So, 4-0'd my LGS's Wednesday night Standard, 28 person, tournament. Played Reid Duke's list almost card for card. -1 Huntmaster +1 Thundermaw Hellkite in the main, -1 Ground Seal, -1 Underworld Connections, +1 Sire of Insanity, +1 Deadbridge Chant in the sideboard.
Round 1 - Steven Jung (Jund)
Steven Top 8'd a recent PTQ with Jund, going undefeated in the swiss. We regularly talk about our Jund tweaks, and did so before this round so we were pretty familiar with each other's deck lists and sideboard
G1 - He struggled on mana while I didn't. The typical Thragtusk beats ensued
G2 - Roles reversed. I managed to hang in there until I hit my fifth land, but he was too far ahead by that point. A Ruric Thar made my day a bit of a nightmare.
G3 - This was a swingy game. He Slaughter Games'd my Thragtusks, Rakdos Returned me, but I managed to hit Lilianas and Garruks to slowly bring me back. The vampire duo of Oliva and Nighthawk rode in for victory.
1-0 (2-1)
Round 2 - Erik Moskal (RBW, maybe Aristocrats Act 2)
Erik typically is a PTQ Top 8 threat. He top 64'd GP Toronto last year. He was playing some sort of RBW build that ran Falkenreath Aristocrat, Olivia, Reckoners, etc. It wasn't quite Aristocrats, but pretty close
G1 - He starts off strong with a couple of Ash Zealots, which get Putrefied/Slipped. I claw my way back with Thragtusks and Garruk, manage to pull it out on the back of Thundermaw
G2 - I stumble on lands and get punished. He Slaughter Games'd my Thragtusks and Rakdos Returned me into oblivion.
G3 - Another swingy game. He makes a costly mistake by discarding a Rakdos's Return to an early Liliana. I Rakdos's Return another one out of his hand. He Slaughter Games's my Thragtusks again, only for me to top deck Garruk, and then another one a few turns later. Drawing cards nets me an Olivia and a Bonfire, which seals the game.
2-0 (4-2)
Round 3 - Andrew Dziedzic (Aristocrats, Act 2)
Haven't met Andrew before. Very meticulous player, thought threw a lot of plays.
G1 - Did a lot of 1 for 1 trading in this game early on until I was able to start hitting Thragtusks and Huntmasters. A couple of Falkenreaths and a Cartel Aristocrat hit the table for him, along with a Doomed Traveler. He made a crucial mistake of not sacrificing his Doomed Traveler at the end of my turn, meaning he could only push through 10 damage when I was at 11, allowing me to swing in and Kessig for the win
G2 - He wasn't able to build any momentum early in the game by having multiple creatures on the board. Rakdos Returned crippled him, and when he finally started to build a board presence with Lingering Souls, I hard casted a Bonfire for the win
3-0 (6-2)
Round 4 - Oliver Schneider (UWR Midrange)
Oliver typically goes 3-1 or 4-0 on Wednesday nights. As I found out later, he's a former British National Champion. This is a deviation from the decks that he typically runs, which are usually Black based Mutilate decks.
G1 - Our play kind of mirrors each other; we both stumble on lands, then flood. He's able to Jace and Sphinx into more cards but they're never timely enough. I play conservatively as to not overextend or waste my Putrefies until he drops Aetherling. This was key as it prevented blocks and attacks, giving me a window to swing through for lethal with one card left in his deck, and two Aetherlings on the board.
G2 - He draws no Sphinx's Revelations, I draw two Nighthaws, a Thundermaw, and Rakdos's Return.
4-0 (8-2)
So after a brief hiatus, I return to Jund and am victorious!
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Round 1 vs Maze's End.
I like to call this match the race to the finish match. He was stalling with Thragtusk, Double elixir of immortality and fogs. I was able to eventually run him out of resources when he was tapped out after a combat step. I Rakdos's Return him for all the cards he has left in his hand. In top deck mode and me still gripping 4-5 cards I finally get to lay the beats in on him and he dies.
Game 2 is where I got to test out and witness the power of "The" Legendary Ogre Ruric Thar! This guy was big and mean. I backed my opponent into a corner he had no hope of fighting out of. I got him down to a low point of life and laid out Thar. He fell to the Ogre shortly after.
Round 2 vs UWR (2-1)
This guy is a friend and after telling me before the tournament started that he hopes to play against me, he has a great match against me. That it would be one of his better chances of winning matches.
Game 1. vs he has all the answers especially after a Tamiyo Emblem.
Game 2 I run him out of counterspells, hit him with a Rakdos's Return for everything in hand and Lay down Ruric Thar . I peel Wolf Run and its on to game 3.
Game 3 I draw a hand that you just dream of vs a deck like his. I had 3 land, Garruk, Liliana, Ruric Thar and RR. I peel farseek in time on turn 2. Draw huntmaster after huntmaster and a second RR. I eventually blast him for all but one card in hand. He Sphinx rev's for 4 lays a land and passes. I RR him again this time for 5 and he starts to draw think twices and lands. I play Ruric Thar, he responds to my casting with think twice and Thar resolves. I start to attack him down really low and he just can't battle back when I peel the Wolf Run.
Round 3 vs. Esper control (2-1)
Game 1 I lose to an Aetherling with no answer in hand.
Games 2 and 3 ...BEHOLD the Mighty power of THAR!!!
Game 3 my friend rips terminus a little too late and Thar is on the field but he drops to 7 life and I have ultimated a Liliana some turns before. He is way behind and I just need to rip a bonfire. I hope, and I hope some more to rip the Bonfire. I peel bonfire right off the top for the miracle.
Round 4 vs BW Tokens (2-0)
This kid was the only remaining undefeated player besides myself.
Game 1 he plays some token generators like Gather the Townsfolk and Lingering souls. I battle back with Huntmasters and Thragtusks. Eventually ripping bonfire to wipe out his tokens and win.
Game 2 I bring in Thar again but never see him this game. He would have been devastating to a deck like this since everything but Doomed Traveler is a non creature spell.
He manages to get two Intangible Virtue on the table and a lingering souls with 2 doomed traveler. He plays nevermore on Thragtusk and smiles thinking he has already won it seems. I just begin laying out the stream of huntmasters and a Liliana( to whom I discard 2 thragtusk to) and killing everything he has with spot removal. Soon I gather enough mana and cast Olivia and begin shooting down Travelers and slipping their spiritual counterparts. I get olivia to 9/9 and Mizzium Mortars his entire field of nothing but ghosts now. I attack him down to 11 and on my following turn I play the wolf run I have held for 3 turns now. and he dies to an 11/9 Olivia.
I tried a brew of my own last week with a Variant of bant control. But I have to say it feels good to be home and back with Jund as my weapon of choice.
I've started noticing more and more that Wolf Run is just as much of a top deck as Bonfire. You can get into these games against control where you land a creature and get to untap... but because they are at like 9 it's going to take you 3 swings to get there. Hitting Wolf Run at that moment is just as painful as Bonfire, but has the benefit of being uncountable.
I remember when the card first came out and I really underrated the card thinking "well, if there is some kind of RG ramp deck this land will be played... otherwise no". And then fast forward to me playing the card for the next year and a half non-stop.
I've started noticing more and more that Wolf Run is just as much of a top deck as Bonfire. You can get into these games against control where you land a creature and get to untap... but because they are at like 9 it's going to take you 3 swings to get there. Hitting Wolf Run at that moment is just as painful as Bonfire, but has the benefit of being uncountable.
I remember when the card first came out and I really underrated the card thinking "well, if there is some kind of RG ramp deck this land will be played... otherwise no". And then fast forward to me playing the card for the next year and a half non-stop.
Similarly, I love to ‘hold’ my Wolf Run as long as possible and drop it just before the back breaking swing w/ Trample. It really does almost work the same as a Bonfire or surprise Slip on something “awesome.”
Alrighty, another Wednesday night, another go at it with Jund.
32 players, 4 rounds, no cut to top 8, 3-1 pays out
R1 - Ash MacMillen (Naya)
G1 - We play at a fairly brisk pace. I land a Huntmaster and start flipping it. He draws a Thundermaw and we get into a race; his 5 with Thundermaw, my six with a Ravager + Wolf Run. Eventually I get him low enough and miracle a Bonfire for the win
G2 - Double Thundermaw makes quick work of me
G3 - This one was grindy. At one point I was fairly confident that I had him as I was ahead on board, but he hardcasted a Bonfire and wiped my board clean. He top decked a Thundermaw and we were off to the races. I needed to find an answer to it and just couldn't
0-1 (1-2)
R2 - Jacob Van Voorst (GW Tokens)
G1 - T2 Intangible Virtue and he was off to the races. At one point he had 2 Centaurs, 4 Humans, and 4 Angels, to my Olivia and Thragtusk, yet he wouldn't attack. That allowed me to pick off some of his dudes with Olivia, until he eventually decided that attacking me would be a good idea and killed me.
G2 - Another T2 Intangible Virtue, but he couldn't find too many token generators to capitalize. I Rakdos's Return him into oblivion and his deck doesn't top deck very well.
G3 - He mulligans, so I Rakdos's Return him early enough to strip his hand. He ends up playing 3 Parallel Lives and nothing else, while I ride Huntmaster and Thragtusk to victory
1-1 (3-3)
R3 - Chad Bu Mansoor (Jund)
Chad's one of the better players at the store. He's one of the players who has stuck with Jund for a long time so the lot of us typically share deck tweaks and strategies. Long and short of it, we both know each other's decks and mindsets.
G1 - I Farseek, he doesn't, and I'm able to accelerate into Olivia faster than he can. I steal his Nighthawk, he Bonfires the board, and I drop another Olivia He enters the scoop phase
G2 - He had all the gas, I had very little
G3 - Very back and forth. Rakdos's Return was key here as we both hit each other. He had managed to wipe my board with a Bonfire and I was dead in two turns, but he was at 7 and I had six outs in my deck; 3 Bonfires and 3 Rakdos's Return. Any one of those and I was golden. I top deck the Return and dome him for exactly 7.
2-1 (5-4)
R4 - Steven Jung (UWR Reckoner combo)
Steven is another one of the Jund players, but he decided to lend his Jund deck out to someone else and played a fun deck for a change. It was centered around the combo of Reckoner/Boros Charm/Azorious Charm/Izzet Staticcaster.
G1 - I overwhelm him with Thragtusks, he manages to keep up for a while but just can't pull it out.
G2 - Ruric Thar and Liliana do the heavy lifting here, he never had a chance
3-1 (7-4)
So we decide to play a game for the fun of it, see if he could combo off on me. He had done it once in each one of his previous rounds, so he wanted to see if he could do it again. And he did at the earliest possible moment. He decided to gain 11,000,000,000 life. So, with my wife waiting for me outside, I decide to continue to play. I mean, he still had to beat ME, not the other way around!
So I rip an Olivia. I ping and steal his Reckoner. He Verdicts, plays another Reckoner and Staticcaster. I drop another Olivia, ping and steal the Reckoner. He manages to get me down to one life, and then I proceed to drop 4 Thragtusks on consecutive turns. Every turn I ping the Reckoner for 2 with Olivia, swing in with the team and pump with KWR for between 2 and 8 (depending if I cast anything). I also managed to Ultimate Liliana twice, draw a bunch of cards with Garruk, and Rakdos's Return him a couple of times. I think I ended up dealing somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 damage to him before he realized that he would run out of cards before he could deal 19 damage to me (I took a couple of points from a shockland I think). So he scoops.
Moral of the story folks: always play it out
So the two week record with Jund is 7-1 in matches, 15-6 in games.
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Similarly, I love to ‘hold’ my Wolf Run as long as possible and drop it just before the back breaking swing w/ Trample. It really does almost work the same as a Bonfire or surprise Slip on something “awesome.”
Yeah. Same with Caverns.
Although, if it's the only land in your hand you should certainly play it (Wolf run that is). The surprise factor isn't worth potentially losing damage if you draw a land the turn you finally play Wolf Run and want to use it.
One last one before M14 hits. Playing same list as the past two weeks, which is Reid's Miami list, -1 Huntmaster +1 Thundermaw. SB tweaked a little, -1 Sire, -1 Deadbridge, +1 Dreadbore, +1 Vraska
R1 - Comber, Jonathon (Naya)
Played Jon a few times previous but with different decks.
G1 - We spend some time building mana bases, and a timely Bonfire + Thragtusk and Hellkite take me to victory
G2 - We come to the realization that we are the only ones still playing in this round. Another grindy match. He makes a misplay when he forgets to redirect the damage dealt to his Boros Reckoner by my Bonfire, which could have taken out my Vampire Nighthawk. The Nighthawk ends up going all the way with Wolf Run.
1-0 (2-0)
R2 - Balakrishnan, Gokulan (BW Humans)
Goku is newish to the store and to Magic in general. He's been playing since RTR came out. He's playing BW Humans, which really Aristocrats minus either green or red
G1 - He has a Cartel Aristocrat with dudes, I have Olivia. The Aristocrat does a ton of heavy lifting, bringing me down to 3. Olivia does a ton of work, forcing him to sac dudes when he doesn't want to in order to prevent Olivia from ticking up. I finally drop a Thragtusk to stabilize the life, and run him out of dudes to sac, so Olivia flies in for the win
G2 - See Game 1, but without the need to stabilize. He stumbled a bit on creature generation, so I was able to ping multiple times a turn with Olivia
2-0 (4-0)
R3 - Therrien, Alex (Nivix Cyclops)
Alex is a local store grinder. Him and his brother are well known at the shop for brewing up some crazy stuff, and Alex is known for his love of Esper.
G1 - I know what Alex is playing since he showed me beforehand. I kept a sketchy hand with 1 land, a Farseek, and the removal I needed for the Cyclops, but just couldn't draw the second land. He swings for 20 in one turn
G2 - I remove his Guttersnipes, he never lands the Cyclops, and I just gain a ton of life with Thragtusks and Huntmasters. Olivia goes in for the win.
G3 - I had a great hand, but he was just one turn too fast for me. I show him Ruric Thar in my hand and he admitted he would have scooped to that.
2-1 (5-2)
R4 - MacMillen, Ash (Naya)
I lost to Ash in the first round last week, so needless to say I wanted to get revenge. That and I didn't want to go 2-2
G1 - I scoop to turn 3 Thundermaw, turn 4 Thundermaw
G2 - I get the Thundermaw out first. He does some funky stuff with Domri, Wolf Run, and Boros Reckoner to deal with my board presence, but he's already so far behind that Huntmaster and Thragtusk do him in
G3 - He gets a little mana screwed as he has two Thundermaws in hand but can't hit the second red source until it's too late.
3-1 (7-3), good enough for 3rd out of 19
Running total : 10-2 (22-4) Competition was a little lighter than it was last week, bu I'll take the victories nonetheless
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Another Wednesday, another Standard tournament at my LGS
28 people, 4 rounds, no cut to top 8. 3-1 and higher pays out
List I was running can be found in the main Jund Midrange thread
R1 - Gabriel, Alex (UWR Flash)
Alex is one of the better players at the store but he's taken some time away fromt he game to focus on school and that other real life stuff that happens.
G1 - I keep what looks like a decent hand, lands, Farseek, Huntmaster, Garruk. He manages to deal with my threats, and then I proceed to brick for the next seven turns, drawing ineffective removal or lands.
G2 - I put up a bit of a fight in this one. I managed to stabilize after getting the crap knocked out of me by a Restoration Angel, and will likely win on the next turn, and he draws a Turn//Burn for the win. My next card....Bonfire
0-1 (0-2)
R2 - Comber, Jonathon (UWR Flash)
We played the previous week, he was playing Naya so I put him on that.
G1 - He leads off with a Hallowed Fountain then a Mountain, so I instantly dread the matchup since I played it last round. Thankfully he draws dead and I draw into Thragtusks, Garruks, and a Rakdos's Return
G2 - I ramp into Ruric Thar, which is basically a six damage spell as he immediately Verdicts it. He then drops an Aetherling on turn seven, which I 1 for 2 with Dreadbore + Doom Blade. Nothing scares me more than Aetherling. He never recovers, I trot in for the win.
1-1 (2-2)
R3 - Hill, David (GW Blink)
David is rocking a homebrew that he's been playing for a long time. Basically a bunch of creatures with 187 effects, then stuff to blink them for value (Resto, Cloudshift, Conjurer's Closet, Seance). Neat deck
G1 - He has no acceleration so he can't start to Slime me until turn 5. By that time I have a Huntmaster and an Ooze on the table. He can't recur anything with Seance or the Closet, so we move to game 2
G2 - I keep a real sketchy hand; 1 land, 2 Farseek, Olivia, Thragtusk, and Huntmaster. I kept it since I was on the draw and needed any land to be in business. That land never came
G3 - I drop 3 Thragtusks, don't let him start to blink stuff, and it was over in short order
2-1 (4-3)
R4 - Herridge, Lloyd (Golgari Aggro)
Dreg Manglers, Lotleth Troll, scavenge guys, Predator Ooze, tons of fun
G1 - I get a turn 2 Scavenging Ooze, turn 3 Scavenging Ooze and just go to town. I get one of them up to an 8/8 and that's just too much
G2 - I didn't really draw anything relevant, was on my back foot the entire time as he crashed in with a big Lotleth Troll
G3 - Lifebane Zombie made its second appearance of the night (he exiled an Acidic Slime in G3 of R3) and he nabbed a Dreg Mangler. Stumbling on lands hurt Lloyd as I drop Ooze, eat his graveyard, drop more threats, and swing in for the win
3-1 (6-4)
End up in 5th place. Tonight was a bit of an anomaly, two homebrews (more or less) and likely a poor version of UWR in round 2. But I'll take my 3-1 record and be happy with it
So, past month with Jund 13-3 in matches, 28-8 in games
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Played Jund tonight at FNM with 24 players. 3-0 - 1st place, Pretty happy!
Match 1 Vs U/B Mill 2-0
Game 1: Not much to say here. He countered my early threats until I resolved a thragtusk and huntmaster. Rode them to victory before he could mill the last 15~ cards of my deck.
Game 2: Similar to the first game - I just played my threats and won from a 6/6 scavenging ooze which grew too large, thanks to him milling me so much, he played a 24/24 consuming aberration towards the end of the game, but between Garruk and huntmaster flips I was able to do the remaining damage to win with no removal and 0 cards in hand.
Match 2 Vs Naya Midrange
Game 1: Was very close - he played a lot of voices, boros reckoners and TMHs and I threw all the removal I had at them until I managed to stabilize at 4 life with an Olivia and thragtusk in hand. With his board empty except for a pilgram and KWR, he top decks his last remaining bonfire for the sneaky wins.
**(Looking back on this game, I believe I should have played the Thragtusk, even though I would have definitely had to trade it with the pilgrim since he could KWR for a lot. I played Olivia because I was scared of his TMH and Aurelia's which I know he has a few of each and assumed I could ping the pilgram if he tried to attack and pump with KWR)**
Game 2: I play t1 Arbor elf into farseek into huntmaster, tusk and Garruk. Garruk sealed the deal when he stumbled with a lot of land and only a few dorks and a huntmaster. Game ended after I bonfired his dorks away for 1 and swung for lethal).
Game 3: Kept a (slightly?) risky hand of Blood crypt, dragonskull summit, farseek, lifebane zombie, doomblade, huntmaster and caverns on the draw. Managed to hit the stomping ground on the second draw, and curved out nicely from there. I can't remember too much about this game, simply that I played my creatures and he played his, and I managed to bonfire them away (non miracle) and win the game over time with Olivia and tusk.
A fun match against a good friend. I live for these types of games.
Match 3 Vs Jund
Up against arguably the best player at the store - However, Jund Mirrors from my experience seem to be a big top deck war most of the time (not that there isn't some skill but it almost always ends up in top deck mode for both players XD)
Game 1: I play Arbor elf turn 1, he tragic slips, I follow up with a farseek, he does the same. He plays a huntmaster, I hardcast bonfire for 5, then resolve a tusk next turn and the beat down begins. He plays another Huntmaster and I doomblade and abrupt decay to remove his board. I widdle him down slowly with the tusk until he finds an answer at 1 life. He plays multiple tusks back up to 11 life, but I manage to get him down again with some removal and Olivia sticking on the board for the win.
Game 2: We both farseek'd on turn 2, he plays his huntmaster on turn 3, I miracle bonfire to clear his board. He plays a land and passes the turn. I slam my tusk on turn 4 with elf and farseek mana combined. He plays Vrsaska, killing my tusk. I rakdos return away his last 2 cards, redirecting to Vraska and play Ooze to end the turn. He played a tusk and basically nothing else but land for the rest of the game and I was able to grind him down with my Beast token, Ooze and some removal for his tusk.
Overall really happy with how the deck and I performed. Ooze was always good, especially in the Naya and Jund match up. I took a mulligan at least once in each match but overall my hands and draws were pretty sweet. I can now appreciate how good Olivia is in creature deck match ups - doing so much work against the Naya dorks and creatures. Arbor elf was fantastic, the increased chance of ramping was so vital in winning the midrange match ups and when it did get removed, I never felt bad as it meant they had less removal for my Tusk and Huntmasters. Ran 4 bonfires, can't say I was ever unhappy to see it.
*highlight of the night*, playing against the Naya guy who is a good friend and a really nice guy. I slam Lilliana in game 1 on turn 3, demanding the sacrifice of his Avacyn's Pilgrim, he was very sad.
Notes : Lifebane zombie was insane against Naya, I nabbed his Boros reckoner and his hand consisted of double blasphemous act when I had about 3 creatures on the board and on 12 life. Still not sure if this card is worth 2 sideboard slots, but I like how it's playable against Jund, Naya, Hexproof and Junk.
Played at a standard tourney last night. It's usually a win-a-box tournament, but this time it was just regular payout (which kind of sucks, considering how I did).
Played a fairly regular list, with the only "weird" things being 2 Nighthawks, 3 Ooze, and 2 Olivias as compared to whatever other people play. Can't seem to find another Olivia, although I'm not sure I need her right now anyway.
Round 1: UWR Delver/Control
Game 1: A good player who likes to play his own homebrews sometimes apart from the regular tier 1 stuff. He pretty much got caught on not enough lands, and I did the Jund-thing and played bonfires until he died. Ooze drew removal but not before removing his Izzet Charm and Think Twice from the GY.
Game 2: Ramped with Farseek, got Huntmaster and Ooze out, and went ahead and RR'd him for x=5, getting his entire hand (no counterspell with Izzet Charm mana up, whew!). It was over from there.
1-0 (2-0)
Round 2: UWR Flash
Game 1: This guy's been on America control for a good while now, a good player. I'm guessing this was close to Costa's list. He ends up getting me here as I just don't see enough action. He Sphinx'd for 3 or 4. Then his Mutavault pretty much took down half of my life, as I couldn't draw any removal for it. A Resto got there the rest of the way.
Game 2: Kept a hand with ramp, a creature or two, and Garruk, good enough for me. Drew into Liliana, had him discard stuff, RR'd him to finish his hand, and it was over. Underworld Connections did some work too.
Game 3: Ooze and Thragtusk got out and started causing problems for him. Got a Slaughter Games, and named Sphinx's Revelation. He and the guy who I beat in round 1 were telling me that it was probably a bad choice to name. I pulled three of them out (one being 2 cards from the top of his deck), and was happy with my choice. I mean, it was that or Aetherling (which I wasn't sure was in there), and if he gets to Sphinx for a ton, the game is going to be hard to come back from. I could be wrong.
2-0 (4-1)
Rounds 3 and 4: TWO Maze's End decks
You know, I almost put acidic slime in my SB in case someone showed up playing this. These guys audibled to it at the last second for shigs and gits. I should have lost in game 3 of round 3, but he never drew the Maze's End with all 10 guildgates. Round 4 was just nothing, as he never saw a sweeper, and mull'd to 4 in game 2. To be fair, round 3 were real games. Allstars in the match were RR, Liliana, and Underworld Connections. Boarded in a singleton Ruric-Thar who got his 6 damage in after a next turn miracle Terminus in one game Round 3.
Round 3: 3-0 (6-2)
Round 4: 4-0 (8-2)
Overall, not a bad night. I thought it was going to be a win-a-box, but my luck would go that way of course. Got a few packs of M14 and opted to open them stupidly, but pulled a Mutavault.
Going forward, I'll probably make some room for Acidic Slime in the SB.
Ok, I think I remember the match ups. Had such a fun time at today's tournament though. Couple young folks, few old folks, even the yugioh players were roaming around between their matches. To the meat and potatoes;
Four rounds, 2-2 was my final mainly due to a huge misplay on my side:
Match 1: vs Slivers
2:0 - Nothing huge to report, young player, lots of enthusiasm though. He didn't have all the bells and whistles of a competition style deck.
Match 2: vs Junk Aristocrats
2:1 - G1: I was a little nervous because normally this is my worse match up. Turn 5 hard cast bonfire for 2 cleared most of his board except one aristocrat followed by an overloaded mortars a couple turns later.
G2: Lost due to double blood artists, aristocrat and 4 spirit tokens. After combat, he sac'd all his creatures to finish me off.
G3: Slaughter Gamed his aristocrats the proceeded to clear his board from time to time til I won
Match 3: vs Jund
0:2 - G1: Lack of creatures/farseek lead to his turn 3 Vraska to which I couldn't answer for. Ultimate and death by assassin
G2: Drew into a bunch of land around T6, he commence to steadily pound me into the dirt
Match 4: RWU control
1:2 - G1: 20 minutes of counterspells, supreme verdicts and snapcaster mages. Both of us had pretty much all our land out, or pretty darn close. Eatherling finished me off.
G2: Slaughter Games T4 followed by RR T5 left him with little to no answers. Lifebane Zombies allowed me to see his hand from time to time which made me more comfortable and ensured I didn't over extend between verdicts.
G3: This is where I blundered. We had 10 minutes to finish the match, I had quick board advantage, T4 slaughter games and I just brain farted, not a regular pass gas type fart, we're talking about a really wet one that splattered pooh on my underpants! I couldn't think of anything he had in his deck. Instead of naming supreme verdict or aetherling, or anything else useful, I ended up naming Think Twice like an idiot. I had him down to like 5 life and couldn't top deck crap. After two Sphinxes for 5, he landed his 2nd aetherling when we were at Turn 1, then pounded me before turns ran out. Hit that old fashioned land pod again, final card I drew was a farseek.
Still had a great time, learned from my mistakes. Still getting familiar with all the cards and decks, keep forgetting card names. Next week ill flop it, Jund on Friday, fun deck on Saturday! Good luck ya'll, bring home the bacon.
Another Wednesday, another week with Jund. Same decklist as last week
R1 - MITCHELL, KYLE (5 Color Mill)
Kyle was running an interesting deck, technically 4 colors, but with Chromatic Lantern. Relied on Nightveil Specter for the main engine.
G1 - He lands Nightveil Specter, I land Olivia. Olivia > Nightveil Specter.
G2 - He stumbles on land, I don't so it's pretty straight forward from there.
1-0 (2-0)
R2 - Peacock, David (Boros Aggro)
David seemed like a fairly new player. He was asking a lot of questions about my creatures
G1 - Olivia really look this one over. He had no way of dealing with it once I got a counter on her, and she just blew his board away
G2 - He played a bunch of Battalion cards, but again Olivia ended up pinging and stealing his guys. Big Olivia with a bunch of Beast tokens from Garruk was too much for him
2-0 (4-0)
R3 - Comber, Jonathon (Naya)
Jon and I have played pretty much every tournament this past month. ast week he went to UWR but decided to go back to Naya this week
G1 - Olivia does the heavy lifting again. Draw lots of removal, don't let his Domri to take over the game, and it was pretty academic from there.
G2 - T1 Experiment One, T2 Strangleroot Geist, T3 Loxodon Smiter is so much better than Shockland, Buddy Land, Farseek, and then nothing
G3 - I have to mull to 5, keep a hand with 3 Buddy Lands, a Putrefy, and something else. He drops 2 Voices and a Boros Reckoner while I draw Thagtusk, Thragtusk, Garruk, Thragtusk, and then a completely useless Bonfire. Thems the breaks
2-1 (5-2)
R4 - Warburton, James (UWR Flash)
Another player I've played against a lot lately.
G1 - He stalls with no white lands, I drop Lifebane Zombie and 2 Thragtusks. With no white he can't Verdict me, so it was pretty straight forward
G2 - Game goes a little longer, he drops some Restos, they're bigger than my Scavenging Ooze, so he out races me
G3 - We get into the race, Lifebane Zombie vs Resto. Another Resto and a Snapcaster join his side of the table and I just can't land anything to bring the board back into balance.
2-2 (6-4)
I finish in 10th out of 28, which was good enough for me to make my money back.
15-5 in matches 34-12 in games over the past five weeks
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Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
Went to the thursday win-a-box again (although this time it actually WAS a win-a-box split among top 4), and played my list. Typical list, although I only use 2 Olivias, 3 Scavenging Ooze, and a Sire of Insanity (who is probably coming out again, since Warleader's Helix makes him pretty useless.)
Round 1: UWR Control
This is more of a homebrewed-tweaked list than something like you see at Worlds, although most of the same cards are there (Helix, Snapcaster, Sphinx, etc.)
Game 1: I mull to 6 and keep a hand with 2 B/R lands. Got stuck on that for the first few turns, setting him up for the lead. I drew a ton of land and saw no more action beyond my opening spells.
Game 2: My first 4 spells are all Farseek. Ramped my way to a Rakdos's Return for 6 with 2 up for Syncopate. Game was over pretty quick after that.
Game 3: We didn't have much time left, and ended up having draw (even though I was clearly going to win at this point).
1-1
Overall: 0-0-1
Round 2: Junk Aristocrats
A newer player who I've never seen playing this deck, although he did alright.
Game 1: We both mull to 6 and keep shaky hands. I eventually get there with Jund value cards like bonfire and some removal.
Game 2: I just crushed him here, not much he could do. Scavenging Ooze removes his creatures to prevent Scavenge from Varolz, and removes Lingering Souls. Olivia picks off the rest.
2-0
Overall: 1-0-1
Round 3: Esper Token Mill
This was unexpected, and honestly, I wasn't looking forward to Terminus and counters.
Game 1: I win the first one, just playing my threats out and eventually bringing the beats.
Game 2: Although I Dreadbore'd the first Sorin, he gets another one out and chumps all day with spirit tokens and vampires. He ults and takes my Olivia, and then plays Obzedat. I couldn't come back.
Game 3: We go to time (big surprise), and he ends up scooping to me if I agree to split, since if we draw, neither of us would have a real chance at support. I don't really care, as long as I get something. He thought his hand was going to beat mine, but consider I was going to Rakdos's Return all but an Obzedat and a Sphinx's Revelation with him at 4 land, I think my Garruk would have taken over. Regardless, he concedes.
2-1 (or 1-1 draw, whatever you want to decide)
Overall 2-0-1
Round 4: Gruul Aggro
I was nervous, since we were playing for the top spot. I knew if he won the dice roll and nutted, it was over.
Game 1: He won the dice roll. Hmm. I keep a hand with 4 lands, Scavenging Ooze, Liliana, and Huntmaster. Sketchy, but I figured the Ooze could chump a guy, Liliana would force a sac, and hopefully Huntmaster could do some work. He had me close, but luckily Thragtusk showed up, along with Garruk. I was down to 2 before closing the game.
Game 2: Kept a hand of Scooze, lands, Barter in Blood, Huntmaster, Farseek. I end up just drawing like a champ and easily close this one out.
2-0
3-0-1
I got 1st (although I did split my packs with the guy who conceded to me earlier), and felt good for taking the top spot for the second time in a row. This deck is a lot of fun, and I just wish I played it sooner!
So I'm currently spending my holiday away from home and went to an unknown game store. The attendance was pretty small since most people are on vacation somewhere else. I lost ALL the die rolls. I was playing this list:
G1 The guy I was playing against says he hasn't won a single round against anyone with his deck. I was encouraged by this, and with a hand of three Nighthawks, I was ready to get rumbling. So I slam my Nighthawks on the board, and then Rakdos's Return his hand for three, revealing a Garruk CoB, Armada Wurm and then some other stupid fatty. Clear sailings, eh? Unfortunately, after I block his Voice of Resurgence with a Nighthawk in the mid-game, he then slams a Growing Ranks. I find no removal for the Elemental Token, and then lose the game as I'm unable to race him even though I had 3 Nighthawks and 2 Thragtusks for lifegain. G2 Can't remember much too much of this. I pillar his Avacyn's Pilgrim, and he's not drawing any white sources. I then slam an Olivia on my turn 4 while he's got nothing on his side of the table. I kill the dorks he plays, cast a Huntmaster on the following turns and take the game. G3 This one was more exciting. I keep a hand that has some removal. I appetite his hand, revealing O-ring, Garruk PM and a Thragtusk. He leads of with a Call of the Conclave that gets to deal me 12 damage in total because I had to reserve my removal spells. I Bonfire for 1 and kill his Mana Dork, and then played a Nighthawk on turn 4, which was then eaten by an Oblivion Ring. There was a Dreadbore in my hand, but I had to save it for the Garruk because I had no board presence and no other way to deal with the Planeswalker. I can't remember much of the rest of the game -He plays a Smiter, I think I putrefy it. I'm getting dangerously low on life but finally draw a Thragtusk that puts me up to 12 life. He plays the Garruk wich I dreadbore, and then the combination of Tusk and Slip deal with his 3/3's and a Smiter. We're both on the topdeck mode until he slams a Thragtusk. My prayers are answered when I draw an Olivia, and steal the tusk with my excessive mana. He plays some more Garruks, but they're all killed and I ride to the victory. Olivia = win.
Round 2, Naya Blitz, 0-2
G1 This game wasn't too amazing. He's on the play, getting the nuts with T1 Wolfbitten Captive, T2 Emissary + Mauler. I just Farseek away. I can't make any sense of my notes, even though I have a clear picture in my mind how the game went. But what was certain was that I was going to set up a Bonfire for 2 on my next turn with Farseek, but my plans fail when he plays a Medic. G2 I keep a shabby hand with swamp as the only coloured manasource. Yeah. If I drew any red source I would have taken the game since he didn't have a 1-drop to start with, and my hand was stocked with removal. I drew creatures instead and lost. That keep was definitely bad, I should have had more self-discipline. Thankfully I don't do bad mulliganing decisions like this that often anymore.
Round 3, RDW, 2-1
G1 I lost the die again, and he gets to start. I thought I had the best possible hand as he leads off with a Stromkirk Noble and I look at my cards: Abrupt Decay, Putrefy, Huntmaster of the Fells. I kill his early drops and play my Huntmaster. I thought I had taken the game by now, although there were still a Rakdos Cackler and a Boros reckoner on his side of the table. What happens next is that he, at 4 mana, kills my Huntmaster with a Mizzium Mortars, and enchants the Cackler with Madcap Skills. My Wolf can't do any blocking, and he then swings for 8 damage, dropping me to 9 life. I draw zero action the following turn and he finishes me off with another swing and a burn spell. G2 This time I decide to reserve my precious removal to avoid losing the way I did in the first game. I don't remember **** about this game it seems, except that I pretty much demolish him. I think I Farseek into a T3 Huntmaster that doesn't get killed, block some dude with the wolf, then transform + slip his reckoner away. He seems to draw only lands off the top of his library, while I draw Thragtusks. I bravely enter the red zone with my Ravager since I'm still in a high life total. G3 Can't remember much about this game either. I have plenty of removal, and clean the board. I eventually play a Tusk and get some life. My opponent is flooding again so I start to bash him for five. He plays a Boros Reckoner, and a second one + Stromkirk Noble follows. I'm on the backfoot again and he gets two swings in, until I Putrefy the other Reckoner away. I then draw a Mizzium Mortars, attack with the Thragtusk which he doesn't block with his Noble, and drop him to 10. I Overload the Mortars, emptying his board. He aims the 4 damage at me, dropping me to 10 as well. I don't have any removal or creatures other than the Thragtusk in play, and try to finish him off. Luckily he draws into lands again, and I take the game and the round win.
Round 4, UB control, 2-0
G1 This MU was just stupid easy. The moment I sat across him and started to play I knew this round was mine to win. I lose the roll, my opponent mulligans at last once, and draw into some good stuff. I think I had a hand of 2 Huntmasters, Olivia, Garruk. Huntmaster gets countered, I then play an Olivia and get some beats in. I follow up with the second Huntmaster. I just drew too much action, land a Garruk and Rakdos's Return his hand away or something along those lines. G2 I think I kept a pretty wacky hand with three Oozes and a Thragtusk + some lands. He Duresses my hand, which then whiffs. I play my Oozes, and draw a Liliana for my fourth turn. I play the Liliana which doesn't get countered, and next turn follow it up with a Thragtusk. 2 more Thragtusks and a Garruk soon follow. He digs for answers, keeps Tribute to Hungering my beasts and gains life, but it doesn't matter in the end. I ultimate the Liliana, and an army of beasts finishes him off. I think I also had an Underworld Connections in that game. Good times.
Semifinals, Naya Blitz (same opponent) G1 was pretty much a cakewalk. He's on play and has to mulligan to five I think. He's stuck on one mana for a few turns, and even though he plays 2 Wolfbitten Captives and a Champion of the Parish it was still a far cry from making a fight. I had a vague keep with a Putrefy and a Huntmaster of the Fells. I think I Putrefied the Champion eventually, being at 11 life, until Huntmaster comes in. I flip the Huntmaster, then play double-removal on his turn, flip him back at my upkeep, play a second Huntmaster, then flip both and go to the red zone. G2 This was a super tight game. I had plenty of removal spells that dealt with his 1 drop (Champion of the Parish) and 2 drop (Lightning Mauler that was cast with Emissary-mana), but I also had to shock myself every turn which was kind of unfortunate. I dropped a T3 Ooze, shocked myself to 9 life, then scavenged to 10 life. He had an Emissary and a Mayor on his side of the board. He then attacked with both creatures, signalling a Rampager, so I blocked the Emissary. He then Rampaged me to 5 life. I wasn't worried though, since I had a Barter in Blood in my hand. Next turn I shock myself to 3, and wipe the board with the Barter I had. He's got only one card in hand, one red source and Hellrider is the only card that can kill me next turn. What happens is he draws a red source and plays the Hellrider from his hand. I die with a Tusk in my hand. G3 This was the most awesome game ever. I had risky keep again with Putrefy as my only removal spell. He plays a Champion of the Parish, pass. T2 he goes off with Emissary + Emissary + Wolfbitten Captive. I feel my heart sunk. I take 4 Damage and go down to 16. On his turn 4 he plays a Silverblade Paladin which bonds with the flipped Wolfbitten Captive. I Putrefy his 5/5 Champion and take a whopping 8 damage, going down to 8. He has 12 power on the battlefield, while I'm entering my T4 with Barter in Blood and Huntmaster as my only plays. I could feel the finals slipping away. I take a look at his creatures which all have 2 toughness. I joke about miracling a Bonfire and the people around us agree that'd be a pretty devastating play. Guess what my draw for that turn is?
Bonfire of the Damned
I slam the card and tap my lands for x = 2, clearing the board. We all bursted out laughing, except for my opponent who just disheartened. I'm still amazed by my luck - Miracle Bonfire was definitely my only out in that situation, in that decisive game three. He then plays a Mayor and some other creature, which get Barter in Blooded. I then play a Thragtusk, putting me up to 11 life, followed by a Huntmaster and then a second Tusk. The game was soon over.
Finals, Mono-G Fight Club, 0-2 G1 Nothing much to say. I don't draw an answer to his Slime + Rancor which got out of hands very fast. G2 I keep a hand of Putrefy + Slip, and he plays a manadork and a T2 Strangleroot Geist again. I take some damage, play a Huntmaster, and seeing he doesn't have the Slime pull the trigger on my Putrefy and Slip, killing his Wolfir Avenger that prevented my Huntmaster from Flipping, and kill his Primordial Hydra the next turn. Eventually I'm 7 life and his only card in play is a Tracker. I play a Thragtusk, a second one and then a VNH. He plays another Hydra which soon grows too big for me to handle, even though I gain life with my Nighthawk. 6/6 Scavenging Ooze + Rancor and a 16/16 Hydra + Rancor then kill me in one turn. Had I drawn a spot removal for the Hydra, I would have won the game with ease. I didn't see Olivia in either games which was also kind of unlucky.
------
So, I was pretty close to win the whole thing again, and felt super disappointed after the games. Luckily I still won 5 Boosters of RTR, and got a Lotleth Troll, Supreme Verdict and a foil Rakdos, Lord of Riots. I also learned a lot of magic that day - There were so many tough decisions and rough spots. I made some punts and questionable plays, but luckily I realized those errors and will probably avoid them in the future. I also decided to make some alterations to my build based on my experiences that day:
+ 1 Scavengin Ooze, I sided these in so often I'm gonna swap to playing 3 MD
- 1 VNH, took this out for the additional maindeck oozing.
- 1 Bonfire, Sided these out just a bit too often. There's less Junk in the meta, and Bonfire's not THAT effective against the GR aggro decks or UWR that are the other big archetypes right now. 3 Bonfires MD is still plenty enough.
- 1 Abrupt Decay, not an awesome removal spell anymore given all the other spells we have
+ 1 Dreadbore, + 1 Doom Blade, more spot removal to deal with big guys and planeswalkers. Dreadbore has been phenomenal.
+ 2 Lifebane Zombie, gonna give him a try in the SB now that I have 2 empty slots there.
Went undefeated in the first 6 rounds (with 2 byes) before dropping 2 matches and winning the last round to scrape into day 2.
My 2 losses came from Kibler Gruul.
Day 2 was disappointing as I went 2-4 losing to more Kibler Gruul and mirror matches.
Finished at #114 out of 1183.
Round 1 - Steven Jung (Jund)
Steven Top 8'd a recent PTQ with Jund, going undefeated in the swiss. We regularly talk about our Jund tweaks, and did so before this round so we were pretty familiar with each other's deck lists and sideboard
G1 - He struggled on mana while I didn't. The typical Thragtusk beats ensued
G2 - Roles reversed. I managed to hang in there until I hit my fifth land, but he was too far ahead by that point. A Ruric Thar made my day a bit of a nightmare.
G3 - This was a swingy game. He Slaughter Games'd my Thragtusks, Rakdos Returned me, but I managed to hit Lilianas and Garruks to slowly bring me back. The vampire duo of Oliva and Nighthawk rode in for victory.
1-0 (2-1)
Round 2 - Erik Moskal (RBW, maybe Aristocrats Act 2)
Erik typically is a PTQ Top 8 threat. He top 64'd GP Toronto last year. He was playing some sort of RBW build that ran Falkenreath Aristocrat, Olivia, Reckoners, etc. It wasn't quite Aristocrats, but pretty close
G1 - He starts off strong with a couple of Ash Zealots, which get Putrefied/Slipped. I claw my way back with Thragtusks and Garruk, manage to pull it out on the back of Thundermaw
G2 - I stumble on lands and get punished. He Slaughter Games'd my Thragtusks and Rakdos Returned me into oblivion.
G3 - Another swingy game. He makes a costly mistake by discarding a Rakdos's Return to an early Liliana. I Rakdos's Return another one out of his hand. He Slaughter Games's my Thragtusks again, only for me to top deck Garruk, and then another one a few turns later. Drawing cards nets me an Olivia and a Bonfire, which seals the game.
2-0 (4-2)
Round 3 - Andrew Dziedzic (Aristocrats, Act 2)
Haven't met Andrew before. Very meticulous player, thought threw a lot of plays.
G1 - Did a lot of 1 for 1 trading in this game early on until I was able to start hitting Thragtusks and Huntmasters. A couple of Falkenreaths and a Cartel Aristocrat hit the table for him, along with a Doomed Traveler. He made a crucial mistake of not sacrificing his Doomed Traveler at the end of my turn, meaning he could only push through 10 damage when I was at 11, allowing me to swing in and Kessig for the win
G2 - He wasn't able to build any momentum early in the game by having multiple creatures on the board. Rakdos Returned crippled him, and when he finally started to build a board presence with Lingering Souls, I hard casted a Bonfire for the win
3-0 (6-2)
Round 4 - Oliver Schneider (UWR Midrange)
Oliver typically goes 3-1 or 4-0 on Wednesday nights. As I found out later, he's a former British National Champion. This is a deviation from the decks that he typically runs, which are usually Black based Mutilate decks.
G1 - Our play kind of mirrors each other; we both stumble on lands, then flood. He's able to Jace and Sphinx into more cards but they're never timely enough. I play conservatively as to not overextend or waste my Putrefies until he drops Aetherling. This was key as it prevented blocks and attacks, giving me a window to swing through for lethal with one card left in his deck, and two Aetherlings on the board.
G2 - He draws no Sphinx's Revelations, I draw two Nighthaws, a Thundermaw, and Rakdos's Return.
4-0 (8-2)
So after a brief hiatus, I return to Jund and am victorious!
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
Round 1 vs Maze's End.
I like to call this match the race to the finish match. He was stalling with Thragtusk, Double elixir of immortality and fogs. I was able to eventually run him out of resources when he was tapped out after a combat step. I Rakdos's Return him for all the cards he has left in his hand. In top deck mode and me still gripping 4-5 cards I finally get to lay the beats in on him and he dies.
Game 2 is where I got to test out and witness the power of "The" Legendary Ogre Ruric Thar! This guy was big and mean. I backed my opponent into a corner he had no hope of fighting out of. I got him down to a low point of life and laid out Thar. He fell to the Ogre shortly after.
Round 2 vs UWR (2-1)
This guy is a friend and after telling me before the tournament started that he hopes to play against me, he has a great match against me. That it would be one of his better chances of winning matches.
Game 1. vs he has all the answers especially after a Tamiyo Emblem.
Game 2 I run him out of counterspells, hit him with a Rakdos's Return for everything in hand and Lay down Ruric Thar . I peel Wolf Run and its on to game 3.
Game 3 I draw a hand that you just dream of vs a deck like his. I had 3 land, Garruk, Liliana, Ruric Thar and RR. I peel farseek in time on turn 2. Draw huntmaster after huntmaster and a second RR. I eventually blast him for all but one card in hand. He Sphinx rev's for 4 lays a land and passes. I RR him again this time for 5 and he starts to draw think twices and lands. I play Ruric Thar, he responds to my casting with think twice and Thar resolves. I start to attack him down really low and he just can't battle back when I peel the Wolf Run.
Round 3 vs. Esper control (2-1)
Game 1 I lose to an Aetherling with no answer in hand.
Games 2 and 3 ...BEHOLD the Mighty power of THAR!!!
Game 3 my friend rips terminus a little too late and Thar is on the field but he drops to 7 life and I have ultimated a Liliana some turns before. He is way behind and I just need to rip a bonfire. I hope, and I hope some more to rip the Bonfire. I peel bonfire right off the top for the miracle.
Round 4 vs BW Tokens (2-0)
This kid was the only remaining undefeated player besides myself.
Game 1 he plays some token generators like Gather the Townsfolk and Lingering souls. I battle back with Huntmasters and Thragtusks. Eventually ripping bonfire to wipe out his tokens and win.
Game 2 I bring in Thar again but never see him this game. He would have been devastating to a deck like this since everything but Doomed Traveler is a non creature spell.
He manages to get two Intangible Virtue on the table and a lingering souls with 2 doomed traveler. He plays nevermore on Thragtusk and smiles thinking he has already won it seems. I just begin laying out the stream of huntmasters and a Liliana( to whom I discard 2 thragtusk to) and killing everything he has with spot removal. Soon I gather enough mana and cast Olivia and begin shooting down Travelers and slipping their spiritual counterparts. I get olivia to 9/9 and Mizzium Mortars his entire field of nothing but ghosts now. I attack him down to 11 and on my following turn I play the wolf run I have held for 3 turns now. and he dies to an 11/9 Olivia.
I tried a brew of my own last week with a Variant of bant control. But I have to say it feels good to be home and back with Jund as my weapon of choice.
I remember when the card first came out and I really underrated the card thinking "well, if there is some kind of RG ramp deck this land will be played... otherwise no". And then fast forward to me playing the card for the next year and a half non-stop.
Similarly, I love to ‘hold’ my Wolf Run as long as possible and drop it just before the back breaking swing w/ Trample. It really does almost work the same as a Bonfire or surprise Slip on something “awesome.”
32 players, 4 rounds, no cut to top 8, 3-1 pays out
R1 - Ash MacMillen (Naya)
G1 - We play at a fairly brisk pace. I land a Huntmaster and start flipping it. He draws a Thundermaw and we get into a race; his 5 with Thundermaw, my six with a Ravager + Wolf Run. Eventually I get him low enough and miracle a Bonfire for the win
G2 - Double Thundermaw makes quick work of me
G3 - This one was grindy. At one point I was fairly confident that I had him as I was ahead on board, but he hardcasted a Bonfire and wiped my board clean. He top decked a Thundermaw and we were off to the races. I needed to find an answer to it and just couldn't
0-1 (1-2)
R2 - Jacob Van Voorst (GW Tokens)
G1 - T2 Intangible Virtue and he was off to the races. At one point he had 2 Centaurs, 4 Humans, and 4 Angels, to my Olivia and Thragtusk, yet he wouldn't attack. That allowed me to pick off some of his dudes with Olivia, until he eventually decided that attacking me would be a good idea and killed me.
G2 - Another T2 Intangible Virtue, but he couldn't find too many token generators to capitalize. I Rakdos's Return him into oblivion and his deck doesn't top deck very well.
G3 - He mulligans, so I Rakdos's Return him early enough to strip his hand. He ends up playing 3 Parallel Lives and nothing else, while I ride Huntmaster and Thragtusk to victory
1-1 (3-3)
R3 - Chad Bu Mansoor (Jund)
Chad's one of the better players at the store. He's one of the players who has stuck with Jund for a long time so the lot of us typically share deck tweaks and strategies. Long and short of it, we both know each other's decks and mindsets.
G1 - I Farseek, he doesn't, and I'm able to accelerate into Olivia faster than he can. I steal his Nighthawk, he Bonfires the board, and I drop another Olivia He enters the scoop phase
G2 - He had all the gas, I had very little
G3 - Very back and forth. Rakdos's Return was key here as we both hit each other. He had managed to wipe my board with a Bonfire and I was dead in two turns, but he was at 7 and I had six outs in my deck; 3 Bonfires and 3 Rakdos's Return. Any one of those and I was golden. I top deck the Return and dome him for exactly 7.
2-1 (5-4)
R4 - Steven Jung (UWR Reckoner combo)
Steven is another one of the Jund players, but he decided to lend his Jund deck out to someone else and played a fun deck for a change. It was centered around the combo of Reckoner/Boros Charm/Azorious Charm/Izzet Staticcaster.
G1 - I overwhelm him with Thragtusks, he manages to keep up for a while but just can't pull it out.
G2 - Ruric Thar and Liliana do the heavy lifting here, he never had a chance
3-1 (7-4)
So we decide to play a game for the fun of it, see if he could combo off on me. He had done it once in each one of his previous rounds, so he wanted to see if he could do it again. And he did at the earliest possible moment. He decided to gain 11,000,000,000 life. So, with my wife waiting for me outside, I decide to continue to play. I mean, he still had to beat ME, not the other way around!
So I rip an Olivia. I ping and steal his Reckoner. He Verdicts, plays another Reckoner and Staticcaster. I drop another Olivia, ping and steal the Reckoner. He manages to get me down to one life, and then I proceed to drop 4 Thragtusks on consecutive turns. Every turn I ping the Reckoner for 2 with Olivia, swing in with the team and pump with KWR for between 2 and 8 (depending if I cast anything). I also managed to Ultimate Liliana twice, draw a bunch of cards with Garruk, and Rakdos's Return him a couple of times. I think I ended up dealing somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 damage to him before he realized that he would run out of cards before he could deal 19 damage to me (I took a couple of points from a shockland I think). So he scoops.
Moral of the story folks: always play it out
So the two week record with Jund is 7-1 in matches, 15-6 in games.
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
Yeah. Same with Caverns.
Although, if it's the only land in your hand you should certainly play it (Wolf run that is). The surprise factor isn't worth potentially losing damage if you draw a land the turn you finally play Wolf Run and want to use it.
R1 - Comber, Jonathon (Naya)
Played Jon a few times previous but with different decks.
G1 - We spend some time building mana bases, and a timely Bonfire + Thragtusk and Hellkite take me to victory
G2 - We come to the realization that we are the only ones still playing in this round. Another grindy match. He makes a misplay when he forgets to redirect the damage dealt to his Boros Reckoner by my Bonfire, which could have taken out my Vampire Nighthawk. The Nighthawk ends up going all the way with Wolf Run.
1-0 (2-0)
R2 - Balakrishnan, Gokulan (BW Humans)
Goku is newish to the store and to Magic in general. He's been playing since RTR came out. He's playing BW Humans, which really Aristocrats minus either green or red
G1 - He has a Cartel Aristocrat with dudes, I have Olivia. The Aristocrat does a ton of heavy lifting, bringing me down to 3. Olivia does a ton of work, forcing him to sac dudes when he doesn't want to in order to prevent Olivia from ticking up. I finally drop a Thragtusk to stabilize the life, and run him out of dudes to sac, so Olivia flies in for the win
G2 - See Game 1, but without the need to stabilize. He stumbled a bit on creature generation, so I was able to ping multiple times a turn with Olivia
2-0 (4-0)
R3 - Therrien, Alex (Nivix Cyclops)
Alex is a local store grinder. Him and his brother are well known at the shop for brewing up some crazy stuff, and Alex is known for his love of Esper.
G1 - I know what Alex is playing since he showed me beforehand. I kept a sketchy hand with 1 land, a Farseek, and the removal I needed for the Cyclops, but just couldn't draw the second land. He swings for 20 in one turn
G2 - I remove his Guttersnipes, he never lands the Cyclops, and I just gain a ton of life with Thragtusks and Huntmasters. Olivia goes in for the win.
G3 - I had a great hand, but he was just one turn too fast for me. I show him Ruric Thar in my hand and he admitted he would have scooped to that.
2-1 (5-2)
R4 - MacMillen, Ash (Naya)
I lost to Ash in the first round last week, so needless to say I wanted to get revenge. That and I didn't want to go 2-2
G1 - I scoop to turn 3 Thundermaw, turn 4 Thundermaw
G2 - I get the Thundermaw out first. He does some funky stuff with Domri, Wolf Run, and Boros Reckoner to deal with my board presence, but he's already so far behind that Huntmaster and Thragtusk do him in
G3 - He gets a little mana screwed as he has two Thundermaws in hand but can't hit the second red source until it's too late.
3-1 (7-3), good enough for 3rd out of 19
Running total : 10-2 (22-4) Competition was a little lighter than it was last week, bu I'll take the victories nonetheless
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
28 people, 4 rounds, no cut to top 8. 3-1 and higher pays out
List I was running can be found in the main Jund Midrange thread
R1 - Gabriel, Alex (UWR Flash)
Alex is one of the better players at the store but he's taken some time away fromt he game to focus on school and that other real life stuff that happens.
G1 - I keep what looks like a decent hand, lands, Farseek, Huntmaster, Garruk. He manages to deal with my threats, and then I proceed to brick for the next seven turns, drawing ineffective removal or lands.
G2 - I put up a bit of a fight in this one. I managed to stabilize after getting the crap knocked out of me by a Restoration Angel, and will likely win on the next turn, and he draws a Turn//Burn for the win. My next card....Bonfire
0-1 (0-2)
R2 - Comber, Jonathon (UWR Flash)
We played the previous week, he was playing Naya so I put him on that.
G1 - He leads off with a Hallowed Fountain then a Mountain, so I instantly dread the matchup since I played it last round. Thankfully he draws dead and I draw into Thragtusks, Garruks, and a Rakdos's Return
G2 - I ramp into Ruric Thar, which is basically a six damage spell as he immediately Verdicts it. He then drops an Aetherling on turn seven, which I 1 for 2 with Dreadbore + Doom Blade. Nothing scares me more than Aetherling. He never recovers, I trot in for the win.
1-1 (2-2)
R3 - Hill, David (GW Blink)
David is rocking a homebrew that he's been playing for a long time. Basically a bunch of creatures with 187 effects, then stuff to blink them for value (Resto, Cloudshift, Conjurer's Closet, Seance). Neat deck
G1 - He has no acceleration so he can't start to Slime me until turn 5. By that time I have a Huntmaster and an Ooze on the table. He can't recur anything with Seance or the Closet, so we move to game 2
G2 - I keep a real sketchy hand; 1 land, 2 Farseek, Olivia, Thragtusk, and Huntmaster. I kept it since I was on the draw and needed any land to be in business. That land never came
G3 - I drop 3 Thragtusks, don't let him start to blink stuff, and it was over in short order
2-1 (4-3)
R4 - Herridge, Lloyd (Golgari Aggro)
Dreg Manglers, Lotleth Troll, scavenge guys, Predator Ooze, tons of fun
G1 - I get a turn 2 Scavenging Ooze, turn 3 Scavenging Ooze and just go to town. I get one of them up to an 8/8 and that's just too much
G2 - I didn't really draw anything relevant, was on my back foot the entire time as he crashed in with a big Lotleth Troll
G3 - Lifebane Zombie made its second appearance of the night (he exiled an Acidic Slime in G3 of R3) and he nabbed a Dreg Mangler. Stumbling on lands hurt Lloyd as I drop Ooze, eat his graveyard, drop more threats, and swing in for the win
3-1 (6-4)
End up in 5th place. Tonight was a bit of an anomaly, two homebrews (more or less) and likely a poor version of UWR in round 2. But I'll take my 3-1 record and be happy with it
So, past month with Jund 13-3 in matches, 28-8 in games
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
Played Jund tonight at FNM with 24 players. 3-0 - 1st place, Pretty happy!
Match 1 Vs U/B Mill 2-0
Game 1: Not much to say here. He countered my early threats until I resolved a thragtusk and huntmaster. Rode them to victory before he could mill the last 15~ cards of my deck.
Game 2: Similar to the first game - I just played my threats and won from a 6/6 scavenging ooze which grew too large, thanks to him milling me so much, he played a 24/24 consuming aberration towards the end of the game, but between Garruk and huntmaster flips I was able to do the remaining damage to win with no removal and 0 cards in hand.
Match 2 Vs Naya Midrange
Game 1: Was very close - he played a lot of voices, boros reckoners and TMHs and I threw all the removal I had at them until I managed to stabilize at 4 life with an Olivia and thragtusk in hand. With his board empty except for a pilgram and KWR, he top decks his last remaining bonfire for the sneaky wins.
**(Looking back on this game, I believe I should have played the Thragtusk, even though I would have definitely had to trade it with the pilgrim since he could KWR for a lot. I played Olivia because I was scared of his TMH and Aurelia's which I know he has a few of each and assumed I could ping the pilgram if he tried to attack and pump with KWR)**
Game 2: I play t1 Arbor elf into farseek into huntmaster, tusk and Garruk. Garruk sealed the deal when he stumbled with a lot of land and only a few dorks and a huntmaster. Game ended after I bonfired his dorks away for 1 and swung for lethal).
Game 3: Kept a (slightly?) risky hand of Blood crypt, dragonskull summit, farseek, lifebane zombie, doomblade, huntmaster and caverns on the draw. Managed to hit the stomping ground on the second draw, and curved out nicely from there. I can't remember too much about this game, simply that I played my creatures and he played his, and I managed to bonfire them away (non miracle) and win the game over time with Olivia and tusk.
A fun match against a good friend. I live for these types of games.
Match 3 Vs Jund
Up against arguably the best player at the store - However, Jund Mirrors from my experience seem to be a big top deck war most of the time (not that there isn't some skill but it almost always ends up in top deck mode for both players XD)
Game 1: I play Arbor elf turn 1, he tragic slips, I follow up with a farseek, he does the same. He plays a huntmaster, I hardcast bonfire for 5, then resolve a tusk next turn and the beat down begins. He plays another Huntmaster and I doomblade and abrupt decay to remove his board. I widdle him down slowly with the tusk until he finds an answer at 1 life. He plays multiple tusks back up to 11 life, but I manage to get him down again with some removal and Olivia sticking on the board for the win.
Game 2: We both farseek'd on turn 2, he plays his huntmaster on turn 3, I miracle bonfire to clear his board. He plays a land and passes the turn. I slam my tusk on turn 4 with elf and farseek mana combined. He plays Vrsaska, killing my tusk. I rakdos return away his last 2 cards, redirecting to Vraska and play Ooze to end the turn. He played a tusk and basically nothing else but land for the rest of the game and I was able to grind him down with my Beast token, Ooze and some removal for his tusk.
Overall really happy with how the deck and I performed. Ooze was always good, especially in the Naya and Jund match up. I took a mulligan at least once in each match but overall my hands and draws were pretty sweet. I can now appreciate how good Olivia is in creature deck match ups - doing so much work against the Naya dorks and creatures. Arbor elf was fantastic, the increased chance of ramping was so vital in winning the midrange match ups and when it did get removed, I never felt bad as it meant they had less removal for my Tusk and Huntmasters. Ran 4 bonfires, can't say I was ever unhappy to see it.
*highlight of the night*, playing against the Naya guy who is a good friend and a really nice guy. I slam Lilliana in game 1 on turn 3, demanding the sacrifice of his Avacyn's Pilgrim, he was very sad.
Notes : Lifebane zombie was insane against Naya, I nabbed his Boros reckoner and his hand consisted of double blasphemous act when I had about 3 creatures on the board and on 12 life. Still not sure if this card is worth 2 sideboard slots, but I like how it's playable against Jund, Naya, Hexproof and Junk.
Played at a standard tourney last night. It's usually a win-a-box tournament, but this time it was just regular payout (which kind of sucks, considering how I did).
Played a fairly regular list, with the only "weird" things being 2 Nighthawks, 3 Ooze, and 2 Olivias as compared to whatever other people play. Can't seem to find another Olivia, although I'm not sure I need her right now anyway.
Round 1: UWR Delver/Control
Game 1: A good player who likes to play his own homebrews sometimes apart from the regular tier 1 stuff. He pretty much got caught on not enough lands, and I did the Jund-thing and played bonfires until he died. Ooze drew removal but not before removing his Izzet Charm and Think Twice from the GY.
Game 2: Ramped with Farseek, got Huntmaster and Ooze out, and went ahead and RR'd him for x=5, getting his entire hand (no counterspell with Izzet Charm mana up, whew!). It was over from there.
1-0 (2-0)
Round 2: UWR Flash
Game 1: This guy's been on America control for a good while now, a good player. I'm guessing this was close to Costa's list. He ends up getting me here as I just don't see enough action. He Sphinx'd for 3 or 4. Then his Mutavault pretty much took down half of my life, as I couldn't draw any removal for it. A Resto got there the rest of the way.
Game 2: Kept a hand with ramp, a creature or two, and Garruk, good enough for me. Drew into Liliana, had him discard stuff, RR'd him to finish his hand, and it was over. Underworld Connections did some work too.
Game 3: Ooze and Thragtusk got out and started causing problems for him. Got a Slaughter Games, and named Sphinx's Revelation. He and the guy who I beat in round 1 were telling me that it was probably a bad choice to name. I pulled three of them out (one being 2 cards from the top of his deck), and was happy with my choice. I mean, it was that or Aetherling (which I wasn't sure was in there), and if he gets to Sphinx for a ton, the game is going to be hard to come back from. I could be wrong.
2-0 (4-1)
Rounds 3 and 4: TWO Maze's End decks
You know, I almost put acidic slime in my SB in case someone showed up playing this. These guys audibled to it at the last second for shigs and gits. I should have lost in game 3 of round 3, but he never drew the Maze's End with all 10 guildgates. Round 4 was just nothing, as he never saw a sweeper, and mull'd to 4 in game 2. To be fair, round 3 were real games. Allstars in the match were RR, Liliana, and Underworld Connections. Boarded in a singleton Ruric-Thar who got his 6 damage in after a next turn miracle Terminus in one game Round 3.
Round 3: 3-0 (6-2)
Round 4: 4-0 (8-2)
Overall, not a bad night. I thought it was going to be a win-a-box, but my luck would go that way of course. Got a few packs of M14 and opted to open them stupidly, but pulled a Mutavault.
Going forward, I'll probably make some room for Acidic Slime in the SB.
Four rounds, 2-2 was my final mainly due to a huge misplay on my side:
Match 1: vs Slivers
2:0 - Nothing huge to report, young player, lots of enthusiasm though. He didn't have all the bells and whistles of a competition style deck.
Match 2: vs Junk Aristocrats
2:1 - G1: I was a little nervous because normally this is my worse match up. Turn 5 hard cast bonfire for 2 cleared most of his board except one aristocrat followed by an overloaded mortars a couple turns later.
G2: Lost due to double blood artists, aristocrat and 4 spirit tokens. After combat, he sac'd all his creatures to finish me off.
G3: Slaughter Gamed his aristocrats the proceeded to clear his board from time to time til I won
Match 3: vs Jund
0:2 - G1: Lack of creatures/farseek lead to his turn 3 Vraska to which I couldn't answer for. Ultimate and death by assassin
G2: Drew into a bunch of land around T6, he commence to steadily pound me into the dirt
Match 4: RWU control
1:2 - G1: 20 minutes of counterspells, supreme verdicts and snapcaster mages. Both of us had pretty much all our land out, or pretty darn close. Eatherling finished me off.
G2: Slaughter Games T4 followed by RR T5 left him with little to no answers. Lifebane Zombies allowed me to see his hand from time to time which made me more comfortable and ensured I didn't over extend between verdicts.
G3: This is where I blundered. We had 10 minutes to finish the match, I had quick board advantage, T4 slaughter games and I just brain farted, not a regular pass gas type fart, we're talking about a really wet one that splattered pooh on my underpants! I couldn't think of anything he had in his deck. Instead of naming supreme verdict or aetherling, or anything else useful, I ended up naming Think Twice like an idiot. I had him down to like 5 life and couldn't top deck crap. After two Sphinxes for 5, he landed his 2nd aetherling when we were at Turn 1, then pounded me before turns ran out. Hit that old fashioned land pod again, final card I drew was a farseek.
Still had a great time, learned from my mistakes. Still getting familiar with all the cards and decks, keep forgetting card names. Next week ill flop it, Jund on Friday, fun deck on Saturday! Good luck ya'll, bring home the bacon.
R1 - MITCHELL, KYLE (5 Color Mill)
Kyle was running an interesting deck, technically 4 colors, but with Chromatic Lantern. Relied on Nightveil Specter for the main engine.
G1 - He lands Nightveil Specter, I land Olivia. Olivia > Nightveil Specter.
G2 - He stumbles on land, I don't so it's pretty straight forward from there.
1-0 (2-0)
R2 - Peacock, David (Boros Aggro)
David seemed like a fairly new player. He was asking a lot of questions about my creatures
G1 - Olivia really look this one over. He had no way of dealing with it once I got a counter on her, and she just blew his board away
G2 - He played a bunch of Battalion cards, but again Olivia ended up pinging and stealing his guys. Big Olivia with a bunch of Beast tokens from Garruk was too much for him
2-0 (4-0)
R3 - Comber, Jonathon (Naya)
Jon and I have played pretty much every tournament this past month. ast week he went to UWR but decided to go back to Naya this week
G1 - Olivia does the heavy lifting again. Draw lots of removal, don't let his Domri to take over the game, and it was pretty academic from there.
G2 - T1 Experiment One, T2 Strangleroot Geist, T3 Loxodon Smiter is so much better than Shockland, Buddy Land, Farseek, and then nothing
G3 - I have to mull to 5, keep a hand with 3 Buddy Lands, a Putrefy, and something else. He drops 2 Voices and a Boros Reckoner while I draw Thagtusk, Thragtusk, Garruk, Thragtusk, and then a completely useless Bonfire. Thems the breaks
2-1 (5-2)
R4 - Warburton, James (UWR Flash)
Another player I've played against a lot lately.
G1 - He stalls with no white lands, I drop Lifebane Zombie and 2 Thragtusks. With no white he can't Verdict me, so it was pretty straight forward
G2 - Game goes a little longer, he drops some Restos, they're bigger than my Scavenging Ooze, so he out races me
G3 - We get into the race, Lifebane Zombie vs Resto. Another Resto and a Snapcaster join his side of the table and I just can't land anything to bring the board back into balance.
2-2 (6-4)
I finish in 10th out of 28, which was good enough for me to make my money back.
15-5 in matches 34-12 in games over the past five weeks
Check out my blog and help me improve my game
Currently playing:
Standard BUG Control
Modern :UAffinity, GNyxWave
Legacy UBTezzAffinity
My Cube
Round 1: UWR Control
This is more of a homebrewed-tweaked list than something like you see at Worlds, although most of the same cards are there (Helix, Snapcaster, Sphinx, etc.)
Game 1: I mull to 6 and keep a hand with 2 B/R lands. Got stuck on that for the first few turns, setting him up for the lead. I drew a ton of land and saw no more action beyond my opening spells.
Game 2: My first 4 spells are all Farseek. Ramped my way to a Rakdos's Return for 6 with 2 up for Syncopate. Game was over pretty quick after that.
Game 3: We didn't have much time left, and ended up having draw (even though I was clearly going to win at this point).
1-1
Overall: 0-0-1
Round 2: Junk Aristocrats
A newer player who I've never seen playing this deck, although he did alright.
Game 1: We both mull to 6 and keep shaky hands. I eventually get there with Jund value cards like bonfire and some removal.
Game 2: I just crushed him here, not much he could do. Scavenging Ooze removes his creatures to prevent Scavenge from Varolz, and removes Lingering Souls. Olivia picks off the rest.
2-0
Overall: 1-0-1
Round 3: Esper Token Mill
This was unexpected, and honestly, I wasn't looking forward to Terminus and counters.
Game 1: I win the first one, just playing my threats out and eventually bringing the beats.
Game 2: Although I Dreadbore'd the first Sorin, he gets another one out and chumps all day with spirit tokens and vampires. He ults and takes my Olivia, and then plays Obzedat. I couldn't come back.
Game 3: We go to time (big surprise), and he ends up scooping to me if I agree to split, since if we draw, neither of us would have a real chance at support. I don't really care, as long as I get something. He thought his hand was going to beat mine, but consider I was going to Rakdos's Return all but an Obzedat and a Sphinx's Revelation with him at 4 land, I think my Garruk would have taken over. Regardless, he concedes.
2-1 (or 1-1 draw, whatever you want to decide)
Overall 2-0-1
Round 4: Gruul Aggro
I was nervous, since we were playing for the top spot. I knew if he won the dice roll and nutted, it was over.
Game 1: He won the dice roll. Hmm. I keep a hand with 4 lands, Scavenging Ooze, Liliana, and Huntmaster. Sketchy, but I figured the Ooze could chump a guy, Liliana would force a sac, and hopefully Huntmaster could do some work. He had me close, but luckily Thragtusk showed up, along with Garruk. I was down to 2 before closing the game.
Game 2: Kept a hand of Scooze, lands, Barter in Blood, Huntmaster, Farseek. I end up just drawing like a champ and easily close this one out.
2-0
3-0-1
I got 1st (although I did split my packs with the guy who conceded to me earlier), and felt good for taking the top spot for the second time in a row. This deck is a lot of fun, and I just wish I played it sooner!
So I'm currently spending my holiday away from home and went to an unknown game store. The attendance was pretty small since most people are on vacation somewhere else. I lost ALL the die rolls. I was playing this list:
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
4 Blood Crypt
2 Dragonskull Summit
1 Rootbound Crag
4 Woodland Cemetary
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
2 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Cavern of Souls
Creatures (16):
4 Thragtusk
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Olivia Voldaren
3 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Other spells (17):
4 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Putrefy
1 Dreadbore
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Tragic Slip
2 Rakdos's Return
4 Farseek
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Rakdos's Return
1 Dreadbore
1 Barter in Blood
2 Appetite for Brains
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Underworld Connections
2 Duress
Round 1, GW Selesnya, 2-1
G1 The guy I was playing against says he hasn't won a single round against anyone with his deck. I was encouraged by this, and with a hand of three Nighthawks, I was ready to get rumbling. So I slam my Nighthawks on the board, and then Rakdos's Return his hand for three, revealing a Garruk CoB, Armada Wurm and then some other stupid fatty. Clear sailings, eh? Unfortunately, after I block his Voice of Resurgence with a Nighthawk in the mid-game, he then slams a Growing Ranks. I find no removal for the Elemental Token, and then lose the game as I'm unable to race him even though I had 3 Nighthawks and 2 Thragtusks for lifegain.
G2 Can't remember much too much of this. I pillar his Avacyn's Pilgrim, and he's not drawing any white sources. I then slam an Olivia on my turn 4 while he's got nothing on his side of the table. I kill the dorks he plays, cast a Huntmaster on the following turns and take the game.
G3 This one was more exciting. I keep a hand that has some removal. I appetite his hand, revealing O-ring, Garruk PM and a Thragtusk. He leads of with a Call of the Conclave that gets to deal me 12 damage in total because I had to reserve my removal spells. I Bonfire for 1 and kill his Mana Dork, and then played a Nighthawk on turn 4, which was then eaten by an Oblivion Ring. There was a Dreadbore in my hand, but I had to save it for the Garruk because I had no board presence and no other way to deal with the Planeswalker. I can't remember much of the rest of the game -He plays a Smiter, I think I putrefy it. I'm getting dangerously low on life but finally draw a Thragtusk that puts me up to 12 life. He plays the Garruk wich I dreadbore, and then the combination of Tusk and Slip deal with his 3/3's and a Smiter. We're both on the topdeck mode until he slams a Thragtusk. My prayers are answered when I draw an Olivia, and steal the tusk with my excessive mana. He plays some more Garruks, but they're all killed and I ride to the victory. Olivia = win.
Round 2, Naya Blitz, 0-2
G1 This game wasn't too amazing. He's on the play, getting the nuts with T1 Wolfbitten Captive, T2 Emissary + Mauler. I just Farseek away. I can't make any sense of my notes, even though I have a clear picture in my mind how the game went. But what was certain was that I was going to set up a Bonfire for 2 on my next turn with Farseek, but my plans fail when he plays a Medic.
G2 I keep a shabby hand with swamp as the only coloured manasource. Yeah. If I drew any red source I would have taken the game since he didn't have a 1-drop to start with, and my hand was stocked with removal. I drew creatures instead and lost. That keep was definitely bad, I should have had more self-discipline. Thankfully I don't do bad mulliganing decisions like this that often anymore.
Round 3, RDW, 2-1
G1 I lost the die again, and he gets to start. I thought I had the best possible hand as he leads off with a Stromkirk Noble and I look at my cards: Abrupt Decay, Putrefy, Huntmaster of the Fells. I kill his early drops and play my Huntmaster. I thought I had taken the game by now, although there were still a Rakdos Cackler and a Boros reckoner on his side of the table. What happens next is that he, at 4 mana, kills my Huntmaster with a Mizzium Mortars, and enchants the Cackler with Madcap Skills. My Wolf can't do any blocking, and he then swings for 8 damage, dropping me to 9 life. I draw zero action the following turn and he finishes me off with another swing and a burn spell.
G2 This time I decide to reserve my precious removal to avoid losing the way I did in the first game. I don't remember **** about this game it seems, except that I pretty much demolish him. I think I Farseek into a T3 Huntmaster that doesn't get killed, block some dude with the wolf, then transform + slip his reckoner away. He seems to draw only lands off the top of his library, while I draw Thragtusks. I bravely enter the red zone with my Ravager since I'm still in a high life total.
G3 Can't remember much about this game either. I have plenty of removal, and clean the board. I eventually play a Tusk and get some life. My opponent is flooding again so I start to bash him for five. He plays a Boros Reckoner, and a second one + Stromkirk Noble follows. I'm on the backfoot again and he gets two swings in, until I Putrefy the other Reckoner away. I then draw a Mizzium Mortars, attack with the Thragtusk which he doesn't block with his Noble, and drop him to 10. I Overload the Mortars, emptying his board. He aims the 4 damage at me, dropping me to 10 as well. I don't have any removal or creatures other than the Thragtusk in play, and try to finish him off. Luckily he draws into lands again, and I take the game and the round win.
Round 4, UB control, 2-0
G1 This MU was just stupid easy. The moment I sat across him and started to play I knew this round was mine to win. I lose the roll, my opponent mulligans at last once, and draw into some good stuff. I think I had a hand of 2 Huntmasters, Olivia, Garruk. Huntmaster gets countered, I then play an Olivia and get some beats in. I follow up with the second Huntmaster. I just drew too much action, land a Garruk and Rakdos's Return his hand away or something along those lines.
G2 I think I kept a pretty wacky hand with three Oozes and a Thragtusk + some lands. He Duresses my hand, which then whiffs. I play my Oozes, and draw a Liliana for my fourth turn. I play the Liliana which doesn't get countered, and next turn follow it up with a Thragtusk. 2 more Thragtusks and a Garruk soon follow. He digs for answers, keeps Tribute to Hungering my beasts and gains life, but it doesn't matter in the end. I ultimate the Liliana, and an army of beasts finishes him off. I think I also had an Underworld Connections in that game. Good times.
Semifinals, Naya Blitz (same opponent)
G1 was pretty much a cakewalk. He's on play and has to mulligan to five I think. He's stuck on one mana for a few turns, and even though he plays 2 Wolfbitten Captives and a Champion of the Parish it was still a far cry from making a fight. I had a vague keep with a Putrefy and a Huntmaster of the Fells. I think I Putrefied the Champion eventually, being at 11 life, until Huntmaster comes in. I flip the Huntmaster, then play double-removal on his turn, flip him back at my upkeep, play a second Huntmaster, then flip both and go to the red zone.
G2 This was a super tight game. I had plenty of removal spells that dealt with his 1 drop (Champion of the Parish) and 2 drop (Lightning Mauler that was cast with Emissary-mana), but I also had to shock myself every turn which was kind of unfortunate. I dropped a T3 Ooze, shocked myself to 9 life, then scavenged to 10 life. He had an Emissary and a Mayor on his side of the board. He then attacked with both creatures, signalling a Rampager, so I blocked the Emissary. He then Rampaged me to 5 life. I wasn't worried though, since I had a Barter in Blood in my hand. Next turn I shock myself to 3, and wipe the board with the Barter I had. He's got only one card in hand, one red source and Hellrider is the only card that can kill me next turn. What happens is he draws a red source and plays the Hellrider from his hand. I die with a Tusk in my hand.
G3 This was the most awesome game ever. I had risky keep again with Putrefy as my only removal spell. He plays a Champion of the Parish, pass. T2 he goes off with Emissary + Emissary + Wolfbitten Captive. I feel my heart sunk. I take 4 Damage and go down to 16. On his turn 4 he plays a Silverblade Paladin which bonds with the flipped Wolfbitten Captive. I Putrefy his 5/5 Champion and take a whopping 8 damage, going down to 8. He has 12 power on the battlefield, while I'm entering my T4 with Barter in Blood and Huntmaster as my only plays. I could feel the finals slipping away. I take a look at his creatures which all have 2 toughness. I joke about miracling a Bonfire and the people around us agree that'd be a pretty devastating play. Guess what my draw for that turn is?
Bonfire of the Damned
I slam the card and tap my lands for x = 2, clearing the board. We all bursted out laughing, except for my opponent who just disheartened. I'm still amazed by my luck - Miracle Bonfire was definitely my only out in that situation, in that decisive game three. He then plays a Mayor and some other creature, which get Barter in Blooded. I then play a Thragtusk, putting me up to 11 life, followed by a Huntmaster and then a second Tusk. The game was soon over.
Finals, Mono-G Fight Club, 0-2
G1 Nothing much to say. I don't draw an answer to his Slime + Rancor which got out of hands very fast.
G2 I keep a hand of Putrefy + Slip, and he plays a manadork and a T2 Strangleroot Geist again. I take some damage, play a Huntmaster, and seeing he doesn't have the Slime pull the trigger on my Putrefy and Slip, killing his Wolfir Avenger that prevented my Huntmaster from Flipping, and kill his Primordial Hydra the next turn. Eventually I'm 7 life and his only card in play is a Tracker. I play a Thragtusk, a second one and then a VNH. He plays another Hydra which soon grows too big for me to handle, even though I gain life with my Nighthawk. 6/6 Scavenging Ooze + Rancor and a 16/16 Hydra + Rancor then kill me in one turn. Had I drawn a spot removal for the Hydra, I would have won the game with ease. I didn't see Olivia in either games which was also kind of unlucky.
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So, I was pretty close to win the whole thing again, and felt super disappointed after the games. Luckily I still won 5 Boosters of RTR, and got a Lotleth Troll, Supreme Verdict and a foil Rakdos, Lord of Riots. I also learned a lot of magic that day - There were so many tough decisions and rough spots. I made some punts and questionable plays, but luckily I realized those errors and will probably avoid them in the future. I also decided to make some alterations to my build based on my experiences that day:
+ 1 Scavengin Ooze, I sided these in so often I'm gonna swap to playing 3 MD
- 1 VNH, took this out for the additional maindeck oozing.
- 1 Bonfire, Sided these out just a bit too often. There's less Junk in the meta, and Bonfire's not THAT effective against the GR aggro decks or UWR that are the other big archetypes right now. 3 Bonfires MD is still plenty enough.
- 1 Abrupt Decay, not an awesome removal spell anymore given all the other spells we have
+ 1 Dreadbore, + 1 Doom Blade, more spot removal to deal with big guys and planeswalkers. Dreadbore has been phenomenal.
+ 2 Lifebane Zombie, gonna give him a try in the SB now that I have 2 empty slots there.
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4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Stomping Ground
3 Rootbound Crag
3 Blood Crypt
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Temple Garden
2 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Vault of the Archangel
18 Creatures
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Lifebane Zombie
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Olivia Voldaren
4 Thragtusk
2 Tragic Slip
4 Farseek
1 Dreadbore
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Putrefy
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Primeval Bounty
1 Rakdos' Return
3 Bonfire of the Damned
15 Sideboard
2 Duress
2 Pillar of Flame
1 Abrupt Decay
3 Golgari Charm
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Underworld Connections
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Rakdos' Return
1 Bonfire of the Damned
Went undefeated in the first 6 rounds (with 2 byes) before dropping 2 matches and winning the last round to scrape into day 2.
My 2 losses came from Kibler Gruul.
Day 2 was disappointing as I went 2-4 losing to more Kibler Gruul and mirror matches.
Finished at #114 out of 1183.
Went off to split an 8 man win a box event.