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By: BlippyTheSlug, Volker Kirstein
Dec 04 2014 1:00pm
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What A Long Strange Trip Its Been

So I'm sitting here on what is now a Tuesday evening, trying to decide what to write about this week, apart from the usual. I mean, yeah. You get decklists every week, complete with color commentary, along with the Twitterverse, and Overdrive! results. Bad Moon Rising, too, if it's happening during any particular articles lifespan. (Like it will in this one and next one) That's my basic "article".

Then there's this part, where I try to bring you a little tidbits about Modern, Magic, and me. This is the part that wracks my brain every week. I still don't know if I would really consider myself a writer, or even if I would call these things articles. Sure, people (like you) have been reading these things for three years now, but..

Huh? wha-Wha-WHAT?!?!

Yep. My very first article(?) was three years ago. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. By that definition, I guess I'm insane. But that shouldn't come as a huge shock to you after three years of this drivel. You've seen how I live, teetering on the edge of the abyss, metaphorically speaking. (What's a metaphor? Keeping cows in!)

So. Three years of this drivel and gibberish. And now hooligans have arrived, and Elf Girl is pouring shots again, and mass quantities are being consumed once more, and who knows if I'll get anything done. I still haven't found any decklists worth writing out. The Modern portion of the 2014 World Championship was 24 decks of the samo-samo, warped around the black hole that is Treasure Cruise.

Of course, these are all the top name Pro players, so no one's going to bring something rogue or fringe. The closest we ever saw to that was Shouta Yasooka's Eternal Command in 2012. Modern was still a new format back then, too.

Ahhh.. the good ol' days. When Modern was still a young, evolving format, with banlist changes every few months, and hardly anyone played, and yadda yadda yadda. I don't want to turn this into "grampa reminiscing about the good ol' days."

There'd usually be a rant about some aspect of MTGO somewhere in here, as well. Some more vitriolic than others. I can't really do that, since I don't really play MTGO anymore; all my play is slinging cardboard these days.

One day, they'll have a build that doesn't make my PC behave like a crotchety old lady, and I'll probably start playing online again.

In the meantime, I'm rather enjoying my foray into the paper world, even if fate and variance seem to bite my tushie at every turn. I still finished last season ranked 40th in Saskatchewan. For whatever that's worth. I want to up my play, and still hope to make GP Vancouver in February. I need to visit the consulate, the GP is Modern, and yeah. Let's do this!

*sigh* If only I wasn't so broke I can barely pay attention.

 

 

Terra Incognita

It has been said of Modern: "The most important thing about Modern is [its] diversity. It's by and far the most open format right now, there are huge tracts of land no one has explored. It's the new frontier of competitive Magic.", and "The nice thing about Modern is that the format is very open. There's a lot of room to explore and find decks that can work".

To hammer home this point, here are maps from some recent explorations:

 

Bobo Glass Cannon
Kurata Shintarou, 1st, Sunny Team Modern Cup, Nov 30, 2014 
Creatures
2 Borborygmos Enraged
4 Griselbrand
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Worldspine Wurm
13 Creatures

Other Spells
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Faithless Looting
4 Goryo's Vengeance
3 Lightning Axe
4 Nourishing Shoal
4 Through the Breach
2 Time of Need
25 Other Spells
Lands
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
3 Graven Cairns
2 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
2 Swamp
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Wooded Foothills
22 Lands

Borborygmos Enraged

I saw this deck, and I literally did a spit take. What is this? I mean, it's Glass Cannon, but... Bobo? Worldspine Wurm? (Nourishing Shoals)? What's going on here?

I'm pretty sure you're all familiar with the traditional (is there such a thing as traditional here?) Glass Cannon decks, like the one Todd Anderson won on Turn Two with, through a Path to Exile, during the early rounds of GP San Diego 2013, or his T16 finish at GP Kansas City 2013.

This one takes those shenanigans one step further into the Twilight Zone. Bobo is nothing to sneeze at. Neither is big ol' honking worm at your face.

With all these huge CMC fatties, Nourishing Shoal is interesting tech to bolster sagging life totals. 

Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard is something I find odd. I know what it's intended for, but with as many times as variance and fate have bitten my tushie, there is no way in hell I would run a card I could never hardcast. I'd have to splash with a Temple Garden and Sacred Foundry. Just in case. And how hypocritical is it that Pact of Negation can stay as is with no anywhere in sight? (Because you're only using it to counter their counter, and are swinging for the win, and it's now or never) 

 

 

Bad Moon Rising #6

Thank you to our sponsor: DojoTrade
Additional tournament support by Wizards of the Coast and Gatherling.

What is it?

Bad Moon Rising is a Vintage format double elimination tournament. We start with X rounds of Swiss pairing, and proceed normally. When your record reaches X-2, you’re eliminated.

When is it?

Bad Moon Rising happens once (sometimes twice) a month on the evening of the (astronomical) full moon at 1600 UTC or 830PM EST, depending on if it’s a weekend or weeknight. Our next event will be:

Bad Moon Rising #6
Saturday, December 6, 1600 UTC (11AM EDT)
Players, pairings, and standings can be found here.

Where is it?

Games will be played on MTGO in Play Lobby: Constructed Open Play > Getting Serious.

Game chat and instructions happen in the Bad Moon room. Join channel #BadMoon from your new chat window.

Does it cost anything?

Bad Moon Rising is free to enter! There is absolutely no cost – other than your time – to play.

How do I register?

You may register for an upcoming event at any time on Gatherling. Registration closes at event start.

Simply log onto Gatherling, go to your “Player CP”, and in the list of events, click “Register” for the event you want to play in. This will take you to a screen where you enter your decklist. Paste your decklist in here. 

Gatherling registration closes at event start! Once the train leaves the station, it’s too late to jump on.

What can I win?

The winner of  Bad Moon Rising will receive 35 bot credits on DojoTrade, and 9 Vintage Masters boosters

The runner-up will receive 15 bot credits on DojoTrade, and 3 Vintage Masters boosters

How do I collect my prizes?

Credits will be automatically added to your account on DojoTrade. If you do not currently have an account, one will be created for you with your playername. No action from you is necessary.

Vintage Masters boosters will be automatically added to your player account by Wizards of the Coast. No action from you is necessary. 

WARNING!

There will be sharks. Oh, yes. There will be sharks.

 

  

MTGO Top 10
 
1. UR Delver: (15.6%)
2. Burn: (10.1%)
3. Melira Pod: (8.1%)
4. Scapeshift: (8%)
5. Affinity: (6.8%)
6. Bogles: (3.4%)
7. Merfolk: (3.4%)
8. Amulet of Vigor: (3%)
9. Junk: (2.9%)
10. UR Twin: (2.7%)
Paper Top 10
 
1. UR Delver: (11.3%)
2. Burn: (8.6%)
3. Affinity: (7.8%)
4. Scapeshift: (5.7%)
5. Melira Pod: (5.1%)
6. UR Twin: (4.6%)
7. UWR Control: (3.7%)
8. Merfolk: (3.5%)
9. UWR Midrange: (3.3%)
10. Jund: (3.2%)

Meta Madness

These are the condensed results of the MTGO Salvation Meta Project. Kudos to them for keeping up the good fight!

 

Delver and Burn currently hold the top spots in both metas. We all know that every Delver deck runs Treasure Cruise, and it's a safe bet that a goodly amount of the Burn decks are splashing for anywhere from one to a full set.

 

 

 

 

The Twitterverse 

Magic Online

Other MTG/Wotc

 

 

Overdrive!, which started on July 4th, 2011, is the original Modern format Player-Run Event! In fact, Overdrive! is even older than Modern, having started out as an event in the Overextended format. Overdrive! is a single elimination event: two men enter, one man leaves. Registration is done via Gatherling. You can find more information at the main event thread here.

 

 

Overdrive! #160
Players: 7
Champion: 6argamel / Zoo
Runner up: BattleCaptain / RDW Aggro
Decklists and results from all Overdrive! events can be found here.  

6argamel spent his day at the Zoo, and fed his animals with Assault Loam and a double dose of RDW Aggro to emerge as Overdrive! #160 champion.

First timer BattleCaptain burned out UR Delver and U Tron before being stampeded by 6argamel's Zoo. .

 

 


BlippyTheSlug on MTGO
Blog: Read At Your Peril (NSFW!)

 

 

Blippy's GP Vancouver Fund
All proceeds used for MTG travel/accommodations/reportage

 

3адерганный!