On Sunday I took a very standard build of Death and Taxes to the local Win-a-Mox. With the cantrip based 3 and 4 color control decks on the rise and the UW control deck cropping up I ended up playing both a Vryn Wingmare and a Spirit of the Labyrinth in the main and slid one of the two Prelates to the board. For the board I had to drop the one Faerie Macabre to make room for the Prelate I wanted to keep in the 75. Other than that, nothing too spicy. Death and Taxes usually has one or two utility land slots and I opted for a Mishra’s Factory. It really helps close out games when your opponent is playing a pile of removal spells.
There were just shy of 70 players at the MTG First game center for their fifth installment of the Quest For Power series. They had the next event on September 10th for a Time Walk. It’s a great shop with a thriving legacy scene. If you are in the DC/Metro area it’s worth definitely worth the trek. MTG First also runs these events through TopDecked, which has some really sweet benefits to players: Pre-registration gives you a stress-free entry without having to wait in line, sort your deck, pile shuffle a trillion times before round one; Mobile pairings are also supported and save players from the horde of backpacks and bodies on your way to the pairings sheet, then back to your table; you can even get your pairings online, too.
These accommodations, the great prize structure, and best of all – LEGACY made for a good Saturday trip.
This was my list: https://www.topdecked.me/decks/00e3c319-bc01-45b7-bba7-04aa2609a747
Round 1: Tim – Aluren (1-0)
G1 (Mull 6, Play) – Wasteland Thalia Port closed this game out without me seeing anything but a basic swamp, an Underground Sea, a Brainstorm, and a Verdant Catacombs. I assumed he was on some Leovold pile.
G2 (Draw) – Very tight game back and forth, I saw your typical BUG assortment of DRS, some cantrips, Strix, nothing out of the ordinary…. Until I got blown out by trying to Palace Jailer his only creature. He flashed in a Quickling took monarch on the following turn and ran away with the game.
G3 (Play) – Wasteland and Ports keep opponent off of anything relevant for a few turns. Vialed in Flickerwisp to blink out lands. Recruiter made sure another wisp followed on the following turn and 6 in the air is a hell of a clock.
Match recap: He was on a 4 color Aluren pile, which tends to have a VERY greedy mana base and rely on DRS a lot. Mess with their mana and they can’t really get the card advantage engine running. Fall behind and they will snowball the lead. I mis-sideboarded for G2, I don’t know if that would have changed things.
Round 2: Andrew – Burn (2-0)
G1 (Draw) – T2 Thalia got blazed. With Batterskull in hand, I fetched Jitte with my T3 SFM. T4 I draw Thalia and have to choose between jamming and equipping Jitte on my lone creature, or playing thalia and SFM’ing BSkull in at his EoT. I go for the Thalia and die from 12.
G2 (Play) – T1 Vial led to Thalia (eats a Searing Blaze), Backup Thalia, Recruiter fetching Wingmare. Opponent overlooks the Mishra Factory, attacks and leaves himself DOB.
G3 (Draw) – Very close game, I thought I had put the headlock into place curving Thalia -> Vryn’s Wingmare -> Sanctum Prelate (1) -> Sanctum Prelate (2). A Fireblast on a Prelate makes the game a little more dicey, but ports end up keeping him off of casting any spells for the next two turns while the knuckleheads crash in.
Match recap: I felt like this match was a lot more difficult that my usual burn matchups. He had Searing Blaze in all three games answering key two-drops and flooded out to mitigate port and Thalia’s tax.
Round 3: Mike – 4c KOTR Loam (3-0)
G1 (Draw) – I don’t remember a lot about this game. I think a Prelate on 2 locked G1 out.
G2 (Play) – I got crushed this game. He found an early Punishing Fire and I never was able to break out of it.
G3 (Play) – This was a roller coaster of a game. I started off slow and ended up getting a Rest in Peace out which slowed the game to a crawl. Mike made a Liliana of the Veil and I was in a world of hurt for a few turns. I ended up getting a Palace Jailer to recoup some of the beating Lilly put on me. Needle locked down Lilly and I got the medocre beats on. Mike ended up with a Dark Confidant and Sylvan Library at 2 life, and I fired off a surgical hoping to punk him out. He hits a land off the Bob trigger, and Sylvans himself into a Green Sun’s Zenith. I figured this was game over, I assumed he was going to fetch out a Reclamation Sage and tag the Needle freeing up Lilly to continue running amok. Instead he fetched out a Knight of the Reliquary and ended up having to chump with it and died on the following turn.
Match recap: I don’t have much experience against the 4c Loam lists, but I know that Lilly is just brutal to beat. Paired up with Punishing Fire I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a miserable match-up.
Round 4: Josh – Eldrazi (4-0)
G1 (Play) – Chalice on 1. This game was a slugfest. Both players just made threats and swung past each other with zero regard. His early Smuggler’s Copter got locked down by a Revoker. For whatever reason his early play gave me a feeling he had Warping Wail and led to a few unintuitive blocks and attacks. Fortunately, I was able to play around it the whole game and not get punished for it. Mishra’s Factory coming in big to break through for the last few damage.
G2 (Draw) – Chalice on 1. Wasted and Ported until I could save some lands until I could confidently resolve a threat and still keep him under wraps. I let his mana free for a turn to Flickerwisp a Hallowed One. I have Path + Wisp + Jailer and let him get his mana for a turn. He makes TKS and takes Path. That was probably wrong especially since he didn’t have an answer to Jailer right away. Jailer exiles TKS and runs away with a billion cards.
Match Recap: This match usually is decided early since an unanswered Reality Smasher or Jitte from either player is game over. Not to mention that we have like 10 bananas main. I don’t feel a mana denial strategy is as effective despite the Eldrazi’s reliance on colorless sources.
Round 5: Thomas – Czech Pile (4-1)
G1 (Draw) – T1 Mom (forced) -> T2 Thalia -> T3 Mom (forced) + Spirit of Lab locked him out of cantrips and slowly chipped him down through a DRS over the next 6 turns or so. He 2-for-1’d himself a bunch by keeping Mom’s off the board early. I guess this makes sense since it turns off Pushes/Commands/Bolts, but the big impactful two drops end up running away with the game.
G2 (Draw) – Tom got out to a good start with a few DRS getting checked by Swords. Ended up sticking one eventually then resolving a JtMS. Had to suicide a Vryn’s Wingmare into a Baleful Strix to unlock my Council’s Judgement (barf). I wasn’t able to answer the follow up TNN + Marsh Casualties.
G3 (Play) – Guh, kept Plains Wasteland Mom Thalia, Plow, Recruiter, Wisp. Didn’t see the third land until I had fallen far behind on cards and on board, maybe T9?
Match Recap: These are really fun set of games and I wish I could have put up more of a fight in the third game. I think their greedy mana and cantrips are easily punished, but if they get ahead with an unchecked DRS they can go way over the top with KCommand and Snapcaster Mage.
Round 6: Kevin – Jund Lands (5-1)
G1 (Draw) – A questionable keep with Plains, Port, Wasteland x2, Mom x2, Thalia. Kevin started off on a Wooded Foothills and I was hoping he was on a slower lands draw and I can punk him out with the double wasteland Thalia. He ended up getting T2 Exploration, and double rotating to kill me on the following turn. :\
G2/G3 (Play/Draw) – These games both played out in *exactly* the same way. Karakas and Swords kept him off of a Laige, while he decayed, and Krosan Grip’ed his way through all of my clocks I was stuck with some really embarrassing attacks over the next 11 or so combat phase. He at one point had three copies of Maze of Ith and was fogging 9 damage or so every drawstep. He had some sweet tech in Barbarian Ring and that was great against Mom/Prelate preventing a hardlock. But man, look at this life track! Over the course of those three games probably thirty points of combat damage was dealt by Stoneforge Mystics.
Match Recap: He had a really interesting list. A full set of Thoughtseize in the board, two Barb Ring in the main. This was a match where I really regret dropping the Faerie Macabre from the board. I had a few chances to blow Kevin out by Vialing in a Recruiter and fetching Macabre.
Round 7: ID -> T8 (5-1-1)
Welcome to the Top 8 🙂 A minor sweat since one of the 15 pointers were going to have to play it out. Luckily best breakers left me in third after the swiss. Top 8 split and we all went home happy!
