This week, I delivered on the promise of playing the Darigaaz-turned-Karrthus deck, and it was a smashing success.
In stark contrast to the philosophy of Second Best which I espoused last week, I was a frontrunner for the entirety of the first game. The only difference is that I somehow, mostly due to opponents not getting the right answers at the right times, I went wire-to-wire. Weird how the only time that’s happened is right after I made mention of the philosophy.
Before we go on, I’ll thank alert reader Oyzar who noticed we made an error last week, when Ryan Skullclamped Tibor and Lumia. Since it was his General, he has the choice of putting it in the graveyard or putting it in the Command Zone. If the latter, Skullclamp won’t trigger. It’s basically the same with Child of Alara as a General. If you choose to put it in the Command Zone, it never goes to the graveyard—moving to the Command Zone is a replacement effect—so the ability never triggers.
I made some changes to the deck. As previously discussed, I didn’t like Anathemancer, so it went out, in favor of Butcher of Malakir. I also made the aforementioned swap out of Civic Wayfinder for Farhaven Elf (since I had a foily one!), after also acquiring some foily Wood Elves for other Green decks. Committing more to the Beast theme, Gatekeeper of Malakir came out, replaced by Mold Shambler, and although it pained me a great deal, Living Death went out and Patriarch’s Bidding came in. I guess I could have swapped out Obliterate and kept Living Death, but I have to be honest—I like people knowing that the threat of it is there, even if I never have to play it. It’s kind of like packing a gun that you hope you never have to use. Then, just before I left for the shop, I decided to try to take the Beast theme even that much further, so I took out Fumiko and Visara and put in Hystrodon and Hunting Pack. The latter is mostly for when someone like Aaron F does a lot of Topping and whatnot in one turn; even getting 3 or 4 Beasts out of as an Instant seems like a good idea. There are other cards that I’d like to find room for—such as Krosan Warchief and Twilight Drover and maybe even Paleoth (hmm—seems like I could have just swapped that for Charnelhoard Wurm), but we’ll see how it goes.
GAME 1
Twelve players tonight, so we have three tables of four. I’m seated with Ryan with Baru, Aaron D with Jenara (how glad am I that I’m packing Hexmage?), and Keith, who originally was going to play Oona, but decides to go with Rubinia instead. I ask him why the switch and he tells me that the Oona deck is a direct response to Kyle’s chaos deck, and a little nasty, since it digs in players’ libraries and removes stuff.
Turn 1
Me: My opening hand is five lands, two of which are bouncelands, but I give it a go, especially since one of the two spells I have is Lurking Predators. Overgrown Tomb.
Aaron: Greypelt Refuge (41)
Ryan: Forest. Since he’s playing Baru, will probably be saying that a lot.
Keith: Tropical Island. Mentions that his land might be second most expensive on the table, since mine is foily, and I tell him to check prices again. Dual lands are insane.
Turn 2
Me: Draw Sol Ring, cast it, drop Terminal Moraine, sacrifice it.
Aaron: Island
Ryan: Forest
Keith: Saltcrusted Steppe, Halimar Wavewatch.
Turn 3
Me: Draw Kazandu Refuge and drop it (41). Those bouncelands seem better now.
Aaron: Island
Ryan: Forest
Keith: Levels up 1, plays Sanctuary, bouncing Tropical Island
Turn 4
Me: Tap five mana, bounce the Refuge for Darigaaz’s Caldera, cast the Lurking Predators. This is probably the singlemost significant action this game will have.
Aaron: Secluded Steppe, Copy Enchantment (I get Shriekmaw, killing the Wavewatch), copying, of course, Predators.
Ryan: Forest, Wickerbough Elder. Aaron reveals a land, which he ships to the bottom. I get Avatar of Woe.
Keith: Seijiri Refuge (41)
Turn 5
Me: Recast Refuge (42), attack Aaron with Shriekmaw (38).
Aaron: Forest, Jenara, I reveal a land and ship it.
Ryan: Forest, Abundance. Aaron and I both ship lands from Predators.
Keith: Awakening Zone. Aaron gets Yavimaya Enchantress. I get nothing. At EOT, I kill Jenara. I think about the Wickerbough Elder instead, but I guessed (incorrectly, as it turns out) that Ryan would wait until a bigger threat came down to use it.
Turn 6
Me: Tap the Refuge for mana, bounce it with Gruul Turf. Oracle of Mul Daya. Aaron ships Followed Footsteps. I play the Refuge as my extra land (43).
Aaron: Forest, Clone my Oracle.
Ryan: Forest. At EOT, Keith puts a counter on his Steppe.
Keith: Gets a Spawn token. Drops Exotic Orchard. Suspends Benalish Commander for 4. At EOT, I kill the Aaron’s Oracle. It’s now too late to kill the Elder; I think I messed up.
Turn 7
Me: Swamp and Forest leads me into Charnelhoard Wurm. Aaron sends Regrowth to the bottom (I think I’d have kept that, since I was obviously not going to cast anything else). Shriekmaw and Oracle attack Keith (36).
Aaron: Oversoul of Dusk. Nothing for me.
Ryan: Chooses non-land, gets Chord of Calling. Chords for 4, getting Heartwood Storyteller. I ship land, Aaron as well, specifically Boseiju. Blows up my Predators.
Keith: Gets a Soldier token and a Spawn token. Mystic Gate. At EOT, I kill the Enchantress.
Turn 8
Me: Attack Aaron with the Wurm, assuming he’ll block with Oversoul. That way, he’ll take only 1 but I’ll still get to use the Wurm’s ability. He thinks I have something up my sleeve, so he doesn’t block at all (32). I regrow Predators. Mold Shambler Kicked, blowing up Aaron’s Predators copy (he ships Enchanted Evening), then recast the Predators.
Aaron: Rites of Flourishing. I send Reroute to the bottom. The problem with Oracle is folks can see if I’m going to get something good with Predators. Armadillo Cloak on the Oversoul, attacks me (36), Aaron to (39).
Ryan: Names Land, gets Yavimaya Hollow, names non-land, gets Howl of the Night Pack. That’s going to hurt. Plays his extra land first, then his normal one. I note that everyone in the League has taken to announcing their extra land drop first, something that I taught them in one of the first iterations. That way, if the thing giving you the extra drop goes away, you can still have your normal land for the turn. I feel a brief moment of pride. That pride doesn’t last long as he casts Terastodon. I get Eternal Witness off the Predators that I’m sure is going away again. The only thing in my yard is Terminal Moraine. He targets Predators, Armadillo Cloak, and Awakening Zone. We all get an elephant. EOT, Keith puts another counter on Steppe
Keith: Calciform Pools and Seaside Citadel. Coalition Relic, which the rest of us draw off of. AT EOT, I wax the Terastodon.
Turn 9
Me: Attack Aaron with the Wurm (33), get back Lurking Predators and cast it a third time. Everyone draws. Cast Jens, getting a Swamp. Play Karplusan Forest off the top of my deck, drop the Moraine and another Swamp. This land ramp thing seems okay.
Aaron: Plains, Terramorphic Expanse, Flickerform on the Oversoul. I get Copperhoof Vorrac.
Ryan: Names non-land twice, peeling Kamahl and Oracle of Mul Daya. Kamahl and Wolf tokes equals frowns for the rest of us. Casts the Night Pack, getting 10 Wolves, getting me Indrik Stomphowler from the Predators (although I think we all forget to draw from the Storyteller), with which I blow up Abundance. Storyteller in play may means that my opponents are getting less information about what they’re going to see from Lurking Predators due to APNAP order. If we’re on Keith’s turn or mine, Predators will go on the stack and then Storyteller’s trigger (obviously from non-creature), so I’ll draw first and then reveal for Predators. If it’s Aaron or Ryan’s turn, the Storyteller trigger will go first, then the Predators.
Keith: Breeding Pool untapped (34), and Toby Elliott favorite, Muranda Petroglyphs. I draw a land and Predators ships another land. Keith casts Twilight Drover; I reveal Pernicious Deed, which I choose to not ship to the bottom. I kind of see the air go out of Ryan’s sails. Excited over the Deed, I forget to kill something with Avatar.
Turn 10
Me: Draw Harrow and Wooded Foothills. Cast the Deed. Drop the Foothills, Skarrg, and Tower of the Magistrate. Demonic Tutor for Greater Good (all draw) and crack the Foothills (35).
Aaron: Island, Plains, Greater Auramancy. Predators reveals Leyline of the Void, which I ship, and then I draw Butcher of Malakir. Talk about your wrong orders. Aaron casts Verduran Enchantress
Ryan: Khalni Heart Expedition. Predators gets Withered Wretch and I draw Red Elemental Blast. Drops two lands, filling up his Expedition. Nacatl War-Pride. Predators gets Puppeteer Clique, with which I grab Terastodon, blowing up Greater Auramancy, Petroglyphs, and Coalition Relic. At EOT, I sacrifice the Terastodon to Greater Good, discarding Genesis, a land, and Big Game Hunter, which I play for its Madness cost, killing the Elder.
Keith: Soldier token and then Benalish Commander, which gets me Baloth Woodcrasher. OK, Lurking Predators is officially dumb. Sacs a Spawn (Drover +1) and makes 2 Spirits. Attacks me one token, urging me to block so he can get a point for something. I oblige. Mossbridge Troll and Scroll Rack reveal lands off of Predators. He sends back his hand of 12 cards and casts Sylvan Library. I keep the Decree of Pain on top of my library. EOT, I kill Mossbridge Troll.
Turn 11
Me: Draw the Decree and Artifact Mutation. I have one kill, perhaps two, but I think there’s no reason to overextend. Drop Ob-Nixilis, then Bloodstained Mire, cast Wood Elves, and crack the Mire while I’m in there. Me to (34), Keith (31), Aaron (30 then 27). I Harrow, and find that I have only one more basic land. Drain Aaron again. Attack Aaron with the Woodcrasher and Copperhoof Vorrac. He blocks the latter, which I give Trample with Skarrg, for the kill. For my last land, I drop Darksteel Citadel, draining Ryan (34). I think about sacrificing Woodcrashers to Greater Good to draw 28 of my 36 remaining cards, but realize that I don’t need to hang it out there so much.
Ryan: Khalni Hydra (for free). I ship Shatterstorm. He cracks his Expedition then casts Vigor, getting me Primordial Sage. He then casts Kamahl, and I think about blowing the Deed right there so he can’t make my lands creatures when I do it, but he only has two or three mana left, so I’m not terribly worried. With the Predators trigger on the stack, however, I sacrifice Puppeteer Clique to Greater Good, getting Keith’s Wall of Blossoms Predators finally nets me Molder Slug. Casts Diviner’s Wand, getting me Hystrodon (and giving me a Straight Flush from 0-4).
Keith: Molder Slug triggers, he Racks and sacrifices it. Casts Eladamri’s Call. I draw Heart Warden and Predators out Greater Gargadon. The creature he gets is Skill Borrower, which he casts. I Lurk up Spearbreaker Behemoth. At EOT, I murder Kamahl. I’ve never seen Avatar of Woe survive so long.
Turn 12
Me: I sacrifice my Sol Ring to Molder Slug, but still have enough mana to hardcast Emrakul and Fires of Yavimaya. Keith casts Spell Burst, no Buyback, but I have REB for it. Mosswort Bridge and Contested Cliffs drain Ryan. I kill Vigor with Avatar of Woe, then attack Ryan with the team. I Deed for 0. He blocks, killing Charnelhoard and eventually Copperhoof. I deal 103 damage, enough for the Overkill point, not quite enough for the 100+ “Was That Really Necessary?” point.
Turn 13
Me: Which I get when I kill Keith. Keith actually stipulates to it instead of making me go through the gyrations of getting the last few points of damage (which I’d need to do by Ob-Nixilis draining him first).
Lurking Predators was the superstar here, although I’ll note that I had to cast it three times. This was a case where I was the obvious threat until Ryan played Night Pack with Kamahl coming next—but the fortuitous peel of Pernicious Deed crushed that dream. I end up piling up 21 points, although there were perhaps more to be had—but who wants to run up the score?
I have to say that this was one of the friendliest tables I’ve played at in a while, even in an environment where friendliness is the norm. Aaron D has a great attitude. Early on, I apologized for seeming like I was picking on him, and he said “Hey, it’s a game. You’re supposed to try to win, and I had the best stuff.” Keith and Ryan are always pleasures to sit down with, even if Keith plays lots of cards that I have to read.
GAME 2
I’m at table 1 with Nate (Teneb), and Kyle and Tory, both with Cromat. You’re all well familiar with Kyle’s deck, but he reports that he’s taken out Grip of Chaos so that people hate on him less. Then I hear he recurred Magister Sphinx several times to sweep his first table. Seems like the opposite of getting people to hate you less. Tory is playing his new “All Wall” deck, about which he’s really excited. It’s good to see the amount of pleasure he derives from playing Wall of Glare.
Turn 1
Nate: Temple Garden
Me: Bloodstained Mire for a Bayou (39) and cast Top.
Kyle: Vesuva, copy Bayou
Tory: Plains
Turn 2
Nate: Sol Ring, Astral Slide. Huh.
Me: Llanowar Wastes. Top, see a Sol Ring, get it, cast it.
Kyle: Arcane Sanctum
Tory: Jund Panorama. Passes the turn, and I nudge him toward cracking it now.
Turn 3
Nate: Forest
Me: Mountain, Top, Crucible of Worlds
Kyle: Necrogenesis. That’s going to cramp my style. Rot Farm, bouncing Vesuva.
Tory: Arcane Sanctum
Turn 4
Nate: Forest
Me: Bloodstained Mire out of the yard. Fetch (38) Badlands. Top, use it to draw Greater Gargadon, which I suspend. Make mental note to remember that there’s a Top on top and I don’t want to do a search of any kind before drawing.
Kyle: Jungle Shrine
Tory: Frozen AEther (which I had earlier pulled out of my collection for him). Everyone makes sad noises.
Turn 5
Nate: Volrath’s Stronghold
Me: Draw Top, play Mire from yard.
Kyle: Vesuva, copying Badlands
Tory: Wall of Reverence. EOT to (41)
Turn 6
Nate: Nothing. I think he’s having some colored mana issues.
Me: Draw, fetch with the Mire (37), replay it. Top to get Azusa, Lost But Seeking and cast it, then drop Reliquary Tower. Survival of the Fittest.
Kyle: Exotic Orchard. Bit Blasts Azusa into Hunted Phantasm. Gives Nate the tokens. I sacrifice Azusa to Gargadon.
Tory: Refuge (42), Wall of Tears. EOT (43)
Turn 7
Nate: Nothing. Now I’m sure of his troubles. I feel bad for him. When he first started coming to the shop, I thought Nate was a “didn’t get it” guy, but I’ve since come to see him as a guy who really, really loves the format and loves the challenge of making a deck that balances coolness, fun, and enough seriousness to be competitive.
Me: Top. After the last fetch, I think I’m running out of things to grab with the Mire (although I’m wrong; I forget I can get the Ravnica duals). Sacrifice the Mire to Gargadon. Play it.
Kyle: Attack Tory (39)
Tory: Jungle Shrine. EOT (40).
Turn 8
Nate: Has to discard, and it’s Exhume
Me: Pitch Wilderness Elemental to Survival to get Stomphowler. Cast it. Tory reaches for Frozen Aether, but I blow up Necrogenesis. Kyle responds by exiling my two creatures. That thing had to go, and Wilderness Elemental and Azusa were reasonable collateral damage.
Kyle: Enigma Sphinx into Phyrexian Infiltrator. Battles Tory (36)
Tory: Demonic Tutor for Privileged Position and casts it. EOT (37).
Turn 9
Nate: Cheers for drawing a Swamp, but frowns for it coming into play tapped.
Me: During upkeep, I sacrifice the Mire to fetch up a Swamp (36). Replay the Mire. Pitch Genesis to get Butcher of Malakir and cast it.
Kyle: Tries to exchange Butcher and Infiltrator. I first sacrifice the Stomphowler (costing everyone a creature) and then the Butcher. Kyle attacks Tory (28).
Tory: Wall of Glare and Clones the Sphinx.
Turn 10
Nate: Has to discard again. At EOT, I pitch a Baloth to get Krosan Tusker.
Me: Sac Mire (35) to get Overgrown Tomb. Draw Jens, cast it, getting a Forest. I realize that my basic land count is a little low. Cycle Tusker. As I’m typing, I realize Nate forgot he had Astral Slide in play.
Kyle: Attacks Tory, who blocks with his Clone.
Tory: Bant Panorama, cracks it.
Turn 11
Nate: Land tapped.
Me: Gargadon comes in (tapped). Regrow Tusker with Genesis and cycle it. Play land. Pitch Shriekmaw to get Big Game Hunter, pitch it, play it for its Madness cost, get Thicket Elemental. Realize I have nothing castable (maybe Avatar of Woe eventually) that kills Phyrexian Infiltrator. Recast Mire. I’ve certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of the Crucible. I can see how someone actually building around it could do lots of broken stuff.
Kyle: Exotic Orchard
Tory: Nothing
Turn 12
Nate: Ivory Mask
Me: Mold Shambler, Kicked, blowing up Privileged Position. Thicket Elemental Kicked into Ravenous Baloth (saucy!). Attack Kyle with Gargadon and Jens. Tries to swap for the Gargadon, which I sacrifice (39). Kyle to (38). Remember that I can get Stomping Ground, so sac the Mire to get it (38).
Kyle: Cromat.
Tory: Also Cromat. I think he actually thumbed his nose at Kyle when he tapped the mana for it.
Turn 13
Nate: Exotic Orchard and Boneshredder on Wall of Glare.
Me: Acidic Slime on Frozen Aether. Play Mire, sac it (37) and get nothing (missing the Stomping Ground). Attack Kyle with Baloth, Shambler, Elemental, and Jens. Blocks the Baloth, Swaps for Jens, to which Nate responds with Swords to Plowshares. Kyle to (31). Pernicious Deed, which I remark, noting my board position, is really only a failsafe. I’d like to keep my Survival and Crucible going.
Kyle: Enigma Sphinx into a Signet. Shivan Reef.
Tory: Recast Cromat.
Turn 14
Nate: Phyrexian Arena. At EOT, I pitch Puppeteer Clique for Emrakul.
Me: Hardcast it. Bash team into Tory. He blocks Baloth, which I sacrifice (41).
Turn 15
Me: During my upkeep, Kyle casts Reins of Power. No Annihilating for me, certainly saving Tory from a grisly beatdown. Regrow the Baloth with Genesis and cast it. Pitch Lotus Cobra to get Behemoth to get Hystrodon to get Eternal Witness. Battle Nate with the Sphinx. He responds with Cloudthresher (we all take 2) and blocks. EOT we all draw from Mikokoro.
Kyle: Final Judgment. Definitely no Emrakul shenanigans now. I sacrifice the Baloths (45). Hull Breach on Survival and Crucible. Ouch. While I’m smarting, Tory says that he’s going to play Patriarch’s Bidding. Seems like a suboptimal play, but really good for me.
Tory: Cycles and casts Wall of Vapor. Doesn’t cast the Bidding. I tell him he’s a promise-breaker.
Turn 16
Nate: Arena to (38), and Lord of Extinction.
Me: I have the Bidding, so I cast it. All draw in response with Mikoro. I of course name Beast, Kyle names Spirit, Tory Wall, and Nate Minion. Boneshredder kills Wall of Glare. Drop Temple of the False God, cast Karrthus. Attack Kyle, who says “Why me?” which is what he says every time anyone attacks him (22).
Kyle: All draw. Enigma Sphinx into Return to Dust, targeting Deed and Phyrexian Arena. I put the Top on Top and Deed for 3. Nate responds by cycling Drifting Meadow and Slides out Boneshredder. Kyle casts another Signet. At EOT, Boneshredder comes back and kills Wall of Reverence.
Tory: Psychic Membrane, which I read, put down, pick back up, and read again. I immediately forget what it does. Now he casts the Bidding. Nate sacrifices Lord of Extinction to Miren (72), I sacrifice all my Beasts (81). I get back all my Beasts, plus Shriekmaw and Puppeteer Clique, with which I take Kyle’s Phantasm, although I give him the tokens.
Turn 17
Nate: Profane Command for 4 targeting the Sphinx and giving Fear to Lord of Extinction. Someone’s going to get it! Kyle, however, has Wild Ricochet, and chooses to copy it and change the target to Woodcrasher and Hystrodon, and give Fear to other stuff. Wild Ricochet is decidedly better than Shunt for only one more mana. Needs to get me some (foily ones). I sacrifice my guys to the Baloth (89).
Me: Now that Tory’s not dead, I can attack him for exactly enough to kill him. I also attack Nate for a little (68). Cast Ouphe Vandals, then Garruk, untapping 2 lands. Eternal Witness gets back Deed.
Kyle: Cromat and Shared Fate. Shared Fate is a card that’s gotten some discussions amongst the EDH Rules Committee, since you can play it as a really nasty lock-out strategy. There hasn’t been a decision on it yet, but there have certainly been some chats. At EOT, Nate sacrifices Boom Tube to Miren (94).
Turn 18
Nate: Draws off my deck. Demonic Tutor for All is Dust and casts it. I sacrifice all my Beasts (113). Puppeteer Clique triggers and gets Nat’s Boom Tube, which I’m going to keep until my EOT.
Me: Kill Kyle with Boom Tube. My land drop is Miren. Time is then called.
Turn 19
Nate: Just to be safe, casts Austere Command. I’m pretty sure I don’t have enough juice to kill him at his high life total, and I don’t monkey around trying to run up extra points.
I end up winning the table with 10 points, Kyle finishes second with 4.
Contrary to what I believed, there’s one more week to go for this iteration of the league (who should I play in the final week?), and then we restart the week after PT: San Juan, so I’m going to have some time to build something completely new—or maybe make my Rith deck more than just a janky Soldier-themed steaming pile. Actually, now that I think of it, I’m going to build a deck using no cards that I have in any other deck (which numbers nine), other than (solely) mana-producing lands. That means I can use Savannah, but not Maze of Ith or Kor Haven. And no Living Death! Whatever will I do? This will require some thought. I wonder what multi-colored Generals no one plays. I guess we’ll see how much Chaos there is to be Embraced straight out of my trade binder.