Introduction:
- I've been a bit remiss about recent reports, but suffice it to say that I've 1-3'd and 2-2'd several events with Sultai and a little bit of Mardu Pyro
- So Spring // Mind was a bust
- I've added maindeck Surgical mostly for Phoenix, but haven't seen it much lately.
- Gearhulk as 4th Snapcaster
Round 1 vs Christian on UW Control (2-0, 1-0)
Christian's deck features all the new toys from the recent sets: Narset, 3-feri, Dovin's Veto.
Game 1 I countered all his threats, then USZ'd repeatedly until my deck was all Nexus & USZ, effectively threatening to deck him. Pulse of Murasa & Snap-Pulse was pretty crucial to accumulating enough mana. In total, I cast USZ 4 times for 7, 9, 11, then 9 again to empty my deck.
Game 2 he mulls to 5, but has quite a few Dovin's Veto to win counter wars vs my embarrassing Dispel. I USZ 'dfor 8, Surgical'd Path, then won with a Snapcaster + Gearhulk beats.
Round 2 vs Mike K on not-KCI (2-0, 2-0)
I've played Mike & his deck before, though he previously had access to KCI. There are very clear targets to counter/remove from his deck, so it was a fairly straightforward match. The combo involves Semblance Anvil, Alhammaret's Archive, and Aetherflux Reservoir, alongside a suite of Tron lands, Buried Ruin, and 2 mana cantripping artifacts.
Game 1 he had a Buried Ruin-heavy hand, allowing him to rebuy artifacts a few times. No Reclamation/USZ/Nexus shenanigans, so I just hit him a few times with a Snapcaster for pressure. Teachings for Surgical in response to Buried Ruin on Reservoir led to a relatively early concession.
Game 2 was much the same of the first - non of the shenanigans, turn 1 Spell Snare as a stumbling block. Went draw-go for several turns, and I was holding on to a pile of Cryptics/Remands/Snapcasters that eventually led to double Snapcaster beats with double counter backup. He tried to stall me out with an Elsewhere Flask into Echoing Truth lol.
I appreciate the deck, because it's an interesting proto-brew of the KCI archetype. Admittedly, it lacks the same enablers, payoffs, and resiliency, but it's certainly a combo deck that has the trademark unfairness of modern (oh hey, mana reduction is broken who'd have thought).
Round 3 vs Brendan F on Humans (1-2, 2-1)
Game 1 I managed to chain Cryptics into Gearhulk-Cryptics into just enough swing-Gearhulk-Teachings-Teachings-Nexus-repeat to win.
Game 2 he had the SB cards: an early Sin Collector, Knight of Autumn vs a Reclamation I didn't play with Cryptic backup.
Game 3 I misplay. He has a huge board, and I'm able to stabilize with a Pulse (protecting myself from Vial'd Mantis Riders) and Cryptics. However, Surgical on Thalia reveals that he has a Selfless Spirit, protecting him from my Consume the Meek in hand. I misplay, by using Gearhulk to flashback Cryptic tap-draw when I should have been bouncing Gearhulk to stall. I need a third black source to Push Spirit + Consume on his turn, but then it turns out he topdecked a Phantasmal Image and I can't answer with two lands + CtM in hand.
- Sultai with Growth Spiral on 2 is a very different deck than Sultai without.
- Maybe don't need maindeck Surgical, but it's nice & the opportunity cost is low.
- Among the store owner & players present, I guess I'm known as the brews guy lol. I hope I can find & play more fringe but competitive decks since they're a ton of fun.
- Got foil Mystical Teachings! Not ideal since the deck is part foils & part non-foil, so there's the concern of marked cards.
