First of all, thanks for all the submissions from last week’s contest. There are scads of interesting ideas and cool themes so far. It’s going to be tough to choose winners.
We started Armada Games’ EDH League, version 4, this past week, and as per usual, much chaos was embraced. First of all, owners Aaron and Michael Fortino changed the awards a little. Here’s the complete list:
-3 Point
But we just started — Eliminate a player prior to their 5th turn.
-2 Points
Chasm — Destroy or Remove all lands in play through spells or abilities. (This penalty is in the spirit of the rule, and not the letter of the rule; effects that would reset the board for all or most of the players at the table will be awarded this penalty. This can be awarded to the same player more than once per pod.)
-1 Point
Greedy McGreederson — Take 3 or more Extra Turns in a row. This can be awarded more than once.
I Just Want More Friends — Control both Abyssal Persecutor and Platinum Angel.
+1 Point
123’s — Resolve the third spell that’s converted mana cost is the third number in a row. Player A plays Mogg Fanatic (CMC 1) then Vexing Shusher (CMC 2) then Player B resolves Volcanic Fallout (CMC 3) Player B would be awarded this. If Player C then casts Chameleon Colossus Player C would get an extra point for follow this pattern and each successive spell resolving in an increasing fashion would awarded 1 point.
2003 MLB — Control 4 or more power-enhancing permanents.
Attention — Deal 5 or more damage to yourself in 1 turn. (A player cannot get both Attention and Intention in the same turn.)
BAFFROOM! — Activate Level Up on a creature enough times to make it its strongest version (a.k.a. its 3rd line of levels.)
Better Late Than Never — First player to resolve the second version of a creature already in play. It must be the exact same card as the first (copies and Clones don’t count).
Big Game Hunt — Kill a creature with power 15 or greater.
Blackjack — Control two creatures whose total power is exactly 21.
Block Party — Have a permanent in play or spell present on the stack from each set of any block. The blocks are Ice Age, Invasion, Kamigawa, Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, Masques, Mirage, Mirrodin, Odyssey, Onslaught, Ravnica, Shards of Alara, Tempest, Time Spiral, Urza, Zendikar. (Basic Lands from those sets do not count.)
Chernobyl — Destroy all permanents of one type with a Russian language spell or permanent.
Chinese Buffet — Have 10 or more printed Cat creatures in your graveyard.
Chumpzilla — Control 10 or more token creatures.
Clash of the Titans — Block a creature of power 10 or more with a creature of power 10 or more.
Copycat — First player to copy a spell or permanent of an opponent.
Déjà vu — Put a card an opponent controls on top of its owner library.
De Plane De Plane — Planeswalk 3 times in a single turn.
Die Already — Survive after being attacked for lethal damage 3 different times.
Double Take — First player to control two functionally identical non-token creatures with different names. Creatures must have the same power, toughness, converted mana cost and all abilities (such as Grizzly Bears and Balduvian Bears), but not necessarily color (such as Prodigal Sorcerer and Prodigal Pyromancer). This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. (Copies and Clones don’t count).
Durka Durka Durka — Eliminate all remaining players at the same time (yes, this includes you).
Edge of Disaster – First player to have fewer than five cards in his or her library.
Final Countdown — Play spells with converted mana cost of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 in that order in 1 turn.
Flying Circus — Control 8 or more non-token creatures with Flying.
Forth Times the Charm — Resolve your General 4 times in a single game from the Command Zone.
Full Grip — Draw 20 or more cards in one turn.
Generalissimo — Eliminate a player with General damage. Can be awarded more than once.
Getting to Basics — Control at least 7 Basic Lands.
Good Samaritan — Intentionally cause an opponent to gain 10+ life in one shot (getting your Beacon of Immortality redirected doesn’t count for you, but for the person who redirected it).
Hot Potato – Redirect any portion of non combat damage directed at you to another opponent.
I Got This — Eliminate an opponent during another opponents’ turn.
I Think You Dropped This — Gain control of a permanent an opponent controls without a switch.
I’m Probably Next — Have the lowest life total, which must be lower than 10, when the first player is killed.
Indiana Jones – Control 5 or more non-land, non-creature artifacts.
Iron Man — Equip a creature with 4 or more equipments.
It’s Waffer Thin — Eliminate an opponent with a 1/1 creature.
Just Enough — Deal exactly lethal non-General damage to a player who is at 7 or more life.
Karate Chop — Destroy a permanent with a Japanese language spell or permanent.
Keep What You Kill — Reanimate an opponent’s creature that you killed this turn.
Let’s Do That Again — Save an opponent from taking lethal damage. (This can be through prevention or redirection of damage, whether it be direct or from creatures, or through the use of life gaining spells or abilities. This award can only be earned once per opponent saved, multiple saves of the same opponent by the same person do not count.)
Look at Me — Last player remaining in a pod.
Lucky 13 — Have a single creature deal exactly 13 combat damage to a player at once.
National Parks — Control 5 different basic lands, 1 of each type.
Ninja Vanish — Remove 5 or more creatures from the Battlefield in one turn. Creatures that are reduced to 0 toughness, destroyed, or sacrificed do not count for this achievement.
Not going to happen — Counter a spell or ability another player controls that would counter another spell or ability.
Only the Strong — Deal combat damage to a player by a creature with printed power 0.
Overkill — Deal 40+ more damage to a player than is required to kill them.
Send it back — Eliminate a player with a spell or permanent they own.
Smokey and the Bandit — Control a non-token creature with power 10 and toughness 4.
Start with the Top — Destroy or Exile a Sensei’s Divining Top you don’t control.
Straight — Control at least one creature of five consecutive powers (for example, Mogg Fanatic, Jackal Pup, Mogg Flunkies, Ravenous Baloth, Shivan Dragon). This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players.
Take That! — Deal enough combat damage to a Planeswalker to remove all Loyalty counters from it.
Taste the Rainbow — Sacrifice five total different creatures in one turn of those creatures you must sacrifice a creature for each color of your General. Multicolored creatures can be sacrificed for this, but will have to choose what color they are being sacrificed for. (Example — You are Playing Kiki-Jiki Mirror Breaker as your general, you will only have Red and Colorless creatures, to get this award you must sacrifice 5 creatures in one turn and at least one of those must be Red. Example 2 — You are playing Vorosh, the Hunter you must sacrifice five creatures in one turn and of those you must sacrifice at least one Blue, one Green, and one Black.)
The World Has Gone Mad — Trigger the Chaos ability of the current plane 3 times in a single turn, this does not have to be on the same plane.
Trail of Tears — Take control of another players land without any exchange.
Tribal Dance — Control 5 or more non-token creatures of the same creature type.
Underdog — Be at 7 or less life and eliminate an opponent that was at 15 or more life.
Vegan Dinner — Control 5 or more Plant, Ooze, or Fungus creatures with different names while not controlling any “animal” creatures. (Use your judgment here! I am not going to list all of the creatures that could be listed as an “animal”.)
What Goes Around — Take control of a permanent that an opponent took control of from another opponent.
Where’s Timmy — Put an opponent at 1 life.
You Bastard — Kill the same General 4 or more times.
+2 Points
Cramped Quarters — Control at least 40 different non-token permanents at the same time.
Flush — Control five non-token creatures of EXACTLY the same color (five green creatures, or green and red creatures, but not three green and 2 green and red). This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players.
Human Farm — Control 5 different non-token creatures, 1 each of the following types — Centaur, Minotaur, Merfolk, Aven, and Yeti. At least one of these creatures must not have Changeling.
Intention — Deal 12 or more damage to yourself in 1 turn. (A player cannot get both Attention and Intention in the same turn.)
Kung Fu Grip — Draw 20 or more cards in your turn and not discard at end of turn.
Pet Shop — Control 5 different non-token creatures, 1 each of the following types — Cat, Hound, Fish, Bird, and Rat. At least one of these creatures must not have Changeling.
Petting Zoo — Control 5 different non-token creatures, 1 each of the following types — Ape, Bear, Elephant, Rhino, Horse. At least one of these creatures must not have Changeling.
Salsa Dancer — Cast the fifth spell on a single stack, cannot be awarded in the same stack as Flamenco Dancer. Copies of spells do not count.
Straight Flush — Control five creatures of exactly the same color(s) in five consecutive powers. This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players.
Terraforming — Control 15 or more non-basic lands.
Three’s Not a Crowd — Resolve three different non-land permanents of three different types on the same turn. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players. (Non-land permanent types are Artifact, Creature, Enchantment, and Planeswalker. Resolving a spell that is any combination of permanent types will count as one or the other, not both. Example — Enigma Sphinx is an Artifact Creature; you must choose whether it will count for your Artifact or your Creature for this award.)
You’re Outta Here — Kill a player or being directly responsible for a player’s elimination. There is the obvious — controlling the source of the damage (whether it’s direct or creatures). This also includes, although is not limited to alternate methods, such as controlling the Howling Mine that makes the player deck himself, or redirecting lethal damage to someone. (Player A plays Fireball, Player B Swerves the Fireball to Player C.) This can be awarded more than once to the same player.
+3 Points
ABC’s — Resolve the third spell that starts with a third consecutive letter, one additional point to a player who continues the chain. For example Player A plays Storm Herd, Player B casts Terminate then Unsummon. Player B gets 3 points. Player C then plays Venser and gets 1 Point. Player B then plays Withered Wretch and gets 1 point. Player D casts Wrath of God, therefore breaking the chain.
Flamenco Dancer — Cast the eighth spell on a single stack, cannot be awarded in the same stack as Salsa Dancer. Copies of spells do not count.
Lucky 7’s — Control exactly 7 lands, 7 creatures, and 7 non-land, non-creature permanents when the stack is empty.
Milli Vanilli – Perform exactly the same actions in order (playing spells or activating abilities) as the person before you, that person must have done at least 3 different actions in that turn.
Was that Necessary? — Deal 100+ damage more than needed to eliminate a player.
+4 Points
The Cheese Stands Alone — Win the game with 2 or more opponents still in the game.
+5 Points
Bases Loaded — Control a Land, Creature, Enchantment, Artifact, and Planeswalker, while having both Sorcery and an Instant present on the stack.
That’s quite a list, and quite a change. Some of the old favorites (Like First Blood and Hey That Was Rude) are gone. I doubt it will much change the flow of the games we play, although it might have some impact on results—but the League is about playing more than winning.
At the last minute, I’m inspired to put Sudden Spoiling in the deck. I’ve seen Aaron run it a few times to good success. The reason I thought I wanted to play it was that I thought it also removed all creature types (helping out against those pesky Allies), but it doesn’t. The card that I considered removing was Reroute. It’s one of those “not as good as it seems” cards. It’s a cantrip, and it can also change the math of things. I decide to leave it in, and remove Bogardan Hellkite instead. The other card I consider is False Cure. Seems like it could be a real beating with all the Lifelink stuff going on. I know for a fact that Ryan plays Beacon of Immortality and Kyle plays Arbiter of Knollridge among other things, but I simply make a mental note to remember situations where I have in my hand Reroute and would prefer it to be False Cure.
GAME 1
We have ten players, so two tables of five. I’m seated with Nate, playing Teneb; Ryan, with Child of Alara; Keith with Brion Stoutarm; and Kyle with Karona. Nate wins the roll and we get right to it.
TURN 1
Nate: Godless Shrine untapped (38), Sensei’s Divining Top. Says he kept a two-lander, but Top should get him there.
Me: Spinerock Knoll. If you’re a regular reader, you know that I have terrible Hideaways as a matter of course. This one isn’t horrible—2 lands, Oracle of Mul Daya, and Demonic Tutor, the latter of which I put under the Knoll. And no first turn Gargadon!
Keith: Mountain
Kyle: Crumbling Necropolis
Ryan: Seaside Citadel
TURN 2
Nate: Tranquil Thicket. Obviously, he didn’t draw another land.
Me: Bayou
Keith: Ashling’s Pilgrim. Two people ask if that’s his General, when Brion Stoutarm is clearly sitting there next to his deck.
Kyle: Arcane Sanctum
Ryan: Island
TURN 3
Nate: Survival of the Fittest, bounceland
Me: Kodama’s Reach, which seems like a pretty tasty Turn 3 play.
Keith: Attack Kyle (39). Plains.
Kyle: Jungle Shrine (it’s like Shard central over there), Fellwar Stone.
Ryan: Jace Beleren, Island, we all draw.
TURN 4
Nate: Replay Thicket.
Me: Swamp, Leyline of the Void. I debate holding it for a bit and casting Spellbreaker Behemoth instead, but I’d really prefer to keep Nate’s Survival and recursion shenanigans to a minimum. Nate responds by shipping Harmonic Sliver to the yard (?) for Qasali Pridemage. EOT, Keith puts a counter on Ashling.
Keith: Attacks Jace for 2. Knight of Thorn. Once again, everyone has to look at one of Keith’s cards.
Kyle: Suspends Hypergenesis. Glad my pen is full. Casts Kami of the Crescent Moon.
Ryan: Exotic Orchard, and Clones Knight of Thorn.
TURN 5
Nate: Swamp, Pridemage.
Me: Gonna force the action a little, so I play a Mountain and Pernicious Deed. I figure it’ll give me some measure of control when that Hypergenesis goes off.
Keith: Attacks in a band (how many times have you seen that happen?). Nate blocks with the Pridemage and destroys Leyline.
Kyle: Urza’s Filter and Kathari Remnant. Attacks me (39). Reliquary Tower.
Ryan: Demonic Tutor, then we all draw. Discards Blazing Archon and a land.
TURN 6
Nate: Volrath’s Stronghold. Pitches Yavimaya Elder to get Woodfall Primus. Seems reasonable with HyperG going off soon. Then casts Debtors’ Knell. Changes my math a bit. At EOT, I cycle Krosan Tusker.
Me: Cast Spellbreaker for 3 mana due to the Filter, and take a pain to cast Vampire Hexmage (38). I think about holding back everything for the Hypergenesis, even to the point of not dropping my stuff when it resolves because someone will inevitably blow up everything, then think “nah, that’s just silly.” EOT, Keith puts two counters on Ashling.
Keith: Smashes into Nate (32)
Kyle: Shah of Naar Isle. Mentions that he’s going to stack it so that we can draw first and have those cards in hand when Hypergenesis goes off. Hunted Phantasm gives Ryan five dudes. Attacks Keith (39).
Ryan: All draw, then Breath of Life back in Blazing Archon.
TURN 7
Nate: Debtors’ Knell gets Reveillark out of Ryan’s yard. Beacon of Unrest targets his own Spike Weaver. He mentions having his own Reveillark, so I start thinking there’s more 0/0s in his deck than just that Spike.
Me: Wasteland and wait for it.
Keith: Spitemare. Huh. Another card to read. I ask him if he’s also playing Mogg Maniac.
Kyle: And the chaos begins. We all draw, then Nate Survivals away Jens, getting Angel of Despair, then Hypergenesis resolves like this:
Kyle, land; Ryan, Plains; Nate, Plains; me, Anathemancer; Keith Rakdos Carnarium; Kyle passes several times; Ryan, Forest; Nate, Selesnya Sanctuary; me, Jens; Keith, Mountain; Ryan, Twilight Shepherd; Nate Riftstone Portal; me, Gruul Turf; Keith, pass; Ryan, Azorius Guildmage; Nate, Lightning Greaves; me, Avatar of Woe (I’ve committed now); Ryan, Maelstrom Archangel; Nate, Angel of Despair; me, Visara, the Dreadful; Ryan, Greater Auramancy; Nate, Woodfall Primus; me, Molder Slug; Ryan, Privileged Position; Me, Ouphe Vandals; it passes all the way around to me again. I think about stopping, but hey, I have a Crucible in hand, and I can keep craziness in check with that Wasteland, so I drop it. Having then swallowed the bait whole, I watch Keith then drop Crater Hellion. Actually, not terrible for me, since most of my guys are too big to die.
Triggers go on the stack in this order: Kyle’s bounceland, Nate’s bounceland, Woodfall Primus targeting Riftstone Portal, Angel of Despair targeting Crucible (then I think how clever I am to give him a target I actually don’t care that much about instead of something I do—that self congratulation lasts about two seconds), Anathemancer targeting Nate, Jens, then Crater Hellion. With all that on the stack, Kyle puts some regeneration Shields on his Kathari and Nate moves a counter from the Spike Weaver to the Angel of Despair and fogs just in case.
Crater Hellion’s damage resolves. Spitemare triggers, targeting Nate (28). Nate’s Reveillark gets back Spike Weaver and Jens. With the last trigger on the stack, Keith activates Ashling four times, redirecting the damage from Ryan to Jace. Twilight Shepherd Persists back in, so Ryan gets all his dead stuff back to his hand.
Kyle finally draws for the turn. That was one epic upkeep. He then casts Braids, Conjurer Adept. At EOT, I activate Spinerock Knoll to cast the Tutor. I think about getting Lurking Predators, but decide to play defense and get Obliterate instead. I consider ‘accidentally’ dropping it on the table as I search, but decide to be a grownup instead.
Ryan: Braids in Azorius Guildmage.
TURN 8
Nate: Debtors’ Knell gets Angel of Despair, and takes out one of Keith’s Mountains (?). Braids in Phantom Nishoba. In his Main Phase, equips the Nishoba with Greaves. Ryan responds by Capsize with Buyback on the Nishoba. Nate equips the Angel and then casts Identity Crisis. I think to myself, or perhaps I say out loud, what a d*ckish card that is in the format. Ryan responds with Mortify on the Debtors’ Knell, and there is some snarling between the two of them. Nate casts Demonic Tutor and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. At EOT, I Wasteland the Volrath’s Stronghold. Nate’s plan is simple and clever (although done to death), and it can’t be allowed to happen.
Me: I have nothing to Braids into play, strangely enough having only Instants in my hand. One of them is Reroute, so I make the mental note. I draw Garruk, but decide to wait. After I pass the turn, I realize that Pernicious Deed doesn’t destroy Planeswalkers.
Keith: Freewind Falcon.
Kyle: Braids in a land.
Ryan: Land, Child of Alara. Oh, yeah. That’s why I didn’t cast Garruk. At EOT, Nate Survivals, but Ryan counters it with the Guildmage. Nate looks a little dumbfounded for a minute.
TURN 9
Nate: Braids in Reveillark, which is probably what he Tutored for. Casts Recollect on Identity Crisis and targets Keith with it. I definitely call him unprintable names then. He casts Buried Alive, getting Karmic Guide, Duplicant, and Yosei. That Sudden Spoiling in my hand is looking pretty good; I’m going to have to use it at the right time.
Me: Draw Primordial Sage, decide to save it for Braids next turn. Ryan asks if Child goes to the Command Zone will its ability trigger. The answer is no, since it’s a replacement effect, and Child never hits the yard. He mentions that he’ll probably not put it in the yard if it dies, so I cast Garruk, untapping two lands.
Keith: Brion Stoutarm
Kyle: Nothing to Braids in, but attacks Garruk for 2.
Ryan: Bounceland, attacks Nate with Child. Before blockers, he taps Reveillark. Nate thinks for a long time, staring at the one card in Ryan’s hand, wondering what it is, then eventually blocks with the Angel and Woodfall Primus, the Angel getting killed. True to his word, Ryan puts Child in the Command Zone, and when he passes the turn, gives Nate a little dig about the fact that he should have known that one card was a land.
TURN 10
Nate: Braids in Behemoth Sledge. Casts Wrath of God. Kyle responds with the very cool play of Reins of Power, which means no Reveillark tricks for Nate. Kyle gets back Kami of the Crescent Moon and blue Braids. Nate Survivals away Kitchen Finks to get Lord of Extinction. He equips it with Greaves and attacks Ryan for the kill—but I decide to go for the save, and cast Sudden Spoiling.
Me: Braids in Primordial Sage. Cast Darigaaz for 4 mana, then apologizing to Kyle for hurting his mana, cast Shatterstorm. City of Brass
Keith: Braids in Bloodfire Colossus. Recasts Brion.
Kyle: Draws, announces “I’m legally bound to cast this!” and shows us Warp World. I float BRRG and two colorless, deciding to not pop the Deed. I have 14 permanents, so I recover relatively well. One of Kyle’s cards is Terastodon, and he takes out my Fires of Yavimaya; Skargg, the Rage Pits; and Nate’s Astral Slide. I get back Demonic Tutor from Eternal Witness. Kyle also has Mana Flare and Hive Mind.
Ryan: Child of Alara
TURN 11
Nate: Austere Command, choosing Enchantments and big dudes. I make my fatties (Charnelhoard Wurm and Copperhoof Vorrac) Indestructible with Spearbreaker Behemoth.
Me: Attack Kyle with Behemoth and Wurm (21). Get back Sudden Spoiling.
Keith: Nothing.
Kyle: Oath of Lieges. Ryan is the odd man out.
Ryan: Land, go
TURN 12
Nate: Living Death, which results in lots of triggers. Woodfall Primus Oath, Angel targets Twilight Shepherd, Duplicant targets Azorious Guildmage, Harmonic Sliver his own Jens. I Anathemancer Kyle (18), and at EOT, I Hexmage the Spike Weaver.
Me: Molder Slug and Jens, Demonic Tutor for Withered Wretch and discard Big Game Hunter, taking out the Angel of Despair.
Keith: Attacks Ryan with his Pro Red guys (40). Bloodfire Kavu.
Kyle: Shah of Naar Isle. Prosperity for 4. Attacks Keith (27).
Ryan: Attacks Keith (23). Diabolic Tutor for Seedborn Muse.
TURN 13
Nate: Upkeep, sacrifices the Duplicant to Molder Slug. Boneshredder, targeting my Fumiko. Ryan plays Master Warcraft, so Nate’s guys all attack Kyle. I Harrow, Nate sacrifices the Hierarch, and I once again play Sudden Spoiling for the save. After that, I kill Yosei and Reveillark with Avatar and Visara. Wood Elves and Top.
Me: Kyle’s at 11, and I doubt that I’m going to get the exact kill, but I give it a whirl anyway, attacking him with the Wurm and Behemoth. Ryan saves him with Prahv, giving him a blocker as well with Forbidden Orchard. I cast Thicket Elemental Kicked, getting Ob-Nixilis.
Keith: Also chooses to attack Kyle for 11, and Ryan repeats the save, just because. Guardian of the Guildpact.
Kyle: Sacrifices a Signet, and does nothing.
Ryan: Ghostly Prison
TURN 14
Nate: Decides to not pay for the Top, getting me a point! Also doesn’t pay for the Bone Shredder. While he’s thinking, time is called. Miren, Damnation “just to be safe,” since he’s not getting another turn.
Me: Nothing.
Keith: Bloodfire Colossus.
Kyle: Arbiter of Knollridge, everyone up to 44. Really safe now. Ooh, False Cure would have been saucy.
Ryan: Clones Bloodfire Colossus, can’t kill Kyle.
We end up with all five players still in this epic game. Michael decides that there’s a new league point for all the players who started a game being in at the end. Obviously, it doesn’t help with the individual game, since everyone gets it, but it helps for the overall League standings. I doubt that the one point that folks get will be significant, but you never know.
GAME 2
Ryan, Kyle, and I have all tied at 6 points, so we go to Table 1 with Aaron with Sharuum (who I hear had a Profane Command for 39 at one point) and Tory with Kresh.
TURN 1
Tory: Mountain
Me: I keep an unexciting hand of 4 land, Acidic Slime, Jens, and Fumiko. It has more than the requisite 3 land, so I run it. One of the lands is Kazandu Refuge (41).
Aaron: Mutavault, Expedition Map
Kyle: Vivid Crag
Ryan: Arcane Sanctum
TURN 2
Tory: Swamp
Me: Savage Land
Aaron: Mystic Gate, activate Mutavault, attack Kyle (38).
Kyle: Shivan Reef
Ryan: Exotic Orchard
TURN 3
Tory: Fires of Yavimaya
Me: Forest, Sol Ring. Jens, get a Swamp. There’s a start.
Aaron: Esper Panorama, activate Mutavault attack Tory (38).
Kyle: Heartbeat of Spring.
Ryan: Vulturous Zombie. Why am I not playing that guy?
TURN 4
Tory: Oracle of Mul Daya, play an extra land off the top, then normal land drop. Kathari Bomber, attack Aaron (38), get two dudes.
Me: Tap 10, Acidic Slime the Heartbeat and Fumiko. EOT, Aaron maps for Maze of Ith.
Aaron: Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Damnation.
Kyle: Misses land drop.
Ryan: Land, nothing else.
TURN 5
Tory: Unearths the Bomber, attacks me (39), gets 2 dudes.
Me: Savage Land, Darigaaz.
Aaron: Maze of Ith, cracks the Panorama for Plains. Mutavault attacks Kyle (36).
Kyle: Anvil of Bogardan, which he proudly announced earlier that he had just acquired.
Ryan: Copies Maze of Ith with Vesuva.
At this point, two of the better local players Sam Riley and Dean Kruse, stroll into the shop. The night before, in Armada’s Wednesday Standard tournament, Sam and Dean had been playing the Polymorph deck mirror match—identical decks in identical sleeves. When one of them, some 20 minutes into the game, Polymorphed away a Plant token, he found his deck empty of creatures—but 6 Day of Judgment. To make a long story short, they somehow got their decks mixed together. It’s an easy fix—go to Game 3, but the best part is that we get to have some fun with them for the next month or so.
Riley knocks two weeks off the ridicule sentence by noticing that I have a non-foil Savage Lands in play (and asks “What’s wrong with you?”), and swaps it out for a foily one.
TURN 6
Tory: Kresh, attacks Aaron with a token (37).
Me: Wilderness Elemental that’s already 10/3.
Aaron: Tormod’s Crypt. Ouch. Hall of the Bandit Lord.
Kyle: Rites of Flourishing.
Ryan: Crystal Quarry
TURN 7
Tory: Fleshbag Marauder. Tory and I are the only ones with creatures. I sacrifice Darigaaz and he sacrifices the Fleshbag. Kresh +9. Hellkite Hatchling eats 2 tokens (Kresh +11).
Me: I have my tricksy play planned. I draw from the Anvil, then discard Big Game Hunter. I miss getting the point for Kresh by one. Bloodstained Mire, get Bayou (38). Spinerock Knoll. Vampire Hexmage. Goblin Bombardment. Attack Kyle for 12 (24).
Aaron: Discards Relic of Progenitus. Pays 3 life to cast Sharuum with Haste. Puts Sphinx of the Steel Wind into play. Attacks Kyle with Sharuum (19).
Kyle: Land. At EOT, Ryan Capsize with Buyback on the Sphinx.
Ryan: Dread Return on River Kelpie. Every time I look at him, I realize he’s good.
TURN 8
Tory: Vulturous Zombie. I wonder again why I’m not playing that guy.
Me: Discard Graven Cairns. Attack Tory with 15/3 Elemental. He double-blocks, going to (31). I activate Spinerock Knoll, getting Primordial Sage. Cast Azusa. Hand’s getting close to empty.
Aaron: Watery Grave untapped (22). Lightning Greaves. Equip Sharuum. Demonic Tutor. Avatar of Woe for BB. Attack Tory with Sharuum (27).
Kyle: Aura Mutation on Bombardment. Azorious Signet.
Ryan: Liliana and Tutors for something.
TURN 9
Tory: Darigaaz. Really? I can pay 8 mana to destroy Darigaaz!
Me: Withered Wretch (draw), Stomphowler (draw) Lightning Greaves. Terramorphic Expanse, get a Mountain.
Aaron: Extra lands after discarding Crucible of Worlds to Anvil. Looks at graveyards. Someone suggests Beacon of Unrest. Someone else suggests Open the Vaults. I have four mana open to remove stuff, so I’m not super-worried, but still. It is indeed Open the Vaults. Since Kyle has Eye of the Storm in his yard, Aaron uses the Crypt on Kyle. Kyle casts Wild Ricochet. Ryan Bant Charms that. I Reroute the Crypt activation to Aaron’s yard. He Trickbinds the Crypt activation. After Trickbind resolves, I remove Relic, Sphinx, and Tormod’s Crypt from Aaron’s yard, and Eye of the Storm from Kyle’s. Ryan draws a boatload of cards with River Kelpie (see what I did there? River? Boatload? Ugh…). Greaves goes on Avatar of Woe.
Kyle: Urza’s Filter. I know this really enables Ryan.
Ryan: Mana Reflection for even more enabling. I suspect this game isn’t going to last long. Taps for 3 of each color, plays Conflux. Gets Greater Auramancy, Last Sand, Beacon of Unrest, Master Warcraft, and Prismatic Omen. Casts Last Stand (remember, Urborg is in play). This will kill Kyle and put Tory at two. He responds to his own spell with Capsize, no Buyback on Goblin Bombardment. I sacrifice Jens to dome Kyle and Tory sacrifices Darigaaz to Carrion to get 6 tokens. Ryan casts Beacon of Unrest on Darigaaz, then casts Aether Snap. Kills Tory.
Two turns later and no answers from either me nor Aaron, Ryan recasts Last Stand (back in his hand via Eternal Witness) and Twincasts it to kill us both, completing his sweep of the table and the piling up of the points. I finish second thanks to on my last turn (seeing the end coming), using Skargg and Fires of Yavimaya to bump up creatures to get a straight.
This was a week where Chaos was surely Embraced. The games were wild and lots of crazy stuff happened, which is surely the nature of the format.
Tune in next week when we talk about the Embracing…. Everything contest winners. I’ll take submissions up until Friday of next week, so there’s still plenty of time to get building!