Wow what a weekend it was.
I’m saying that now, on the Tuesday after placing third at Grand Prix Atlanta. If you’re a grinder, you probably understand this late feeling of
success; it doesn’t sink in you won the PTQ until you get home the next day, when you’re doing your laundry or trying to hurry and get to work, when
you’re back in the real world. In that world, you’re the happiest person in any room you walk into because everyone in that room has no clue about the
impossible pipe dream you’ve just been pushed through.
Let me tell everyone that this dream is very scary at times, but it’s very real and not so impossible.
The weeks leading up to Atlanta, I was a little unsure of my expectations. This was the first time I’d played Extended since PT Amsterdam, and the
format was extremely different. I’d kept up with the online and paper PTQ results and the online metagame via www.mtgstats.com, a site designed by a good friend of mine, Erik Landriz.
With Naya growing in popularity and Jund being the most recent powerhouse in Standard, I figured these would be the most popular decks. I went on to
assume the masses would audible from Faeries in fear of a “bad matchup” or for lacking the, now apparent, Vampire Nighthawk tech. Once again, these
were all theories I had on the way.
The math came out to: + aggressive strategies – Faerie trickery = play the best Day of Judgment deck
Creatures (14)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (26)
Spells (17)
Sideboard
Taking a look at the decklist, it looks pretty standard, although when I first saw the deck, it was sporting more four-ofs, including Sun Titan. When I
showed up on Friday, I ran into Michael Flynn who had most of a U/W shell, so we went to work on filling it out. While the list does seem standard, I
have to warn you about a few card selections:
–Baneslayer Angel is a card I really wanted to play that wasn’t in most of the U/W lists I first saw. It seemed amazing because of the removal absent
from Naya decks and because Faeries didn’t play Doom Blade in most lists.
–Wispmare is way better than War Priest of Thune. Everyone I talked to playing U/W kept telling me about War Priests in there board, and I thought the
Wispmare would be a clear-cut favorite. It’s cheaper, it flies, and you can kill it (evoke it) yourself to get it back with Sun Titan.
–Ratchet Bomb didn’t come up ever in my aggressive matches, so I’m not sure how it plays in that setting, but it straight up ended a match against Fae
and Wargate, which was very sweet.
-That Finks in the sideboard should’ve been in the maindeck because I boarded it in all but three rounds.
-The Negates and Spell Pierces were pretty good vs. Faeries, and they tie into the ‘stick a Runed Halo and protect it against Scapeshift’ plan.
–Runed Halo was my sideboard protection against the Valakut decks. Many players played Leyline of Sanctity, but I didn’t really feel that lucky, and
being able to name Demigod and being able to bring them back with Sun Titan seemed pretty good.
–Jace Beleren was put into the board as a cheaper planeswalker to be played against combo, control, and just about anything with Jace in it.
–Seachrome Coast isn’t wanted in this deck. You really want to hit your curve of 3-, 4-, 5-drops, but a lot of times, you have to draw the land for the
Baneslayer.
-Some lists play Preordain, but I didn’t want to play it because you have a lot of redundancy in the deck that gets better as the cost goes up. Every
mana is so important every turn.
Day One:
I didn’t get much sleep the night before trying to hustle up cards and eventually retiring to the hotel bar to make it an even later night. I was
watching replays of the New Orleans Hornets rout over the Atlanta Hawks, which was a little inspirational to my cause.
Luckily, I had two byes (not as good as three), so I playtested with my friend Jharick, killing the time, which helped to dust off the cobwebs. After
winning ten games straight vs. his Merfolk, his friend walked up complaining about a guy who beat his U/W Control with a Lapse of Certainty in game
three on his Day of Judgment. I jested with him about his poor luck and proceeded to my first match…
Two byes 2-0
Round 3 (WW)
Yep, I got the same WW guy that beat Jharick’s friend the previous round, but this time, he wasn’t going to trick anyone with any Memory Lapse
shenanigans.
Game one, my opponent ran into my Walls and Finks until he landed an Elspeth, Knight-Errant after I tapped out. I got two of my Baneslayers Pathed, and
with nine mana, I played a big Jace. I held the ground with walls but was facing four Squadron Hawks, Elspeth on seven, Student of Warfare on seven,
and one card, with my life total at ten. I could either Brainstorm for a Day of Judgment or play my last Baneslayer and bounce one of his guys (the
Student being the best choice). I ended up being greedy with Jace by Brainstorming, missing Day, and having to chump his blessed Student on the next
turn with my last Angel, while losing my Jace to Squadron Hawks. Had I bounced the Student with Jace and simply played the Angel, not only would he not
have an attack, but I would also have an attacker for his Elspeth the following turn.
I took it to game three after an easy second game, only to find myself in a hard-learned lesson about big-Jace greed. My opponent had four Hawks out
that had been ignoring my Jace for about three turns but had me at a very unhealthy two life. I had seven lands, Jace on five, a Baneslayer in hand, a
Sun Titan, and two Paths; I drew Day of Judgment for the turn. Looking good right? Well, everything seemed good until I remembered that my opponent was
the Lapse of Certainty guy. I was determined to dodge the bullet by Brainstorming for an eighth land then Wrathing his board with Cryptic backup. After
not drawing a land off the Jace, I ran the Day of Judgment into the suspected Lapse, which he did have. Correct play: don’t Jace, run the Day into the
Lapse, then bounce one Hawk and Path two, leaving you only dead to a topdeck Honor of the Pure.
I learned a lot about JTMS this match, and that is if you can use its bounce ability to gain a greater foothold on the board, you should stabilize
before Brainstorming with Jace.
1-2 2-1
Round 4 (I may have mixed up the next few matches) (Naya)
This round was pretty standard Naya; I played the curve of T2 Wall, T3 O-Ring/Vendilion Clique/Finks, T4 Day of Judgment/Jace, but most importantly
turn 5 Baneslayer in both games, which ended them in short order after that.
2-0 3-1
Round 5 (Wargate)
This round, I got blown out game one, keeping a hand with no countermagic or Vendilion Clique. Game two was looking bleak after a mull to five on the
play with a Marsh Flats as my only land.
I led with Flats; he played Valakut; I passed without a land; he played land, Prismatic Omen. I immediately ripped a Glacial Fortress, fetched, and
played the Fortress and a Ratchet Bomb. He ramped while I added a counter. I passed, and he ramped again and Preordained, while I moved the Bomb up to
two charge counters. I passed still on two land, and he played Scapeshift, me with no response. After Shifting into two fetches and four Valakuts, I
immediately blew the Ratchet Bomb and relieved them of their Mountain-ness. My opponent mumbled some form of “I’m not worried about it” after the judge
explained that his triggers check on resolution, which led me to believe he had another Prismatic Omen. Luckily, I ripped a Runed Halo to shut down his
Valakuts, which allowed me to climb back into the game, Wispmaring two Omens and countering his late Cryptics to put it away with a Vendilion Clique
and Celestial Colonnade.
Game three started off with an exchange of his Prismatic Omen for my Wispmare, playing around Mana Leak. His second Omen stayed long enough to shoot me
for nine and dispatch a JTMS after a Brainstorm for Wispmare. With the Bolts at an end, I stuck a Vendilion Clique, revealing nothing from my opponent.
After a couple attacks, I was stuck on two blue mana with three Cryptic Commands in hand. My Baneslayer was dismissed by a Cryptic, and again after two
more attacks, I drew another Cryptic without a third blue in sight. The next turn, my opponent Pondered, Preordained, and passed. I attacked him to
two, and after no return play, the little Vendilion Clique that could chalked up the game after swinging six times.
2-1 4-1
Round 6 (Dredgevine/Extractor Demon)
The most interesting thing about this match was blowing out my opponent’s seemingly bad Naya draw of only one land. I Dayed his three-mana creatures
and a Sparkmage, leaving him with only a Forest for an easy win. Game two, he led with Ziggurat-Hedron Crab, T2 Hedron Crab, mill two Vengevines to be
returned next turn. His draw was good, and a little scary, but back-to-back Baneslayers set his Crabs to mill-your-opponent-out mode, which couldn’t
race with the two Angels.
2-0 5-1
Round 7 (Esper Faeries)
My opponent’s first play was Vendilion Clique for my Baneslayer; I O-Ringed it on turn 5. He Thoughtseized with five mana up, which I Mana Leaked, so
he couldn’t just stick a Jace. He responded by Esper Charming my O-Ring, hit me with the Vendilion Clique, then Spellstuttered my Leak, letting the
Thoughtseize to resolve.
It turned out my opponent was tapped out. With opportune timing, I drew a Baneslayer that allowed me to run away with the game. I boarded out Days of
Judgment, Wall of Omens, and two O-Rings for Wispmare and more countermagic. Second game led to my Finks and Colonnade facing off against a
Spellstutter Sprite and Creeping Tar Pit. I had just Path to Exiled my opponent’s Glen Elendra Archmage and two Mistbind Cliques, leaving me with no
hand and him with only U/B mana and one card. He drew and slammed down a Mystic Gate and a Baneslayer. Even though I had nothing, it took me a second
to realize I’d boarded out my Days, 2/3 O-Rings and had Pathed three times already. Lucky for me, I drew the only O-Ring the very next turn before the
Angel could complicate things, easily keeping the race in my favor.
2-0 6-1
Round 8 (Naya)
Game one, I led with Wall of Omens; then I cast O-Ring on his Vengevine, then a Jace to bounce his Bird, keeping him off red for Bloodbraid. After the
Baneslayer came down, it was easy work.
Game two my opponent had me in a tough spot with Gaddock Teeg locking down my Cryptic and a Ruinblaster slowing down the Angel patrol. I was at eleven
with four land (one Tec Edge), with my opponent attacking me with the Blaster, Teeg, and a 4/4 Ravine. I was looking at two land and three Baneslayers
in my hand, and I refused to Tec Edge the angry land, for fear of not having a play the following turn. So I went to three, drew a Finks, played the
angel, and lost to a Sejiri Steppe. Obv. I didn’t know I’d draw a Finks next turn, but I had more outs through that Teeg regardless — any wall,
O-Ring, Path, or the nuts Finks would be a blowout after using Tec Edge on the Ravine.
The situation never came up again, but the Baneslayers did come up against my opponent’s Teeg in game three, I destroyed another removal-light Naya
deck.
2-1 7-1
Round 9 (Dakota Rodgers playing Jund w/ Ooze)
On the draw, I O-Ringed a Fauna Shaman that found another before getting exiled. The second earned an O-Ring while it was still sick from being
summoned. Dakota then Bloodbraided into a Putrid Leech that was being held back by a Wall of Omens. The Rings were Pulsed, prompting a Day of Judgment
from me. My opponent tried to close with a Demigod, but a Sun Titan cleaned up with the O-Rings in the yard.
Game two, I played an O-Ring on a Fauna Shaman, which pitched a Devoted Druid for a Demigod of Revenge, which seemed like a bad pick, since one of his
lands was a basic Forest. A Bloodbraid Elf found a Leech; I Jaced the Leech with a wall up to block the Elf. My opponent threw down a Twilight Mire to
cast the Avatar, dropping me to ten. I used Day of Judgment, Tec Edge, and Brainstorm. My opponent played the Leech and passed; I pushed out a
Baneslayer that ran the rest of the way.
2-0 8-1
So after a long, hard-fought day, I felt really satisfied by my 6-0 run after losing my first round. Although I was ready to get back to the room to
get some sleep, some of my other friends wanted to go out to Vortex downtown for dinner and a few drinks. As tired as I was, I couldn’t pass up a
chance to bust a New Orleans Saints jersey in a downtown Atlanta bar. Israel introduced me to a pretty good beer; I almost got in a fight with a guy
wishing another hurricane on New Orleans and ate the largest burger I’d ever seen, the Double Bypass. Finally made it back to the room at about 3 ready
to crash.
Day Two
I woke up with enough time to grab some breakfast and catch a cab to the event. After resleeving my deck, I was ready for battle.
Round 10 (James Bishop playing Doran)
James led with a Pridemage, then a Treefolk Harbinger for a Doran. I played a Finks, which chumped the attacking Treefolk the next turn. On the
following turn, James attacked with a Doran, Harbinger, and the Pridemage. I blocked the Pridemate and Pathed the Doran before damage, leaving him with
only a Treefolk Harbinger and a second main phase Doran. I O-Ringed the Doran and Mana Leaked his Knight of the Reliquary, then mopped it up swiftly
with Baneslayer Angel.
Game two, I faced a turn 2 Doran, which I O-Ringed. I lost one of my two Path to Exiles to a Duress. I was determined to save the second for a Teeg,
and since my opponent couldn’t apply enough pressure to force it out my hand, I began taking over with Jace and Cryptic Command.
2-0 9-1
Round 11 (Matthew Costa playing Faeries)
Game one I got run over, just as Faeries tends to do.
Game two my opponent didn’t have a Bitterblossom till late, and I took advantage with a Jace Beleren, then a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. The planeswalker
forked my opponent into having used all of his mana to take them out with Creeping Tar Pit. This allowed me to resolve spells on my turn —
Baneslayer and Sun Titan — to dominate the game.
Game three was very close; my opponent raced my Kitchen Finks with Faerie tokens and Mutavaults. I drew two Wispmares on time, but I was in a tight
spot with his Blossom on defense and his Tar Pits on offense. Luckily, I had a Ratchet Bomb to clear away the flying blockers and got through with a
Colonnade for the win.
2-1 10-1
Round 12 (Mat Mansoor playing Faeries)
This match wasn’t very exciting; I got Faeried game one and mulled to five in game two, taking at least twelve damage from a Mutavault before drawing
my third land.
0-2 10-2
Round 13 (Joshua Justice playing Mono-Red)
This match went by pretty easily. After setting out Wall of Omens and O-Ringing Plated Geopede, Day of Judgment took care of his board, and I was able
to stick a Baneslayer with more than ten life.
Game two I curved out with: Wall, Finks, Finks, Day of Judgment, Jace, Sun Titan.
2-0 11-2
Round 14 (Matthew Boccio playing Elves)
Game one Matthew came out of the gates with a few mana Elves and a couple lords. I kept the lords off the board and stayed in the game with Finks long
enough to stick a Baneslayer. Although he couldn’t destroy the Angel, I really couldn’t swing into the current board. We both passed with no action,
and then I ripped a Sun Titan, giving me enough blockers and life to dominate with the Angel.
Game two my opponent played Arbor Elf into Wren’s Run Vanquisher into Joraga Warcaller. I play a third-turn Finks, which was forced to block the
Vanquisher after the second Warcaller came down. On my turn, I drew and played my fourth land, tapped my lands, then untapped them, attacked with the
2/1 Finks into two 3/3 Warcallers. My opponent tanked, then decided he didn’t want to take the damage before an evident Day of Judgment. I didn’t have
the Day.
Instead, I O-Ringed the second Warcaller, killing the first from state-based effects. This play kept me in the game long enough to draw a Baneslayer
and Day of Judgment.
2-0 12-2
Round 15 (Joseph Greer playing G/W Trap)
This match was my win-and-in for the Top 8. This match was covered in the Grand Prix coverage.
The only flaw in the coverage was that I countered a Knight of the Reliquary game one, not a Lotus Cobra. Still got blown out by a mull-to-four Trap
for an Emrakul though…
2-1 13-2
Top 8 Quarterfinals and Semifinals
(covered in the GP coverage)
All in all, I was very satisfied with my deck choice for the tournament even though Fae was more popular than I thought it would be. In all, I went 3-1
against the flying menace, but if you’re expecting it to be heavily played in your metagame, I’d probably try a different deck.
As for the Scapeshift decks, I think they aren’t bad matchups for the U/W deck, but you do have a lot of dead cards. U/W still beats all the aggressive
decks pretty easily, which will give you an edge in most PTQs.
If I were to play the deck in a PTQ tomorrow, I’d cut a Plains for another blue fetchland. Also, I’d consider trading one of the Vendilion Cliques main
for the fourth Finks in the board, depending on the metagame.
Finally, I’d try and find room for Dispel in the sideboard, mostly for the Valakut decks running blue, since the game plan in that match is to stick a
Ratchet Bomb or Runed Halo to keep them from killing you and protecting them from Cryptic. It might be a little narrow, but I hate getting blown out.
I hope you enjoy this Extended season, as it seems very healthy.
Thanks for reading,
Jody Keith
[email protected]
Â
Props: Flynn for lending me the deck, Israel for taking everyone out for dinner, DJ for getting me there… Oh and Jharick for taking his lick with
Merfolk.
Slops: The tournament venue, which was a little weird, sand on the sidewalk, the Falcon fan who told me “New Orleans needs another hurricane.”Â