Liverpool Magic the Gathering Store Championship 2011

The cold and quiet Winter season of Magic the Gathering means different things to different people. Professional players begin their tireless perpetration for the World Championship, the remainder of the world's Spike's are traveling to remote Pro Tour Qualifiers to test their skills (and luck) in a fresh and untested Limited format. Casual play persists, but those seeking to refine their skills in the constructed formats are very much left in the dark, with any potential testing for the Spring Pro Tour Qualifier season of questionable value, with both a new set and a B&R update having potential to invalidate any work done testing during the Winter. But one event provides the spark for deck designers every year, and that is the County Champs (States to those across the pond!). 


At least it did, until 2008 when the program drew its past breath. With this in mind, it was with a great cheer that we greeted the revival of Champs as the Store Championship in the UK this year. Despite the various big prize events held across the country, and larger still events held regularly in the US by the likes of Star City Games, there is a special draw to a tournament that grants the title of County (or State) champion.

When I first made the move out of the wilderness of Wales in 2006 for University, I soon discovered that Liverpool would be holding a Champs tournament. I prepared by testing in any free time i had, and eventually settled on an old favorite deck: Solar Flare. Running hot I swept the Swiss rounds without a loss, and made it to the finals only to fall to my greatest enemy: myself. A mis-statement of targets cost me one game, and the embarrassment of such an error led to a series of misplays that cost me the title. The following year presented a much smaller pool of players for me to test out my Mono-Black Korlash deck against, and thankfully everyone I encountered was piloting Kithkin or RG aggro. Deathmark and Tendrils of Corruption led me to claim the title. In 2008 a major resurgence occurred in the Liverpool Magic community, and armed with a new build of Solar Flare I set off to an unsettling start, earning first a draw and then a loss. Seeking a chance for redemption I played on, winning my way through the Swiss into the top 8. Reaching the finals I fell to what I knew to be the better player with the better deck. 

When the new Store Championship date was revealed I expected I would be unable to attend. But with a last minute change of plans a mere two days before the event, I worked intently on reviving Solar Flare once more with the key pieces from Innistrad that I'd luckily preordered. Having not played in near a month due to family issues, I entered with a clear and simple intent in mind: to play the archetype that I love and to play the best Magic I possibly can. As I said, simple...

Deck

With no time to brew a list from scratch and send it through the testing grinder, I scoured the database of decks at starcitygames.com, convinced that one of their recent events must have produced a list that I'd be satisfied with. The key factors to the deck were pretty unsurprising, but supplementing the Flare package with strong Red Deck Wins hate seemed to be the thing to do at SCG Open, considering the success of the deck the previous week. I expected a heavily aggressive metagame and prepared accordingly, entering the following list:

Deck: Solar Flare

//Main
4	Glacial Fortress
4	Seachrome Coast
4	Drowned Catacomb
4	Darkslick Shores
4	Plains
4	Island
2	Swamp
3	Sun Titan
1	Wurmcoil Engine
2	Snapcaster Mage
2	Phantasmal Image
4	Liliana of the Veil
2	Day of Judgment
2	Timely Reinforcements
2	Oblivion Ring
2	Doom Blade
1	Go for the Throat
4	Mana Leak
4	Think Twice
3	Forbidden Alchemy
2	Unburial Rites
//Sideboard
1	Jace, Memory Adept
1	Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1	Wurmcoil Engine
2	Day of Judgment
2	Timely Reinforcements
2	Revoke Existence
2	Flashfreeze
2	Surgical Extraction
2	Ratchet Bomb

 Display Deck Statistics

Round 1 - vs. Tezzeret - 2-0

Upon realizing what my opponent was running I experienced a wave of doubt. A loss to the deck I strongly considered but dismissed due to bad experiences (i.e. Nationals...) would likely prove enough to put me on tilt for the rest of the tournament. In the first game he stumbles on playable cards, never getting into motion whilst I come to grasp the sheer brutality of Sun Titan into Phantasmal Image. Tumble Magnet serves him well, but never truly answers the problem. In game 2 the race starts early with Inkmoth Nexus aggression, but a handily timed double Doom Blade via Snapcaster Mage leaves him too far behind.

Round 2 - vs. Tempered Steel - 2-0

Along with RDW, this was very much my most feared match-up going in to the tournament.  With potential to explode randomly, particularly through Hero of Bladehold, I played carefully to sweep the board with enough life to come back with Sun Titan abuse.

Round 3 - vs. UW Blade - 2-0

This match was tough, with counterspells ensuring we entered a state of draw-go in both games. A state in the second game showed me just how strong Oblivion Ring is with five vital copies on the table between us, as well as proving how overwhelming a fast Elesh Norn can be in the current format. All was well and good until my opponent informed me after the game that I'd carried out a crucial illegal play in our first game, and that we both must have missed it. Early in the game he'd swung in with a Mirran Crusader equipped with a Sword of War and Peace, dropping me to 2 life in a single turn. I remembered how I lacked a second white source despite having Day of Judgment in hand, but I could not recall how I'd answered the Crusader. Thus dawned the grim realization that I'd cast Oblivion Ring in order to exile the threat, despite it having Protection from White thanks to the sword! I felt awful in having accepted the win prior to realizing this, but thankfully avoided becoming overcome with feelings of guilt by focusing solely from this point forward on playing better Magic and not making such an obvious error again.

Round 4 - vs. RGW Pod - 2-0

Though I suspected my opponent might be playing a Birthing Pod deck, I certainly didn't expect the colour combination! Having seen BUG and RUG Pod lists floating about the event, I expected blue to be a certainty. It embarrassingly took me past turn 5 to realize that my opponent wasn't simply experiencing a drought of blue mana! The first game bounced back and forth, with threats meeting solutions back and forth until Sun Titan rose from the grave. The second game consisted of many errors on my part in an attempt to answer the threat that is Thrun. From defending with Wurmcoil Engines to flashing back Day of Judgment to control the rest of the board, it finally clicked that Thrun isn't a description, it's a name! Furious with myself over such an oversight I revive Phantasmal Image to deal with the Last Troll, before pushing for the win.

Round 5 - I.D.

A nice and easy break is truly appreciated!

Quarter Finals - vs. Vampires - 2-0

This match ended up being a testament to the strength of Day of Judgment at the start of the format. Despite getting fair starts, my opponent quickly ran out of steam whilst my removal suite proved its worth.

Semi Finals - vs. Human White Weenie - 2-1

I briefly heard whispers of the white weenie deck my opponent was playing before the round started, and despite the horror stories that came from his victims I felt confident in my ability to defeat aggro, especially when they lack burn's reach. A dodgy keep and a few turns later, Mirran Crusader enchanted with Angelic Destiny snapped me back down to reality as I simply could not accept losing at this stage! Care and patience allowed me to control games 2 and 3, though failing to see a Titan I set my Snapcaster Mages to working overtime by burning through my Unburial Rites to recur the mighty beat sticks and keep up the pressure.

Finals - vs. RGW Pod - 2-1

A rematch of my toughest Swiss round acts as the grand finale to this years event. In the first game I keep a fair, and as my opponent curves out perfectly I see no real action and scoop up quickly. Game 2 allows me to just as swiftly even the odds by landing a Liliana on turn 3, and reanimating Elesh Norn on turn 4. With no ready means to combat the Praetor, we dive straight into the decider. A game full of twist and turns, with problems meeting solutions back and forth until the combination of Sun Titan and Phantasmal Image finally proved overwhelming.

Conclusion - 1st!

Needless to say that I was thrilled with my success. Not only was this a successful return to the form that I expect myself to play at, but I truly felt as though I'd learnt a lot throughout the day. Playing against skillful players whilst being possessed with the Fire is the best kind of training experience you can get. I received my random promo prizes, the qualification to a random Store Finals in the wild outskirts of London faded from my mind, with no word of detail concerning it. After leaving the venue, it was the experience of competition and desire to improve that stuck with me. Let this be a minor stepping stone towards a major improvement in 2012 over the muddled mess that was 2011!

Monthly Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament - September

Though this event was eagerly anticipated by those with whom I most frequently test, disappointment was to be had. Following the staggering turnout of 20+ players that has since become a regular occurrence, a large turnout was certainly expected for an event offering chase cards such as Steelswarm Roach as prizes. However, a mere 11 players turned up to compete on the day. Whether it was the cost, prizes, time or the expected difficult competition that put people off, this was a major blow for the competitive scene in Liverpool. Following my success in the weekly event, I continued to wield a tweaked version of Agents to a relatively successful finish.

Round 1 - Dragons - 2-1

I essentially hand my first game of the day over to my opponent with a single utterance of “ok” in response to his activation of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon’s revival effect. Clearly unfocused, I allowed this activation despite having Herald of Orange Light in hand with another Fairy to discard. I calm myself swiftly, and attempt to bring my mind under control as I sideboard. Game 2 starts with his summoning of a Koa’ki Meiru Drago, which paralyses my mind with fear that my ridiculous errors would leave me with a loss in the first round. Thankfully his summoning was merely for tempo, as he proved to have no access to dragons and only sought to set up the dragon for reanimation later. I leapt on the opportunity, and won that game and the one that followed.

Round 2 - Lightsworn - 2-0

Paired against my round 4 opponent from Wednesday, I knew a good match would follow. His practice was evident in skillful plays throughout, but despite that and the powerful tweaks that had been made since the previous match I felt far more confident with the matchup than expected. Thrown into focus by fear in the first round, I continue to push for the win.

Round 3 - Blackwings 0-2

As one of the more unique decks seeing play at the event, I wasn’t quite prepared to face down the winged menace. Though I played carefully around the various traditional pieces of the puzzle, the inclusion of Ryko to feed Black Luster Soldier was a devastating surprise. Both games ran long, with him dutifully pushing through my misplays to seize the win.

Round 4 - Macro Cosmos 2-0

Yet again I’m paired against an opponent from Wednesday night, and yet again the deck and player have greatly improved. Having pushed consistently to improve upon my play since my initial misstep at the start of the day, I’m very much in the zone as I fight past the grave hate and seize every opportunity presented to efficiently win.

Quarter Final - Gladiator Beasts - 2-0

Following a lengthy break the quarter finals begin, and I am dreading it. Having built momentum throughout the constant play of the last three rounds, I could feel myself lacking in focus as the match began. With little experience against Gladiators I was incredibly wary of the use of my counters. Extensive experience in using counterspells in Magic allowed me to gauge the right timing for my limited responses, and I managed to push for the win in both games.

Semi Final - Blackwings - 0-2

I fall to the naive mindset of hoping to face Lightsworn in the semis, and so it was inevitable really that I face Blackwings yet again! The match plays out quite similarly to the previous one, though in this case with the added difficulty factor of drawing numerous copies of Mystical Shine Ball. Once my Gachi Gachi Gantetsu’s fall, the match up is lost yet again.

Conclusion - 3/4th

I’m relatively happy with my result, especially considering my lack of time for preparation. The turnout was very disappointing, but the concentration of solid players with strong decks made it worthwhile. With another Agent deck falling to Blackwings in the finals, to very much the same horrendous draws as I saw in my semi final match, I felt at least confident that I am finally on track to developing my skills ready for the next wave of competitive events.

Wednesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh! 14.09.11

This week I turned to the dark side. Or perhaps that should be the light side, as I set aside Reborn Tengu and Debris Dragon to seize the raw power of Agents. I’d been working on the deck for some time, and having finally got a hold of the Heralds of Orange Light I felt it was time to test the deck before the weekend’s big local tournament. With a turnout of 20+ players, five rounds make for a challenging trial run!

Round 1 - Lightsworn - 1-1-1

The first game swung back and forth, but I seized the win through relatively solid play, bolstering my confidence in the deck and myself. That confidence was torn apart in the following game when I horribly misplay my use of Honest in response to Honest. Instead of thinking and running through the required timing steps, I eagerly just drop Honest onto the table. As a result, my Kristya still dies, jumps to the top of my deck and locks me out of responses next turn. Epic fail isn’t even a strong enough description. The match results in a draw, which surprises me as it is the first time I’ve seen a draw enforced in Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it leaves me fairly disheartened. The one thing I am determined to do tonight as a result, is play the game better!

Round 2 - Macro Burn - 2-0

An obvious pairing with a player with a single loss leads to a very unexpected deck. The use of Macro Cosmos and similar banishing effects slows my deck to a crawl, but building up a critical mass in order to sweep and explode, seizing control of the board in one fell swoop seems to be my route to victory.

Round 3 - Macro Cosmos - 2-0

Defeating an opponent maindecking graveyard hate left me a little bit more confident in my ability to play the game well when focused. What I didn’t expect was yet another banishing deck! Patience yet again led to answers, allowing me to grind my way through each game, and thankfully getting some unexpected use of Leviair in returning his Cyber Valley to give me the advantage to turn the game around. Caius proves to be a spectacular answer to Kristya right now, but thankfully the brutal speed at which Master Hyperion allows you to react makes Monarchy little more than a speed bump.

Round 4 - Lightsworn 2-1

Though seemingly a match with plays carried out at blinding speed, the sheer force of will behind each set of actions resulted in the lead being passed back and forth as fast as priority was passed between players! The true highlight of the match was when Mist Wurm was selected as a preferable target to Trishula, utterly destroying my field presence in a way the dragon never could. In time I managed to push through for enough damage to win on life points, and though doing so always makes me feel a step away from an actual win, it does leave me feeling far more confident and comfortable with my deck.

Round 5 - Agents - 2-1

As the first time playing both the mirror match and one of the most skilled players in the local group, nervous doesn’t quite describe my state of mind when I shuffled up. With an unshakable grin masking my fear, and my focus bouncing around the room in the least useful manner, the match begins. My opponent handily seizes first blood when I gamble in negating his Venus’ summoning with Solemn Judgment, only to be beaten down when he casts Monster Reborn. This punishing play serves as a wake up call to the competitive player deep within. Gears start to turn, my focus narrows and the desire to win rises to the surface. I play carefully throughout both of the following games, making misplays but adapting and learning from my mistakes swiftly. Careful calculation and fortunate draws allow me to win the following games, surpassing my own expectations for sure.

Conclusion - 4-0-1, 1st

This night I felt as though I had truly earned my victory, Having played against several strong players and a mixed field of top tier decks and anti-meta hate, I eagerly look forward to the competition to follow on the weekend. 

Wednesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh! 07.09.11

This will be a relatively brief recap of the event, but I was thoroughly thrilled to be able to give my Tour Guides a shot in Plants, despite the rules change.

Round 1 - Bye!

Round 2 - Fabled - 2-1

Fabled decks always prove to be quite stressful for me to face, as a strong first turn off the die roll is often unbeatable. Thankfully I manage to grind my way through to victory, simply through being patient and not letting my focus waver.

Round 3 - Psychics 2-0

A difficult match in which the opponent was always little more than a turn away from victory, but explosive synchro abuse remains as powerful as ever.

Round 4 - Agents 0-2

This is a matchup that I have no real idea on how to approach. Plants is a solid control deck in having access to a variety of Synchro and Xyz monsters for all sorts of situations...but once Kristya lands, there’s little I can do to turn the tide.

Conclusion - 3-1, 1st

Through colossal luck with tiebreakers, I managed to win the event, though I certainly don’t feel it was deserved. Though I feel I played solid games against my round 2 and 3 opponents, the bye feels unbelievably cheap and the total destruction by Agents in the final round makes me feel far less a winner than one should feel in this position.

Plants were quite an enjoyable deck to play, but my list was far from refined. Despite what many will say, the deck is far from dead, but as a player I need further practice and need to learn how to handle the latest powerhouse deck in the format, Agents.

MTG GB Nationals 2011

Here we are, finally on site at GB Nationals supporting our newly opened local store and venue, The Scythe and Teacup Gamer Cafe, and ready to fight for the title of National Champion... 

/

Team Teacup?

Well that went well. Despite making use of every possible opportunity to research the developing trends in Standard, I began my testing the week before Nationals with a very undecided mindset. With minimal time to test, I settled on UB Control, but the specifics of the deck were very uncertain. I felt relatively comfortable with a list very similar to that piloted by Ali Aintrazi to seize the title at US Nationals, but I was far from certain that I’d be able to compete with the deck in the traditionally aggressive UK metagame. 

As a member of our group was attempting to grind in, a clear read of the meta could be established at the LCQ, allowing an estimation to be made as to which decks would likely see most play in the main event itself. Combo in the form of Twin as well as Red Deck Wins were quite heavily represented, as is expected of an LCQ, but those types of decks always decrease in numbers in the main event itself. UB Control however appeared to be very popular, making it a strong bet for seeing heavy play the next day. At this point I made the choice to bite the bullet and adapt my deck to work as Tezzeret Control, utilizing Torpor Orb and the ability to push with animated artifacts to fight off the expected metagame. 

And so the morning of Nationals arrives, and I ready myself for the long day that awaits. The player meeting eventually starts, and my nerves are kicking in. As I started my first match, doubt began to creep in as I faced Valakut. Despite landing an early Torpor Orb, Primeval Titan swings through as I fail to find removal, and despair starts to take over. Game 2 lasted a bit longer, as I controlled the board and slowly pushed through with Inkmoth Nexus. He readies the kill whilst sitting on five poison counters. All I need to do is find a Tezzeret to win, yet I fail to see anything beyond a land. He continues to make a mistake in his turn, failing to pull off the kill, and yet again I see nothing but land off the top of the deck. The second round pairs me against Valakut yet again, and despite solid controlling starts I manage to hit mana floods, followed by Titans and Terastadon crashing through with ease. 

Disheartened, I sat down for round 3 hoping for one of the many, many control decks I could see around me during the previous rounds. Alas, I am paired against Splinter Twin, which proceeds to beat me violently whilst Torpor Orbs prove powerless without backing of any kind. And so, on a stellar record of 0-3, I decided to drop and claim my two free drafts to hopefully recoup some of my losses from the weekend. Despite rare drafting when able(a Chandra in each draft...), my solid draft decks resulted in losses nonetheless. During the second day I decided to try my hand at the Legacy GP with a strong Team America build, but even that resulted in failure as I lose to NO RUG and draw against Enchantress and Stifle-naught. 

And so Nationals has proven a success for me in nothing more than a disheartening experience. Though I understand that I sorely lacked the time necessary to gain the experience needed to succeed, I could never have predicted that the weekend would result in a total of zero match wins across three utterly different formats. 

But if I were ever to let such losses get to me, I wouldn’t be playing Magic today. I have had my moment of painful humility and am determined to prepare for the future. With Modern developing into a deep yet innovative format, I intend to slowly work on the format and develop my skills so that I can play a better game than ever before. The Spring PTQ season will undoubtedly be played through the Modern format, and I intend to succeed this time on skill rather than luck. In order to develop I cannot work alone, and thanks to our new local venue it is time to truly begin working as team to take on the competitive scene. But more on that will follow soon enough, and thanks for reading.

Tuesday Night Magic - 05.07.11

As Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic left the format peacefully at the end of last week, I was driven to try my hand at control in the new format. The lack of Oblivion Ring held me back from playing UW Control, despite the draw of Venser, and instead I helped a friend build up the UW list as an experiment. Though the desire to experiment with interesting decks was strong, I naturally crumbled and fell back into the clutches of UB Control. The lack of Mind Sculptors hurts the deck considerably, but without swords seeing heavy play the ability to draw out the game with spot removal before dropping overpowering bombs was too tempting to resist. The list I went with can be seen below, though do note that my lack of Surgical Extractions is the only reason for their absence! Space should definitely be made for them in the sideboard.

UB Control Main Deck

UB Control Side Deck

Round 1 - UW Venser - 1-0-1

A thoroughly interesting match, with bombs causing swings back and forth throughout each game. Blade Splicer proved to be particularly powerful, but lucky timing on my part let me keep the board under control with Black Sun Zenith whilst my discard kept his utility at a minimum. As game 1 took a relatively long time to tie up, game 2 set me the aim of drawing for the win. Any hope of a fast win vanished as he began to establish board control, but spot removal and well timed discard kept him from finding a win condition, despite having a Venser ready to fire off his ultimate. 

Round 2 - Myr Twin - 2-0-0

This deck certainly caught me off guard by combining arguably the most powerful and most forgotten combos in standard into a single disruptive deck. In game 1 I manage to gain control fairly effectively and push for a win. Game 2 draws out for far longer as I struggle to find win conditions. I push through a couple of Memoricides to remove his Splinter Twins and Red Sun Zeniths (!), but seeing he still has Lightning Bolts and was still beating face with Myr, the fear set in. A lucky top deck of a Consecrated Sphinx allowed me to tap out knowing he has to top deck one of his three remaining Lightning Bolts to win before I can start to overcome him with draw. Thankfully he doesn’t draw the Bolt for several turns whilst I carefully pick off targets on board and push with a Wurmcoil Engine pulling me back into safety. If this match taught me anything it is to be very careful not to miss timing with Consecrated Sphinx. Though I won in the end, I still missed 2-3 triggers with the Sphinx throughout both games by letting my attention be trapped by the cards in my hand whilst the opponent starts off their turn.

Round 3 - MBC - 2-0-0

This round gave me the excellent opportunity to see the new, and highly promising, Mono Black Control deck in action. Though a few elements were different to those gaining popularity online, the shell of the deck was very much the same. His discard and removal were arguably stronger than mine, and if he could land a Lashwrithe the game would be over very quickly, much like how Korlash once ended games alone. Both games were good up to a point, but unfortunately he stumbled in both games in drawing land or irrelevant answers whilst I managed to push through with Creeping Tar Pits.

Round 4 - UB Control - 1-2-0

Unsurprisingly it was a mirror match that ended my winning streak. Each game was a battle of attrition, with Planeswalkers and discard proving vital in seeking the opportunity to land and protect a threat. Tectonic Edge played a violently disruptive role in each and every game, and this match alone just reminded me of how attempting a deck running more than two colours is simply impossible right now. As the last game drew to time, I was fighting off a bouncing Batterskull with my Karn Liberated, resisting fatal damage for several turns, before mistakenly thinking I had a turn to pump him up again whilst blocking with a Creeping Tar Pit. In my haste I missed his remaining Tectonic Edge, and handed over the game on turn 3 of time. I was now painfully aware of how many misplays I was making, my lack of experience proving very disheartening when it comes to control mirrors in which I should be playing better.

Round 5 - UW Venser Fish - 1-2-0

The final round for the night proved very unexpected. Despite having spoken to the player about the deck earlier in the evening, the sheer ferocity and utility of an equipment engine post-Stoneforge certainly caught me off guard. Puresteel Paladin is an absolute monster, especially whilst people are still ignoring the fact that Swords of X and Y are all extremely powerful on their own, and that Squadron Hawk is still pure advantage. Painfully we both pass each other games based on mana screw, before playing a real game in game 3. I attempt to control the board with a Precursor Golem before he fights back with a Phyrexian Metamorph. Dismayed by the incredible clone, I drop a Wurmcoil Engine and ready to defend when his equipment becomes active. A second Metamorph becomes a Wurmcoil Engine, and via Puresteel Paladin his Mortarpod and Basilisk Collar combo allows him to slaughter my defenders.

Conclusion - 3-2

After a strong start, I disappointingly end with a very average standing. Having expected a very RDW and Valakut focused meta, my lack of good options to board against control hurt, but nowhere near as much as my own misplays did. Once M12 arrives, practice will be key if I intend to fight the good fight at Nationals again this year, and that includes practicing the dreaded M12/M12/M12 draft.

UB Control is still a powerful deck, but this event reminded me of the importance of patience and focus in playing the deck. It is an incredibly demanding beast to handle, and certainly punishes misplays horrifically. Despite playing the proactive disruption package of discard spells, UB Control still plays far too carefully and reactively to impact a mixed field. With the popularity of UB Control and the imminent rise in RDW, it seems very likely that Mental Misstep will make its first major debut into Standard, taking up a role very much like the splashes of Spell Snare back in Kamigawa/Ravnica Standard to control tempo by stopping Scab-Clan Maulers, Umezawa’s Jitte, Castigate and, most importantly, Signets.

On a side note, the UW list I helped a friend build before the event ended up winning, beating my round 4 opponent in the finals. Having admittedly made many misplays throughout the day, it seems that UW Control is the more forgiving deck to work with, and is likely to become even more so with the return of Oblivion Ring. It is highly likely that I will end up focusing on UW Control simply due to its more proactive, tap-out nature. Hopefully M12 stirs the game up as required, because banning a couple of cards certainly hasn’t made the format as interesting as promised.

Wednesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh! - 29.06.11

I was ecstatic on Monday that my T.G. Hyper Librarians had finally arrived, and as we aren't running officially yet it would provide a good couple of weeks testing for the future. Despite playing Junk Doppel for so long before now, the addition of Extreme Victory certainly makes deck building far more of a complex task than before. I dedicated my initial testing run to a build running Reborn Tengu, assuming he'd be just as good as I'm sure we're all used to by now. Surprisingly, Tengu plays horrendously in the deck, and due to (yet again!) a severe lack of time in which to test I put together a list largely reminiscent of the generic Japanese list, but favoring Solemn Warning over excessive numbers of Limit Reverse. Limit Reverse is vital in the Japanese meta due to the loss of the priority rule, making Lonefire Blossom very vulnerable to a variety of threats.  We maintain our priority rules for the foreseeable future, Warning is far more important as we have Reborn Tengu to answer.

Round 1 - Scraps - OXO

I manage to sweep game 1 without too much difficulty, as I've heard Trishula's pretty good these days. Game 2, however, took a very long time. My opponent synchro'd into 2 Scrap Dragons and 3 Scrap Twin Dragons during the game, and threatened to go again if possible. I picked off each threat, but a couple of painful errors in judgment (and, admittedly, card reading...) eventually cost me the game. In game 3 we swing back and forth, and as I'm readying an alpha strike time is called. He manages to disrupt my push with an unexpected and problematic Lava Golem (!). Thankfully I squeeze a small amount of damage through his defenses and stall out the last turn of time on higher life.

Round 2 - Fabled - OO

Having tested pretty exclusively against this deck in my most recent testing run, I shuffled up expecting him to swiftly dispose of me via turn 1 Reborn Tengu, turn 2 OTK. Whilst he managed the first turn Tengu, I was lucky enough to be able to pick apart the rest of his attempts with well-timed responses followed but a synchro rush. In game 2 he starts yet again with a Reborn Tengu and 3 set spell/traps. Obviously I manage to draw MST off the top of the deck and by sheer luck pick off his set (card name)! Back and forth pushes and stalling end with a pivotal Book of Moon on his tuner before I synchro rush for game.

Round 3 - Agents - XX

As a powerful deck with a wide variety of competitive structures to work with, I eagerly anticipated this matchup to see the performance of whatever variant he was running. I very suddenly regretted being so eager as the match reached its swift, brutal conclusion. Game 1 involved Pot of Duality into (card name) into Agent of Mystery - Earth, finally tutoring Agent of Creation - Venus, which was followed by minimal action by me allowing him to use Venus to swarm with Mystic Shine Balls and synchro into a devastating Trishula, which he rides to the win. I approach the second game optimistically thinking I just needed to start more effectively, and going first should help in that respect, but my optimism is ripped away when Valhalla lands and allows him to special summon Archlord Kristya. I stall for several turns, trying desperately to find an answer whilst he struggles to hit another monster. Ryko eventually provides me a window, but by this time he is easily able to respond to my attempts to strike back. He ends up finishing me swiftly with two copies of Master Hyperion cleaning up the board for the kill.

Round 4 - KMP - XOX

This match was a true testament to the power of the combo-enabling cards in the game right now. Each game came down to the activation of either a Giant Trunade or a Trap Stun, making Solemn Warnings feel like dead weights whilst combo loops are carried out without fail. A total lack of Effect Veiler action with him going first in games 1 and 3, I don't really need to say much as to how resilient the combo is. Chimeratech Fortress Dragon led me to my win, but my deck is far less refined and practiced in performing its combo's than KMP. And it showed clearly.

Conclusion - 2-2

Though I'm obviously fairly disappointed in what was expected to be an explosive debut for T.G. Hyper Librarian, I am now more eager than ever to unlock the potential of the card. Without Shooting Quasar Dragon at our disposal we lack the utterly dominating combo finisher a deck like this needs. A few of us at the event, by sheer coincidence, ran T.G. Halberd Cannon, and the more I see it in action the more convinced I am in its potential. But for me, this list was clearly sub-par and needs a dramatic amount of work to stand against a format of reliable powerhouses like Samurai and Agents. I'll follow up soon with my thoughts on potential routes to take.

Wednesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh! - 15.06.11

Well this will be a short report! I prepared a nice and interesting Dragunity list for this week. Alas, the sideboard was a mess as I left it til last minute, and forgot to bring several key tools with me to build it on site!

Round 1 - X-Sabers - XOX

Interesting games, but my total lack of experience with the deck is my excuse for the horrendous mistakes I made. I lost game 1 on the back of synchroing into Thought Ruler Archfiend instead of Stardust Dragon when he clearly telegraphed having a set Mirror Force and not a third Dimensional Prison, and game 3 I forgot completely that Dragunity Dux has a continuous pump ability, which might have allowed me to seize the kill if I'd realised sooner. Not the greatest start to an evening.

Round 2 - Bye!

Round 3 - Plants - XOX

The first two games are fairly solid back and forth. When it came to game 3 I was too unfocused and easily distracted, and rushed to kill after a couple of turns of setting up. I glance at life totals, see 6000 and synchro into Trident Dragion for game, destroying all my backup utility...only to realise I was on 6000 and I hadn't dealt damage to him this game whatsoever. I realise I'm incapable of playing well today and call it a night.

*Drop*

Conclusion

Well this week was clearly a disappointment, but I did however enjoy the games I played. My crazily heavy workload recently amongst other things has prevented and real practice, and it does feel a bit meaningless to prepare with no definite major events to work towards pre-Librarian, and even pre-Xyz. I suspect I'll fall back into playing Junk Doppel in order to prepare for Librarian, whilst looking into working T.G. variants. It's quite disappointing to see Kristya still has no confirmed reprint for the near future, which along with Duality makes strong builds of Agents out of easy reach. It will be curious to see how Junk Doppel operates without it's easy Shining Quasar Dragon OTK strategy. I suppose time will tell.

Wednesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh! - 08.06.11

This week I ran a variant of Tengu Plants that top 16'd at the Italian Nationals tournament on the weekend. The main difference is the inclusion of the spicy Blackwing Zephyros the Elite tech that the OCG has enjoyed for so long now. This is the list I ran:

Main - [40]
[1] Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness
[1] Chaos Sorcerer
[2] Caius the Shadow Monarch
[3] Reborn Tengu
[2] Debris Dragon
[2] Lonefire Blossom
[1] Dandylion
[1] Glow-up Bulb
[1] Spore
[2] Card Trooper
[2] Effect Veiler
[2] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter
[1] Sangan
[1] Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite

[1] Dark Hole
[1] Monster Reborn
[1] Giant Trunade
[2] Mystical Space Typhoon
[2] Pot of Avarice
[1] Mind Control
[1] Foolish Burial
[1] Book of Moon

[1] Mirror Force
[1] Torrential Tribute
[1] Solemn Judgment
[2] Solemn Warning
[1] Call of the Haunted
[2] Limit Reverse

Extra [15]

[1] Shooting Star Dragon
[1] Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Colossal Fighter
[1] Scrap Dragon
[1] Stardust Dragon
[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend
[2] Black Rose Dragon
[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
[1] Iron Chain Dragon
[1] Ally of justice
[1] Magical Android
[1] Armory Arm
[2] Formula Synchron

Side [15]

[1] Mobius the Frost Monarch
[1] Neo-spacian Grand Mole
[1] Puppet Plant
[2] D.D. Crow
[2] Chain Disappearance
[3] Dimensional Prison
[3] Dust Tornado
[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

Round 1 - vs. Dark Debris Tengu - XOX

Close to a mirror match, with him running extra darks like Plaguespreader Zombie and Genex Ally Birdman to fuel a second Chaos Sorcerer and Dark Armed Dragon. In the first game I drew a relatively weak hand of creatures, Pot of Avarice and Monster Reborn. I attempt to make a comeback via Reborn and Lonefire Blossom into a tuner, but Solemn Warning put an end to it straight. Game 2 drew out to be quite a tense game, with swings back and forth before I eventually managed to take the game. The final game left me seeing little more than Effect Veilers and Limit Reverse, whilst my opponent beats down for turns with Card Troopers into raw beats with Tengu and Zephyros.

Round 2 - vs. Samurai - OXO

A relatively short first game allowed me to take the win by having answers to any problem that came up. The second game saw him explode with a powerful rush of special summons, with Hand of the Six Samurai dealing with my attempted defences. In game 3 I felt confident with my initial push, with Brionac allowing me to drop him to 2300 life points, but he managed a powerful comeback via Shi En to answer my dragon, leaving me to defend into enough removal spells to force past Shi En and push for game.

Round 3 - vs. Gravekeepers - XX

He starts off and sets a guy, 3 spell/traps and plays Necrovalley. My hand is mediocre, and though I hold off for a while I end up going on tilt at the end by forgetting to trigger Gorz in my hand, despite making sure to set up to use him as my last resort. The second game draws out, with him always having access to a Solemn when I attempt to force a Black Rose Dragon or Giant Trunade.

Round 4 - vs. Spellcaster Gravekeepers - OO

Having two losses I decided to play on for practice, but was granted a relatively straightforward game 1 in which Magical Dimension and Gravekeeper's Guard were pretty much the extent of what I saw before dropping Trishula, Scrap Dragon and the remaining Reborn Tengu. He starts off the second game in a far stronger position with a Necrovalley, which I suppose I should've expected but didn't. Unfortunately, he realised at that point that he'd left some cards in his deck box that should've been in the deck, which earned him a game loss.

Conclusion - 2-2

Another disappointing result this week, clearly showing my slipping focus and practice. The list ran ok, and several games following the rounds proved it can operate outstandingly, but it seems that I got the most unlucky chain of starting hands possible. Whilst I did enjoy the deck, it felt too slow and awkward for my style, very much how I felt about zombie plants soon after playing them at the qualifier a couple of weeks ago. At this stage I may try out a wildly different deck soon, likely Dragunity, just to gain more widespread experience in the run up to T.G. hyper Librarian's legality in 4 weeks time.

In the mean time, I need to:
Test against a stronger field of meta decks, particularly Gravekeepers!
Practice using stronger side boarding designs and techniques derived from testing results and recent trends.
And last but not least, I need to finally get a hold of a set of Puppet Plants!!!

Wednesday Night Yu-Gi-Oh! - 01.06.11

This week I opted to play a deck I always enjoy, though have never had the greatest of success with: Infernity!

Main – [40]

[3] Infernity Archfiend

[3] Infernity Necromancer

[2] Infernity Avenger

[2] Infernity Mirage

[1] Stygian Street Patrol

[1] Dark Grepher

[1] Armageddon Knight

[1] Plaguespreader Zombie

[1] Infernity Launcher

[1] Dark Hole

[1] Monster Reborn

[1] Giant Trunade

[2] Mystical Space Typhoon

[1] Allure of Darkness

[1] Reinforcement of the Army

[1] Book of Moon

[1] Foolish Burial

[1] One for One

[3] Infernity Barrier

[3] Infernity Inferno

[1] Infernity Break

[1] Solemn Judgment

[2] Solemn Warning

[1] Mirror Force

[1] Torrential Tribute

[1] Call of the Haunted

[2] Dust Tornado

Extra – [15]

[1] Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[1] Dark End Dragon

[3] Hundred Eyes Dragon

[1] Infernity Doom Dragon

[1] Scrap Dragon

[1] Stardust Dragon

[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[1] Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Stygian Sergeants

[1] Armory Arm

Side – [15]

[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[2] Cyber Dragon

[2] Thunder King Rai-Oh

[1] Neo-Spacian Grand Mole

[1] Puppet Plant

[2] Nobleman of Crossout

[1] Bottomless Trap Hole

[2] Dimensional Prison

[1] Dust Tornado

[1] Gottoms’ Emergency Call

[1] Hero’s Rule 2

Round 1 – Random Beats – OO

Both games were over incredibly fast, with complete Hundred Eyes Dragon looping in both games via Giant Trunade and carefully timed traps. Naturally drawn Infernity Barrier’s can be pretty useful in forcing through Infernity Archfiend’s tutor effect!

Round 2 – Blackwings – OO

Game 1 is very short and neat, with a nice Hundred Eyes Dragon loop enabled by my early set of a Barrier. In game 2 I fail to make a perfect loop by tutoring Launcher instead of Mirage when I hadn’t normal summoned that turn, but I managed to pull out two copies of Hundred Eyes Dragon and an Archfiend. In his turn he proceeds to use Smashing Ground, which I allow, a second Smashing which I negate with Barrier and then a Dark Hole which I negate with my last Barrier. Once the dust settled he cast Monster Reborn on my deceased dragon, removed a Gale from the grave and dealt with my remaining dragon easily. I draw out the game with blockers, with Avenger shining in that role, before finally piecing together an Infernity Doom Dragon to burn him out for game.

Round 3 – Gravekeepers – XX

Game 1 was over very quickly, as he locks me out of any plays easily. Game 2 drew out a fair bit longer, removal flying back and forth, including a hilarious Mirror Force activation on his Assailant and THREE Recruiters! He managed to draw into a vast amount of powerful spells and traps whilst sitting behind two Spies in the early game, resulting in me knowing he has a set Oppression and an active Necrovalley I have to answer to even try to win. I Dust his field spell, attempt a rush, using Barrier to answer Oppression, but Seven Tools leaves me losing over the next couple of turns.

Round 4 – Fabled – XOX

As you’d probably expect, this match is very dependent on who goes first, and seeing as he won the die roll he won the first game easily. I beat him down with Rai-Oh and Grand Mole in game 2, locking out any of his plays, but fell victim in game 3 to a starting hand consisting of Infernity Launcher and both copies of Infernity Mirage. A Morphing Jar flip and The Fabled Unicore later and the game was over.

Conclusion – 2-2

A relatively disappointing event, but not an entirely unexpected result in the end. I enjoyed playing the deck, but it’s far too easily disrupted right now, and likely easier still in future when priority leaves this game. I was quite surprised as to how weak Allure of Darkness and Plaguespreader Zombie proved to be, but a lack of testing made that a pretty clear oversight in rebuilding the deck. A casual game against a Miracle Hero variant after the event terrified me when I managed to loop with Hundred Eyes Dragon, setting 3 Barrier and a Break, only for my opponent to flip up Royal Decree. Maybe that card is worth trying out right now, with the excessive use that traps are getting right now in the post-Heavy Storm game state?