So today we've got some results! Well, okay, 4-4 results. So we'll go for the list first, and a round-by-round breakdown of this year's Minneapolis Regionals.
To begin with, I'll start with the decklist. If you read my last post/blog/article thing, you'll notice I was going to go with either R/G Aggro or R/B Goblins. I chose the Goblins list that Gabriel Nassif and some others were running at Pro Tour: Hollywood. I started with that list, ran it through a couple of permutations before setting on a whopping two-card difference: minus one Siege-Gang Commander, plus one Greater Gargadon. I left the sideboard unchanged because, frankly, I assumed they knew what they were doing when they built the thing, and I didn’t have enough time to exactly test a better board than the one that was built. In the end: this is what it looked like:
4 Auntie's Hovel
3 Graven Cairns
2 Keldon Megaliths
5 Mountain
1 Pendelhaven
3 Sulfurous Springs
7 Swamp
25 lands
4 Greater Gargadon
4 Knucklebone Witch
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Marsh Flitter
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Mudbutton Torchrunner
4 Shadow Guildmage
3 Siege-Gang Commander
35 creatures
Sideboard
3 Earwig Squad
4 Grave Pact
2 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Murderous Redcap
4 Thoughtseize
15 sideboard cards
For those that have never played the deck, or against it, the way it works like this: You make a bunch of dudes. You swing with those dudes. Often, you can sacrifice those dudes to some other dude, be it Marsh Flitter, Siege-Gang Commander, or Greater Gargadon. In some bizarro way, you synergistically wipe out their team and kill them. How that happens, I'm not exactly sure, as this build doesn't run Grave Pact in the main board (which was, in fact, the reason I picked up this list—maindeck Grave Pact just doesn't do it for me), but I assure you that, if you're reasonable compentent at Magic, you can see the goofy interactions that the deck is capable of.
**An aside. I am actually terrible at Magic. For two main reasons. First, I went to an awesome 4-4 finish. While I probably ended up a little ahead in rating, I lost points and about $120 on the trip from Fargo to Minneapolis. Second, for the SECOND COMPETATIVE REL TOURNAMENT IN A ROW I got a game loss for illegal decklist for not remembering to write down cards. ALWAYS TRIPLE-CHECK YOUR DECKLIST. Don't be a moron; don't be me. End aside.**
So to illustrate a couple those interactions, I'll give the quick rundown. Realize that this is built off of rather incomplete notes; the idea of actually writing this blog/post/article came after I was actually sitting down to play the tournament. As such, I may make some errors on exact plays or whatever. Also realize that this is how I saw the games playout. If there’s any inconsistency here, and you know it, please correct me.
Round One (Geoffery with Lark Combo)
Game one I resolve Magus of the Moon, and essentially shut off his mana for the game. Simple enough. Game two he comboed out after two early-game Rune Snags. Those allowed him stabalize, and allow for my first giant blunder of the tournament (not including not writing down a Pendelhaven on my decklist). He has a Murderous Redcap on the board, a Body Double copying Mulldrifter, and a suspended Gargadon, and I'm a genius and swing in with a Marsh Flitter. He blocks with the Double/Mulldrifter, and I pump the Flitter with Pendelhaven, killing the Double. At that point I realize what I did, next turn he untaps, plays Lark, and I die to the combo. Game three he mulligans to six, and then gets stuck on two land. I attempt two Maguses (Magi?), but they're both met by Rune Snags, but the whole thing was moot because of the mana screw.
1-0
Round Two (Nick with Elves)
I don't really remember much from this round, other than I got my game loss this round, won game two with a Magus of the Moon, then lost game three.
1-1
Round Three (Jon with RDW)
Game one I lost the damage race due to the fact that my Guildmages (get this) hit me, too. Game two he gets triple Dragon's Claw and despite the fact that I get an active, swinging Gargadon, I can’t outrace his burn, nor can I make a dent in his lifegain.
1-2
Round Four (Michael with UW Draw-Go)
There was a lot of back-and-forth in these games that got lost in the shuffle of my memory, but I sided in Thoughtseize so I knew to play around Cryptic Command. In the end, though, the combined threat of being denied mana with Magus of the Moon is enough to let youre other, actual threats through against a very slow deck. I won this match in two games.
2-2
Round Five (Adam with Red Deck Wins)
This was my punt round. Game one he took me down to five, without me doing a single damage to him. Finally, his last Keldon Marauders vanished and he had no blockers. I had two Guildmages on the board and two suspended Gargadons. I hit him for two from the ‘mages (taking me to 3), sac'd a ton of stuff, brought in both Gargadons for 18 damage… 20 total, exactly. But it came down to hoping he didn’t have burn, in which case I was dead anyway. So I punted and won. Game two I was one turn away from having enough mana and dudes to sac to and play a Gargadon and attach a Warhammer, swinging for 12 lifelink damage… but he burned me out. Game three he mulled to six, and I punted, sac'd my board to Gargadon to win the damage race early… which I did.
3-2
Round Six (Jason with Mono Red Shamans)
At first, I thought this was just some sort of RDW build, until the Rage Forger came out and the counter shenanigans started. I won game one on the back of a Gargadon, and game two had some tricky Mutavault tricks on his part… and then he tapped out to go all-in and send the team, taking me to seven, after I blocked and sac’d to my Gargadon. Next turn, when he was at nine, I dropped a land, floated three mana, sac’d for the remaining Gargodon counters, got said Garg, attached the Warhammer on the board, and then swung for 12 lifelinked. He said after that game that he didn’t see the play at all, then showed me his hand: Dead//Gone. Had he not tapped out, I would have been down a ton of permanents, short one Gargadon, and dead on the board. Punt!
4-2
Round Seven (Simon with Faeries)
Simon played Ponder, which I love in that deck. Game one I was an idiot and attacked with my Magus of the Moon into a Bitterblossom token with a Scion on the board. I still eventually won the game, but that was pretty stupid. Game two I got a fast draw and he didn’t. But it wasn’t fast enough and I whittled him down to two but couldn’t finish him off. He had a nice play of Mistbinding me in my draw step, locking me out of a hellbent Megaliths activation… and keeping him alive for one more turn. Which is how he killed me. Game three he got a Razormane Masticore which slowly picked off my army. I thought I had it killed, but I forgot Masticore has first strike. Of course, I sac'd half my board to attempt to kill it… which pretty well lost me the game. I still had an out when I was facing down two Scions and and his Masticore… I topdecked a Thoughtseize and he had one card; I could have Seized his card to kill his Masticore on the upkeep, but I figured I was dead anyway. I was at 10, I had two turns at most, and an empty board... so I scooped.
4-3
Round Eight (Chad with Dragonstorm)
I knew from turn two's Molten Slagheap and suspended Lotus Bloom I didn’t have long for this game. I had him down to four on turn four… and then he Dragonstormed for four. Game two saw double suspended Lotus Bloom. I was in race mode again. Turn three I got Incinerated down to 17, turn four I got Rift Bolted to 14, a Bogarden Hellkite hardcast to 9, then turn five I was burned out. Why doesn't that deck work for me when I play it?
Overall: 4-4
Conclusions: This is a conclusion that pretty much anyone that plays competitive Magic right now realizes: a resolved Magus of the Moon is almost enough for you to win the game by itself. Faeries, BG Elves, Quick 'n' Toast, and Merfolk all have a ton of lands that they’re very reliant upon. An unanswered Magus usually Just Wins unless they have an answer in hand.
I like the Nassif (or whomever) build, but I will likely morph the deck into something more akin to the list I’ve posted earlier in an early blog/post/article. I think my list was too scattershot, where this list is too focused on playing your dudes out unimpeded. I'll probably slip some Boggart Shenanigans into the list at a later point. As it is now, I'll probably end up building a Gro list for Standard play at FNM and then working on a Goblins list for Block Constructed. The next PTQ we can hit is only two and a half months away… time to get crackin'!
P.S. DON'T BE ME. DON'T GET GAME LOSSES BECAUSE YOU ARE STUPID AND CAN'T FILL OUT A DECKLIST.
Related to:
Magic: the Gathering
