Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/5571641
Pioneer Challenger decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4250445
Kanister primer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNk5dXzkpz8
(did you know that in an educational context, primer is pronounced "primmer" ?)
- Qualified for Dreamhack Dallas, which is Pioneer. Figured I should dip my toes in the format before I fly a thousand miles and spend hundreds of dollars on the trip.
- Initial overview of format is sort of where old modern used to be: a more powerful version of standard, with a number of combo decks operating on different axes.
- Without fetchlands the manabases in Pioneer are significantly worse, but it may also be that midrange/control decks no longer need that third color to shore up their weaknesses.
- I selected Lotus Field Combo as my entry point into the format, since I owned the expensive cards from modern (land base - fastlands, Boseijus, Otawaras), could buy the core via Pioneer Challenger deck, then dropped some cash on the rest, mostly sideboard cards.
- Then between the combo nature of the format (including the various combat decks), the anti-combo SBing, and the weaker manabase it felt like folks were mulliganing left and right in my games. I logged seven mulligans over thirteen games in the five Swiss rounds, mostly unplayable land hands (e.g. Lotus Field as the only land(s) lmao). Meanwhile my opponents logged ten mulligans (admittedly six of them from my round 3 opponent).
The combo & notes:
- Aim to make double Lotus on turn 4, combo on turn 5
- Casting Ultimatum with double field & U up (and spell mastery) is win through no interaction
- Ultimatum for Omniscience + Dark Petition (DP) + Behold the Beyond (BtB)
- Omniscience + BtB (end state of other lines):
- BtB for Mastermind's & Bala Ged Recovery, (BGR) any other card (DP)
- Grab Approach, cast from hand with Omni, then Recovery DP, DP for Approach and recast
- Dark Petition + BtB:
- Cast DP first, then BtB for BGR + Hidden Strings + Omniscience, DP for Hidden Strings
- UBBB mana after DP, HS are + 4 mana so just cast Omniscience, then BGR the BtB
- Then go BtB for combo
- Omniscience + DP: DP for BtB
- If any combo pieces are in hand or GY, can sub for HS for more mana or Lier to recur
- 1 Lotus field, 1 color-producing land, and 2 HS can cast Ultimatum
- 4 mana -> 6 -> 8
- (Lotus Field for BBB, land for U, HS with BB floating, tap for UUUUU, HS with BBUUU floating, Lotus Field for GGG and cast Ultimatum with other land untapped)
- Omniscience, DP, Lier will guarantee an Omniscience in play
Round 1 vs Stevey V on RU Creativity (1-2, 0-1)
OTP, we both start off with some mulligans.
G1 he T4 endsteps Big Score into T5 Indomitable Creativity, whatever.
In: 1 Sphinx of the Final Word, 1 Thought Distortion, 2 Fading Hope
Out: 3 Arboreal Grazer, 1 Shimmer of Possibility
Can't bring in Hope Tenders since they play a couple sets of the Fire Prophecy & co. cards and can't afford to side them out due to the deck construction.
G2 get 'im with the Fading Hope on a Worldspine Wurm, combo off a couple of turns later
G3 Work through some Make Disappears, Boseiju a clue token when he casts Creativity for 2, but then I'm still facing a a flipped Fable with Worldspine Wurm on the board (50/50 chance). So this is my final turn, and I suspect he's on soft counters after the aforementioned Big Score into two cards and two Treasure tokens. I make extra mana and meet a Negate that I couldn't have played around gg
We chatted between rounds so he knew what deck I was on.
He then prophesized that the match would be quick and heavily favored in my direction. He was correct.
In: 1 Depopulate, 1 Path of Peril
Out: 2 Arboreal Grazer
G1 Start OTP, mulligan once two 6, he mulligans twice to 5. He runs out Burning Tree Emissary into Voltaic Brawler, I hardcast a Vizier to with the theory of walling the 2/2 BTE (small misplay). Lose it in combat to Atarka's Command, die to BTE-Reckless Bushwhacker the following turn.
In: 1 Path of Peril, 1 Ritual of Soot, 1 Depopulate, 1 Dragonlord Dromoka
Out: 3 Grazer 1 Shimmer I think
G2 Opponent mulligans to 4, I see a Hopeful Initiate as their white presence, board wipe them to oblivion, drop a Dragonlord Dromoka and combo off for good measure.
G3 He mulligans to 6, plays a T2 Thalia, T3 BTE into nothing, clocks me a few times to at 6 life. I Sylvan Scrying on turn 3 through the tax, Lotus Field on turn 4 with a cycle-untap and bounce Thalia on his turn with Otawara to combo out the next.
SB guide vs Mono W recommends to SB out the combo, but this is not mono W rocking >10 tax effects. Maybe right to keep in Grazers, but he showed me a lot of 3 power creatures, or 2 powered with pump effects.
Round 4 vs Dan T on BR Midrange (2-0, 3-1)
Pair down. We acknowledge that I am playing for top 8, while he is not. With 19 people, 5 Swiss rounds, cut to top 8 the only X-2s making it in need to have kingly tiebreakers i.e. start off in the winner's bracket (or get a R1 bye) and have losses in later rounds. He also does not feel favored vs Lotus Field, much like my R2 opponent. I misplay my turn 1 in game 1 but it ends up being inconsequential.
With the extra time in the round, I head on over to STICKY FACE BBQ, who make a nice big bowl of mac 'n' cheese. gg pro move
Round 5 vs Ryan G on GR Vehicles (2-1, 4-1)
7 people with >9 pts going into round 5 and I get another pair down. He's in a position to play for top 8, so we get to it.
G1 He mulls, but he chains a T1 elf into a T2 elf which is slow enough for me to combo and take my time explaining the steps.
In: 1 Path of Peril, 1 Ritual of Soot
Out: 2 Arboreal Grazer
G2: I get to a game state where I have a Lotus Field and two lands, staring down double Elf, Esika's Chariot, and five Cat tokens from a second legend-ruled Chariot. I tunnel vision onto my Pore Over the Pages and forget about my Dark Petition-Path of Peril line that would have turned this game into Easy Street.
G3: I recall seeing a Migloz, wiping the board, and then winning. Deck just doesn't pressure me quickly enough.
I come out of Swiss with a stunning opponent match win percentage of 37.9% from double pair downs. But because I won out in R5 I'm seeded second above all the 3-1-1 IDers nice
Quarterfinals vs John L (7) on RU Creativity (2-1)
Games 1 and 2 I keep awkward 7 card hands (ex. no blue sources, just T3 Lotus after doing nothing).
In: 1 Dragonlord Dromoka, 1 Sphinx of the Final Word, 1 Thought Distortion, 2 Fading Hope
Out: 4 Arboreal Grazer, 1 Shimmer of Possibility
Game 3 I cast a Thought Distortion with him having no threat of comboing, casts a Dig Through Time but I just combo out the next turn.
Quote of the match:
"So how long have you been playing that deck?"
"About five hours"
Semifinals vs Patrick P (3) on BR Midrange (2-0)
I Otawara'd a Liliana of the Veil on 6, but I had an extra cushion of resources. Boseiju'd a Pithing Needle post-board, and also brought in Pithing Needle since I saw a few utility lands and he seemed to be leaning on LotV more.
This matchup definitely feels Lotus-favored.
Finals vs Alex Z (4) on Lotus Field (2-1)
I actually faced Alex in the finals of a Modern RCQ last month (and won). I'm wondering if this will become a trend.
G1 He runs out a Voyaging Satyr, pretty sure the game is over so I run my Thespian's Stage into a Boseiju whatever.
In: 3 Hope Tender, 1 Thought Distortion
Out: 4 Arboreal Grazer
G2 I get a Hope Tender out while opponent is still on Grazers. We both get Liers out, but I have Lotus Fields and Hidden Strings, cipher onto my Hope Tender, and end up casting a Thought Distortion into a concession. It was a bit awkward that I cast my Behold the Beyond + Dark Petition off Ultimatum, but all three Bala Ged Recoveries were already in hand so I had to discard.
G3 I'm a little annoyed that I didn't get to cast a Ciphered Hidden Strings so I messed around a bit to draw a ton of cards. I get a Hope Tender and Lier out again, Thought Distortion again to clear their hand and yard of spells, they Boseiju my Omniscience after I get the mana for it yadda yadda. I grab a Zacama to ensure I can't lose (can kill their Omniscience) and end up flashing back Mastermind's Acquisition to just Approach -> hardcast Approach -> flashback Pore Over the Pages three times to draw it & recast.
