Five With Flores

It’s the return of You Make the Play! this episode pits M10 uncommon Elite Vanguard against longtime Kithkin one drop Goldmeadow Stalwart in a thought provoking turn two scenario.

You are playing the Rhox Meditant Deck in a post-M10 tournament (nice choice); so now you have Lightning Bolt in your sideboard (huzzah). Your opponent is White Weenie / Kithkin, and you are up a game playing for Top 8. You were able to tempo him in a triumphant Game One. He didn’t hit the dream curve of Honor of the Pure, Spectral Procession, and Ajani Goldmane, so you had time to slow him down with Naya Charm. You just littered the floor with your threes to block and chump block with Kitchen Finks and Borderland Ranger, Time Walked him turn five with Primal Command on his Windbrisk Heights, and then showed him Enlisted Ultimatum. That card gave you a 5/5, a dead Knight of the Meadowgrain, four life and a re-buy on your Bituminous Blast. Wanting to preserve time against your sluggish and methodical deck, your opponent shrugged into Game Two.

To open the second, your opponent led with Goldmeadow Stalwart and showed you a second Goldmeadow Stalwart.

You played your Jungle Shrine, then passed.

He got in for two, screwed up his face a little bit, played his second land… and instead of running out the Stalwart, ran out complimentary one drop Elite Vanguard. Now there are lots of different reasons he might do this, from not having another Kithkin for this second Stalwart to some kind of shenanigans running on the back end. But the fact is, this is the board you are looking at when you untap for turn two:

You untap your Jungle Shrine, pull a card and assess these eight cards for your second turn:

Board:
Jungle Shrine.

Eight-card hand:
Savage Lands, Exotic Orchard, Lightning Bolt, Borderland Ranger, Borderland Ranger, Captured Sunlight, Hallowed Burial, Enlisted Wurm.

So… Play your second turn

LOVE
MIKE

Currently Reading: 100 Bullets Vol. 13: Wilt

What You Should Be Reading: My Files at Top 8 Magic

About moving Naya Charm to the main for more MTGO tournament testing, plus a little more G/W Steward of Valeron dot dec and a look at All-in Green! More or less lots of deck lists all featuring basic Forest and Wooded Bastion

The summer I was pretty good at Magic (solid individual performance at Pro Tour Charleston culminating in winning the New York State Championship that fall) yes, I was playing lots of Magic with Jon Finkel, but I was also playing lots of MTGO tournaments, specifically 8-man Constructed Queues.

Based on several readers’ suggestions, most notably Gerry Thompson, I decided to branch out of my Tournament Practice Room testing with just a bunch of one-on-one queues, which, while not Premiere Events or anything, are still raked tournaments and force me to play a bit better than the Tournament Practice Room. What is probably obvious to everyone — but I had somehow forgotten over the last couple of years — is how much more difficult the play in actual tournaments is! The Tournament Practice Room is very loose by comparison, even when opponents have all the cards.

Anyway, I have played five total matches with the Rhox Meditant deck (now with 100% less Rhox Meditant), going 4-1 overall. Last blog post I described getting one against G/W Combo Elves. That was good for +10 points. Here is how the next four matches have gone…

Esper Beats Loss: LWL -13
B/G Mid-range: Win WLW +4
Cascade LD: Win LWW +9
Sanity Grinding: Win WW +2

The Esper Beats loss was obviously hairy. No offense to my opponent meant, but this was a loose deck. All 2/1 shroud first strike, Paladin en-Vec, and 2/2 flying (Mulldrifter and a four mana Mulldrifter that only costs four).

The first game I was very distracted because Clark kept getting out of bed and running around and I got up no fewer than four times to put him back to bed. This caused me to play the wrong land on turn three so I couldn’t play Civic Wayfinder, so my first play ended up being turn FIVE. I figured that I could win by overwhelming his two power guys with Enlisted Wurms but he just kept playing more and more.

I put the read on that he didn’t have Cryptic Command, but I was still kind of in trouble to his 2/2 flying. Basically I flipped Maelstrom Pulse on every early Cascade for no targets, then never saw a Maelstrom Pulse or Bituminous Blast (and never a Bituminous Blast at all this game) once there was a target. Boo-urns.

Game Two I just smashed him with tempo and played several Primal Commands on his Arcane Sanctum. He only ever played one Paladin en-Vec before I won.

Game Three I shipped a weak two-lander into a moderate two-lander with a little gamble to it. I developed, teased him with a Primal Command (he bit with Cancel) and figured I had him set up; I was right on my read of one Cancel but he had a COUNTERSQUALL for my Hallowed Burial! Boo-urns! Boo-urns! I thought I could stabilize it but he had a last minute Terror for my Enlisted Wurm. I was gambling a bit on that one, looking for a Hallowed Burial, Bituminous Blast, or at least Maelstrom Pulse. I got like a nothing… Civic Wayfinder. I am not sure it was better to play the Enlisted Wurm rather than a Civic out of my hand and a Kitchen Finks (despite none of them being long for the world). Shrug.

The B/G deck I beat with Naya Charm. He played with a land destruction sub-theme, Rain of Tears, Fulminator Mage, and Primal Command, so I sided in Naya Charm just for lands. In Game Three he used his Primal Command to start racing me with Thornling. I expertly stayed alive with a combination of well measured chump blocks anticipating Trample, Primal Commands of my own to stay alive and Time Walk, and racing back. I got him the last turn when he activated Treetop Village, inviting Bituminous Blast, which flipped Naya Charm, that tapped his Thornling and left the doors wide open for my Enlisted Wurm.

Those two matches were last night.

For tonight I decided to move some Naya Charms to the main; basically I swapped three of them for three Planeswalkers but didn’t really change any of the 75 (just some positions); if I had Naya Charm main, I am pretty sure I would have beaten the Esper deck in Game One (and with it, the match). If you are REALLY lazy, here is the deck list:

Rhox Meditant Deck version 1.4

1 Ajani Vengeant
4 Bituminous Blast
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Captured Sunlight
4 Enlisted Wurm
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Naya Charm

4 Civic Wayfinder
2 Primal Command

4 Exotic Orchard
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
4 Forest
4 Jungle Shrine
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Savage Lands
1 Swamp
1 Wooded Bastion

sb:
1 Anathemancer
3 Ajani Vengeant
1 Naya Charm
4 Cloudthresher
2 Primal Command
4 Hallowed Burial

The Cascade LD seemed like not a great matchup because he had Cruel Ultimatum to reset. I don’t really remember how I lost Game One. He never did anything that worthwhile. Like a Civic Wayfinder is better than all of his cards (Bloodbraid Elf, various Stone Rains, whatever). Boomerang makes the deck quick and Grixis Charm flexible; he actually got me with Deny Reality into Grixis Charm when I only had two lands and forced me to discard multiple in I think Game Two… but I won that one as well as Game Three.

I got Ultimatum’d in both of the first two but I pulled out two anyway. Basically I Ultimatum’d him back with the Enlisted Ultimatum I was sandbagging. Game Three my hand was kind of mana light to begin with, he boomed me down to no permanents, and I got back after he cast all his spells (just didn’t draw Cruel Ultimatum this game).

My Sanity Grinding opponent was super nice, and a comic book fan by his nickname

Sanity Grinding is just not a hard matchup if you can force through the main deck Primal Command… Game Two i think I played like four Primal Commands. This game I actually got off Ajani Ultimatum, which was cute (doesn’t happen every day).

If nothing dramatic happens, I am playing the above deck list, but with Borderland Rangers, next weekend.

So another deck I played a bunch of matches with — albeit Tournament Practice Room — is All-in Green. I wanted to try to re-embrace the All-in Green from the Steward of Valeron deck. That deck I have been winning most of them, though I did lose the G/W mirror tonight, to G/W Tokens. Anyway, I decided to make All-in Green per my discussions with BDM in real life and the Top 8 Magic Podcast:

All-in Green

3 Behemoth Sledge
4 Wildfield Borderpost

4 Boggart Ram-Gang
4 Kitchen Finks

4 Chameleon Colossus
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Primal Command
4 Thornling

3 Ranger of Eos

14 Forest
4 Mosswort Bridge
4 Wooded Bastion

sb:
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Gutteral Response
4 Cloudthresher
4 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Ranger of Eos
4 Rhox Meditant

I played five matches with this deck.

Mono-Black:
Won in I think two… I think that everyone who is looking to play Mono-Black should think about it for a minute; Chameleon Colossus is bad enough but Great Sable Stag is coming too.

Jund Elves:
I was able to trump with Chameleon Colossus + Behemoth Sledge.

Blightning (no Blightning?)
I lost the first of two matches due to a misclick. I had Chameleon Colossus on board and Primal Command underneath a Mosswort Bridge. I accidentally clicked to use the Bridge with four mana in my pool; for some reason the Colossus didn’t activate! (That reason was my misclick). Would have won otherwise so he game me a rematch.

In the rematch he got me fair and square.

Finally I beat a slow cascade deck by dropping second turn Ethersworn Canonist. He played four Cryptic Commands but refused to bounce the Canonist, so eventually I got there.

So would I play All-in Green in a real tournament?

Probably not. It lacks the ability to deal with utility creatures; case in point, my Blighting opponent played second turn Sygg, River Cutthroat every game but one. I basically had to wait until he was ready to block (which was non-zero, but also not up to YT).

At present I don’t really see a whole lot of time put into All-in Green versus actual tournament play for the Rhox Meditant deck.

For those of haven’t done it yet, go order Zvi’s book!

LOVE
MIKE

Currently Reading: 100 Bullets Vol. 13: Wilt

Short post tonight - just indicating some recent changes to my favorite Standard decks.

I got back from movie night at Jonny Magic’s and started playing in one-on-one queues for the first time tonight. Movie night was awesome, as usual. Super packed house for a viewing of The Triplets of Belleville. I found out that Tom Martell has a blog! The best part about Tom’s blog is that it has almost no content, but a link to my blog

Anyway, I played three matches, one one-on-one queue with Rhox Meditant deck and two Tournament Practice Room matches with Steward of Valeron deck. All successful.

Rhox Meditant Deck (now with 100% less Rhox Meditant)

4 Ajani Vengeant
4 Bituminous Blast
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Captured Sunlight
4 Enlisted Wurm
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Civic Wayfinder
2 Primal Command

4 Exotic Orchard
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
4 Forest
4 Jungle Shrine
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Savage Lands
1 Swamp
1 Wooded Bastion

sb:
1 Anathemancer
4 Naya Charm
4 Cloudthresher
2 Primal Command
4 Hallowed Burial

I somehow got an Anathemancer in my main deck and played 61 cards (Jon Becker alert).

My opponent was G/W combo Elves, which should be a miserable pairing. Game one I might have been able to win — it’s possible — but I flipped Anathemancer on a Cascade spell when he had only Forests. Sub-comical.

His play was superb, by the way. He did all the little things that some players get sloppy and miss. For example I flipped Maelstrom Pulse with Bloodbraid Elf and targeted Devoted Druid when he had two on board; he correctly killed his own Druid with -1/-1 counters rather than lose them both; right play, obvious when you say it out loud, and still something many miss. I conceded when he had three Regal Forces in play, thirteen Green creatures, and had played his second or third Primal Command on me.

Sideboarding was:
+1 Naya Charm
+4 Hallowed Burial
-1 Anathemancer (imaginary)
-4 Captured Sunlight

Game Two I got on tempo. Just Kitchen Finks into Bloodbraid Elf this time. His draw wasn’t bad, just slow and on the draw. I had more Bloodbraid Elf action and Maelstrom Pulse and other removal to handle any little Elves. I had Hallowed Burial from my opener but never had to play it.

I sided again for Game Three to be faster.
+3 Naya Charm
-3 Ajani Vengeant

This game took forever and he had superb action but he was never really in it. It was a little scary when he got me with a third turn Primal Command but I recovered for Maelstrom Pulse on half his Elves engine, which slowed him enough to bite it to my first Hallowed Burial. I played three or four total in Game Three, off of Naya Charms and Enlisted Wurms.

I trished him out long, Long, LONG until it was Enlisted Wurm against [lonely] Regal Force. At this point he had like one card left and I had six, including Naya Charms and Hallowed Burials hand and graveyard. Hallowed Burial is great in this matchup.

Naya Charm might just be better than Ajani, but Ajani is a key source of headaches for control decks. It’s all balancing.

Steward of Valeron dot dec

2 Behemoth Sledge

4 Kitchen Finks
4 Steward of Valeron

4 Chameleon Colossus
4 Cloudthresher
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Thornling

3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Path to Exile
3 Ranger of Eos

4 Brushland
10 Forest
4 Mosswort Bridge
2 Plains
4 Wooded Bastion

sb:
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
4 Celestial Purge
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Rhox Meditant

Main changes are minus one main deck Ranger of Eos, swapping for a Path to Exile.

Sideboard includes Ethersworn Canonist now, which is a concession to the Bloodbraid decks and also can help slow down combo decks. I haven’t sided it in yet.

Matches were straightforward; nothing fancy. The best was when I used Celestial Purge against his first turn Borderpost

That’s it for tonight!

LOVE
MIKE

Currently Reding: Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)