3-0-1 Legacy

Yesterday, I made my way to a new shop that has a very good Legacy payout.
It seems like they figured out that they would do 4 rounds, and an additional match if tied for 1st place.
The payout is very good versus the entry.
For $10, top gets Delta/Wasteland, second gets Mire, third/forth is a True-Name/commander deck or something along that line.

I took my deck which is about 2 cards off my online list (lacking a third Underground Sea and a Misty Rainforest) and tried to find 2x blue elemental blast / trading post but could not find either.
(I suspect trading post can be used vs Jund since they don't have a way to kill it)
I stuck to the Nylea's Bow that I had in my 15th slot.

I learnt from this tournament that I have the option to play 1-0 and drag out a draw in order to win.
It's something that I have long forgotten so it's a good lesson learnt before the 7 Sept tournament.
Online, we're just trying to close on the clock. In real life, drawing is a tournament option (as much as I loathe it).

I won Shardless BUG, UWR delver, Miracles (1-1, but I was let up with a split) and we did a 4 way split among the 3 3-0s and my 3rd round opponent who was paired with one of the 3-0s. We all drew to lock in the top 3 spots. I wanted Wasteland so I ended up having to fork out $50 for our split since we counted $160 - $40 each and valued Wasteland at $90.

Preparing for 7 Sept

Over the past week, I did not manage to get into even one VMA constructed qualifier that fired.
It only needed 17 people to go off but people are aggressively boycotting the format.
I cannot fathom the reason. Even Classic had people in the past for something with such a alluring payout.
I was quite down over the weekend, having played in the VMA limited champs and getting blown out in 4 games over 2 players to Parallex Wave. It was 3am and I just gave up at 2-2. I would probably not make it even if I won all the way from there and some packs would not make up for the lack of sleep.
Then it came upon me that I would have this late night issue over the next few weeks (not anymore) and I was quite demoralized by it. The events I was looking forward to were going to be very taxing for me.
IF I had qualified for the VMA constructed champs, I would have had to stay up and probably end up skipping a 10km run I am scheduled for.
Also, if I make it into the Legacy MOCS, it means staying through the night and continuing into the day for the IRL Legacy tournament which I expect to be about 7 rounds. I expect the MOCS to be about 8-9 rounds. I am not sure I am able to handle that physically. Part of me wants to just skip the MOCS as it is much less taxing to play in a normal timing than at 11pm till maybe 7am?

In any case, I am still practicing my 4c control deck and trying to find a way to shore up my worst matchup, burn. I am considering having 2x Blue Elemental Blast in the SB for it. I've been thinking and nothing clicks. I did play Shardless BUG a few days back with double Chill in the SB but I understand that the fundamental difference is that BUG is able to close the game whereas mine is much slower. I need to think of which is the second card to make space for the second BEB/Hydroblast.

I have lost quite a few games to burn and it goes against my wanting of having a game vs everything. I just can't stomach auto-losing to anything but that would mean respecting it more. 2 is as much I can go and is the minimal amount of respect required.

Last night I lost to Burn and Storm, won D&T and Miracles. Gonna try playing at a high EV tournament tonight at a new shop. I hope that 2x blue elemental blast is going to be the right way to go and that I would have to adjust how it interacts with the other matchups (storm? miracles? jund? etc)

Legacy IRL

Last night was MTGO downtime. So I went to a real life shop to keep myself prepared for real life tournaments. Unlike online, there is so many things that needs to be done like shuffling, maintaining of sleeves, keeping track of life, graveyard, board state, hand size, opponent's state, your own state, rulings, missed triggers etc.

I collected my preordered Jace pop figure at a toy shop after registering and went for dinner.

Round 1 vs Shardless bug
Game 1, I lose to being out volumed to cascade with a Volrath's Stronghold in play preventing me from wanting to kill the Shardless Agent.
Game 2, an early loam lock wins the game.
Game 3, I get stuck for more than 10 turns (Ancestral Vision suspended and resolved twice) without my 3rd land. I keep getting Deathrite Shaman which died each time.

0-1

Round 2 vs D&T
Game 1, my opponent has no vial so we go into a very slow game and I come out with Jace Liliana.
Game 2 was not too different. Just very mid-game plays without anything too shocking that I could not handle. (Unlike that Cataclysm from the day prior)

1-1

Round 3 vs burn

Game 1, I lose to double Goblin Guide (1 would have been ok).
Game 2, I stabilize at 5 life Jace and Liliana and Brainstorm on an Isochron Scepter, voraciously digging for counters and answer and I get there with True Name Nemesis.
Game 3, I almost come back but have to make a choice as to how I want to deal with Grim Lavamancer as I had lands, counterspell and force of will. I drew an abrupt decay next turn -_-". I got to 4 life with a Deathrite Shaman but he drew Fireblast.

1-2

Round 4 vs BUG Delver

Game 1, I resolve Jace and go to town.
Game 2, we get into a very long game with everything dying and being discarded.
I eventually get True Name Nemesis (which he has no outs against), dealt with his flipped delver and faced a 1/1 delver. I just turned sideways every turn and won with Deathrite adding to the clock.

2-2

Road to MOCS 2014 Day 20 (16 QP)

Yesterday, I had my final attempt to qualify for the VMA limited championship (would not be possible anymore).

I was elated to open a foil Force of Will but my pool was not impressive.

In the end, I came up with a BW deck that beats with shadow guys and fliers. After submission I considered a weaker but more mid-game build with blue green. 

Round 1 was easy. I outraced with shadow creatures.

1-0

I saw that his deck had many small guys so I swapped into UG which had fatter dudes. He had Skullclamp but was mana screwed.

2-0

I killed my opponent with his own Kezzerdrix by wiping the board with Famine. =)

3-0

I was glad to go 3-0 but I lost round 4 with a hand full of lands. Zzz

3-1

In the final round, I faced a BW deck similar to mine. He had the new Desolation Angel in game 1 but I had done enough damage to just Famine for the win.
Game 2, my shadow creatures applied pressure and his fliers could not keep up. He had Death Grasp for my griffin but I had Death Grasp at him to add more clock. 

4-1

With this, I qualify for the MOCS qualifiers and the VMA limited championship. Step one of my world domination plan is complete!

In the last round of the qualifier, I joined a Legacy DE.

Round 1, I faced dredge.
I almost win game 1 on the back of Deathrite Shaman and Snapcaster Mage blocking zombie tokens but I lacked the removal required to survive the few zombies.

Game 2, Deathrite Shaman plus Surgical Extraction controlled the pace of the game until another Deathrite Shaman joined the fun.
Game 3, I kept a hand that had some chance with counters and removals but my opponent had quad cabal therapy to just nice hit my answers out of my hand.

0-1

Round 2, I faced Reanimator.
I lost game 1 when my opponent reanimated Iona naming black. I did not find Jace or Far/Away.

Game 2, I had Deathrite Shaman to mess the board but he used Show and Tell to put Inkwell Leviathan down. He attacked into Jace so I had enough life to Toxic Deluge for 11 to kill my own Deathrite Shaman and the Leciathan. I came back with Jace and Liliana, plus Deathrite and Creeping Tar Pit.

Game 3, he Exhumed and I had surgical extraction for Grave Titan and he got an Elesh Norn. Since it wasn't much of a clock, I Intuitioned for Dark Depths combo and he could not do much from there.

1-1

Round 3, I face Death and Taxes. I won game 1 with him having no Vials out and getting into a dominating position with planeswalkers.
I swiftly lose game 2 to not having any lands.
Game 3, I was almost dead after a Cataclysm but I managed to draw lands at just the right points in time to survive and make a comeback.

2-1

Round 4, I had a bye. Whee~ Free win and everything!

So this week I end up with +3 QPs (all from last night) and I'm set up for the MOCS qualifier and the VMA limited champs. Hopefully I would manage to do well in the VMA limited champs (go top2 and get the foily playset) and get a shot at getting 35 QPs to enter the MOCS tournament straight. =/

Road to MOCS 2014 Day 19 (13 QP)

Yesterday, I got into the VMA limited champs qualifier again.



I had a very decent deck, highlights being double Flametongue Kavu, double Man-o'-war and double Ophidian.




Unfortunately, in round 3, the memory leak caught me and made me lose a significant chunk of time, especially when the game did not load once I got back in, forcing me to restart and go through the 5 minutes of horror. I ended up needing about 5 more minutes to comfortably take the game.
In round 4, I faced a very aggressive GW deck and lost to it and I was out for the count.
The deck was pretty much as good as it comes but I guess it is too much to ask for to have a smooth path to run a good deck into. =/






I joined a Legacy DE after that.
Round 1 vs storm
My starting hand had a Force of Will plus some removals. Force of Will was taken away and my opponent went off. Unfortunately I did not have another counter magic to stop him. I did try to make it look like I might have drawn one.
Game 2, I got into an odd situation when my sided Dark Confidant was put under a Standstill and I took big chunks of life totals. I ended up at 1 life and cracked my own Standstill to cast Jace to keep me from dying.
With his newfound cards, he cast Empty the Warrens and Flusterstorm did not do anything in the face of extra mana. I could not find a sweeper.

0-1

Round 2 vs Merfolk
Merfolk is any blue deck's bane. I had a decent opening but could not get double black for Liliana and I was blown away by Phantasmal Images copying True-Name Nemesis.
Game 2, I managed to stick an Isochron Scepter with Far/Away. Unfortuantely, sacrificing one creature a turn was not enough without additional removals.

0-2 drop



Overall, I found that Dimir Charm was useful enough to have over Darkblast, finally being able to kill a Mutavault. It would have been good against Infernal Tutor as well (if I had drawn it). I think I would keep it in.

I think that I have a feel for the matchup numbers now.
Jund - 55 (I have punishing fire too)
Miracles - 70 (abrupt decay advantage and I'm a better control deck)
RUG - 50 (they have more wasteland nonsense than bug)
BUG - 60 (punishing fire, wasteland loam)
Storm - 55 (depends on how much hate I draw)
Elves - 45 (if i get enough removals and stop glimpse/natural order)
Burn - 30
UR burn - 25 (they can do it slower)
Painter - 45 (pyroblast is naturally gd vs blue)
D&T - 60 (punishing fire)
Omnitell - 60 (easier to hate on than storm)
Reanimator - 50 (can be very rough)
Sneak and Show - 55 (sneak attack is harder to stop than dream halls)

I think I wanna work on my sideboard to give myself a little more edge.
I should be ready for MOCS and the big irl Legacy tournament once I replan my sideboard.
I need 2 more QPs!!!! GAH.. I did not get any this week!!!

Road to MOCS 2014 Day 18 (13 QP)

Thursday - Played in a VMA Limited champs qualifier, 1-2 drop.
Played Legacy 0-2 drop.
Round 1 vs Burn
Round 2 vs something I can't remember
Friday - Nil
Saturday - Nil
Sunday - Played Tweaker's Oath list in the morning but ran into 2x BUG.
I lose a game where my Misdirection fails to do its job because v4's blown up cards need not necessarily refer to the card in choice.
Played in a VMA limited champs qualifier, 0-2 drop to a mulligan button bug.



Played Legacy 1-2
Round 1 vs BUG (lose)



Round 2 vs Miracles (win)



Round 3 vs Painter (losing to time out - was winning already)

For Vintage, I figured out an answer to blue decks by playing Tweaker's Oath deck.
I shall use and reveal this secret tech next week when I run it in the VMA constructed qualifiers.

In Legacy, I swapped out the maindeck Darkblast for a Dimir Charm.
Dimir Charm's drawback is its colored cost but overall, it kills what Darkblast kills and can be used against Miracles. I used to like Izzet Charm but its Spell Pierce mode was not particularly useful against Miracles.
Dimir Charm is almost the same thing (without the looting mode) and can be used vs Storm's Infernal Tutor/Burning Wish, Show and Tell, Miracles and is an additional removal for non-Goyf creatures.
I'm not sure how it would go but I will try it for now to make the deck more balanced (but more at risk to mana issues).

I want a life gain card but I can't really think of a good card to use. The ones I am thinking of are: Bow of Nylea (may have problems casting), Umezawa's Jitte and plain old Zuran Orb.

Road to MOCS 2014 Day 13 (13 QP)

Last night, I came out with nothing from a Legacy (0-2) and a Vintage DE (1-2).
At this point I am rather worried about the outcome of my Vintage deck as I am not performing at all and the Vintage Championship constructed qualifiers are 2 weeks away.
For my legacy deck, I feel that I am about 95% at where I want to be in terms of deck construction. The deck fares well against the more popular decks and has game against the less popular ones (meaning not outright blown out of the water).

Legacy:
Round 1 vs Dredge
Game 1, my opponent does not get the key cards in the graveyard so I manage to beatdown with Vendillion Clique.
Game 2, I try to stabilize but I get destroyed by Ichorids.
Game 3, I use Surgical Extraction on Narcomoeba but Ichorid + Bridge from Below means trouble and he goes for the Zealot kill.

0-1

Round 2 vs UR burn
This is a bad matchup as I do not always have the answers and I cannot answer his burn well, not to mention the counter magic from the other end that can mess with my development. I can probably only win on Marit Lage.
Game 1, I get hit a few times by a flipped Delver of Secrets, and get burned out of the game.
Game 2, I stabilize at a 14 life but he resolves a 10 point Price of Progress and cleans up.

0-2

Vintage:
Round 1 vs Oath
Game 1, an Abrupt Decay keeps the game in check and I search/replay Abrupt Decays for the win.
Game 2, my opponent has a Jace in play and I have a Spirit token. I am far behind on resources and I scoop.
Game 3, Abrupt Decay does wonders and keeps the game in check.

1-0

Round 2 vs Bant creatures
Game 1, I won with Fastbond + Gushes + Yawgmoth's Will playing Time Walk and Tinker.
Game 2, I get beaten by a lack of mana after my Blightsteel Colossus gets Swords to Plowshares-ed and I have only 1 Underground Sea and double Gush in hand. Trygon Predator comes down to eat my mox and I'm pretty much screwed.
Game 3, I get Gushbond going but am not far. I have a bunch of lands and a Force of Will which I can lay to cast but I choose not to to have more life for the Gushbond Engine. Unfortunately, my opponent drops True-Name Nemesis and knocks me down. I have Time Vault + Voltaic key but need an answer to the Stony Silence in play but I fail to find it. I probably should have dropped all my lands and kept counter mana up.

1-1

Round 3 vs Blue with Abrupt Decay and Deathrite and Dark Confidant
Game 1, I got Gush bond going and I get far ahead.
Game 2, I tutor for Library of Alexandria to try to take the long game but it was not a good plan. He gets Jace in play and I can't really come back into the game.
Game 3, my key spells get countered and I can't really get into the game while my opponent resolves Ancestral Recall twice.

1-2

Overall, I still like Gushbond as an engine but I am running many fair cards in hopes of beating Workshops (which I am not encountering) and I lose to blue decks holding these fair cards. Ultimately the format seems really centered on Ancestral Recall which is incredibly hard to beat. Classic was never this "single card centric" and I could easily play decks that build up advantage to go into the mid game. Perhaps I should do a Countertop and mess these blue decks up. =/