On Thursday night before StarCityGames.com Open Series: Dallas/Fort Worth, some friends and I went out for wings and played the credit card game; I lost. Friday we left for Dallas from Houston around 4 pm—bad idea. It took two hours and 45 minutes to get from the South Side to just north of Houston in the rain and traffic, so our trip was extended to seven hours instead of three and a half. We rolled into hotel parking lot with six miles until the tank was empty, so we were all screaming obscenities about whether to stop or let it ride. Then we went out for drinks and stumbled back into the hotel room at 3 AM. It was anarchic: couples fighting, general shouting, squalor, and misery, rather like the scene in Durham, NC last Friday (or whenever).
I got a grand total of about six and a half minutes of sleep that night, so rather than head to the venue right away, I decided to stay in and sleep since I was 100% sure I was playing Legacy. Saturday at about 1 PM I rolled into the venue where I promptly discovered there was a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament on the other side of the convention center. It was like a young Sodom and Gomorrah—people playing dice, blatantly possessing open liquor bottles, and using what were effectively strong-arm tactics for foil cards. Upon arrival to the SCG room, I discovered there were over 500(!) people for the Standard event. I finished building my deck and entered the 6 PM Legacy Challenge (four rounds with payout based on record). I ended 3-1, having lost to many a Lightning Bolt and Fireblast. This night we went to a barbecue place that featured an infinite ribs option. I decided to partake in that maximum number of ribs. I slept much better that night despite constant offers of free beer and yet more yelling in the hallways.
The next morning, 174Â players were ready for Legacy. Here’s what I settled on to play:
Creatures (11)
Lands (28)
Spells (22)
I played this deck because all these cards are awesome.
Round 1 – U/W Aggro with Aether Vial, Stoneforge Mystic, and Serra Avenger
Game 1 – This game was fairly bland; he made the mistake of searching up two Tundra with his Flooded Strands and never using more than one blue mana. I used Wasteland on his first Tundra and used Life from the Loam to hit the other. After Punishing Fire cleared out his Stoneforge Mystic and Serra Avenger via Grove of the Burnwillows, his resources were depleted after he Force of Willed a Tarmogoyf. Terravore made quick work of the rest of his life.
Game 2 – He searched out a basic foil Unhinged Island and played an Aether Vial. I used Inquisition of Kozilek to reveal two Force of Will, a Daze, and two more Flooded Strand. Daze was my only choice. Turn 2 he searched up a basic foil Unhinged Plans and cast Stoneforge Mystic for Umezawa’s Jitte. I Punished the Stoneforge, and he ticked Aether Vial to two counters and played Flooded Strand and Jitte. I merely played a land and passed, and he put Serra Avenger into play. Equipping Jitte to Serra Avenger got him two counters, and I couldn’t find a way to stop him.
Game 3 – I led with a cycle of Forgotten Cave as he went with Flooded Strand for Plains and Aether Vial. I played a little 1/2 Tarmogoyf, and he added a counter to Vial and played another Strand. I ripped Inquisition of Kozilek, and he Swords to Plowsharesed my Goyf in response. I pulled a second Swords to Plowshares, and he was left with Serra Avenger, Force of Will, Jitte, and land. Serra Avenger I met with Diabolic Edict, and he couldn’t find another blue card to stop Dark Confidant. The card advantage proved too much for him, and Seismic Assault took the game over.
1-0
Round 2 – G/B Good Cards
Game 1 – He led with turn 1 Thoughtseize taking a Dark Confidant, followed by turn 2 Hymn to Tourach, hitting my relevant land and Tarmogoyf. He finished off my hand with another Hymn, and suddenly neither of us had anything but land. I used a Volrath’s Stronghold to bring my Tarmogoyf back during my upkeep, but tapped my land wrong in an embarrassing fashion and was unable to play Tarmogoyf. He drew for Sylvan Library and paid four life, using Hymn to hit the Tarmogoyf and Wasteland on the Volrath’s Stronghold. He added a Vampire Nighthawk to the board, which regained him some crucial life. I draw Dark Confidant and was almost able to recover despite my blunder, but in the end he had just enough pressure and I was hoisted by my own petard (Dark Confidant).
Game 2 – I had a blazing start with turn 1 Inquisition of Kozilek on his Tarmogoyf, turn 2 Dark Confidant, turn 3 Tarmogoyf, and turn 4 Punishing Fire on his Liliana of the Veil plus Diabolic Edict for his Scavenging Ooze. He managed to get another Liliana out, which couldn’t hold on because I also had Grove.
Game 3 – He led with turn 1 Thoughtseize on Tarmogoyf, turn 2 Dark Confidant, turn 3 Vampire Nighthawk, and turn 4 Liliana of the Veil. I met the Confidant with Punishing Fire, the Nighthawk with a Diabolic Edict, and the Liliana with a Grove of the Burnwillows. Things were looking up this game! That is, until he played Sylvan Library. At this point, my hand was far more control than anything else, and I knew that to overcome the Library I was going to have to find something to pressure him. His first Sylvan paid eight life, and he added Liliana, Tarmogoyf, and Wasteland to the board. I drew a Terravore, but it wasn’t enough.
1-1
At this point I was a little disappointed with my mistake. I may have won the match without that blunder. If you’re serious about winning, don’t rush through things!
Round 3 – Reanimator
Game 1 – I got a very fast start with Inquisition of Kozilek on a Reanimate followed by Dark Confidant and Tarmogoyf. He managed to weather the storm with a Reanimate on Platinum Emperion (which, to my surprise, meant he lost no life!), but was unable to recover as I added another Tarmogoyf, Seismic Assault, and enough land to send the big dumb Golem to the bin.
Game 2 – He led with Entomb in response to a Wasteland. He then had basic Island and Careful Study. I added a Dark Confidant to my board, and he missed his land drop. I played a Tarmogoyf, and he missed another land drop. He never recovered.
2-1
Round 4 — B/W w/ Bitterblossom, Chrome Mox, and lots of good creatures
Game 1 – He led with Chrome Mox, Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author], and Dark Confidant, which I could not immediately answer. He played a Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author], another Chrome Mox, Dark Confidant, and Tidehollow Sculler on Maelstrom Pulse. Things were looking pretty bad! Punishing Fire hit one Confidant, and he added Bitterblossom to the board. I played a Tarmogoyf, and he dropped to thirteen from Confidant and Bitterblossom. I attacked with Tarmogoyf, and he triple blocked it with Sculler, Confidant, and a Faerie token. I added Scavenging Ooze to the board and used Wasteland on a Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author]. He had no relevant play and was unable to recover.
Game 2 – I kept a somewhat risky hand with no black mana because I had two Punishing Fire and a couple Wasteland. He led with t urn 1 Dark Confidant via Chrome Mox and basic Swamp. I drew nothing relevant, but answered it promptly turn 2. He played basic Swamp and another Confidant. I Punishing Fired the one Confidant, but I was now unable to play a land. I drew Engineered Explosives this turn, but I made the mistake of not playing it despite him having two Chrome Mox. Punishing Fire hit the other Confidant, though, and my opponent drew Hymn to Tourach, hitting the Engineered Explosives. This was a major error on my part! I luckily drew a black source and had Maelstrom Pulse for his two Mox. He couldn’t rip his way out of it, and my Goyf had free rein.
3-1
At this point, I was pretty hungry. Unfortunately, my only options were hot dogs or cookies. Which would you choose?
Round 5 – BUG
Game 1 – He led with Thoughtseize on Seismic Assault, and I was left with Wasteland, Wasteland, Grove of the Burnwillows, Barren Moor, Tranquil Thicket, and Wooded Foothills. I cycled through a couple lands and found Punishing Fire for his Dark Confidant. The game was now sort of in a halt, as I used Wasteland on an Underground Sea and Tropical Island. He managed to get out Tarmogoyf and a Snapcaster Mage for a Brainstorm. I looked over my plays for a bit, and realized I couldn’t win the game unless I tapped out for a Terravore. So I plopped it down; he had no Daze, no Force of Will, and no removal spell. Terravore was a 12/12 at this point. He lost.
Game 2 – We were off to a slow start with Diabolic Edict meeting his Tarmogoyf. I had Punishing Fire and Grove of the Burnwillows, and he had his own Life from the Loam! He began building a mana base as I threw one point at a time at him. His fetch lands (Polluted Delta and Misty Rainforest) were dealing him a relevant amount of damage at this point. He never really got anything rolling, and I used Inquisition of Kozilek and Pyroblast to force through a Seismic Assault. He didn’t find an answer, and that was enough to finish him.
4-1
I finally finished a round with more than three minutes left, so I took this time to get some fresh air, walk around, and say hi to my friends. I saw my round 2 opponent and asked him what his record was. Apparently his record was “F— off,” something of which I don’t believe I have personally achieved before at a Magic tournament.
Round 6 – RUG, Feature!
(You can watch this round along with the rest of the coverage here.)
Game 1 – I had a ludicrously fast start with two Mox Diamond into Dark Confidant. He had a Force of Will and a Volcanic Island, suspending Ancestral Vision. I used Life from the Loam to bring back the two land I pitched to Mox Diamond and used Wasteland on his Volcanic Island. He elected to not play a land because of the engine, and I had Grove of the Burnwillows into Seismic Assault. He used Spell Snare on Life from the Loam after choosing to play a Volcanic Island on his turn, then added Tropical Island and had another Spell Snare for my Dredged Life from the Loam. Ancestral Vision came out of suspension, and he added Misty Rainforest. Life from the Loam came back and wasn’t met by a Snapcaster Mage, much to my delight! I used Wasteland on his Tropical Island, and the game continued to go downhill for him. I made a game-state error and forgot to discard a card, so I received a warning. For this, I also let my opponent choose at random which card would be discarded. It didn’t matter, though, as I had enough land to make Seismic Assault lethal.
Game 2 – I kept a risky hand with no black mana, and it came back to haunt me! Turn after turn I failed to find a black-producing land, and I was never able to cast a plethora of black spells which I continued to draw. My opponent was able to pressure me out of the game.
Game 3 – I led with Badlands and cycled Barren Moor, while he had basic Island and Delver of Secrets. Turn 2 I played Grove of the Burnwillows and threatened a crippling Chalice of the Void for one. He had a Force of Will but was forced to remove Brainstorm to play it! Delver of Secrets didn’t flip, and he added Misty Rainforest suspending Ancestral Vision. I threatened with Wasteland and added Dark Confidant to the board. This time Delver flipped, and he added another Misty Rainforest, suspended another Ancestral Vision, and threatened with Tormod’s Crypt! I had Punishing Fire for the Delver and attacked with Dark Confidant, which looked to me like it would be the game-winning card. His Gitaxian Probe revealed Tarmogoyf and three land. He fetched up a second basic Island and suspended a third Ancestral Vision. I revealed Terravore to Dark Confidant and played Verdant Catacombs and Tarmogoyf. He Crypted my graveyard in response to a Punishing Fire trigger, but that was irrelevant to me as Tarmogoyf would still be a 4/5 and I had no Forest to make Submerge free to cast. He was only able to cast Delver of Secrets as I played Mox Diamond and added Terravore to the table, knocking his life total down to just eight. He lost.
5-1
Well, what have we here! I think this is the first tournament in 12 years of playing Magic tournaments that I’ve started 1-1 and not managed to drop at 3-3. Things were certainly looking up!
Round 7 – G/W Maverick
Game 1 – The first play of the game was a turn 2 Stoneforge Mystic, which was Fired. He added Knight of the Reliquary to the board, but that met Maelstrom Pulse. I kept him off Batterskull mana with a pair of Wastelands, and he was unable to add further pressure through Grove of the Burnwillows. I found an Inquisition of Kozilek (I had been holding Tarmogoyf) and took a Swords to Plowshares from his hand. He answered with Knight of the Reliquary, and I played a 9/9 Terravore. He used Knight to fetch up a Maze of Ith. Maze of Ith stopped the threats! I added Dark Confidant to the lineup, and things were looking pretty good! I found a Life from the Loam, and that was enough to finish him off.
MAZE OF ITH STOPS THE THREATSSSSSS!!
Game 2 – He led with Stoneforge Mystic into Punishing Fire and then a pair of Mother of Runes. I played Tarmogoyf and used Life from the Loam, and he stumbled upon Bojuka Bog to remove my graveyard. He added another Stoneforge Mystic to the board, fetching up Umezawa’s Jitte. I attacked with Tarmogoyf and he made a critical error—he blocked! Stoneforge Mystic got protection from green, and I played a third red source and Seismic Assault, using three land to shoot his board down to just a Mother of Runes and three land. He added Knight of the Reliquary to the board, and I found another Punishing Fire to finish off the Mother via Grove of the Burnwillows. He added another Knight of the Reliquary (5/5 currently, one was active), and I weighed the merits of playing around Sejiri Steppe. I concluded there weren’t any reasonable options and ran Maelstrom Pulse out. He smiled…
Him: Sejiri Steppe.
Me: I’m guessing by that laugh that you don’t actually have one.
Him: You may have guessed correctly!
Both Knight of the Reliquary hit the bin, but not before he fetched up a Maze of Ith to stop the threats! I added Terravore to the board, and he died.
6-1
Naturally, I was hoping I could draw into the Top 8. However, with my round 2 loss, I was guessing that I had poor tiebreakers (partially on the back of the retort from my round 2 opponent upon inquiry of his round 5 record). When standings were posted, I had no chance of drawing into the Top 8 as I had the worst breakers of the 18-point players.
Round 8 – Painted Stone – Off Camera Feature!
(You can read this match along with other matches here.)
Game 1 – He mulliganed to five with great disappointment, and I made a Bob. He used a pair of Simian Spirit Guides to play Blood Moon, hoping it would stall me out. However, it only allowed me to play Seismic Assault the following turn off Wasteland.
Game 2 – He led with Leyline of the Void and turn 1 Painter’s Servant. He blocked a Dark Confidant, and I finished the Painter’s Servant off with Punishing Fire. He added Grindstone to the board along with a Goblin Welder and another Painter’s Servant, and I’d seen enough.
Game 3 – He started this game with Leyline also. I developed my mana, and he used Imperial Recruiter to fetch Painter’s Servant. He played Painter’s Servant naming blue. I Pyroblasted his Painter’s Servant and used Surgical Extraction to remove all four copies. He was unable to have a reasonable line of attack from this position, and I easily finished him.
7-1
My friend Ty Thompson was also Top 8! I knew a couple of the other people, and it looked like it would be fun!
Quarterfinals – RUG – On Camera Feature!
Game 1 – I kept a risky hand on the draw, and my opponent found three Tarmogoyfs and a pair of Daze. With my shaky draw, I was unable to answer such a massive force and was made into mincemeat!
Game 2 – I led with Inquisition of Kozilek and saw a couple Spell Snares, Delver, Ancient Grudge, and land. I elected to take Spell Snare so that I could force through a threat at some point (my opponent didn’t have Maze of Ith to stop them!) Also, I thought if I took Spell Snare that my opponent would read that as having a two-drop, and not play Delver of Secrets turn 1, removing a large portion of the threat of the card to begin with. He obliged, playing Misty Rainforest and passing. He played turn 2 Delver of Secrets, but Terravore was the threat for this game. He played only Nimble Mongoose, and I retorted with Seismic Assault. He was unable to counter either of them, and the game rolled downhill from that point. Maelstrom Pulse met his Tarmogoyf, and he Submerged it back to the top of his library as he believed he couldn’t win without the threat. I added Tarmogoyf to the board, and he was unable to Spell Snare because his only land was a fetch which would shuffle his Tarmogoyf away!
Game 3 – He led with Scalding Tarn, and I played Wasteland, Mox Diamond, pitching Grove of the Burnwillows, and Inquisition of Kozilek, which he Force of Willed! I instantly knew that he planned to play Tarmogoyf and would try to push for the game. For this reason, I knew I needed to play around Submerge if possible and to use whatever means necessary to stop his aggression as the matchup is very favorable in a long game scenario. I play a second Mox Diamond and had Diabolic Edict for his Tarmogoyf, followed by a Wasteland on Tropical Island. He played Ponder, choosing to keep, and Volcanic Island. I cycled two lands, was unable to find a relevant land, and simply passed. He played draw-go as well. I ripped Volrath’s Stronghold (!) and rammed Tarmogoyf onto the board, which met Spell Snare. He added a second Volcanic Island and Tarmogoyf to the board, while I end of turn returned Tarmogoyf; it met Spell Snare. He used Wasteland on the Volrath’s Stronghold, and I added Dark Confidant to my board. He used Beast Within on the Confidant and smashed again with Tarmogoyf. I drew and played another Tarmogoyf! He rolled Sensei’s Divining Top off the top and was then out of reasonable plays. At this point, I had been holding a pair of Seismic Assault for some time. I drew a Taiga, quickly shuffled through my hand, and played the land and Seismic.
Me: You got the Force?
-opponent Tops-
Me: Yes, he doesn’t have it!
-opponent turns over Force of Will from his hand-
Me: No, Shane! Whyyy?
He followed with Counterbalance after going down to zero cards in hand, and I played the other Seismic Assault. Naturally, I wanted him to Force of Will the first one! He had no aggression going at this point, and I drew Terravore. He used Top and didn’t find anything. I disemboweled him with the Terravore.
8-1
Semifinals – Smokestack
I’m going to be perfectly honest, I don’t remember how this match went. I thought I was going to lose after losing game 1 and having no permanents for about six or seven turns game 2. I somehow managed to recover and went on to win the match. I suggest reading the coverage here. Honestly, I don’t remember it.
9-1
Finals – RUG
I don’t like to split prizes basically ever, but here I thought it would be worth offering my opponent what I thought. I offered him a split 1580:1020 my favor. He said that anything other than 50/50 he would not do, so we were off to the races!
Game 1 – My opponent led with Tropical Island and Delver of Secrets. I Wooded Foothills for Taiga and Mox Diamond into Dark Confidant. He had Daze, but I was ok with that because it would allow me to Wasteland him into Punishing Fire on Delver of Secrets. He played a couple of Volcanic Islands, and I added Grove of the Burnwillows to the board. He had Wasteland for the Grove, and I returned Punishing Fire to hand. He Pondered and had no threat, and the game was looking very good for me. I used Inquisition of Kozilek to take Snapcaster Mage, revealing a Tropical Island, two Spell Snares, and Force of Will. I had a Tarmogoyf in hand, but there was no reason to play it as I could just draw more Inquisitions. I drew Green Sun’s Zenith and played it for 2, which was met with Force of Will. He added Misty Rainforest, and I drew a second Tarmogoyf. He removed one of the Spell Snare to Force of Will, so I ran both out, and he used Force of Will to remove the last card in his hand. I was in a great position with solid mana, two Punishing Fire, and Diabolic Edict in hand. We played draw-go for a bit, which I believed was heavily in my favor, and I luckily drew a third Tarmogoyf which he wasn’t able to counter. Gitaxian Probe revealed my hand, and he drew and played Nimble Mongoose (with threshold), but Diabolic Edict targets players! I cycled a couple of lands and found Grove of the Burnwillows, so I threw Punishing Fire at his face. I played Grove and added Dark Confidant to the board. He had Wasteland for the Grove but was unable to recover.
Game 2 – I mulliganed for what I believe was the first time all tournament, keeping Terravore, Mox Diamond, Mox Diamond, Maelstrom Pulse, Grove of the Burnwillows, and Wasteland. This is probably the bottom of hands that are keepable, but it is keepable nevertheless. He was on the play and used a Scalding Tarn to fetch up a Tropical Island, playing Nimble Mongoose. I drew for my turn and had a real decision in front of me after drawing Scavenging Ooze. My opponent searched his deck for a little extra long when deciding to get his black bordered Tropical Island, but he slightly hesitated along the way. This led me to believe two things: 1) he didn’t have more Tropical Islands in hand and 2) he didn’t have more fetch lands. Given that, he only had 18 or 19 land in his deck, so he probably didn’t have another one! After some deliberation, I decided that Wasteland was the only play given the variables. He failed to add another land to his board and played Surgical Extraction during my draw step on Wasteland. He failed to find one of them, but it was largely irrelevant at this point. I played Scavenging Ooze, and he missed another land drop. I added Dark Confidant to the board, and he missed another land drop. I dropped Terravore on the board, and he extended his hand. I emerged victorious!
10-1
I would like to thank everyone who helped me prepare for this event. It was quite a journey!
A special thanks to Sam Varner, who made this trip possible for me!
And a very special thanks to Chris “CML” Morris-Lent, who encourages me to Google words daily with his vast (CML ed.: capacious, ecumenical) vocabulary. And for helping me clean up this article! =]
Hope you enjoyed!
-Nathan
P.S. What card most excites you in Legacy? Post in the comments!