jay85's picture
By: jay85, Jay Nelson
Sep 09 2015 12:00pm
0
Login to post comments
2649 views


 photo Article Title_zpsqbziwoes.png

 It's been pretty hectic for me when it came to participating in the Legacy dailies. I couldn't for the life of me 3-0 in any of the events. Sad day, I know. But on the bright side, I've been honing my skills with two of my favorite decks, Sylvan Plug and MUD. I also tried out the 4C Delver deck that Charlie Holland took 8th place with in the 2015 Eternal Weekend Legacy Championship. I figured most you guys would be interested in seeing that deck in action so I've included two videos of that.

 I'm not really sure why I didn't do a little better with my decks. Misplays were more than likely the root of some of my problems, but it was also the fact that I flooded out in some of the games not shown in the videos. I mean, the Delver list I played only runs 18 lands! How the heck did I draw so many?

 Ah, the first world problems of Magic players. Honestly, I just tell myself I should be thankful I am able to play in the first place, win or lose. Legacy is expensive and if it wasn't for me having an extensive Modern collection that I was able to trim down on in order to buy Legacy staples I wouldn't even be playing this expensive, yet extremely exciting, format to begin with.

 photo Spilt Salt_zpsscrl2ofp.png

 I do get salty when my opponent seems to have the nut draw or Lady Luck by his or her side, but it quickly dissipates with me. I don't hold grudges for very long. It is a game after all.

 This leads me into a little rant, so bear with me. The video of my MUD match wasn't from a daily; I was just fooling around in the TP room one evening. But I just got to say, playing in the practice room is so irritating, and no, it's not because there is a lack of competition or homebrews galore. It's that players will rage quit at the drop of a hat. As soon as you start pulling ahead or they believe you're some kind of Topdeck Hero, BOOM! You see in the chat, So-and-so has lost connection to the game. Or they simply start trolling you in the chat. Why do they do this? For crying out loud, we are in the practice room! I just find it weird because if I'm losing then I want to understand why I'm losing. You can't become better at Magic if at the first sign of the game not going your way you disconnect from it. I'm sure this has happened to you and I'd really like to hear in the comments some interesting stories you may have. And if you are one of the people who rage quit and you're brave enough to admit it, let me know why you believe it's ok. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I highly doubt it.

 But I digress...

 On to me having fun playing Magic: The Gathering

 

Sylvan Plug Vs. Miracles

(For my article on Sylvan Plug click here)

 I wouldn't say Miracles is a tough match up, but it's still a fine dance you have to perform in order to win. Sylvan Plug comes loaded with three Choke and playsets of Chalice of the Void and Sylvan Library main board, making it easier for us to shut them out of the game and also stay ahead in card advantage. To get rid of Sensei's Divining Top you either need to wait for them to tap it then cast your Abrupt Decay or use Decay in response to them cracking a fetch. The Top will either be decayed or your opponent will tap it, placing it on top of his or her library. It will then get shuffled in due to the fetchland's ability.

 The most important part to remember is not to over commit to the board since Miracles runs four Terminus. This can be hard to judge because they also play Swords to Plowshares to keep you light on threats.

 I believe the correct line to take is resolving your prison pieces as soon as possible, namely Choke and Chalice. Trinisphere is not that important in this particular match and I even side some or all of them out in games two and three. It's a delicate balance on your timing, as well. You cannot wait too long to start putting pressure on the board because Miracles is known for going the distance and winning the late game.

 In game two I didn't bring in Engineered Plague because I didn't think he would bring in Monastery Mentor. But it looks like my opponent wanted more win cons and probably to also gum up the board since he more than likely knows I don't have any creatures with evasion. It was a good call on Mzfroste's part and in the future I'll keep that in mind.

 

4C Delver Vs. Death and Taxes

 

 I took the liberty of replacing Dread of Night in the sideboard for an Illness in the Ranks, but other than that this is Charlie Holland's exact list he used in the Legacy Championship. What's funny is I expected a lot of Young Pyromancer decks which is why I went with Illness in the Ranks, but Dread of Night would've been excellent to have here.

 So why did I choose to build this instead of Bob Huang's winning Grixis Delver deck? Well, for one reason: Jace, Vryn's Prodigy. We eternal players don't get to play with brand new toys very often and I really want Jace, Jr. to become a thing in Legacy.

 Man, I still can't believe I made that play involving Mother of Runes! What a silly mistake. I really wish I had a good reason for why I attempted that but alas, there is none. Just a stupid misplay on my part. Nothing to do about it but move on...

 I will say this, I played a whole lot better in the next video. I won't say if I won or lost that one, as well, but I know I didn't make any serious blunders for you to suffer through so I hope you enjoy it.

 

4C Delver Vs. Jeskai Stoneblade

 This match was a long, testing game of Magic. We went back and forth quite a bit. One moment I felt like I was in the lead and going to win; the next, my opponent was ahead and I thought for sure it was the end for me. All-in-all, a good match. Take a gander. 

 Delver of Secrets, heck of a card! I thought this match was pretty exciting. That one turn I had where I destroyed Pithing Needle with Ancient Grudge, flipped Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, and destroyed my opponent's Jace, the Mind Sculptor with a Lightning Bolt was definitely the highlight for me. So many things went in my favor. I really thought that was the turning point for me. But not long after that my Tarmogoyf got Plowshared, little Jace died, and I felt like I was back to square one. None-the-less, an exhilarating time. 

 

MUD Vs. Miracles

(For my article on MUD click here) 

 It seemed my opponent was either new to Legacy or just new to playing Miracles, but that's fine because, after all, the match took place in the Tournament Practice room. Can't hate on someone who's simply practicing with his or her deck.

 I've noticed in the dailies I usually play people seem to have gone back to using Entreat the Angels as their win-con. For a while all I saw was Joe Lossett's Legend Miracles that eschews Entreat for a regular ol' beatdown of Venser, Shaper Savant and Vendilion Clique, and I could not be happier! Personally, I believe Legend Miracles is way more frustrating to play against and is just overall a better deck so I'm glad people aren't playing that version as much anymore. 

 I wish MUD could utilize something like Pithing Needle but it's a nombo with our Chalice of the Voids, and Null Rod would be sweet since (like the Needle) it can't be swept away by Terminus. But obviously Null Rod would incapacitate us more than it ever could the Sensei's Divining Top so we are left with the Phyrexian Revokers instead. Look at the bright side, they can attack and we can also name Jace, the Mind Sculptor with them.

 

 photo Between Rounds_zpsjy8ctrzw.png

 photo Witch Doctor_zpsglwfjz1m.png 

I've been reading a graphic novel series called Witch Doctor. I'm currently on Volume 2: Mal Practice. If you're into Cthulhu mythos and want something to do in between rounds then I highly recommend you read these awesome books. Both the writer and the artist are from Alaska but they currently live in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. I've met the artist, Lukas Ketner, twice at the Wizard World Comic Cons and he is a cool guy. He even drew a caricature of my friend as a zombie while we sat there shooting the breeze.

 You can pick up copies of Witch Doctor Volume 1: Under the Knife and Witch Doctor Volume 2: Mal Practice at Powells.com!