Worse than last week, but better over all standings. Last week, as I had found out through the nifty Planeswalker Points website, I was 7th over all, today I was 6th. Not bad, certainly improving, although I did use a different deck today, I would explain in a moment why. I think it was also because the tourney was smaller, and I did get less Planeswalker Points, but again, I'd take it! Getting there, I guess.
Oh, right, it certainly is not Friday today, so what gives? Well, I had intended this series to be all about my FNM ventures, as I had initially planned to only play in the FNMs, but Wabshaq, a relatively new shop closer to where I live, had a tournament today and because it's closer to home, I decided to give the tourney a shot. There was comparatively less people than last week's FNM turnout (10 versus 22), but the tourney certainly wasn't lacking in variety. The shop owners were also very nice and very welcoming; both even entered the tourney, and I was able to battle with one (I'm pretty excited to talk about that match, as I did like his deck a lot). Overall, a very fun night, and with it's proximity to where I live, I'm certainly going there again sometime soon.
So yes, I have to think of a new title for this series, but for now, my tourney experience.
But before anything else!
Let me take a quick moment to talk about the deck I ran for this tournament. I will provide the decklist sometime soon, but for now, let me just talk about its basic strategy.
Tempo is a nightmare of a deck to play against, if played properly, and has been a staple of Standard ever since Delver of Secrets got printed. While tempo decks no longer play Delver, it is by no means weaker; in fact I think it might have gotten stronger given the tools provided by the newer sets. I'm sure tempo has been played even before Delver of Secrets, but that card epitomized tempo, that and the all-star card I would talk about in a while.
IT IS INDEED MOMENTOUS, THE PRINTING
OF THIS CARD
The version I play does not play Delver, as I don't run an amount of instants and sorceries enough to consistently flip a Delver, and because cards like Ponder which can sculpt the top cards of ones library are no longer legal in Standard. Instead, my deck relies on Geist of Saint Traft, Restoration Angel and Thundermaw Hellkite to bring the opponent from 20 to 0, and use countermagic, blue removal, and Snapcaster Mage to deal with threats. By the way, Geist of Saint Traft? That guy is plenty powerful, a true all star card wrapped in a relatively easy to cast package.
BEWARE THE ANGELS THAT STRIKE
WITH THE SAINTS
This creature can be cast as early as the third turn, and with Hexproof, he's almost always Game Over for the unprepared. He strikes for six at a time, and presents the opponent with a four turn clock. If they don't have a way to deal with him, either through sacrifice effects, mass removal, or a creature big enough to block him, he or she would be getting a beating from the Saint and his Angel.
Of course, it's easy to put a body in front of this guy, which is why the deck has a lot of ways to deal with potential means of hindering the beat down plan. Countermagic and burn means the opponents would never be able to stick a creature or aim a removal spell on our benevolent beater, and Snapcaster Mage ensures they'd never be able to resolve anything by recycling spent countermagic. Meanwhile, Restoration Angel serves multiple roles, as an instant speed threat, a way to recycle Snapcaster Mages (which recycles spent instants or sorceries) and an additional way to protect Geist of Saint Traft.
However, the deck also runs something far nastier than the Saint, and the penultimate reason to run Red alongside Blue and White. Enter the Dragon.
'THE' DRAGON INDEED
If Geist of Saint Traft does not spell Game Over for you, this will.
Anyway, off to my match-ups!
The Rise of a New Meta-game Bully
Last week, I talked about Thragtusk being one of the go to cards in today's Standard. Played by Control decks, Aggro decks and Midrange decks that can cast it; if you can reliably cast (and resolve, but more on that later) this guy, you will play him, there's really no other option apart from that. The best way to deal with Thragtusk is to counter it, so it will not have a chance to do what it does best. However, what if even that option was robbed from you?
Bant is a deck whose colors are derived from it's namesake shard from the Shards of Alara block, similar to Jund. Bant is a Green White and Blue deck, which runs a lot of the good cards in Standard right now; from the already mentioned Thragtusk to Angel of Serenity, Restoration Angel, Jace Architect of Thought and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, backed by a counter magic, mass removal, card draw (with life gain to boot, thanks to Sphinx's Revelation) and the absolute nightmare of Standard's tempo decks: Cavern of Souls.
NEVER AGAIN WOULD YOU HAVE TO WORRY
ABOUT COUNTERMAGIC
Naming either Beast or Angel, this card can potentially completely nullify the tempo strategy. Threats bigger than the threats American tempo (the nickname of the deck I played, based from the colors it runs: Red, White and Blue) are no longer as easily stopped, and with Angel of Serenity's almost unfair amount of card advantage, this deck, as Jacob van Lunen once pointed out, is certainly poised to take over Standard, and in fact might be already on its way to doing so.
Scary as it may though, I was able to win against this deck in two games. I was fortunate that Cavern either appeared too late or the threat that was supposed to be cast using the Cavern never came on time to stop the bleeding.
Game one was an attrition nightmare. Both Bant and American ran Detention Spheres, which dealt with threats left and right, clearing the board often. Bant also runs Standard's de facto mass removal spell, Supreme Verdict. Eventually I was able to stick a creature through the barrage of Spheres and Verdicts, and eventually rode it to victory.
HAND IN HAND IN ENSURING THAT THE LAWS OF THE
SENATE ARE ENFORCED
Game two ended much quicker. My opponent mulliganed down to four, and wasn't able to get a decent board presence enough to stop my threats.
While I did win this match two games to none, this wasn't in anyway indicative of my chances against this kind of deck strategy. You could say I just got lucky. In fact, later I would later battle another Bant deck, one which did not end so favorably for me.
Lessons learned: Bant is an extremely tough, but winnable match-up. I would say, in the end, it's all about managing my opponent's threats and hitting consistently with mine. Also, when countermagic fails you, you can always rely on Dungeon Geists.
THRAGTUSK'S GOT NOTHIN' ON THAT!
Five life is a lot, but it's not really that troublesome if you can hit back for 5 or 6; it's the 5/3 body that's the problem with the prolific Beast. Ensuring it never untaps is a great way to keep it at bay, and with Flying, he's not too shabby a beater as well.
Rouges Will Be Rouges
Before I talk about my soul crushing defeat to another Bant deck, let me talk about my next match-up first, which, as I have said before, is something I'm really excited to discuss. Why so? Because it's a rogue deck, and I have a soft spot in my heart for a good rogue deck!
What is a rogue deck? In high level competitive play, there's such a thing as a meta-game. The meta-game is basically an analysis of the best or most played decks, which can guide someone in picking a deck or designing a whole new one. A rogue deck is a deck that isn't in the meta-game, and is often tuned to "beat" the current meta-game, or at least, to be a blast to play. If there's any deck that showcases the creativity of a deck designer, it's a rogue deck.
The guy I faced on my second round was, I think, one of the owners of the shop. He's a very friendly dude, and add to the fact that he is "fearless" enough to run a rogue deck, makes him awesome. His deck was a Stuffy Doll deck, and if you have not heard of Stuffy Doll yet, it's because he rarely sees play, often considered a junk rare. However, with the recent printing of Blasphemous act and, to a lesser degree, Increasing Vengeance, the doll suddenly looks a lot more scary.
13 DAMAGE SIR? OH, AND YOUR CREATURES DIE TOO
The combo works by choosing the opponent as the unfortunate target of some Voodoo magics (note however, that Stuffy Doll does not target, so its a good way to go around cards like Witchbane Orb). Cards like Blasphemous Act and Magmaquake clears the board to stall long enough to drop Stuffy Doll, then they turn into kill spells. These cards deal damage to all creatures in play, including the Stuffy Doll. All damage dealt to Stuffy Doll is dealt to the player chosen when it was cast, which, if you recall, is the unfortunate opponent. Add Increasing Vengeance and hilarity ensues. 26 damage anyone?
Of course, the deck runs other means of winning games in the absence of Stuffy Doll. Rakdos Keyrune and Vampire Nighthawk is the deck's Plan B, which is, quite appropriately, Plan Beatdown. The deck also runs a cadre of spot removal and Staff of Nin, which works double duty as a pinger and a source of card advantage. Chandra, the Firebrand is the planeswalker of choice for this deck, as she goes well with the pinging theme of Staff of Nin and Stuffy Doll, plus she can copy a game ending Blasphemous Act in a pinch.
HOT DAMN, HOT DAMN INDEED!
Unfortunately, however, the deck would have a lot of difficulty facing a tempo deck. His deck relies on certain cards resolving; by reserving countermagic for those key cards, winning is almost always assured. Sometimes, it's even correct to counter the Keyrune, to ensure that there would be no way to block Geist of Saint Traft profitably and so that the deck wouldn't reach five mana one turn quicker, which, if you remember, is potentially Stuffy Doll mana.
Post board, he was able to stick a Slaughter Games, which took out my Restoration Angels. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, a card I boarded in, did a lot of heavy lifting however, ensuring that nothing would get in the way of the Mr Traft, ending the game in short order.
TAP SHE SAID? HEHEHEHE,
YEAHP, I'M 13... :(
Lessons learned: The lessons I learned will not always be about or for my deck; sometimes its about the deck on the other side of the table, and the man piloting the deck. While I was able to defeat him fairly easily, the dude and his rogue deck reminded me that if you're not having fun, then why bother? It does not always have to be about the win, but the way to get there.
Time to Get Crushed
Angels are wondrous creatures in magic, and have always been about grace, beauty and merciless beatdown.
Wait, what?
Restoration Angel is one powerful angel, able to flash in at ends of turns, opening up mana on the player's turn to either play more threats, play some removal or have enough untapped mana up for countermagic later on. Now add in Cavern of Souls naming Angel and suddenly, the humble 3/4 becomes a nasty nasty almost unstoppable clock.
YOU WOULD KNOW, IT WOULD BE CLEAR, THAT ANGELS
BROUGHT ME HERE! TO THE TOP 8 THAT IS...
I've already talked about the Bant deck before, and the deck I played against for my third round was another Bant deck. This deck, however, has more instant speed threats, and does not run a top end Angel of Serenity, on account of being too slow and too expensive to cast. Tamiyo and Jace, a powerful planeswalker pair (which should totally go see each other, you know, just saying), provides tremendous amounts of creature and board control, and, before you know it, you've been beat down by Angels while the couple stare lovingly into the sky, holding hands and smiling contentedly.
PROVING THAT LOVE CAN DEFINITELY CROSS
BOUNDARIES (OR PLANES)
Ahh, what a wondrous sight to behold.
Except it's not, when you're the one on the wrong end of the Angel onslaught!
Game one did not at all turn out great for me. Forced to mulligan down to five, I fought valiantly, even managing to stick a Detention Sphere on a pair of Angels, although in the process, I had to hit my own, sad but, truth be told, I didn't know it would hit mine as well so, yes, rookie mistake, I admit to that. There wasn't much else I could do at that point though, as soon enough, Tamiyo and Jace, the power couple, made an appearance, completely locking me and my desperate attempts to stage a comeback out. Thundermaw Hellkite would only hit for four, and Tamiyo would lock down a key land, stopping me from casting spells. A timely Cyclonic Rift targeting my Detention Sphere (and in effect putting a pair of angry Angels into play) and Tamiyo tapping my own Angel (that had been trapped under the Sphere) had me reaching for my sideboard.
Game two can be summarized into one nasty phrase: back-to-back Thragtusks supported by a Cavern of Souls. I never really stood much of a chance after that, the game ending with my opponent at a lofty 30 life.
Lessons learned: I've never really appreciated the new Jace. Perhaps I was spoiled by his other appearances, like his overpowered Mind Sculptor version, but now, I think I get it. -1/-0 might not be a big thing, but sometimes, it's big enough to buy enough time to set up. His -2 is nothing to scoff at as well, being able to dig through and look for that specific card that would deal with the current board state. Along with his partner Tamiyo, the pair can completely lock up and dominate the board.
Talk about a power couple!
American tempo is less effective against decks that run Caverns. With the rising popularity of tempo strategies, however, it's inevitable that I'd end up battling against more Caverns in the future. Will this completely invalidate tempo strategies however? I don't think so. Tamiyo, in retrospect, would be a crucial card in the match-up, tapping down Cavern so they'd never get to use it again. Dungeon Geists could've also helped in keeping the Thragtusks at bay. Finally, running three Supreme Verdicts (something I did not do, but should have), would go a long way to dealing with the deadly Angel army.
From Uncounterable Thragtusks to Thragtusks Casted for One
Thragtusk for one sir?
Impossible you say? Not when you have this deadly demon:
TALK ABOUT A THREAT
As you might have already deduced, I lost this match-up, but it did went to three games. He was playing some sort of a good-stuff Jund deck that plays a lot of off-the-wall and unexpected creatures. From Bloodgift Demon, Desecration Demon to the Lord of Riots himself, the deck manages to get away with all these expensive cards through, you guessed it, Cavern of Souls. I've been an advocate of running Cavern of Souls in Jund decks, or in most mid-range decks that plays Thragtusks. Seeing one in action confirms my suspicion; Cavern in Jund has to be the next step in it's evolution. True, it would sometimes cause mana screws, but the rewards outweigh the risks. The card has the potential to turn a bad match-up into a good one (Jund is notoriously weak against Tempo, as I discussed last week), as resolving a Thragtusk or an Olivia against Tempo is a very big deal.
Game one went back and forth. I got my opponent pretty low with Geist, but he dealt with Traft's Angel buddy with his spot removals turn after turn, considerably slowing down the Geist. Eventually however, my opponent was able to assemble a Demon and Beast armada, backed up by a pair of Caverns. I, on the other hand, never really drew into my ways to deal with the threats, and the game ended with a loss.
There was a notable sequence of plays in this game however, and its kind of convoluted. On a key turn, my opponent casted a Tribute to Hunger to deal with my Geist of Saint Traft. I had enough mana to flash in a Snapcaster Mage, which he tried to kill with a Staff of Nin too eagerly. It was only after his activation of the ability that I got to choose which spell to grant flashback too, picking Unsummon and targeting my own Snapcaster. He had another removal spell however (as if he let the Unsummon resolve, I still have enough mana to recast the Snapcaster), which finally got rid of the Snapcaster for good. All so the Geist could die to Tribute.
Game two displayed the strength of Tempo, and the power of Cavern. I don't remember clearly if he was able to land a Cavern, or if it ever became relevant, although I did remember making a misplay at the end that could have costed me the match. I had a Feeling of Dread in my 'yard, and, seeing that I had lethal damage on the board with a Thundermaw, an active Geist of Saint Traft and a Dungeon Geists, I casted the Feeling of Dread a little too eagerly, and did not wait for blockers to be declared first.
THE LITTLE COMMON THAT COULD,
IF PLAYED RIGHT
See, my opponent had a blocker in play, and an unactivated Keyrune. I should've waited for him to activate the Keyrune first before casting the Dread, but the damage was lethal anyways. He was down to 8 life, and the combined air assault would've taken him down either way so he conceded. He had a removal spell in hand though, but I would think its an Abrupt Decay, as if it had been an Ultimate Price, he could still live at 1 life if he killed my Thundermaw. Well, lesson learned.
Game three was where the Thragtusk for one happened. My deck never gave me enough counter spells, and I gambled with using the only counter spell I had early to deal with an early Keyrune (sometimes it's okay to counter the Keyrune, especially against a midrange deck, as it can end up blocking and killing Geist of Saint Traft, and can also serve as a bluff that you have more countermagic, making the opponent play a little more conservatively), thinking I'd end up drawing more anyways as I had at least five more countermagic in the deck and four Snapcasters, plus three other spells that could let me draw into countermagic. Alas, no dice. Rakdos, Lord of Riots resolved unmolested, enabling the Thragtusk for one and a loud cheer from my opponent.
He deserved it anyways, that was indeed one of the more interesting highlights of the night, and one of the most fun games I've played in retrospect.
Lessons learned: At the expense of repeating a writing trick I already used last week, I really just have to. This card deserves it. Lesson learned?
If this card sees more play in the future, I can see myself switching back to Jund, but running this card as well. In the meantime, I'd still be writing a post on Friday for FNM and I might still run American Tempo, as it's a blast to play.
Until then, may your Friday (or Wednesday!) nights remain magical.
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