Limited Long Distance (Phone)-Calls
(Note: Very long, turn back if you can’t handle the reading. I tried to throw in bouts of humor as to not making your brain fry halfway in.)
So far my experience with Shadowmoor in limited has been, well rather limited to say the least. I have last participated in a magic tournament almost a month ago at pre-release due to going back home and having know where to play legitimately that wouldn’t take at least a half hour to drive to. Normally this kind of road block would easily be overlooked but it sucks when gas is sitting at a meager $4.19 a gallon. It seems to me, however, that my car needing a new alternator poses a bigger problem then the gas thing. Either way I am back home from college and completely isolated from the magical world that is magic. Either way since I haven’t experienced any magic noteworthy to talk about from MWS I thought I would give a detailed overview of my experience with Shadowmoor limited from pre-release since I’m pretty decent at limited. My limited rating is currently 1661 through 20 matches. I’m not exactly sure if that’s really good or not, but it seems that I win more times than I lose in limited, and I do frequently make the Dean’s List at college so my brain isn’t damaged or anything.
My first magic pre-release was a hodge podge of things. It included tales of disappointment; 25 minute matches which lead to draws, as well as the winning of an 8-person side draft. I keep telling myself that I could have easily been in the top 8 of my flight as well had I not had to go up against a few individuals who took a while to play.
Within my flight I went 2-1-2. I ended up building a deck featured around River Kelpie, Dusk Urchins and other card advantage cards such as Ghastly Discovery and Scar scale Ritual. The decks power came in the form of evasion from the likes of Deep channel Mentor, a pair of inkfathom infiltrators, as well as Wanderwine cutters, and a ton of control in spell syphon, memory sluice, river’s grasp, and other tricks like rite of consumption and a turn to mist. I specifically remember winning a game after swinging with a few inkfathom infiltrators and then on my second main phase getting the extra oomph from a rite of consumption. I don’t know how I ended up drawing the two games in the flight. I don’t want to blame it on my competitors being women or anything because I’m hardly chauvinistic or consider myself a machismo, but it’s hard to disagree when the combined times of my other three matches were less than that of any of the two draws.
My first match in my flight was against a very fast R/B aggro deck that was focused around Sootsoke Kindler and a Scuttlemutt which would give any creature she would play haste. The deck was filled with tons of red removal spells like puncture bolt as well as burn trail and a flame javelin. The deck hit the ground fast and with the haste combo lit me up rather quickly as my deck was no near as fast. In game 1 I was lucky enough to throw down turn 3 urchins and a turn 4 rivers grasp which really gave me some tempo. Before I knew it I was at a turn 5 river kelpie and a turn 6 deep channel mentor that was drawn by my amazing card advantage with the combo of river kelpie and dusk urchins. After the deep channel mentor my opponent quickly conceded. Game 2 was a little bit of a different story. I was staring at a large board deficit most of the game and was whittled down to a miniscule 7 life points until I mounted a comeback in part to my amazing card advantage. The problem, however, was that I had not taken into account the fact that my card advantage was so amazing that I was in danger of milling myself to death. Curse the river Kelpie!!! As fate would have it, I eventually did mull myself before I could deal the one extra damage that I needed to finish her off with. Before we were able to play game 3 time was called and I was already off to a 0-0-1 start.
My second match was a bit of a joke and doesn’t really warrant that much talking about. The deck was centralized a barrage of lowly commons like foxfire oak and a presence of gond. The only high-note of the deck was that the guy pulled a vexing shusher. So I guess in that aspect we can talk about the Vexing Shusher herself instead of this guy’s pathetic deck which I steam-rolled 2-0 and was never dealt a point of damage. Vexing Shusher seems like she would be amazing in limited as she allows for every one of your spells to resolve, and she is unable to be countered as well. However, once we look through the looking glass we can see that the two best counter spells in Shadowmoor so far are that of Spell Syphon, a 1U costing spell which is rune snag’ish in that it counter’s a spell unless your opponent pays 1 for each blue permanent you control, as well as put away which is a 2UU costing spell that counter’s a spell and allows you to shuffle one card in your graveyard back into your library. A vexing shusher….a vexing shusher I don’t even own *a* counter-spell let alone many counter-spells that would necessitating an entire Shusher in limited. Anyways moving on….
My third match was the match of the day, and the only genuine match that I lost hands down. It was a mirror match which had better creatures than me, but lacked the use of sophisticated trickery spells that I had. The only problem, I never had an answer for Swans of Burning Asshole…err…Swans of Bryn Argoll. Guess I should have splashed some white for that runed halo I opened up in my sealed. To be fair I didn’t only have a problem with Swans but I also had no answer to Leech bonder. To couple the pressure of having to deal with these immensely bomb’y creatures I had no true removal to speak of and he drew them both in games 1 and 2 where as I never once top decked a river’s grasp or anything that gave me hope. I’m missing the shriekmaws and nameless inversions, and eyeblight’s ending, and oblivion rings, and neck snaps, and oh well you get the point. It is clearly noticed that in L/L/M we have a plethora of removal spells whereas in Shadowmoor, I have not seen the power of the removal to date of every color like that in Shadowmoor’s mirror world.
My fourth match had my opponent being mana-screwed in both games 1 and 2 and lead to a 10 minute win. This left me to a record of 2-1-1 at the time. With the hopes of finishing 3-1-1 I would easily finish in the top 8 and receive some well needed and received booster packs. For one, I had just spent $35 or so dollars on some cards and wanted to get more without having to pay for them, and for two did I mention I go to college?
Anyways my fifth and final match in my flight was the biggest headache of my entire life. Game 1 I was in clear lead and about to win and then a Windbrisk Raptor, a raptor like bird who is able to give all creatures that attack life link….(damn raptor birds). I wished I could have had that everlasting torment I never opened up at that point in time. Anyway suffice to say the game had become a stalemate and being the gentleman that I am and not wanting to risk another draw I humbly extended my hand in concession while gritting my teeth and saying “your bomb is bigger than mine”. Game 2 of match 5 was quick work as I side boarded in an entire R/G deck that I should have made in the first place. I quickly won by turn 7 or so and she was already conceding. Game 3 of Match 5 was a nail-biter, in extra turn 2 I was just about to win, but then a dumb troll came strolling along, and not the kind that can’t be the target of spells or abilities I control, because if that was the case I’d been screaming to the judge so quick, but rather the kind that are indestructible and when you tap an X amount of creatures that equal power of 10 he enlarges to the size of Drew Carey and gives you a boat load of money. Anyways needless to say the match ended in a draw because by turn 5 I had whittled my army down to nothing and was unable to get through anymore damage due to the earlier war of attrition. The funny thing, however, is that had I kept my original deck for this match I would have easily won due to the insane evasion of my UB deck. I think that was my original decks way of saying “bite me”.
After a below par 14th place finish in my flight of 2-1-2 I sulked in the corner a bit. Then I proceeded to walk around and watch various matches. I was even lucky enough to spot Patrick Chapin who if you don’t know by now is a mythical creature who wanders around parts of Michigan and whose tears have healing properties. After reflecting on my poor flight performance I quickly entered a draft.
In the draft I was met by a few individuals from the college I attend. I had seen them around the card shop, but never had the opportunity to play against one of them. That didn’t change. One of them, however, was seated at the left of me and I just wanted to take this time to thank him for the cards that he passed along during the course of the draft.
Pack 1 Pick 1 featured an excess of junk and I ultimately grabbed up a Tower above that I never even used in my deck. (Yes I’m aware I could have splashed it in for 6, but come on). After the dismal pick 1 it was clearly evident that UW, my favorite two colors, was clearly open and clearly amazing. An aethertow, turn to mist, and prison term were all passed my way along with a steel of the godhead, thoughtweft duo and a plume veil.
Pack 2 Pick 1 could not have come any better of a time. I quickly opened the pack and shuffled all the way back to a beautiful Thistledown Liege that stared my directly in the eyes. It was as if all of those earlier picks all cha-chinged at the same time and a top place finish was easily staring me in the face. After about 29 more draft picks I had assembled a very mean UW deck that had more tricks than sneaky little hobbitses have.
Two and a half hours I had made short work of a bunch of green decks and was claiming my prize as first in the draft. The two most memorable moments of the draft came when I swung for an arbitrarily large amount of life on turn 6 after a whimwader on turn 5 and then a deepchannel mentor on turn 6 which then in turn made my whimwader unblock able as well as an earlier briarberry cohort and thoughtweft duo. All my opponent could utter back was “I have nothing”.
I will say this much had it not been for the top deck of the day from myself I would have been taking second place very easily. I was staring down at 5 life away from death due to an Oversoul of Dusk neatly enchanted with a Shield of the Oversoul making him a 7/7 flying, indestructible protection from everything green and white force of hell. Had it not been for that prison term that timely fell into my lap I would have had been eating an abundance of soul food next turn that would have left me at my demise. A turn later I drew an aethertow and was able to send two of his creatures to the top of the deck and that was enough tempo to finish off the game and the draft.
Anyways I hope you enjoyed my lengthy take on my time at pre-release from back in April. Shadowmoor limited is very different than Lorwyn and Morningtide. I can only wish that I am able to draft in person more, but I guess that will have to wait till August when I move back up, then it will be a totally different ball game with the inclusion of Eventide to the already oh-so complicated equation.
-Keith Ian McKimmy III
Tags: Limited Shadowmoor Pre-release
Related to:
Magic: the Gathering
