Day 1: 6-2
Day 2: 2-4, drop
Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/985463#paper
Background:
I'm a moderately competitive player from Buffalo that has always leaned
towards B/BW decks that try to t1 Inquisition people or Smallpox you,
as characterized by members of my LGS lol. I 0-4'd at SCG Syracuse last
year on BW tokens, 4-3'd at SCG Columbus with 8 rack, and was a bit more
successful this weekend at GP Toronto.
Disclaimer:
The meta is wide open and diverse. There's only 15 possible rounds of
Swiss, and more than 15 different decks in the room, so you may not run
into some tier 1/2 decks at all, but on the other hand can run into
anything, up to and including 8 rack or Bogles. I think my day 1
performance had a good deal of luck, since I had a lot of favorable
matchups as evidenced by 5 2-0 wins. Missed connections include Burn,
Humans, Tron on day 1, any variant of Death's Shadow, any GBx deck,
Affinity, etc. The most amusing part of 8 rack is your opponents
figuring out that you're on 8 rack. The others are removing all of your
opponent's lands, or attacking with 1/1 Mutavaults.
Changes/previous
list: I switched 2 Funeral Charms out with my 4th Fatal Push and a
Bontu's from the sideboard, replacing them in the SB with 2 Pack Rats.
Day 1 (6-2)
Round 1 - Infect (2-0, 1-0)
Fairly
easy matchup. I managed to have all of the answers, and they found none
of the counter-answers. My sideboard changes are going off memory, so
they may be a little off.
-4 Raven's Crime, -1 Bontu's
+3 Fulminator Mage, +1 Dismember, +1 Night of Soul's Betrayal
Round 2 - Hollow One (0-2, 1-1)
First
game is pretty close. Both games I manage to turn 1 IoK their loot
spell (Faithless Looting, Burning Inquiry), then they top deck another
one :/
Their
deck is kind of built to beat ours. Inquisition is bad against their
threats, not hitting the big stuff, and putting their smaller stuff
(Bloodghast, Flamewake Phoenix) into the graveyard for them. Still
necessary to hit their enablers and other spells. Faithless Looting in
both this deck & Mardu Pyromancer are great against us, since they
can sculpt their hand even from the GY.
-4 Fatal Push, -2 Collective Brutality
+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Bontu's, +1 Dismember
I
chose to take the play here, aiming to remove their early looting, but
he topdecks too strongly. I see no Leyline in openers, and just go for
it.
At this point, I go over to a vendor and pick up 3 more GP Mutavaults for 13 USD ea.
Round 3 - Merfolk (2-0, 2-1)
Game 1 I keep a sketchy hand of Swamp, Mutavault, Mutavault, Mutavault, Inquisition, Fatal Push?, and Thoughtseize?.
On my turn 1 I see a hand of Master of the Pearl Trident, MotPT, Spreading Seas, Master of Waves, Island - take Spreading Seas.
My opponent tried to put both MotPTs onto the field but I Push + Brutality them.
A poorly-thought-out Lord of Atlantis from them turns my Merfolk-vaults into a quick clock.
-2 Collective Brutality
+1 Bontu's, +1 Dismember
I
find a lot of disruption, see them ditch a Lord of Atlantis to Raven's
Crime, cast a value Smallpox, and find all 4 of my shiny GP Merfolk
Illusion lands to beat them down through an empty board.
Round 4 - Storm (2-0, 3-1)
Almost lost game 1 to double Electromancer beats, but I stabilize.
-4
Smallpox (hurts me more than it hurts them I think), -1 Collective
Brutality (most lists run more Baral than Electromancer, I think?)
+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Night of Soul's Betrayal
No Leyline, clean sweep. They try to go off in desperation after Lili hits the board, but it doesn't do it.
Round 5 - Lantern (2-0, 4-1)
I disrupt them and cut off the lock pretty quickly.
Game 1 Thoughtseize a Witchbane Orb, early concession from them.
-4 Fatal Push, -4 Smallpox, -3 Collective Brutality, -1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
+4 Leyline of the Void, +4 Fulminator Mage, +2 Pack Rat, +2 Surgical Extraction (better than having creature removal, eh?)
Two Shrieking Afflictions provide a quick clock after tearing apart their hand.
Round 6 - Storm (2-0, 5-1)
Some early Raven's Crimes, but I don't get to see their hand. I Collective Brutality and they concede.
Sideboard: see round 4
I
take a Remand, kill their Baral, and according to the life totals I
killed them with two Goblin Wizards of my own. I think they might have
gotten stuck on lands?
Round 7 - Hollow One (0-2, 5-2)
Early 4/x provides beats, then Flamewake Phoenix and Bloodghast join the party.
Same sideboard plan as round 2.
Game 2: Dead again.
Round 8 - UW Control (2-1, 6-2)
Flooded
Strand opener puts them on UWx something. A discard spell lets me take a
Runed Halo, and I know it's UW control. I had the opportunity to
Smallpox them at 4 lands, and they get away with dropping Gideon Jura.
Double Mutavaults aren't great, and I die to the beefslab.
-4 Smallpox, -3 Fatal Push?, -3 Collective Brutality, -1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
+4 Fulminator Mage, +4 Leyline of the Void, +2 Pack Rat, +1 Dismember
Memory
is hazy on this sideboard plan, but I think it's right? Search for
Azcanta basically turns off Racks, and I anticipate correctly that
they'll sideboard out Verdicts.
Turn
1 Thoughtseize takes a Search for Azcanta, sees a clear path for t2
Pack Rat. It's like playing RTR-THS standard, but the UW opponent
doesn't have their Verdicts. A couple more Rats with Rat lands nails
them.
No real SB changes for game 3, though my notes seem to have gotten lost.
I
got in with Pack Rat a few times, then got board-wiped. My opponent
plays a Runed Halo, I call a judge to clarify how it interacts with The
Rack and planeswalker redirection (tl;dr opponent gets to choose
replacement effects, it does not work out in our favor). I don't
remember what else I had, but I was keeping them on low lands and maybe
beating down with my own 2/2 Human Soldier. I topdeck a Shrieking
Affliction and it seals the deal.
Day 2
Round 9 - Mono G Tron (1-2, 6-3)
Notes indicate that I conceded at a life total of 21-10, so I think it was after a resolved Wurmcoil Engine.
-4 Fatal Push, -3 Collective Brutality
+4 Fulminator Mage, +2 Surgical Extraction, +1 Bontu's
They
play a couple Ballistae, that I get rid of via Smallpox eh. Once
they've assembled Tron, I surgical a discarded Karn on draw step and see
2 more Ballistae in hand :| At least I won that game.
Game 3: Didn't find enough interaction, died to a 4/4 Ballista
Round 10 - Jeskai Tempo (2-0, 7-3)
Turn
1 shockland, pass, telegraphing Opt. Look at their hand, see Flooded
Strand, Cryptic Command, Opt, Vendilion Clique, Snapcaster, Field of
Ruin. I take the Snapcaster. Iirc I Thoughtseize Cryptic later, kill
Clique, get Lightning Helix'd, and finish the game with a Shrieking
Affliction.
I've
identified that they're on Tempo more than control. No Colonnades seen,
but I side out Push since I can't turn on Revolt. Collective Brutality
seems fine. Again, fearful of Azcanta, but I don't overboard lol.
-3 Fatal Push, -1 Bontu's Last Reckoning
+4 Fulminator Mage
I
seem to be missing hand notes, but I think I intuited that they had a
Snapcaster in hand? Cast turn 3 Liliana, +1'd, they flashed in
Snapcaster and targeted Opt, discarded last card, cast Opt in end step.
Attack Lili to 2, but I have my 1 Fatal Push. Two Shrieking Afflictions
and an active Lili clean it up.
Round 11 - UR Breach (2-0, 8-3)
An
early Raven's Crime prompts an interesting conversation. My opponent
played faced an 8 rack player in the "turbo-town" (irl 2 man queue)
modern Saturday night, who told him that an 8 rack player had made day
2!!! So he knew there was an 8 rack player, but totally didn't expect
it.
Targeted
discard puts them on UR something, Smallpox a couple times to keep
them off of 4 mana, and they discard a Through the Breach late in the
game, so that's them figured out.
I
forget my sideboard changes, but it was pretty minimal. Talking with my
opponent, they had notes on matchup impressions and 8 rack was one of
the two "double minus" matchups lol
Game
2 they take the draw, so I see a full 7 - 2 mismatched Islands,
Polluted Delta, Snapcaster, Remand, Through the Breach, Madcap. Clear
the Remand, and I think Raven's Crime got everything else.
Round 12 - Mardu Pyromancer (1-2, 8-4)
So
this is the sad part of my day. I disrupt their hand, and apparently
got two Rack effects online to clock for 6 a turn, but they got on board
and hit me to 13, 3, and lethal while they finished at 2. Bedlam
Reveler is a beating.
-4 Smallpox, -2 Liliana of the Veil
+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Bontu's, +1 Night of Soul's Betrayal
I
take the play, discard a Faithless Looting, Liliana of the Veil, and
something else. I have an active rack going, drop Night on two Spirit
tokens, and they concede.
Game
3 they get a bunch of Lingering Souls tokens while I have no answers.
Opponent does commit an error, fetching for a basic Mountain off of
Marsh Flats, explaining that with my Urborg, they didn't see the need to
grab Blood Crypt (the deck also plays Blood Moon, I guess). Judge call,
gets a warning, low impact on game since they could have just grabbed
tapped Blood Crypt on end step :| Results-oriented thinking, but I
wouldn't have won anyways since I drew about 6 lands without a Raven's
Crime.
Round 13 - GB Tron, Seth Manfield (0-2, 8-5)
"So that's the way it's going to be" -Seth Manfield, with Raven's Crime on the stack.
Seth resolves 2 Wurmcoil Engines and it's over.
sideboard: see round 9
I
take the play, Inquisition to see a hand of GQ, Karn, Karn, Fatal Push,
Ancient Stirrings, Expedition Map, Chromatic Sphere. What's the take?
I took Stirrings, though Sphere was a consideration
So
I have a Lili on 6, Shrieking Affliction on field, know of a Sanctum of
Ugin in hand off Expedition Map, Seth has Tron + GQ on field.
I
take a bad line, ulting Lili. GQ+Tower, Mine+Power Plant. Seth keeps
the Mine+Power Plant. I Thoughtseize next turn, and find that he's
topdecked a Tower. :|
Finds a Wurmcoil Engine, I do get a Bontu's, then die.
Round 14 - Titanshift (1-2, 8-6 drop)
I Collective Brutality on turn 2, see Scapeshift, Chandra Flamecaller, Forest, Forest, Cinder Glade.
Smallpox to hold them off 6 mana, and I think I killed them using 2 of my 2/2 Giant Snake Shamans.
-4 Fatal Push, -2 Collective Brutality?
+4 Fulminator Mage, +2 Surgical Extraction
I
play a blind Wrench Mind and die to Obstinate Baloth, which apparently
he's running 3 out of the side. Seems like a good call vs Hollow One
decks.
-1 Collective Brutality
+1 Bontu's
7 cards, no lands
6 cards, 5 swamps, 1 Urborg
Die to 2 Baloths, the first hardcast, the second due to me misplaying Lili. Was moderately on tilt.
Bonus feature:
Went to the turbo-town seeking redemption, went 3-0 vs
Abzan Company (minimal combo), Affinity, Abzan Eldrazi ???
Future:
My current goal will be to make day 2 again and achieve a winning day 2 record
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