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By: Westane, Jeff Torres
Sep 06 2010 1:57am
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Hey Soul Sista'

soul wardensoul's attendantajani's pridemateserra ascendant

It's 6:30 AM on a Saturday... what the hell am I doing... I know what I'm doing. I'm embarking on what will be my longest day of Magic in a long time! I've got coffee brewin' and I'm rearing to go. Time to brush off my Life.dec and start this thing up.

What's that? Mythic? Right, I should mention I opted for another approach to today's event. I decided that while Mythic was a proven and capable deck that can blast it's way through just about any situation, I would instead go with a more conservative, well-rounded deck. Life.dec could power through a lot of situations, and ignore several others. Elspeth has amazing curves The deck has an amazing curve and I felt it was an extremely solid choice to combat the meta.

All of that's a load of crap. You'll need to read on to find out why I really chose to replace Mythic!


Round 1
Mirror

I kick the day off with the mirror match. This isn't really surprising in the least, as everyone and their cat is playing this deck. I feel I made a big mistake moving my removal to the sideboard in favor of main board Survival Cache.

Game 1: There's a lot of expected back and forth but I ultimately had to give him the match after one of our life totals broke triple digits. Hint, it's wasn't mine.

-4 Kor Firewalker
-4 Survival Cache
+3 Path to Exile
+1 Gideon Jura)
+1 Sun Titan
+1 Oblivion Ring
+2 Solemn Offering

Game 2: I get the Soul Warden into Ajani's Pridemate start and he doesn't have a turn one play. I'm off to a good start until he drops a Day of Judgment! Luckily I had two Ranger of Eos as back up and was able to take game two. Gideon Jura was my MVP this game.

Game 3: He has an answer for pretty much all of my threats, and double Day of Judgments give him the win.


Round 2
UW Control

baneslayer angelmind springGideon juraspreading seas

I'd been testing pretty well against control, but wasn't quite prepared for this. Since M11, Permission Control has been in the spotlight, and playing against it is very different than playing against Tapout Control. Now, not only does my opponent have the option of completely ignoring my life total, but his creatures are bigger and scarier than mine.

Game 1: I develop my board pretty quickly, but soon discover my opponent is playing Tapout Control. Subtle, but it matters. Martial Coup, Baneslayer Angels and Elspeth ensure I don't win here.

-4 Kor Firewalker
-4 Survival Cache
+3 Luminarch Ascension
+3 Path to Exile
+1 Sun Titan
+1 Oblivion Ring

Game 2: More of game one, only with Gideon on his side...


Round 3
Bye

Round 1: The bread is slightly stale, but nothing I can't handle. I was fortunate enough to main board Blackforest Turkey and Buffalo Cheddar.

-4 Cats from the kitchen
-1 Pants
+3 Mayo
+2 TV

Round 2: The mayo really shined here, but the TV left much to be desired. Removing the cats and pants helped streamline the deck and it was a blowout.

Well, okay, I guess now would be a good time to post a decklist.


It's pretty straightforward. I opted for the main board Kor Firewalkers expecting lots of Jund and Valakut decks. So far, that plan hasn't paid off. I relax and tell myself that if I win the next 4 rounds I still have a shot at top 8, and my next opponent will have been doing nearly as bad as I have.


 Round 4
Dredgevine

I've always thought Dredgevine was a neat deck, and I'm glad to see Fauna Shaman fitting into it so well. I felt this was a pretty good match up for me, as the very nature of Dredgevine, or specifically Vengevine works very much to my deck's advantage.

Game 1: As expected, his Vengevine activations push my life total high enough for me to outlast his attacks. Active Serra Ascendants seal the deal for me.

-4 Kor Firewalker
+3 Path to Exile
+1 Oblivion Ring

Game 2: Turn 1 Hedron Crab, Turn 2 fetchland putting three Vengevines in the yard then playing a Fauna Shaman with Vengevine number 4 in hand. What can you do?

Game 3: This one lasted a while, with him almost decking himself. There was a lot of back and forth but eventually double Extractor Demons took the game for him.

So that's it. It's extremely unlikely I'm making top 8 with even a 4-3 record. With that I call it a morning and drop.


Okay, So I Lied

Remember last week when I said I'd focus 100% on the event? Well forget it, it's tangent time!

It seems I've dug myself into the same trap I always do with any kind of competitive game. I become focus-minded and put all of my resources into one goal. When I begin to fall short of that goal, I become frustrated to the point where I don't want to play anymore. My game is no longer fun.

Let me say that one more time.

My game is no longer fun.

 I'm playing with people I don't like, at scheduled times, in an attempt to meet difficult goals. That's not playing anymore, that's working! I play Standard purely because everyone else does, and it's easy to get into games and tournaments. I never really had fun playing Standard. I mean, of course it was fun to a point, otherwise I'd never log on, but Standard's not why I play. With the exception of Odyssey-Onslaught Standard I can't think of any time I've really been "excited" about it. Standard was never what made the game for me.

Moreover, Standard makes me angry in the same way Extended does. I have a limited budget, I didn't just drop $300 on a deck that's going to rotate out in a few months, did I? Don't get me wrong, the appeal of Standard is that it changes with every block. New decks and new archetypes are exciting, and for me that's the draw. However, it would appear that draw just isn't enough anymore. The fact is, when I'm playing competitive Standard, I'm just not having fun.

Games are supposed to be fun, right? Isn't that why we play games?

I get excited when I find someone to play 100 Card Singleton with. I get excited when a new Legacy deck crops up. I get nostalgic when I read my first ever publication. What is Magic, really, to me? magic is my UW Urza Block janky control deck with Great Whale as the win condition. Magic is the first time I ever got a Megrim down, followed by Recoil. Magic is Angelic Wall being the best card in my deck, or any white deck for that matter. Magic is when I pulled a Vampiric Tutor out of a Visions booster I bought for six bucks from some guy in a hole-in-the-wall card shop. Magic is my long-gone Serra Angel collection, because she's the best angel ever printed, especially if she's a Revised one.

Magic is responding to my own Yawgmoth's Will by sacrificing my (Lion's-Eye Diamond), then having a judge called over. Magic is casting a turn one Stifle on your opponent's Flooded Strand, then being able to Daze his Chrome Mox for the win. Magic is being able to play a full set of Goblin Welder, Tinker and Grim Monolith in Extended, and winning with Final Fortune on an Isochron Scepter.

Magic is hearing about Mike Long sitting on a Cadaverous Bloom, and telling people why you called your card "Finkeltrator".

Magic, despite all it's evolutions, revolutions and controversies, is supposed to be fun.


Cool Story Bro!

 Okay, okay, I'm rambling again. Here's the endgame. I don't have fun playing in Standard, so I'm not going to. Instead, i did what I should have done a long time ago, hell, what I should have done from the beginning.

Yep, I sold my mythic deck, and after this event I sold my life.dec, Elspeth included. I sold a lot of things I wouldn't be needing where I'm going, and I did it without ever looking back. Finally getting those Force of Wills is a great feeling. I have them now. They'll never rotate, never get banned, and will be hard-pressed to depreciate. I've made an investment, and it'll be around as long as MTGO is. It's all downhill from here, and even missing just about the rest of Legacy, I've still been having a blast. hell, I even threw this crazy thing together!

I heard about AfFoWnity and I thought it'd be fun. It was.

I've been playing Commander and 100 Card Singleton and Tribal and Pauper and I'm very happy! No stress, no expectations, just good fun.


So What's Down The pipe?

I'm never content, and competition is just in my nature. Legacy Dailies, Sealed and Drafting are all very interesting to me. Additionally, i expect to play in every Pauper and Singleton weekend challenge I can. I'll still be bringing as many tournament reports as I can squeeze in, so look forward to that.

As far as Standard goes, it's not something I'll be focusing on, but I can't just knock it off my radar either. If something comes out of Scars that's just too cool to pass up, there's a good chance I'll investigate.

To wrap up, I'll let you know that I'm skipping on FTV: Relics, and just picked up a cheap Sol Ring, and my birthday was on September 5th!

I'll be back next week, so until then!

-Jeff Torres

14 Comments

Curiosity by Felorin at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 03:58
Felorin's picture
5

Ok, I gotta know. How DO you win the game with a Final Fortune on an Isochron Scepter? Do you have another Scepter with a Stifle in it, or something?

Yep, with 4x Grim Monolith by Westane at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 12:50
Westane's picture

Yep, with 4x Grim Monolith and 4x Tinker the win was Platinum Angel. Get her out, then the Scepter and win!

I agree by Bauchelain at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 07:28
Bauchelain's picture

I have to agree with you that the current Meta in standard is just not very interesting at all. I can't wait for the Scars rotation when all these decks like Jund, Mythic Con etc. all become redundant. Although a year from now we'll all be here complaining about the next overplayed meta decks! Casual standard is great fun but you wouldn't catch me near the tournament room. Competitive standard has become too focused on all the mythics like JMS, Primeval etc. - if you don't have access to these ridiculously priced cards you stand little to no chance competitively.

It's a shame really but I suppose otherwise nobody would buy boosters and wotc would make no money.

I have to disagree with you by Drbenwayy at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 18:00
Drbenwayy's picture

I have to disagree with you here. I believe the standard meta is in great shape at this point in time with many viable decks. Mythic Conscription, Jund, Valakut Ramp, Titan Eldrazi, RDW, Fauna Shaman/Vengevine, Soul Sisters, Dredgevine, Pyromancer/polymorph are all competitive decks. I think the format is the healthiest it's been in a while. While I know the price of mythics are crazy, a few of these decks are budget friendly for someone who plans on playing in competitive standard tournaments. However, if you're not looking to play competitively, it is a lot of money to put into these cards.

Nice article by boysrepublic22 at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 10:12
boysrepublic22's picture

I love decks with Cat Warriors. I say the more cats, the more likely the victory!

platinum angel is the answer by Doomhed at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 11:10
Doomhed's picture

platinum angel is the answer to the final fortune problem

Congrats on making the leap. by Paul Leicht at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 13:44
Paul Leicht's picture

Congrats on making the leap. Fowx4 Daze4 Standx4 = definitely the right direction as it commits you to legacy/classic. I am in agreement about standard as I can't remember a time in recent years it has been fun in a casual sense. Sure there is some interest in developing rogue brews that can stand up to deck du jour tech but mostly it is a drag to see the same inevitable strategies played out over and over and then yes when you've finally got a winner to see it rotate out soon. So I am totally with you with the buyout of standard and into eternal.

Yep, I'm definitely happy by Westane at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 15:06
Westane's picture

Yep, I'm definitely happy with the decision. I recently sold off a few more Alara staples (with intent to rebuy) to fund a set of Wastelands, so I'm well on my way. Ironically, I again find myself in need of a set of Jace, which will give me the ability to play Standard if I choose, which is nice I guess. Stupid card being relevant in every constructed format... After him, it's all downhill as I start to collect duals.

Agreed the last time i liked by ShardFenix at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 15:38
ShardFenix's picture

Agreed the last time i liked standard at all was after the Kami/Rav Pro Tour Honolulu when decks like Hand-in-Hand, Beachhouse rock, Gruul, Heartbeat maga and others were everywhere. Its gone significantly downhill since. I know play a majority of Commander which is where all my money goes. So eventually I may try out 100cs.

I concur. Last time I really by StealthBadger at Tue, 09/07/2010 - 10:29
StealthBadger's picture

I concur. Last time I really enjoyed standard was back when I was playing U/R urzatron, which is quite a few seasons ago now.I only ever play random casual junk online, but I'm almost done trading my way towards my first legacy deck in paper. I started out cheap with a deck I already owned almost all of, and just need a set of cabal therapy now.

I said it last week and i by this isnt the n... at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 15:00
this isnt the name i chose's picture

I said it last week and i will say it again. Soul sisters is a truly horrible deck.

Hey!..... Yeah, it is XD by Westane at Mon, 09/06/2010 - 15:07
Westane's picture

Hey!..... Yeah, it is XD

So welcome (back) to eternal by LOurs at Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:56
LOurs's picture

So welcome (back) to eternal format ! It is always enjoyable to see a player entering (back) into these crazy format. I think that eternal formats generate something extremly addictive in a way if you played them competitively once, you would keep something in you that will push you to play it more/again : so many possibilities/interactions/rogue build/competitive decks/powerful cards ... Personnal view anyway.
That said, I wont agree so much about your opinion of standard. The current meta doesnt sound that bad to me, and at least, much more enjoyable than the jund format we knew since reborn : there is definitly a larger number of competitive decks than it was (at the moment anyway).
But the fact is that once you begin to play constructed eternal formats (or when come back into it) and especialy if you like to build decks/explore concept or even if you enjoy to play famous decklist (netdecking far from being bad to me), it is difficult to come back to a littler card pool format as the number of competitive decks available isnt even close to compete. Standard is still interesting... but compared to eternal formats, you have the impression to be limited in your possibilities much much faster (I am not talking here about any playing skill as well because skills are required to win a competition whatever the format, I'm only speaking about variety of cards/strategies/decks ... ).
Only my opinion though.

Thanks for the by Westane at Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:21
Westane's picture

Thanks for the reply!

However, and I read my article over again just to double check, I never really said anything bad about the current meta. Standard is wide open right now, with combo, control and aggro all being viable options. The format is for all intents and purposes healthy and accessible... I just don't like it XD. There's no comparison to the diversity between Standard now and Standard 9 months ago. It's a good format, but as you said, when you cut your teeth on eternal formats, it's hard to shake that vintage monkey on your back.