cranial Plating never stay on board for a turn or two (it's removed instantly or you've won). I would also add another Whipflare on the sideboard just because of local meta which is mostly U/W/R Delver/Traft and mana dorks.
MB:
-1 Thoughtcast
-1 Forest
+1 Steel Shaper's Gift
+1 Plain
SB:
-2 Relic of Progenitus
-2 Seal of Primordium
-1 Spellskite
+2 Disenchant
+1 Dispatch
+1 Rest in Peace
+1 Whipflare
Just thought I'd note that I've only been playing Modern for about 2 months, so take my words with a grain of salt.
There's not that many other spells I thought I can take out. For Affinity, you need a certain number of artifacts or the synergy just dies. The relevant cards to take out are: Galvanic Blast and Thoughtcast for the most part. The other problem with Thoughtcast is getting the colored mana doesn't always happen, and you want to limit the number of colored spells you have in your deck.
Galvanic Blast tends to be much better in modern which is a creature-based format. Game 2, you don't want to sideboard out creatures because the opponent will assuredly have more removals this time around. Memnites are absolutely core to a good start. I've tried taking out 2x Memnite before and the deck just doesn't run. No spells played on the first turn is a quick way for Affinity to lose the game, and that extra artifact can be important as late as turn 3-4 because of Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer, Master of Etherium, Springleaf Drum, Cranial Plating, etc.
The only match up I feel like Thoughtcast is relevant is against like a UWr control and Jund where you need to push through as many waves of spells as possible to win. Lots of other times you're running against a clock, like versus Pod, Splinter, Tron, Burn, and Infect. Also, the reason I'm not running 4x Thoughtcast like the other competitive decks is that I feel like starting with 1+ Thoughtcast in the hand is going to be a really slow hand, although it's arguably the best card in the deck.
TL;DR: Thoughtcast is a colored spell, not an artifact creature.
Then you're playing and sideboarding wrong.
I've had more success playing 4 MD Thoughtcast then I have with playing 4 MD Galvanic Blast.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the amazing sig.
NO RUG: Primer
Tempo Thresh: Primer
You are probably right, I'll try play testing 4x Thoughtcast, 2x Galvanic Blast, 1x Whipflare MD. I don't see any Affinity deck using 4x Galvanic Blasts either, as Dispatch and Whipflare are much better on the SB.
What is the argument for using 4x Thoughtcast as opposed 4x Thoughtcast 1x Steelshaper's Gift MD? There are singletons that I feel like make a strong impact on the deck, like 1x Master of Etherium, 1x Steelshaper's Gift, and 1x Shrapnel Blast.
For me I run Welding Jar, as it helps fire out fast starts when drawn in the opener and prevents Plating from being axed a lot of the time.
Also Dispatch is useless.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the amazing sig.
NO RUG: Primer
Tempo Thresh: Primer
I strongly disagree with your black/white view.
Shrapnel Blast, while I probably wouldn't run it either, is the only burn spell that works against Thundermaw Hellkite, which is becoming more and more popular.
Dispatch stops Tarmgoyf, Thundermaw Hellkite, Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, Voice of Resurgence, and Primeval Titan. Taking into account that Affinity is a tempo deck, a 1 mana answer to practically any threat without any drawback is huge.
I can see running 1-2x Welding Jar over Steelshaper's Gift in a 4x Thoughtcast deck, that's actually a great idea.
Affinity is aggro not tempo. You put a bunch of guys on the field and turn them sideways. We want to get them to 0 asap. Tempo is a little different, it uses attrition and card advantage to get ahead of the opponent and then makes sure it stays ahead (for example Geist of St. Win). We Zerg Rush.
Shrapnel Blast is meh, but galvanic blast has its points. It can stop many relevant creatures that combo tries using (kills kiki, angel, and melira), and most importantly it can do 4 damage to the player, which has won me the game many times a turn earlier than if i didnt have it. I always run at least 3 main deck.
Dispatch would be a card that you might run 1 or 2 of as a sideboard only, because Galvanic Blast is more versatile and just as relevant. and even then we have much better sideboard options.
My Trade Thread
That's arguable. I've played plenty of even standard decks that can kill faster than Affinity, especially the current version with 11-12 2 mana drops, 8-9 0 mana drops, and 8 1 mana drops. I think you defined temp well, that it is "attrition and card advantage," and Affinity does both very well with Thoughtcast and 25+ creatures and 7+ manlands.
I'd argue that while the mono R version is aggro, the current U/R or U/W/R versions are more tempo. Seriously, there are so many games where my only play up to 2nd turn is just a Steel Overseer and some mana acceleration. That is not the definition of aggro, especially now that Etched Champion is heavily favored over Master of Etherium.
I think I'm going to start running 1x Galvanic Blast, 1x Whipflare and see how that goes.
I took Paul Rietlz's Main list but replaced Galv Blast with Whipflares. My SB was different though.
Dispatch was a meta call for the Naya Midrange for Thundermaw and other Goyf decks.. Surprisingly there were no Pod decks.
Round 1 - Scapeshift - 2-0
Round 2 - RWU Control - 2-1
Round 3 - BW tokens 0-2
Round 4 - Naya Midrange 2-0
Round 5 - Affinity Mirror 2-1
Top 8 Decks - Record
1. Affinity - 4-0-1
2. Affinity (Me) - 4-1
3. Living End - 3-1-1
4. BW Tokens - 3-1-1
5. BW Hatebears - 3-1-1
6. Naya Midrange - 3-1-1
7. Ajiani Jund - 3-1-1
8. Naya Midrange - 3-2
Round 6 - Jund 2-0
Round 7 - Living End 2-0
Round 8 - Affinity Mirror 2-1
Tokens just blew me out in the Swiss but he ended up losing to the other Affinity in the Top 8. Made me happy that I get to play against the mirror because I know this match up all too well.
Whipflare was pretty stellar vs Jund and Tokens but everywhere else it was a dead card. Galv Blast would have been the better choice but I can't complain since it did help me win vs Jund taking out the Lingering Souls and Deathrites even if it is an easy match up for us.
The Living End deck caught me off guard because I have never played against it at all nor bothered to research the list. Ravager was the star in that match up.
The Affinity Mirror - Differences from mine was +1 MoE, -1 Ravager, +2 Galv Blast, -2 Whipflare.
Game 1 - I was on the draw with a mull to 6. I drew both Whipflares and Thoughtcasts with no colored sources on board and it threw him completely off on why I kept having +3 cards in my hand. I won due Steel Overseer hitting the board first before his.
Game 2 - He stomped me with Infect.
Game 3 - We did a Vault Skirge with Plating Life Trading. He tapped out to play Ravager and Steel Overseer after double Thoughtcast. Playing the Overseer caused him to not have a Blinkmoth to block with and I swung in with having one more flyer and a Ravager to seal the deal.
Interesting on the whipflares.
Anyway, I also used Rietlz's list, though I ran 3x Galv Blast and 2x Memnite instead of the reverse. I was never unhappy to see a Galv Blast, and only once did I get a hand that was borderline perfect but missing a 0 drop creature. So I think the change was marginal at worst in my creature heavy meta.
Sideboard was:
1x Galvanic Blast
3x Blood Moon
4x Relic of Progenitus (Only because I didn't have RiPs, have since picked up 3)
4x Spellskite
3x Ancient Grudge or Deglammer... I am blanking out on which I decided. I didn't play tron, pod or the mirror, so I never boarded any in.
Round 1: Goblins
Game 1: He out aggro's me.
His T1: Goblin Guide (20-18)
My T1: Citadel, Thopter, Opal, Overseer. So far, so good.
His T2: 2nd guide + One of the Crappy Rituals into Bolt on Overseer and a junk 1 drop goblin (19-14; he cracked a fetch)
My T2: Land, Etched Champion
His T3: Goblin Chieftain. He keeps the Chieftain Back, but swings with the rest of the team. I block the Junk goblin with my Champion, but let the Guides through to drop me to 8. This may have been a play mistake to not block a guide with my thopter... I probably should have just blocked one of his Guides and saved myself 3 damage. (19-8)
My T3: Not sure the exact order that this happened in, but I do manage a 3rd land, Galv Blast the Chieftain, Thoughtcast into a Plating and a vault skirge, play the plating.
His T4: Untap, Bolt + Goblin Grenade to the face, and it's gg.
Playing the plating ahead of the vault skirge was probably a misplay. My problem was that I totally forgot Goblin Grenade was a card. I thought that I was safe as long As I was above 6, so I was planning on swinging once with the plating'd champion, then if he tapped out, moving the plating to the skirge for a bunch of free life. It was a moot point in this game.
SB:
+4 Spellskite, +1 Galvanic Blast
-4 Steel Overseer, -1 Thoughtcast
I dont really know why I sided out Overseer, except that I figured the target on it's face was so big that it would never stick, so why waste 2 mana. I still don't know how to sideboard this deck.
G2: He gets stuck on 2 Land, which isn't really something a goblin deck can complain about. He manages to Shattering Spree for 2, but I had dropped a Spellskite before him on T2 and pay the 4 life. He manages to drop 3! guides, but I top deck a second Spellskite. He manages to Goblin Grenade my second spellskite and finds a third land, but plating + manlands/thopters is GG.
G3: Citadel + Opal+ Cranial Plating + Vault Skirge is just too much for him to handle... Even though he has a fairly agressive hand, and drops 3 Goblin guides in the 1st 3 turns. Vault Skirge keeps me ahead on life, especially when I drop another T3, along with an overseer. He chooses to bolt the overseer, which has to be a misplay. Gut instinct might say bolt the pumper, but either way you need to top deck another removal spell. Bolting the overseer seems like a "lose less" play. Regardless, I'm 1-0.
Round 2: An 11 year old's Elves deck.
Not even worth discussing in depth. G1 I was just too fast, even after he dropped the Elf that can snipe flying creatures (Edit:Lys Alana Bowmaster) turn 2 off of a T1 mana dork. He couldn't race Etched Champion + Signal Pest + Steel Overseer.
Game 2 I got a borderline god hand...Skirge + Plating swinging turn 2 with 0 drops + pest, Ravager T3 so targeted flying removal was useless. Ended up winning 32-0 or something, with man lands and skirge and pests and ravager and god knows what else swinging for 15 on T3 into 2 elves. Literally 4-5 minutes of game play total in both games. Felt really bad, and REALLY wished I had gotten this hand in Round 3. Played him a third time, held stuff back so it would at least be an exciting game. He ended up winning by attrition, though I'm pretty sure I could have ninja-plating'd an Inkmoth and won if I had been paying full attention. The kid was actually a fine player for an 11 year old, and the deck was well curved. But he didn't stand a chance.
Round 3: Naya midrange.
Game 1 was close. I kept a borderline hand that I probably should have sent back. When he dropped Karplusan forest into Birds of Paradise T1, I assumed hewas playing either a budget tron variant or budget Kiki pod. This misread may have cost me the game. I was moderately confused when I saw Land + BoP + Figure of Destiny, and I can't figure out why I still thought it was pod instead of straight Naya Midrange. It became VERY apparent when he dropped a T3 Hero of Bladehold + Bolted my vault skirge. I thought I could race him, and was able to him down to ~7, and thoughtcasted into a blast to take out the Hero. But Kitchen Finks + Lightning Helix on the next turn was brutal. I used Inkmoth + a Blinkmoth Pump to take out the Finks and avoid persist, and swung him down to 6 with some combination of Etched Champions and man lands. I forget exactly what his next play was, but he was tapped out and representing lethal with surviving soldier tokens + figure + some other creature and an all out attack next turn if he had a bolt/helix. All I had left was a Blinkmoth nexus, and 2 Etched Champions, and him at 6 life. About 35% of the cards in my deck win the game (Plating, Ravager, Blast, Blinkmoth Nexus), and Thoughtcast gives me two more chanced to topdeck. Alas, I topdeck something useless, hold my creatures back to block, but he has the bolt.
I misplayed that game... other than the Inkmoth v. Finks, I used my manlands defensively to chump block as opposed to keeping them open for the attack. This is particularly relevant as I was able to get him down to 1(!) before he was able to kill me. And I should have mulliganed. 2 Etched champions are pretty useless when all they're doing is swinging for 2 each every turn.
+4 Spellskite
-4 I forget. Probably 1x of a number of things as opposed to a 4-for-4 switch.
Game 2: This game is still frustrating me, even 24 hours later. I would have been in commanding position of the game but misplayed twice in about 15 seconds. The board state was as follows:
Me: more than enough mana, Ravager (at 4/4) Etched champion (at 3/3) Steel Ovseer (at 2/2) Vault Skirge with a plating (~8/2). Enough colored mana next turn to animate a Blinkmoth, and move the plating at instant speed if i need to. Tapped out to play/equip plating. My turn.
Him: 2 BoP (again!), a Finks, a Hero + 2 tokens (I Blasted the first, he topdecked a second). Life totals are something to the effect of 10 to 14
I activate Overseer. In response he Helixes my vault skirge. I sac it to my ravager instead of sac'ing my ravager to itself to save it. He did have a red mana open for a second bolt, and I'm not sure if he had it. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Skirge would have been like a 10/6 lifelinker if the abilities resolved without a second bolt. I hate myself. Thats the main reason I'm posting this, it's a self shaming. I've haven't played this deck since 2004, but I still hate myself.
Anyway, the game still wasn't over... I had a ravager, an overseer, a champion and a plating and still 10 life. As long as I could survive the next 2 attacks (which I was fairly certain I could), I had two chances to swing with an untargetable, unblockable, un damagable 10/4. Unfortunately, he drops Elspeth, uses her second +1, which means he has a 6/7 flier, 2 1/1 fliers, and 4 2/1 Soldiers. With only 3 blockers (and none with flying) it's G-f'ing-G.
Result: 2-1, and much self loathing.
(Edit: he must have only had 1 soldier token before he attacked, as I just realized my overseer was tapped on the final turn, so I only had 2 blockers. I remember that if he had one less soldier OR no Elspeth topdeck I could have survived at least one more turn)
4x Blinkmoth Nexus
4x Cranial Plating
4x Darksteel Citadel
3x Etched Champion
3x Galvanic Blast
3x Glimmervoid
4x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Island
2x Memnite
4x Mox Opal
4x Ornithopter
4x Signal Pest
4x Springleaf Drums
3x Steel Overseer
4x Thoughtcast
4x Vault Skirge
1x Welding Jar
2x Ancient Grudge
1x Blood Moon
1x Torpor Orb
1x Grafdigger's Cage
3x Spellskite
4x Thoughtseize
1x Wear / Tear
2x Whipflare
Match 1: Goblins (2/1)
Game 1: I manage to top deck a Vault Skirge 4th turn after stabilizing with Etched Champion. He didn't have any answers because he had used Lighting Bolt on Steel Overseer. Cranial Plating on Vault Skirge with no answers end the game in another 2 turns.
Sideboard: +3 Spellskite, +2 Whipflare, -2 Si
Game 2: Although I had a 4/4 Etched Champion and a 2/2 Etched Champion plus a Spellskite, he still runs me over with an army of Goblins pumped by Goblin Chieftain and Warcry. I dealt 0 damage to him that game. Legion Loyalist gave all his guys trample and first strike as well.
Game 3: I manage to stabilize with 3x Etched Champion, effectively drawing all 3 of my Champions. I top deck a Cranial Plating and swing in Inkmoth Nexus for a finish.
Match 2: U/B Mill (2/0)
Game 1: He mills throw about half of my deck before I kill him with a resolved topdecked Cranial Plating. Psychic Strikes were annoying. I imagine he had a few dead cards in his hand, namely Archive Traps.
+4 Thoughtseize, +1 Blood Moon, -3 Etched Champion, -1 Welding Jar, -1 Steel Overseer
Game 2: I had an embarrassingly slow clock of Etched Champion, Blinkmoth Nexus, and Vault Skirge. Although the game went for what seemed like 10 turns, I won because he took out most of his mill cards and barely touched my library.
Match 3: Jund (2/0)
I've met the guy before, and he's always playing Jund. But he makes his own brews, except they tend to be pretty bad. Jund with Ghor-Clan Rampager, AEther Vial, you get the idea. I also got misplaced for some reason instead of playing the 2/0 Kiki-Pod deck.
Game 1: I sacrificed 3 artifacts to Arcbound Ravager and then transferred the counters to Inkmoth Nexus when he was tapped out. Since he didn't have any flyers, it was game my next turn after that.
Game 2: He missed his 2nd black mana and couldn't play a Liliana, not that it would've done anything. I hit him for exact damage on turn 4 with Etched Champion with Cranial Plating and flyers after he durdled around for 4 turns.
Overall the deck didn't draw well, but I played weak matchups so it didn't matter as much. I played the Kiki-Pod deck after and I lost 2, won 1 against him without sideboard, my one win being a very close one where I had to play my whole hand and topdeck a Galvanic Blast for Restoration Angel. He did naturally draw Harmonic Sliver both games, which wasn't nice, and comboed out turn 4 and turn 5 after losing his turn 1 mana dork.
There was also a R/B Rack deck at the tournament. I lost the first game because I mulled down to 5, and I then won 1 and lost 1 because I misplayed. The fourth game was terrible for me because I mulled and was still stuck on 1 land for 4 turns. It's a very interesting deck that can consistent beat Melira and combo decks and has plenty of answers for Affinity because of Shattering Spree and Infest.