Commander 2015 League Play-By-Play!

There is now a new classic blunder to add to the list. The first is “never get involved in a land war in Asia,” but only slightly less well-known is the second: “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.” The third is “fail to blow up Blade of Selves when you have the chance.” The play by play which follows demonstrates how I became guilty of the mistake I’ll hopefully not make a second time.

As a quick review, the Monday Night Gamers (that’s Keith, Michael, Shea, Todd, and me) are doing a Commander 2015 League; there are (conveniently) five of us, so we each randomly got one of the decks. After each game, we’re allowed to update one card in our deck. The trick is that we can’t pick a card which is already in one of the other decks. The pick order, should it matter, is: first player out; first kill; most experience counters; last person standing; person without a point. It’s as simple as that.

All five of us were finally together for the first time. Due to the holidays and whatnot, the first six games we played were all four-person, with the missing person still getting their deck update picks, just doing it last. Michael came up with the idea that we should sit in order. I took that to mean starting at the top of the color wheel, so Orzhov, Izzet, Golgari, Boros, Simic, which is how we sat. What he actually meant was that we would sit between the two people we shared a color with. In the end, that’s only aesthetic anyway, since we play free for all style, being able to attack in any direction.

I’ll catch you up on the changes we’ve made up to this point. Only once did someone cut a pick from someone else: Keith snagged Erebos, God of the Dead in front of Shea. Todd said that he would have eventually grabbed my first pick, Cyclonic Rift, but that it wasn’t the first thing on his radar. The picks are listed by player, in the order that each player took them (but not in pick order from each game).

Keith (Meren of Clan Nel Toth)

In:

Out:

Michael (Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas)

In:

Out:

Shea (Daxos the Returned)

In:

Out:

Me (Ezuri, Claw of Progress)

In:

Out:

Todd (Mizzix of the Izmagnus)

In:

Out:

Here’s the transcript of our game:

Turn 1

Keith (Meren of Clan Nel Toth): Vivid Grove.

Michael (Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas): Plains.

Me (Ezuri, Claw of Progress): Command Tower, Experiment One.

Shea (Daxos the Returned): Evolving Wilds (into Swamp).

Todd (Mizzix of the Izmagnus): Swiftwater Cliffs (41).

Turn 2

Keith (Meren): Swamp, Thought Vessel, Skullclamp.

Michael (Kalemne): Mountain, Mind Stone.

Me (Ezuri): Forest, Thought Vessel.

Shea (Daxos): Plains, Karlov of the Ghost Council.

Todd (Mizzix): Island, Izzet Signet. Everyone has a mana rock except Shea.

Turn 3

Keith (Meren): Swamp, Centaur Vinecrasher.

Michael (Kalemne): Mountain, Kalemne.

Me (Ezuri): Island, Ezuri, evolving Experiment One.

Shea (Daxos): Swamp, Daxos. Todd reads the card. Shea battles Todd for reading (39).

Todd (Mizzix): Mountain, Sol Ring, Thought Vessel. Looks like we’re all off to the races.

Turn 4

Keith (Meren): Polluted Mire, Meren.

Michael (Kalemne): Mountain, attacks Keith with Kalemne, who blocks with Vine. Blade of Selves.

Me (Ezuri): Evolving Wilds (which I’ll eventually crack for a Forest), Viridian Shaman. Get an experience counter. Here’s where it all goes sideways. There is a fair amount of artifact and enchantment removal in our little closed environment. It seems to me that dealing with the more immediate threat makes sense, so I take out Skullclamp. Keith’s deck is the one which we’ve seen operate best straight out of the box, and we’ve seen in the first few games we’ve played how insane it can get in the earlier turns. Plus, the creatures Michael is likely to cast over the next few turns aren’t all that scary. Welcome to my land war in Asia. I go to combat, add a +1/+1 counter to Experiment One (so now I can block and regenerate it), and pass.

Shea (Daxos): Swamp, Phyrexian Arena, gets an experience counter.

Todd (Mizzix): Temple of the False God. Michael cycles Forgotten Cave.

Turn 5

Keith (Meren): Forest, Lightning Greaves. Equips Meren. Casts Blood Bairn. At end of turn, Meren triggers, putting Centaur Vinecrasher back into Keith’s hand.

Michael (Kalemne): Plains, Sunrise Sovereign. You know that feeling when you blow past a speed trap and you know the lights are going to come on behind you at any moment? That’s what I start feeling like. Michael gets an experience counter. He attacks me with Kalemne, who is now a 6/6 with double strike and trample. There’s no point in blocking, so I eat it (28).

Me (Ezuri): Island. I have to cast Cobra Trap on my turn in order to get a sufficient number of experience counters so that Experiment One can save me from dying to another immediate crack of Kalemne. I get four Snakes, go to combat, and put five counters on Experiment One. I know it’s saving me at the moment, but I’m still pretty sure I’ll take it out of the deck at some point.

Shea (Daxos): Arena takes him to (39). Drops Swamp and casts Daxos’s Torment. Gets experience counter number two. Attacks Michael with the Demon (35).

Todd (Mizzix): Casts his commander.

Turn 6

Keith (Meren): Recasts Centaur Vinecrasher (now +3).

Michael (Kalemne): Equips Blade of Selves to Sunrise Sovereign. Somebody gets out a calculator. Before Michael attacks, Todd casts Fact or Fiction choosing Shea, getting an experience counter. Reveals four lands and Melek, Izzet Paragon. Shea gives him a 4-1 split; Todd takes the creature. Michael attacks, sending the original Sunrise Sovereign at Todd, and Kalemne toward Keith. The Sovereigns are all 11/11s. Keith double blocks in order to stay alive. I block with Experiment One and regenerate it to minimize some of the damage. After combat is done, I’m at (22), Shea (28), Todd (27), and Keith (19).

Me (Ezuri): Desperate times demand desperate measures. I cast Bident of Thassa. I go to combat, putting the five counters on Experiment One. I swing Viridian Shaman and four Snakes at Michael. He blocks one of the Snakes (30). I draw four cards, none of them close to the answers I need here: Island, Forest, Sol Ring, and Night Soil. I play all of them but the Forest.

Shea (Daxos): Arena to (27). No other plays.

Todd (Mizzix): Casts Melek. Shows a Mountain on top of his library. Drops another from his hand.

Turn 7

Keith (Meren): Forest. At end of turn, he targets Blood Bairn. I eat it and the Centaur, getting a Saproling and my sixth experience counter. If someone has some answer to the trampling part, at least I can block.

Michael (Kalemne): Attacks me with Kalemne. The original Sovereign goes toward Todd. Even blocking with my large Experiment One, I can’t deal with the commander damage. Remember, it has double strike, and regenerating Experiment One taps it, so it’s not around to block in the normal combat damage step. Even if it were, the carry over damage would be enough to kill me anyway (since I had taken twelve earlier). It is just that I die first from making such a huge threat assessment failure. At least I’m now freer to record the rest of the game. After combat is done, Shea is at (16), Todd (16), and Keith (8). Michael casts Oblivion Sower, targeting Todd. He ends up getting a Mountain off of it. There is a small advantage for Todd, since Blue Sun’s Zenith is now on top.

Shea (Daxos): Arena to (15). Casts Orzhov Cluestone. At end of turn, Todd casts Blue Sun’s Zenith for three, drawing six cards—because he cast it off the top of his library, Melek copies it. He reveals Magmaquake. There’s an answer.

Todd (Mizzix): Island, go.

Turn 8

Keith (Meren): Draw, go.

Michael (Kalemne): Before combat, Todd casts Magmaquake for four. With the copy trigger on the stack, he targets his commander with Repeal. Steam Augury is now on the top of his library, so he casts it and copies it. To save time, he picks Shea for one split and Keith for the other. He ends up with Counterflux, Young Pyromancer, Mountain, Charmbreaker Devils, and Blue Sun’s Zenith in his hand and Dragon Mage on top of his library I ask for a double-check on experience counters. Todd has four, Keith three, Michael two, and Shea two. All that done, in his second main phase, Michael casts Magma Giant. Shea to (13), Todd (14), and Keith (16). We all (even me, who is already out of the game) groan at the idea of Magma Giant getting equipped with Blade of Selves.

Shea (Daxos): Arena to (12). Command Tower. He goes into the tank for a minute, and casts Karmic Justice, which turns on Daxos’s Torment. He attacks Michael with it (23).

Todd (Mizzix): Command Tower, Charmbreaker Devils, and a smile of contentment. He’s up to something.

Turn 9

Keith (Meren): Forest, pass. Seems like he’s out of gas.

Michael (Kalemne): Angel of Serenity. Todd counters it with Mystic Confluence, bouncing Magma Giant and drawing a card. Mystic Confluence, one of the most excellent cards in the Commander 2015 set, makes an appearance as well in the second game we play when Todd asks how much mana I have (it’s ten) before I cast an overloaded Cyclonic Rift. He then says counter, bounce, bounce. After I say “pay the three???” we let him do takesies backsies.

Shea (Daxos): Arena to (11). Burnished Hart. Discards Underworld Connections.

Todd (Mizzix): Charmbreaker Devils returns (at random) Fact or Fiction to Todd’s hand. He recasts Mizzix. He taps a bunch to overload Mizzix’s Mastery. From his graveyard, he casts Rite of Replication, targeting Charmbreaker Devils, Sleep (targeting Shea), Comet Storm for zero (targeting Michael), Magma Quake for zero, Steam Augury (ending up with Prophetic Bolt, Illusory Ambusher, and Island), draws three with Mystic Confluence, but can’t cast Mystic Retrieval or Repeal due to having no legal targets for either. Charmbreaker Devils is +28. He attacks Michael for the kill.

Turn 10

Keith (Meren): Casts (again) his commander. We talk about the possibility of Burnished Hart battling the next turn (Todd’s life total might be in range), but he ends up sacrificing it at end of turn to get more lands. He doesn’t say so, but I suspect he also wanted to thin his deck and look for more answers.

Shea (Daxos): Arena to (10). It turns out that he wanted the extra lands in play, because he drops Temple of the False God and targets Keith with Death Grasp for exactsies. Shea goes to (16). At end of turn, Todd casts Fact or Fiction, ending up with Broodbirth Viper and Word of Seizing.

Todd (Mizzix): He has two Charmbreaker Devils trigger (remember that he got an extra with Rite of Replication). He gets back Windfall and Call the Skybreaker. He drops Island and casts Bribery targeting Shea, ending up with Celestial Archon. Both Devils are +4, so he can attack Shea for exactly 16. Shea, however, has Comeuppance. Unfortunately for him, Todd has Counterflux, and the attack is lethal.

Post-game picks:

Me: Asceticism in, Great Oak Guardian out.

Michael: Sculpting Steel in, Warchief Giant out.

Keith: Duplicant in, Spider Spawning out.

Shea: Leyline of the Void in, Fallen Ideal out.

Todd: Turnabout in, Etherium-Horn Sorcerer out.

We play a second game which lasts about twice as many turns. The funny moment is when Todd peels a card, reads it, nods appreciatively, says “this should be fun,” and casts Arjun, the Shifting Flame—the turn after Shea has cast Fate Unraveler. There is much laughter and Todd tries unsuccessfully (for a few turns anyway) to get Arjun killed so that he can cast spells. At least it kept people from attacking him for a while.

Here are the picks after that game:

Keith: Seedborn Muse in, Bonehoard out.

Me: Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in, Noble Quarry out.

Shea: Crypt Ghast in, Lightning Greaves out.

Todd: Submerge in, Broodbirth Viper out.

Michael: Reya Dawnbringer in, Breath of Darigaaz out.

After the two five-player games, the pattern I see developing is that Kalemne will set the early pace of play. Mizzix has the long-game plan. The rest of us are the midrange decks. It’s clear that all five of them can do pretty crazy things in their own right. While game 1 might have been an outlier (how many times will he get Blade of Selves and Sunrise Sovereign?), keeping Kalemne from putting you in a dangerous spot early will consistently be a challenge. Keeping Mizzix from being dominant late will be similarly challenging. As we play more, I’ll continue to bring you both the action and how we end up adding cards to the decks.

Rule of Law

Before I go, I want to talk briefly about a bit of a kerfuffle that happened over the weekend. Someone in a private message asked me about the RC’s current priorities. I told him it’s getting worked out what we want to do with the mulligan rule (it will indeed be covered in the next update). I also mentioned what we’ve said repeatedly for a long time—wanting to get rid of the loophole which allows people to play off-color fetches without nerfing a bunch of other cards. We consider it a flavor fail, but we’ve felt like it hasn’t been a big enough deal to do too much work on. Writing such a rule in a crisp, concise fashion, without unintended consequences, is tricky, and it’s not like the loophole hurts the format that much. Anyway, that PM got shared. First of all, I don’t think I have a reasonable expectation of privacy on the internet, even in PMs. I won’t say anything in one that I wouldn’t be willing to say in public. I was a little put off that someone would choose to share it without mentioning it to me, but it’s still not that big of a deal (the person apologized, I accepted). Second, it’s something that we’ve said over and over again for years. I’m not sure why this time so many folks jumped on it and got panicky, but as things happen sometimes on the internet, it went from something we are discussing (and, I can’t stress this enough—have discussed publicly and repeatedly) to a “proposed change.” It took on a life of its own, and some folks got very emotional about it. Once again, I’m very happy that people are so passionate about the format that they’re willing to swear at us and call us names, but I’ll urge those folks to be more willing to engage in reasonable debate and discussion. Talk to us in a reasonable fashion, and your voice will be heard. My primary message is that this is something we’ll continue to talk about and that there is currently no proposed change.

This week’s Deck Without Comment is Karrthus, Who Rains Fire from the Sky.

Karrthus, Who Rains Fire From The Sky

Sheldon Menery

0th Place at Test deck on 12-30-2012

Commander

Creatures (27)

Planeswalkers (2)

Lands (37)

Check out our awesome Deck List Database for the last versions of all my decks:

ADUN’S TOOLBOX;
ANIMAR’S SWARM;
AURELIA GOES TO WAR;
CHILDREN of a LESSER GOD;
DEMONS OF KAALIA;
EREBOS and the HALLS OF THE DEAD;
GLISSA, GLISSA;
HELIOD, GOD OF ENCHANTMENTS;
DREAMING OF INTET;
FORGE OF PURPHOROS;
KARN, BEATDOWN GOLEM;
HALLOWEEN WITH KARADOR;
KARRTHUS, WHO RAINS FIRE FROM THE SKY;
KRESH INTO THE RED ZONE;
LAVINIA BLINKS;
LAZAV, SHAPESHIFTING MASTERMIND;
ZOMBIES OF TRESSERHORN;
MELEK’S MOLTEN MIND GRIND;
MERIEKE’S ESPER CONTROL;
THE MILL-MEOPLASM;
MIMEOPLASM DO-OVER;
NATH of the VALUE LEAF;
NYLEA OF THE WOODLAND REALM;
OBZEDAT, GHOST KILLER;
PURPLE HIPPOS and MARO SORCERERS;
ZEGANA and a DICE BAG;
RITH’S TOKENS;
YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF;
RURIC THAR AND HIS BEASTLY FIGHT CLUB;
THASSA, GOD OF MERFOLK;
THE ALTAR of THRAXIMUNDAR;
TROSTANI and HER ANGELS;
THE THREAT OF YASOVA;
RUHAN DO-OVER;
KARADOR DO-OVER;
KARRTHUS DO-OVER

If you’d like to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a campaign that’s been alive since 1987 and is just now getting started with a new saga called “The Lost Cities of Nevinor”), ask for an invitation to the Facebook group “Sheldon Menery’s Monday Night Gamers.”

Post-game picks:

Rule of Law

Creatures (27)

Planeswalkers (2)

Lands (37)

Spells (33)