SOI Standard Poor-Man Challenge: Final Round Results

Deck Challenges

zandl

19 June 2016

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zandl's challenge by tempest
      versus
U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw

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Results Show

DarkLaw (2)   vs.   tempest (0)

Game 1 Show

Tempest’s Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip on turn-two met its demise with Grasp of Darkness, leading into a series of substantial gains in tempo for Darklaw. A pair of Void Shatters and a Pore Over the Pages let Darklaw reach closer and closer to a Rise from the Tides. Tempest cast (and resolved) a Bane of Bala Ged, but eight Zombie tokens were generated on the pass and Tempest couldn’t fight through them to win even with a free hit. Grip of Desolation off the top for DarkLaw on the following turn was a guaranteed victory.

Game 2 Show

Blisterpod and Sludge Crawler led the game for tempest but both copies of Dominator Drone were countered on the third and fourth turns. Without much in the way of speed anymore, Tempest could only keep swinging for minimal points of damage and hope a Bane of Bala Ged would stick to the board. Darklaw’s deck was firing on all cylinders, though, drawing cards and setting up for a large Rise from the Tides. As in the first game, Tempest’s Bane hit the board and stuck, but Darklaw’s Zombie legion outweighed it manifold.

Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95
      versus
Wasting my Time by CaptainLick

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Results Show

Nobueno95 (2)   vs.   CaptainLick (0)

Game 1 Show

Captain’s opening hand efficiently dealt with a pair of Faerie Miscreants and an Eldrazi Skyspawner, but a punishing Reflector Mage on Kozilek's Channeler threw off the tempo. NoBueno continued to flood the board with small creatures as Captain had no plays and the game ended as simply as that.

Game 2 Show

Captain found some more stable footing this game and dealt with all of NoBueno’s larger flyers as they came out. A turn-six Bane of Bala Ged was countered by a Silumgar Sorcerer, though, and things started turning around. The damage was adding up from the little flyers Captain didn’t have removal for. After taking a few turns to dig and search for bombs, not even two copies of Bane of Bala Ged was fast enough to break through NoBueno’s chump-blockers in time to steal the game back.

zandl's challenge by tempest
      versus
Black-red Crazy poor vampires by amerishin

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Results Show

amerishin (2)   vs.   tempest (0)

Game 1 Show

Amerishin’s opener of Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip met a Visions of Brutality, but Amerishin’s following play of Twins of Maurer Estate off of madness was a far more brutal. Amerishin swung in with the Heir to the Night  ^Flip regardless of taking damage right back and Tempest’s Catacomb Sifters couldn’t do much to stop it. A Dominator Drone popped up for Tempest, but the card couldn’t offer much defensive strength. Without an answer to the Heir and a new Olivia's Bloodsworn, the game was soon over.

Game 2 Show

To add insult to injury, Amerishin’s opener was again an Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip into Twins of Maurer Estate. Tempest had a turn-four Oblivion Strike for the Heir (on the play) but had trouble keeping creatures on the board long enough to see value out of them. In each subsequent turn of the game, Amerishin had either removal or a Voldaren Duelist to keep the pressure on. With no way to cast the Bane of Bala Ged stuck in-hand, Tempest was out of options for defense. Even if Amerishin had started falling behind, a Call the Bloodline was just getting warmed up by the time Tempest was burned out of the game by Fiery Temper.

Black-red Crazy poor vampires by amerishin
      versus
Because even paupers like control by tpmains

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Results Show

amerishin (2)   vs.   tpmains (1)

Game 1 Show

After a very long and grindy game, Amerishin managed to prove that haste is indeed strong against control. TP was keeping the board contained with a couple spells per turn most of the time, but Olivia's Bloodsworn, Incorrigible Youths, and Voldaren Duelist were punishing topdecks. Possessed Skaab was a decent blocker and retrieved a Complete Disregard, but TP’s own topdecks weren’t lining up too well beyond this. A slew of counterspells started popping up when answers to existing threats were needed and TP couldn’t hold back the pressure any longer.

Game 2 Show

TP did a fantastic job of whittling down Amerishin’s resources with repeated card-draw and the value of Possessed Skaab despite a fairly aggressive start from Amerishin. Ulamog's Nullifiers were beginning to come down and took advantage of Amerishin’s topdeck status, countering a new spell each turn. The beats in the air were tough for Amerishin to recover from and TP was too far ahead in this game for haste be of any concern.

Game 3 Show

TP was taking damage from a first-turn Insolent Neonate for quite a few turns as Amerishin’s larger threats required more immediate answers. By the time TP got around to dealing with the Neonate, it had already dealt six damage. TP was catching up with Ulamog's Nullifier and everything seemed to be decided until a Call the Bloodline hit the board and Amerishin found a Stensia Masquerade the next turn. The tokens were stacking up as TP was stuck drawing into now-irrelevant countermagic. They soon broke through the Nullifier and nothing could be done to stop it.

U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw
      versus
Wasting my Time by CaptainLick

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Results Show

CaptainLick (2)   vs.   DarkLaw (0)

Game 1 Show

In an impressive showdown, Captain brought the threats to the table early on with a Hedron Crawler and Warden of Geometries before the fourth turn. A Bane of Bala Ged attacked and traded with a Perfected Form  ^Flip, but Darklaw ensured there would still be enough lands to cast Rise from the Tides. Captain cast a Walker of the Wastes as a 9/9 (with the Warden of Geometries still kickin’), with Darklaw at 12 life. After making a hefty amount of Zombies (just barely enough to stabilize), Captain untapped and drew the sixth Wastes to trample through for exactly lethal damage.

Game 2 Show

Darklaw was off to a promising start with plenty of removal and a Pore Over the Pages on the fifth turn to find more draw power. Over time, though, it was becoming painfully apparent that Rise from the Tides had not yet been drawn. In the meantime, Seer's Lantern was smoothing out Captain’s draws and digging deeper to find more threats. Darklaw’s Blighted Fen was the last line of defense against a lone Bane of Bala Ged, but Warping Wail flashed in a Scion token to take the fall instead. Darklaw luckily drew into Grip of Desolation, but nothing else came up afterward. A freshly scried Walker of the Wastes landed on the following turn and bashed in twice to end the game.

Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

Nobueno95 (2)   vs.   Wee_Dragonaut (0)

Game 1 Show

Dragonaut’s opening play of Prophet of Distortion into Tide Drifter was disrupted by Horribly Awry. NoBueno hit the Prophet with a Silkwrap and slammed a pair of Whirler Rogues onto the board. Dragonaut cast a Ruination Guide and a Salvage Drone, but there were too many blockers in the way. It seemed that for every creature Dragonaut was able to resolve, NoBueno was making two or three different ones at the same time. By going wide on the board and attacking around Dragonaut’s, NoBueno handily took the first game.

Game 2 Show

With no removal on either side at the beginning of the game, both decks built up considerably powerful boards but neither could risk an attack. Dragonaut began drawing cards with Prophet of Distortion on the stalled battlefield, but NoBueno’s second copy of Thunderclap Wyvern made life difficult. All at once, Dragonaut’s legion of tokens and ground-bound Eldrazi were traded off in an attempt to keep from dying. On the next turn, NoBueno drew into a Faerie Miscreant for a free card, which wound up being a third Wyvern. Dragonaut still hadn’t broken through for Ingest, meaning the Processor Assault stuck in the hand was dead weight. Not being able to efficiently trade with any of NoBueno’s creatures was ultimately Dragonaut’s downfall.

Black-red Crazy poor vampires by amerishin
      versus
Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95

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Results Show

Nobueno95 (2)   vs.   amerishin (0)

Game 1 Show

NoBueno’s early plays led to a pretty flooded board by the fifth turn. A Whirler Rogue was followed up by a Thunderclap Wyvern and Amerishin’s flying threats were soon outclassed. Though a Lightning Axe eventually dealt with the Wyvern, Amerishin simply couldn’t keep enough pressure on the board to outweigh NoBueno’s token generators. Call the Bloodline seemed to be Amerishin’s last hope, but there was still too much damage coming across for a little bit of lifelink to stabilize.

Game 2 Show

A turn-two Olivia's Bloodsworn found Stensia Masquerade on turn-three, letting Amerishin slip past a few 1/1 flyers. When NoBueno cast an Eldrazi Skyspawner, Amerishin struck back with Lightning Axe and a Fiery Temper at NoBueno’s face. Over time, though, Amerishin’s threats were mostly stuck on the ground while two copies of Expose Evil kept flying threats in check. NoBueno cast a Thunderclap Wyvern to get the party started a few turns down the road and a few flyers turned sideways while more remained back to block. Without a spell to deal with multiple threats at once and NoBueno’s cards granting more value than their cost, Amerishin could no longer contend.

Black-red Crazy poor vampires by amerishin
      versus
Wasting my Time by CaptainLick

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Results Show

amerishin (2)   vs.   CaptainLick (1)

Game 1 Show

Captain’s Spatial Contortion removed an Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip before Amerishin could untap and slam an Incorrigible Youths on turn-three. As Amerishin started building up the board again, Captain took some time to ramp as there was no removal to use. This window gave Amerishin the time to bash in with that Incorrigible Youths off of Call the Bloodline. Captain attempted to catch up with a Walker of the Wastes, but Voldaren Duelist pushed it out of the way. With no more removal and just a Hedron Crawler off the top, Captain was dead even with full blocks.

Game 2 Show

Captain’s turn-two Hedron Crawler met no resistance and was joined by a Warden of Geometries on the following turn. Amerishin’s first two draws of the game were both Vampire Envoy which were less than desirable cards by the time Walker of the Wastes came down. Still, some decent blocks were made with a Call the Bloodline and some "flashed-in" madness creatures. The Walker was destroyed (along with a handful of Amerishin’s creatures) and Captain didn’t initially have a followup threat. Amerishin took this opportunity to dig through the deck with Tormenting Voice with a Fiery Temper on the Warden, leaving Captain with only the Hedron Crawler. Without finding much in the way of pressure, though, the game shifted in Captain’s favor again as another Walker was drawn (now an 11/11 trample). There was simply nothing Amerishin could do about the behemoth and the game was over.

Game 3 Show

Amerishin’s opener on the play was the nuts: Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip into Incorrigible Youths for seven damage on turn-three. Captain missed the third land-drop but still had a Hedron Crawler to enable a Titan's Presence on the Youths the next turn. A Voldaren Duelist, however, had joined the fight and put Captain down into single-digits. The third land appeared, but Captain’s hand had become mostly mana-dorks since the beginning of the game. As it turned out, Amerishin had the win in Lightning Axe + Fiery Temper after untapping, anyways.

Because even paupers like control by tpmains
      versus
Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95

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Results Show

tpmains (2)   vs.   Nobueno95 (0)

Game 1 Show

NoBueno’s spells were under siege from the get-go. On the play, TP countered an Eldrazi Skyspawner with Horribly Awry and then proceeded to build up a decent hand as a single Faerie Miscreant pecked away for a number of turns. Eventually, NoBueno resolved a Whirler Rogue - but walked right into Flaying Tendrils. From here, there was just too much card-draw and countermagic for NoBueno to fight back. In the end, a pair of Ulamog's Nullifiers swung through the air unanswered and finished the game over a span of several turns.

Game 2 Show

A pair of Faerie Miscreants led the assault for NoBueno with an Eldrazi Skyspawner on turn-three, but Flaying Tendrils mopped it all up again. NoBueno tried to refuel with Whirler Rogue and another Miscreant, but TP had a second copy of Tendrils. From this point, NoBueno was stuck drawing one low-impact creature per turn as TP had all the time in the world to stack up a great hand and control the board entirely. NoBueno managed to fight off an Ulamog's Nullifier with Horribly Awry in response to a Thunderclap Wyvern being flashed in, but the small victory wouldn’t win the war. There was too much removal and TP never fell behind again.

U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw
      versus
Because even paupers like control by tpmains

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Results Show

DarkLaw (2)   vs.   tpmains (1)

Game 1 Show

Things were pretty quiet for most of the game while TP chipped away at Darklaw’s life total with an Eldrazi scion token off of Grave Birthing over several turns. Pretty exciting stuff, you guys. On turn-nine, Darklaw went for a big Rise from the Tides and it resolved with three mana still open for Void Shatter. Not to be intimidated, however, TP cast a Flaying Tendrils and another through the counterspell to clean up the board. From here, TP was largely running on fumes and all the spot removal, Spell Shrivel, and Horribly Awry that kept coming up were generally dead cards. It wasn’t long until Darklaw cast another Rise while TP had no hard-counter or a Tendrils.

Game 2 Show

Each deck traded off minimal resources throughout the first several turns of the game with no real gains being made by either. Over the course of about twenty turns or so, Darklaw tried waiting for a break in TP’s mana to resolve a Rise from the Tides, but almost all of TP’s deck was instant-speed. When a Rise did resolve, TP was just waiting on Flaying Tendrils with plenty of countermagic as a backup. Without a way to recur Rise or even dream of an Aberrant Researcher  ^Flip sticking to the board, Darklaw was backed into a corner and lost out when there were no cards left to draw.

Game 3 Show

On turn-six and having drawn two copies of Rise from the Tides in addition to the one in the opening hand, Darklaw went for it. TP countered it with Spell Shrivel, then Darklaw followed it up with the second copy. TP had a Void Shatter at the ready, but Darklaw’s third copy of the spell went off without a hitch with TP’s hand having shrunk significantly. Though Darklaw only gained five Zombie tokens ("only"), TP had no way to deal with them all. The card-draw just wasn’t showing up and, worse still, the only thing coming off the top was new countermagic. It took just three combat steps (after Oblivion Strike and Complete Disregard), but Darklaw came out on top.

zandl's challenge by tempest
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

Wee_Dragonaut (2)   vs.   tempest (0)

Game 1 Show

Both decks began with pretty aggressive curves involving Sludge Crawler and Catacomb Sifter for Tempest and Tide Drifter and Vile Aggregate for Dragonaut. One thing that was becoming apparent over the next few turns, though, was that Dragonaut’s creatures were all significantly more resilient than Tempest’s. Vile Aggregate, for example, became a 7/6 after a Whirler Rogue came down later in the game. Oblivion Strike was topdecked and took care of it before too much damage was done, but another Aggregate soon followed. Once Tempest walled up the ground, Dragonaut took to the air with Foundry of the Consuls and another Whirler Rogue, bashing in with a legion of Thopters until the game was over. Tempest’s little creatures, namely Blisterpod and Sludge Crawler, had very little relevance by this point.

Game 2 Show

Again, Tempest’s early plays were quickly outclassed by the likes of Tide Drifter, Vile Aggregate, and Whirler Rogue. The Rogue’s ability allowed the Aggregate to swing in past a couple Sludge Crawlers and a Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip on the fourth turn. Without a way for Tempest to make any advantageous attacks in retaliation, Tempest suited up for a defensive game. Oblivion Strike eliminated the Vile Aggregate and Ultimate Price killed off the Whirler Rogue (the only target in the deck for it), but each of Dragonaut’s subsequent creatures either put out multiple bodies or made the rest stronger. Tempest’s more aggressive creatures popped up but couldn’t do anything to change the predicament. Dragonaut wound up winning with a swing through the air on the back of a few 2/2 Thopters.

Black-red Crazy poor vampires by amerishin
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

Wee_Dragonaut (2)   vs.   amerishin (0)

Game 1 Show

Amerishin’s turn-two Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip was warped by Spatial Contortion on the transform activation as it tried to go over a Tide Drifter. Dragonaut followed up with a Vile Aggregate and a Ruination Guide the turn after. Amerishin was stuck with some aggressive creatures but nowhere to aim them, as Dragonaut controlled a 1/5, a 3/3, and a 4/6. Call the Bloodline was doing what it could by nuking the Guide with Fiery Temper, but there was simply no removal drawn at the right time to kill off the Aggregate. Amerishin was backed into a bad corner and had to nuke the Tide Drifter while hoping to draw into another Lightning Axe, but it didn’t come.

Game 2 Show

Amerishin’s first-turn Insolent Neonate allowed for a third-turn Incorrigible Youths, putting quite a bit of pressure on Dragonaut. Tide Drifter and its big butt, though, denied a Voldaren Duelist any relevance after its initial attack. From here, some well-placed removal dealt with Amerishin’s flying threats while each card coming up either improved Dragonaut’s board or made it larger. Call the Bloodline, again, provided no late-game strength as Dragonaut’s board of hard-hitting, ever-growing creatures just went over the top of it.

zandl's challenge by tempest
      versus
Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95

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Results Show

Nobueno95 (2)   vs.   tempest (0)

Game 1 Show

Tempest laid out a grindy game plan with Catacomb Sifters and a Dominator Drone, but the ground-bound creatures were soon walled up by Reflector Mage, a pair of Eldrazi Scion tokens, and a pair of Whirler Rogues. Tempest’s draws were largely lands, Sludge Crawler, and a more ground-based, small creatures. NoBueno, on the other hand, was drawing into Foundry of the Consuls and multiple copies of Thunderclap Wyvern. The Wyverns were dealt with through Oblivion Strike, but their buffs on the turns they were played wound up being the problem. Without a way to remove the Wyverns at instant-speed, Tempest could only watch as a legion of buffed Thopter tokens swung in each turn and took the game over.

Game 2 Show

NoBueno’s Faerie Miscreant soon found a friend and led into a turn-three Reflector Mage on Sludge Crawler, tripping up Tempest’s plans at that point. Tempest’s Catacomb Sifter couldn’t attack through the Mage, so it sat on the board in an awkward spot. NoBueno kept alternating creatures with flying and non-flying, gumming up the board but taking advantage of Tempest’s lack of sweeping removal. The Faeries had been bashing in for damage each turn, putting Tempest down to 10 life in a relatively short amount of time. From here, NoBueno’s amassed more flying threats as Tempest couldn’t reach up to stop them nor break through a growing board of blockers.

U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw
      versus
Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95

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Results Show

Nobueno95 (2)   vs.   DarkLaw (1)

Game 1 Show

NoBueno began with a Faerie Miscreant into another with an Eldrazi Skyspawner on turn-three. Darklaw was sitting on an Ultimate Price (which went to the one of the Faeries as other removal wasn’t appearing, to offset the clock) and a Void Shatter that took down an attempted Whirler Rogue. Darklaw drew with Pore Over the Pages but couldn’t find too much beyond Grasp of Darkness. The biggest issue for Darklaw was that NoBueno’s creatures were generating more and more tokens each turn. Without Flaying Tendrils or another way to break up the assault, Darklaw lost before turn-seven.

Game 2 Show

NoBueno got off to a rocky start after missing a fourth land for a number of turns, stuck on Whirler Rogue and Thunderclap Wyvern. A Reflector Mage, of all things, was quite the pain for Darklaw with only Ultimate Price and Grip of Desolation at the time. It swung in each turn and was beginning to make things a bit more dire for Darklaw, who was still far head on lands. The Grip eventually tore through the Mage and ate NoBueno’s only white source, leaving the battlefield heavily lopsided. NoBueno simply couldn’t recover before a big Rise from the Tides came down a few turns later and ended it all.

Game 3 Show

In this game, Darklaw was the one having land troubles. The biggest problem was that Darklaw’s deck contained a lot of card selection but lacked a way to actually find land-drops before Pore Over the Pages could dig for them. NoBueno wound up getting pretty land-flooded, though it’s always better to have too many lands than not enough. Darklaw was having trouble with NoBueno’s Reflector Mages, especially when Aberrant Researcher  ^Flip was the only play to be made. The constant chipping away at Darklaw’s life was all NoBueno needed as the game remained largely suspended between a land-flooded player and a land-screwed one.

U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

DarkLaw (2)   vs.   Wee_Dragonaut (1)

Game 1 Show

Dragonaut’s Tide Drifter on the play snuck by a Clash of Wills and landed on the board with a resounding thud. That counterspell hit a turn-three Vile Aggregate, but Dragonaut followed up with another copy. Now only with Ultimate Price and single Grasp of Darkness in-hand, the subtle holes in Darklaw’s removal package became evident. A few more of Dragonauts spells were countered, but Foundry of the Consuls fueled the flames for the remainder of the game as Darklaw was again missing land-drops.

Game 2 Show

Without an aggressive start as seen in the first game, Dragonaut was simply at the mercy of Darklaw’s counterspells. Lands were showing up for Darklaw this time around and Rise from the Tides made its appearance on turn-six, racking up an army of Zombie tokens. Dragonaut’s draws started lining up with Tide Drifter, Whirler Rogue, and Vile Aggregate, but it was too late. With two copies of Grip of Desolation at the ready, Darklaw was able to take out Dragonaut’s red sources and remove the most problematic creatures each turn. There were some decent blocks for a few turns, but nothing could ultimately be done about the Zombies.

Game 3 Show

Dragonaut’s Salvage Drone and Prophet of Distortion were caught up in a turn-three Flaying Tendrils with a Ruination Guide being shredded by Grasp of Darkness the turn after. Dragonaut’s topdecked Vile Aggregate was now a sad, lonely Eldrazi. Darklaw capitalized on the momentum boost by casting Rise from the Tides on turn-six and another right after, leaving Dragonaut largely in the dust and the game in Darklaw’s favor handily.

Because even paupers like control by tpmains
      versus
Wasting my Time by CaptainLick

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Results Show

tpmains (2)   vs.   CaptainLick (1)

Game 1 Show

TP seemed to fall into a bout of bad luck after an Anticipate revealed only lands. To make thing worse, two copies of Ulamog's Nullifier came up right after with only a single Spell Shrivel to exile cards. The counterspell went after a Kozilek's Channeler as a Warden of Geometries had already bashed in once, but the followup Bane of Bala Ged had no answer whatsoever. With just lands and Nullifiers in-hand, TP never stood a chance.

Game 2 Show

On the play this time around and with some smoother draws TP, was easily able to exile a Warden of Geometries with Complete Disregard. Captain’s Walker of the Wastes was hit by Void Shatter, and the next copy of Walker was countered by Ulamog's Nullifier. From here, Captain was able to stick a few small creatures, but TP’s Nullifier (joined later by a second) was simply doing more damage. Captain couldn’t find a Spatial Contortion to even the odds and the game was over.

Game 3 Show

Similar to the previous game, TP tripped up Captain’s early-game plays. After a turn-two Hedron Crawler, Transgress the Mind stole a Warden of Geometries and provided TP with perfect information. Over the next several turns, Captain struggled to find relevant spells and TP built up a refined hand of control. Captain had found four or five big threats over several turns, but every single one was countered efficiently. A pair of Ulamog's Nullifiers swung in through the air (with even Spatial Contortion getting hit by Void Shatter). Captain just couldn’t get anything to resolve in topdeck mode through TP’s recurring countermagic and the game was over.

Because even paupers like control by tpmains
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

Wee_Dragonaut (2)   vs.   tpmains (1)

Game 1 Show

Without seeing a Tide Drifter, Dragonaut’s Prophet of Distortion and Whirler Rogue + tokens were all swept away by a Flaying Tendrils. A follow-up Ruination Guide was hit by Complete Disregard and a Vile Aggregate was countered. Without any more pressure and drawing into Spatial Contortion without a colorless land, Dragonaut couldn’t do anything. TP bashed in over several turns with an Ulamog's Nullifier and there was enough card-draw to keep a counterspell or two open each turn for the remainder of the game.

Game 2 Show

Dragonaut’s aggressive, tricky curve of Prophet of Distortion into Tide Drifter and Ruination Guide gave TP a lot of grief. Oblivion Strike took out the Guide, but there wasn’t any removal that could deal with the Tide Drifter which was preventing Flaying Tendrils. Dragonaut found two more copies of Prophet of Distortion and put TP into a bad spot. In the end, even with some Ulamog's Nullifiers flashing onto the board to block, Dragonaut still had lethal damage through Spatial Contortion on the Drifter.

Game 3 Show

TP’s opening hand easily dispatched a pair of Kozilek's Sentinels and a Ruination Guide, but more lands were being drawn despite the modest deck-thinning of two copies of Evolving Wilds. A Whirler Rogue stuck to the board and the beats began as TP was still drawing lands. Anticipate for TP revealed nothing but another land and two counterspells, further cementing the fact that the game was leaning in Dragonaut’s favor. With a Prophet of Distortion now beginning to rack up new cards for Dragonaut, TP was simply too far behind to catch up.

U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw
      versus
Black-red Crazy poor vampires by amerishin

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Results Show

DarkLaw (2)   vs.   amerishin (0)

Game 1 Show

Amerishin began with an Insolent Neonate into Incorrigible Youths on turn-three, but Darklaw’s Grasp of Darkness was waiting in the wings. Missing out on a sac-outlet in Lightning Axe, Amerishin was stuck on a number of expensive spells that didn’t have a whole lot of relevance here in the first place. Darklaw was drawing more and more removal as Amerishin had to wait until turn-five just to hard-cast a Twins of Maurer Estate, by which point Rise from the Tides brought a legion of Zombie tokens to the battlefield. Amerishin was able to use those Axes at that point, bringing in another copy of Twins to block, but there were far too many Zombies to hold back between this turn and the next.

Game 2 Show

The efficient removal from Darklaw in the form of Ultimate Price and Grasp of Darkness presented a lot of problems for Amerishin. The only creatures that could really stick to the board were Insolent Neonates as everything else was destroyed at instant-speed. Lightning Axe, again, was essentially a dead card and collected dust in Amerishin’s hand. A Call the Bloodline was a welcome sight and managed to generate a couple Vampire Knights before Darklaw untapped and cast a Rise on turn-six to generate nine Zombies. The lack of sweeping removal in the deck forced Amerishin to throw down spot-removal on Zombies to no real end. The flood of tokens from Darklaw outclassed Call the Bloodline quickly and Amerishin couldn’t prevent it.

Wasting my Time by CaptainLick
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

Wee_Dragonaut (2)   vs.   CaptainLick (1)

Game 1 Show

Dragonaut began with a Kozilek's Sentinel that was immediately exiled by Warping Wail. A follow-up Eldrazi Skyspawner was suddenly staring down an 8/8 Walker of the Wastes thanks to Seer's Lantern for ramp. Dragonaut did cast two copies of Tide Drifter on the following turn, but no answers to the growing threat were present. A few more small creatures (i.e. Kozilek's Sentinel and Prophet of Distortion) came up while Dragonaut struggled to find anything to remove the Walker with or match its size. When it came time for Dragonaut to start blocking, there were still no cards exiled for Processor Assault to work and only a little power on the board to attack with each turn. Spatial Contortion on the 11/11 Walker acted as a Giant Growth and Captain pushed two points of damage over a pair of Tide Drifters to win the game.

Game 2 Show

Captain hit a Ruination Guide with Spatial Contortion to keep from taking too much damage early on, but missing a third land on the draw was obviously detrimental. The leap in tempo favored Dragonaut greatly, allowing for a Vile Aggregate to show up to the party. Though Captain cast a Seer's Lantern with a third Wastes off the top, the subsequent Walker of the Wastes just couldn’t block enough of the wide army that Dragonaut had constructed in a short amount of time.

Game 3 Show

Though Spatial Contortion and Warping Wail helped confine Dragonaut’s board to just a single Prophet of Distortion for the first few turns, Captain was running out of control. Dragonaut kept drawing into Whirler Rogues and Vile Aggregates while Captain was finding mana-dorks and lands. Dragonaut recovered from the early turns of the game and was drawing extra cards from the Prophet whenever there was enough mana left over. Captain couldn’t find any spell to deal with multiple threats at once and Dragonaut won by going wide and punishing awkward draws.

zandl's challenge by tempest
      versus
Because even paupers like control by tpmains

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Results Show

tempest (2)   vs.   tpmains (0)

Game 1 Show

Though a Sludge Crawler was getting the party started, TP killed it, a Blisterpod, and a Dominator Drone on turn-3. A follow-up Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip was exiled by Complete Disregard, but Tempest capitalized on TP tapping out to cast a Catacomb Sifter. TP couldn’t immediately deal with the creature (or its token), and was bashed repeatedly by it. The draws weren’t coming together too well for TP, as evidenced by a Possessed Skaab needing to recur a Complete Disregard. This window let Tempest cast a Baloth Null, and all bets were off. TP was just drawing into countermagic and lands while Tempest swung through for slow-but-steady damage each turn.

Game 2 Show

Without much removal and seeing some painfully awkward cards off of Anticipate, TP was stuck with more countermagic in-hand as Tempest lived the dream with a Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip. A pair of Sludge Crawlers were the perfect complement to the Werewolf, allowing Tempest to use available mana efficiently while not casting spells. TP’s draws never really came together and the much-needed Flaying Tendrils refused to appear. Tempest’s Catacomb Sifter joined the party and TP was dead the following turn.

zandl's challenge by tempest
      versus
Wasting my Time by CaptainLick

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Results Show

CaptainLick (2)   vs.   tempest (1)

Game 1 Show

Captain was able to deal with Tempest’s early creatures relatively easily but a pair of Dominator Drones eventually broke out and started wreaking havoc. A turn-five Catacomb Sifter led into a turn-six Bane of Bala Ged, though Captain was beginning to cast more substantial threats, too. As both players gummed up the board with a volley of powerful creatures, the deciding factor in the game’s outcome became Tempest’s more versatile removal. Warping Wail, Spatial Contortion, and Titan's Presence couldn’t do much to a Bane, but Tempest’s Oblivion Strike and even Visions of Brutality were highly effective. Captain fell behind on board presence and the pressure that had been held back was suddenly let loose.

Game 2 Show

Both decks were able to neutralize each other’s threats at the expense of a lot of resources from both sides. By turn-seven, Tempest seemed to be gaining the upper hand on the battlefield, but a Seer's Lantern was digging deep and finding Captain some new toys to play with. When one player would jam a huge creature, the other would follow it up with one of their own. This pattern continued for a few turns until Captain controlled three different copies of Walker of the Wastes at 11/11. Tempest, whose only removal was Ultimate Price at this point, had no possible way to prevent 33 trample damage from steamrolling through town. Captain handily finished this game on that turn.

Game 3 Show

Tempest’s aggressive line of Sludge Crawler into Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip and Dominator Drone was abruptly halted by a turn-four Walker of the Wastes from Captain. Without an Oblivion Strike to level the behemoth, Tempest could only either attack through it (and not make much progress) or try to flood the board with all the one-drop creatures that were coming up. A full playset of Blisterpod was drawn, but the lack of value they brought to the table was apparent in the shadow of a growing Walker. Tempest was forced to block with everything when the Walker turned sideways a second time, but the +3/-3 from Captain’s Spatial Contortion actually proved to be lethal.

Thank you for coming with me on this journey. The community we’re a part of is truly unique and it’s your participation in these events that makes TappedOut such an outstanding community to be a part of.

As always, happy tapping, players!
zandl

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