This topic seems like it's mostly about insulting people for playing variations of essentially the same deck but I'll add something constructive I guess.
izzetmage's comment about Forests is correct. Now that I've gotten to play the deck for a few weeks I agree. I honestly don't know if I even want a basic Plains in the deck, because our only real out to Blood Moon is abrupt decay, which we can cast off Forest+Swamp obviously. But maybe we have enough plays on just XGW where that's dumb and so I'll keep the Plains.
Township is probably questionable in a list that wants so much colored mana, but Vault is just insane in games where you get to activate it.
If I'm going to cut a card for a 24th land, it's probably either a Liege or a Decay. I'm not sure what the math is on going down from 8 to 7 4-drops. Decay would get the cut before a Path because I think Path actually answers more stuff in this meta weirdly. Too many Tasigurs and Anglers and crap running around. Cutting Liege feels awkward because that's the pay off for even playing most of our creatures.
You point on Marsh Flats might be correct in theory, but in practice there's basically no opening hands where I'd want to fetch a basic swamp on turn 1. Even for Thoughtseize, grabbing a basic swamp when your only other cards that even want B are Siege Rhino just feels bad. I also don't have unlimited Magic funds and blew a lot going to the GP, so I'm keeping my Heaths for now.
Again I think cutting Sunpetal for Thicket is correct if we go to Wastes because it will enter untapped on turn 2 and allow us to cast any combination of cards in our hand. Basically the only combinations that don't allow you to cast GB/BW/GW on turn 2 in this setup would require one of the lands to be a basic or vault. I'm honestly not sure what I'd add if we put in a 24th land but I'm open to suggestions on that as well.
I appreciate the time Emracool spent making this deck. Being able to play it now for a little while has given me some ideas on improvements I can make to the deck. I have the physical cards to play the other version as well, but I choose not to because in a meta that is more twin-heavy I think playing a discard spell turn 1 instead of a bird for them to bolt is a little better. But I think slamming decks because they "don't appear on mtgtop8" without trying it is a poor perspective to have, particularly when it takes an hour or two with a friend to fire up cockatrice and jam some games. But innovation is how we get new and exciting decks, better versions of existing decks and how we get things placed on mtgtop8.
I plan on trying those couple of manabase changes on MTGO anyway (which shuffles like crap compared to real life btw) in the interim and getting a better feel for it.
This was honestly my first round of paper magic since probably last August. I wasn't used to it so I played pretty slowly. Game 1 he had a Delver out that refused to flip and I eventually ran over him with big creatures and Rhino burn. Game 2 I made a greedy play where he had 3 pyro tokens and 2 unflipped delvers, and my options were either to cast rhino or to pop an EE I had on 0. If I played the Rhino and they both flipped, I lost exactly. I gambled and got burnt. Game 3 started with like 5 minutes left, I had sufficient creatures out (but no Rhino sadly) and he had a turn 2 Pyro that basically just chumped my guys until time. 0-0-1 was an auspicious start because I got put in the weird draw bracket and at a GP with 3,800 people a draw is as good as a loss. Kind of salty about this one because I needed 3 or 4 more turns but I know he was basically dead.
Round 2 - Burn
Not much to say here. I won the die roll and was fortunate to play turn 3 Finks turn 4 Rhino w/o worrying about Skullcrack. Game 2 he played Guide on turn 1 and 2 and that was basically that. Game 3 I curved out nicely with a pair of Finks and a Rhino and he only had one crack effect. 1-0-1
Round 3 - Grixis Twin
Game 1 he mulled and (based on my life pad) I must've curved out something like Inquisition, Smiter, Rhino, Liege. Game 2 I got him to 2 life, was out of removal anyway, so I tried to Rhino and he Remanded it. He then slammed Twin. Game 3 was much more back and forth but I drew enough removal to keep him off the combo and eventually got through his creatures. 2-0-1
Round 4 - Grixis Delver
Game 1 I kept a 2-land hand on the play like a moron and didn't draw a 3rd land until the game was over. I had a hand full of Finks and Rhinos mocking me. Game 2 was another of those "curve out perfectly" games where his life total drops by 8 on my pad a couple times before he scoops. Game 3 I draw an EE and a Rhino to get around his Pyro tokens and outrace his flipped Delver. 3-0-1
Round 5 - Junk
Game 1 my opponent had Thoughtseize and a pair of Paths for my early plays. I basically just didn't have any gas and he kept drawing it. Game 2 I got up to 29 life and had him at 7, then he stabilized behind a Tasigur that was flipping god-tier activations (my choices every turn were either path, decay or lili). He even commented on how busted of a card Tasigur is. 3-1-1
Round 6 - Junk
Well, I was now playing for my GP life. I lost both games in pretty similar fashion as the first. Early disruption stripped my removal and they were smart enough to not tick up Lili. Game 2 we had a crazy board stall where neither of us really had anything left but he managed to topdeck a Tasigur while I kept ripping lands and using it to refuel and kill me. 3-2-1
Round 7 - UW Faeries/Control
Decided to stick it out and play for pride. I run into a guy playing a UW deck with Spellstutter Sprite and Cliques, but also things like Dragonlord Ojutai, Sphinx's Revelation and Supreme Verdict. Game 1 I go Inquisition into Voice into Finks and he just gets smacked in the face. Game 2 I Scullered him to see 2 Verdicts and a Rev. I drew a Lingering Souls so I basically forced him to Verdict that, played a Smiter and Souls and forced him to Verdict that, then beat his face with a Wildwood and another Smiter. I topdecked an Ooze the turn before he cast Snapcaster for a desperation Verdict and that sealed it up. 4-2-1
Round 8 - Temur Twin
Game 1 I saw Stomping Ground into Mana Confluence and commented I hadn't seen either of those lands yet today. He offhandedly said it was a homebrew. On his turn 3 he decided to Pyroclasm my pair of Voices, and a Liege on my turn 4 meant he took 10 damage that turn and scooped after drawing. I boarded assuming he was on Jeskai Combo, but a Thoughtseize in Game 2 revealed him to be on Temur Twin. He had to desperation combo, which I had the path for, so we shook hands and talked about his "brew" some more. 5-2-1
Round 9 - Empty Chair
No show for the final round. Was kinda bummed honestly. 6-2-1
I was pretty upset about missing the cut for day 2, mostly because it was entirely down to my slow play in my first match. But I went into my first GP hoping to just be alive by round 5, and I definitely succeeded in that regard. Plus my friend on Melira combo (who ended up t8) was undefeated heading into day 2 so I was super happy for him. Then, thinking it was only going to be a few rounds, I registered for the...
Super Sunday Series
Round 1 - Grixis Twin
Game 1 I mulled and kept a 1-lander on the play, not much of a game. Game 2 he mulled twice and I went Inquisition->Sculler->Sculler and he scooped. Game 3 was such a bad beat. I kept a reasonable hand w/ just Plains+Gavony on the draw and a bunch of action. This meant I couldn't play around Blood Moon at all and I eventually got to 4 lands. I untapped and drew a Thoughtseize, so I Inquisitioned him, which he responded to by playing his Pestermite to join his Clique on board vs my Smiter. He then remanded my IoK and showed me a hand of Twin and a fetch. I then laughed a little, cast Thoughtseize and took his Twin. At this point I had a Rhino and Liege in hand and could've easily out-raced his threats. Unfortunately he ripped a Blood Moon, locking me completely out. My only out was to runner-runner Forest into EE for 3, but when my next draw was a Windswept Heath I just scooped 'em up. 0-1
Round 2 - Infect
Only 250 people and 9 rounds of swiss meant X-1 was still live for top 8 so I soldiered on. It helps that I resigned to basically play until my ride or I wanted to leave. Game 1 my opponent had a great hand and just splooged on me. Games 2 and 3 I just absolutely dominated, stripping his few threats and making quick work of him with my own. At one point he tried to Pierce my Decay, at which point I said uncounterable, and he just shrugged and toss the Pierce in the 'yard. 1-1
Round 3 - GR Tron
My opponent was a couple minutes late so the judge awarded him a game loss and told us to play a pre-board Game 2. He later told me he was late because he was in line to buy a foil Karn and Emrakul from a vendor and didn't hear the pairings go up. Game 2 he drops a turn 3 Karn which, as I'm sure you all know, is basically unbeatable for GBx. Wishing I had avoided tron all weekend, I then boarded for Game 3. He mulled, I IoK him turn 1 and see the following: Ugin, Wurmcoil, Sphere, Stirrings, Scrying, Tower. I thought about it for a second and realized my plan this game was a mana denial one, so I take the Sphere. He draws, plays Tower and casts a Star. Luckily, I have a Decay in hand, which I promptly cast on my turn 2, followed by a Smiter on turn 3. He drew another couple of cards, played nothing, and scooped. 2-1
Round 4 - BW Tokens
This guy was late but his bag got stolen so he wasn't given a game loss. Game 1 he overloaded my removal and got out of hand with an Angler+Vault. Game 2 I just drew my sideboard cards and rolled him over. I saw a Brimaz that game so I took out my Scoozes and put back in the Decays. Game 3 he ended up drawing something like 10 or 11 lands while I avoided Flooded and just beat him down after removing the little action he drew. 3-1
After that I dropped to grab lunch and drinks with my ride and his friend that lived nearby. I could've played another couple rounds before leaving for the airport but I wanted to spend some time with my friend who I don't see very often and I could've have played the top 8 anyway.
Thoughts
I know basic lands are a necessity but man are they brutal sometimes when you get the basic+colorless land draw. I'm not sure if dropping a Forest for a Swamp is correct, but given all of our t1 plays are black it might be. The only downside is we're kind of split on where to go from there...you want either GW or BW turn 2 and then basically nothing but green and white from there on out. Sculler was honestly probably my MVP, and the more I play with it the more I love the card. He's a bit more fragile w/ the Kologhan's Commands running around. With more Grixis colored stuff being played, Smiter actually felt a bit weaker than I thought he would. It's just so easy for him to eat a Terminate (or Path or Go for the Throat) that his uncounterable-ness felt a little weak. But then he's also a gigantic body so it's kind of a tradeoff. I'm glad I stuck with Scooze, even if he's a little trickier to resolve and protect now.
All in all, I had a great weekend and had a lot of fun. I'd also highly recommend going to a nearby event if RK Post is there. His tokens are the best.
BONUS PIC - The friend I rode up with got this alter done by Noah Bradley.
I will try to stream a daily or two this weekend and (hopefully) save some unmuted vods to post here. Didn't wake up in time to go to a GPT today with the deck (recovering from a trip to New Orleans...) but I'm planning on playing in a PPTQ next weekend as well.
Went 2-2 in another daily. I don't really see how you're getting 95+% winrates in every matchup because that's definitely not accounting for variance between the occasional screw/flood and just nut draws by the opponent.
Round 1 vs Jund Burn/Combo
Game 1 - I was on the play. Instead of burn spells he seemed to have Streeth Wraith, Assault Strobe and Become Immense. So a weird sort of combo-burn.
Game 2 - Plays two goblin guides and has a rancor on turn 2. No bueno. I drew a Smiter to play on turn 3 but played the wrong land and scooped.
Game 3 - He took my Decay with a TS and dropped a Rancor'd Death's Shadow. Luckily he went to 5 so I played my topdecked Rhino and had a 2/2 Elemental Token that got through when he had no burn left for it.
Round 2 vs Zoo
Game 1 - Mulled to 5. http://puu.sh/hEe98/2529c0dc48.jpg into no lands.
Game 2 - Get stuck on two land and overrun by 1-drops. Drew a third land on turn 4 but I was just already too far behind even with Path and 2x Decay in hand. My next card on the top was EE.
Round 3 vs Junk
Game 1 - Opponent stumbled on land but I think I played too greedy and got punished when he just got a bunch of 6/7 Goyfs and Rhinos out. One turn I played hoping he'd uptick Lili again at 2 loyalty and he sacced and I think that was where I lost.
Game 2 - Dropped a turn 2 scooze and killed his turn 2 goyf. Opponent scooped on turn 4.
Game 3 - Zero land so I mulled to 6. Opponent stumbled on land a little and I punished him, getting to drop a rhino turn 3 because of a path on my turn 2 voice. Rhino into Smiter into Liege was too much and a topdeck Golgari Charm after he cast and flashed back Souls was the winner.
Round 4 vs Grixis Delver
Game 1 - Zero land again so another mull to 6. Ended up keeping this - http://puu.sh/hEiy7/7d8209c60a.jpg.
Game 2 - EE on 0 and a few fatties stonewalled his 3 pyros. He scooped facing lethal with 2:40 left on his clock.
Game 3 - Opponent has less than 3 minutes on clock and I draw 7 lands while he has a perfect Pyro tempo opening and I just get overrun. He just had every answer and turn 3 smiter got terminated, then my turn 4 voice+scooze play got snare+snap+snared.
Grabbed the deck on MTGO for practice before the GP and ran a daily:
Round 1 vs Merfolk
game 1 - kept super lose and got overrun. kept 5 lands + loxodon + liege on the draw in the dark. drew two thoughtseizes but he had enough threats out before I could even try to stabilize.
game 2 - I got spreading seas'd turn 2 and drew my 2 colorless lands so I was stuck on one or two colored mana for too long w/ multiple rhinos in hand. he stalled but had enough gas to get there w/ bouncing masters and a topdecked lord.
Round 2 vs Burn
game 1 - mull to 6. he had a really solid draw and i couldn't stabilize. had to shock twice and I think that lost it for me.
game 2 - he kept 1 land and I had a few removal spells and stabilized pretty easily
game 3 - I kept wildwood + township. stuck on 3 land after i kind of stabilized when he had 2 eidolons in play and 8 life. unfortunately I was at 10 and couldn't cast anything either, and sat with a rhino in hand staring at me as I died on 3 land.
Round 3 vs Assault Loam
game 1 - opponent mulled to six and I had TS into sculler. he didn't do much and sculler + loxodon beat him down.
game 2 - opponent mulled to six again and I kept a 2-lander on the draw with a scooze. unfortunately he took it with IoK. opponent was then stuck on 1 land until turn 6. sculler turn 4 saw a hand of anger-loam-loam-assault so I just took anger and beat him down.
Round 4 vs ??? - opponent no-showed.
So I didn't finish in prizes but I felt game 1 of round 1 I punted by keeping that hand, game 2 was super close, and game 3 of round 2 was also super close. So with slightly better draws I think I win at least one of those matches.
- Blue is nowhere to be seen. With the exception of 5-color decks and stuff like Infect, there is nothing left. No Twin (it's in the top8 only because of the draft rounds), no Scapeshift, no Merfolk, no UWR of any kind.
Kind of an ugly format, in my opinion. The lack of an entire color is saddening.
Hard to see how Wizards fixes this though and makes blue playable again. They've banned out so many "unfair" things that all we're left with is aggro decks and goodstuff.dec
Calling Jacob Wilson's deck podless pod is such a farce because there's almost nothing similar in how the decks play out or really in deck construction. It's just a GW midrange deck that's splashing black for thoughtseize and lingering souls. The only "difference" is that the traditional junk decks are mostly GB with a w splash.
Agreed. It is basically WG Hatebears+Siege Rhino, Thoughtseize, and Lingering Souls.
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izzetmage's comment about Forests is correct. Now that I've gotten to play the deck for a few weeks I agree. I honestly don't know if I even want a basic Plains in the deck, because our only real out to Blood Moon is abrupt decay, which we can cast off Forest+Swamp obviously. But maybe we have enough plays on just XGW where that's dumb and so I'll keep the Plains.
Township is probably questionable in a list that wants so much colored mana, but Vault is just insane in games where you get to activate it.
If I'm going to cut a card for a 24th land, it's probably either a Liege or a Decay. I'm not sure what the math is on going down from 8 to 7 4-drops. Decay would get the cut before a Path because I think Path actually answers more stuff in this meta weirdly. Too many Tasigurs and Anglers and crap running around. Cutting Liege feels awkward because that's the pay off for even playing most of our creatures.
You point on Marsh Flats might be correct in theory, but in practice there's basically no opening hands where I'd want to fetch a basic swamp on turn 1. Even for Thoughtseize, grabbing a basic swamp when your only other cards that even want B are Siege Rhino just feels bad. I also don't have unlimited Magic funds and blew a lot going to the GP, so I'm keeping my Heaths for now.
Our current 23 lands:
What I'd propose if we want to keep 23:
Again I think cutting Sunpetal for Thicket is correct if we go to Wastes because it will enter untapped on turn 2 and allow us to cast any combination of cards in our hand. Basically the only combinations that don't allow you to cast GB/BW/GW on turn 2 in this setup would require one of the lands to be a basic or vault. I'm honestly not sure what I'd add if we put in a 24th land but I'm open to suggestions on that as well.
I appreciate the time Emracool spent making this deck. Being able to play it now for a little while has given me some ideas on improvements I can make to the deck. I have the physical cards to play the other version as well, but I choose not to because in a meta that is more twin-heavy I think playing a discard spell turn 1 instead of a bird for them to bolt is a little better. But I think slamming decks because they "don't appear on mtgtop8" without trying it is a poor perspective to have, particularly when it takes an hour or two with a friend to fire up cockatrice and jam some games. But innovation is how we get new and exciting decks, better versions of existing decks and how we get things placed on mtgtop8.
I plan on trying those couple of manabase changes on MTGO anyway (which shuffles like crap compared to real life btw) in the interim and getting a better feel for it.
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Main Event
Round 1 - Grixis Delver
This was honestly my first round of paper magic since probably last August. I wasn't used to it so I played pretty slowly. Game 1 he had a Delver out that refused to flip and I eventually ran over him with big creatures and Rhino burn. Game 2 I made a greedy play where he had 3 pyro tokens and 2 unflipped delvers, and my options were either to cast rhino or to pop an EE I had on 0. If I played the Rhino and they both flipped, I lost exactly. I gambled and got burnt. Game 3 started with like 5 minutes left, I had sufficient creatures out (but no Rhino sadly) and he had a turn 2 Pyro that basically just chumped my guys until time. 0-0-1 was an auspicious start because I got put in the weird draw bracket and at a GP with 3,800 people a draw is as good as a loss. Kind of salty about this one because I needed 3 or 4 more turns but I know he was basically dead.
Round 2 - Burn
Not much to say here. I won the die roll and was fortunate to play turn 3 Finks turn 4 Rhino w/o worrying about Skullcrack. Game 2 he played Guide on turn 1 and 2 and that was basically that. Game 3 I curved out nicely with a pair of Finks and a Rhino and he only had one crack effect. 1-0-1
Round 3 - Grixis Twin
Game 1 he mulled and (based on my life pad) I must've curved out something like Inquisition, Smiter, Rhino, Liege. Game 2 I got him to 2 life, was out of removal anyway, so I tried to Rhino and he Remanded it. He then slammed Twin. Game 3 was much more back and forth but I drew enough removal to keep him off the combo and eventually got through his creatures. 2-0-1
Round 4 - Grixis Delver
Game 1 I kept a 2-land hand on the play like a moron and didn't draw a 3rd land until the game was over. I had a hand full of Finks and Rhinos mocking me. Game 2 was another of those "curve out perfectly" games where his life total drops by 8 on my pad a couple times before he scoops. Game 3 I draw an EE and a Rhino to get around his Pyro tokens and outrace his flipped Delver. 3-0-1
Round 5 - Junk
Game 1 my opponent had Thoughtseize and a pair of Paths for my early plays. I basically just didn't have any gas and he kept drawing it. Game 2 I got up to 29 life and had him at 7, then he stabilized behind a Tasigur that was flipping god-tier activations (my choices every turn were either path, decay or lili). He even commented on how busted of a card Tasigur is. 3-1-1
Round 6 - Junk
Well, I was now playing for my GP life. I lost both games in pretty similar fashion as the first. Early disruption stripped my removal and they were smart enough to not tick up Lili. Game 2 we had a crazy board stall where neither of us really had anything left but he managed to topdeck a Tasigur while I kept ripping lands and using it to refuel and kill me. 3-2-1
Round 7 - UW Faeries/Control
Decided to stick it out and play for pride. I run into a guy playing a UW deck with Spellstutter Sprite and Cliques, but also things like Dragonlord Ojutai, Sphinx's Revelation and Supreme Verdict. Game 1 I go Inquisition into Voice into Finks and he just gets smacked in the face. Game 2 I Scullered him to see 2 Verdicts and a Rev. I drew a Lingering Souls so I basically forced him to Verdict that, played a Smiter and Souls and forced him to Verdict that, then beat his face with a Wildwood and another Smiter. I topdecked an Ooze the turn before he cast Snapcaster for a desperation Verdict and that sealed it up. 4-2-1
Round 8 - Temur Twin
Game 1 I saw Stomping Ground into Mana Confluence and commented I hadn't seen either of those lands yet today. He offhandedly said it was a homebrew. On his turn 3 he decided to Pyroclasm my pair of Voices, and a Liege on my turn 4 meant he took 10 damage that turn and scooped after drawing. I boarded assuming he was on Jeskai Combo, but a Thoughtseize in Game 2 revealed him to be on Temur Twin. He had to desperation combo, which I had the path for, so we shook hands and talked about his "brew" some more. 5-2-1
Round 9 - Empty Chair
No show for the final round. Was kinda bummed honestly. 6-2-1
I was pretty upset about missing the cut for day 2, mostly because it was entirely down to my slow play in my first match. But I went into my first GP hoping to just be alive by round 5, and I definitely succeeded in that regard. Plus my friend on Melira combo (who ended up t8) was undefeated heading into day 2 so I was super happy for him. Then, thinking it was only going to be a few rounds, I registered for the...
Super Sunday Series
Round 1 - Grixis Twin
Game 1 I mulled and kept a 1-lander on the play, not much of a game. Game 2 he mulled twice and I went Inquisition->Sculler->Sculler and he scooped. Game 3 was such a bad beat. I kept a reasonable hand w/ just Plains+Gavony on the draw and a bunch of action. This meant I couldn't play around Blood Moon at all and I eventually got to 4 lands. I untapped and drew a Thoughtseize, so I Inquisitioned him, which he responded to by playing his Pestermite to join his Clique on board vs my Smiter. He then remanded my IoK and showed me a hand of Twin and a fetch. I then laughed a little, cast Thoughtseize and took his Twin. At this point I had a Rhino and Liege in hand and could've easily out-raced his threats. Unfortunately he ripped a Blood Moon, locking me completely out. My only out was to runner-runner Forest into EE for 3, but when my next draw was a Windswept Heath I just scooped 'em up. 0-1
Round 2 - Infect
Only 250 people and 9 rounds of swiss meant X-1 was still live for top 8 so I soldiered on. It helps that I resigned to basically play until my ride or I wanted to leave. Game 1 my opponent had a great hand and just splooged on me. Games 2 and 3 I just absolutely dominated, stripping his few threats and making quick work of him with my own. At one point he tried to Pierce my Decay, at which point I said uncounterable, and he just shrugged and toss the Pierce in the 'yard. 1-1
Round 3 - GR Tron
My opponent was a couple minutes late so the judge awarded him a game loss and told us to play a pre-board Game 2. He later told me he was late because he was in line to buy a foil Karn and Emrakul from a vendor and didn't hear the pairings go up. Game 2 he drops a turn 3 Karn which, as I'm sure you all know, is basically unbeatable for GBx. Wishing I had avoided tron all weekend, I then boarded for Game 3. He mulled, I IoK him turn 1 and see the following: Ugin, Wurmcoil, Sphere, Stirrings, Scrying, Tower. I thought about it for a second and realized my plan this game was a mana denial one, so I take the Sphere. He draws, plays Tower and casts a Star. Luckily, I have a Decay in hand, which I promptly cast on my turn 2, followed by a Smiter on turn 3. He drew another couple of cards, played nothing, and scooped. 2-1
Round 4 - BW Tokens
This guy was late but his bag got stolen so he wasn't given a game loss. Game 1 he overloaded my removal and got out of hand with an Angler+Vault. Game 2 I just drew my sideboard cards and rolled him over. I saw a Brimaz that game so I took out my Scoozes and put back in the Decays. Game 3 he ended up drawing something like 10 or 11 lands while I avoided Flooded and just beat him down after removing the little action he drew. 3-1
After that I dropped to grab lunch and drinks with my ride and his friend that lived nearby. I could've played another couple rounds before leaving for the airport but I wanted to spend some time with my friend who I don't see very often and I could've have played the top 8 anyway.
Thoughts
I know basic lands are a necessity but man are they brutal sometimes when you get the basic+colorless land draw. I'm not sure if dropping a Forest for a Swamp is correct, but given all of our t1 plays are black it might be. The only downside is we're kind of split on where to go from there...you want either GW or BW turn 2 and then basically nothing but green and white from there on out. Sculler was honestly probably my MVP, and the more I play with it the more I love the card. He's a bit more fragile w/ the Kologhan's Commands running around. With more Grixis colored stuff being played, Smiter actually felt a bit weaker than I thought he would. It's just so easy for him to eat a Terminate (or Path or Go for the Throat) that his uncounterable-ness felt a little weak. But then he's also a gigantic body so it's kind of a tradeoff. I'm glad I stuck with Scooze, even if he's a little trickier to resolve and protect now.
All in all, I had a great weekend and had a lot of fun. I'd also highly recommend going to a nearby event if RK Post is there. His tokens are the best.
BONUS PIC - The friend I rode up with got this alter done by Noah Bradley.
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Round 1 vs Jund Burn/Combo
Game 1 - I was on the play. Instead of burn spells he seemed to have Streeth Wraith, Assault Strobe and Become Immense. So a weird sort of combo-burn.
Game 2 - Plays two goblin guides and has a rancor on turn 2. No bueno. I drew a Smiter to play on turn 3 but played the wrong land and scooped.
Game 3 - He took my Decay with a TS and dropped a Rancor'd Death's Shadow. Luckily he went to 5 so I played my topdecked Rhino and had a 2/2 Elemental Token that got through when he had no burn left for it.
Round 2 vs Zoo
Game 1 - Mulled to 5. http://puu.sh/hEe98/2529c0dc48.jpg into no lands.
Game 2 - Get stuck on two land and overrun by 1-drops. Drew a third land on turn 4 but I was just already too far behind even with Path and 2x Decay in hand. My next card on the top was EE.
Round 3 vs Junk
Game 1 - Opponent stumbled on land but I think I played too greedy and got punished when he just got a bunch of 6/7 Goyfs and Rhinos out. One turn I played hoping he'd uptick Lili again at 2 loyalty and he sacced and I think that was where I lost.
Game 2 - Dropped a turn 2 scooze and killed his turn 2 goyf. Opponent scooped on turn 4.
Game 3 - Zero land so I mulled to 6. Opponent stumbled on land a little and I punished him, getting to drop a rhino turn 3 because of a path on my turn 2 voice. Rhino into Smiter into Liege was too much and a topdeck Golgari Charm after he cast and flashed back Souls was the winner.
Round 4 vs Grixis Delver
Game 1 - Zero land again so another mull to 6. Ended up keeping this - http://puu.sh/hEiy7/7d8209c60a.jpg.
Game 2 - EE on 0 and a few fatties stonewalled his 3 pyros. He scooped facing lethal with 2:40 left on his clock.
Game 3 - Opponent has less than 3 minutes on clock and I draw 7 lands while he has a perfect Pyro tempo opening and I just get overrun. He just had every answer and turn 3 smiter got terminated, then my turn 4 voice+scooze play got snare+snap+snared.
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Round 1 vs Merfolk
game 1 - kept super lose and got overrun. kept 5 lands + loxodon + liege on the draw in the dark. drew two thoughtseizes but he had enough threats out before I could even try to stabilize.
game 2 - I got spreading seas'd turn 2 and drew my 2 colorless lands so I was stuck on one or two colored mana for too long w/ multiple rhinos in hand. he stalled but had enough gas to get there w/ bouncing masters and a topdecked lord.
Round 2 vs Burn
game 1 - mull to 6. he had a really solid draw and i couldn't stabilize. had to shock twice and I think that lost it for me.
game 2 - he kept 1 land and I had a few removal spells and stabilized pretty easily
game 3 - I kept wildwood + township. stuck on 3 land after i kind of stabilized when he had 2 eidolons in play and 8 life. unfortunately I was at 10 and couldn't cast anything either, and sat with a rhino in hand staring at me as I died on 3 land.
Round 3 vs Assault Loam
game 1 - opponent mulled to six and I had TS into sculler. he didn't do much and sculler + loxodon beat him down.
game 2 - opponent mulled to six again and I kept a 2-lander on the draw with a scooze. unfortunately he took it with IoK. opponent was then stuck on 1 land until turn 6. sculler turn 4 saw a hand of anger-loam-loam-assault so I just took anger and beat him down.
Round 4 vs ??? - opponent no-showed.
So I didn't finish in prizes but I felt game 1 of round 1 I punted by keeping that hand, game 2 was super close, and game 3 of round 2 was also super close. So with slightly better draws I think I win at least one of those matches.
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Hard to see how Wizards fixes this though and makes blue playable again. They've banned out so many "unfair" things that all we're left with is aggro decks and goodstuff.dec
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Which of those cards are "hatebears"?