Top8magic tournament at NG
For Top8Magic's free tournament at Neutral Ground on Saturday I ran U/R Wafo-Tapa Control (basically just your standard U/R Control).
Here's the list I ran and how I did:
2 Keiga, the Tide Star
2 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
4 Repeal
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
4 Boomerang
4 Hinder
4 Electrolyze
3 Rewind
3 Tidings
2 Confiscate
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
4 Shivan Reef
4 Steam Vents
3 Mountain
10 Island
SB:
4 Pyroclasm
4 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Giant Solifuge
3 Annex
There were approx. 20 people, so it would be 5 rounds and cut to top-8.
Round 1: Elias, with modified Roxodon Hierarchy (B/W/G Control)
Elias destroys in a quick two games. I get stuck on mana in the first, and a Vitu-Ghazi token becomes Ink-Eyes. Sigh... I brought in Solifuges and Annexes, and despite stealing two Vitu-Ghazis (Annex + Confiscate) he is able to kill me in a few quick swings with a Kodama of the North Tree that he found with Congregation at Dawn. Elias' build is a mish-mash of the original Roxodon Hierarchy (i.e. the Beach House deck) and B/W/G Greater Good: he runs Tribe Elders and Farseeks for mana acceleration (instead of Signets), and Divining Tops as "tutors" (instead of the House-Guard engine, that I personally like more). Elias always seems to do well when I lend him cards, :-).
0-2 (Games), 0-1 (Rounds)
Round 2: WorstHeartbeatPlayerEver (tm), with Heartbeat
It's not so much that he was a bad "Heartbeat" player, but rather just a bad player period. I don't think he'd been playing for too long, and he was extremely nervous throughout our whole match, forgetting to draw cards for the turn, mistapping his mana in the worst possible way (e.g.- knowing he's up against a deck with Remands he'd tap GG to play an Elder on turn 4, instead of UG, leaving only UU up; he alsop did the same thing when he tried to play a Heartbeat a turn or two later, leaving him unable to replay it that turn), and just generally misplaying (e.g.- my maindeck Repeals are pretty bad against him, but for some reason I was able to Repeal his Divining Top at least 2 times in Game 1). Anyway, he wins Game 1 after me stalling on 4 lands for all of eternity, despite having cast all 4 Remands, a few Electrolyzes and some Repeals. I win Games 2 and 3 with my SB plan: Giant Solifuge and Annex, :-).
2-1, 1-1
Round 3: U/B Aggro-Control (Hyppies, Cutpurses, bounce and counters)
When I Boomerang his second land he responds by replaying it on his next turn and casting Eye of Nowhere on one of my lands. He's not really able to get anything annoying through my counters, burn and bounce, and I eventually drop a Keiga followed by a Niv-Mizzet and win. Game 2 is even worse for him, since I bring in Pyroclasms to Wrath his team.
2-0, 2-1
Round 4: Sean with his modified Ghost-Dad
I don't really remember much about these games, other than that Sean wins Game 1 by topdecking a Sickening Shoal (discarding Ghost Dad #1) for my Niv-Mizzet right after I tap out to play him, and proceeds to play Ghost Dad #2 for the win. I win Game 2, but don't remember much about it. In Game 3 I seem to recall it being pretty close, with me unable to draw a Dragon to stop his Tallowisp and KoALa, so I lose. Details, Sean?
1-2, 2-2
Round 5: Small Child playing Mike's WW/r
I win Game 1 by countering, bouncing and killing his little men, and bring it home with a Dragon. I board in Pyroclasms and Threads, cutting expensive spells, but lose Game 2 to his absolute barrage of burn (all 4 Lightning Helixes, a Char, a Shock or two and a Volcanic Hammer). I was on 4 life and he had just one card in hand, and for some reason I decide to tap out during his EOT to Electrolyze him and a draw a card, and he reveals Char. Sigh... I would've had a tough time winning, anyway, since I didn't have a Dragon yet, and he just had a TON of burn. In Game 3 he again draws a barrage of burn, and at one point I Threads his Isamaru, which deters his attack for a turn or two, during which time I draw and resolve a Keiga, who starts on the offensive. When his KoALa shows up to nuke my Threads Miren decides to eat up the dog, and I use Minamo to untap Keiga and eat his Savannah Lions. I'm still on only 4 life, so it's not looking that hot, but my deck produces a steady stream of bounce for the dudes he was trying to equip with Jitte, and he scoops it up to Keiga.
2-1, 3-2
I squeak into the top-8 as the 8th seed (much to Calcanu's chagrin, since he finished 9th).
Quarters: Steve, with Vore
I'm confidant going into these games, since I know that if I'm either on the play or he's on the play but doesn't have the turn 2 Eye of Nowhere, I should be fine. My deck is running 15 counters, including 8 2-mana counters for his LD/bounce. I win a long game 1 with a Keiga after a few bounce-battles. He had double Magnivore for the win on his last turn, but I had Boomerangs for them. I don't think I boarded anything in (Pyros/Threads are useless, he has stuff like Flectomancers to block my Solifuges, and I'd rather have extra counters than Annexes). I'm on the draw in Game 2, but he has to mull and doesn't have a turn 2 Eye, so it's looking good. Again the game goes long, with him being mana-screwed early and trying to resolve both my Keigas. Each time, however, he is able to either win the counter war or otherwise get rid of it, so I find myself with two Keigas in the yard and no other win conditions in site. I finally hit my Nivs in the last 10 or so cards of my deck, and win in a few swings, Rewinding a Wildfire to make sure Niv survived. After the match Steve and I talk a bit and he agrees that I had the definite advantage in this matchup.
2-0, 4-2
Semis: Mark, with Evil.dec (Heartbeat)
I'm also confidant going into these games, since I like my SB plan for Heartbeat. It's looking good for me in Game 1, as I'm able to get a Keiga down and get him down to 5 life without him going off. I get greedy, however, and decide to tap out in a counter-war over his Boomerang (targetting my Keiga, obv) in order to force him to go off during his turn. He of course does, :-(. I bring in Solifuges and Annexes, and win Game 2 handily after setting him back with some early Boomerangs (BDM was having me yell "Wafo-Tapa!" whenever I did that) and Annexing two of his lands (one of which was the Forest I needed to play both the Solifuges in my hand along with my lone Steam Vents). In Game 3 I get stuck on 3 lands for a while with nothing but Annexes and Rewinds in my hand. He's on the man/combo plan (i.e.- he can win either way), and he has a Kudzu that is rapidly getting huge. When I'm on 8 life I topdeck the Boomerang necessary to live another turn (courtesy of Sean's magic touch), but Mark proceeds to just combo me out instead of trying to win with the replayed Kudzu.
1-2, 4-3
So I got a foil Armageddon for my troubles, and Mark proceeded to beat Elias 2-0 in the finals, netting him a foil Sol Ring and Elias a foil Mishra's Factory (I told you he always does well when I lend him cards!).
Overall I liked the deck, but would definitely make some changes if I were to run it again. It could use Compulsive Research, to not get stuck on lands in the early turns so much (which I found surprising, given the amount of cheap cantrips the deck runs [Repeal, Remand, Electrolyze]; Research is also excellent with Niv-Mizzet), and I think I'd like a 4th Annex in the SB for the control matchups. For the Researches I think I could make room by cutting some number of Repeals and one or teo other spells. I'm also not sure what the appropriate Dragon balance is; 3 Keiga/1 Niv-Mizzet might be better, or even something like Ryusei.
Luis
Here's the list I ran and how I did:
2 Keiga, the Tide Star
2 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
4 Repeal
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
4 Boomerang
4 Hinder
4 Electrolyze
3 Rewind
3 Tidings
2 Confiscate
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
4 Shivan Reef
4 Steam Vents
3 Mountain
10 Island
SB:
4 Pyroclasm
4 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Giant Solifuge
3 Annex
There were approx. 20 people, so it would be 5 rounds and cut to top-8.
Round 1: Elias, with modified Roxodon Hierarchy (B/W/G Control)
Elias destroys in a quick two games. I get stuck on mana in the first, and a Vitu-Ghazi token becomes Ink-Eyes. Sigh... I brought in Solifuges and Annexes, and despite stealing two Vitu-Ghazis (Annex + Confiscate) he is able to kill me in a few quick swings with a Kodama of the North Tree that he found with Congregation at Dawn. Elias' build is a mish-mash of the original Roxodon Hierarchy (i.e. the Beach House deck) and B/W/G Greater Good: he runs Tribe Elders and Farseeks for mana acceleration (instead of Signets), and Divining Tops as "tutors" (instead of the House-Guard engine, that I personally like more). Elias always seems to do well when I lend him cards, :-).
0-2 (Games), 0-1 (Rounds)
Round 2: WorstHeartbeatPlayerEver (tm), with Heartbeat
It's not so much that he was a bad "Heartbeat" player, but rather just a bad player period. I don't think he'd been playing for too long, and he was extremely nervous throughout our whole match, forgetting to draw cards for the turn, mistapping his mana in the worst possible way (e.g.- knowing he's up against a deck with Remands he'd tap GG to play an Elder on turn 4, instead of UG, leaving only UU up; he alsop did the same thing when he tried to play a Heartbeat a turn or two later, leaving him unable to replay it that turn), and just generally misplaying (e.g.- my maindeck Repeals are pretty bad against him, but for some reason I was able to Repeal his Divining Top at least 2 times in Game 1). Anyway, he wins Game 1 after me stalling on 4 lands for all of eternity, despite having cast all 4 Remands, a few Electrolyzes and some Repeals. I win Games 2 and 3 with my SB plan: Giant Solifuge and Annex, :-).
2-1, 1-1
Round 3: U/B Aggro-Control (Hyppies, Cutpurses, bounce and counters)
When I Boomerang his second land he responds by replaying it on his next turn and casting Eye of Nowhere on one of my lands. He's not really able to get anything annoying through my counters, burn and bounce, and I eventually drop a Keiga followed by a Niv-Mizzet and win. Game 2 is even worse for him, since I bring in Pyroclasms to Wrath his team.
2-0, 2-1
Round 4: Sean with his modified Ghost-Dad
I don't really remember much about these games, other than that Sean wins Game 1 by topdecking a Sickening Shoal (discarding Ghost Dad #1) for my Niv-Mizzet right after I tap out to play him, and proceeds to play Ghost Dad #2 for the win. I win Game 2, but don't remember much about it. In Game 3 I seem to recall it being pretty close, with me unable to draw a Dragon to stop his Tallowisp and KoALa, so I lose. Details, Sean?
1-2, 2-2
Round 5: Small Child playing Mike's WW/r
I win Game 1 by countering, bouncing and killing his little men, and bring it home with a Dragon. I board in Pyroclasms and Threads, cutting expensive spells, but lose Game 2 to his absolute barrage of burn (all 4 Lightning Helixes, a Char, a Shock or two and a Volcanic Hammer). I was on 4 life and he had just one card in hand, and for some reason I decide to tap out during his EOT to Electrolyze him and a draw a card, and he reveals Char. Sigh... I would've had a tough time winning, anyway, since I didn't have a Dragon yet, and he just had a TON of burn. In Game 3 he again draws a barrage of burn, and at one point I Threads his Isamaru, which deters his attack for a turn or two, during which time I draw and resolve a Keiga, who starts on the offensive. When his KoALa shows up to nuke my Threads Miren decides to eat up the dog, and I use Minamo to untap Keiga and eat his Savannah Lions. I'm still on only 4 life, so it's not looking that hot, but my deck produces a steady stream of bounce for the dudes he was trying to equip with Jitte, and he scoops it up to Keiga.
2-1, 3-2
I squeak into the top-8 as the 8th seed (much to Calcanu's chagrin, since he finished 9th).
Quarters: Steve, with Vore
I'm confidant going into these games, since I know that if I'm either on the play or he's on the play but doesn't have the turn 2 Eye of Nowhere, I should be fine. My deck is running 15 counters, including 8 2-mana counters for his LD/bounce. I win a long game 1 with a Keiga after a few bounce-battles. He had double Magnivore for the win on his last turn, but I had Boomerangs for them. I don't think I boarded anything in (Pyros/Threads are useless, he has stuff like Flectomancers to block my Solifuges, and I'd rather have extra counters than Annexes). I'm on the draw in Game 2, but he has to mull and doesn't have a turn 2 Eye, so it's looking good. Again the game goes long, with him being mana-screwed early and trying to resolve both my Keigas. Each time, however, he is able to either win the counter war or otherwise get rid of it, so I find myself with two Keigas in the yard and no other win conditions in site. I finally hit my Nivs in the last 10 or so cards of my deck, and win in a few swings, Rewinding a Wildfire to make sure Niv survived. After the match Steve and I talk a bit and he agrees that I had the definite advantage in this matchup.
2-0, 4-2
Semis: Mark, with Evil.dec (Heartbeat)
I'm also confidant going into these games, since I like my SB plan for Heartbeat. It's looking good for me in Game 1, as I'm able to get a Keiga down and get him down to 5 life without him going off. I get greedy, however, and decide to tap out in a counter-war over his Boomerang (targetting my Keiga, obv) in order to force him to go off during his turn. He of course does, :-(. I bring in Solifuges and Annexes, and win Game 2 handily after setting him back with some early Boomerangs (BDM was having me yell "Wafo-Tapa!" whenever I did that) and Annexing two of his lands (one of which was the Forest I needed to play both the Solifuges in my hand along with my lone Steam Vents). In Game 3 I get stuck on 3 lands for a while with nothing but Annexes and Rewinds in my hand. He's on the man/combo plan (i.e.- he can win either way), and he has a Kudzu that is rapidly getting huge. When I'm on 8 life I topdeck the Boomerang necessary to live another turn (courtesy of Sean's magic touch), but Mark proceeds to just combo me out instead of trying to win with the replayed Kudzu.
1-2, 4-3
So I got a foil Armageddon for my troubles, and Mark proceeded to beat Elias 2-0 in the finals, netting him a foil Sol Ring and Elias a foil Mishra's Factory (I told you he always does well when I lend him cards!).
Overall I liked the deck, but would definitely make some changes if I were to run it again. It could use Compulsive Research, to not get stuck on lands in the early turns so much (which I found surprising, given the amount of cheap cantrips the deck runs [Repeal, Remand, Electrolyze]; Research is also excellent with Niv-Mizzet), and I think I'd like a 4th Annex in the SB for the control matchups. For the Researches I think I could make room by cutting some number of Repeals and one or teo other spells. I'm also not sure what the appropriate Dragon balance is; 3 Keiga/1 Niv-Mizzet might be better, or even something like Ryusei.
Luis