It's always rough to be paired up against your friend. Aaron and I have known each other for a little while now and we have playtested together over the past couple months. Game 1 he’s stuck on 3 lands and I have Kitchen Finks backed up by 3 Cryptic Commands to bounce his Vivids. I also have Magma Sprays handy for the Kitchen Finks and Anathemancer to step in my way. Game 2 hey plays early threats which are quickly removed by Spray and Bloodbraid into Pulse. My guys go most of the way while he held Cruel Ultimatum with 7 lands, but one was a Forest with no filters.
1-0, 2-0 games
Round 2 vs. Jacob Moskovisz – Merfolk
I’m on the play and quickly mull to 5 and keep a land of 3 lands, Pyroclasm and Jund Charm. At this point is where I believe I make bluff him into believing my hand is barely acceptable and he plays out 3 guys which I Jund Charm away on turn 3. He goes ahead and makes more dudes the following turn, which are again met by Pyroclasm. I pull ahead on cards and seal the deal. Game 2 is a similar story, in which I am able to use mass removal on his fish, Pithing Needle his Mutavaluts, then swing with Kitchen Finks and finish him with Cruel Ultimatum.
2-0, 4-0 games
Round 3 vs. Stu Somers – B/W tokens
He’s playing a more control-ish version with Tidehollow Sculler and a little lean on creatures I believe. He plays turn-2 Sculler which I have Pulse for eventually, then takes the Pulse away with another Sculler next turn. He gets me to 7 before I stabilize and resolve Cruel Ultimatum, followed by a pair of Kitchen Finks that get there. Game 2 is never close as he opens with Sculler into hand full of removal, Finks and Anathemancers. I attempt to Magma Spray his Sculler which he responds to with Zealous Persecution. On a side note, I’d much rather be blown out by Persecution early than late, so I don’t mind baiting it out here when it’s rather obvious he’s got it. I play multiple Kitchen Finks which he responds with his own, but I win the war or attrition and eventually get there.
3-0, 6-0 games
Round 4 vs. Justin Gonzalez – Cascade Swans
I’ve played a whole bunch of matches online vs. Swans and have been very successful thus far, so I really like my chances in this matchup. Game 1 is very close, as he comes out of the gate early with ferocious manlands and Bloodbraid Elf to get me down to 3, but with a timely Bloodbraid Elf/Maelstrom Pulse cascade I’m able to hang in there and finish him off with Cruel Ultimatum and Kitchen Finks. Game 2 is much less competitive, as he attacks with Treetop Village on Turn 3 which I double Magma Spray (perhaps my best play of the day), and he loses tempo which gives me time to respond to all his cascade shenanigans. I beat with Kitchen Finks and Bloodbraid Elf.
4-0, 8-0 games
Round 5 vs. Joshua Howe – G/W Overrun
I’ve not tested this matchup and I paid the price. Game 1 he gets off to a quick start with Noble Hierarch, Wilt-Leaf Liege and Treetop Village beats. I think I misplay by holding up Cryptic Command mana when I could have used Maelstrom Pulse on his Liege my turn, taking 3 instead of 8. A couple turns later I resolve Cruel Ultimatum (with no cards left in hand) and draw 2 lands and Esper Charm. Next turn I use Esper Charm main phase to draw into more land. He uses Ajani to pump up Treetop Village to trample over me for the win.. Game 2 I get out a couple early Kitchen Finks and Pithing Needle naming Windbrisk Heights. He plays Spectral Procession, Qasali Pridemage to kill the Needle, and a pair of Dauntless Escort. I need answers, and don’t get enough as he plays Overrun and deals me my first match loss.
4-1, 8-2 games
Round 6 vs. Jason Terry – 5CB
Jason’s deck is similar to Wyant’s version with Putrid Leeches and no Magma Sprays, and fewer Cruel Ultimatums. Game 1 he drops a duo of Kitchen Finks for which my only answer is Pyroclasm + Jund Charm. I then play Cruel Ultimatum, 2 Finks of my own, and a second Ultimatum for victory. Game 2 I have answers for his early threats, and I beat with Finks and finish with Cruel Ultimatum.
5-1, 10-2 games
Round 7 vs. David Brown – R/B Aggro
This deck can be a tough matchup for me if I get off to a slow start, or if he’s got Magma Spray for my Kitchen Finks. Game 1 I take early beats from Figure/Hellspark but he plays a second Figure of Destiny which made my Maelstrom Pulse even better the following turn. He gets me all the way down to 2 with Ghitu Encampment and burn spells but I take a big chance by playing double Kitchen Finks hoping he doesn’t rip Anathemancer (for 6) while I’m holding Cryptic Command. He doesn’t have it, and I ride my creatures to victory. Game 2 begins with me playing Burrenton Forge-Tender which forces him to overextend his board. He gets blown out once again by Maelstrom Pulse when he plays 2 copies of Boggart Ram-Gang, and quickly succumbs to my Bloodbraids and Finks.
6-1, 12-2 games
Round 8 vs. Alex Waldruff – Cascade Swans
Before the round I check the tiebreaks and I am at the top of the 6-1 bracket, while Alex is 3rd. Both of the other two 6-1 tables need to play out, so I offer the ID to Alex. He declines, stating that he doesn’t want to risk it (which is the correct move in hindsight, since there is another 5-1-1 paired down and eventually wins). I then let him know that I will accept an ID at any point during the match.
Both games aren’t very close, as I have answers to his combo “pieces”. At the end of the match, he asks to draw. I accept, as I want to stay true to my word. As it turns out, it doesn’t matter since the 5-1-1 wins and has a higher tiebreak than Alex, who places 9th.
6-1-1, 12-2 games
Round 9 (Quarterfinal) vs. Patrick Hepner – Cascade Swans
I definitely like this matchup and know the odds are very slim he’ll be able to get his combo off on turn 4 both games. But that’s exactly what happened in Game 1. He played Seismic Assault on turn 3. I had 3 mana open, and he played Swans on turn 4 with 4 cards in hand.
To make matters worse, during sideboarding, I make a remark similar to “sometimes you can’t be angry at yourself when there’s nothing you can do when the combo works”.
Seconds later the light bulb turns on in my brain when I then realize I just made the most horrible misplay in the History of Magic. While this could potentially just throw me into full life-tilt at this point, I keep my composure and remind myself that I’m 4-0 in games versus Swans thus far, and I have a plethora of sideboard answers as well.
Games 2 and 3 proceed very similarly, both including a Runed Halo and Pithing Needle, both naming Seismic Assault. Burrenton Forge-Tenders put a halt to any Bloodbraid/Ghitu Encampment beats, and I move to Stage 3 with Cruel Ultimatum to move to the Semifinals.
7-1-1, 14-3 games
Round 10 (Semifinal) vs. Bill Senneway – Faeries
Like many others, Fae has been my arch-nemesis since I got back into Magic 9 months ago. Earlier in the week I playtested my deck versus Matt Westfall playing Faeries, and for the first time I won a couple games and gained a little confidence in this matchup. Game 1 he plays Bitterblossom early and occasionally sweep his tokens while he watches his life total tick down. He neutralizes all my threats and takes over with double-Mistbind Clique while at 7 life. Game 2 is back-and-forth most of the way, and the card advantage gained from my cascade spells gives me the eventual victory. Game 3 he drops an early Jace and he draws a ton of cards which makes it near impossible for me to win. I probably should have used Maelstrom Pulse on Jace when I had the opportunity, but held it for bigger threats (perhaps Bitterblossom?). All 3 games were very intense and quite possibly the best match of physical Magic I have played since my comeback.
I’m almost certain I would have won that matchup with optimal play, but if nothing else, it shows I have a lot more work to do to reach the next level. That being said, I got pretty far and am very happy with my results. I will very likely pilot a similar deck in Detroit in 2 weeks.
Quick thoughts about the deck and metagame:
-Magma Spray is quite possibly the MVP of the deck. It gives the deck something to do early-game, and is murder against an opposing Kitchen Finks/Putrid Leech in the mirror.
-This deck (including the sideboard) is built to beat Swans. It runs 2 each of Runed Halo, Pithing Needle, and Thought Hemorrhage. It also has 4 Forge-tenders, which are great defenders versus early game Elves and Countryside Crusher.
-There’s still enough R/B and Jund Aggro decks out there that make the inclusion of 4 Forge-tender a good move.
-Going back to Thought Hemorrhage, I’m not sure if it gets the call off the bench versus any other decks besides Swans. Sure, you can grab your opponents’ Cryptics in the mirror, but it doesn’t stop the beatdown.
-Having 3 Cruel Ultimatum is huge. You basically get to play it every game, and having all the right mana each time is important. Therefore, no Forests or anything else that doesn’t produce b/r/u.
-Maelstrom Pulse is normally a 1-for-1 which isn’t a bad trade for you since you’re going to draw more cards in the end.
-Having Mulldrifter allows you to keep marginal hands that you would normally mulligan.
-I really wanted to find room for Pithing Needle maindeck since it is so good. Most of my maindeck spells are so good against the meta right now it’s really hard to take anything out. This makes sideboarding much, much more difficult because you need to make sure the cards you are boarding in help you more, which isn’t always the case.
-I currently have a love/hate relationship with Anathemancer. He’s good, but I hate to rely on him to win games, even though he can by himself. However, in my opinion he’s more of a “win more” card, even moreso than Cruel Ultimatum. Early game, he just sits in your hand…and late game, you’d rather have a better card like Ultimatum. He definitely sees play versus 5C and some Tokens builds, but I’m not sure what else yet.
-As long as Seismic Assault is out there, I recommend at least 2 Pithing Needle and 2 Runed Halo. They have answers, but your answers are more reliable and will stick most of the time.
-Even though the deck is 5-color, it more tempo-control than anything. As long as you have control of the tempo (which is much easier thanks to Magma Spray), the deck pretty much plays itself without many difficult decisions. That being said, the most difficult decision may be whether or not to hold mana for Cryptic versus playing Bloodbraid Elf on an empty board. I like the Bloodbraid play better most of the time.
-The whole matchup versus Faeries is all mental for me. I need to playtest until I actually understand everything and I can get over the lack of confidence thing. I also was weak versus G/W, which I probably shouldn’t be. So I need improvement there as well.
Random bits-n-pieces:
Overall it was an incredibly fun day which started at 6:30am (thank goodness my dog woke me up barking at the cat outside, because I forgot to set my alarm clock!) and ended around 1:15am. I missed the first 3-quarters of the Cavs-Magic debacle but got to take in the 4th quarter in the lounge/bar where all but 1 of the TV’s were set to the Penguins-Redwings game. There was a wedding/reception in the hall next to ours, but I don’t think there was much mingling between the 2 groups (although it would have been extremely entertaining if there was). My friend Alex Talarico came to the tournament, which was his first sanctioned event in several years. He brought a homebrewed G/W Elf deck which went very well: 6-2 and had a chance at Top 8 going into the final round. We had 175 participants, but the room capacity was only around 120, so we had an additional breakout room called – you guessed it – the Swans room (hilarity ensued when this was announced). There was one player who looked exactly like my friend Eddie Palines, but much taller. He will be forever known as “Big Eddie”. Sorry, no pictures unfortunately. This was my first Top 8 since my return to Magic last fall. My only previous Top 8 was during an Invasion-block PTQ way back in August, 2001.
Special thanks to Alex Talarico for making it out, as well as all my friends who have given me plenty of tips, insights, and playtesting: Joe Gagliardi, Matt Westfall, Aaron Wyant, John Hunka and several others I’m quite sure. And of course I can’t forget Patrick Chapin who designed the deck and has written countless strategy articles which I have taken as gospel for the past few months. I cannot wait until his new e-book, Next Level Magic is released.
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