Main - 60
[22] Land
[4] Wasteland
[4] Polluted Delta
[4] Misty Rainforest
[1] Overgrown Tomb
[2] Watery Grave
[1] Breeding Pool
[2] Swamp
[2] Forest
[2] Island
[8] Creatures
[4] Tombstalker
[4] Tarmogoyf
[30] Other Spells
[2] Jace the Mind Sculptor
[4] Force of Will
[4] Mental Misstep
[2] Daze
[2] Spell Pierce
[4] Brainstorm
[3] Ponder
[4] Hymn to Tourach
[2] Go for the Throat
[1] Darkblast
[2] Snuff Out
Side - 15
[2] Submerge
[2] Ghastly Demise
[2] Krosan Grip
[2] Engineered Explosives
[1] Llawan, Cephalid Empress
[1] Phyrexian Metamorph
[1] Pithing Needle
[1] Tormod's Crypt
[1] Relic of Progenitus
[2] Threads of Disloyalty
Round 1 - UWB Stoneforge Homebrew - OXO
I managed to keep a solid pace throughout game 1, resulting in a powerful Hymn and continuing to beat down with Tombstalker when Tarmogoyf was removed. In game 2 he starts strong, with Dark Confidant into Stoneforge Mystic, tutoring Umezawa's Jitte. I struggle with a bad hand and try to fight back aggressively with Tarmogoyf's on turns 2 and 3 to match his guys, only to run into a Perish that left me soon shuffling up for game 3. He started the last game with Dark Confidant, and soon had a Sword of Fire and Ice putting me on a painful clock. Jace allowed me to dig into Tarmogoyfs and Tombstalkers to hold off the equipment wielding monsters, and soon his own Dark Confidant was looking to be my win condition after revealing an Elspeth and a Perish the following turn. I Misstep his Divining Top, and he attempts to Swords to Plowshares his Confidant before his next reveal, but I'd managed to stock up on Missteps and forces him to lose to his own creature.
Round 2 - Storm - OO
His initial play of Gemstone Mine made me feel instantly comfortable with the couple of good counters I had in hand. We play draw-go for a while, before he drops a Lion's Eye Diamond and Lotus Petal before casting Rite of Flame. Thanks to my Wastelands he was tapped out at this point, and a simple Daze was enough to force him to fizzle whilst I follow up with a couple of Tombstalkers who prove to be too fast a clock. In game 2 he digs for the first few turns, whilst I set up land, before he attempts to Duress me. I Force the Duress, removing Jace, which seems to surprise him, and he passes back tapped out. The Hymn I'd protected in hand was joined by a second copy off the top of the deck, and casting one into the next ripped apart his neatly sculpted hand. a couple of turns of draw-go lets me dig into a Tombstalker, which again proves to be too much.
Round 3 - Elves! - OXD
Regardless of what format I'm playing, Elves are always a nightmare for me. No matter how many sweepers and spot removal I run, I always seem to lose to random, uncontrollable bursts from the green menace. In game 1 I manage to stabilise the board before putting him on a clock with Tombstalker. Game 2 proves to be the opposite, with him exploding with the combo whilst I draw nothing of relevance. By game 3 time was running out, and his first couple of attempts at Glimpse of Nature met Mental Missteps, but his THIRD copy managed to get through just after time was called. I survived a turn with a bit of chump blocking, and snap off a Misty Rainforest to try and desperately increase my chances of drawing my one out by whatever tiny percentage I possibly can. Seeing Jace was on top whilst I searched made me feel lucky, but I proceed to prove my "skill" at top decking answers when I rip an Engineered Explosives off the top, leaving him with nothing but a Priest of Titania on board. I miraculously managed to force the draw.
Round 4 - UW Standstill - OO
Having seen that my opponent was playing Gerry T's latest awesome monstrosity, I was eager to see how this match-up played out, especially considering my opponent is without a doubt more capable than I am in the format. Both games proved to be long, drawn out attrition matches, and following counter wars both games heavily came down to resolving Hymn and landing a Tombstalker. Seeing a series of Tombstalkers in both games via Brainstorm, Ponder and Jace sealed the win for me, with a double Krosan Grip for his double Crucible of Worlds in game 2 showing how important careful hand sculpting can be.
Conclusion - 3-1
I was over the moon to actually win a Legacy event, especially with a roughly build sideboard and a far from perfect manabase. The diversity of the format makes it a joy to play, and I found Team America to be a fantastic deck to play right now. Mental Misstep has given the format a much needed shake, and I look forward to future Legacy locals.
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