The Hole That Gush Left Behind
I mentioned last week that Mark Acheson, a.k.a. Nevyn, made the loudest online outcry in the aftermath of Gush’s restriction. For the benefit of Type I Turboland (nicknamed TurboNevyn) fans, here’s what he e-mailed me:
Oscar,
My first reaction was:
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!”
Long Answer:
In reality, I have been worried about this day since the unrestriction of Berserk. This is a difficult situation for me to address as Gush is my favorite card. On the other hand, access for blue to cheap instant speed card drawing has long been one of the most unbalancing effects in the game. Furthermore, the reason I liked Gush so much was because it could be so unfair and powerful (similarly to those who liked Necropotence and wanted a different Trix card errata’d/restricted).
On the whole, whether Gush deserved restriction is a tough call. It was difficult to adapt to traditional blue control decks because the mana cost was prohibitive and those decks rarely could afford to set back their mana development by returning land to their hands. However, Gro-A-Tog (in which Gush is a key card) was proving to be a very hard to beat deck, and was particularly a problem for the more inexpensive aggro decks in the format, who had trouble both circumventing it’s counters, and dealing with it’s fast fat. The metagame seemed to be adapting to GAT (this is admittedly an outside perspective, as I have not been playing much lately), but doing so with other expensive decks.
The decline of cheap aggro was an issue before GAT, of course, because of TnT. And Psychatogs won’t suddenly become unplayable in T1 because of the restriction either. So my partisan side rails against the restriction because it kills my favorite card and deck, and because I’m not convinced it was entirely necessary. But when you separate the emotion from the analysis, it is good to see Wizards taking a more proactive approach when it comes to handling big-time decks and cards; the restriction was at least a reasonable decision, and one that should not hurt the environment and may perhaps help it somewhat. If nothing else, it forces deckbuilders back to the drawing board, which should help make the summer new and interesting.
The change is also quite predictable in retrospect as it’s timing suggests to me that it was done partly to make sure that there is a healthy selection of new and diverse decks at the upcoming T1 championships at GENCON. I will be very disappointed, however, if the DCI’s eye becomes less watchful once that event is over.
In other reactions, Mikey Torrisi, a.k.a. Spikeymikey from MTGNews, posted an article that got past Ferrett’s vacation mode last Monday. Here’s a quick summary:
Gush didn’t need to be restricted; hell, Ichneumon Druid hoses it. Mind’s Desire definitely didn’t need to be restricted because it cost six mana, which is a bit too slow in Type I.
The metagame will always correct itself; hell, Necropotence was even reprinted for Type II.
Mikey has contributed colorful articles to our site before, and he’s personally unforgettable because he once flamed me for saying that Psychatog was a good Type II deck.
Paul Miller, a.k.a. Exeter, one of the old Beyond Dominia guard, noted that restricting creatures actually has precedent, if you lean towards that side of”restrict Psychatog instead” in the Gush controversy. He reminded me that Ali from Cairo was in fact restricted from January 1994 to March 1996.
My bad.
Incidentally, here was my assessment on the Gush restriction.
Head to Head: Growing ‘Tog
This article has been in the works with Stephen Menendian, a.k.a. Smmenen, the Paragons’ other law student, for several weeks now, but I wasn’t home mornings (evenings in the United States) because of my law internship. Steve is a Forbiddian fanatic who got converted to Growing ‘Tog, and tested and tweaked even more intensively than deck creator Roland Bode, from Germany.
Then Gush got restricted, so hell, we did the games on the last day of my internship, at 2:30 a.m., and with me loaded with tequila from the mini-party with Joey, the other intern.
Interesting?
Definitely.
Growing ‘Tog has appeared in many playgroups and small tournaments because it’s so easy to build. The power cards are incidental, and everyone can grab Quirion Dryads and Psychatogs from Extended spares.
A powerful deck whose key cards are relatively affordable, and one with a relatively low learning curve and is forgiving of mistakes? That’s worse than mono blue with unrestricted Fact or Fiction dumbing down Type I. An extremely viable budget deck is great, but not one you can win with in your sleep. (Gasp! You can’t deal with a 20/21 ‘Tog on Turn 3?)
So Steve has a deck as broken as mine, but he’s had more playing hours in the Growing ‘Tog v.”The Deck” matchup, a lot more sleep, and zero alcohol…
Watch carefully, Steve says, at how a more careful player handles the supposedly easy-to-play deck.
02:29:57 – — Smmenen says: ”I am ready.”
02:29:57 – — Rakso says: ”Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war ”
02:30:00 – Smmenen drew 7 cards.
02:30:02 – Rakso drew 7 cards.
02:30:15 – Rakso says:’keep’
02:30:17 – Smmenen says:’same’
02:30:19 – Smmenen says:’go ahead’
02:30:32 – It is now turn 1.
02:30:34 – Rakso plays Tundra.
I walk down the seemingly endless cavern. Cautiously. Silently. Purposefully. As though walking into the bowels of the earth, headed for Hell itself.
02:30:55 – It is now turn 2.
02:30:57 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:31:01 – Smmenen plays Library of Alexandria.
The only warning is the faintest flutter of a cloak. My head turns reflexively. A dark mass hurtles towards me, a misshapen blob of heat to my infravision. The tip of the mass shapes itself into a long, slender blade…
02:31:10 – Rakso says:’last game, first turn Black Lotus’
02:31:12 – Rakso says:’now THIS?!’
02:31:18 – Smmenen says:’this deck is Br0ken’
02:31:20 – Rakso says:’eot’
02:31:21 – Tundra is tapped.
02:31:22 – Rakso plays Brainstorm.
02:31:25 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
02:31:26 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:31:32 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:31:34 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
No human being could have reacted to the treacherous attack in time – but I, fortunately, am not human. Enchanted bracers around my shins spur my feet, and my legs follow my head into the turn. My right hand pulls a scimitar from its scabbard in a slashing motion…
Now, if you read the first part of Book III of The Control Player’s Bible, “What IS Aggro-Control?”, you should know that the game could end right here.
A first-turn Library can win right there in a control mirror match, since it can kill the opponent with obscene card advantage. Again, it’s like taking two turns instead of one in a chess game.
Now, an aggro-control deck trades card advantage (squandered freely on Force of Will and Misdirection) for attack phases, hoping to kill you with a lethal creature before the lost cards catch up. Imagine, however, those lethal creatures backed by extra cards.
Steve can mimic a control mode for a few turns here while playing out his mana, then let the hammer fall and fall hard.
I had an okay hand with a couple of Brainstorms, a Polluted Delta, Merchant Scroll, and a Cunning Wish. I’m now on panic mode in the middle of his first turn, and have no time to set up. It’s either that Library or me…
02:31:03 – It is now turn 3.
02:31:36 – Tundra is untapped.
02:31:36 – Rakso draws a card.
02:31:52 – Tundra is tapped.
02:31:53 – Rakso plays Brainstorm.
02:31:55 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
02:31:56 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:32:02 – Smmenen says:’need Wastleand bad huh?’
02:32:18 – Rakso is peeking at a facedown card.
02:32:21 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:32:22 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
The flat of the scimitar slaps against the tip of my assailant’s rapier, and a second scimitar in my left hand follows up…
02:32:26 – Rakso plays Polluted Delta.
02:32:28 – Rakso plays Mox Pearl.
02:32:40 – Rakso says:’hmmm’
02:32:59 – Polluted Delta is tapped.
02:33:00 – Rakso’s life is now 19. (-1)
02:33:01 – Rakso buries Polluted Delta.
02:33:05 – Rakso moves Underground Sea from Rakso’s library to tabletop.
02:33:13 – Rakso says:’Hmmm…’
02:33:20 – Smmenen says:’I think I know your dilemma’
02:33:28 – Smmenen says:’are you considering whether to cast Balance?’
02:33:31 – Rakso says:’no’
02:33:33 – Smmenen says:’oh.’
02:34:05 – Rakso says:’hell with it’
02:34:09 – Rakso says:’let me try the risky play’
The tip of the second blade pushes lightly against the rapier, with the right-hand scimitar recovering…
02:34:11 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:34:11 – Mox Pearl is tapped.
02:34:13 – Rakso plays Time Walk.
02:34:17 – Smmenen says:’hrm.’
02:34:24 – Smmenen says:’response’
02:34:26 – Library of Alexandria is tapped.
02:34:28 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:34:38 – Smmenen says:’ok’
The first blade pushes my opponent’s thinner one outward…
02:34:41 – Tundra is untapped.
02:34:41 – Mox Pearl is untapped.
02:34:41 – Underground Sea is untapped.
02:34:45 – Rakso draws a card.
02:34:49 – Rakso says:’what do you know?’
02:34:51 – Rakso plays Wasteland.
02:34:55 – Smmenen buries Library of Alexandria.
02:34:57 – Rakso buries Wasteland.
And I take a step forward, pretending to lunge but feinting into an abbreviated slash with the left-hand scimitar that forces my opponent to stop in his tracks.
At that point, I still had nothing. Waiting was an option, but the redundancy and speed of Growing ‘Tog made that an easy invitation into a controlled aggro-control beatdown.
My more aggressive desperation move was to untap and Merchant Scroll into Ancestral Recall, risking it on a single Force of Will in my hand. If he had a Misdirection and another pitch counter, then the Library would kill me anyway. If he had two Forces of Will, I’d either resolve the Ancestral or trade three of my cards for four of his and deactivate the Library temporarily.
So if he had a Misdirection and another pitch counter, sorry, Oscar – but this is Type I and broken things happen. If he didn’t, I’d have something to work from, hopefully.
Fortunately, the Brainstorm and Delta reshuffled me into a Wasteland, so I didn’t have to risk a Misdirected Ancestral just yet.
02:35:07 – It is now turn 4.
02:35:11 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:35:14 – Smmenen plays Tropical Island.
02:35:27 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:35:28 – Smmenen plays Brainstorm.
02:35:30 – Rakso says:’k’
02:35:32 – Smmenen drew 3 cards.
02:35:44 – Smmenen moves a facedown card to Smmenen’s library.
02:35:49 – Smmenen moves a facedown card to Smmenen’s library.
02:35:50 – Rakso says:’Lotus?’
02:35:51 – It is now the Discard / Cleanup Phase.
02:35:59 – Smmenen moves Cunning Wish from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s graveyard.
His counter thrusts into thin air as I cautiously backpedal to take the measure of my attacker.
And he discards his most expensive spell. I would use my Cunning Wish now to save myself the mana later on, but there’s no point in letting him trade a Force of Will (and the card he would have discarded anyway) for a Swords to Plowshares or Red Elemental Blast at less than two-for-one.
02:36:00 – It is now turn 5.
02:36:04 – Rakso draws a card.
Unnerved, I pause, scimitars raised in a defensive stance, and eye my opponent warily.
…and I miss my Turn 3 land drop. Not good at all for”The Deck,” especially not after two Brainstorms.
02:36:30 – It is now turn 6.
02:36:34 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:36:36 – Smmenen plays Flooded Strand.
02:36:42 – Rakso says:’eot’
02:36:43 – Tundra is tapped.
02:36:44 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:36:45 – Mox Pearl is tapped.
02:36:46 – Rakso removes Cunning Wish from the game.
02:36:49 – Smmenen says:’hrm’
02:36:51 – Smmenen says:’response.’
02:37:03 – Smmenen says:’thinking.’
02:37:58 – Rakso says:’?’
02:38:05 – Smmenen says:’ok sure.’
02:38:16 – Rakso moves Swords to Plowshares from limbo to Rakso’s hand.
The lean, muscular frame of the assassin recalls memories from the recesses of my mind, and the imperceptible smile revealed by a hood thrown back brings them into focus. The human’s eyes glow with the fire of magically provided infravision, and recognition.
We circle each other warily, playing a mental game whose abrupt end would trigger the physical one.
On my fourth turn, I play a Sol Ring, followed by his Underground Sea.
On his fifth, he turns the Flooded Strand into Tropical Island, then discards a second Cunning Wish.
On his sixth, he plays another Underground Sea, and the treacherous lack of land forces me into a third Brainstorm before I begin my seventh turn.
Six turns without a creature is a seeming eternity for Growing ‘Tog, and Steve comments out loud that this was the strangest”The Deck” v. Growing ‘Tog he ever played.
02:40:12 – It is now turn 13.
02:40:46 – Rakso draws a card.
02:40:47 – Smmenen says:’this is going to be a very long game.’
02:40:50 – Rakso plays Tundra.
02:41:03 – Tundra is tapped.
02:41:04 – Mox Pearl is tapped.
02:41:06 – Rakso plays Merchant Scroll.
02:41:10 – Smmenen says:’hrm.’
02:41:30 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:41:32 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:41:33 – Smmenen plays Mana Drain
02:41:40 – Rakso says:’k’
02:41:40 – Mana Drain now has 2 counters. (+2)
I make a probing thrust with my left blade, and he parries. I raise my right, but stop and compensate when I see the jeweled dagger in his other hand. Cursing at my forgetfulness in the face of this old foe, I step back again, the moment lost.
Yes, it’s a general rule that you don’t counter tutors, and Merchant Scroll can’t fetch anything uncounterable.
Take another look, though.
Remember that an aggro-control deck doesn’t have to counter to neutralize threats; it only has to counter to stall. Seeing me Brainstorm after missing four straight land drops, he wants to stop my reshuffle more than my tutor, even if it’s only going to get rid of one card I put back on top.
Growing ‘Tog is easy to play, but it fortunately has more nuances than mono blue with four Fact or Fictions. The Mana Drain I didn’t want to fight over also gave him two more mana to play with – which is a lot in a deck with one- and two-mana plays.
02:42:04 – It is now turn 14.
02:42:08 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:42:18 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:42:20 – Smmenen says:’G’
02:42:21 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:42:23 – Smmenen says:’U’
02:42:34 – Smmenen plays Merchant Scroll.
02:42:37 – Mana Drain now has 1 counters. (-1)
02:42:42 – Rakso says:’k’
02:42:52 – Smmenen moves Ancestral Recall from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
02:43:00 – Smmenen plays Gush.
02:43:10 – Smmenen moves Underground Sea from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
02:43:11 – Smmenen moves Tropical Island from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
He presses on, thrusting with the rapier…
So would you counter the Gush at this point?
Maybe – but I wouldn’t tap my last two blue sources in the face of a telegraphed Ancestral Recall. In fact, not in the face of a prodigally-used Mana Drain, telegraphing there might be more where that came from. Note he has more blue sources and has enough for Ancestral Recall protected by Mana Drain if I tap out. I don’t have anything to put the five mana into, either.
02:43:17 – Smmenen drew 2 cards.
02:43:26 – Smmenen plays Polluted Delta.
02:43:28 – Smmenen buries Polluted Delta.
02:43:28 – Smmenen’s life is now 18. (-1)
02:43:40 – Smmenen moves Underground Sea from Smmenen’s library to tabletop.
02:44:07 – Smmenen plays Sleight of Hand.
02:45:35 – Smmenen moves a card from Smmenen’s library to Smmenen’s hand.
02:45:38 – Smmenen moves a card to bottom of library
02:45:45 – Smmenen plays Quirion Dryad.
02:45:48 – Rakso says:’k’
02:46:09 – It is now the Discard / Cleanup Phase.
02:46:16 – Smmenen moves Underground Sea from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s graveyard.
Then a short slash with the dagger…
Here we go. Threat #1 has hit, and with two blue mana still untapped between the Mana Drain and the Gush.
Perfectly calculated, it would seem.
Oh well, might as well…
02:46:17 – It is now turn 15.
02:46:22 – Rakso draws a card.
02:46:26 – Mox Pearl is tapped.
02:46:28 – Rakso plays Swords to Plowshares.
I push the rapier out with my left blade, let the dagger slash past harmlessly, then counterthrust with the right scimitar…
02:46:30 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:46:31 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:46:35 – Smmenen plays Mana Drain.
His dagger hand recovered immediately, and was positioned to catch my sword in a well-timed parry…
02:46:53 – Rakso plays Force of Will.
02:46:54 – Rakso moves Dromar’s Charm from Rakso’s hand to Rakso’s removed from game pile.
02:46:55 – Rakso’s life is now 18. (-1)
02:47:00 – Smmenen removes Quirion Dryad from the game.
02:47:02 – Smmenen’s life is now 19. (+1)
Fortunately, the Charm is put to good use despite my land shortage. I actually have a Mana Drain, but was angling to catch a Force of Will. He let the Dryad go instead of using one.
02:47:15 – Tundra is tapped.
02:47:16 – Rakso plays Ancestral Recall.
But my left hand weapon pushed his rapier to the side, just a couple of inches out too far. Enough for my right to disentangle itself and recover into a slash…
02:47:19 – Smmenen says:’response’
02:47:23 – Smmenen plays Force of Will.
02:47:25 – Smmenen moves Time Walk from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s removed from game pile.
The dagger moves to catch the blade again while his main hand tries to return itself into the duel…
02:47:26 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:47:27 – Smmenen’s life is now 18. (-1)
02:47:27 – Tundra is tapped.
02:47:29 – Rakso plays Mana Drain.
But my left hand moves to block the dagger…
02:47:33 – Smmenen plays Force of Will.
02:47:35 – Smmenen moves Mana Drain from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s removed from game pile.
02:47:35 – Smmenen’s life is now 17. (-1)
And the second-long opening created by the temporarily neutralized rapier is nothing more than a feint…
02:47:45 – It is now turn 16.
02:47:48 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:47:50 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:47:52 – Smmenen plays Ancestral Recall.
02:47:54 – Rakso says:’k’
02:47:56 – Smmenen drew 3 cards.
02:48:37 – Smmenen plays Polluted Delta.
A powerful upward parry pushes my blade up, and the return slash of his dagger catches me dangerously overextended…
02:48:44 – It is now turn 17.
02:48:59 – Rakso draws a card.
02:49:54 – Mox Pearl is tapped.
02:49:55 – Sol Ring is tapped.
Almost. I back down, countering his flurry of blows with controlled parries…
I saw his Ancestral coming and baited more counters than I wished for, but I had Plan B.
02:49:57 – Rakso plays Balance.
02:50:02 – Smmenen says:’ok’
02:50:12 – Smmenen moves Tropical Island from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s graveyard.
02:50:17 – Smmenen buries Underground Sea.
02:50:18 – Smmenen moves Misdirection from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s graveyard.
I catch the rapier again and hold it at bay for a second too long, and the tempo of the battle swings again.
It resolved, and the Misdirection thrown away makes you wonder about the contents of his hand. The feint turned into a solid attack, but I had no choice but to follow through with the real move.
02:50:26 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:50:26 – Tundra is tapped.
02:50:28 – Rakso plays Yawgmoth’s Will.
02:50:37 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:50:39 – Rakso removes Yawgmoth’s Will from the game.
02:50:55 – Rakso moves Polluted Delta from Rakso’s graveyard to tabletop.
02:51:01 – Tundra is tapped.
02:51:02 – Rakso removes Brainstorm from the game.
02:51:04 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:51:05 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
02:51:11 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:51:12 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:51:14 – Rakso’s life is now 17. (-1)
02:51:15 – Rakso removes Polluted Delta from the game.
02:51:18 – Rakso moves Underground Sea from Rakso’s library to tabletop.
02:51:18 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:51:19 – Rakso removes Ancestral Recall from the game.
02:51:22 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:51:23 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
He settles into the defensive, parrying twin downward scimitar slashes forming an”X” and narrowly dodging a thrust at his face.
Even after the desperation Yawgmoth’s Will, I’m not in a position a”The Deck” player loathes. I had to rely on Balance, then Yawgmoth’s Will, and now have Mind Twist and Stroke of Genius both in hand without enough mana to bring them to bear. Instead of counters to parry with, I have a Chainer’s Edict, a Cunning Wish (that can’t fetch Red Elemental Blast, since I opted for double-black to power Chainer’s) and a Mystical Tutor that won’t quite turn into a bomb.
02:52:31 – It is now turn 18.
02:52:35 – Smmenen buries Polluted Delta.
02:52:36 – Smmenen’s life is now 16. (-1)
02:52:44 – Smmenen moves Underground Sea from Smmenen’s library to tabletop.
02:52:50 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:52:53 – Smmenen plays Mox Emerald.
02:52:54 – Mox Emerald is tapped.
02:52:55 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:52:56 – Underground Sea is tapped.
His counterattack is as brutal as mine…
02:52:57 – Smmenen plays Yawgmoth’s Will.
02:53:01 – Rakso says:’holy’
02:53:07 – Rakso says:’k’
Now, this may take a little swallowing, but Growing ‘Tog’s Yawgmoth’s Wills can be more powerful than those of”The Deck.” All those cantrips normally gain no card advantage, but they filter into free draws when played out of the graveyard. And after that, you can Gush for free as well.
He doesn’t even have to know that my Yawgmoth’s Will sucked…
02:53:24 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:53:27 – Smmenen moves Ancestral Recall from Smmenen’s graveyard to tabletop.
02:53:31 – Rakso says:’k’
02:53:34 – Smmenen drew 3 cards.
02:53:51 – Smmenen moves Gush from Smmenen’s graveyard to tabletop.
02:53:54 – Smmenen moves Underground Sea from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
02:53:55 – Smmenen moves Tropical Island from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
02:53:59 – Rakso says:’k’
02:53:59 – Smmenen says:’?’
02:54:01 – Smmenen drew 2 cards.
02:54:05 – Smmenen plays Mox Sapphire.
02:54:24 – Smmenen moves Library of Alexandria from Smmenen’s graveyard to tabletop.
02:54:26 – Mox Sapphire is tapped.
02:54:44 – Smmenen moves Brainstorm from Smmenen’s graveyard to tabletop.
02:54:46 – Rakso says:’k’
02:54:47 – Smmenen drew 3 cards.
02:55:34 – Smmenen moves a facedown card to Smmenen’s library.
02:55:50 – Smmenen moves a facedown card to Smmenen’s library.
02:56:24 – It is now the Discard / Cleanup Phase.
02:56:31 – Smmenen says:’ok?’
02:56:34 – Rakso says:’k’
02:56:36 – Smmenen moves Tropical Island from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s removed from game pile.
02:56:37 – Rakso says:’what am I going to do?’
02:56:38 – Rakso says:’Gush? :D’
Seemingly frustrated, he puts the pressure on, and launches into a more aggressive, almost reckless, pattern of attacks. The rapier stings my left shoulder, narrowly parried.
Sensing that my tired defenses will break inevitably, I gamble on the openings sure forming in his own guard. I will my innate magic into action, and a globe of darkness snuffs out the faint light in the rocky corridor as both of us launch into our last desperate motions.
02:56:42 – It is now turn 19.
02:56:43 – It is now the Untap Phase.
02:56:46 – Tundra is untapped.
02:56:46 – Mox Pearl is untapped.
02:56:46 – Underground Sea is untapped.
02:56:46 – Sol Ring is untapped.
02:56:46 – Tundra is untapped.
02:56:46 – Underground Sea is untapped.
The question is, what would you do at this point seeing him Yawgmoth’s Willing into a full hand and with yours less than wonderful?
Before you untap, I hope you’d take a look at the graveyards and removed from game zones, then think hard.
02:56:56 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:56:56 – Rakso plays Mystical Tutor.
02:57:01 – Smmenen says:’ok’
Throwing caution to the wind, my left scimitar leads in a powerful slash…
02:57:12 – Rakso moves Force of Will from tabletop to Rakso’s hand.
02:57:16 – Tundra is tapped.
02:57:16 – Tundra is tapped.
02:57:17 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:57:18 – Mox Pearl is tapped.
02:57:18 – Sol Ring is tapped.
02:57:19 – Rakso plays Mind Twist.
02:57:22 – Smmenen says:’response’
Not that I expect him to be finished so easily…
02:57:24 – Library of Alexandria is tapped.
02:57:27 – Smmenen says:’?’
02:57:32 – Rakso says:’what am I going to do?’
02:57:33 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:57:34 – Rakso says:’Stifle? :D’
02:57:36 – Smmenen plays Misdirection.
02:57:38 – Smmenen moves Psychatog from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s removed from game pile.
As anticipated, his dagger rises to block…
02:57:41 – Rakso plays Force of Will.
02:57:44 – Rakso’s life is now 16. (-1)
02:57:43 – Rakso moves Cunning Wish from Rakso’s hand to Rakso’s removed from game pile.
I thrust the other scimitar straight at his midsection…
Probability play.
Yes, in case you don’t realize it, this game boiled down to the flip of a coin, with skill almost tossed to one side.
The Mind Twist is large enough to destroy his hand, after the anticipated pitch counter. Now, you saw that he pulled Library of Alexandria from the graveyard, which could mean that he needed to draw one of the cards he returned to the top with Brainstorm, but possibly telegraphing that he has no Mana Drain. This is likely since he already used three of them.
That leaves pitch counters, and he’s bound to have one in hand.
Now, in the middle of his Brainstorm, he had ten cards in hand, and twenty-six left in the library. He had used two Forces of Will and discarded a Misdirection.
Steve plays with four Misdirections (going to twelve counters), instead of more common builds’ two. Thus, he’s a lot better off against”The Deck,” and thus has five pitch counters left in the thirty-six cards instead of three.
What are the chances that his ten cards have at least two out of the five, out of the remaining thirty-six cards?
Again, if he has two pitch counters, I either lose my hand and go down to Chainer’s flashback, or have to attempt to Stroke against the other half of his full hand the following turn. If he doesn’t have at least two, he loses his hand and I Stroke the following turn, almost guaranteeing a win.
Now, there are 254,186,856 possible combinations of ten cards out of thirty-six.
There’s a 17.45% chance he has no pitch counter in hand (31C10 / 36C10).
There’s a 39.66% chance he has just one (5C1 31C9 / 36C10).
That’s a 57.11% chance that the dust will settle in my favor.
Facing another deck that’s broken as hell and forced to recover from a first-turn Library on the wrong side of the table, stunted mana development, and a bum Yawgmoth’s Will,”The Deck” plays out the battle to a single probability play, and the scales are tipped slightly in its favor.
Time seems to slow to a halt one both ends of the Pacific Ocean as the imaginary coin spins in the air…
02:57:47 – Smmenen plays Force of Will.
… and thrust into empty air. My opponent rolls on his shoulder, and anticipates my move perfectly. The jeweled dagger buries itself in my thigh, its life-draining enchantment sucking away my consciousness even before I can scream in agony.
And Lady Luck graces me with a petulant frown.
Steve is left on the verge of a nervous breakdown on the other end of the connection, while the alcohol takes care of my end.
His four remaining cards are two land, a Gush and the last Psychatog, while the Mind Twist sent Stroke of Genius and Chainer’s Edict to the graveyard. I still have Chainer’s flashback for his second and last ‘Tog, but even if he plays the ‘Tog and forgets about this detail, the Gush still makes it easier for him to filter into protection for a Dryad.
I mercifully concede, having lost the coin flip.
02:57:50 – Rakso says:’dead’
02:57:53 – Smmenen says:’ok’
02:57:56 – Smmenen says:’finally’
02:57:59 – Smmenen says:’that was a GREAT game’
02:58:02 – Smmenen says:’omg.’
02:59:27 – Smmenen says:’i am done :)’
02:59:30 – Smmenen says:’you wore me out’
02:59:31 – Smmenen says:’completely’
02:59:34 – Rakso says:’good lord’
02:59:36 – Smmenen says:’it’s 3 am’
02:59:37 – Rakso says:’then I must be’
02:59:52 – Smmenen says:’you killed me’
02:59:56 – Smmenen says:’i’m literally’
03:00:00 – Smmenen says:’shaking’
03:00:03 – Smmenen says:’that was so intense’
03:00:03 – Rakso says:’good grief’
03:00:13 – Rakso says:’:)’
03:00:19 – Rakso says:’It’s 3 AM here and I’m pumped with tequila’
03:00:21 – Rakso says:’well’
03:00:25 – Rakso says:’this makes for one funny series’
So there you have Head to Head: Growing ‘Tog, a feature that showcases its extreme flexibility. Last article, you saw extreme combo mode – but today, I’m showing you how a smart player can play on the opposite cautious extreme and win under different circumstances. Controlling how aggressively you play this aggro-control deck is – was – a challenge some players never discovered, much less mastered.
Incidentally, you may have noticed that we featured a losing log, though you didn’t know that until the imaginary coin landed.
Sorry, but this week is a tribute to German mad genius Roland Bode, and Growing ‘Tog has to win today. Suffice it to say that, following this Book’s opening article, sideboarded games are more brutal, with the juiciest Misdirection targets swapped out for a bunch of Red Elemental Blasts and Swords to Plowshares, and Skeletal Scrying for good measure. These which win battles of attrition and last-minute coin flips a bit more easily.
Nevertheless, note that even with four Misdirections, Growing ‘Tog couldn’t write off”The Deck” as a favorable Game 1, especially with Cunning Wish practically doubling the initial removal count. If player skill cancels out, well, take a look at how close the above game was. (Maybe I should’ve made sure Steve had a drink, too, to make the post-game analysis even more colorful.)
A More Conventional Game
Still, many games aren’t as curious as the one featured above. Many play out the interaction between spot removal and pitch counters, as you saw in past logs such as the Fish feature.
02:18:51 – — Smmenen says: ”I am ready.”
02:18:51 – — Rakso says: ”Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war”
02:19:25 – Rakso drew 7 cards.
02:19:29 – Smmenen drew 7 cards.
02:19:37 – It is now turn 1.
02:19:38 – Rakso plays Tundra.
02:19:39 – It is now turn 2.
02:19:42 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:19:45 – Smmenen plays Tropical Island.
02:19:48 – Smmenen plays Black Lotus.
02:19:49 – Smmenen says:’?’
02:19:51 – Rakso says:’…’
02:19:54 – Smmenen buries Black Lotus.
02:19:56 – Smmenen says:’GGG’
02:19:58 – Rakso says:’k’
02:19:59 – Smmenen plays Quirion Dryad.
02:20:01 – Rakso says:’k’
02:20:03 – Smmenen plays Quirion Dryad.
02:20:04 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:20:06 – Rakso says:’!!!’
02:20:13 – Rakso says:’k’
02:20:19 – Tundra is tapped.
02:20:20 – Rakso plays Swords to Plowshares.
02:20:22 – Smmenen removes Quirion Dryad from the game.
02:20:23 – Smmenen’s life is now 21. (+1)
Uh-huh…”The Deck” is not the broken deck in this series. Repeat after me…
02:20:27 – It is now turn 3.
02:20:29 – Rakso draws a card.
02:20:31 – Rakso plays Underground Sea.
02:21:16 – It is now turn 4.
02:21:20 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:21:22 – Smmenen plays Underground Sea.
02:21:25 – Quirion Dryad is attacking.
02:21:27 – Rakso’s life is now 19. (-1)
02:21:31 – Rakso says:’eot’
02:21:33 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:21:34 – Rakso plays Brainstorm.
02:21:41 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:21:42 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
02:21:57 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:21:58 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:22:00 – It is now turn 5.
02:22:03 – Rakso draws a card.
02:22:05 – Rakso plays Underground Sea.
02:22:08 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:22:08 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:22:09 – Rakso plays Chainer’s Edict.
02:22:19 – Smmenen plays Misdirection.
02:22:21 – Smmenen moves Force of Will from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s removed from game pile.
02:22:25 – Quirion Dryad now has 1 counters. (+1)
Now, the argument goes that Growing ‘Tog made Chainer’s Edict obsolete, since it can be”countered” by Misdirection. Here, he could’ve Forced it anyway had it been another Swords, so it doesn’t really matter.
Misdirection isn’t as bad as it looks, though, because Chainer’s can take two cards with it and then flash back. The problem comes when Chainer’s is your early removal, as you saw here.
02:22:33 – It is now turn 6.
02:22:37 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:22:38 – Smmenen plays Tropical Island.
02:22:41 – Quirion Dryad is attacking.
02:22:45 – Rakso’s life is now 17. (-2)
02:22:49 – Tundra is tapped.
02:22:50 – Rakso plays Brainstorm.
02:22:52 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:22:55 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
02:23:22 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
02:23:25 – Rakso moves a facedown card to Rakso’s library.
No real hurry.
02:23:32 – It is now turn 7.
02:23:36 – Rakso draws a card.
02:23:43 – Rakso plays Flooded Strand.
02:23:45 – Rakso’s life is now 16. (-1)
02:23:46 – Rakso buries Flooded Strand.
02:23:51 – Rakso moves Volcanic Island from Rakso’s library to tabletop.
02:23:53 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:23:54 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:23:54 – Volcanic Island is tapped.
02:23:55 – Rakso removes Cunning Wish from the game.
02:23:59 – Smmenen says:’k’
02:24:07 – Rakso moves Swords to Plowshares from limbo to Rakso’s hand.
02:24:09 – Tundra is tapped.
02:24:11 – Rakso plays Swords to Plowshares.
02:24:12 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:24:13 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:24:14 – Smmenen plays Mana Drain.
02:24:17 – Quirion Dryad now has 2 counters. (+1)
02:24:18 – Rakso says:’unbelievable’
No real hurry – especially not when you pitch your last two counters against Chainer’s Edict, then topdeck another. Steve has a number of bad habits, one of which is drawing, for example, all four Forces of Will against me in a relatively quick game. But he’s a law student, too, so I guess we both have to learn to be nasty bastards from time to time.
02:24:21 – It is now turn 8.
02:24:28 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:24:37 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:24:39 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:24:45 – Smmenen plays Gush.
02:24:47 – Smmenen moves Underground Sea from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
02:24:47 – Rakso says:’k’
02:24:48 – Smmenen moves Tropical Island from tabletop to Smmenen’s hand.
02:24:50 – Smmenen says:’?’
02:24:52 – Quirion Dryad now has 3 counters. (+1)
02:24:53 – Smmenen drew 2 cards.
02:24:57 – Smmenen plays Sleight of Hand.
02:24:59 – Quirion Dryad now has 4 counters. (+1)
02:24:59 – Rakso says:’k’
02:25:05 – Smmenen moves a card from Smmenen’s library to Smmenen’s hand.
02:25:07 – Smmenen moves a card to bottom of library
02:25:17 – Smmenen plays Tropical Island.
02:25:19 – Smmenen’s life is now 20. (-1)
02:25:23 – Rakso’s life is now 11. (-5)
02:25:23 – Quirion Dryad is attacking.
02:25:25 – It is now turn 9.
02:25:33 – Rakso draws a card.
02:25:37 – Rakso plays Polluted Delta.
02:25:40 – Tundra is tapped.
02:25:42 – Rakso plays Swords to Plowshares.
02:25:45 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:25:45 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:25:47 – Smmenen plays Mana Drain.
02:25:49 – Quirion Dryad now has 5 counters. (+1)
Like I said, unbelievable. (Well, of course, he didn’t just topdeck it this time. There was a Gush and Sleight…)
02:25:50 – Rakso’s life is now 10. (-1)
02:25:50 – Rakso buries Polluted Delta.
02:25:55 – Rakso moves Tundra from Rakso’s library to tabletop.
02:25:58 – Tundra is tapped.
02:25:59 – Underground Sea is tapped.
02:25:59 – Volcanic Island is tapped.
02:26:01 – Rakso plays Dromar’s Charm.
02:26:05 – Smmenen plays Misdirection.
02:26:07 – Smmenen moves Gush from Smmenen’s hand to Smmenen’s removed from game pile.
02:26:10 – Quirion Dryad now has 6 counters. (+1)
02:26:23 – Mana Drain now has 1 counter. (+1)
We would like to remind the audience that this week is Roland Bode Tribute Week. Otherwise, Dromar’s Charm would swing games…
02:26:24 – It is now turn 10.
02:26:28 – Smmenen draws a card.
02:26:30 – Smmenen says:’how good :)’
02:26:33 – Smmenen plays Underground Sea.
02:26:33 – Rakso says:’indeed’
02:26:33 – Tropical Island is tapped.
02:26:35 – Smmenen plays Ancestral Recall.
02:26:37 – Rakso says:’…’
02:26:41 – Smmenen drew 3 cards.
02:26:46 – Quirion Dryad now has 7 counters. (+1)
02:26:49 – Smmenen’s life is now 19. (-1)
02:26:53 – Quirion Dryad