P9 Mox Jet 2010

Hi everyone, I am sorry to report that my camera totally failed on me and so I will not be able to provide pictures from this event :(

I have, however, prepared my usual rockin report for you to read!

Round 1: Eric Campusano (Green/Blue/White Fish)

He wins the die roll, and mulligans to 6, while I keep my 7. He has turn 1 lotus, land, null rod, goyf! Ouch!

I topdeck an Oath of Druids, and know this will be an easy game however, as on my turn 2, I play oath, he forces, and I force back to make it resolve. On turn 3, I oath out Hellkite and swing, and the game is over shortly.

Sideboarding: In: Tinker, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Pyroblast x3, Out: Imperial Seal (this turned out to be a common theme), Hurkyll's Recall, Ancient Grudge, Hellkite Overlord, Spell Pierce

Game 2 is similar, as he has turn 1 Null Rod, and my hand was full of artifacts and artifact mana. We're both stuck with nothing to do for a little while. We fight a counterwar over both of us mystical tutoring for ancestral, but I win and draw some extra cards. Eventually, with him still unable to do anything, I play an oath, I think. He might have conceded when I was about to play it though.

Eric 0, Ryan 2

Round 2: Peter Leou (Belcher)

He has turn 1 belcher and 3 mana to use it. I punt this game by just not realizing that I can merchant scroll with my black lotus and play hurkyll's recall on him. Oops.

Sideboarding: In: Nature's Claimx2, Rack and Ruin, Pithing Needle, Out: Hellkite Overlord, Imperial Seal, Mystical Tutor, Fire/Ice

I have control of game 2 from the start, with turn 1 thoughtsieze on black lotus, leaving him with only a spirit guide and land grant for mana. When he land grants, I force of will it. Then I play oath, get Iona (green), and the game is over.

In game 3 I side in Tinker and take out 1 Thoughtsieze, and he starts with mox ruby, spirit guide, manamorphose, chromatic star, rite of flame, manamorphose, Lion's Eye Diamond, go. I guess he ran out of steam unexpectedly. On my turn I get to thoughtsieze him and take his Tinder Wall. He tries to play some cool hybrid counterspell on my ancestral, but I spell pierce it through, and I assemble vault-key on turn 4.

Peter 1, Ryan 2

2-0 matches

I'm feeling pretty good going into round 3, which unfortunately is against Corey Redmond, who always has some interesting new deck to trouble me.

Round 3: Corey Redmond (Remora Coatl Control)

In game 1, he has a turn 1 library of alexandria. I can't find my strip mine or my library in 2 impulses + a brainstorm and I never come back from his card advantage as he counters every single spell I play.

Sideboard: In: Pyroblast x3 Out: Fire/Ice, Hurkyll's Recall, Spell Pierce

Game 2 goes much the same, but with remora instead of library of alexandria. I don't resolve a single spell except for 2 oaths, which he has nature's claim for.

Corey 2, Ryan 0

2-1 matches

After a demoralizing round 3, I'm ready for... the Oath mirror! My favorite!

Round 4: Roger Gao (oath with Inkwell)

In game 1 I gamble by keeping a 0 land hand with mox sapphire and brainstorm, and don't see a land! Ever! Fortunately, he makes the mistake of playing oath with no orchard out and then tinkering out his inkwell leviathan. I oath up hellkite overlord and successfully race him.

Sideboarding: Out: Oath x4, Hellkite Overlord, Hurkyll's Recall In: Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Tinker, Sphinx, Pyroblast x3

In game 2, we both thoughtsize each other a few times and the first interesting thing to happen is when he plays oath of druids on turn 8. At that time, he had 2 orchards, and I had 1 in play and 1 in hand. I keep orchard parity with him, and then play Vampiric Tutor for orchard #3. With my orchard superiority I am able to oath out sphinx and win.

Roger 0, Ryan 2

3-1 matches

Round 5: David Ochoa ("The Deck"?)

In game 1, he counters my oath, compulsive researches twice, but can't seem to find a land. I ancient grudge his mana crypt and mox saaphire and keep him off of any really important spells so that I can resolve my turn 6 oath. Hellkite goes the distance shortly.

Sideboarding: In: Pyro x3, Sphinx, Tinker, Out: Fire/Ice, Hellkite Overlord, Hurkyll's Recall, Thoughtsize, and a card I don't remember.

Game 2 is very much his game, as he destroys all my moxes with ancient grudge and all my lands with wasteland thanks to Life from the Loam. I eventually resolve an oath, but he has ray of revelation ready. On turn 12 he plays yawgmoth's will and leyline/helms me.

In game 3, I start with thoughtsieze on his compulsive research leaving yawgmoth's will, ponder, mana crypt, and some lands. Then I ancestral on my turn 2, but he has spell pierce topdeck ftw. Guess I played right into that one. On turn 4, I resolve an oath through a hardcast force of will with the help of spell pierce. I oath out a sphinx and while he plays leyline and destroys my oath, he can't find helm fast enough to kill me and sphinx goes the distance.

David 1, Ryan 2

4-1 matches

aaaaaaaaaaaand, I'm into the top 4!

Top 4: Matt Kurtin ("The Deck"?)

He mulls to 6, I keep 7. He has turn 1 land, mox, demonic tutor. I have turn 1 Land, Black lotus. He plays turn 1 time vault, I spell pierce, he forces. It resolves. He plays voltaic key, but I sacrifice my lotus, brainstorm, and impulse, find a force of will, and counter it.

I have turn 2 ponder and sensei's top. I get a key and draw a few extra cards, but Nothing happens until his turn 6 when he plays dark confidant. Then I play oath. He draws an extra card, but it doesn't save him from Iona on blue cards. I seal the deal early with a time walk.

Sideboarding: Don't remember but it involved putting in 3 pyroblasts and a sphinx.

Game 2 starts with an ancestral from him and some artifacts. I have land, moxes, and an oath, but he forces. I play oath #2 next turn, but he mana drains it. He has a thirst to find him a trygon, but I destroy it with a pyroblast. Then I play oath #3, which sticks, but I don't have an orchard yet. He vampiric tutors up a voltaic key with no time vault, and when he plays gifts ungiven, I force it after a thirst for knowledge of my own.

Eventually I imperial seal up an orchard, which I use to hardcast Sphinx of the Steel Wind from my hand! He counters the sphinx and then plays krosan grip on oath. On his next turn, he plays tezz to get the vault to go with his key.

In game 3, judge Ryan Reynolds happens to count my sideboard, which happens to be 14 cards! My maindeck, as it turns out, is 61 cards, so I am ignominiously knocked out of the tournament with a game 3 game loss penalty.

All in all, I'd call this tournament a success. I'm pleased with my inclusion of imperial seal, as the extra tutor power allowed me to find key cards several times in this tournament. Perhaps I should have more closely followed the netdecks I saw and played more impulses and less spell pierces, as spell pierce was dead to me more often than not, however. If I were to do it all over again I would definitely change over 1 pierce to an impulse. Possibly 2. I never got to see my library of alexandria, so I don't know how good that would have been for me, but i have a feeling that in several of my matchups (rounds 3-5 and top 4), it could have been very useful. Here's to hoping I don't screw myself out of the semifinals next time!