A Pi day PTQ: Portland Report

This is the list I played at the PTQ this past weekend with a great thanks going out to some friends:

BG/w Loam Rock: 60 cards

4 Overgrown Tomb borrowed x 4
2 Temple Garden borrowed x 2
1 Godless Shrine OWNED sucka!

2 Windswept Heath borrowed x 1
1 Bloodstained Mire borrowed
1 Polluted Delta borrowed

2 Swamps borrowed (unhinged)
1 Forest borrowed (unhinged)
1 Plains borrowed (unhinged)

1 Mutavault borrowed
3 Ghost Quarter borrowed x 1
4 Barren Moor borrowed x 4
4 Tranquil Thicket borrowed x 4

3 Engineered Explosives I wanted four and two Crime // Punishments...

3 Smallpox ...but these worked as decent replacements when I didnt' face Troll Ascetic/Affinity

2 Smother borrowed x 1
3 Putrefy borrowed
2 Slaughter Pact borrowed
2 Darkblast borrowed x 1
4 Raven's Crime borrowed x 1
4 Life from the Loam borrowed x 4
1 Worm Harvest borrowed (signed)

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder borrowed
3 Kitchen Finks DOUBLE OWNED!
2 Tarmogoyf Joe Delph loaned me the only two I could find. : (

Sideboard: 15 cards
4 Circle of Protection: Red These come in against Naya Burn
4 Thoughtseize Combo and Faeries primarily
4 Kataki, War's Wage Die, you Affinity bastards! Die!
2 Extirpate Mirror and Faeries
1 Smallpox All aggro decks including the Zoo varieties and Affinity


Round 1 - Domain Zoo

This guy was a long haired, long bearded hippie and his girlfriend was on vacation with him from Utah. She watched us play the first round before heading off to pick up some relatives and go to the real zoo. He played a hyper self-destructive version of zoo that supported not only the usual sac and shock lands but also ran 4 Thoughtseize main alongside 4 Tidehollow Sculler for disruption. He put himself on 12 just about every game. He had only 4 Lightning Helix to counter his self-destructive spree and I don't recall any Tribal Flames burning my face. Zoo can be a difficult match up, but his was not packing as much burn as normal variants and so he had trouble with reach. My Finks were gold. We split games before playing to time and splitting the match.

0-0-1

Round 2 - Bant Aggro

He plays some early threats in the form of Teeg and goyf but stumbles a bit on land. Loam capitalized on this and removed his dudes via multiple targeted removals and I recall a pair of solid poxes. I then raven's crime out his hand before turning to solid loaming. I am unable to get through a regenerating ascetics so the game stalls while I dig for more threats and worm harvest. I draw my second goyf with 8 cards left in my library and had still not seen the harvest. He should have scooped to leave himself more time in game two but instead we drag it out and try to play a second game in six minutes. He can't bash me fast enough and I improve my record. On a side note he has some Rhox War Monks I never see in play and surprisingly does not seem to be running Trygon Predators which I think is a mistake. He does have path and bant charm however.

1-0-1

Round 3 - Affinity

Game one I pox on turn two and have elders and removal to stall him as well as affinity can be stalled. Unfortunately he does what affinity does and just "gets there". This deck is ridiculous. I side in no less then four, yes four Kataki, War's Wage in my BG loam deck. I have 3 board sweepers, 12 targeted removal spells, 7 creature stumbling blocks and even disrupt his mana with Ghost Quarter on top of did I mention four Kataki's?! As you can probably foresee based on the rant I do not win. Game two unfolds like game one with me mulling to 6 just to look for War's Wage. When I see my six including some solid removal, mana and creatures I keep in the hopes I cycle quickly into my hero. I do not. At least my opponent is a nice guy and we have been chatting because this match was a beating. I got unlucky here because Loam has as reasonable a match up as anyone vs. Affinity but I was not running optimally without Crime // Punishment or Damnation and I just didn't draw the tools I needed.

1-1-1

Round 4 - BR Discard

I actually play tested a BG variant of this deck running goyf and dark confidant but decided that while it had a great match up vs. TEPS and Elves (combo) they weren't the real boogiemen they were being made out to resemble, and it had difficult match ups vs. Aggro. I did cull the pox idea from this testing however. Game one he falls victim to some strong removal early and I am able to laugh at his discard since I am playing loam. He bitches a fair amount about playing loam last round and justifiably so. His deck has a horrid match up vs. me and I am never particularly concerned. Game two he sides in relics for some mileage, but can't draw red mana. Blightning is scary on the stack but not in the hand.

2-1-1

Round 5 - Faeries

My plan is to quarter as many labs and vaults as possible and force raven's crime down his throat. My start is a little slow game one and falters to some early counters after which he comes online with Cliques and active jittes. Game two he drops a backbreaking Chalice of the Void for one. I quarter 3 or 4 lands to try to keep him off his mana but this is hardly a game even though it takes a fair amount of time to finish. I can't draw putrify and so he holds more relevant cards then I can deal with.

2-2-1

Round 6 - Bant Aggro

This is the most enjoyable match up since my opponent is all for having some fun and we banter continuously during the games. Game one I darkblast 3 Vendilion Cliques and 3 Noble Hierarchs with the fourth cowering in fear. He comments on the potential of me decking myself. I guess he doesn't know how my deck works. I make about a dozen worms and smash him good, then we go to a troublesome game two. We are having a good time and he drops an Ascetic/worship soft lock. I say soft because he is no where near killing me but starts pressuring me to go to a game three. I suspect I have some answers and that he would not be able to trump my long game plan of denying him mana and killing his Ascetic with explosives but ultimately I scoop to be a nice guy and take it to game three. I have to admit it would have taken a long time and been a cold dull game of draw-go. He can't bash though my stream of putrid removal in game three and we tie. If it had been any one of my other opponents I would have had an extra win but since I was playing for experience and not the top 8 maintaing the fun atmosphere proved more enjoyable.

2-2-2

Round 7 - Equipment.dec

He is playing five or six different pieces of equipment including jitte, warhammer, swords of fire and ice and of light and shadow, and even lightning greaves with the gift to tutor up the one he needs. He was powering up Ascetics, goyfs, and Treetop Villages. He even ran a dryad arbor which I dremt of blasting on turn one; I am sad that never happend. Game one I Putrefy and Smother all the scary stuff and bash with my goyfs. Game two I manage to seize his light and shadow turn one and I am pretty happy as that is scary, scary, scary. He is later able to witness it back and I can't keep up blocking with my vault. He piles the other sword and the warhammer on one bad ass ascetic and waltzes to victory. Game three we go to time but I think I could have gotten that one.

Final Results: 2-2-3


This PTQ taught me that when you audible a deck the night before you are doomed to play slowly the following morning because you are constantly double checking your decisions instead of knowing what the correct play is having gleaned it from play testing. All-in-all I believe the deck is strong and with a few minor tweaks would feel happy playing it again this coming weekend.

Any insight or criticisms are welcomed.