The LiquidLegends Lounge - Page 1588

12 people including 4 guys who started at Kaladesh, quick breakdown:
- Jeskai control (mostly unchanged in the end)
- Mardu vehicles (list w/ caravans)
- 4c Saheeli
- 3x eneRGy (varied levels, including one of the new guys)
- Grixis Dynavolt control
- BW improvise tokens (friend I lent a bunch of cards too, he moved from tokens aristocrats to improvise for demon)
- rest was a kid with a glorified draft vehicles deck, and the 3 other new guys, 2 with upgraded intro decks (Ajani and Nissa) and dunno about the 3rd nor our 12th player

Round 1 vs eneRGy
New guy, we spent a bunch of time talking about contents of the decks or how they started, etc. (he bought a box for cheap off of a sold Mana Vault, nice way to get started on a collection ), and I joked about how even with only Kaladesh there are very problematic G cards for me. He proceeds to drop an Hydra the next turn.
My deck can still handle a bunch of low-cost creatures decently if I don't find my sweepers, and g2 he drew 17 cards total without finding any of his 19 creatures... talk about a non-game. We played another for funsies and he actually won 'cause I got greedy and chose to take 7 and cast Glimmer over casting Stasis Snare, then didn't find additional answers in time.
1-0

Round 2 vs upgraded Ajani intro deck
Another of the new guys, he and a 3rd of their group (playing upgraded Nissa deck) played besides us round 1.
He plays fairly standard creatures and revolt enablers. He's still got good cards to add to it because he tries to a Nissa at some point! After a "Oh crap" I promptly Negate it tho. A couple turns later, because I have no idea what's in his deck and I tend to kill stuff on my opponent's turn (and he has W implements), I counter an Aid from the Cowl... didn't expect to say that one day.
Same as the other, we talk a lot (well, I talk too much in general and I explain/mention a bunch of interactions or how I function as a control deck too since he was wondering how I'd win after seeing 3 removal and as many counters), and I end up winning 1-0 in turns.
In g2 he missed a couple land drops and after his used the intro deck tutor for the Ajani I even killed his Druid of the Cowl to slow him down. But Nissa forced my last remaining counter, so with more time he'd have come down in 1-2 turns, and my on-board Spell queller would have taken 4 turns to kill him through his +1, so 4 more creatures for my opponent (or +2 to grow them and stall the queller instead). I was surprised that the intro deck PW is actually a legitimate threat for my deck.
2-0

Round 3 vs eneRGy
More tuned list, as I'll have to, uh... take notice.
Game 1 has me mulliganing to 5 on the play, and getting pressured as he tries to resolve an hydra that I thanksfully have a counter for, however it lets him resolve Arlinn Kord later as I get Gideon down myself. I keep making tokens to block as he's resolved an Hydra, and next turn he plays a 2nd one, hasty thanks to Arlinn so he still has an untapped one after my Blessed Alliance.
Here he has a choice to block Gideon or let Arlinn die, with 9 energy and an Aether Hub. He blocks, and uses a pump+Blossoming Defense (using 1 energy) to block Gideon and live; Radiant Flames finishes the Hydra off. Gideon is still gonna go down but the damage is done and I'm basically back to card parity, so the first Hulk topdecked pulls me ahead.
Game 2 has him playing three Hydras between turns 4 and 8, and it takes me an unordinate amount of work but I somehow kill or counter them all (1st bolted with energy trigger on the stack, 2nd countered, the 3rd took a couple cards from me) and we settle in draw-land-go mode (both of us drawing too many lands (or attunes/pump that he holds)). I get a Fumarolle and start punching, putting him to 8 (at 10 or so myself), eliminating back-to-back Undergrowth Champions in the process but having to trade the manland to a pump which allows him to stick Arlinn.
In the end, I go eot Gearhulk -> Gideon but have to go for Arlinn as she's at 6 so emblem makes a lot of topdecks lethal, she's at 1, me at 6, there's a 2/2 wolf to my 2/2 knight on defense... and he bricks so I win (Glimmer found me a counter and I had the 11 lands for Gideon+Glimmer+Disallow, anyway).
Hydras are friggin scary! D:
3-0

Round 4 vs Mardu vehicles
The usual winner. Because some of the people shelling for t1 decks post-PT aren't here it's basically only he, another one, my r3 opponent and me with really strong decks (tho the latter two are t2 decks), but I'd still tuned my board for that match-up.
Game 1 has me mulliganing into a decent hand, lands and Radiant Flames but no draw/selection spells. He goes Apprentice-Inspector-Motorist and I take some damage on purpose to try and get card advantage off Flames, the 3/1 convinces me to pull the trigger turn 4, but he slams Aethersphere Harvester in response to me tapping out, and without ways to get energy I just die a couple turns later.
Game 2 he draws too many lands despite a Motorist, and I kept 5 lands, Immolating Glare and Release the Gremlins.. tap out turn 5 to get 2 gremlins off his Heart of Kiran and a clue token, walling off his Apprentice and Inspector, so it's draw-go with me exile-countering a Scrounger in-between, till I drop an Hulk (exiling a 2nd Scrounger) and he scoops when I start attacking.
Game 3 is another land-heavy, draw-less hand for me and he's on the play, I remove Heart with Release for 1 (and trade it with a Motorist) and exile a Scrounger, finding enough lands to potentially cast Linvala on turn 6 but he's only got 1 creature and 2 vehicles. I get greedy, wanting the 3/3 angel, and take 8 damage for it.
Later another big choice comes up:
+ Show Spoiler +
3-1

So... yeah. I could have beaten him for once, and won a game day without breakers/draws mattering, but I made a bad decision. Which I'm certainly fine with: emphasises how you have to play tight and the things to consider while making choices, shows me where I can improve, and aside from match 1 and m2g1 they were all close in the end.

End up 2nd and open Ajani from prize packs, wurf!
The pal I lent stuff to went 3-1 and took 3rd (beat 4c Saheeli, first by casting Demon for 3 mana after missing land drops, then when 4c went for the combo against an untapped swamp he sacrificed a servo to Yahenni and caast Fatal Push with Revolt), and my round 3 opponent took 4th, 2-1-1.
I'm curious to see how Grixis Dynavolt did, but I assume it was 2-1-1 too (they drew) and worse breakers.