Similar deck as last time, except I sold my Thoughtseizes so I've replaced that with 2x Duress and 2x Spell Pierce on the sideboard. I'm also switching around the # of Springleaf Drum, Welding Jar, and Steel Overseer, but nothing drastic.
Match 1: Kiki-Pod (won the roll)
Game 1: I have a relatively slow start with multiple Arcbound Ravagers and slows down more after Kitchen Finks hits the table turn 2. The game really shifts on turn 4 when he plays Kiki with Deceiver Exarch in play, but luckily I had top decked Galvanic Blast the turn prior and Blast the Kiki. I then top deck into Cranial Plating for a close finish.
Game 2: Although he claims to not have a sideboard, since all he has is Kataki, he lands a turn 2 Kataki and wipes my board since I didn't draw a Galvanic Blast. I struggle to stay alive as he plays into Harmonic Sliver (naturally drawn) followed by a Restoration Angel to ETB the Sliver, easily beating me down with Linvala and Restoration Angel.
Game 3: We both struggle to assemble anything that looks like a game plan. I had mulled down to 6, which I probably shouldn't have done since the hand had 2x Arcbound Ravager in it (but no real threats or Thoughtcast). He lands a turn 2 Kataki again (he has 1 copy in his deck!) and I have no real answer, slowing me down a few turns. I had him down to 6 life before he finally draws a Pod for the finish. I never did manage to kill Kataki, and all I drew were lands.
Match 2: Experimental Jund (lost the roll)
Game 1: Without any Abrupt Decay, I easily swept him game 1 with Signal Pest and board. Etched Champion followed Cranial Plating and Ornithopters sealed the game.
Game 2: A little more grindy, since my hand wasn't that great, but he barely touched my life total as I whittled down his even with multiple Deathrite activations. Etched Champion kept him on the defense the whole game, and he didn't have a real sideboard either.
Match 3: B/R Goblins (lost the roll)
Game 1: I took some damage but he took a lot more more quickly. Galvanic Blast was key in killing his Goblin Chieftain and his board under control.
Game 2: He sideboarded in 4x Shattering Spree and 4x Shatterstorm. I didn't have a chance since he drew into 2x Shattering Spree and 1x Shatterstorm to quickly and decisively close out the game.
Game 3: I was able to effectively race with Vault Skirge equipped with Cranial Plating after offering Ravager and Ornithopter as the bait. The game closed rather quickly with another Galvanic Blast from me.
Overall 2-1 finish, barely missed 2nd place for prize out of 6 people by tiebreakers. I definitely need a more solid plan against Pod, which is the premier deck of the format. But losing the Thoughtseize really hurts the deck after game 1, and Whipflare really doesn't do anything against it.
Round 1 Merfolk
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast
- 2 memnite -1 signal pest
Round 2 Melira Pod
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast + 3 grafdiggers cage
- 1 Master of Etherium - 4 signal pest - 1 Springleaf Drum
Round 3 RDW
+2 spell pierce + 3 Spellskite
- 4 Signal pest -1 memnite
Round 4 UG Infect
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast + 3 Spellskite
-3 Etched Champion - 3 signal pest
Round 5 Merfolk
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast
- 2 memnite -1 signal pest
Round 6 (ID)
Round 7 ID
Finished at #2 after swiss
Quarterfinals
I was paired with the UG Infect guy that I played against in the swiss. Unfortunately I run out of luck. No matter how much shuffle I just can't draw the cards that won me the game in the swiss.
After the playoffs I was on 5th place
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"All animals -- even humans -- can be herded. The trick is to make them think they choose their own destination"
Eladamri
R1 - Lau, Kevin (Esper control)
Cliques, removals, counters, Lingering Souls
G1 - Run all over him with tiny shiny men garnishing head platings
G2 - Out came the Galvanic Blasts, in came the Blood Moons and a Spellskite. Kept a very slow hand, got punished for it
G3 - See game 1.
1-0 (2-1)
R2 - Jung, Steven (UWR Twin/Kik Jiki)
G1 - I'm about a turn too slow He Exarch/Twin's me to death
G2 - I'm definitely a turn too slow as I have him dead on board next turn. He Kiki/Exarch's me
1-1 (2-3)
R3 - Desautels, Carlin (GW Hate Bears)
G1 - End up puking my hand out on turn 1. Signal Pests and Vault Skirge, equipped with a Cranial Plating, make quick work of my opponent
G2 - Didn't sideboard here as there wasn't much that I felt enhanced the matchup. I get absolutely blown out when he Glittering Wishes for a multicoloured artifact sweeper, taking out everything except for a lowly Island.
G3 - He gets land screwed, and I puke my hand, refill it with Thoughtcast, then puke some more. Kinda reminded me of my university days.
2-1 (4-4)
R4 - Sun, Chuan Xiang (Esper Control)
G1 - The little shiny men do their business. Opponent is unfamiliar with Affinity so he spends a lot of time reading my cards
G2 - Sideboard similar to round 1. He manages to stave off the army long enough to get a lethal army for 1/1 fliers of his own. I do a valiant job of staying alive by pumping my little dudes with Steel Overseer, but he manages to eek out a victory
G3 - Turn 1 goes like this: Citadel, Ornithopter, Mox, 2 Signal Pest. Turn 2, Glimmervoid, Master of Etherium. Turn 3, top deck a Champion. NOt much you can do against a turn 2 6/6, then a turn 3 3/3 that you can't do anything against.
3-1 (6-5)
Finish in 6th
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Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
GPT for GP Detroit today. 45 people, 6 rounds. Preliminary calculations were that 4-1-1 was the minimum you would need to top 8.
Decklist is similar to my previous report
R1 - Affinity
Ugh, start the tournament against the mirror.
G1 - Kept a decent starting grip, but it all came down to who hit either the Cranial Plating or Steel Overseer first, and that was not me. I made a bit of an error during the game, sacrificing my Ornithopters to my Arcbound Ravager before tapping them with my Springleaf Drum to pump my Blinkmoth Nexus, but in the end I don't think it would have mattered since he dropped a second Overseer.
G2 - I mull to five and can't recover. He Ancient Grudges my Cranial Plating and runs me over
0-1 (0-2)
R2 - Prisimatic Omen/Scapeshift
G1 - I get a turn 1 Overseer with Lotus Petal (Mox Opal, tap, Mox Opal), turn 2 Plating and equip, and it wasn't much of a game after that
G2 - I open with turn 2 Blood Moon, and he scoops 3 turns after that
1-1 (2-2)
R3 - Jund burn
Local player running basically a burn deck with Bump in the Night
G1 - He burns me out, deals with my Plated creatures, and I can't get any traction
G2 - I drop 2 Etched Champions and they seem to hold the fort down while I stabilize and get Platings for the win
G3 - This one was close. He managed to get me pretty low, but couldn't get his Goblin Guide or Vexing Devil through my wall of Champions. Eventually I find Platings and swing in for the win. If he drew a bolt he would have won, so I dodged that.
2-1 (4-3)
R4 - Soul Sisters
G1 - So this was pretty epic. My opponent had multiple Soul Warden/Soul Attendants out. He was casting Spectral Procession, gaining tons of life. Me, I had Vault Skirge, Cranial Plating, Master of Etherium, Etched Champion, and a ton of artifacts. The long and the short of it was we were gaining life like there was no tomorrow. At one point, the life totals were 78 to 58 in my favour. I ended up dropping a second plating and then did shenanigans where I would swing for 27 with a Champion, then equip two other creatures with a Cranial Plating, then repeat the next turn. With 11 minutes left in the round, he finally scooped
G2 - We rush. He drops a turn 2 Stony Silence, and I can't recover. I end up just throwing everything on the table to prevent damage from coming through, but I can't do enough to stop him on turn 1 of turns. So we draw
2-1-1 (5-4)
R5 - Twin
G1 - As with games versus Twin or Storm, I was a turn too slow
G2 - I manage to Thoughtseize the Twin out of his hand and begin to poison him to death. He gets rid of the Inkmoths, so I go to the alternate beatdown plan. He stays alive long enough to draw into Twin.
I really misplayed this game. I think not having any time to breathe after the last round got to me. I had Spellskite in hand but just never played it, opting to make other plays that, in the end, were suboptimal. He couldn't deal with my Spellskite if I landed it, so I punted big time
2-2-1 (5-6)
Argh
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Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
Match 1: Kiki-Pod (won the roll)
Game 1: I have a relatively slow start with multiple Arcbound Ravagers and slows down more after Kitchen Finks hits the table turn 2. The game really shifts on turn 4 when he plays Kiki with Deceiver Exarch in play, but luckily I had top decked Galvanic Blast the turn prior and Blast the Kiki. I then top deck into Cranial Plating for a close finish.
Game 2: Although he claims to not have a sideboard, since all he has is Kataki, he lands a turn 2 Kataki and wipes my board since I didn't draw a Galvanic Blast. I struggle to stay alive as he plays into Harmonic Sliver (naturally drawn) followed by a Restoration Angel to ETB the Sliver, easily beating me down with Linvala and Restoration Angel.
Game 3: We both struggle to assemble anything that looks like a game plan. I had mulled down to 6, which I probably shouldn't have done since the hand had 2x Arcbound Ravager in it (but no real threats or Thoughtcast). He lands a turn 2 Kataki again (he has 1 copy in his deck!) and I have no real answer, slowing me down a few turns. I had him down to 6 life before he finally draws a Pod for the finish. I never did manage to kill Kataki, and all I drew were lands.
Match 2: Experimental Jund (lost the roll)
Game 1: Without any Abrupt Decay, I easily swept him game 1 with Signal Pest and board. Etched Champion followed Cranial Plating and Ornithopters sealed the game.
Game 2: A little more grindy, since my hand wasn't that great, but he barely touched my life total as I whittled down his even with multiple Deathrite activations. Etched Champion kept him on the defense the whole game, and he didn't have a real sideboard either.
Match 3: B/R Goblins (lost the roll)
Game 1: I took some damage but he took a lot more more quickly. Galvanic Blast was key in killing his Goblin Chieftain and his board under control.
Game 2: He sideboarded in 4x Shattering Spree and 4x Shatterstorm. I didn't have a chance since he drew into 2x Shattering Spree and 1x Shatterstorm to quickly and decisively close out the game.
Game 3: I was able to effectively race with Vault Skirge equipped with Cranial Plating after offering Ravager and Ornithopter as the bait. The game closed rather quickly with another Galvanic Blast from me.
Overall 2-1 finish, barely missed 2nd place for prize out of 6 people by tiebreakers. I definitely need a more solid plan against Pod, which is the premier deck of the format. But losing the Thoughtseize really hurts the deck after game 1, and Whipflare really doesn't do anything against it.
Main Deck
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Vault Skirge
3 Etched Champion
1 Master of Etherium
4 Steel Overseer
4 Thoughtcast
2 Galvanic Blast
4 Cranial Plating
4 Mox Opal
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Mountain
3 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth Nexus
Sideboard:
2 Whipflare
4 Bloodmoon
1 Galvanic Blast
2 Spell Pierce
3 Spellskite
Round 1 Merfolk
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast
- 2 memnite -1 signal pest
Round 2 Melira Pod
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast + 3 grafdiggers cage
- 1 Master of Etherium - 4 signal pest - 1 Springleaf Drum
Round 3 RDW
+2 spell pierce + 3 Spellskite
- 4 Signal pest -1 memnite
Round 4 UG Infect
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast + 3 Spellskite
-3 Etched Champion - 3 signal pest
Round 5 Merfolk
+ 2 whip flare +1 galvanic blast
- 2 memnite -1 signal pest
Round 6 (ID)
Round 7 ID
Finished at #2 after swiss
Quarterfinals
I was paired with the UG Infect guy that I played against in the swiss. Unfortunately I run out of luck. No matter how much shuffle I just can't draw the cards that won me the game in the swiss.
After the playoffs I was on 5th place
Eladamri
4 Etched Champion
1 Master of Etherium
2 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
3 Steel Overseer
4 Vault Skirge
1 Island
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
3 Galvanic Blast
3 Mox Opal
4 Thoughtcast
4 Spellskite
2 Blood Moon
2 Dismember
2 Spell Pierce
2 Thoughtseize
2 Whipflare
R1 - Lau, Kevin (Esper control)
Cliques, removals, counters, Lingering Souls
G1 - Run all over him with tiny shiny men garnishing head platings
G2 - Out came the Galvanic Blasts, in came the Blood Moons and a Spellskite. Kept a very slow hand, got punished for it
G3 - See game 1.
1-0 (2-1)
R2 - Jung, Steven (UWR Twin/Kik Jiki)
G1 - I'm about a turn too slow He Exarch/Twin's me to death
G2 - I'm definitely a turn too slow as I have him dead on board next turn. He Kiki/Exarch's me
1-1 (2-3)
R3 - Desautels, Carlin (GW Hate Bears)
G1 - End up puking my hand out on turn 1. Signal Pests and Vault Skirge, equipped with a Cranial Plating, make quick work of my opponent
G2 - Didn't sideboard here as there wasn't much that I felt enhanced the matchup. I get absolutely blown out when he Glittering Wishes for a multicoloured artifact sweeper, taking out everything except for a lowly Island.
G3 - He gets land screwed, and I puke my hand, refill it with Thoughtcast, then puke some more. Kinda reminded me of my university days.
2-1 (4-4)
R4 - Sun, Chuan Xiang (Esper Control)
G1 - The little shiny men do their business. Opponent is unfamiliar with Affinity so he spends a lot of time reading my cards
G2 - Sideboard similar to round 1. He manages to stave off the army long enough to get a lethal army for 1/1 fliers of his own. I do a valiant job of staying alive by pumping my little dudes with Steel Overseer, but he manages to eek out a victory
G3 - Turn 1 goes like this: Citadel, Ornithopter, Mox, 2 Signal Pest. Turn 2, Glimmervoid, Master of Etherium. Turn 3, top deck a Champion. NOt much you can do against a turn 2 6/6, then a turn 3 3/3 that you can't do anything against.
3-1 (6-5)
Finish in 6th
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
Decklist is similar to my previous report
R1 - Affinity
Ugh, start the tournament against the mirror.
G1 - Kept a decent starting grip, but it all came down to who hit either the Cranial Plating or Steel Overseer first, and that was not me. I made a bit of an error during the game, sacrificing my Ornithopters to my Arcbound Ravager before tapping them with my Springleaf Drum to pump my Blinkmoth Nexus, but in the end I don't think it would have mattered since he dropped a second Overseer.
G2 - I mull to five and can't recover. He Ancient Grudges my Cranial Plating and runs me over
0-1 (0-2)
R2 - Prisimatic Omen/Scapeshift
G1 - I get a turn 1 Overseer with Lotus Petal (Mox Opal, tap, Mox Opal), turn 2 Plating and equip, and it wasn't much of a game after that
G2 - I open with turn 2 Blood Moon, and he scoops 3 turns after that
1-1 (2-2)
R3 - Jund burn
Local player running basically a burn deck with Bump in the Night
G1 - He burns me out, deals with my Plated creatures, and I can't get any traction
G2 - I drop 2 Etched Champions and they seem to hold the fort down while I stabilize and get Platings for the win
G3 - This one was close. He managed to get me pretty low, but couldn't get his Goblin Guide or Vexing Devil through my wall of Champions. Eventually I find Platings and swing in for the win. If he drew a bolt he would have won, so I dodged that.
2-1 (4-3)
R4 - Soul Sisters
G1 - So this was pretty epic. My opponent had multiple Soul Warden/Soul Attendants out. He was casting Spectral Procession, gaining tons of life. Me, I had Vault Skirge, Cranial Plating, Master of Etherium, Etched Champion, and a ton of artifacts. The long and the short of it was we were gaining life like there was no tomorrow. At one point, the life totals were 78 to 58 in my favour. I ended up dropping a second plating and then did shenanigans where I would swing for 27 with a Champion, then equip two other creatures with a Cranial Plating, then repeat the next turn. With 11 minutes left in the round, he finally scooped
G2 - We rush. He drops a turn 2 Stony Silence, and I can't recover. I end up just throwing everything on the table to prevent damage from coming through, but I can't do enough to stop him on turn 1 of turns. So we draw
2-1-1 (5-4)
R5 - Twin
G1 - As with games versus Twin or Storm, I was a turn too slow
G2 - I manage to Thoughtseize the Twin out of his hand and begin to poison him to death. He gets rid of the Inkmoths, so I go to the alternate beatdown plan. He stays alive long enough to draw into Twin.
I really misplayed this game. I think not having any time to breathe after the last round got to me. I had Spellskite in hand but just never played it, opting to make other plays that, in the end, were suboptimal. He couldn't deal with my Spellskite if I landed it, so I punted big time
2-2-1 (5-6)
Argh
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube