Sorry for no column last week. Getting ready for a wedding, plus house renovations for everyone to come over and see said wedding, can take up a lot of time. Wendy and I are heavily into health and fitness these days, so we’re also trying to fit in running, long walks with the dog, and going to the gym for free-weights.
One day we went to the gym for an hour in the morning. Wendy did Zoomba aerobics while I did the bike, then free weights for 45 minutes. We went home and met with our contractor at 1:00. At 3:00 the landscaper showed up. At 4:00 we headed over the Green Mountains to meet with the wedding planner in Warren, an hour away. That’s about our typical day. This morning we went for a run, and drove down to Rutland (40 minutes away) so Wendy could do a hair and make-up test with her stylist while I got a haircut. We came home, put the dog out, drove into town to drop off my RAV4, which is making a strange rattling-slash-grinding noise, and now Wendy is home researching arbors, where to stay in ME for this weekend’s PTQ and a weekend away from home, and I am writing. A guy who is redoing our driveway should be here any minute to consult with us.
Each day is like that, and the stress is starting to get to Wendy. As for me, I’m not able to write or play-test enough… and my lawn needs to be mowed. Shall we get back to Magic?
When last we left, I was watching Sea Bass take on Wesley with Beastmaster Ascension, Nest Invader, Siege-Gang Commander, etc. He swings for a billion in game 1, and Wesley is reduced to puppy chow.
In game 2, Sea Bass is a little mana and creature shy, and plays an Eldrazi Monument at exactly the wrong time. Having played the card, I know when that time is, having screwed up with it myself.
Game 3, Sea Bass gets a great draw and it’s over pretty quick. “Why not just Overrun?” I ask him, since almost every time I cast Overrun, I win. As an enchantment, Beastmaster Ascension is more vulnerable and not as much of a surprise.
“Because I don’t always win when I cast Overrun. With the Ascension, my guys stay huge, and they’re bigger. A lowly Bird of Paradise can kill a Baneslayer Angel. Also, the Ascension makes another target for Oblivion Ring so they don’t have anything for my Vengevine.”
Interesting. To refresh, here is what I am playing.
Creatures (19)
Spells (41)
Sideboard
My iPhone voice recorder has decided to randomly not record my long note, so I do an abbreviated one to replace it. I forget to mention my opponent’s name, and it was so long ago and alcohol seems to have killed those brain cells so I am not sure, but I think it was Jordan. He is playing a deck with Bloodbraid Elf, Birds, Woolly Thoctar, burn, and other cheap fatties. I have to mulligan down to six and then keep with a hand that I think has a Forest, Llanowar, Eldrazi Temple, and other stuff. Essentially, I am thinking it has a good enough manabase for a six-card hand. I quickly realize that my Eldrazi Temple is actually an Artisan of Kozilek. So while he’s beating me down with cheap fatties, I’m trying to make a go of it with a Llanowar, an Arbor Elf, and one land. I concede at eight because 1) it’s hopeless, and 2) I don’t want him to see any more of my deck. All is Dust can be quite a surprise.
In the second game my deck curves out perfectly, and he gets a good draw as well, throwing a couple of Umbras on his Bloodbraid Elf and swinging since it’s big enough to kill my Pelakka Wurm. God, I love getting enough mana to cast that against Aggro, gaining seven life, drawing a card when it dies then playing an Artisan and gaining another seven life. He O-Rings my Artisan. I block again with the Pelakka, draw a card. On my turn I cast All is Dust, leaving him with four mana, me with an Artisan that has been returned to me, and a little kid smile on my face.
I learn something I didn’t know that continues to show why All is Dust is great and why Umbras are so bad. All is Dust says “sacrifice,” so Umbras can’t save your creature no matter how many you have on it. So they don’t help against Path, they don’t help against O-Ring, and they don’t help against All is Dust.
See, at this point, I would concede. He puts everything into the bin, and I thought I saw his hand go in there as well, so I start to scoop up my stuff and put it in the bin too. He asks me: “What are you doing?”
Panic rips through me. “Oh my God, I thought you were conceding!”
“No, I’m just sacrificing everything but land.”
Thank God it is only FNM and he is very cool about it. It is very easy to recreate the game state, and I put everything back the way it was. He draws, plays a land and a Bird. He must be waiting for a Path to Exile. I attack and he sacrifices two permanents. I play an Ulamog’s Crusher. He concedes.
I start with a hand of land, Llanowar Elf, Artisan and All is Dust. Here’s how this is going to play out. He’s going to play out a bunch of stuff. I’m going to get a Rampant Growth or another Elf, or anything that will allow me to cast All is Dust right before I’m killed, then play something huge, and he will make a sad face.
Instead, I play land after land and keep drawing more. I get no acceleration of any kind, and as this has been pointed out to me, this is why ramp decks are bad. It is too bad that I am addicted to them like Whitney Houston is to… singing. He plays out a Woolly Thoctar and a Bloodbraid Elf. I play another land.
On his fifth turn, he casts a card that has an effect that smashes every deck I have ever designed.
All my lands go away, and it is me making the sad face. I need lots of land. I have always needed lots of land.
So you lost, right?
Damn right I lost.
“Good Game.”
“Good Game. Would you have played All is Dust Immediately?”
“That was the plan. I think my stuff is bigger than yours, and I’ve got the mana to cast it. I would have lost an Elf, you would have lost a lot more.”
“Interesting.”
So, I have beaten two ten-year-olds and lost to the serious players. I think I will change this deck’s name to “Ten-Year-Old Crusher.” Despite that, I think the idea has promise in the same way I thought that Secret Force had promise. I just know that I need to find the right combination of Baloth, Master of the Wild Hunt, Crusher or Pelakka or both? What is the best way to ramp up the mana? Do the Channelers go back in? What do I need in the early game to protect myself from Red Deck Wins and Jund? Oddly, my decks usually do fantastic against aggro decks and lose to heavy control. These days I do better against control, where they play out a bunch of Exalted and Planewalkers, and I cast All is Dust and soon they’re sacrificing permanents.
I play tons of Magic Online, and it is encouraging some days and other days just hopeless. Now it is Thursday, and Justin Olson is hosting Magic at his house. Justin lives an hour away in a development community near Burlington. I drive up, find the entrance, and call him to get instructions on how to navigate the labyrinth in which he lives. I follow his instructions, turning right, bearing left, then come to a crossroads and pull over as I listen to instructions. Paul Habday pulls up alongside me. “Follow me, Wakefield.”
“Paul!”
Paul is always hilarious, one of the old Middlebury crew, a great player and has a caustically stinging wit. I was expecting nothing but strangers or people I have met once at FNM. Justin is outside on a corner. I pick him up and we drive to where he lives.
I am led into the house and given a tour. Oh my God. I haven’t seen a place that looked like this since my college days or where I used to live before I married Marilyn. I feel like I’ve just been dropped into the set of “I LoveYou, Man.” Let’s just say it could use a woman’s touch.
Joshie Trash Talker shows up. Joshie!
He smiles. “Hey b*tches. Who’s first?”
Some things never change.
He walks to the fridge and says, “Hey, beer!” Can I have one of your beers, Jamie?”
“Sure. What did you bring?”
“… Nothing…”
“So… some people brought wine, I brought a twelve pack of beer, Paul brought beer and chips, Zach brought chips and salsa, Justin is making burgers and sausages… and you brought nothing?”
“Yeah.”
Justin hollers from the kitchen, “He always does that!”
“I know!”
“I’ll bring something next time. Who’s got a deck I can use?”
“You don’t even have cards?”
Someone hands him Jund. Let the games begin!
The version of the deck I’m playing right now is all about ramping up and getting something good off a Summoning Trap. But this version of Jund is all about creature elimination, so everything I play out is quickly murdered, and hasted creatures repeatedly run up the hill to smash me. I need more early defense. This version doesn’t have Leatherback Baloth, so he’s definitely going back in. Maybe even some Overgrown Battlements.
Joshie gets my ideas like few others, and gets very excited looking through the deck. “Oh my god! Why aren’t you running Arbor Elves and Birds, and Joraga and Elvish Archdruid?”
Justin tells him “Because then it would be an Elf deck that gets destroyed by a single Earthquake, and loses all its mana acceleration in one turn and sits there getting beaten on.”
“Exactly,” I reply.
“Summoning Trap is so good! I really think this could be a good deck with a few tweaks. How often do you get off a Summoning Trap?”
“All the time.”
“How many fatties are you running?”
“Twelve.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I’m pretty sure it is, since my hand is constantly getting clogged with them.”
Since I’m not drawing Summoning Trap here as I was in testing online, I am losing almost every game. I deconstruct the deck into piles. Justin, Joshie, Zach, Paul, and I try to figure out how to make this work. Nest invader is suggested, as both possible mana and two blockers for aggro instead of one. Kozilek’s Predator is suggested. We mull over choices.
“Why are you trying to build this whole deck around All is Dust? Why not remove that and add in some Vengevines and take out the Artisans?”
“Because then I have a crappy Green attack deck with no reset button and no backup plan. Also, All of Dust is amazing against Super Friends and, well, decks that are not Jund or Red Deck Wins.”
We ponder over how to survive the early game, have mana ramp that isn’t so vulnerable, and we all agree that Leatherback has to go back in. I take a break to go outside and record a voice note about this conversation, and also to call Wendy. The cable guy has fixed our box, which seems to be shorting out every time we turn it on. So, that’s awesome.
I go back inside and play the reworked deck. It does better but isn’t as consistent as I would like it. More people arrive. They set up at another table, and I don’t get much chance to talk with them because I leave early because I have not been getting enough sleep lately. It’s nine-thirty and I’m exhausted.
I get up at 5:45 a.m. for the online PTQ and get crushed two straight with the deck designed by all of the above mentioned. I go back to bed and fume.
I spend the week playing as much Magic as I can, and that is pitifully little. Luckily, I have had some success with the latest version.
Yesterday was get up at eight to meet two contractors. One was here to fix a screen door, hang our TV on the wall, and run the cables behind. The other was the electrician that was going to consult with him on where to put the power plug, where to move the light switch, and what they collectively remembered about where things were positioned behind that wall. Remember I told you Wendy had gotten the cable guy to fix the box so it didn’t short out? Well, that wasn’t really the problem.
The electrician is also here to hang and wire overhead lights, and to replace our entire electrical panel in the cellar that is so rusted he’s surprised it works at all, and he warns that fire is imminent. This will mean we will be without power for between two and eight hours, depending on how things go. We direct and chat and help out as much as we can, and they are almost finished with everything when I have to leave at 2:00 for an eye appointment. Later, I return home to pick up my fiancée. We go into town on errands and to pick up my RAV4, which needed new brakes and a whole new exhaust. We get home just in time to meet with my old friend Steve Payne, who is going to be the Pastor at our wedding. Half an hour after he shows up, a contractor for the driveway shows up. Steve and I reminisce about the days of working together at The Middlebury Inn. I was his first wedding when he became a Pastor. Wendy finishes up with the contractor and comes back to the porch, where we sip wine, relax, and talk about the very short ceremony we are going to have.
Steve leaves at nine, and the day is finally over.
This morning it is Thursday; I have smashed face twice, and I am very pleased. By the afternoon I have written seven more pages of this column, finally having a few moments without needing to drive somewhere or meet with someone. Wendy has given up her day of going to Burlington with me to work on the registry so I can get this written.
At 5:30, Paul and one of the Binghams will be here to car-pool up to Justin’s for Magic. I am hoping for lots and lots of play, because I missed last weekend’s Montreal PTQ, and because Wendy and I are going to the ME PTQ. We’re going to drive over early Friday and have a nice relaxing day by the ocean, eating whole belly clams and lobsters, and drinking wine. Saturday I will get up and go to the PTQ, and she will read, shop, or research more wedding stuff. I will be away from her between four and fourteen hours. We will come home late Sunday night, so it will be a PTQ and a little vacation.
This is what I will be playing and tweaking tonight.
Creatures (24)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Master of the Wild Hunt
- 4 Arbor Elf
- 4 Leatherback Baloth
- 4 Wolfbriar Elemental
- 4 Pelakka Wurm
Lands (4)
Spells (32)
Sideboard
I’m not at all sure on the sideboard.
You’ll notice this looks quite a bit different than the previous version. I call this “Surprise!”
Overrun and All is Dust are the surprise component, and boy I have missed my Overruns. They have been amazing, suddenly winning me games I might have lost. All is Dust and Overrun both combine well with Master of the Wild Hunt and Wolfbriar Elemental. The mana curve on this is much better, and I now have Master of the Wild Hunt and Wolfbriar as additional early blockers against aggro. Momentous Fall is just amazing. Life and cards when you eliminate one of my guys? That sounds good to me. Or I cast it on a Baloth at the end of an opponent’s turn just to fill up my hand.
Some games:
Swamp, Duress, taking your Momentous Fall.
Eldrazi Temple, attack for 1.
Forest, done.
Creeping Tar Pit, attack with the Hexmage.
Forest, Wolfbriar kicked once.
Gatekeeper, I choose to lose the wolf token.
Forest, draw All is Dust, holding another Forest and an Overrun.
Attack with the Wolfbriar, he blocks with Hexmage and Gatekeeper.
Drowned Catacombs, Liliana Vess, search library for a card.
Attack Liliana with the Wurm, kick Wolfbriar Elemental three times.
He draws and sits.
…
Not bad. Next!
…
Emeria, The Sky Ruin.
Forest, attack.
Forest, Baloth.
Draw Momentous Fall. Attack with the Baloth, Path to Exile, and I chose the land over using Momentous Fall. Anyone remember the article “The Danger of Cool Plays”…? I choose to get land and ramp up since my hand is already so full of good stuff.
Untap, Master of the Wild Hunt.
Plains, Path to Exile. Wee! More land!
Baloth.
I match your Baloth and raise you with a Baneslayer Angel.
Conqueror’s Pledge making six guys.
Overrun with Pelakka and Baloth, keeping Llanowar Elf back so I can use his mana for Momentous Fall.
Everything but the Baneslayer blocks my Baloth, and he lets the Pelakka through so he goes down to eight.
Conqueror’s Pledge again.
End of your turn I will tap three Forests and the Elf and cast Momentous Fall, sacrificing my Pelakka and drawing 8 cards.
Cast Arbor Elf, Leatherback Baloth, Master of the Wild Hunt. He has two cards in hand. I have six.
Overrun, attack with everything, clear your board except for the Baneslayer again.
Wall of Reverence, attack with the Baneslayer going back up to 13, end of the turn go up to 18.
Attack with everything, All is Dust.
Baneslayer.
Wolfbriar kicked seven times.
Emeria, returning Baneslayer from the grave. Honor of the Pure.
…
I know neither of those were top decks, but I have actually beaten Super Friends 2 out of 3 with the deck as well, and I think these games illustrate the theme, synergy, and depth the deck has. It’s not a lot of depth, but Wrath of Everything, creatures that recover from that, the surprise of Overrun, and card drawing and life gain, all packed into one Green deck, seems good to me.
I guess we’ll see tonight.
Until next time…
Jamie