Fogdoor Weekend FNM

I am playing in the Dungeon's End invitational tournament this weekend. You had qualify over the last 3 months to get in.  It's being advertised as consisting of the top 16 players in the area.  Although that is hotly contested as there seem to be some great local players not playing.  I expect the field to consist of the top netdecks out there, but I wanted to play something a little different that was still competitive, so I picked up this:  http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/woo-brews-the-ultimate-fogdoor-guide/

You remember Travis Woo?  The pro player who builds quirky decks, offers opinions on magic as well as exercise and life, and  seems to be in the need of a shirt.  He had been bragging about good results but also said it was difficult to play correctly, so I brought it to FNM to give it a trial run before the invitational on Saturday.

Round 1 vs.  Mono-red aggro/burn

Game 1:  He starts off with slow mana and I ramp  through farseek and urban evolution.a open the door to nothingness on him with a fog in hand him with 3 ash zealots on deck.  The life totals look a lot closer than they actually were as we both remember that I take 9 from a flashbacked farseek off a snapcaster mage.

Game 2:  I side in Thaggies and more wrath effects. But he comes out the gate fast beating me down with stromkirk noble, ash zealot, and even goblin legionnaire.  My only hope is to play Thragtusk at 7 life to attempt to stabilize.  He skullcracks me in response.  I scoop in response. 

Game 3: Starts the same way as game 2, but I am able wrath away his guys until it gets to a critical stage n the game and I am confident I can pull it out.  Of course that's when I decide to my Blair Walsh impression and punt away the game. He has goblin legionnaire enchanted with madcap skills out and two cards in hand.  He has been keeping 2 mana open every turn from the point that I got to 5 mana.  I put him on skullcrack or a bluff.  I have Thragtusk, Supreme Verdict, Sphinx's Revelation and  a land and 8 life.  I think long and hard about the correct play here; l know the correct play.  I don't make the correct play.  I play Thragtusk and he plays skullcrack. I try sphinx's rev next turn.  It does gain me four life but whiffs on relevant draws.

0-1 matches (1-2 games) 

Get in a few games of 5 color here with Phil Solem.  Show him how good Chaos Orb is,,,when paired with Sun Titan.  I even drew Phantasmal Image with it.  

Round 2 vs.  Little kid u/b Mill

Game 1:  Travis Woo said that Mill is a bad match up for us because we only have two wincons main deck (door and Rakdos's Return).  I was confident though because the kid's deck was suboptimal.  I saw a couple Mind Sculpt, a Mind Grind for 4, and one increasing confusion, but none of it hit door, so I kept drawing cards and ramping out lands until I drew Increasing Ambition, which I used to get door.  At this point, I was overconfident and slammed down door only to have it countered by the mill 2 counter.  I knew this would not end well and it didn't.  Next turn he dropped Memory Adept.  That and flashbacked Increasing Confusion milled me for more than my library.

Game 2:  I diversify my threats by siding in  Borborgymos, Memory Adept, another Rakdos's Return, duress, Vraska, Psychic Spiral and more counter magic.  I am nervous because we begin with 22 minutes in the round and he is playing very slow and asking his friend for trades.  I counter some mill spells and clear his dudes (Jace's Phantasm and Consuming Abberation).  I draw 2 snapcasters after he mills Psychic spiral so I feel rather confident when he drops Jace.  Remembering the first game I don't get too cocky and drop Borborgymos.  This guy is does work. He takes him to zero in three turns through attacks and pitching to the dome.

Game 3:  Ends with the exact same results.  I am able to ramp to 8 mana by turn 5.  He taps out to play Jace enabling me to safely play Borgy.  Two turns. Dead.  I'm learning that if this guy sticks around until the attack step he kills very quickly, especially in a deck running 27 lands.

1-1 Matches (3-3 games)

Coming off a much needed "mana leak," I am ready for round 3.  The thing about playing control decks is in certain matches they don't leave you with much time between rounds.

Round 3 vs. Tony, husband of former CC judge Rachel playing very similar little kid mill deck u/b

Games 1-2:  Both games he has mana issues.  First game he gets double to cast Jace on turn 8.  I push him into a sphere of annihilation (err, Door to Nothingness) the following turn.  The next game after we both mulligan he plays a few lands but gets stuck with only 1 blue source.  After I Duress him and see no playable threats, I drop Vraska.  He never gets an answer and I roll her up to her ultimate.  The assassin tokens take the win. I imagine "Enter the Ninja" blowgun style.

2-1 Matches  (5-3 games)

Round 4 vs.  Jeff Neilsen with Naya Midrange

Game 1: Jeff is a long time player and a good friend so I expect a well played match.  Early game he plays some dudes and a Domri which for some reason has trouble  finding dudes.  A thundermaw Hellkite starts ticking down my life.  I an ramping hoping to close the door on him before the dragon does me in.  He then drops a main decked Witchbane Orb!  Savage technology.  I can't even say wtf because he showed me his deck list  earlier in the week.  This is a problem.  Remember:  our main deck win conditions, Door and Rakdos's Return, both target.  I am about to scoop but I really want to see if I have any outs in my deck,  plus I have 2 fogs and a snapcaster in hand.  After a couple turns I draw Increasing Ambition,  I tell Jeff if I don't see any outs that I'll be scooping. That's when I come across the one Detention Sphere and stay in the game.  I am able to stay alive, D.Sphere the Orb, Door him through a flashbacked Ambition and Sphinx's Revelation.

Game 2:  I side in more threats: 3 Thragtusks, 1 Borborgymos, and 2 Terminus, thinking that he will side out creature kill. He gets out Domri again but it whiffs even more this game.  He plays Witchbane Orb the turn before I am able to cast Borborgymos.  I have 4 land in hand at that point which would have been 12 damage. It works out though as I am able to clear the road of blockers for an Enraged Cyclops. 

3-1 Matches  (7-3 games)

Round 5 vs. Ron Carl with Turbo Fog

Game 1:  Ron is another good friend and I am a little disappointed to have to keep playing against friends. We had been discussing decks all week so we both knew what was up with each others decks. Basically the match comes down to both of us ramping early game and sticking one of our threats to win. The first game I am able to counter is Garruk, Primal Hunter with my "one negate".  I then take a chance against him having removal and lay door which sticks around  for the win.

Game 2:  I side out fogs, Verdicts, and other useless stuff for counters and dudes.  A key play in this game was when played Curse of Echoes which would have boned me, but the sb Vraska ate it  Rakdos's Return set up the victory via Door again after I D.Sphered his Jace, Memory Adept.  It was enough to end his day and send him off to some table top Magic in  Superior.  Hopefully, a few beers and beatings on casual players helped wash away the salt.

4-1 Matches (9-3)

I got 3rd finishing behind Dustin my first round opponent and Jason, another friend, who drew in the last round.  After a shaky start and some doubts about the deck,  I really enjoyed playing it. It was difficult at times to play, but it wins some very fun a different ways which was enjoyable.  I am willing to give it a go at the invitational.   I will post those results on here as well.    Congratulations to Jason on his win.  Sorry to Ron and Jeff for beating you guys.  Not too sorry though.

Battle of Wits

I love Battle of Wits and I have played it in Standard every time it's been legal.  When M12 came out I told Phil Solem that if 'Wits was reprinted I would play it every week. Well, it took a year, but here it is in M13.  I have been playing the deck and I think I'm getting close. Here's the current build:

U/B Battle of Wits

4 Battle of Wits
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Sign in Blood
4 Barter in Blood
4 Murder
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Essence Scatter
3 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
4 Mana Leak
1 Consecrated Sphinx
4 Amass the Components
4 Forbidden Alchemy
3 Skinrender
4 Bloodgift Demon
4 Increasing Ambition
4 Phyrexian Rager (Matt Bolf, for those in the know)
4 Despise
4 Tragic Slip
3 Black Sun's Zenith
3 Life's Finale
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Go for the Throat
2 Rune Scarred Demon
3 Manalith
3 Vessel of Endless Rest
4 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Karn Liberated
1 Grave Titan
3 Curse of Death's Hold
1 Sever the Bloodline
4 Tribute to Hunger
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Duress
4 Think Twice
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Negate
2 Dissipate
4 Merfolk Looter
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Dungeon Geists
2 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Encrust
2 Jace Memory Adept
1 Gristlebrand
2 Pristine Talisman
4 Dead Weight
4 Enduring Wilds
3 Nephalia Drownyard
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Drowned Catacombs
3 Darkslick Shores
37 Island
37 Swamp

My sb is basically pooper right now.  It's mostly an anti-control package. The card I like the best is Ravenous Rats.  I also have Tormod's Crypt there (never sided in yet) and the rest is in flux.



Presently, I'm at 245 cards. I'm low on cards compared to the other Battle decks in the area, but I actually want to get it down to 240.  I will post a tournament report later, but if you have questions about any of the cards or the quantity of some cards, please ask.  In a couple cases, I played less than 4 of a card because I don"t own 4.  Other times, it was probably a card that I don't want to see every game.  Until later, make every game of Magic a "battle of wits!"

6/1/12 Tourney Report Tamiyo Control

My first MTG blog is going to be a tournament report. A little, very little, about me, I am the old man of Magic in my local area. I began playing just after Mirage came out. I have a disposition toward playing combo, but since there hasn't been good combo in standard for years, I usually pick up control. When I saw Tamiyo spoiled, I knew Tamiyo control was what I wanted to play. A friend of mine (IRONBLOOD) posted a R/U Tamiyo control on Mtgsalvation and here's the version of it I brought to FNM:

2 Desolate Lighthouse

3 Evolving Wilds

7 Mountain

8 Island

4 Sulfur Falls

1 Forest (Secret tech!)

2 Inferno Titan

3 Pillar of Flame

2 Slagstorm

3 Whipflare

1 Galvanic Blast

3 Desperate Ravings

1 Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded

1 Ancient Grudge

1 Shock

1 Red Sun's Zenith

1 Incinerate

1 Ratchet Bomb

2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

2 Mana Leak

2 Frost Titan

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

2 Snapcaster Mage

1 Negate

3 Think Twice

2 Dungeon Geists

SB:

1Cavern of Souls

2 Ancient Grudge

1 Red Sun's Zenith

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

1 Wurmcoil Engine

1 Zealous Conscripts

1 Negate

1 Consecrated Sphinx

1 Dissipate

2 Surgical Extraction

1 Pillar of Flame

1 Ratchet Bomb

1 Combust

I know, it looks like a noob deck with no 4-ofs, but trust me, there's is so much draw power you don't notice. A word on Tibalt, he might be “the Prince of Cats” but I don't think the time is right for him yet. He was just awkward. I put him into to play once and he had almost no impact. That slot would have been better served by the third Dungeon Geists. On to the tournament report!

Round 1 vs. Logan playing Naya Pod

With a shout across the room of “it smells like nerd in here” by Eric Ehlenbach we were off!

Game one consisted of him getting a couple early swings with Strangleroot Geists that I eventually pillared into exile as I slowly ratcheted up a turn two bomb. He dropped a turn 3 and a turn 4 birthing pod (!) as I got the bomb up to 4. He podded away a Huntmaster to go get an acidic slime, but with the slime trigger on the stack, the bomb went off taking out both pods. Dungeon Geists showed up to lock down the slime, followed by a Frost Titan next to lock down his life total.

The second game he mulligans down to 5 and has a very slow start and by the time he gets anything going Geists and Titans lock it down. The score shows his life total go 20-17-15-12-10-1. Mana Screw really sucks, but as the great Magic Sage says, “That's Magic!”

Match 2-0, Rounds 1-0

Round 2 vs.Sarah playing Red/White Humans

There's an old adage,” you can give a horse a net deck, but you can't make her win with it.” This comes to mind as I reflect on the match. Sarah is coming off the first round bye and is unorganized, shuffling around backpacks, Pokemon cards, and Lord of the Rings cards as we get started. Game one I see an opening hand that contains a Lighthouse as my only land. I immediately mully down to six and see a hand with two lands a wilds and a mountain. I keep, but don't see another land until turn 5. By the that time, I'm being beat down by Hero of Bladehold and friends. Being the helpful guy I am, I remind her of the tokens that the Hero produces and of Battlecry both times she attacks. “That's Magic!”

Game two goes much better. I hit land drops and draw spells. I take some early damage from Lightning Mauler bonded to a Doomed Traveler. That ends with some early burn and turn 4 Geists. At turn 6, I drop Inferno Titan and he deals 18 damage over two turns to finish her off. At some point, I Mana Leaked a Hero of Bladehold, which I think prompted her to side out all but one for game three. I can't be sure, but that seems to be the case. Side note: Hero of Bladehold is one card that gives this deck fits if it's not locked down.

Game Three: the judge comes by and announces 25 minutes in the round and I shuffle and present, and watch as Sarah spends the next 10 (literally) minutes deciding which 8 cards to side out for the 8 going in. It was painful, but we finally got going. In the first four turns, she played two Gather the Townsfolk, which I cleared with Whipflare. She was momentarily stalled on 3 mana and I had a Mana Leak and another Whipflare in hand, so I decided to wait for the Hero drop to Mana Leak it. Sure enough the next turn she drew the fourth land and laid the Hero which got Leaked. She then said, “I knew I should have sided that one out too.” (Thus, leading me to believe that other Heroes had been sided out! I pretend to understand her logic and just nod knowingly.) Turn 6 and 7 Inferno Titans clean up the match.

Match 2-1, Rounds 2-0

Round 3 vs. Leon playing 4-color Deadeye Navagator deck

I know Leon from way back and I knew that I could expect just about anything from his deck. He builds strange decks that somehow work, sometimes. He didn't disappoint. I didn't see much of it game one. He played early birds (2) which got burned, so never ramped into. I saw a skinshifter, which hit me one for 4 before getting locked down by Geists. Inferno Titan joined the party turn 6 and finished him off.

Game two was long and drawn out. He hit lots of land and landed Deadeye Navagator and bonded it to the 2/5 spider that shoots flyers. I was unable to keep the pair locked down with my Frosties and Geists and eventually they picked me off.

Game three was equally drawn out. This time he was able to stick the Deadeye and paired it with a Tree of Redemption. He illustrated once how this pair could keep setting his life total to 13. However, the Long-Necked Moon Girl made her emblem on my side while two Frosty Titans kept his red mana sources on lock down. I was finally (well into twentieth or so turn of the match) able to tap his Tree and shoot him for 14 with one Galvanic Blast thanks to said emblem. The look on Leon's face said, “Not like this!” He showed me the Conscripts that he had drawn on turn 6, but had been unable to play because of the Frosty land lock down.

Match 2-1, Rounds 3-0

Round 4 vs. Dustin playing Wolf Run Ramp

Dustin is from Ashland and he is Sarah's boyfriend. I'm reminded of the old adage, but I am weary because he's been playing for a while. I am also on guard as his personality is somewhat volatile.

Game 1: In ramps into fast mana with back to back Sphere of the Suns, but I have the Ancient Grudge for both of them. Turn 5 sees a Sad Robot which gets him to 5 mana, but no land drop turn 6 and a negate for rampant growth keeps him off six mana. Runner-runner frost titans keep him from ever accessing six mana the entire game. With a spout of anger, he scoops up and we proceed to our boards.

My plan of attack for boarding vs. Wolf Run is -3 whipflare, -3 Pillar, + 1 Wurmcoil, +1 Metamorph, +1 Cavern of Souls, +1 Grudge, +1 Conscripts, +1 Negate. The Cavern of Souls is to up my land count to 26. I figure if they are ramping mana, I don't want to miss land drops. The internet told me that Wurmcoil might be good against Wolf Run, and it was! In my five games against Wolf Run, I saw it four and was never disappointed with it. I left in my Mana Leaks because I still felt that countering ramp was good, and it turned out to be a Bonfire of the Damned killer.

Game 2: Went better for Dustin. He was able to develop a board with an early Solemn and Primal Titan. Wurmcoil came out turn six and kept P.Titty on defense. A few turns later Geists and Frost Ttran assured that I was getting in more than I was taking, and instant speed removal picked off Inkmoth Nexi. On a crucial turn, Dustin Miracled Bonfire off the top and tapped to wipe my board, but as I mentioned above, BAM!, Mana Leak! At three life, he caught a Red Sun Zenith to the grill.

Match 2-0, Rounds 4-0

Round 5 vs. Eric Ehlenbach playing Wolf Run Ramp

Here's the puzzlement of the day: at 4-0 I'm the only undefeated, yet we go to round 5. The prior week the tournament abruptly ends at round 4 despite there being two 4 and ohs. I expect a very difficult match because Eric, the man of one thousand nicknames (Helen Kellerbach), is a competent player, so I expect the deck to be played correctly against me.

Game one: I have all of the answers for all of his questions and my big guys come out faster. I think he is about to stabilize, but a Red Sun Zenith for his life total seals it for me.

Game two is crazy; it is a marathon with many on-lookers. I sb in the same package. At one point, I was at 51 life, and I had a Metamoprh copying a Batterskull, which was later wequipped to a Wurmcoil engine. Eventually, he's able to wipe my board with a large Bonfire and seal the deal with Karn.

Game three: I re-side board, adding the last Ancient Grudge. I remember he is able to ramp very quickly with Solemns and a P. Titty. I'm finally able to lock down the ground with Frosties. So over the course of 4 turns he attempts to TKO me inkmoth infect-style, but I answer with shock, galvanic, incinerate, snapcaster flashback galvanic in those four turns on his Inkies. Top-decking the snappy on the fourth one or he had me dead to rights. He was a bit frustrated as the tide turned at that point. Burn and Inferno Titan spooge were the finishers.

Match 2-1, Rounds 5-0

1^st place finish, probably the first one in 5 years (owning a game store was bad for my rating; glad that's over :P). Good times and fun deck. Thanks to Ironblood and Goblin With a Gun on mtgsalvation.com for the awesome backbone for the build. Thanks to Peirce for the sage Magic quotes.

Thought for the month: EDH/Commander is not a competitive format and it should never be played for prizes. Otherwise, you'll have three guys sitting there watching the fourth combo off on turn six with jank cards like Black Carriage and Lightning Mastery, thinking to themselves, “Gee, this was the best $10 I ever spent.”