So Many Insane Plays – GroAtog Versus the World

Last week I tallied up my articles thus far this year. I organized them by subject matter. I gauged forum responses as a way of measuring popularity, and tried to see what sort of topics I wrote about for most of the year. It turns out that it was a good mix of primers, theory, matchup analysis, and tournament reports. However, one thing was evident. I spent a lot of time on fringe decks. I wrote six articles on Ichorid alone in the last six months – more so than any other subject. Part of the reason is that the manaless Ichorid lists were being conceived when we started the premium column format. I spent nearly the whole month of January throwing my hat into that particular ring, and producing what I think were some important improvements on Albert Kyle’s conception of that deck. And while I think people enjoyed my Ichorid matchup analysis pieces, the matchup analysis piece that definitely drew the most attention was my Grim Long versus Meandeck Gifts article.

What’s the lesson?

A while back, I made a personal promise to myself. I promised myself that I wouldn’t write subjects that the audience found interesting, but write about things that intrigued me. Sure, I want you to read these articles and I hope you enjoy them. But I reasoned that if I’m motivated to write a particular subject because it fascinates me, then that enthusiasm should bleed through to the reader, either by how I frame and discuss the matter or because if I find the item of interest, you should too. I tend to think that writers write best about things that interest them.

On the other hand, this column is the only window to Vintage for many readers. I’m proud of the articles I wrote on manaless Ichorid. A lot of the work I did on Ichorid became instantly valuable when Future Sight was printed. We did most of the legwork already. In fact, we were way ahead of Standard with the dredge deck. However, I am going to make a concerted effort to write more about the core of the Vintage format. I’m going to spend more time giving you a 50-inch HDTV view of the center of the Vintage metagame.

In today’s article, we’re going to take a look at how the GroAtog deck operates in some of Vintage’s most common matchups through a replay of some of the games I’ve played on Magic Workstation. I’m going to walk you through some of the more interesting games so you can get a sense for the deck’s basic game plan, strengths, and even weaknesses.

But first, a few more words on the Mean Deck.

A few weeks back, I unveiled the Mean Deck. Some of the criticisms in the forums suggested that I was too nonspecific about precisely how to build the deck. The article unveiled the concept and tried to put meat on the bones, fleshing out design options and matchup details. I also emphasized the point that the deck should reflect the pilot’s preferences. I was crucified for that point in the forums, but feel that I should elaborate and explain this basic position.

I tend to agree that in principle and in theory there is an “optimal” decklist for choosing “optimal” lines of play. The problem is that we are humans, not robots. Our decision making process is informed by experience, not merely logical strategic assessment.

In Skill in Vintage, I asserted that there were two basic process that informed in-game decision-making. The first is what I called “Forward Thinking.” This is nothing more than evaluating lines of play on a logical basis or “if… then…” analysis. The second process is what I called “pattern recognition.” This is understood as “intuition.”

Most Magic players tend to make decisions based upon the latter rather than the former. This is understandable. Most situations have been encountered in testing before. That isn’t to say that most in-game analysis isn’t logical, it just isn’t logical to the extreme. We tend not to sit and evaluate every single, solitary line of play. I’ve written about this quite a bit in the past in my articles on Meandeck Tendrils and Long and all the hundreds if not thousands of potential lines of play. Gary Kasparov doesn’t sit and evaluate every chain of play as far into the future as he possibly can from turn 1. He makes plays based upon pattern recognition and only probably thinks a finite number of moves into the future.

The problem is that the human experience is quite limited. A consequence of this fact is that, in too many cases, people make decisions based upon anecdotal rather than statistically significant experiences. In this way, anecdotal evidence tends to over-inform our intuitive decision-making process as well as the way we frame our options. For instance, if you have played Deck A and found that Card Y wins you a lot of games, you will grow to have many experiences with Card Y in many varied situations. When evaluating your design options with Deck B, you may be far more inclined to consider the impact of Card Y in that deck, despite being a different deck. Your experiences have colored your view of cards. Moreover, if you decide to run Card Y in Deck B, your view of the tactical and strategic utility of card Y in any given opening hand will be informed by your experience of Card Y in Deck A (for good or ill). This will produce some mental limitations on the full range of options that you see with Card Y, but it will also help you see options that may not be obvious to a less experienced user of Card Y.

This is a long way of saying that personal experience intersects and powerfully impacts decision-making processes, both in-game and design-wise. That’s why I tend not to strictly impose a deck on a teammate, although I will argue vigorously as I can to try to impart my experiences to them. When it comes down to decision time, I want the cards they run to maximize their chances of winning. If their experience colors their view of certain cards, or what they see tactically in a particular card, then that will make a card more or less effective depending upon their experience. In other words, experience actually impacts whether a deck is “optimal” for a particular player.

Finally, every person thinks that their views are correct, otherwise they wouldn’t hold them. If we are rational, or claim to be rational, then when countervailing evidence is introduced we try to adjust our viewpoint or re-evaluate its validity (true human psychology doesn’t work like that, but we pretend anyway – see Howard Gardner on “Changing Minds”). The point is that someone else could be right and I could be wrong. While I assume I am right, I have to be open to the possibility that a teammate (particularly one of the caliber of Patrick Chapin, etc) is right. Therefore, I have to hedge in order to admit this fallibility.

With that out of the way, the Mean Deck list I presented was written nearly two weeks before SCG Roanoke. I tend to write my articles a week before the publishing date and the schedule switch moved my column from Monday to Wednesday, further outdating the list I presented.

Had I gone to Richmond, here is what I would have played:

Some explanations are due.

First of all, let’s talk about the sideboard. I really want four Red Elemental Blasts, because they are so critical to the Gifts, Flash, and now the GroAtog matchup. However, there just isn’t room for four. It’s greedy. With regard to Ichorid, Ichorid hates to face Leyline, but it doesn’t just die to it. You need other support. I’d run a single Tormod’s Crypt as well. In addition, Tormod’s Crypt is an amazing singleton against Long variants, Gifts, and all other sorts of Yawgmoth’s Will decks. Without Pithing Needle, I wanted a way to address Goblin Welders. Fire/Ice is Merchant Scrollable. It also is potentially useful in marginal situations versus Ichorid. It’s also Blue and pitches to Force of Will, and it can hit Dark Confidants and kill Meddling Mage. Time Spiral is my go-to Burning Wish target. The assumption is that most times you’d play Burning Wish for a Timetwister effect would be in the very late game where you just want to seal the deal. Time Spiral’s untapping ability gives it a slight edge over Twister, although Twister is a better card to sideboard in. The Hurkyl’s Recalls are obviously there for Stax (and necessary). Massacres are a necessity against SS and Fish type decks. And as I said last time out, I’d bring one in against Bomberman.

Now the maindeck. Tinker. Tinker is a tutor. If it resolves, that mere fact tells you a lot of information. First of all, it tells you in over 95% of cases that you opponent has no Force of Will, unless they are holding a Stifle/Trickbind or just don’t fear Darksteel Colossus. Many, many times with Meandeck Gifts the resolution of Tinker in an instance where I’d get Darksteel Colossus told me that they didn’t have Force of Will, so I could just get Black Lotus instead to fuel my turn 1, game-winning Yawgmoth’s Will. So, for Roanoke I would have not run Twister main and would have run Tinker and Jar instead. Although Brian and Paul have a lot of success with Mind’s Desire, it’s the 2nd or 3rd card I’d add to this list if I could find one more spot (after Cabal Ritual).

If you want to test the Mean Deck, I’d run this list (although Paul and Brian’s lists are solid as well).

Now, to GroAtog.

After quite a bit of testing, here is my revised list:

This deck does need more Stax testing. My game 1 testing against Stax so far is devastating. Here is a decklist that won our recent “Mean Deck Open” in Columbus Ohio:

In four simulated “Game 1’s” the GroAtog deck won zero games. Granted, two of those games involved turn 1 and turn 2 Trinisphere. Another involved turn 1 Wasteland my land, Mox, Sol Ring, Tormod’s Crypt, Sphere of Resistance. I almost won the third thanks to Cunning Wish for Fire/Ice. If I could have drawn a land at the opportune moment, I would have won. I also probably made some mistakes in that game by not Vamping earlier for Fastbond to break me out of his soft lock. The timing was tricky with his Tangle Wire plus Welder tricks, but I’m confident it could have been done.

In my testing so far, this is the only thing that has been beating GroAtog with regularity. Drains going away could signal a return of Stax into the Vintage metagame.

I was all set to write Stax off. Stax had dramatically dipped in the last two years from a major metagame presence (roughly 15% of any given field) to a trivial, almost miniscule metagame competitor. Stax had gone from a major archetype to a niche archetype, piloted by able experts and no one else. Stax first emerged in response to GAT. Now, it seems poised to do so again (of course, time will tell).

Nonetheless, regardless of Stax position in the metagame, GAT needs to be prepared to handle it. More testing in the future will determine whether my GAT list can do it.

For now, I want to share with you some games I played online. In old Oscar Tan style, I have some logs I’m going to format for your viewing pleasure.

GroAtog versus Drain Tendrils

Type1 Guy versus boba [6/19/2007]

As you may guess, I’m “Type1 Guy.” I found that if I just went looking for games as “player,” too often a potential opponent would choose someone with a real handle over me. I figured that if I go by this name, a potential opponent would be more likely to pick me. On the other hand, I never use the handle “Smmenen” or “Menendian” because no one ever believes it’s me and it always leads to a time wasting discussion about whether I’m the “real” Smmenen.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy rolled a 14, using a 20 sided die
[boba] boba rolled a 10, using a 20 sided die
[Type1 Guy] <Type1 Guy> play

We shuffle up and draw. We both announce that we’ll keep.

My opening hand is:

Polluted Delta
Tropical Island
Duress
Force of Will
Force of Will
Merchant Scroll
Demonic Tutor

Turn 1:

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Polluted Delta from Hand

I break my Delta for Underground Sea.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Polluted Delta
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Polluted Delta to Graveyard from Play
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 19 (-1)
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy is looking its Library…
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Underground Sea into play from Library

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Duress from Hand

What he shows me is hilarious:

Island
Mana Vault
Thirst for Knowledge
Thirst for Knowledge
Intuition
Accumulated Knowledge
Accumulated Knowledge

I’d never seen so many cards with the word “Knowledge” in them in a single hand before.

This game was late at night, so obviously I take the wrong card. I grab a Thirst on the very dubious ground that if he plays an Intuition or a Thirst I can just Force it and make him waste his Mana Vault.

The only really valid targets here are either Mana Vault or the Intuition.

[boba] boba puts Thirst for Knowledge to Graveyard from Hand

[boba] boba draws a card
[boba] boba plays Island from Hand
[boba] boba taps Island
[boba] boba plays Mana Vault from Hand

I let it resolve. He passes the turn.

Turn 2:

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Tropical Island from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Tropical Island
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Demonic Tutor from Hand

Pretty simple turn. DT for Ancestral Recall and pass the turn.

Boba, on the other hand, drew a second land.

[boba] boba draws a card

[boba] boba plays Polluted Delta from Hand
[boba] boba taps Mana Vault
[boba] boba taps Island
[boba] boba plays Intuition from Hand

[boba] boba puts Accumulated Knowledge into play from Library
[boba] boba puts Accumulated Knowledge into play from Library
[boba] boba puts Mox Sapphire into play from Library

At this point I’m just perplexed. Granted, it’s almost midnight and I’m not thinking clearly, but I definitely made a series of errors here.

First of all, I Duressed away Thirst for Knowledge. That doesn’t make much sense since he already had another. Since he was constrained on mana, he’d only be able to resolve one in the first few turns anyway (at most). The second one was a bit dead. Granted, the Thirst synergizes with the AKs, but that’s not a good reason to take a 2nd Thirst. The only valid Duress targets here are Intuition or Mana Vault.

Second, I never should have let Intuition resolve. If he gets AKs, suddenly his AKs in hand have gone from both being fairly weak cantrips and Night’s Whisper to must counter. Intuition is extremely powerful when you have two AKs in hand. Each one is Ancestral Recall at that point. With five mana on the table, he could easily Intuition and AK in the same turn. That’s why Mana Vault is so powerful here.

I’m not sure why he didn’t get Ancestral (unless he feared my Misdirection) as the third card. Nonetheless, Mox Sapphire wasn’t that bad here. It gave him a third mana to play a Thirst this turn with his mana floating. If I counter the Thirst, then he can untap and possibly AK twice. Pretty smooth.

For some reason, I just let every spell he played resolve. Not very bright. I could have put him way out of this game on turn 1 by just Duressing his Mana Vault.

I made almost every conceivable error here.

[boba] boba plays Mox Sapphire from Hand
[boba] boba taps Mox Sapphire
[boba] boba taps Polluted Delta
[boba] boba puts Polluted Delta to Graveyard from Play
[boba] boba’s life total is now 19 (-1)
[boba] boba puts Volcanic Island into play from Library
[boba] boba taps Volcanic Island

[boba] boba plays Thirst for Knowledge from Hand

To this I play Force of Will pitching Merchant Scroll.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Force of Will from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Merchant Scroll to RFG from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 18 (-1)

Turn 3:

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Ancestral Recall from Hand

So far so good, pretty typical GAT. I let him execute his game plan, but I am also executing mine. This is a fairly standard series of GAT turns: Turn 1 Duress, turn 2 tutor, turn 3 Ancestral Recall.

But here is where things get awesome.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Mox Ruby from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Mox Ruby
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Tropical Island
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Regrowth from Hand

[boba] <boba> Ok

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Ancestral Recall into Hand from Graveyard

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Flooded Strand from Hand

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Flooded Strand to Graveyard from Play
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 17 (-1)
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Underground Sea into play from Library

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Ancestral Recall from Hand

Nothing like playing Ancestral Recall twice in the same turn! Regrowth is a solid card that’s here almost entirely for this purpose. At this point I think I have two more Force of Wills in hand, and Blue spells to support them.

However, I also drew a Street Wraith.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Street Wraith to Graveyard from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 15 (-2)
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card

[boba] It is now the Beginning Phase, Upkeep Step
[boba] boba’s life total is now 18 (-1)

Mana Vault damage. Actually, the damage happens on the draw step, but I didn’t correct him.

[boba] boba draws a card

[boba] boba taps Island
[boba] boba taps Mox Sapphire
[boba] boba plays Accumulated Knowledge from Hand

I can’t let that stand. However, I know he has another AK in hand. Nonetheless, I have to counter these.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Force of Will from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Merchant Scroll to RFG from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 14 (-1)

Boba can’t play a second AK because he only has Volcanic Island untapped. He has to wait another turn.

It’s time for me to play some cards.

Turn 4:

I tap my Underground Sea and Tropical Island to drop Quirion Dryad on the table.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Quirion Dryad from Hand

It’s Gush time!

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Gush from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Tropical Island to Hand from Play
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Underground Sea to Hand from Play
0:05:28 [boba] <boba> Ok
Quirion Dryad now has 1 (+1) counters.

After drawing two cards, one of which is Street Wraith, I cycle him.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 12 (-2)

I replay the Tropical Island, tap it, and tap my Mox Ruby to Time Walk.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Time Walk from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Quirion Dryad now has 2 (+1) counters.

Now I take my Time Walk turn.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy untaps his/her permanents
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card

I tap my Tropical Island and cast Brainstorm.

[Type1 Guy] Quirion Dryad now has 3 (+1) counters.

I drop a Mox Emerald onto the table and tap it and the Mox Ruby for another Quirion Dryad.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Quirion Dryad from Hand
[boba] <boba> Ok

Then I bash with my healthy Dryad:

[boba] boba’s life total is now 14 (-4)

Mana Vault inflicts its damage.

[boba] boba’s life total is now 13 (-1)
[boba] boba draws a card
[boba] boba taps Island
[boba] boba taps Mox Sapphire
[boba] boba plays Accumulated Knowledge from Hand

No sir.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Force of Will from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Misdirection to RFG from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 11 (-1)

[boba] <boba> of course

My Dryads grow.

Quirion Dryad now has 4 (+1) counters.
Quirion Dryad now has 1 (+1) counters.

Turn 5:

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card

I tap my Trop and Brainstorm again. My Dryads grow.

Quirion Dryad now has 2 (+1) counters.
Quirion Dryad now has 5 (+1) counters.

Then I tap Underground Sea and Brainstorm again.

Quirion Dryad now has 6 (+1) counters.
Quirion Dryad now has 3 (+1) counters.

I play Underground Sea and tap it for Duress.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Underground Sea from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Duress from Hand

Quirion Dryad now has 4 (+1) counters.
Quirion Dryad now has 7 (+1) counters.

Regardless of the Duress, the Dryads are now 8/8 and 5/5 respectively. He’s at 13 life. That’s game. He scoops.

Take a look at what he was able to do in his four turns:

Turn 1: Mana Vault
Turn 2: Intuition, Mox Sapphire, Thirst for Knowledge (countered)
Turn 3: AK (countered)
Turn 4: AK for 4 (countered)

That is four-Gush GroAtog for you, gentleman. It’s dominating. I just killed him on turn 5 without even needing Berserk or playing Yawgmoth’s Will. That’s just how good this deck is.

I made at least three errors by Duressing the wrong card, not countering his Intuition, and giving him the wrong card with Intuition, and none of those mistakes even mattered. Why? Because I saw half my deck before he could even resolve a single draw spell. I played Ancestral twice, Gush, and three Brainstorms.

Imagine if I hadn’t have screwed up. I would have had more pitch magic, more cards in hand, and possibly an even more robust kill.

But another key lesson here: GAT is incredibly consistent and sifts through so many cards with so few resources. It sees more Force of Wills per game than any other deck I’ve even seen, past or present. That was true in 2003 and its certainly true today.

The truth is that if your opponent opens with Island, Polluted Delta, or Flooded Strand, you are almost certainly going to win. That just how GroAtog goes.

But if your opponent opens with Mishra’s Workshop or, even more frightening, Bazaar of Baghdad… things may not go so smoothly.

Take a look.

Type1 Guy versus Grand Inquisitor [6/18/2007 8:19:23 PM]

My opponent is Steve Houdlette. I’ve known Steve for a long time. He doesn’t know it’s me. I prefer to remain anonymous…

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy rolled a 20, using a 20 sided die
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor rolled a 3, using a 20 sided die

I choose to play.

My hand is really solid for a control opponent. Steve tends to play Mana Drain type decks, so I’m ready to own him. I have turn 1 Dryad with some turn 2 tutor action.

We both keep our hands.

Turn 1:

I drop Flooded Strand on the table.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Flooded Strand to Graveyard from Play
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 19 (-1)
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Tropical Island into play from Library
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Mana Crypt from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Mana Crypt
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Tropical Island
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Quirion Dryad from Hand
[Type1 Guy] <Type1 Guy> Ok?
[Grand Inquisitor] <Grand Inquisitor> Ok

Note that this was before I made the more recent switch of the Mana Crypt for the 4th Street Wraith. Mana Crypt is really amazing, but it just felt like the natural cut for the 4th Wraith.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor plays Bazaar of Baghdad from Hand

In my mind I’m going “Ugh.” Please don’t be playing Dredge. Please don’t be playing Dredge. Please don’t be playing Dredge.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor taps Bazaar of Baghdad
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card

[Grand Inquisitor] <Grand Inquisitor> Thinking

The suspense is killing me.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Ichorid to Graveyard from Hand

Then I say what I was thinking.

[Type1 Guy] <Type1 Guy> ugh

Let’s see how bad it gets.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Golgari Grave-Troll to Graveyard from Hand

That’s pretty bad. He has his best dredger in his graveyard already. Next turn he’s going to dredge up a ton.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Dread Return to Graveyard from Hand

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor plays Chalice of the Void from Hand
[Grand Inquisitor] Chalice of the Void’s note changed: 0

More “ugh.” That puts me out of any insane Black Lotus + Yawgmoth’s Will action.

Here’s what’s going to happen.

He is going to dredge about 18 cards next turn. He’s going to see Narcomoebas and Bridge from Belows. They are going to fuel his Dread Return on a Cephalid Sage, which will then kill me with Flame Kin Zealot. He’s aiming for a solid turn 2 kill.

My only hope is to draw Fastbond or a draw card that can find Fastbond and play it. Otherwise, I’m toast.

Turn 2:

The Mana Crypt stings me.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 15 (-3)
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card

I draw Force of Will.

It’s scoop time.

It is theoretically possible to win game 1, but just not that likely. If they mulligan to oblivion or very low, then they may not hit the dredgers on time and you can try to race them. If you have the nuts, for instance, here was a hand I drew last week:

Tropical Island
Fastbond
Gush
Brainstorm
Gush
Flooded Strand
Gush

You at least have a chance that this hand can win by turn 2.

Here’s a game I want to highlight. Let’s say this was a game 3. I lost game 1, won game 2, and we are shuffling up for a third game.

I sideboarded as follows:

+ 3 Yixlid Jailer
+ 2 Tormod’s Crypt
+ 2 Submerge
+ 1 Echoing Truth
– 4 Duress
– 2 Misdirection
– 1 Regrowth

I can’t remember the last card I sided out.

We shuffle up, draw hands, and my opponent announces he’ll keep.

My opening hand is fine… if it were any other opponent. It has no Tormod’s Crypt or Yixlid Jailer and will probably lose.

I mulligan to 6.

Turn 1:

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor plays Bazaar of Baghdad from Hand
[Grand Inquisitor] <Grand Inquisitor> End my turn

I play Volcanic Island and cast Brainstorm.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Brainstorm from Hand

Time to play a card to stall the game while I dig.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Tormod’s Crypt from Hand

If Dredge pilots claim that Tormod’s Crypt does little against Standard Dredge, it does almost nothing against Vintage Ichorid.

I pass the turn.

On my endstep, GI announces his intent to activate the Bazaar.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor taps Bazaar of Baghdad
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card
[Grand Inquisitor] <Grand Inquisitor> Thinking

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Wooded Foothills to Graveyard from Hand
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Cabal Therapy to Graveyard from Hand
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Stinkweed Imp to Graveyard from Hand

Turn 2:

[Grand Inquisitor] It is now the Beginning Phase, Upkeep Step
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor taps Bazaar of Baghdad

He dredges the Stinkweed Imp, revealing:

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba into play from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Flame-Kin Zealot into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Reverent Silence into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Golgari Grave-Troll into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Dryad Arbor into Graveyard from Library

Now he dredges the Golgari Grave-Troll.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Reverent Silence into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Dread Return into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Ichorid into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Ichorid into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba into play from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Golgari Grave-Troll into Graveyard from Library

He discards Serum Powder, Stinkweed Imp, and a Street Wraith to the Bazaar.

Instead of dredging on his draw step, he draws a card instead of Dredging.

He drops a Wooded Foothills on the table. At this point, I am holding a Submerge and I am eager for him to fetch out a Forest!

I play a Polluted Delta and find Underground Sea.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 19 (-1)

I consider my options but then decide to cycle Street Wraith.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 17 (-2)

The question now is: when do I break the Tormod’s Crypt?

If I pass the turn, he can return the Ichorids immediately. Once the cost is paid, they are in play.

I decide to wait.

This is a very tricky situation.

I have Submerge and Echoing Truth in hand with Tormod’s Crypt on the table. But none of these cards even comes close to winning the game by themselves. Now pay close attention.

Turn 3:

On his upkeep, he puts the Ichorid’s into play, removing Street Wraith and a Stinkweed Imp to do it.

He doesn’t dredge.

He just draws a card.

On his draw step, I’m tempted to Echoing Truth the Ichorids. Ideally, however, I want to wait until he activates the Bazaar so he can’t discard the Ichorids, but by not activating the Bazaar, that play loses most of its luster. However, my primary concern is if he can generate tokens with a Bridge. He has Cabal Therapies in his graveyard and two Narcomoebas in play. I’m tempted to E. Truth the Moebas to take them out of commission entirely. It’s a tough call. I let him go into his first main phase and then combat step.

He attacks me for 8.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 9 (-8)

Predictably, he begins to flashback Therapy, sacrificing an Ichorid. I have to Force it.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Force of Will from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Force of Will to RFG from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 8 (-1)

He passes the turn.

At this point, I don’t really see any other choice. Next turn, I’m going to want to be able to play mainphase spells. If I want to Echoing Truth, it’s now or never. Remember, he has a Dread Return in his graveyard. He also probably needs to dredge a little bit more to feed the Ichorids.

If I E. Truth now, I can T. Crypt on my endstep after he activates the Bazaar.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Volcanic Island
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Echoing Truth from Hand
[Type1 Guy] <Type1 Guy> your moebas
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba to Hand from Play
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba to Hand from Play

I draw a Street Wraith. I have no choice, I have to cycle it.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 6 (-2)
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy draws a card

Hmm. It’s time to blind Gush.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Volcanic Island
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy taps Underground Sea

I float UB and Gush.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy plays Gush from Hand
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Underground Sea to Hand from Play
[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy puts Volcanic Island to Hand from Play

I draw another Street Wraith. I cycle it.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 4 (-2)

Some people might complain about the life loss. Not me. I’m glad to be cycling these men.

I play a Flooded Strand and break it for Tropical Island.

[Type1 Guy] Type1 Guy’s life total is now 3 (-1)

I tap my Trop and use a floating mana to play Quirion Dryad.

I need to clarify my understanding of the rules here. But there is a possibility that I made a mistake. I go to activate the Crypt now.

If I just go to my endstep and he does nothing, we have both passed priority with an empty stack and the turn will end. But my question is: on his upkeep, will I have an opportunity to use the Crypt before he can put the Ichorids into play? I didn’t think so. My understanding is that he’ll get priority, he can activate the Ichorid and feed it. This trigger will go on the stack, but the Ichorid will no longer be in the graveyard once it’s been fed, correct? Someone in the forums can confirm or dispute this.

The problem is that I’m at 3 life. He no longer needs to “eot” activate the Bazaar. He can feed one Ichorid to itself and I have to block with the Dryad to stay alive.

In retrospect, forcing him to feed the Ichorid to itself and then blocking with Dryad and then blowing up his world with the Crypt is probably the right line of play, but I was fuzzy on the rules here.

As I said, I blow the Crypt.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor moves all cards from Graveyard to RFG

I burn one of my floating mana.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 2 (-1)

On my endstep, he breaks his Wooded Foothills for Tropical Island.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor’s life total is now 19 (-1)

Then he activates Bazaar.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor taps Bazaar of Baghdad
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Dread Return to Graveyard from Hand
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Golgari Grave-Troll to Graveyard from Hand
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Stinkweed Imp to Graveyard from Hand

Turn 4:

On his upkeep, he activates Bazaar and dredges the Troll revealing:

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Emerald Charm to Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Cephalid Sage to Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba into play from Graveyard
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Cabal Therapy to Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Cabal Therapy to Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Bazaar of Baghdad to Graveyard from Library

Then he dredges the Imp:

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Reverent Silence into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Bridge from Below into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Bridge from Below into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Golgari Grave-Troll into Graveyard from Library
[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor puts Golgari Grave-Troll into Graveyard from Library

He thinks he has this game now.

He has Bridges in his graveyard and I’ve already Echoing Truthed two of his Narcomoebas. He has a Moeba in play and a Cabal Therapy in his graveyard. He’ll be able to flash back Therapy and generate two tokens that will surely kill me.

He goes to his draw step:

[Grand Inquisitor] It is now the Beginning Phase, Draw Step

Without a moment’s hesitation, he goes to draw a card.

[Grand Inquisitor] Grand Inquisitor draws a card

He goes to move to his first mainphase, but I stop him.

On his draw step, I play Submerge, for free.

Type1 Guy plays Submerge from Hand

<Type1 Guy> moeba

Quirion Dryad now has 1 (+1) counters.

I didn’t notice the mistake at the time, but he puts the Moeba into his hand instead of on top of his library. Next turn he draws a card, so he technically saw a card he shouldn’t have.

Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba to Hand from Play

He passes the turn.

I draw Yixlid Jailer! Just in the nick of time! Thank god for those Street Wraiths, eh?

I tap the Underground Sea and the Tropical Island and play Yixlid Jailer.

Quirion Dryad now has 2 (+1) counters.

I bash with Dryad.

Grand Inquisitor’s life total is now 16 (-3)

Turn 5:

Grand Inquisitor draws a card (he draws a card other than Narcomoeba).

This was a huge mistake that hurts me quite a bit. Since I have Yixlid Jailer in play, he can’t dredge to put the Moeba directly into play. I should have been paying more attention when Submerge resolved.

After all, he could have just drawn this card (and he probably did, because he didn’t play it last turn):

Grand Inquisitor plays Dryad Arbor from Hand

He taps his Trop and his Dryad Arbor to cast Narcomoeba. [Ain’t the Arbor summoning-sick? – Craig.]

He passes the turn.

I tap Underground Sea and Tropical Island and play Merchant Scroll.

Quirion Dryad now has 3 (+1) counters.

At this point, I have a very difficult decision to make. What would you get?

There are at least three solid targets:

1) Submerge
2) Ancestral Recall
3) Mystical Tutor

I decide to go with option number 3. Watch how it plays out.

I look at the situation and make this conclusion:

He has Narcomoeba and Arbor Dryad.

I have a Quirion Dryad and Yixlid Jailer. If I attack, I can’t hold back a blocker. What I forgot is that Narcomoeba has flying!

Thus, I pass the turn without playing Mystical Tutor. This is a pretty significant mistake because damage matters a lot here. It’s true that if he attacks with Dryad Arbor I have to block with the Jailer, however. But my killing him matters here too. He’s at 16 life. Let’s see what happens.

On my endstep, he activates Bazaar just to draw two cards, and discards Ichorid, Cabal Therapy, and a Serum Powder.

Turn 6:

He draws a card and then attacks with Narcomoeba.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 1 (-1)

He activates Bazaar, drawing two cards and discarding Reverent Silence, Bazaar, and Golgari Thug.

He then plays another Narcomoeba off of the Trop and the Dryad Arbor.

Here we go…

He passes the turn.

On his endstep, I play Mystical Tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will.

Quirion Dryad now has 4 (+1) counters.

This is going to be a pathetic Yawgmoth’s Will…

I untap, draw a card, and tap Volc, Trop, and Sea for Yawgmoth’s Will.

Quirion Dryad now has 5 (+1) counters.

I put Tormod’s Crypt into play.
I play Submerge on his untapped Narcomoeba.
Quirion Dryad now has 6 (+1) counters.
Grand Inquisitor puts Narcomoeba to Hand from Play

Oops once again. I should have caught this, but didn’t. He got free draws, thanks to me!

I play a Volcanic Island, and tap it for Mystical Tutor for the second Submerge in my deck.

Quirion Dryad now has 7 (+1) counters.

I then play Gush from my graveyard, returning two lands.

Quirion Dryad now has 8 (+1) counters.

Now I win the game.

I Submerge his other Narcomoeba.

Quirion Dryad now has 9 (+1) counters.

I attack with Dryad, sending him to 6 life. If I had attacked last turn, he’d be dead!

Next turn, he has no real options. He can replay a Narcomoeba, but then I can just attack with Dryad until he finally runs out of blockers and options.

I win despite the many errors I made and not forcing him to put the Moebas on top!

Notice how amusing my Yawgmoth’s Will was!

I had only one mana free after Will, yet I managed to play: two Submerge, one Gush, one Tormod’s Crypt, and Mystical Tutor. Yay free spells!

That was a pretty entertaining game of Magical cards.

Before we go, I’d like to show you an entertaining set of games I played against Flash…

Game 1

I rolled a 5 and he rolled a 9.

He keeps his hand and I keep mine.

My opening hand is:

Force of Will
Street Wraith
Tropical Island
Flooded Strand
Brainstorm
Merchant Scroll
Merchant Scroll

Turn 1:

He drops Polluted Delta and Mox Jet. He taps the Jet for Duress.

He sees my hand and takes my Force of Will.

He passes the turn. I cycle Street Wraith.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 18 (-2)

I play Tropical Island into Brainstorm.

I pass the turn. On my endstep, he breaks the Polluted Delta for Underground Sea and plays a Brainstorm of his own.

Turn 2:

He plays Merchant Scroll for Flash and passes the turn.

At this point things are looking pretty good for me. It’s clear that he has the Protean Hulk, otherwise he wouldn’t have made that play.

I drop a Flooded Strand into play and fetch out an Underground Sea of my own.

I tap my lands to play Merchant Scroll for Force of Will. I have Misdirection and two pitchable Blue spells in hand, including another Scroll. I figure he’ll throw one Pitch spell at me next turn to protect his Flash, then I can untap and Scroll up Ancestral.

Turn 3:

He plays Island and taps the Island and the Mox Jet for Flash.

I play Force of Will, pitching Merchant Scroll.

He plays Force of Will of his own, pitching Chain of Vapor.

At this point he has exactly two cards in hand, one of which is Protean Hulk. I assume I’ve got the game in the bag.

I Misdirect his Force of Will, pitching Merchant Scroll.

In response, he taps his Underground Sea and plays Brainstorm.

He draws three cards, put two back and then….

And then he plays Pact of Negation!

The lucksack!

He asks me if I scoop, I request to see his Hulk first! He shows me the Green man and his win conditions (he is running Kiki kill), and we shuffle up for game 2.

Close game!

I sideboard in:

+ 2 Tormod’s Crypt
+ 3 Red Elemental Blast

Game 2

I keep:

Street Wraith
Flooded Strand
Mox Emerald
Yawgmoth’s Will
Merchant Scroll
Psychatog
Misdirection

Turn 1:

I cycle the Street Wraith, drawing Quirion Dryad!

I play Flooded Strand and break it for Underground Sea. I play the Mox Emerald and tap both to cast Quirion Dryad.

I pass.

He plays Island and Mox Jet and passes the turn.

Turn 2:

I tap my Mox and Underground Sea to cast Merchant Scroll for you-know-what.

Quirion Dryad now has 1 (+1) counters.

I play Tropical Island and cast Ancestral Recall.

Quirion Dryad now has 2 (+1) counters.

I cycle a Street Wraith into Black Lotus.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 15 (-2)

I play the Black Lotus and break it for BBB. I cast Yawgmoth’s Will.

Quirion Dryad now has 3 (+1) counters.

I replay the Lotus and break it for UUU. Replay Ancestral Recall.

Quirion Dryad now has 4 (+1) counters.

At this point, Steve interjects:

<Grand Inquisitor> you should go to Vegas
<Type1 Guy> i had Yawgmoth’s Will in my opening hand

I swear, it’s those Street Wraiths! I drew the Lotus off the last one I cycled.

I replay Merchant Scroll with the remaining mana floating for a Force of Will.

Quirion Dryad now has 5 (+1) counters.

Then I attack with my Quirion Dryad for 6.

Grand Inquisitor’s life total is now 14 (-6)

I pass the turn.

Steve plays Polluted Delta and breaks it for Underground Sea.

He taps Mox Jet and an Island to cast Flash.

I Force of Will Flash, pitching Psychatog.

Type1 Guy’s life total is now 14 (-1)

Quirion Dryad now has 6 (+1) counters.

Now he plays his own Black Lotus.

He sacrifices it for Merchant Scroll.

<Grand Inquisitor> Thinking
Grand Inquisitor puts Ancestral Recall into play from Library

At this point I’m bemused by his clever move. He baited me with Flash, knowing I had Force of Will and knowing that I had to Force it or risk getting killed if he has Hulk.

He plays Ancestral Recall. Unfortunately for him, I have Misdirection in hand still. I pitch Gush, and Ancestral resolves in my favor. I considered Gushing, but there was too much of a risk that I wouldn’t see another Blue spell.

Quirion Dryad now has 7 (+1) counters.

My hand is:

Merchant Scroll
Polluted Delta
Demonic Tutor
Polluted Delta
Duress
Tormod’s Crypt

I take my third turn and play most of those spells, and he scoops it up. We don’t play a third game because I’m out of time. And we are out of time here as well. I’m hope you enjoyed these games. They should give you a taste of what’s in store for the next couple of months.

Until next time,

Stephen Menendian