In this article series we are tuning and practicing some unusual or - hopefully interesting - list and them I will try to make 5-0 at least once in a league.
How did the tournament go? Take a look at this slideshow, highlighting the most relevant moments of each game:
Pairings and Results:
Round 1:
Against: Dimir Angler/Delver.
Game 1:
I start with a good hand, creatures some removal and Empyrial Armor. Opponent set some defense with Augur of Bolas and starts countering our spells and developing their board. I manage to apply some pressure with a couple Legion Conquistador but a timely Agony Warp kills two at once, holding me back. Eventually opponent gets three flipped Delver of Secrets and one Gurmag Angler. I hold them at bay with one enchanted Squadron Hawk but I then make a mistake giving protection to the other one. When opponent kills my enchanted Hawk, their Delvers are too much.
Game 2:
Again a decent starting hand, but opponent seems to have answers for everything I try to do and I end up losing.
Result: 0-2. Not a good start.
Round 2:
Against: Boros Midrange.
Game 1:
I start with a risky hand with only 2 lands, but soon enough I topdeck Boros Garrison and start deploying Conquistadors. Opponent has a slow start with a lot of cantrip rocks and starts defense with a couple Journey to Nowhere. That opens the door for our Ethereal Armors that end up taking over.
Game 2:
Starting hand a bit flooded but still playable. Opponent gains tons of life bouncing a Lone Missionary and locks me out of the game with Standard Bearer. Eventually I manage to exile the Bearer with Weight of Conscience and unleash my auras. Opponent kills a lot of my stuff but it is not enough.
Result: 2-0. Starting to warm up.
Round 3:
Against: Urza Flicker
Game 1:
We have a decent start while opponent struggles a bit to assemble Urza lands. They make it eventually and wipe our board with Rolling Thunder, but we manage to recover with a couple auras hitting hard but opponent gets the flicker combo and I give up.
Game 2:
Opponent struggles again to assemble tron while we set up. Relic of Progenitus really helps this game, stopping my opponent from going infinite. After a very long game we manage to grind a victory out.
Game 3:
This time opponent assembles tron quite quickly. I manage to get two Relics that help a bit but not enough to stop their plan. Opponent ends up winning with a giant Thunder to my face.
Result 1-2. Urza is a terrible matchup for this deck.
Round 4:
Against: Dimir Angler/Delver
Game 1:
Opponent starts by countering everything I do, but counters kinda run out and I manage to resolve one Conquistador. Opponent has to use their removal to reduce my board and I eventually manage to respond with Cho-Manno's Blessing followed with Empyrial Armor. A 7/7 with protection from black seals the deal.
Game 2:
I manage to resolve Cho-Manno's Blessing early game, on my own end of turn. This gives me the perfect target for my auras. While opponent manages to counter the first Armor, eventually a second one resolves and I win again with a fat dude with protection from black.
Result: 2-0. Sweet vengeance.
Round 5:
Against: Golgari Sacrifice.
Game 1:
Start with mulligan, but Squadron Hawk helps. Opponent casts a couple sacrificeable green dorks, like Young Wolf and Blisterpod plus one Mortician Beetle, but no sacrificers to close the combo. We end up taking the game with flying dorks.
Game 2:
We have to mulligan to five, but Legion Conquistador helps us fill the board. An early Blessing creates one pro-black that will eventually get Armored. We attack into a lot of green chump blockers while blocking the big Beetle with yet another pro-black. We end up grinding the victory out.
Result: 2-0. In the positive zone!
Final Result:3-2.Not so bad for the first attempt!
Changes:
One card I am not sure should be in the maindeck is Ethereal Armor. In this deck, it usually isn't as explosive as in "Bogles" because we don't carry that many auras. Felt like I was siding it out for Journey to Nowhere almost every time, so why not use Journey maindeck anyway ? Opening those sideboard slots could be nice. Another possibility is to add a second color to the deck. It is not blazing fast anyway and sometimes I felt more interaction would be nice. Maybe black for Castigate is an interesting option. Red could give us Fire Whip and Flaring Pain.
There are many possibilities, I will try to test at least a couple of them and continue my quest for the Five-O Dream!
