Archive for June, 2015

Grand Prix Providence 2015 Tournament Report – by Sky Mason

In the months leading up to Grand Prix Providence, I had to consider if I wanted to judge or play the event. With Grand Prix Charlotte the week before Providence and two seventeen hour drives attached to working for Star City, I started leaning towards playing in Providence. After winning a GPT in Rhode Island for the Grand Prix, I decided with certainty that I was playing in the main event. However, even though I knew I was playing, I still needed to figure out what deck I should run at the event. I had played a lot of Abzan control and even some aggro, but neither deck nor Siege Rhino as a card seemed like the place I wanted to go with a major event on the horizon. I searched the web for an interesting deck and stumbled upon the Grand Prix Shanghai results where one list caught my eye:

 

Xie Hao Chen’s Green Red Devotion

Planeswalker (10)

Xenagos, the Reveler

Nissa, Worldwaker

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Creature (26)

Elvish Mystic

Rattleclaw Mystic

Sylvan Caryatid

Courser of Kruphix

Polukranos, World Eater

Whisperwood Elemental

Dragonlord Atarka

Land (24)

11 Forest

Haven of the Spirit Dragon

Mountain

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Temple of Abandon

Wooded Foothills

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

Genesis Hydra

Hornet Nest

Seismic Rupture

Purphoros, God of the Forge

Arbor Colossus

Xenagos, God of Revels

 

This deck list originally intended for my girlfriend Meghan if she decided to play the main event was the basis for the list I eventually settled on for Providence. The deck put a lot of pressure on the opponent to match haymakers with a deck that ran ten Planeswalkers and three Dragonlords. However, a few days before the event I watched a streamer on Twitch.tv named BrettwJayne who I had played against on Magic Online before. He had a take on Green Red devotion that was very close to my list in Providence. The major differences were no Seismic Ruptures in the sideboard and two Deathmist Raptors in the main. I had seen many people play Raptors in the main and it never made sense to me as the deck accelerates past the early game where Raptor is a roadblock and tries to jam huge threats repeatedly that the opponent cannot deal with profitably. After taking out the Raptors and compromising on the number of Ruptures and Nylea’s Disciples in the sideboard, I came to the list I sleeved up at the Grand Prix:

 

Planeswalker (4)

Xenagos, the Reveler

Nissa, Worldwaker

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Creature (32)

Elvish Mystic

Sylvan Caryatid

Rattleclaw Mystic

Courser of Kruphix

Polukranos, World Eater

Whisperwood Elemental

Dragonlord Atarka

Hornet Queen

Genesis Hydra

Land (24)

Haven of the Spirit Dragon

Mountain

11 Forest

Temple of Abandon

Wooded Foothills

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

Xenagos, the Reveler

Nissa, Worldwaker

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Plummet

Hornet Nest

Seismic Rupture

Nylea’s Disciple

Arbor Colossus

 

This version of the deck focuses a lot on high-end threats and rushing them out before the opponent is ready to fight on that axis. The reduction of main deck Planeswalkers was a choice I felt unsure about, but being able to board up to 9 Planeswalkers against control decks was one of the main draws of this version. Having a few one-of cards like Ugin or Nissa also played a pivotal role in stealing some important game ones where the opponent could not react to such a potent threat along with the other heavy hitters like Hornet Queen or Dragonlord Atarka. After rushing to get my last few Genesis Hydras for the event, I had my 75 submitted and sleeved up ready for day one.

 

I arrived for Day one at 10:45 as I had two byes and a sleep-in special. However, as I signed in with the people at the stage it was evident that the tournament was running slowly as it was still round one. After grabbing a quick bite to eat and catching up with my friends who did not have byes or the sleep-in special round two was quickly ending and I was ready to do battle.

 

In round 3, I played against Sean Morgan who claimed not to play much standard as he liked legacy far more. He stated that he wanted to play a deck he could have fun with and after he lost the die roll, we began our match. He was playing Atarka Red and I was a turn slow as he finished me off with Lightning Strike, Lightning Strike. The sideboarding for this matchup is very straightforward and the only hard part is figuring what big drops have to stay in despite not being very good.

 

+2 Nylea’s Disciple

+2 Hornet’s Nest

+2 Seismic Rupture

-1 Ugin

-1 Nissa

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

-2 Hornet Queen

 

Despite Hornet Queen being very powerful if it resolves, it does not sweep the board as well as Atarka and in games where they are stuck on mana, killing creatures to eliminate Stoke the Flames as a card is very powerful. Game two started with a Caryatid into a Seismic Rupture to slow him down while also playing a post Rupture Elvish Mystic. Next turn I deployed a Whisperwood Elemental; the next turn, another Elemental; and the next turn one more for good measure. Despite the first and second one eating Stoke the Flames after getting a manifest, I was too far ahead and swung in for lethal while he shows me eleven points of burn stranded in his hand. For game three, he started on the play and removed my elf. His hand was very slow and he ended up stuck on lands while I started deploying threats. He eventually conceded with a hand full of gas that he never cast. While every game felt close, in the end I was able to survive the onslaught of Atarka Red and move to 3-0.

 

Next was William Dziambor on Abzan Control, which was fantastic for me and not so great for him. Going into this weekend I saw Abzan as a bye, which given I faced it seven of the fourteen rounds I played in the Grand Prix was a blessing. William was a nice guy from Canada who knew the matchup was bad and had fun playing Magic despite knowing that after turn four or five the game was heavily in my favor. Both games involved some removal and many Siege Rhinos, but when playing Ugin and Atarka, a crash of Rhinos seems a lot weaker. Even with End Hostilities in game two, it was not close and I quickly pulled to 4-0.

 

+2 Ugin

+2 Nissa

+1 Xenagos

-2 Polukranos

-1 Courser

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

 

Something that came up often during the Grand Prix was the idea of siding out one of a card that was not bad for a strict upgrade in the matchup and based on my sideboarding, it is clear to see when a random one-of comes out for a card that does better in that slot. Even though Courser is good in this matchup, keeping one Polukranos seemed better than the fourth Courser. Little swaps like this really take time to figure out when all of something or one of a few things is better to remove and it comes with reps with the deck.

 

In round five, I played against Jason Chung of New Zealand and as it turns out, Jason was one point away from Platinum. This was the first time in the event I was playing someone who I would consider either a pro or a name made through good event finishes. Jason was playing Mardu Aggro and was a generally very nice person. Game one I was on the draw and he got off to a quick start with Swift Spear into Seeker of the Way. On Turn four, he tapped out and played an Outpost Siege choosing to deal one damage to either my creatures or me any time his creatures died. I then played a turn four Atarka, wrathed his board and we quickly moved to game two. I sideboarded very poorly for game two and will not show the boarding choices as they were very bad. I was punished as he bowled me over quickly and I never really had the chance to react to his game plan. For game three, I boarded correctly:

 

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

-1 Ugin

-1 Nissa

-1 Genesis Hydra

+2 Hornet’s Nest

+2 Nylea’s Disciple

+2 Seismic Rupture

 

Game three I played very patiently making him play removal spells on creatures I did not care about and making his Anger of the Gods poor as it would only one for one. Slowly I was able to find lands and cast bigger and bigger threats while he was stuck on reactive answers and when he ran out of answers, I just kept casting Whisperwood Elementals and Atarka until I was 5-0 and defeated a far more renowned player.

 

In Round six I played against Jarvis Yu whose name I knew from the SCG Open circuit. Once again, after seeing Abzan colored lands, I knew this would be a good matchup for me. While not much was very different about this match than from my earlier opponent William Dziambor, I read Jarvis’ deck as Aggro after seeing Rhino into Wingmate Roc with removal in game one. I sideboarded terribly and Jarvis was nice enough to help me out and correct my boarding in case I played against Abzan Control again, 6-0.

 

In Round seven I played against Dan Jessup who I also knew played on the SCG Open circuit often and would be a solid opponent. However, once he led with an Abzan land again the match felt easy. He was on Abzan Meghamorph, which is a little slow and without adjusting his removal suite to deal with GR Devotion specifically the matchup felt very much in my favor. I will be honest, I drew pretty well and the games were very one-sided, but I did not expect such a negative and tilted response from a veteran player who lost their first match to a very bad matchup. Titling off happens, but do not do it in front of your opponent, your results are not the only thing going on at a tournament 7-0 and locked for day two.

 

-2 Rattleclaw Mystics

-1 Courser

-2 Polukranos

+2 Ugin

+1 Xenagos

+1 Nissa

+1 Hornet’s Nest

 

Round eight was my first feature match and it was against Pascal Maynard who had recently top 4ed Grand Prix Las Vegas and was a big name player. Our game one ended very quickly as he was playing Abzan Megamorph and I went too big too fast and he died. Our second and third games are on Twitch.tv/Magic2 and I was quickly dispatched in game two after stumbling on resources and not finding enough gas to overpower him. Game three was a fantastic game that culminated in an Ugin -2 clearing the way for Nissa to take over the game and a missed Scry trigger from Pascal that sealed his fate. Although I feel bad about him missing his trigger, even in a high-pressure situation the smallest mistake can cost you a tournament 8-0.

 

We were the last match playing in Round eight due to an eighteen-minute extension where we used almost all of those bonus minutes. After rushing to the pairings boards to see whom I was playing next, it turned out I was paired against Josh McClain of Canada who was a fantastic player and an overall nice person. Game one, despite him being on Abzan Megamorph, was very tough and three Den Protectors and an Elspeth later I was down a game. I made a major mistake of chipping his first Elspeth down to three forgetting about the minus ability cleaning up my Polukranos when I could have hit with one more Hornet to put her to two. This was the first big misplay to cost me, and as I said, any one mistake can cost you when playing against players of Josh’s caliber. Game two I was able to stabilize against his slightly faster start and then cast an Atarka and Ugin to go over the top. After ultimating Ugin and finding a replacement, he conceded. Game three was rough as I took my first mulligan of the tournament and found Courser, Genesis Hydra, Atarka, Xenagos, Forest, Nykthos. With a dork on the first three turns or a green land, I could at least compete so I kept. My next draws were Ugin, Atarka, Mountain, Genesis hydra and I died to Josh’s board 8-1. While I wish I could have had a real game three against Josh, I kept a hand that had a real issue, and since I did not draw well I was punished. Either way, 8-1 was quite a good start going into day two.

 

-2 Rattleclaw

-1 Courser

-2 Polukranos

+2 Ugin

+1 Nissa

+1 Hornet’s Nest

+1 Xenagos

 

Day two started with a New England end boss who I had played a few times and had never beaten in sanctioned Magic, Mike Sigrist. After telling me he had been sick and pumped full of medicine over the night I was wishing him well in the game and outside. Mike was on Abzan Megamorph, the same list as Josh, and despite adding extra Ultimate Prices to deal with GR Devotion, I was able to take over game one quickly. In game two, he was stuck on four lands and was not able to pull the trigger on an End Hostilities dying with many cards in hand, but not much on board 9-1.

 

Round ten was another example of me being a bit dumb about what my opponent was playing. I sat across from Richard Tan who led with two G/B Wastes, Forest, Island, Deathmist Raptor, Sidesi, which hit Satyr Wayfinder, and three lands. I thought he was on Sidesi Whip and once again sideboarded very incorrectly. After realizing he was on G/B Five color dragons and that there were no Plummets or Arbor Colossus in my deck, the matchup seemed a lot harder. However, I was able to win by grinding through a Disdainful stroke and flipping an Atarka off my one Whisperwood Elemental trigger. After untapping with seven mana, I played around Stroke by flipping Atarka and putting him to four. This forced him to tap out to play Dragonlord Silumgar and take my Atarka. I miracled a land to cast Ugin and -6 to wrath the board except for my Ugin and my Atarka and he conceded 10-1.

 

After Round ten I overheard people talking about the cut to top 8 being at 12-2-1 and after checking the standings I was ranked third going into the next round. I was ecstatic that I had a real chance of top 8ing the GP and making the Pro Tour. I walked to the pairings board and found my name across from Andrew Tenjum, who I knew was playing Abzan from his match against Noah Walker the day before right next to me. After sitting down and chatting for a few minutes, I played my first land and pulled ahead with threat after threat that his Abzan control deck could not handle as he was stuck on lands game one and flooded game two 11-1. Even though it was not the most eventful set of games, it meant I only needed one more win in the next two and I could draw into top 8.

 

Round twelve saw me paired against Kevin Sauls whose name I did not know, but as soon as I sat down, I recognized him as one of the players in the top tables on day one. We sat down and started chatting and it turns out it was Kevin’s first Grand Prix and he is a super nice person. It was a pleasure to play the mirror against him in a Win-and-in. I took game one on the back of some big spells and finally got to board in some of my less used cards.

 

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

-1 Courser

-1 Polukranos

-1 Nissa

+2 Ugin

+1 Xenagos

+2 Arbor Colossus

 

Game two he rushed out a Xenagos into Ugin and I died not drawing enough gas early when I had mana and too much gas after he killed all of my dorks. This is how the mirror works, sometimes they turn four Atarka and you are just dead. Game three we each had semi explosive hands and we clogged up the ground. I was able to find haymaker after haymaker while he kept manifesting his and eventually he extended the hand when I threatened to Polukranos for a massive amount wiping out his board and crashing in for lethal. Kevin was a nice person and I hoped he would be able to make top 8, but unfortunately he was in the mirror again the next round. I, on the other hand, was now 12-1-0 and the top ranked player in the tournament.

 

Round Fourteen saw me paired against Oliver Tiu who would end up being my quarterfinal opponent. We decided to draw as the two 36 point players paired at table one 12-1-1. Round Fifteen, I was paired against Neal Sacks who I would play in the Finals as we both drew into our first Grand Prix top 8s with a handshake and a hug 12-1-2.

 

I was the four seed in top 8 and paired against the five seed Oliver Tiu who was on G/B Five color dragons. Unlike Richard I got to see his list before the match and realized that game one seemed pretty easy and game two he had access to no counter magic. With that realization, it was very easy to just jam threat after threat and keep a little slower hands as he needed time to set up. Despite getting to bring in Plummets, the games were over very quickly as I ramped hard and overran him with much bigger creatures faster than he could handle 13-1-2 and into the semis.

 

The Semifinals was much harder as I was against Pedro Carvalho with Sultai Whip, which was about a 57% matchup in my mind as I told friends as they walked by asking how top 8 was going. From this point, forward the matches were on Twitch and I will only talk about interesting moments or decisions.

 

-2 Rattleclaw Mystics

-2 Polukranos

-1 Courser

-1 Nissa

+2 Ugin

+2 Arbor Colossus

+2 Plummet

 

Game two I kept a land light hand with two dorks and I wanted to run out one and hold the second in case of Drown in Sorrow. I ended up missing my third land drop and played out the Rattleclaw Mystic. He had Drown. I was punished and conceded shortly. Game three was much more interesting as we both had some game, but there were two talked about points in the match. First, I did not sacrifice my Whisperwood Elemental in response to Crux of Fate knowing I would draw a Genesis Hydra. I did not want to run into Drown and drawing Hydra and possibly reloading the board seemed better to me than getting two 2/2s. Second, after Pedro cast Dragonlord Silumgar taking Ugin I was unsure if he was going to -9 or +2. After realizing that his last card was likely Murderous cut because he did not Thoughtseize me and he only had B up, I felt his line of trying to ultimate Ugin was correct. However, since I had a second Ugin I had sandbagged since my opener, I knew I could get Ugin back, but as Pedro said, Plummet would be game as I would get back Ugin and have a backup for after ultimating the first Ugin. I drew the Plummet, made sure to think through both lines and showed him the Plummet and I was into the Finals 14-1-2.

 

My finals opponent Neal Sacks was a nice person who was willing to chat and have a laugh despite the gravity of the situation and I really appreciated that. The finals were rough as he absolutely smashed me with a savage Dromoka’s Command play and I died quickly in game one.

 

-1 Nissa

-1 Ugin

-1 Rattleclaw Mystics

-2 Genesis Hydra

+2 Hornet’s Nest

+1 Xenagos

+2 Nylea’s Disciple

 

Game two I was able to hold on and stabilized until Atarka showed up. There was the big Siege Rhino backup, which I feel Head Judge Kevin Desprez handled very well, and after correcting the board state, we finished the game. Going into game three, I was tense as it was a best of one for the title and everything along with it. I kept my hand of Scry land, four other lands, Xenagos, Whisperwood after he mulliganed since I figured I would have some time and three draw steps including the Scry to find a dork. Neal ended up mulliganing down to four cards and I drew an Elvish Mystic on turn one. Once I got to block down his creatures and he did not have a trick I knew that I had won; which did not help after looking at extra cards after my courser died. After attacking for a large chunk, Neal fetched, drew, and passed. I made another Satyr and won a Grand Prix, 15-1-2.

 

The scream of my friends behind me and all around was amazing and after talking about testing together for the Pro Tour, I was whisked away to give a winner’s interview with Marshall Sutcliffe. The whole coverage team was fantastic and I had a blast having brief conversations with them after locking top 8 and waiting on my top 4 match. The interview was a lot of fun and all of the photos, hugs, and congratulations were a fantastic topping to the experience of actually winning a Grand Prix. Moving forward I feel the deck is still well positioned, but now it’s higher on people’s radar and more mirrors and Perilous Vaults have shown up on Magic Online. If the Meta has shifted a little too hard from Abzan to Vaults and counter magic, sleeving up RG Dragons or Atarka Red seems like a good decision. As of writing, I am happy to say that the dream of wining Grand Prix Providence has finally started to sink in as reality and it was just as amazing as expected.

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This week in Magic: An Origins preview

goblinpiledriver
 

Welcome back to another edition of “This week in Magic.” If you haven’t noticed by now, spoilers for Magic Origins have begun popping up in various places all over the internet. I thought we could take some time this week and go over some of the highlights from those spoilers. So far, the set looks good on it’s own, but the real question how will it live up to the current Standard Meta?

 

The Planeswalkers

The concept of the new planeswalkers is really interesting. In fact, I don’t even know how well these are going to be received by the players. For the most part, we’re so used to just playing them. Now we have to earn them by experiencing their spark. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like the conditions that need to be met are impossible to accomplish.

 

Now with that said, here is how I’d rank them in order of playability – that is to say how easy I think it would be to turn them over. At number five would be Nissa. Ramping up to seven land is not that bad, but seven land can be a lot. At number four is Jace. Getting five cards into your library is not a hard task. However, in Standard it can take a little bit longer as compared to other formats. For example, I know I can easily drop a turn two Tasigur. That doesn’t exist in Standard – at least the consistency isn’t there.

 

At number three is Liliana. Baiting your opponent to kill one of your creatures may be a little tougher with her on the board. Though at some point, they’ll have to stop something. Early aggro is never fun to deal with. She’ll flip eventually. Nearing the end, we have Gideon at number two. He’s a solid one drop to begin with. Getting some friend to swing with for a turn three assault seems reasonable. The questions is if he’ll be alive at the end of it all to flip over. That’s the real question. Finally, at number one is Chandra. I am a fan how how aggressive she is. She even smells of “combo” all over her. Unfortunately, unless you kill your opponent, flipping her is not a may ability. Still, her planeswalker form is probably the strongest out of all the other planeswalker.

 

Don’t take ranking too seriously now. Even more so, now that I’ve done it, there is a high chance that I will be completely wrong and everything I’ve ranked will prove to go the opposite way.

 

The reprints

Up to now, we’ve learned of several cards that will be making repeat appearances in Origins. Many will be happy to know that the enemy colored painlands will be coming back. They’ve done really well thus far, and have helped define a very aggressive Standard format. The reason some people will be happy to see them back is mainly for financial reasons. Unless you’re new to the game, then you won’t have to invest in much or anything for a set of these lands.

 

The one fun thing about core sets from the past has always been the speculation as to what set of dual lands we’ll see. To have a repeat, this can make things a little stale for some players. It would have been nice to the allied colors or another set of land, but we’ve got no choice now.

 

Another solid reprint is Knight of the White Orchid. If my memory serves me correctly, this card was in a really fun mono white deck that essentially ramped up into the Kozilek, Ulamog, and Emrakul respectively. It played board wipes like Day of Judgement and All is Dust to deal with early threats. The deck also played Pilgrim’s Eye and Everflowing Chalice.

 

So why am I happy to see this card? It’s because the fall set makes a return to Zendikar. If that means anything, it means that we’ll most likely see a return of the Eldrazi. There is hope for the Knight. Other than that, who can complain about a first striking 2/2 for two?

 

Of course the biggest surprise thus far has to be the announcement that Goblin Piledriver will be back? How big of an impact will he make in his return. First of all, let’s take a moment to sit back and realize that he hasn’t been around since Onslaught. So that means it’s been about 13 years since he was first printed. When he made his debut, he helped define one of the best tribal decks in Standard. Since then he’s been making his presence known Legacy Goblin decks. Now he’s back.

 

Standard players may want to watch out for the first few months he’s in Standard. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when he and Goblin Rabblemaster are on the battlefield at the same time? Luckily, Standard players won’t have a lot of time to deal with it, but who knows what the fall will bring.

 

The biggest impact, though, will be in Modern. Here’s a small list of other goblins in Modern: Legion Loyalist, Goblin Chieftain, Goblin King, Goblin Rabblemaster, and Goblin Guide. Combine that with one of the most efficient burn packages and we’ve got a problem. By “we” I mean those who will not be playing goblins in Modern.

 

The new guys in town

On a final note I’m going to end things with the card “Day’s Undoing.” Let me tell you the story of a card called Time Reversal. I jumped on the hype train faster than you can say, “Dumb” when this card was first spoiled. It’s like I was a man possessed.

 

While this card is significantly cheaper to cast, it comes with the stipulation that your turn end if you cast it during your turn. You may have noticed people started to buy out every copy of Quicken because of this. I don’t think a one mana casting instant to let you cast this as an instant will help its cause. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pre-order this card. Take this as a cautionary tale. If you believe that it is much better than Time Reversal and worth the money, then by all means go for it. I’m not here to stop you. Just think before you leap.

 

By the way, Time Reversal is available via the online store ranging from $.85-$.89. They also have 18 copies available from both M11 and M12. Just saying…

 

origins prerelease abnner

 

About the author

Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

 

 

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This week in Magic: A GP Providence Primer

den protector

 

Welcome back to another edition of “This week in Magic.” This weekend, GP Providence will be rolling into town. The format – Standard. So there is a good chance that if you’re reading this, then you’ll be going to the event. However, if you’re like me, there is a good chance you’re also undecided about which deck to play. Well, you’re in luck. Today, we’re going to go over what kind of a field you can expect. While I’m not attempting to define the meta that will be in Rhode Island, I will be going over the different kind of decks that exist out there.

 

Esper Dragons

First up is Esper Dragons. Esper dragons is the control deck of the Standard format. Typical deck lists will contain three to four Ojutai’s and probably two of the 3/7 version of Silumgar. That version is the best to go against token decks and gives Abzan the most trouble since it can block and kill almost everything in the deck and most of their kill spells become useless.

 

If the Esper player knows what’s best for them the deck will have a full package of Scorns. So be aware of what you’re throwing down turn two. If it’s something you can’t part ways with, then you better hold on to it until the path is clear.

 

So how do you play against this deck? Well, like many control decks, early aggro can give it problems. Having played Abzan Aggro against Esper, my gameplan was to make sure I had a turn one Warden ready to hit the board. Your chances of winning were better if you could play him turn one over any other play on turn two. That’s not to say playing either Rakshasa or a Fleecemane is any less of a play. Both are solid two drops in their own respects.

 

If you’re thinking of playing control, matchups like this will always be a nightmare and treating the clock like it’s your friend will help you out here. This war of attrition will surely test your patience. It all comes down to who can’t stand the game of “draw – go” and plays a spell first. Whatever you do, don’t give into temptation.

 

Mono Red

This deck just never seems to go away, and it never will. Red has always been the home to cheap and efficient spells. That’s why it will always be a contender and will always be something you have to keep an eye for.

 

I think one of the scariest creatures in this deck is Foundry Street Denizen. The potential for this guy to hit like a truck every turn is through the roof. Okay, maybe it’s not that high, but it’s high enough to be concerned about. Why? Thanks to other cheap creatures and spells like Hordling Outburst and Dragon Fodder, there is always a constant flow of little ugly men coming from your opponent.

 

After the Denizen, it feels like every other spell they cast can be a threat. Whether it kills you on your own or helps cast Stoke the Flames. From here, it all comes down to whether or not your opponent can count to 20.

 

I know I make it sound like it’s completely useless to play against the deck, but Red’s worst matchup are big creatures. So decks like Mono Green, GW Devotion, or Abzan Control will give it problems since they can drop early blockers. Oh, and one last piece of advice, don’t be afraid to block and trade with their creatures. The longer their creatures are on the board the more of threat they become to you.

 

Mono Green or GW Devotion

I know I come off as a guy who loves playing Mono Red, but I also love playing Mono Green. There is nothing better than flooding the battlefield with lots of fatties, especially if you can land them early in the game. As of right now, the sickest play Mono Green has is curving out into a turn one elf, turn two Raptor, into a turn three Surrak. Someone please pass me the salt.

 

Surprisingly, this deck also gives control a run for their money. The reason being is that control can only do so much against the deck. The key card here, and in a lot of matches, is Whisperwood Elemental. To have a constant engine churning out creatures is a problem for everyone. If you can’t deal with an early elemental then prepare yourself for a battle.

 

So how do we deal with this? As I said Whisperwood Elemental is a key card in this match up. Without it, the deck is very weak to board wipes. Therefore, spells like Crux or End Hostilities will make your opponent sad. If Whisperwood is on the board, make sure you find a way to remove it before casting your board wipe. Single removal spells like Downfall and Ultimate Price are still great to bring in more of, however, you only have so many copies of these removal spells. Another great answer to this deck is Deathmist Raptor. Which leads me into my last deck to be prepared for.

 

Abzan Control, Midrange, and Aggro

There is a reason the Abzan color scheme is one of the most popular, and that’s because it’s the most powerful. It just seems to have an answer for everything. This would also be my choice to bring if I were going to the GP. More specifically, I’d be piloting Abzan Megamorph.

 

With a balance of strong, self-efficient creatures and a strong removal package, Abzan feels like the complete package. If they haven’t already, many of the Abzan players have begun switching to the Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor package. I made the change last week having playing a couple week of Abzan Aggro already. At first I wasn’t sold on the whole idea. In fact, I thought the combo was just trying to be too “cute.” I have never been so wrong.

 

First of all, Deathmist Raptor on it’s own is just silly. A 3/3 for three mana, has deathtouch, and the ability to come back if you flip a morph creature. It’s unfair almost. Combine that with the ability of Den Protector who can bring other cards back from your graveyard and talk about some amazing card advantage. Although, the combo does have it’s downsides. It’s extremely mana greedy. To play a Den Protector and flip it the same turn takes at least five mana. So if you want to play a Den Protector, flip it, and cast an Ultimate price you’re looking at seven mana (eight mana if you want to Downfall). Did we forget to mention that you also need the right color combination for all your spells?

 

On that note, we’ll end things here fo the week. Just remember that no matter what deck you choose, get plenty of sleep, shower before the event, and wear a belt. See you all next week.

 

About the author

Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

 

 

The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!

 

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This week in Magic: Grixis Delver side board options for Modern

blood moon
 

It’s time for another edition of “This week in Magic.” Last week I talked about Grixis Delver and my thoughts on the deck. This week we’re going to continue the discussion and cover the side board. The side board of any deck is always a sensitive subject. There are many of you who will agree with me and there are plenty of you who will disagree. That’s okay. Side boards are a complicated thing and there is no such thing as a perfect board. Your guess is only as good as mine.

 

Enough of me wasting your time with an intro, here is a quick reminder of what my Grixis Delver decks looks like right now.

 

Grixis Delver
Main board:

 

4x Serum Visions
4x Thoughtscour
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Gitaxian Probe
2x Mana Leak
2x Remand
2x Vapor Snag
2x Spell Snare
2x Kolghan’s Command
2x Murderous Cut
1x Electrolyze

 

4x Delver of Secrets
3x Young Pyromancer
3x Snapcaster Mage
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Gurmag Angler

 

4x. Polluted Delta
1x Swamp
4x Bloodstained Mire
2x Steam Vents
1x Watery Grave
4x Island
1x Mountain
1x Blood Crypt
1x Flooded Strand

 

Side board

 

3x Dragon’s Claw
2x Vandalblast
2x Spellskite
2x Dispel
1x Rending Volley
2x Blood Moon
1x Izzet Staticaster
2x Self-Inflicted Wound

 

vs. Mono Red Burn

+3 Dragon’s Claw, +2 Spellskite, +2 Dispel;
-3 Gitaxian Probe, -2 Remand, -2 Vapor Snag

 

Let’s start right from the top. Dragon’s Claw is pretty self explanatory. In the past couple of years, Mono Red Burn has become quite a popular deck to run. It (was) cheap to build and is a very efficient deck to run. As long as you can count to 20, you can play Mono Red Burn. Still, the deck is good enough to earn it’s own side board slot.

 

We want to mitigate the amount of damage we do to ourselves, so Gitaxian Probes are a great candidate to come out. Remands are counters that do us no good in this match especially since many of the spells can be re-cast the same turn you counter them. Finally, Vapor Snags are less efficient as compared to some of the other cards we can bring in like Spellskites and Dispels.

 

Dispels are a great replacement for Remand considering a majority of their deck is made up of instants, and we get the added bonus that Dispel only costs us one mana. Spellskites are the most annoying cards we can bring them in to redirect most of the burn spells to the artifact. Any way to buy time is totally worth it against a burn player. Many of my games have come down to one or two life.

 

As a burn player, I’ve been affected by Blood Moon before. It’s not a definite answer, but it’s annoying enough to stop us from playing some of our best spells.

 

vs. UR Twin or Grixis Twin

+2 Spellskite, +1 Rending Volley, +2 Dispel;
-3 Young Pyromancer, -1 Electrolyze, -1 Gurmag Angler

 

This is an interesting side board situation. In my experience versus Twin decks, the tend to side out the combo against decks like ours. Twin decks will then take a more control approach to the match. So here, I’ve decided to bring in Spellskites, a Volley, and two Dispels.

 

Spellskites are great against the combo and the changes that most Twin deck make post side board. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been burnt out by a Twin player in games two and/or three. This is the same reason we bring in Dispels. We really can’t go wrong with more hard counters especially since they cost us only one to cast! Our one Rending Volley is great and helps us if they’ve kept in part of the combo. That’s what makes these Twin decks great is how versatile they can be. Even if the combo has been taken out, they’re great at removing Exarchs that are still hanging out and Cliques which may make a sudden cameo.

 

So why did we take out what we took out?. Pyromancers are actually some of our weakest creatures I think in this match up. Twin decks have plenty of ways to deal with them and any tokens they may make along the way. When it comes to Electrolyze, I feel like there are better cards for this match up in our side. The same can be said for the Angler. Being that there is only one copy, we can do away with it post side boarding.

 

vs. Affinity

+2 Vandalblast, +2 Blood Moon;
-2 Remand, -2 Mana Leak

 

I think one of the best ways to deal with Affinity, is to just let things happen. They will have some silly openings and you’ll find yourself sitting there, staring at your cards wondering what to do next. If you try to control them, you’re going to lose. Let their artifacts hit the board and let your destructive spells deal with them. Thanks to Dragons of Tarkir, Grixis Delver now has one of the best spells against Affinity in Kolghan’s Command, and these are in our main board.

 

By taking out our counters, we’re now relying on our removal spells. Between the Bolts, Commands, Cuts, and even the Snags, it should be more than enough to deal with those pesky little robots. If that’s not enough, we’ve brought in Vandalblasts that can deal with one or multiple artifacts. Also, we’ve got Blood Moons on our side. While it may not seem like a obvious choice, let me remind you of the many times I’ve been killed by an activated Nexus with an equipped Plating.

 

I remember dropping a turn three Blood Moon against my opponent during a pPTQ and, while it wasn’t the answer I needed, it bought me enough time to establish a board pressence and beat my opponent.

 

In closing

Well we’re almost out of time, but let me leave you with something small. With the recent events and GR Tron being a big winner this weekend, I’m sure many of you are wondering what to bring in versus that match up. Obviously Blood Moon is the best card you have against Tron. Shut those lands down and you’ll find your path to victory. However another card you may not have thought of is Vandalblast. Tron relies a lot on on those artifacts. Not only do they cantrip, but they help with their mana issues. Be aware though, it’s not the end all answer, but enough to slow them down to where you can take advantage of things.

 

About the author

Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

 

 

The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!

 

1170
 

 

Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!

Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!

 

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TODAY – ‘X-Wing’ 2015 Regional Championship @ Plainville, MA, Join Us!

     

 

 

Battleground Games & Hobbies – Plainville, MA. Battleground Games & Hobbies is proud to announce that the 2015 Star Wars X-Wing Regional Championship on Saturday, June 6th at our awesome Plainville, MA location is TODAY! We hope that you’ll join us for this exciting event. Details below.

 

The Details:

Format: 100 points
Date: June 6th, 2015
Time: Round 1 begins at 10:00 am, Doors open at 9:00 am
Entrance Fee: $25.00

Address:
25 Taunton Street
Plainville MA 02762
508.316.1195

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Battleground’s Facebook Page

We do require participants to submit squadron lists to us by Wednesday, June 3rd.  We will varrify each list before the tournament begins in an effort to avoid any problems during the event. They will be kept confidential. To submit your squadron list, please click here or contact us.

The tournaments will follow the standard Fantasy Flight tournament rules.  Each round will last 60 minutes. The number of rounds will be based on attendance, followed by a cut to a top eight single-elimination playoff.

 

TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT:
Preregistration is REQUIRED to participate in this event.  We are not registering potential participants at the door. Please click here and use our online shopping cart to preregister.  You will not need to produce proof of purchase on the day of the event (you don’t need to print out and bring the receipt). At checkout please select “Event Registration – X-Wing Regional Tournament” for your shipping method.
Please use a real email address when creating your user ID for the online store. We will be using this to contact you should the location of the event change (larger space) or to collect your squadron lists as the date approaches.

If you are registering multiple people please include their names in the comment section at checkout. Thank you!

 

Travel:

If you’re traveling to join us for the 2015 X-Wing  Regional Championship, please find below some useful information.

Local Hotel Accommodations

Holiday Inn Express Plainville-Foxboro

Holiday Inn Express Providence-North Attleboro

Knights Inn North Attleboro

Battleground Games & Hobbies – Plainville is local to numerous restaurants and convenient to shopping. In addition, Battleground Games & Hobbies is only miles away from Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots!

Contact:

Please click here to contact us if you have any questions. You may likewise visit our forum for any further details and discussion.

 

 

We look forward to seeing you all there for the 2015 X-Wing Regional Championship! May the Force be with you.

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This week in Magic: Grixis Delver for Modern

tasigur
 

Welcome back for another edition of “This week in ‘Magic.’” This week we’re going to go over one of my favorite decks in Modern right now, Grixis Delver. With the recent release of Modern Masters 2015, Modern has taken a front seat amongst the other formats and people are now wanting to play it more than ever. While the set did make a lot of cards that were once scarce very available, it left many off of the list. Due to this action, some of those cards are skyrocketing in price.

 

Okay, enough of my blabbing, here is what I’m playing:

 

Grixis Delver
Main board:

 

4x Serum Visions
4x Thoughtscour
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Gitaxian Probe
2x Mana Leak
2x Remand
2x Vapor Snag
2x Spell Snare
2x Kolghan’s Command
2x Murderous Cut
1x Electrolyze

 

4x Delver of Secrets
3x Young Pyromancer
3x Snapcaster Mage
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Gurmag Angler

 

4x. Polluted Delta
1x Swamp
4x Bloodstained Mire
2x Steam Vents
1x Watery Grave
4x Island
1x Mountain
1x Blood Crypt
1x Flooded Strand

 

Side board
3x Dragon’s Claw
2x Vandalblast
2x Spellskite
2x Dispel
1x Rending Volley
2x Blood Moon
1x Izzet Staticaster
2x Self-Inflicted Wound

 

This deck has been a lot of fun to run. Surprisingly, a lot more fun than casting a fist full of burn spells at my opponent. So what is it about this deck that I like so much. Besides being super lucky and flipping a Delver with a high percentage rate on turn two, I’ve been able to cast Tasigur on turn two as well at a high rate as well.

 

Turn two you ask? Yes, it’s very possible and happens at a high rate thanks to spells like Thoughtscour, Serum Visions, and your fetch lands. A really good hand starts with me usually casting a Gitaxian Probe for two life. I could then do a number of things. If the coast is clear, I’ll drop a Delver on you. Otherwise there is a good chance I can just set myself up via Serum Visions. Mind you that’s two cards in my graveyard already – three if I fetched a land.

 

On my second turn, it could be considered a hasty move, but I’ll Thoughtscour myself during my main phase just to fill my graveyard if it means I can drop a turn two Tasigur. Kudos to you if you’re able to accomplish this because sometimes even a Tarmogoyf doesn’t get this big on turn two. If successful, your job is to protect Tasigur from here on out as it can win you the game. The same can be said for your only Gurmag.

 

The rest of your deck is there to support Tasigur or any other threat you may fish out on turn one. Most of the deck is self explanatory, but there are some, that I can tell, are causing you to rub your head. Let’s start with Kolghan’s Command.

 

This is a card that many Jund and Grixis decks in Modern have begun to take advantage of. As a side note, it sees more play in Modern than it does in Standard. So what is it about this card that makes it a popular choice? It’s first mode can be quite troublesome for many decks. There is nothing like letting your opponent think they’ve got you cornered when they kill your Tasigur only to be able to bring it back and play it the following turn.

 

The second mode doesn’t always play an important role in the game, but there are times when my opponent is sitting there with one card in hand, and i’ll gladly have them pitch it away. Even if it was just a land, having that kind of information can go a long way in helping you plan your own game out. Mode three is a huge mode and one that you may choose the most. Against Affinity, this huge. Combined with mode four, this become a two-for-one. This mode also works well against decks that will bring in random Batterskulls, Spellskites, and Swords.

 

Mode four is one of the most versatile modes the card has. Like I said before, being able to two-for-one Affinity by killing a little critter and destroying an artifact is amazing. It’s important to remember that you can also deal two points of damage to your opponent as well.

 

Is there a downside to this card? There are probably two. In a deck where most of your spells cost one or two mana, having a spell that costs three stinks. In addition to that, none of that mana is blue. In fact, it’s your splash color and your off-color. If you can get over those flaws, this is one of the best spells in the deck.

 

Lastly, I’ll touch upon my decision to run Murderous Cut over Terminate. Admittedly, I originally ran this deck with Terminates. As well, I admit that I didn’t like running the deck with Terminate. Why? Black is really just a splash and I don’t to use it as much as I can. It also is very color constraining in a deck that is very mana greedy. So why do I like Murderous Cut so much? The same reason why I like Tasigur. I found myself being able to put so many cards in my graveyard that I had to take more advantage of it. So why not use Murderous Cut? I’m either lucky, or maybe it’s a better choice for the deck, but I find myself casting it for one mana more often than none.

 

Well that’s it for now. Tune in next week when I’ll cover the side board and discuss the choices it provides us. Thanks for reading!

 

About the author

Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

 

 

The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!

 

1170
 

 

Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!

Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!

 

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