SOI Standard Poor-Man Challenge: Round 2, Part 1 Results

Deck Challenges

zandl

19 May 2016

546 views

These soldiers couldn't afford much... by aramlet
      versus
Rise from the Tides! UR Budget Build by PhnxLdr

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Results Show

PhnxLdr (2)   vs.   aramlet (0)

Game 1 Show

Aramlet’s opener of Blood-Cursed Knight into Blessed Spirits and Gryff's Boon was met by a Lightning Axe with Fiery Temper being discarded. The hit to Aramlet’s strategy was detrimental, keeping much of anything from going on over the next few turns without a new creature to cast. All this time let Phnx build up to a big Rise from the Tides by using things like Catalog and Tormenting Voice to efficiently and quickly stuff the graveyard with spells. Rise generated seven Zombies and Phnx even still had another Lightning Axe to take out a second Blood-Cursed Knight before it could connect.

Game 2 Show

Similarly to the first game, Aramlet had a fair bit of trouble getting any creature to stick to the board long enough to buff it out of burn range. Right up to turn-6, Phnx burned and countered everything that landed. From there, Rise from the Tides turned the game into a runaway. Part of the problem, I think, was that Aramlet’s creatures all cost 3-4 mana. While the Auras cost less, those mid-game turns (4-6) are right where Phnx’s deck excels at controlling the board. Casting spells off of Madness occurred easily here and cheap burn spells paired well with Catalog and Clash of Wills. The minor but constant tempo swings in Phnx’s favor were what won the match.

Red Black Pauper by jacobpetersen23
      versus
aristocrats-in-black-soi-poormans-challenge by Saturn999

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Results Show

Saturn999 (2)   vs.   jacobpetersen23 (1)

Game 1 Show

Jacob began with a rather aggressive start, utilizing Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip’s ability to turn on a Fiery Temper and keep Saturn off of two different copies of Kalastria Healer. A Voldaren Duelist put a lot of pressure Saturn very quickly, though Sanitarium Skeleton off the top presented a number of tantalizing options. The best one involved casting the Skeleton, sacrificing it to Bone Splinters right away to kill the Heir to the Night  ^Flip, and sitting on a few blockers. As it turned out, Jacob was sitting on just a few more low-impact creatures (Village Messenger  ^Flip, namely). They were cast but no good attacks were to be made. Nantuko Husk hit the board, essentially ending all ground combat. The Skeleton ground out value over the next several turns with Altar's Reap and more Bone Splinters, giving Saturn the upper hand and ultimately finishing the game out.

Game 2 Show

Santurn’s deck seemed to turn a bit on its own strategy, presenting too many card that needed to sacrifice a creature to be effective. Fleshbag Marauders and Qarsi Sadists kept piling up in the hand next to Bone Splinters and Altar's Reap, the missing link being (of course) Sanitarium Skeleton. However, Jacob’s creatures necessitated Saturn to play blockers and miss out on bits and pieces of value over the course of the game. Without something to repeatedly sacrifice to all of these spells, a board presence couldn’t be actualized and Saturn fell.

Game 3 Show

Saturn’s start with a Shambling Goblin was improved drastically by a turn-3 Qarsi Sadist, which exploited it for the life-drain and let Saturn kill an Olivia's Bloodsworn. From here, Saturn’s Sanitarium Skeleton made itself useful with Bone Splinters to kill a follow-up Incorrigible Youths off a turn-1 Insolent Neonate. Though Jacob got some good hits in, Saturn quickly gained control of the board. As lands piled up on both sides, the Skeleton’s value increased even further as a Nantuko Husk came up. Jacob had no answers to the Husk in the deck aside from hoping Fiery Temper would get the job done. Saturn used the Skeleton to constantly give the Husk a huge buff, allowing spells like Altar's Reap and Fleshbag Marauder to just sit in the hand in case they were needed. Jacob fell far behind on card advantage and couldn’t keep up against Saturn’s perpetual value.

the-monks-enlightenment by libraryjoy
      versus
Mysterious Ramp by tulse

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Results Show

tulse (2)   vs.   libraryjoy (1)

Game 1 Show

Joy’s Expedition Envoy found a Gryff's Boon and Glaring Aegis on turn-2, letting it swing right over a fresh Jaddi Offshoot for 4 damage. Tulse managed to keep it bound up for several turns in a row through Skyline Cascade and Press for Answers while gaining life off of a Graf Mole, but couldn’t find a permanent answer to it. With no bounce spells or other ways to remove the Envoy from the board, Tulse was in deep doo-doo when Battle Mastery showed up. More life was gained and a Plated Crusher even joined the race, but the Envoy was still growing as it flew in for 14 damage on the last turn of the game.

Game 2 Show

Tulse had a much stronger curve in this game, allowing for a lot of control over Joy’s pair of Expedition Envoys. Silkwrap entangled a Jaddi Offshoot (which, I can only assume, looked like a tree wrapped in sheets), but Tulse was not phased. Skyline Cascade, Press for Answers, and Adverse Conditions were put to good use and gave Tulse the needed time to cast Plated Crusher. Once the Beast started crashing in, it was clear Joy couldn’t win the race without Battle Mastery or a way to consistently get through the rest of Tulse’s later creatures. A clutch double Center Soul on the Expedition Envoys let them kill off a Crusher, but Tulse had another just waiting on deck. Joy was then out of options entirely and the game was over.

Game 3 Show

Graceblade Artisan was a welcome sight for Joy going into the mid-game turns. It picked up a Gryff's Boon but didn’t have the ability to attack for several turns, thanks to Tulse’s tapping effects. A pair of Graf Mole were recovering a lot of life lost from Joy’s early attacks from Expedition Envoys and Grasp of the Hieromancer. Additionally, Jaddi Offshoot was subtly gaining back life as Adverse Conditions went to work and kept the board contained. Everything was going Tulse’s way until a Breaker of Armies found its way to the board - and made a great target for that playset of Dazzling Reflection in Joy’s hand. Even still, though, Brood Monitors were being drawn as Joy was finding lands, little creatures, and largely irrelevant things like Glaring Aegis. The Monitors gummed up the board (with the Artisan still tapped down on most turns) and Tulse won on what would’ve been the deck’s final turn with sheer force through Joy’s extra 40 life. What a game!

Tin Knuckles by Gearhead93
      versus
U/B Poor Man's Sleepy Dead People by DarkLaw

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Results Show

DarkLaw (2)   vs.   Gearhead93 (1)

Game 1 Show

Gearhead began with a Servant of the Scale and Topan Freeblade, but they walked right into Darklaw’s Flaying Tendrils. A follow-up Citadel Castellan managed to sneak by Ultimate Price and another Flaying Tendrils in Darklaw’s hand, achieving the buff from Renown and getting in for damage a few times. Gearhead’s others creatures were picked off by the remaining removal spells until Blighted Fen killed off the Castellan. From here, Darklaw untapped and cast Rise from the Tides to net 7 Zombies. Gearhead had nothing but a few spot-removal spells and wouldn’t survive the following few turns.

Game 2 Show

Citadel Castellan proved to be more of a problem for Darklaw in this game. After a copy became Renowned, it blanked Ultimate Price, Flaying Tendrils, and the Grasp of Darkness drawn a turn too late. Darklaw had no issues dealing with everything else at Gearhead’s disposal but simply couldn’t interact with the Castellan without 4 black mana (for Grasp of Darkness and Flaying Tendrils together). Rise from the Tides was a turn off of letting Darklaw stabilize and the problematic creature took the game singlehandedly.

Game 3 Show

Yet again, Gearhead’s Citadel Castellan was a tough creature to interact with for Darklaw. It was sitting next to two copies of Servant of the Scale to Darklaw’s three Zombie tokens (made out of desperation). Blocking all three creatures with a Grasp of Darkness meant all three would die before any counters moved around. Gearhead had an Enshrouding Mist, but Darklaw followed with Void Shatter. With the board simplified and stabilized down at exactly 1 life, a Aberrant Researcher  ^Flip landed and got to work trying to finish out the game. From here, Darklaw had enough mana to keep casting draw spells and finding more answers to future threats. Gearhead couldn’t recover or rebuild a board through all of Darklaw’s new disruption.

Rakdrone: Poor-man challenge by CRKFIEND
      versus
Impoverished Aristocrats by icedkeverage

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Results Show

CRKFIEND (2)   vs.   icedkeverage (1)

Game 1 Show

A turn-2 Forerunner of Slaughter from Fiend had Touch of the Void as support to remove a Carrier Thrall, then another for a Pious Evangel  ^Flip. Fiend’s draws were a bit heavy on lands as were Keverage’s, but Keverage’s lands granted a lot of utility via Foundry of the Consuls. Vampiric Rites combined with the Thopters and some Spirits from Nearheath Chaplain offered a lot of value to Keverage, leaving Fiend decently far behind in the game. Nothing could really break through the tokens and a pair of Sanitarium Skeletons being recurred each turn, leading to Fiend’s demise at the hand of flying tokens.

Game 2 Show

Another Forerunner of Slaughter blanked Keverage’s Ultimate Price and swung through for damage after removal took out Kev’s early creatures for several turns. Now stuck with 3-drops and 4-drops and only 4 lands while facing down a growing colorless army, Keverage had to start throwing value away just to keep from dying. Without any new Zulaport Cutthroats showing up or enough mana to make an efficient use of Vampiric Rites, Keverage couldn’t prevent Fiend from crashing in for the win.

Game 3 Show

Fiend’s opening hand led to a very aggressive start with a Reaver Drone and two Sludge Crawlers by the end of the second turn. A turn-3 Forerunner of Slaughter with haste put a lot of pressure on Keverage to play out some blockers in lieu of setting up for a longer game. A few creatures were traded here and there and some damage was getting through each turn, but Keverage was simply falling behind on value. The Sludge Crawlers were receiving buffs around blockers and any creature Fiend drew instantly gained haste from the Forerunner. Ultimate Price, a necessary evil in the deck, kept popping up when Kev really needed some answers. This lack of being able to catch up is ultimately what did Kev in.

Budget Man Bill by Ninjadude51
      versus
Process of Elimination-For the Poor Man Challenge by xcn

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Results Show

xcn (2)   vs.   Ninjadude51 (0)

Game 1 Show

XCN had an incredibly tough time getting any of the bigger threats to stick, thanks to Ninja’s entire playset of Reflector Mage in the top 12 cards of the deck. Many turns went by without XCN being able to connect for damage, but that wouldn’t remain the case. Ninja was running low on available answers and Anticipate could only dig so far. Eventually, the crafty combo of Skin Invasion  ^Flip and Immolating Glare netted Ninja some real value, but XCN was waiting with Complete Disregard. From here, Ninja was simply out of answers to the Eldrazi behemoths.

Game 2 Show

In what was perhaps my least favorite game of Magic I’ve ever played, Ninja and XCN stalled each other with a ton of removal. Turn after turn went by with no creatures to cast (both only having a few, really) and only lands and removal coming off the top of the decks. Nothing could stick long enough to connect for damage, but no real gains in tempo could be gained. Eventually, Ninja was running out of a deck to draw from after earlier thinning with Evolving Wilds, Tormenting Voice, Anticipate, and even Aberrant Researcher  ^Flip. By the end of the game, Ninja was out of cards and XCN was still sitting on a full hand of removal.

of moon and blades by Kizmetto
      versus
Poor Men Flying Over!!! by Nobueno95

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Results Show

Nobueno95 (2)   vs.   Kizmetto (1)

Game 1 Show

Kizmetto’s Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip and other Werewolves were putting a lot of awkward pressure on NoBueno to cast the temporary answers just sitting in the hand during NoBueno’s own turn. After missing the fourth land-drop, NoBueno couldn’t flash in Thunderclap Wyvern or cast Whirler Rogue to prevent the growing damage from connecting. Blocks were made where they were best, but they just prolonged NoBueno’s death caused by a mana-hungry hand without lands to feed it with.

Game 2 Show

Kizmetto was stuck drawing into spells like Roast and multiples of Howlpack Resurgence while creatures were needed most. Silkwrap/Expose Evil from NoBueno kept most of the Werewolves in check while a pair of Faerie Miscreants and an Eldrazi Skyspawner crashed in for 4 damage each turn. With just a few creatures being drawn over several turns and no way to deal with the flying assault, Kizmetto had nothing to do.

Game 3 Show

While Kizmetto had a decent opener of Neglected Heirloom  ^Flip into Kessig Forgemaster  ^Flip and Howlpack Resurgence, it wasn’t terribly aggressive. Able to play out a few creatures to attack with in the air, NoBueno was sitting on spells to keep Kizmetto behind on tempo. Reflector Mage set Kizmetto back a turn after an Ulrich's Kindred met a Silkwrap, then a pair of Thunderclap Wyverns fueled the flying army with a ton of power. Kizmetto, even with a 5/4 trampler, was too far behind to catch up.

Cult Sacrifice by Honeysliced
      versus
Poor Man Assault by SpringingTiger

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Results Show

Honeysliced (2)   vs.   SpringingTiger (0)

Game 1 Show

Tiger’s Anointer of Champions let a Kor Castigator slip past a Zulaport Cutthroat for a few turns, but Call the Bloodline with an Indulgent Aristocrat as a follow-up shut that engine down. Even with the Anointer, Tiger had trouble pushing damage past a growing legion of Vampire Knight tokens with lifelink. Some flying Spirit tokens could’ve been getting in for damage each turn, but Honey’s lifelink made them almost useless. Without a way to remove Call the Bloodline or prevent Honey from making a new token each turn, Tiger fell.

Game 2 Show

One of the biggest problems for Tiger in this matchup is that nearly all of the creatures in the deck have 1 toughness and don’t dramatically change the battlefield when cast. Compared to Honey’s Call the Bloodline this game, Dragon Hunter, Expedition Envoy, Kor Castigator, and even Nearheath Chaplain (to an extent) had trouble staying relevant beyond turn-4. Though Anointer of Champions could’ve buffed the aforementioned creatures, the difference in 1 toughness or 1 point of damage was not likely to be too significant once Honey set up a huge army. Indulgent Aristocrat kept powering up each Vampire Knight token each turn while generating value off of Alms of the Vein and Gisa's Bidding. Tiger couldn’t find enough removal or damage to go over the top.

Standard UC Challenge by kovarion
      versus
Izzet Time for the Breadline? by Schlatre

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Results Show

Schlatre (2)   vs.   kovarion (1)

Game 1 Show

Kovarion began with a Ravenous Bloodseeker into Incorrigible Youths, leading into Lightning Axe with Bloodmad Vampire on Schlatre’s lone Stormchaser Mage. Schlatre then fell hard to the Vampire assault which crashed right through a single Jwar Isle Avenger. It was that quick and that simple.

Game 2 Show

Though Kovarion began with a decent hand, lands came off the top in droves. Schlatre had two copies of Fiery Impulse this time around, keeping the early-game threats in check. Magmatic Insight drew into pump spells and allowed Stormchaser Mage to present a lot of pressure that Kovarion was not able to hold back. Olivia's Bloodsworn was Kovarion’s final draw and, sadly, couldn’t even block.

Game 3 Show

Each deck played the attrition game and ground out the other’s cards until both were in topdeck mode at less than 7 life apiece. An Olivia's Bloodsworn off the top for Kovarion looked to be the deciding card in this match. Not to be deterred, though, Schlatre drew an Island for Magmatic Insight, drawing into Stormchaser Mage and Slip Through Space, the latter drawing into Kolaghan Stormsinger. These draws gave Schlatre exactly 3 damage (Kovarion’s life total) as Kovarion sat with nothing but a topdecked Lightning Axe and 5 lands. I’ve seen some sequences in my day, man, but this was impressive.

(deck not found) by ancientgorillashaman
      versus
Because even paupers like control by tpmains

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Results Show

tpmains (2)   vs.   ancientgorillashaman (0)

Game 1 Show

From turn-3 forward, TP had a counterspell for almost every one of Gorilla’s spells. Even though a pair of Blisterpods snuck through onto the battlefield and each got buffed by a copy of Earthen Arms, TP drew into Oblivion Strike and Complete Disregard. All four of Gorilla’s Autumnal Gloom  ^Flip were cast, but each was countered. Without any other fuel and nothing in the hand, Gorilla’s time ran out as an Ulamog's Nullifier and a Possessed Skaab crashed in each turn.

Game 2 Show

Yet again, Gorilla was at the mercy of TP’s countermagic. A few creatures managed to land for Gorilla, like Blisterpod and Thraben Gargoyle  ^Flip, but Flaying Tendrils from TP mopped them up and gave Ulamog's Nullifier some fodder to use. Autumnal Gloom  ^Flip was countered each time it was cast and TP kept recurring the control spells with Possessed Skaab. With a few dead Ultimate Prices in hand, Gorilla had nothing to do by the time TP got up to 10 lands and the game was over shortly thereafter.

Zandl's Pauper Challenge Deck - Much Air, So Rust by DillsDells
      versus
UR Colorless Beatdown by Wee_Dragonaut

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Results Show

Wee_Dragonaut (2)   vs.   DillsDells (0)

Game 1 Show

Dragonaut jammed Ruination Guide and Tide Drifter onto the board to turn a Whirler Rogue into a value machine. Dills had issues with a hand stuffed with clunky mana costs beyond Weapons Trainer. The equipment in the deck had a lot of strength on paper, but the mana costs and equip costs slowed the deck down to a crawl as it tried to extend its reach into the late-game. Dragonaut’s board was growing larger by the turn as Dills was still just trying to have enough creatures to present good blocks. A distinct lack of speed and a hand still consisting of 3-mana spells was ultimately Dills’s downfall.

Game 2 Show

Dills had more trouble casting spells aggressively this game but managed to stave off a quick death with a Silkwrap for each of Dragonaut’s two Ruination Guides. With a bit of land-flooding on Dragonaut’s side, Dills’s creatures got in for some decent beats. In the meantime, though, a Prophet of Distortion was drawing Dragonaut more cards and finding better answers to Dills’s threats. Dragonaut came crawling back with a pair of Tide Drifters to buff the toughness of an army of Thopter tokens. From here, Dills couldn’t push through any more damage and the elongated game favored Dragonaut’s draws.

RB Vampires of Poverty by sophontteks
      versus
cushion-fluff by professorducky

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Results Show

professorducky (2)   vs.   sophontteks (1)

Game 1 Show

On the play, Ducky used an Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip to cast a Gisa's Bidding on turn-3, placing an enormous amount of pressure on Soph from the get-go. Even though Soph stayed in the race for some time with Call the Bloodline, Ducky’s three separate copies of Zulaport Cutthroat made things difficult. A previously discarded Nearheath Chaplain netted Ducky two Spirit tokens. Soph couldn’t do much about them anyway, but the trio of Cutthroats gave them even more strength. In the end, Soph just couldn’t stop the constant draining of life.

Game 2 Show

Now with Soph on the play, a turn-1 Insolent Neonate and turn-2 Heir of Falkenrath  ^Flip welcomed a turn-3 Stensia Masquerade off of Madness. Ducky’s draws were a little slower this time around and didn’t allow Ducky to keep up with such a grueling pace. A few necessary blocks were made here and there, but there was nothing that could be done.

Game 3 Show

Nantuko Husk was doing some real work for Ducky alongside a Zulaport Cutthroat and a pair of Carrier Thralls, forcing a block from Soph as early as turn-4 (with a ton of potential damage in the Husk + Cutthroat). Just when it seemed the Husk was going to decide to match, Murderous Compulsion came up and took care of it. From here, a Call the Bloodline helped Soph try to stabilize, but the damage had already been done. More Cutthroats and two copies of Foundry of the Consuls found their ways to the board and Soph just couldn’t fight through the life-drain.

Hah, Try Killing Me Now! (SOI P.M.C) by Garrus_Vakarian
      versus
Hit-Elves for Hire by mtgThaen

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Results Show

mtgThaen (2)   vs.   Garrus_Vakarian (1)

Game 1 Show

A pair of Thornbow Archers hit the board and blanked Garrus’s turn-3 play of Benthic Infiltrator. The constant life-loss from the Elves coupled with Thaen’s growing board gave Garrus a number of problems. There weren’t a lot of spells Garrus could cast to even interact with Thaen’s creatures, and fewer still that would’ve permanently dealt with the creatures in lieu of bouncing them or tapping them down for a turn. With nothing to stop the assault, Thaen took over quickly.

Game 2 Show

With two copies of Sphinx's Tutelage on the board, Garrus managed to hit some pretty lucky streaks while tearing through Thaen’s deck. Despite the fact that Thaen had 8 different Elves on the board, most of them were 1/1’s and there was a distinct lack of Tajuru Warcaller and Shaman of the Pack. Catalog and Slip Through Space milled Thaen out just before the game would’ve ended in Thaen’s favor with Garrus at exactly 1 life.

Game 3 Show

An early Sphinx's Tutelage is what Garrus needed to be able to win before a landslide of creatures took the game, but it made the one-of Pulse of Murasa in Thaen’s deck very strong. Now with a Shaman of the Pack each turn (with the recursion of one from the graveyard after milling), Garrus had no real way to stay alive. One was countered, but their power is undeniable.

Izzet Eldrazi Aggro (for contest) by TimeliestStorm
      versus
poor man challenge deck by TheDeckBuilder_mage

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Results Show

TheDeckBuilder_mage (2)   vs.   TimeliestStorm (0)

Game 1 Show

In the battle of the Izzet archetypes, Storm took the play with a Kozilek's Sentinel on turn-2 and a Herald of Kozilek on turn-3. This led to an explosive fourth turn, including Eldrazi Skyspawner, Ruination Guide, and another Kozilek's Sentinel. However, Mage was doing the Prowess thing and a pair of Stormchaser Mages won the game on that fourth turn with a Rush of Adrenaline over the Skyspawner and an Uncaged Fury on top of it.

Game 2 Show

With both decks off to a fair slower start, Storm was given some time to set up before Mage could do anything too explosive. Over the course of the next few turns, each player whittled down the other’s resources until there was nothing left but a grindy topdeck war. With a number of spells that Scry and draw extra cards, Mage soon got out ahead of Storm and wound up chaining Expedites and Slip Through Space to find a lot of damage out of thin air. A Sanguinary Mage off the top received both Expedite and Slip Through Space, and a Titan's Strength from that sealed Storm’s fate.

At the conclusion of Round 2, you’ll find all the deck statistics you could’ve ever wanted. Find out what archetypes remains and what strategies are trending in the next article of the series!

Part 2’s Matches

Nickick vs. CaptainLick
Dalektable vs. argeaux
TheGrayMerchant vs. Boza
greasysweet vs. ThoughtShift
DruneGrey vs. magnetcrocodile
tempest vs. jellowsmurf
furyofstorm101RL vs. JKLawson89
Mortem vs. DominusMine
Nightdragon779 vs. tooTimid
Holtzman vs. SwaggyMcSwagglepants
Crayfish vs. Volvary
eludemerlange vs. Ostrichman01
TristanTaylorsVoice vs. amerishin
… and JerichoDarkstar gets the bye!


Happy tapping, players!
zandl

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