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Down And Dirty – Taking In Some Top 8s

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard open Comes to Philadelphia!
Wednesday, November 12th – While Kyle never managed to scale the heights of his own States tournament with his potent Elemental deck, he still managed to bring a swathe of interesting decklists from the more successful participants in his region. Today, he takes us through two Top 8s (Texas and Oklahoma) and offers advice on the respective lists…

States always comes around at this special time of year, with turkeys and pointy trees on the horizon. Brown and yellow leaves gently fall to the ground all around us and crunch underneath our worn shoes. Stray dogs are taken in by overzealous families that believe it’s their right of humanity to care for pups that have no one to care for them. Homeless bums steal Santa costumes and sit outside mall doors with red buckets assuming the role of a friendly greeter. Eggnog is downed, Santas are crowned, and stray dogs are found, and every lonely night it gets harder and harder to fall asleep as it grows colder and colder under the sheets…

Oh yes, it’s a very special time of year and, thanks to Glenn Goddard, we can add Magic States back to that lineup, even if it was previously crossed out due to Wizards fiendish reorganizing shenanigans.

I’m in a particularly bitter mood right now. Not only do I not have a State crown on my curly pile of fluff, but I’m also out of Skim Milk and have nothing to pair with my Golden Grams. It’s not that I prefer Goat’s to Cow’s… however, lamb chops are a much more rare meal for me compared to the overkilled cow burgers. I just think the milk is a little sweeter on the Goat’s end and makes for a better Golden Gram pairing.

My Elemental deck didn’t get me there, despite the techy addition of Ajani Vengeant over those clunky Gift of Gargantuans. Ajani fills both angles of the deck and enhances them, acting as an LD spell for basic land that Fulminator can’t scold, while being an excellent way to hold off a Doran, Chameleon Colossus, or incoming Mulldrifter. He also provides a bit of a cushion against the aggro decks, saving a bunch of damage by both killing creatures and forcing attacks at him. His ultimate is also fairly achievable opposite the slow Five-Color Control decks; however, his usefulness against the Fae is comparable to a sock with holes on the bottom.

Instead of reliving victorious matches, I’m going to take a look at some Top 8 lists from this past weekend, and try and get inside the heads of each of the deckbuilders to understand why they made the card choices they did, and whether or not they are an effective line of attack. There were a lot of the Standard stalwarts around this time, but there were some gold nuggets floating around too.

188 showed their ugly mugs in Austin for Texas Champs… and go figure, our TO wasn’t prepared and didn’t have enough deck registration sheets, which delayed the tournament about an hour. Seating was also pretty tight but, like a fat family at a Turkey table, we made do.

Texas

1st Place – Chris Poff – Cruel Control

1 Broodmate Dragon
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Kitchen Finks
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Nucklavee
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae

2 Bant Charm
4 Cryptic Command
4 Esper Charm

3 Cruel Ultimatum
3 Hallowed Burial
2 Tidings
3 Violent Ultimatum

2 Runed Halo

2 Arcane Sanctum
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Crumbling Necropolis
2 Flooded Grove
2 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Savage Lands
3 Sunken Ruins
2 Vivid Crag
3 Vivid Creek
2 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh

Sideboard
3 Puppeteer Clique
2 Memory Plunder
2 Arbiter of Knollridge
3 Firespout
2 Cloudthresher
3 Stillmoon Cavalier

This is a very interesting take of Cruel Control. Most feel hard pressed to include three Cruel Ultimatum, but Chris Poff goes as far to include three more Ultimatums of a much more Violent variety, and at the same time he slows down his mass removal by a turn with Hallowed Burial over Wrath of God. I suppose if you aren’t going to worry about creature decks you just shouldn’t worry about creature decks. Violent Ultimatum in particular is an excellent way to blow out the other control decks. You can also get it back with Nucklavee to make a virtual Armageddon for the low discounted price of three turns, twenty mana, and if you call now you’ll get a free 4/4 with shipping and handling.

The creatures also have a nice little gem tucked away, with Fulminator Mage joining the roster. Mulldrifter was fired, and now Fulminator and Finks come together to make an excellent guards on turn 3, which is where Mulldrifter is somewhat lacking. Poff makes up for the super expensive dudes by having good blockers on turn 3 to buy him an extra turn to cast Hallowed Burial.

His sideboard contains Arbiter of Knollridge and Firespout to make up for the slower oriented main deck cards and includes a host of good cards that provide options. Stillmoon Cavalier is another excellent turn 3 blocker, and is a hard threat to answer in the mirror matches where Wrath of God generally gets boarded out. Puppeteer Clique and Memory Plunder are likewise dangerous attrition cards that are well suited to battle opposite control-oriented decks.

Nicely designed deck, and a well deserving champion.

2nd Place – Ed Roman – Faeries

4 Mistbind Clique
2 Pestermite
4 Scion of Oona
1 Sower of Temptation
4 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Vendilion Clique

4 Agony Warp
4 Cryptic Command

4 Ponder
4 Thoughtseize

4 Bitterblossom

4 Faerie Conclave
4 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Secluded Glen
2 Sunken Ruins
2 Swamp
4 Underground River

Sideboard
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Deathmark
2 Stillmoon Cavalier
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
3 Infest
2 Bottle Gnomes
2 Jace Beleren

Almost too standard a Faeries list, with all kinds of crazy indecisiveness going on in the sideboard. The Faeries deck, to me at least, is a lot less resilient than it used to be and can’t afford to play 1- and 2-ofs because the card drawing isn’t there to support their inclusion. The sideboard is just a hodgepodge of good sideboard cards with no clear plan, which can be all you need at a tournament like States to do well.

3rd Place – Phu Dao – Lost by TBF

1 Broodmate Dragon
1 Cloudthresher
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Mulldrifter
1 Nucklavee
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae

3 Broken Ambitions
2 Condemn
4 Cryptic Command
4 Esper Charm
2 Jund Charm
1 Makeshift Mannequin

2 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Firespout
3 Wrath of God

1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Fetid Heath
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
1 Graven Cairns
1 Island
2 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
1 Springjack Pasture
2 Vivid Crag
4 Vivid Creek
3 Vivid Grove
2 Vivid Marsh
3 Vivid Meadow

Sideboard
1 Condemn
1 Jund Charm
1 Wrath of God
1 Pithing Needle
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Necrogenesis
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
2 Battlegrace Angel
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Master Phu Dao comes close to the State title with his Cruel Control deck, and boy do his numbers look crazy at first glance. He’s more prone to a Limited environment, so Phu might be a little out of his element when it comes to shuffling sixty. I really like Jund Charm because of its utility against the often troublesome Retrace/Mannequin/Kelpie decks that tend to outdraw this deck while also being a solid roleplayer opposite tribal tactics.

His sideboard looks to round out certain numbers in certain matchups, bring in more Wrath effects opposite tribes and graveyard removal and Archmage’s against the slower decks. Battlegrace Angel is an awesome surprise sister from the board that can create some huge life swings and is an excellent finisher in some match ups and I’m glad to see her finely feathered fanny finding some action.

Elspeth is a little random, but I guess a four-mana Bitterblossom is a nice option to have.

4th Place – Jacob Hardy – Red Deck Loses

4 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Kitchen Finks
2 Oversoul of Dusk
4 Paladin en-Vec
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Stillmoon Cavalier

4 Crib Swap
4 Unmake

2 Endless Horizons
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Runed Halo

22 Plains

Sideboard
2 Runed Halo
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Ajani Goldmane
2 Mirrorweave
4 Wispmare
3 Faerie Macabre

Here we go! This is my kind of States deck! Simple, aggressive, White, and sports 22 Plains. Honestly this deck could use some work. There are a lot of approaches that could be enhanced, like having a small Ranger of Eos package, or throwing some Rustic Clachans, Windbrisk Heights, or a Mistveil Plains in there. Ten removal spells also doesn’t seem initially correct and Runed Halo seems a little too reactive for this type of deck.

That would make a little room for Light From Within. Which should clearly be in here.

5th Place – Timothy Gray – Faeries

4 Mistbind Clique
3 Scion of Oona
4 Spellstutter Sprite
2 Vendilion Clique

4 Agony Warp
4 Cryptic Command
3 Sage’s Dousing

4 Ponder

4 Bitterblossom

2 Loxodon Warhammer

2 Jace Beleren

4 Faerie Conclave
3 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Secluded Glen
4 Sunken Ruins
1 Swamp
4 Underground River

Sideboard
4 Thoughtseize
3 Sower of Temptation
4 Infest
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
2 Shriekmaw

His name was Gray and he slanged with Fae. Today wasn’t his day, but perhaps he’s on his way.

6th Place – James Wise – Angry WUBster

4 Figure of Destiny
4 Kitchen Finks
2 Stillmoon Cavalier
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Wydwen, the Biting Gale

4 Cryptic Command
4 Esper Charm
2 Negate
2 Punish Ignorance
4 Unmake

4 Thoughtseize
4 Wrath of God

1 Adarkar Wastes
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Fetid Heath
4 Mystic Gate
3 Plains
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Underground River
1 Vivid Meadow

Sideboard
2 Terror
3 Wispmare
3 Infest
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Story Circle
2 Crib Swap

Who?

James Wise! Holdin’ it up!

I say who?

James Wise! Holdin’ it up!

I say who?

James Wise! Holdin’ it up!

I say who?

James Wise! Holdin’ it up!

JW is my boy from SA (although forty years my senior). He played in a few Pro Tours back during Mirage but now mainly plays fun five-colored decks with cards he likes to play with. I offered him my Elemental deck the day of, and he said he would of played it if I told him sooner. Good thing I didn’t.

His deck experiments with putting Figure of Destiny in an aggro control deck, based around the Esper shard. Figure is the best point guard for any up tempo squad, but putting him in a control deck where he has to do a lot of the scoring on his own is something innovative. Usually he’d be the guy that takes away the focus from other key attackers like Boggart Ram Gang or Knight of Meadowgrain, but now he looks to win the game combined with powerful spells. You can start out with a turn 1 Figure, follow it up with a Finks or Cavalier down the way and sit back to counter all their spells with Negate, Cryptic Command, and the ultimate blowout of Punish Ignorance.

James only fault is that he always has to play with 61, and his decks are always land light. And they usually always have Thoughtseize in them as well, but there definitely needs to be some more resources and less Wydwen. Boy does my boy love that Biting Gale… he’d been playing it in Dralnu for a long time too.

His sideboard is another thing I’d switch up if I was going to take this deck seriously, however it’s another one of those good options boards that is awesome for an open tournament like States.

7th Place – Paul Hagan – RDW by The Interwebs

4 Mistbind Clique
4 Scion of Oona
2 Sower of Temptation
4 Spellstutter Sprite
2 Vendilion Clique

4 Agony Warp
4 Cryptic Command
4 Terror

4 Thoughtseize

4 Bitterblossom

1 Faerie Conclave
4 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Secluded Glen
4 Sunken Ruins
3 Swamp
4 Underground River

Sideboard
2 Sower of Temptation
4 Broken Ambitions
4 Infest
3 Mind Shatter
2 Puppeteer Clique

More like Bore-ies.

8th Place – Colton McCurry – Texas Toast

3 Cloudthresher
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Mulldrifter

3 Bant Charm
2 Condemn
4 Cryptic Command
4 Esper Charm
2 Negate
2 Oona’s Grace

2 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Firespout
4 Wrath of God

1 Cascade Bluffs
2 Flooded Grove
3 Island
2 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Sunken Ruins
4 Vivid Creek
3 Vivid Grove
2 Vivid Marsh
3 Vivid Meadow

Sideboard
1 Cloudthresher
1 Negate
2 Condemn
2 Memory Plunder
2 Jace Beleren
2 Mind Shatter
1 Call the Skybreaker
3 Jund Charm
1 Flashfreeze

Another solid Cruel Control, somewhat outdated with Cloudthresher maindeck; however, highly poised to make a stab at this Top 8 if his matchups fell right. Poor guy probably got outed by that wicked White deck by mana screw or the Five-Color Control deck sporting Fulms that won.

That’s one top 8 down, and at this 188 person filled all the usual archetypes drifted to the top. I blame the high density of Faeries decks for the lack of rogue breakthroughs. The fearsome Fae go a long way at trimming the unruly decks out of contention.

The next is coming from across the northern border where a modest 48 mages gathered to contest their wizardry and intellect.

Oklahoma

Gerald Sixkiller, 1st

2 Vivid Grove
2 Flooded Grove
2 Vivid Marsh
4 Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Treetop Village
3 Twilight Mire
2 Swamp
1 Forest

2 Garruk Wildspeaker
4 Kitchen Finks
2 Primal Command
3 Thoughtseize
3 Profane Command
4 Murderous Redcap
4 Quillspike
2 Shriekmaw
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
2 Loxodon Warhammer
4 Devoted Druid
2 Nantuko Husk
2 Makeshift Mannequin

Sideboard
2 Mind Shatter
2 Liliana Vess
2 Relic of Progenitors
1 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Cloudthresher
2 Naturalize
3 Infest

Here we go, a hearty Sixkiller concoction mixed to perfection. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of all the 2-ofs running around since there’s no realistic way to consistently draw them. I dunno, but I think a Liliana or two maindeck would go a long way in a deck like this. For one it facilitates the Quillspike combo, but on top of that there are all kinds of crazy dudes to get back from the yard if you want to go the other route.

The sideboard is another of the aforementioned hodgepodges, but I’d expect to see him fill out more of the two ofs that he has main deck to solidify specific match ups, but instead he throws Liliana Vess in, which does basically the same thing. I’m not sure if it was intended to pan out like that, but adding in some tutors can cover a lot of ground and provides a lot of options to out play the opponents.

James Sanford, 2nd

4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Ashenmoor Gouger
4 Figure of Destiny
3 Stigma Lasher
3 Mogg Fanatic
3 Hell’s Thunder
3 Boggart Ram-Gang
2 Magma Spray
4 Flame Javelin
4 Incinerate
2 Shock

3 Ghitu Encampment
2 Auntie’s Hovel
4 Sulfurous Springs
2 Graven Cairns
13 Mountains

Sideboard
3 Everlasting Torment
3 Vexing Shusher
3 Thoughtseize
2 Magma Spray
2 Unwilling Recruit
2 Guttural Response

Red deck loses in finals! Everything looks pretty standard here, except I’d probably want to have four Magma Spray rather than bothering with Shock. It feels like a wasted sideboard slot to include something so marginal like Spray when it could just be maindecked. Vexing Shusher is another dude that I’m not sure has very much value, however it definitely shines here compared to any Gruul aggro decks that I’ve previously seen it in. The danger with Shusher is that if your using him to just resolve more creatures you’ll get taken every time by board sweepers. In here, you can make a realistic argument that he pushes through unopposed burn damage, so he could do some good.

Everlasting Torment is another card that has a ton of random utility and will be a card you can expect to see until it rotates out in the Red dudes sideboard.

Jeremy Bright, 3rd-4th

2 Faerie Conclave
4 Underground River
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Wanderwine Hub
4 Mutavault
3 Island
1 Mystic Gate
2 Sunken Ruins

2 Sygg, River Guide
4 Stonybrook Banneret
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Wake Thrasher
4 Merrow Reejerey
3 Sower of Temptation
4 Sage’s Dousing
4 Cryptic Command
3 Esper Charm
4 Agony Warp

Sideboard
3 Negate
2 Jace Beleren
1 Sower of Temptation
3 Reveillark
3 Wispmare
3 Condemn

I’m not too keen on these Merfolk decks and their crazy splashes. Agony Warp is an awesome addition since this deck is more poised to get the 2 for 1 out of it than Faeries, and Esper Charm is nice too, but where does it end? Is Condemn realistic in a deck that can only cast it for 1 mana eight ways?

I do like this build more than similar Knight of Meadowgrain builds though, this one just feels better than the rest. I think I’d rather go with the Vivid mana in here, that’s purely speculative and completely untested, but it just looks like it’d work better. You’d have to cut the Conclave, and at that point you’d only have to add a couple CIPT Vivids to make Pool worth it. From there you have more ways to support Condemn out of the board while keeping the turn 2 mana requirements in check.

Ryan Morlock, 3rd-4th

3 Reveillark
4 Mulldrifter
2 Fulminator Mage
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 River Kelpie
4 Agony Warp
3 Raven’s Crime
4 Wrath of God
4 Cryptic Command
2 Esper Charm
2 Makeshift Mannequin

3 Vivid Creek
2 Mystic Gate
2 Underground River
1 Vivid Marsh
4 Reflecting Pool
3 Sunken Ruins
2 Swamp
2 Island
2 Fetid Heath
4 Arcane Sanctum

Sideboard
2 Infest
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Fulminator Mage
2 Remove Soul
2 Negate
2 Runed Halo
2 Shriekmaw

The first of two Morlocks in the Top 8, this one sleeved up a Kelpie deck featuring Reveillark. Reve Kelpie! Tidehollow benefits both five mana engine’s by protecting them, however I’d really like to see more Fulminator Mage maindeck.

Another interesting feature is the unconventional two-of sideboard plan. Usually I wouldn’t condone this, but given how many cards this deck can accumulate as quickly as it can I think it’s fine in here. You’ll be able to go through a good portion of the deck each game if you get something going, and all the sideboard options are cheap enough to be used whenever you want. If you’re going to the extent to include Negate I think I’d rather have more Makeshift Mannequin to compliment Scully, Mulls, n’ Fulminator.

Charles Ketchum, 5-8th

4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Scion of Oona
4 Mistbind Clique
2 Sower of Temptation
3 Thoughtseize
4 Bitterblossom
4 Agony Warp
2 Remove Soul
2 Jace Beleren
1 Oona’s Grace
1 Loxodon Warhammer
4 Cryptic Command
5 Island
3 Swamp
3 Secluded Glen
4 Mutavault
4 Sunken Ruins
4 Underground River
2 Faerie Conclave

Sideboard
4 Infest
2 Oona, Queen of the Fae
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Thoughtseize
1 Oona’s Grace
1 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Flashfreeze
1 Negate
1 Jace Beleren

It’s about time Faeries started playing Oona’s Grace. It makes perfect sense, as the deck can consistently get to the late game but is lacking a late game engine to keep the gas pumping. Grace works so well in theory that it could actually make Faeries even better than it already is, giving it even further reach in the control matches while enabling one-ofs like Warhammer… it is a much more desirable engine than Jace.

It’s hard to take much more than that from this build, since it’s relatively mainstream otherwise, but the Oona’s Grace has really opened my eyes for this archetype and forces me to rethink my plans opposite Faeries if people pick up on it.

Kyle Morlock 5-8th

4 Spectral Procession
4 Unmake
4 Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 Wizened Cenn
4 Cloudgoat Ranger
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Elspeth, Knight Errant
2 Ajani Goldmane
2 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Akrasan Squire
1 Mirrorweave
15 Plains
4 Windbrisk Heights
3 Rustic Clachan
2 Mutavault

Sideboard
3 Burrenton Forge Tender
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Moonglove Extract
2 Surge of Thoughtweft
2 Wispmare
2 Relic of Progenitus

The other Morlock brother, this one favoring the aggro side of the spectrum. It’s sort of a Kithkin/Exalted hybrid featuring a full complement of Cloudgoat Ranger as a follow up to the devastating board sweeper’s.

I’m not sure when you’d want to board in Surge of Thoughtweft, perhaps the mirror? But I’d rather have more Elspeth or a Ranger of Eos package over it. The Eos package in particular has been extremely effective from my viewpoint on the weekend. It gives the Kithkin/Exalted decks a way to power past the Red decks by fetching a pair of Forge-Tender while also being strong against control players to fetch a pair of Figures.

Ben Jackson 5-8th

4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Scion of Oona
4 Mistbind Clique
2 Sower of Temptation
3 Thoughtseize
4 Bitterblossom
4 Agony Warp
2 Remove Soul
2 Jace Beleren
1 Oona’s Grace
1 Loxodon Warhammer
4 Cryptic Command
4 Secluded Glen
4 Sunken Ruins
4 Mutavault
4 Underground River
7 Island
2 Swamp

Sideboard
4 Infest
2 Oona, Queen of the Fae
3 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Thoughtseize
1 Oona’s Grace
1 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Flashfreeze
1 Jace Beleren

An exact copy of Ketchum’s list, and it appears these two were in cahoots and both made the breakthrough in the 48 player field.

Tony Menzer 5-8th

4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Meadow
2 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Grove
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Mystic Gate
2 Sunken Ruins
2 Flooded Grove
1 Cascade Bluffs
2 Yavimaya Coast
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Island
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Mulldrifter
2 Cloudthresher
4 Condemn
3 Resounding Thunder
3 Wrath of God
4 Esper Charm
4 Cryptic Command
2 Remove Soul
2 Negate

Sideboard
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Wrath of God
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae
2 Primal Command
3 Twincast
1 Resounding Scream
1 Jace Beleren
1 Negate
1 Remove Soul
2 Cloudthresher

Tony Menzer is an accomplished Okie who would be the odds-on favorite to take this one down, but unfortunately couldn’t get past the first elimination round with his Resounding 5C control. Gerry and I talked about this strategy a couple weeks back and we both came to the same conclusion that Thunder is how decks like this want to end the game against control decks as it also offers an excellent spot removal card for the other matches and the dream response to a Figure activation into a 4/4.

Twincast from the board is going to be better than Negate a lot of the times when combating Cryptic Commands, so I wonder how long it will take before that trend picks up. There’s really not too much to say about this deck that hasn’t been said. I’m not a fan of Cloudthresher, but it was a good choice for States all things considered.

This is only a small sampling but from what I’ve heard there wasn’t nearly the shakeup that I expected. Faeries did well, five color control did well, Kithkin and Red both did well, and all the fringe decks got annihilated. A nice metagame, but it feels like Standard should be more open than that. Either way we’ll know whenever more Top 8s come in.

Thanks for reading…

Kyle

Top 5 Expected Trends

1) Fulminator’s stock will rise.
2) Hallowed Burial > Wrath of God… eventually.
3) Twincast Negates Negate.
4) 22 Plains / 22 Mountain decks aren’t as shabby as they sound.
5) Oona’s Grace will become more frequent in Faeries.