That was me. I 6-2d the standard portion but had a disappointing 3-3 in limited to end a mediocre 55th out of the 400 some people there. I want to state for the record that almost none of the people in this thread know what they are talking about. I have a tournament report coming out later this week on Brainburst.
Bant Charm - Cute. Bad. Too straining on the mana (can't get Blood Crypt, the best land in the deck) and will probably have to take 2 more damage to get the blue when you need it. On a guy, it's better than O Ring. It makes artifacts Ruinsable, and turns off options like killing your own O Ring to kill a duplicate Jitte. As for Instants, what are you expecting to counter? A removal spell will probably not be cast conviniently into this, and even so, why wouldn't you rather just cast another guy? Are you going to hold up mana to try and nab a Gifts? It's just not a realistic game plan. You'll end up with some great stories about how you countered the Manamorphose they needed to get their Desire mana, but most of the time it's awkward and clunky.
Jitte - For people who still don't know; it does not belong in Zoo. At most, I would play a miser's knife like Gerry suggested. If you ever draw two you lose a huge amount of initiative. The problem with Jitte is that it is only good against Elves. The mirror, it is really not good at all. People assume it will be because it is good for other decks against Zoo, but for Zoo against Zoo, it's not. I did not run any in Berlin and would not run any today. The reason is that the deck is designed to fight Jitte. Lots of removal, all of which is a punch to the gut tempo-wise, then they Oblivion Ring it or *ahem* Bant Charm it, and you've spent like 8 mana doing nothing while they've been one for oning you. You have to cast a guy and equip it. They only have to kill it. They have way more mana available to them, which gives them a massive edge. If you read my report (or take my word for it here), I faced Jitte-weilding Zoo players all day and destroyed them all. When Antoine Ruel brought them in for his Elves deck, It was also quite an easy game. The deck is geared to be resiliant to these lame Jittes.
Against Faeries, your Jitte isn't even very good, but if it was, the idea of playing the card is still flawed in this pairing. In my last article (shameless plug) I talked about how the matchups all have that one key fulcrum in which the parity lies, and the one who breaks that parity gains the upperhand. Jitte is NOT the battlefield you want to be fighting on, because you will LOSE. They are the better Jitte deck, so if you are trying to fight on a Jitte game plan, they will beat you. They have card draw to find more Jittes than you, they have countermagic to counter yours, the guys you want to put on them, and your ways to kill their potential equippies. They have Vendilion Cliques to Duress yours, and their men have flash, making getting counters on their artifact easier. If you are going to commit all of these resources into your Jittes even though you are losing the Jitte war going in, then you should not be playing this deck.
Zoo - If I were to play a PTQ tomorrow, I would probably play any of 6 other decks before I would touch Zoo, but if I were forced to play the deck for some reason, I would play it something like this:
4 Fanatic
4 Nacatl
4 Ape
4 Bob
4 Sculler
4 Goyf
3 Shadow Guildmage
4 Gaddock Teeg
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Hedge Mage
2 Seal of Fire
1 Smother
Seems pretty Janky. Not sure how to fix that though. Might fights the Tarmogoyf War better than O Ring and gives you a fighting chance against Combo, increasing your clock if you don't have a lock man down, or protecting it from Electrolyze/Magma Jet if you do.
Your side note - I don't remember your name or face, but I never do. I do, however, remember our match, as well as the fact that it took place. Nothing sticks out that I could tell you about. It was just a great match-up for me and I didn't get enough rough beats in 2 of the 3 games for you to pul off the upset.
Hope someone will get something out of this essay of a post.
Yamikiri - What do you want to know about? I talked about Jitte a tiny bit in my Berlin report but could definitely go further in depth. Bant Charm just makes no sense, but I can talk about that too if you want.
Bant Charm doesn't do anything. Not playing Sculler is a mistake. Jund Charm is obviously not as good as Fallout or Relic, but it does both, saving sideboard slots. Jitte is just a bad game plan for Zoo.
*Reads the f***ing card* Well.... yeah... I'm retarded. I forgot it had that "in play" line.
The "in play" line isn't why it doesn't do the damage. In fact, rules-wise that phrase does absolutely nothing on the card. The reason it doesn't do the damage is because the creature is the one dealing the damage, not the spell, but a dead creature can't be targeted to deal the damage.
Dash hopes, and that card sucks. Play lots of swampwalkers, good equipment, dodecapod, and stillmoon cavalier, night's whisper, and persecute. Possibly mind stone. Good luck.
-AJ
Edit :: see Azalon's post below
Bant Charm - Cute. Bad. Too straining on the mana (can't get Blood Crypt, the best land in the deck) and will probably have to take 2 more damage to get the blue when you need it. On a guy, it's better than O Ring. It makes artifacts Ruinsable, and turns off options like killing your own O Ring to kill a duplicate Jitte. As for Instants, what are you expecting to counter? A removal spell will probably not be cast conviniently into this, and even so, why wouldn't you rather just cast another guy? Are you going to hold up mana to try and nab a Gifts? It's just not a realistic game plan. You'll end up with some great stories about how you countered the Manamorphose they needed to get their Desire mana, but most of the time it's awkward and clunky.
Jitte - For people who still don't know; it does not belong in Zoo. At most, I would play a miser's knife like Gerry suggested. If you ever draw two you lose a huge amount of initiative. The problem with Jitte is that it is only good against Elves. The mirror, it is really not good at all. People assume it will be because it is good for other decks against Zoo, but for Zoo against Zoo, it's not. I did not run any in Berlin and would not run any today. The reason is that the deck is designed to fight Jitte. Lots of removal, all of which is a punch to the gut tempo-wise, then they Oblivion Ring it or *ahem* Bant Charm it, and you've spent like 8 mana doing nothing while they've been one for oning you. You have to cast a guy and equip it. They only have to kill it. They have way more mana available to them, which gives them a massive edge. If you read my report (or take my word for it here), I faced Jitte-weilding Zoo players all day and destroyed them all. When Antoine Ruel brought them in for his Elves deck, It was also quite an easy game. The deck is geared to be resiliant to these lame Jittes.
Against Faeries, your Jitte isn't even very good, but if it was, the idea of playing the card is still flawed in this pairing. In my last article (shameless plug) I talked about how the matchups all have that one key fulcrum in which the parity lies, and the one who breaks that parity gains the upperhand. Jitte is NOT the battlefield you want to be fighting on, because you will LOSE. They are the better Jitte deck, so if you are trying to fight on a Jitte game plan, they will beat you. They have card draw to find more Jittes than you, they have countermagic to counter yours, the guys you want to put on them, and your ways to kill their potential equippies. They have Vendilion Cliques to Duress yours, and their men have flash, making getting counters on their artifact easier. If you are going to commit all of these resources into your Jittes even though you are losing the Jitte war going in, then you should not be playing this deck.
Zoo - If I were to play a PTQ tomorrow, I would probably play any of 6 other decks before I would touch Zoo, but if I were forced to play the deck for some reason, I would play it something like this:
4 Fanatic
4 Nacatl
4 Ape
4 Bob
4 Sculler
4 Goyf
3 Shadow Guildmage
4 Helix
4 Flames
4 Might
4 Mire
4 Foothills
2 Windswept Heath
2 Flooded Strand
1 Crypt
1 Shrine
1 Garden
1 Grounds
1 Foundry
1 Vents
1 Tomb
1 Forest
1 Plains
4 Gaddock Teeg
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Hedge Mage
2 Seal of Fire
1 Smother
Seems pretty Janky. Not sure how to fix that though. Might fights the Tarmogoyf War better than O Ring and gives you a fighting chance against Combo, increasing your clock if you don't have a lock man down, or protecting it from Electrolyze/Magma Jet if you do.
Your side note - I don't remember your name or face, but I never do. I do, however, remember our match, as well as the fact that it took place. Nothing sticks out that I could tell you about. It was just a great match-up for me and I didn't get enough rough beats in 2 of the 3 games for you to pul off the upset.
Hope someone will get something out of this essay of a post.
Yamikiri - What do you want to know about? I talked about Jitte a tiny bit in my Berlin report but could definitely go further in depth. Bant Charm just makes no sense, but I can talk about that too if you want.
This.
The "in play" line isn't why it doesn't do the damage. In fact, rules-wise that phrase does absolutely nothing on the card. The reason it doesn't do the damage is because the creature is the one dealing the damage, not the spell, but a dead creature can't be targeted to deal the damage.
Miscalculation, Spell Snip
edit :: in a format where Spell Snare is banned
Legendary Author - Demon, Spirit
Trample
At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card if you don't control an Ogre.
5/4
Tidehollow Sculler is better than Gaddock Teeg.
-AJ
-AJ