Before January 5, 2008, I had never played in a serious Extended tournament, and before Wizards of the Coast promoted the new 2008 Pro Tour schedule, I had absolutely no intention of playing any Extended tournaments. 

In fact, after PT: Valencia, I resolved to sell off all of my cards from Invasion-Odyssey-Onslaught, and simply wait for the Extended rotation in October 2008.  A few things changed my mind:

Hollywood!

(cue Red Hot Chili Peppers theme music)

n  Pro Tour: Hollywood is a nice West Coast swing for a guy who has only been to the Pacific Northwest, and has never had the opportunity to vacation in California, and

n  Pro Tour: Hollywood’s format is Standard.

Although I may be a better Limited player than a Constructed player, I still love to play any Standard event I can actually attend.  From the most sparsely attended FNM to the hordes present at States and Regionals, I sincerely enjoy the constant challenge and adaptation of Standard. 

So, I reluctantly held on to my Onslaught fetchlands, and started to root around for a deck.  In the hopes of attending a couple of Extended tournaments in 2007, I had a lot of experience testing with Boros Deck Wins, so I easily gravitated towards the Domain Zoo builds with Tarmogoyf.  I felt it had a solid matchup against the best deck in the format, Doran Aggro, and could combat Dredge with Mogg Fanatic and Gaddock Teeg.  Unfortunately, Ideal was a nightmare, but I could hope (and pray) that Ideal would not turn out in large numbers at the PTQs. 

Wait a minute.

Did you catch something from the last paragraph that strikes you as a little odd?

I accurately declared that Doran Aggro was the “best deck,” (by now, we should all recognize this fact) but then I played Domain Zoo.  It’s not that I lacked the cards to play Doran, in fact, I own all of the cards for the list, yet I neglected to play the best deck.  Why? 

In my twisted logic, I have an ungodly fear of mirror matches.  With the dominance of Doran Rock at the Winter King tournament, I knew that I would play the Doran mirror consistently throughout the course of the PTQ.  When you play the mirror, unless you metagame your main deck against the mirror (something Thomas LaPille blamed for his poor performance in the Roanoke PTQ), the outcome of the match depends upon the quality of your draws and your own ability to analyze the correct play.

I have absolutely no faith in either or those two variables.

Let’s just say that I really need to get over the “fear.”  It impacts my game on multiple levels, and I wind up psyching myself out of a strong performance before I even start playtesting my deck of choice.  I build decks that I feel have an “edge” against the best deck of the format, since I do not feel like I could outplay my opponent in the mirror match.  Hence, Domain Zoo, which has a strong matchup against Doran, and a decent matchup against every other deck without Isochron Scepter, Counterbalance-Top lock, Solitary Confinement, and Dredge god draws.   I would like to think that I can somehow get over my irrational fear of playing the best deck in the tournament, but before I can even comprehend that step, I need to start fresh. 

In fact, stepping up to Pro Tour qualifiers represents a bit of a milestone for me, since my EV is still fairly low at the typical PTQ.  I want to be competitive, yet I don’t have the time, energy, or high-level experience to make a qualifier worth my money.   It’s a start, but I need to go further.

I would like to vow in this article that I will go into every tournament thinking I can outplay and defeat all of my opponents, and finally recognize that “Hey, you will play other decks aside from the “best decks” at the tournament.”

If you couldn’t tell, I am still a little peeved at the whole scenario. 

4x Kird Ape

3x Grim Lavamancer

3x Isamaru, Hound of Konda

3x Mogg Fanatic

4x Tarmogoyf

4x Dark Confidant

3x Gaddock Teeg

4x Vindicate

4x Lightning Helix

4x Tribal Flames

3x Incinerate

4x Wooded Foothills

4x Windswept Heath

4x Bloodstained Mire

2x Stomping Ground

2x Sacred Foundry

1x Steam Vents

1x Blood Crypt

1x Temple Garden

1x Godless Shrine

1x Mountain

1x Gaddock Teeg

1x Kami of Ancient Law

1x Ronom Unicorn

3x Deathmark

2x Umezawa’s Jitte

1x Molten Rain

3x Ancient Grudge

3x Pithing Needle

When I built this list, I attempted to build on the Boros Deck Wins model that I played last year.  After researching the Domain Zoo lists from Pro Tour: Valencia and the Winter King, I adapted the deck to fit in Tribal Flames, Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, and a heavier than normal burn package.  I assumed that a lot of players needed to use fetchlands to make their deck tick, so better burn spells would offer more options to wreck my opponents’ life total.  Here are a few more major differences:

n  Gaddock Teeg is main deck, with the 4^th in the side – the Winter King tournament deck played 4x Gaddock Teeg in the main, and eschewed Dark Confidant and others in favor or lots of 2 power 2cc drops.  Without Teeg in the main deck, you have a much more difficult game 1 against Dredge, Ideal, and Tron, which are all horrible matchups for Zoo.  I anticipated more players to play these decks than the actual Roanoke metagame, and my performance suffered accordingly. 

n  Incinerate over Seal of Fire – I went back and forth on this decision for quite some time, but I assumed that Tarmogoyf could simply get big off of my opponents, and I did not need an enchantment in the yard.  While Incinerate won me a couple of matches due to the extra point of burn, a different choice would have been a better decision for the Roanoke metagame.

n  No Gaea’s Might – Yes, I realize that I did not include the namesake of the entire deck, but I figured on a high percentage of spot removal from multiple Extended lists, and I was simply asking for a 2 for 1 every time I cast it.  In retrospect, Domain Zoo needs Gaea’s Might to win matches (more on this later).

n  No Umezawa’s Jitte in the main deck – If I truly felt that Doran was the best deck, I needed to find room for the pointy stick.

I would like to make one thing clear at the start of this report: before this past weekend, I have never participated in an Extended format of any kind.  I drove out to Star City Games center in Roanoke, VA by myself, since none of the rest of my playtesting partners could go.  I could have used some support, but I was not going to be denied this tournament.

Joe is a really nice guy from Tennessee.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, namely, Star City ran out of fetchlands to sell, Joe’s deck was incomplete.  He tried to make a go of it without the correct mana base, but that is never the right call in Extended.  Plus, with all of my burn, this is a great matchup for me.

I won the die roll, and kick off with a Turn 1 Kird Ape, Turn 2 burn an Elf, Turn 3 drop 2 more 2 power creatures for 1-2 mana, then kick him in the face for the next few turns.  I made one mistake when I did not fry his Wirewood Symbiote quickly enough, which allowed him a free block, but I vowed not to make that mistake again.

Sideboard: -3 Gaddock Teeg, +2 Umezawa’s Jitte, +1 Deathmark

Turn 1 Mogg Fanatic burned out his Llanowar Elves, and then I played out more creatures than he could handle.  He had the Spell Snare for my turn 2 Tarmogoyf, but he did not have the correct mana to play it.  I felt a little bad that I rolled him in a few minutes, but Joe was extremely gracious in defeat.

Match Win! 2-0, Overall record 1-0.

Michael was a playtesting partner of the Atlanta group that placed three players in the top 8, including the winner and runner-up.  Although Michael was extremely talkative most of the day, during this match, he stayed particularly quiet.  Of course, in my haste to avoid the mirror match, I played Zoo, which now faced the mirror.  Karma!

I mulligan on the draw, and my Turn 1 Kird Ape looks like a great start for me.  Unfortunately, I can’t capitalize on my opening due to my inability to draw the third land with 3x Vindicate staring me in the face.  When he drops Jitte on Tarmogoyf, and I still can’t find the 3^rd land, I lose.  He also drew double Lightning Helix, which is some good in this matchup.

Sideboard:  -3 Gaddock Teeg, -1 Dark Confidant, +1 Kami of Ancient Law, +1 Ronom Unicorn, +2 Umezawa’s Jitte (some players bring in Armadillo Cloak from the board, plus both of those creatures are less painful to cast than the enchantment killers)

I keep a removal-heavy hand, and take down all of his early creatures.  Unfortunately, I don’t draw more than 2-3 creatures of my own, and his sideboarded Smothers and burn keep them all off the table.  2x Mogg Fanatic kill me.  He also drew triple Lightning Helix, which he never needed to play.  Yikes, I got blown out.

Match Lose! 0-2, Overall record 1-1

Ryan was a really nice guy with an even cooler hat.  We talked throughout much of the rest of the day about his deck and play, since he was still becoming familiar with his build.  That did not make me feel any better about the matchup, but I know that Deathmark is pretty good against Green.

My deck loves me again.  Turn 1 Kird Ape, Turn 2 Tarmogoyf = win.  I keep the pressure on him all game, and I draw multiple burn spells to remove blockers and attack for the win.  A double Lightning Helix takes it down in the end.

Sideboard: -3 Gaddock Teeg (there they go again!), -4 Dark Confidant, +2 Umezawa’s Jitte, +3 Deathmark, +2 Pithing Needle.  Ryan played Ravenous Baloth and Contested Cliffs, and I figured that the Needle offered me more outs to his threats.  I probably should have left Dark Confidant in, since it draws me into more stuff.

None of my sideboard matters, since after I am forced to use a Lightning Helix on his face to save my own Tarmogoyf (and kill his creature), he drops Magus of the Moon.  With no Incinerate or Grim Lavamancer in sight, I lose to his fat beats.  This was extremely frustrating, since I am staring at double Vindicate in my hand, and I can’t play any of them.

I wish I could say that this game was competitive, but it wasn’t.  I have a decent opening with Isamaru and Tarmogoyf, but he starts to drop Ravenous Baloths and Contested Cliffs, and removes my entire board aside from the Goyf.  My early Pithing Needle named Ravenous Baloth, and he finished the game with a Tarmogoyf, Magus of the Moon, 2x Ravenous Baloth, and 2x Burning-Tree Shaman in play before he finally swung for the win.  He had the win long before the finishing blow, but played extremely cautiously.

Match Lose! 1-2, Overall record 1-2.

I should have dropped now, and saved myself the trouble.  If I had friends competing, I probably would have dropped, and watched their matches.  I don’t care about rating, and I am going to play this deck again, so I wanted to see how it worked with better competition.

Yeah, a Doran matchup.  Finally!

Game 1 on the play

Turn 1 Kird Ape (hey, I’m getting pretty good at this), Turn 2 Gaddock Teeg bring him all the way down to 10 before he stabilizes with Tarmogoyf and other fatties.  I resort to drawing burn from Confidant, but Confidant hit me for 7 damage instead.  Finally, a double Tribal Flames and Incinerate off the top takes down the win.  Dark Confidant won me the match.

Sideboard: -3 Gaddock Teeg, (there they go again!), -1 Grim Lavamancer, -1 Incinerate, +3 Deathmark, +2 Umezawa’s Jitte

This was brutal.  Turn 3 Doran, Turn 4 Jitte + Equip.  I get stuck with no black mana for Vindicate in my hand.  Lose.

This game was a top deck war.  Both of us drew insanely well.  Turn 1 Kird Ape for me started the beats, but Loxodon Hierarch soaked up all the damage, and then some.   Hierarch died to Deathmark.  We both dropped Goyfs; we both draw answers.  Twice.  Through a combination of fetchlands, a few small attacks, and burn, I bring him down to 5 life.  Finally, the top deck war ends when I find a Tribal Flames for the win.  This really was a crazy match, and both of us had the game won a couple of times. 

Great, so my best matchup wound up being a nail-biter.  Fantastic, I’ll take the win.

Match Win! 2-1, Overall record 2-2.

Goblins are not a good matchup for me, and I definitely should have lost.  Brandon is an employee at the Game Center, and thankfully, made a critical sideboarding error.  He really was a nice guy.

Game 1 on the draw (not good when you lose the die roll to Goblins)

I refuse to allow his turn 1 Skirk Prospector live to turn 3, and then drop double Tarmogoyf to start bashing face.  He stabilizes with tokens and lots of small Goblins off War Marshal, Goblin Matron finds Goblin King, and he attacks for a lot.  I kill the Goblin King in mid-combat, block many of his tokens, but my alpha strike in response falls one point short of lethal.  I lost a game in which I had double Tarmogoyf by turn 4, but his Goblin Incinerator had enough tokens on the board to take down one of the Goyfs.  Not good.

Game 2 on the play

Turn 1 Kird Ape dealt him 6 damage before he could stabilize with tokens.  I drew a lot of burn, and he kept drawing Barbarian Rings.  Fortunately for me, 2 of those burn spells were Lightning Helix, and the extra life gain plus his life loss allowed me to take Game 2 comfortably.

Turn 1 Kird Ape (I swear I do not cheat) plus damage from his lands takes him to 10 before he stabilizes.  He searches up Goblin Piledriver with Goblin Matron, and starts swinging.  The turn before I would lose the game, I find the second Tribal Flames to double-Flames him for the win.  I should definitely have lost this match, but fortuitous draws kept me in the game.

After the match, I asked him what he sideboarded in/out.  He showed me his Goblin Incinerators in the board.  He thought he had to rush me to win the match after the first game, when he stared down 2x Goyf.  Lucky me, I guess, since I don’t win this matchup if any of his Goblin Kings are Goblin Incinerators.

Match Win! 2-1, Overall record, 3-2.

I really like Affinity with Atog and Frenzy.  It makes it a little more fun to play, since you can simply bash face for the win.  Then again, Affinity always bashes face for the win.

David mulled to 5, and I Vindicate his Atog.  He scoops with a Myr Enforcer staring down 2x Tarmogoyf.

I need one more win.

Sideboard: +3 Ancient Grudge, +3 Pithing Needle, +2 Umezawa’s Jitte, -3 Gaddock Teeg, -3 Mogg Fanatic, -1 Grim Lavamancer, -1 Dark Confidant

Turn 1 Kird Ape (again!) deals 4 damage before Affinity does its thing.  I Needle an Atog in the matchup, but it is a turn too late to really make a difference before he bashes for the win. 

Turn 1 Isamaru, Turn 2 Kird Ape and Grim Lavamancer means I am sitting pretty with a Jitte in my hand.   When I eventually equip and attack with the Jitte, his sideboarded Ancient Grudge that he boarded in for the 3^rd game to deal with my Pithing Needle proves to be the difference.  I can’t get back in the game before he overwhelms me.

Match Lose! 1-2, Overall record, 3-3.  I should drop, right?  I should drop, but I don’t.  That was quite dumb.

Josh has a very interesting deck, but it is all over the place. 

His Turn 1 Thoughtseize nabs Tarmogoyf, but I come out of the gates with a ton of burn, then find a Confidant to get more burn.  He loses to double Incinerate, Tribal Flames, Helix, and 4 points from Confidant for lethal.

I mull to 6 on the draw with a one land hand full of 2cc creatures.  Kird Ape deals 8 damage to him, but it’s simply not enough when he randomly Orim’s Chant-locks me with Isochron Scepter.  Yikes.

Turn 1 Isamaru, Turn 2 Ape + Lavamancer.  Turn 3 Lightning Helix brings the beats before he can find a Damnation. 

Match Win! 2-1, Overall record 4-3.

I really want to have a winning record at the PTQ, so I must win my last match of the day.

Josh is another guy who stuck it out, and his Affinity deck is a much worse matchup for me than the Red deck. 

Turn 1 Isamaru, Turn 2 Tarmogoyf enter the fray early, but late game power from double Dark Confidant finds enough burn to take down the matchup.  One more win….

Sidebard: +3 Ancient Grudge, +3 Pithing Needle, -3 Gaddock Teeg, -3 Mogg Fanatic

I mull to 5 on the draw, and can’t find any of my sideboard cards before he caves in my head with double Ravager and Cranial Plating.

I am simply too tired to make the correct plays in this game, which really is not an excuse.  He struggles to find land in the early going, and I make the mistake of allowing his creatures to live while I kill all of his lands.  Eventually, I run out of artifact destruction, he finds land, and I can’t find any creatures to kill him.  I think if I played conservatively, and went after his pertinent artifact creatures, I should have won this game, but I tried to make his early woes last.  One Thoughtcast ruined my day, but I also did not draw into any pertinent creatures myself to win the game.

Match Lose! 1-2, Overall record 4-4.

Blah, 4-4 is bad.  Not what I wanted.  I should have finished 5-3 at least, but whatever.

After having a discussion online with the guy who placed in the top 8 of the New York PTQ (where he faced 5-6 Doran decks in 8 rounds, that was my metagame prediction), Gaea’s Might really needs to find a place in the deck.  Just because you are unsure about 2-for-1’s with creatures and pump spells does not mean you should avoid the Might.

I may need to change the mana base around to incorporate a little more Green for the Might, notably Breeding Pool or Overgrown Tomb, I think the deck is still a solid choice for the PTQ season.  Gaddock Teeg was very weak in the main deck against the decks that I played, but it’s an absolute must in other matchups.  My sideboard is trash, and needs to change.  Wispmare needs to replace Kami of Ancient Law and Ronom Unicorn at the least.

Here is my revised list that I will probably take to the March 1^st, Richmond, VA Pro Tour qualifier:

4x Kird Ape

3x Isamaru, Hound of Konda

3x Grim Lavamancer

3x Mogg Fanatic

4x Tarmogofy

4x Dark Confidant

4x Gaea’s Might

4x Tribal Flames

4x Lightning Helix

4x Vindicate

2x Seal of Fire

4x Bloodstained Mire

4x Wooded Foothills

4x Windswept Heath

2x Stomping Ground

1x Sacred Foundry

1x Steam Vents

1x Breeding Pool

1x Blood Crypt

1x Temple Garden

1x Godless Shrine

1x Mountain

4x Ancient Grudge

3x Wispmare

3x Pithing Needle

2x Umezawa’s Jitte

3x Gaddock Teeg

Hope you enjoyed the little tourney report!

More to come post-March 1^st…

Thanks for reading,

Thomas M. Trovato

Falkor in the Forums

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