Standard U/W/B - 5-0-1 FNM Win!
So I went to FNM this past Friday. As usual I brought multiple decks. I had on me 1) an elves list I was lending to a friend of mine, Megan, who was trying out her first FNM tournament ever (in which she made top 8, GO MEGAN!), 2) a Valakut list that I lent to Joey, a legacy player mostly who didn't have a legacy deck with him that night (who also made top 8 with his first ever night of piloting Valakut, GO JOEY), and 3) nothing else which usually is the space I have for the deck I play. I needed to build a deck. I had cards for U/W, or U/B (without big jaces) or something, and I knew I wanted to play a control list.
Now I have long made clear my love of Venser, the Sojourner. So I knew I was probably playing something with blue white as main colors, but I also wanted to run Duress and/or Inquisition of Kozilek. Discard is just so good right now in standard. Duress just rips apart control decks and the most dangerous cards from the aggro decks in the format (Eldrazi Monument, Garruk, Lightning Bolt, etc.). Inquisition is probably the best turn one play against any of the aggro decks in the format as well. Those were in. Venser, meant that I was playing a lot of permanents, but having experience with my U/W mono-permanent lists from previous weeks, I knew that I had problems with instant speed answers, so I thought adding some Mana Leaks and some Doom Blades would be good. With that framework in mind, I started brewing the following list:
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Celestial Colonnade
3 Plains
3 Swamp
2 Island
3 Glacial Fortress
2 Drowned Catacombs
3 Venser, the Sojourner
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Duress
3 Doom Blade
3 Day of Judgement
2 Contagion Engine
1 Gideon Jura
1 Elspeth Tirel
2 Precursor Golem
1 Grave Titan
3 Mana Leak
3 Journey to Nowhere
3 Seagate Oracle
2 Tumble Magnet
1 Contagion Clasp
Sideboard
1 Day of Judgement
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Doom Blade
2 Baneslayer Angel
3 Luminarch Ascension
3 Spreading Seas
4 Revoke Existence
Notable exclusions: Sun Titan (without the baby Jaces I felt this wasn't as strong a card) Everflowing Chalice (although this is a fairly mana intensive deck, the fact that chalice is colorless mana made it better to just play lots of lands, especially man lands) Frost Titan (this deck is really a white black with a splash of blue, not white blue with a splash of black, and Grave Titan is a better finisher and opposing Jace the Mind Sculptor fighter anyway) Creeping Tar Pit (I have none, anyone want to trade me some?)
Notes on the mana base. It's not optimal, I know. It needs Creeping Tar Pits, and a much better cross section of W/B lands to make it more consistent, but I was rarely colored screwed, and never for long thanks to the high number of dual lands.
Round 1 - Chris - RG Spawn Monument
2-0 in games 1-0 in matches
Let's see. Game one went something like this: Turns 1-4 he plays guys that come into play with guys, like all the red or green eldrazi spawn makers while I lay lands, Journey to Nowhere stuff with a power, not just a toughness and Doom Blade other stuff. Turn 5 I drop Day of Judgement, and Turn 6 a Grave Titan. Turn 7 is a fun one where I swing with Grave Titan and Zombies, make 2 Zombies, play Venser, the Sojourner, and bounce Grave Titan for 2 more Zombies. Next turn I -1 Venser and swing with the team of unblockable zombies, plus one Titan. It was a FAST kill for me. I'm used to whittling away at a life total for a turn or 7 before winning once I've established control. Nope. 2 turns, dead. I could get used to that.
Here's how game 2 went: He built up his forces fast with Birds of Paradise into Eldrazi spawn makers. I stem the bleeding a bit with Doom Blade and Journey to Nowhere while digging for Day of Judgements with Sea Gate Oracles.
He drops an Eldrazi Monument, then a Beastmaster's Ascension. Ouch.
The Ascension goes active and the board looks like this:
My side of the board - Elspeth at 6 loyalty, Venser at 5 Loyalty, Journey to Nowhere on his Emrakul's Hatcher, and 2 Sea Gate Oracles
His Board - Active Beastmaster's Ascension, Eldrazi Monument, which made his Birds of Paradise, and two Eldrazi Spawn into 6/7 flying indestructible monsters. He swings with the team and hits me from 20 down to 2.
My turn goes like this: Venser +2's himself, exiling himself for the turn, Elspeth Ultimates -5, destroying all other non-token permanents including Eldrazi Monument, Ascension, and my own Sea Gate Oracles & Journey to Nowhere, returning his Emrakul's Hatcher and making three more spawn tokens, but not destroying his 2 eldrazi spawn, because they are tokens and indestructible, or his Birds of Paradise which was also indestructible. Elspeth is sitting at 1 loyalty, now and he has 1 Birds, 5 Spawn, and 1 Emrakul's Hatcher, with me at 2 life. I then cast (with my eight mana) Contagion Engine, wiping the board of the spawn and Birds thanks to -1/-1 counters, and Doom Blade the Hatcher. I end my turn, Venser returns himself to play and his board is empty, and mine has 2 Walkers and a contagion engine. Yeah I won that one. I still can't believe that happened.
Round 2 - Dean - RDW
4-0 in games 2-0 in matches
Both games are pretty similar. He keeps hands light on creatures, and my inquisitions show up to ruin his day. He is stuck unable to put on any pressure while I build my board to the point he can't win.
Round 3 - Rocco - Grindclock/Infect
6-0 in games 3-0 in matches
He plays Grindclock early both games which I ignore. He plays stuff that I counter or kill, and then I win with Grave Titan. Yeah a second Grave Titan is going in.
Round 4 - Joey - My Valakut Ramp deck (and me with no Leyline of Sanctity in the board)
Intentional Draw into top 8. Yay! I suspect I'd have lost this game unless Joey really played badly and let me counter something relevant, but if he played smart, which he almost always does, I'd die. So I was happy to tie my way to an undefeated record.
6-0 in games 3-0-1 in matches
Top 8
Quarter Finals - Dave - Allies (Naya?)
8-1 in games 4-0-1 in matches.
He destroys me game 1 when he wins the die roll and has a nut draw. I was dead by turn 4.
Games 2 and 3 both take a while and involve a lot of removal on my part and then a mix of finishers from Baneslayer Angel to Gideon Jura and Celestial Colonnade. I was really sweating this match, as the Allies deck has so many ways to just win out of nowhere.
Semi Finals - Nick - U/B Control (Nick, Thanks for trading me the Grave Titan before the tournament, and lending me the two marsh flats. Sorry I beat your face in with them.)
10-2 in games 5-0-1 in matches
Duress and Inquisition really proved their worth in these games. They allowed me to trade one card and one mana for full knowledge of their hand or for a counterspell and some tapped mana on his side of the board. This usually allowed me to stick a Venser, and ride it to victory. I am an awful dog to his deck game on, as I have a ton of dead cards (Umm Doom Blade your Sea Gate Oracle, because it's the only target for it in your entire deck... yeah, sure), but after board the match-up goes back the other way, leaving me a bit favored. Luminarch Ascension really shines in this match, as if it gets active I win. This means that the U/B player needs to spend time, cards and mana to deal with the ascension, which allows me to land and protect other threats easier. I won the second two games with Grave Titan beats, while he was still trying to find ways around my ascension going active.
Finals
Draw with my first round opponent so we can both get the same promo card as a prize (foil Everflowing Chalice) and go home.
Now I have long made clear my love of Venser, the Sojourner. So I knew I was probably playing something with blue white as main colors, but I also wanted to run Duress and/or Inquisition of Kozilek. Discard is just so good right now in standard. Duress just rips apart control decks and the most dangerous cards from the aggro decks in the format (Eldrazi Monument, Garruk, Lightning Bolt, etc.). Inquisition is probably the best turn one play against any of the aggro decks in the format as well. Those were in. Venser, meant that I was playing a lot of permanents, but having experience with my U/W mono-permanent lists from previous weeks, I knew that I had problems with instant speed answers, so I thought adding some Mana Leaks and some Doom Blades would be good. With that framework in mind, I started brewing the following list:
3 Marsh Flats
1 Scalding Tarn
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Seachrome Coast
3 Celestial Colonnade
3 Plains
3 Swamp
2 Island
3 Glacial Fortress
2 Drowned Catacombs
3 Venser, the Sojourner
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Duress
3 Doom Blade
3 Day of Judgement
2 Contagion Engine
1 Gideon Jura
1 Elspeth Tirel
2 Precursor Golem
1 Grave Titan
3 Mana Leak
3 Journey to Nowhere
3 Seagate Oracle
2 Tumble Magnet
1 Contagion Clasp
Sideboard
1 Day of Judgement
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Doom Blade
2 Baneslayer Angel
3 Luminarch Ascension
3 Spreading Seas
4 Revoke Existence
Notable exclusions: Sun Titan (without the baby Jaces I felt this wasn't as strong a card) Everflowing Chalice (although this is a fairly mana intensive deck, the fact that chalice is colorless mana made it better to just play lots of lands, especially man lands) Frost Titan (this deck is really a white black with a splash of blue, not white blue with a splash of black, and Grave Titan is a better finisher and opposing Jace the Mind Sculptor fighter anyway) Creeping Tar Pit (I have none, anyone want to trade me some?)
Notes on the mana base. It's not optimal, I know. It needs Creeping Tar Pits, and a much better cross section of W/B lands to make it more consistent, but I was rarely colored screwed, and never for long thanks to the high number of dual lands.
Round 1 - Chris - RG Spawn Monument
2-0 in games 1-0 in matches
Let's see. Game one went something like this: Turns 1-4 he plays guys that come into play with guys, like all the red or green eldrazi spawn makers while I lay lands, Journey to Nowhere stuff with a power, not just a toughness and Doom Blade other stuff. Turn 5 I drop Day of Judgement, and Turn 6 a Grave Titan. Turn 7 is a fun one where I swing with Grave Titan and Zombies, make 2 Zombies, play Venser, the Sojourner, and bounce Grave Titan for 2 more Zombies. Next turn I -1 Venser and swing with the team of unblockable zombies, plus one Titan. It was a FAST kill for me. I'm used to whittling away at a life total for a turn or 7 before winning once I've established control. Nope. 2 turns, dead. I could get used to that.
Here's how game 2 went: He built up his forces fast with Birds of Paradise into Eldrazi spawn makers. I stem the bleeding a bit with Doom Blade and Journey to Nowhere while digging for Day of Judgements with Sea Gate Oracles.
He drops an Eldrazi Monument, then a Beastmaster's Ascension. Ouch.
The Ascension goes active and the board looks like this:
My side of the board - Elspeth at 6 loyalty, Venser at 5 Loyalty, Journey to Nowhere on his Emrakul's Hatcher, and 2 Sea Gate Oracles
His Board - Active Beastmaster's Ascension, Eldrazi Monument, which made his Birds of Paradise, and two Eldrazi Spawn into 6/7 flying indestructible monsters. He swings with the team and hits me from 20 down to 2.
My turn goes like this: Venser +2's himself, exiling himself for the turn, Elspeth Ultimates -5, destroying all other non-token permanents including Eldrazi Monument, Ascension, and my own Sea Gate Oracles & Journey to Nowhere, returning his Emrakul's Hatcher and making three more spawn tokens, but not destroying his 2 eldrazi spawn, because they are tokens and indestructible, or his Birds of Paradise which was also indestructible. Elspeth is sitting at 1 loyalty, now and he has 1 Birds, 5 Spawn, and 1 Emrakul's Hatcher, with me at 2 life. I then cast (with my eight mana) Contagion Engine, wiping the board of the spawn and Birds thanks to -1/-1 counters, and Doom Blade the Hatcher. I end my turn, Venser returns himself to play and his board is empty, and mine has 2 Walkers and a contagion engine. Yeah I won that one. I still can't believe that happened.
Round 2 - Dean - RDW
4-0 in games 2-0 in matches
Both games are pretty similar. He keeps hands light on creatures, and my inquisitions show up to ruin his day. He is stuck unable to put on any pressure while I build my board to the point he can't win.
Round 3 - Rocco - Grindclock/Infect
6-0 in games 3-0 in matches
He plays Grindclock early both games which I ignore. He plays stuff that I counter or kill, and then I win with Grave Titan. Yeah a second Grave Titan is going in.
Round 4 - Joey - My Valakut Ramp deck (and me with no Leyline of Sanctity in the board)
Intentional Draw into top 8. Yay! I suspect I'd have lost this game unless Joey really played badly and let me counter something relevant, but if he played smart, which he almost always does, I'd die. So I was happy to tie my way to an undefeated record.
6-0 in games 3-0-1 in matches
Top 8
Quarter Finals - Dave - Allies (Naya?)
8-1 in games 4-0-1 in matches.
He destroys me game 1 when he wins the die roll and has a nut draw. I was dead by turn 4.
Games 2 and 3 both take a while and involve a lot of removal on my part and then a mix of finishers from Baneslayer Angel to Gideon Jura and Celestial Colonnade. I was really sweating this match, as the Allies deck has so many ways to just win out of nowhere.
Semi Finals - Nick - U/B Control (Nick, Thanks for trading me the Grave Titan before the tournament, and lending me the two marsh flats. Sorry I beat your face in with them.)
10-2 in games 5-0-1 in matches
Duress and Inquisition really proved their worth in these games. They allowed me to trade one card and one mana for full knowledge of their hand or for a counterspell and some tapped mana on his side of the board. This usually allowed me to stick a Venser, and ride it to victory. I am an awful dog to his deck game on, as I have a ton of dead cards (Umm Doom Blade your Sea Gate Oracle, because it's the only target for it in your entire deck... yeah, sure), but after board the match-up goes back the other way, leaving me a bit favored. Luminarch Ascension really shines in this match, as if it gets active I win. This means that the U/B player needs to spend time, cards and mana to deal with the ascension, which allows me to land and protect other threats easier. I won the second two games with Grave Titan beats, while he was still trying to find ways around my ascension going active.
Finals
Draw with my first round opponent so we can both get the same promo card as a prize (foil Everflowing Chalice) and go home.
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