The LiquidLegends Lounge - Page 1850

Akroma's Vengeance + foil Diabolic Edict (traded it for Expedition Map after the draft), Pernicious Deed, Azusa.
Rest opened Phyrexian Obliterator, foil Master of the Wild Hunt; Pact of Negation; Courser of Kruphix; Imperial Recruiter; Tree of Perdition; Magus of the Wheel.

Akroma's Vengeance -> Treasure Keeper to stay somewhat open -> Murder over Blightning -> Zada -> foil Pacifism.
W disappeared and U was iffy. R was very open so it looked like I could aim for RG or BR, making a bunch of tokens and getting pump spells for Zada. End of the pack was pretty meh but I wheeled an Echoing Courage so I stayed on the Zada train.
Pack 2 gave me some more stuff, Ember Weaver #2 and #3, Goblin War Drums, 2nd Kindle, 2nd Stampede Driver... basically I tried to get additional copies of my cheap creatures for Echoing Courage, and wheel these and other tricks. Only one Hordeling Outburst seen in the whole draft sadly. Saw a Timberpack Wolf late in the pack so I tried for this one too.
P3P1 was the 2nd Wolf, pack was weak in both quantity and quality in my colours. Pick up Magus to refuel and Inawori for a beater, some more creatures...

Seat to my right went foil Master of the Wild Hunt -> Rancor, so we actually shared a colour and I saw very little in pack 3. He picked a bunch of R too, but that he couldn't splash easily. For some reason despite picking Presence of Gond highly and several Ambassador Oaks he didn't pick Valor in Akros late in pack 2.
To his right was UB, starting UW iirc then noticing W was cut and moving out. To my left was UB too (Murder of Crows -> the B or Bx cards I passed, somehow rewarded pack 2 and 3 since U suddenly went from disappeared to flowing).
3rd seat to my right was UR, almost monoR. That explains pack 3 but I'm a bit surprised since R was wide open pack 1.

Overall I fucked up by not picking up all the Arbor Elf and Nettle Sentinels I saw. I figured the elf wouldn't fit well in my "samey dudes + tricks/echoing courage" beatdown plan, and since I didn't know whether I was BR or RG till late in pack 1 I didn't pick the sentinel, then pack 2 I had very little G in comparison so I thought they may end up hard to untap (I ended up picking a bunch of G there), and by pack 3 I had none so it was too late.
Had I been greedy I could have picked 5-6 Nettle Sentinels and that'd have fit absurdly well with Echoing Courage (2 copies, passed another mid-pack 1) and my curve. Ah well.

Basically my plan was using Echoing Courage with Hordeling Outburst/Ember Weaver and ideally Zada. Or just try to flood the board and use Goblin War Drums + Trumpet Blast to kill.
Figures that archetype can get a lot more consistent by aggressively picking the cheap creatures (or opening more copies, for example Hordeling Outburst and Timberpack Wolves) and Echoing Courage, focusing on G and adding R or W depending on what's open, but when we compared what we saw, my deck looked... innocuous. Like I'm playing fair Magic in a format that doesn't care about it.

One guy was already bitching about the time and talking about only playing 2 rounds. Our 8th had to make a detour 'cause closest ATM was closed, and the draft took awhile since we had somebody write down our rares/foils and most of us didn't know the set or hadn't studied it. Then bitching guy went and played games with people from the RIX pod and we ended up waiting on him.
Then after the end of round 1 he didn't report his score so all other 3 matches were waiting on a "for fun" game he was playing for 15 minutes.
Bitch as much as you want but then don't make us lose 25 minutes overall, the heck.
Then he finished round 2 last but first thing he did was unsleeve the rares/foils and mentioning to his opponent to do it (a guy playing it for nostalgia, hadn't played in awhile). So others followed suite and despite several of us wanting to play a 3rd round we couldn't do it with half the people out.
Originally one person had to leave before midnight because worked started early for him, but a friend of his could fetch his rares to give back to him later so we'd just have a bye. But I can bitchin' dude didn't care whatever other people wanted (he was already cracking his pack and looking at it while we were waiting for the 8th, and then was the one making passes at how we were slow to pick).

Oh, yeah, he also came here with a strategy to force in mind, and he did force it, so it's not like he had to put much thought into his picks either and take time.
I know Wave's all for forcing the archetypes that look fun because we aren't going to draft the set more than a couple times, and would criticise me for disliking it, but I already am not a fan of that guy's attitude in general, and the context there with him looking eager to play asap and draft fast, but showing up determined to force a specific deck and complaining that we picked slower 'cause we were, y'know, reading the cards and trying to read signals/find cool stuff too, then beating off elsewhere and making us start later in the end, then forcing his desire not to play a 3rd round on the rest of the pod really leaves me with a sour taste and a more acute dislike of him.
(In case you're curious he forced UW Loyal Sentry + the blink he found)

So long story short we only played 2 rounds.
Round 1 my opponent had a greedy keep and stayed on 2 lands, turns out Hordeling Outburst -> Goblin War Drums -> some buff closes games fast when he's slow on the board.
Game 2 I had to mull into a monocolour hand, got colour screwed then flooded once I found the other. He put me at 13 then played his splashed Triskadekaphobia, I used Chandra's Outrage on my own creature to try buying a turn or 2 but I'd never had enough gas.
Game 3 I sided in more midrangey and played bigger creatures. I tried to remove his blocking morph with Chandra's Outrage and hit him for 11 overall... and it was Willbender. Oops! Here's my baptism. He didn't have much else tho so Inawori closed it.

Round 2 was my left neighbour, UB control.
He had the same starting hand give or take one card both games, and the first turns played exactly the same.
t1 cycle Ash Barrens, t2 Edict, t3 Shadowmage Infiltrator or Murder, t4 the other, then the bat that drains for 2, then Totally Lost. He drew both Totally Lost in a row game 1 so whatever I just scooped seeing the writing on the wall. Game 2 he only drew one and used it on my Magus of the Wheel to buy himself one turn to try and empty his hand, topdecked a land to be able to do so, I was out of gas and on a clock due to unblockable shit so I sac'd him, drew a whole bunch of nothing but I had Zada, Epic Confrontation and Echoing Courage, so why not. He had Chupacabra for Inawori, then I realised I'd misread Zada and Epic Confrontation isn't copied and doesn't pump my board + clear his, then he misplayed his 2nd Totally Lost and let me get a copied Echoing Courage off and punched him, casting Trumper Blast 'cause I'm dead anyway (to be fair he'd have died if he didn't block a token iirc), and he had Murder left and a new blocker and I drew yet another land.
Wave and Yango gonna argue it was a real game but I couldn't be arsed after he curved out cycling/removal/unblockable on curve and the same way both games, especially as I mulled both and had to keep a meh hand that doesn't curve.

Round 3... yeah, I mentioned that one.
Also it's not that the guy's bad or anything, he lives a bit far so only showed up for pre-releases but usually goes X-0 or X-1. I just find his attitude in general rash and arrogant (which could partly be his speech patterns) so I'm biased against him and the "I'm gonna force this and btw you passed me some of them super late but not implying that you're baddies who don't know jack" thing bothers me in general, then depriving us of the 3rd round when we know we're not gonna recoup the draft's cost so we're actually here to play with the friggin' cards annoyed me.
Re: forcing, I know Wave's position that you should force what looks fun to you in supplemental products since you won't draft them much, I'm just more of the opinion that looking for what's open, finding something cool to do and sticking to it is fine too (and since I hadn't studied the set I figured I'd do it; someone did that with Triskaidekaphobia, I picked Zada early and figured RG was open, etc.).

I've been pretty narrow-minded, approaching updates in the form of tuning my URb deck instead of how to build a control deck fitting the meta.
Splashing B in UR for the Scarab God since 4 Gearhulks isn't enough wincons.
Adding Fatal Push in the side to deal with BG Constrictor shells (need a CMC 1 removal that hits Constrictor to play around Blossoming Defense).
Finally realising Vraska's Contempt actually answers my weakness to planeswalkers.
etc.

The build started heavily tuned against aggro, looking to stumble as little as possible and running 10+ removal, Censor/Supreme Will playset, 5 sweepers in the 75, etc. and no Disallow, Commit/Memory, and other expensive/hard to cast spells (Supreme Will finds lands or a wincon while being effectively Cancel against most aggro/midrange decks).
Censor, Supreme Will and sweepers slowly lost ground until I finally cut the last Censor right before the tournament to add a Commit/Memory. I needed one, might as well put it in the main as a catch-all answer against a semi-unknown field.
Needing to win the long game/get as many counters as possible in mirrors made me go back up to the full Gearhulk playset (from a 3/2 split between it and the Scarab God).

The meta switched from full-on aggro/tribal with a couple Gift decks to 3-4 people (out of 10-12) on Approach, an artifact aggro brew getting shelved for a borderline-control Sultai value brew, the monoR player stopped showing up...
Then after 3 weeks of that, I learnt that last week (which I missed) was almost only aggro decks. Another crowd for Easter week-end I assume, but that made it even harder to predict today.

Disallow playset in the main and Lost Legacy/Duress/Siphoners in the side are mainly for the Approach match-up. I gave up on additional Abrades and Deadeye Tracker after Gift players switched.
Push is a mix of Constrictors, lowering my removal's curve against aggro decks if needed, and diversifying my answers.
Moment of Craving is a concession to the UW auras that won an earlier showdown (was his first non-limited event after years, and he's been too busy so hasn't shown up again since), to deal with Adanto Vanguard. Could work against Syndicate Trafficker too but the guy playing it knows to play around that.

Since I had the Disallow playset for Approach, Supreme Will seemed redundant and I cut another one and the last Censor for a catch-all Commit/Memory and a random Negate in the main; moving it from the side also gave me a spot for Hour #2 in case aggro really shows up, alongside Contempt #3 (cut a 2nd Lost Legacy, my sideboard was so heavy against control I'd never find the room to board both in anyway).

I tend to very aggressively cut Azcanto and Censor when boarding, so I figured I'd remove a Supreme Will and Gearhulk on top of the Azcanta against more aggressive decks.
Against control, I figured I'd keep a mix of Harnessed Lightning and Abrade, to both deal with their own Gearhulks and kill mine in response to Settle to "store" them as 4-mana counters if I stick a Scarab God; a couple Contempts for their Gods, and cut the rest.

Mardu Vehicles
3+ monoR
BR aggro
Grixis pirates
Nayasaurs
3+ Approach (UW, UWb splashing Scarab God and maybe Contempt? and Esper control with Approach as one of its wincons)
3+ Constrictor (2 sultai, one GB)
Grixis control
BW vampires midrange
BW Hidden Stockpile tokens
MonoB artifacts
Grixis artifacts/walkers midrange
Can't remember the last one.

So... yeah. A midrange deck attacking on a single angle and without counters nor hand disruption, not much too say.
Game 2 he stuck a Thrashing Brontodon and I took a beating, plus my Hour of Devastation didn't get a 2-for-1 since he sac'd it to destroy my Search for Azcanta in response. I'd boarded in Lost Legacy just to test it and not knowing what he played, and I happened to draw it. I named Carnage Tyrant and realised upon looking through his deck that the Ghalta he had were actually more dangerous for me than Tyrant (assuming he had one, not the case).
He was on a budget so he only had Pacifism for my first Scarab God. He'd probably have won game 2 if it were Ixalan's Binding instead as I topdecked my 2nd copy.
1-0

A clear example of "brews and budget decks can actually do well vs control." A monoR player lent this aggro-control brew of his to a friend, so he wasn't as experienced as the original pilot whom I played against, but I knew that a single flyer could make the difference in outcome. He upgraded his sideboard too (didn't have Duress last time).
I don't remember much of game 1, aside from me laying down 2 Essence Scatters then only letting the next play resolve so I could cast Glimmer and riding the back-breaking start. Also him trying to blank my removal with Siren's Ruse and me playing around that on Dire Fleet Poisoner by keeping the Scarab God behind after reanimating a flyer.
He had 3x Skulduggery in hand so clearly I got some RNGesus help there.

Game 2 he drew very poorly. I had to let him take a bit of my hand with Kitesail Freebooter and Duress but he chose my cheap counters over the Hour of Devastation. He seemed light on creatures but he played Daring Saboteur so I figured I'd need to prevent him from sculpting his hand out of that issue.
I punt at the end of his turn 5: Glimmer that I topdecked, half-expecting a counter. Instead he jokingly activates Saboteur's unblockable. So I draw, untap and cast Hour of Devastation, figuring he doesn't have a counter.
He didn't, and him tapping 3 mana like this certainly nudge me toward this, but that was him playing loose/somewhat badly overall. Obviously he knew about the sweeper from Freebooter, so if he had a counter he'd have let Glimmer resolve and saved it for the Hour.
I got punished anyway and he slammed Angrath right after. I had a Gearhulk in hand that I had to slam and flashback Glimmer with just so I had something to attack with, and with Angrath going up to 6 in the meantime he got 3x +1 activations. I handled him after this (somewhat poor hand on his part and not enough mana to steal Gearhulk with Hostage Taker then cast it before I cast removal) but considering I ended the game at 5 or 6 life and an Angrath ult would have killed me...

Also my opponent realised post-match that he didn't board in Spell Pierces.
Any counter on the Hour of Devastation or the Gearhulk to deal with Angrath would almost certainly have won him the game and he's got a full playset of Lookout's Dispersal + some others in the main, so game 2 was very close and I got extremely lucky.
2-0

Game 1 he mulligans to 6, scries top, and stays on 2 lands for almost the entire game. Still, he draws a bunch of burn and chucks it at my face, and I end the game at 6 life. Getting his 3rd land on time would have given me a very hard game.

Game 2 I handle most of his early plays, and I end up stabilising when a Gearhulk flashes back the Moment of Craving that killed Pia to take care of her thopter.
Then I lay down the Scarab God to threaten lethal over 2 turns as he has haste creatures in the yard.
I almost don't block a Crasher that exerts to stop Gearhulk from blocking, because I'm afraid of Magma Spray. Instead it's shock with my opponent trying to buy time, or so I think... but I was at 8 at that point.
I end the game 2 turns later from a Gearhulk swing and replaying the God. 2x Moment of Craving + Contempt gained me 6 life this game, saving my bacon since that Shock would have went upstairs instead otherwise. I didn't feel like I was short on removal but compared to my deck's initial setup where I'd have 4x spray, 4x harnessed lightning, 2x Abrade and 1-2x Chandra's Defeat post-board, I'd certainly take less damage from the lower average cmc anyway.

Match ended up very close both games considering my life totals and how my opponent didn't get near his best draws.
3-0

I'm paired down because of a draw I think? My opponent is 2-1.
The deck is his brew, winning through a mix of Syndicate Trafficker, Marionnette Master in long game, and sometimes Vraska (he plays one forest and relies on treasure otherwise). He's using Treasure Map as his CA engine, Gleaming Barrier and Weaponcraft Enthusiast (and Push) to handle aggro. He actually plays Duress maindeck because of the peak in control decks.
Because an unanswered Vraska or Herald of Anguish dismantle we quickly, and Trafficker is a fast, very resilient clock, our games are often close although I usually win.

Game 1 he goes Barrier -> Trafficker, and makes an uncharacteristic misplay by sac-ing Barrier a couple turns later to hasten the clock, reasoning that he's getting another artifact via the treasure anyway. 'cept I kill the Trafficker in response to the triggers. Still, I take a ton of damage the follow-up Weaponcraft Enthusiast tokens, and he denies me lifegain when he pushes his next Trafficker in response to Vraska's Contempt.
I'm sandbagging Hour of Devastation because I want to make sure I have a counter and 3 mana available afterwards, and I'm only holding onto Essence Scatter.
In the end I resolve to do it since I'm at 2 life and I draw Disallow that turn anyway. I counter the Herald that follows up and with him not having mana left for his Scavenger Grounds I use the opportunity to flip Azcanta. From there I end up finding a Scarab God and win by reanimating his Weaponcraft Enthusiast and using the leftover Disallow and Azcanta to counter both Bontu's Last Reckoning he was holding.

Game 2 has us both mulliganing and getting to a slow start, between my mediocre draws and Negating his treaure map to slow him down.
The game goes on for awhile with him flipping a map and me abrading the next one so he can't scry too much, making him draw more lands than he wanted/needed. I get a bit low because I brick on spells to stabilise or dig, and turns are called after I drop a Gearhulk. He can chump, but I can stay on the defensive instead and win 1-0.

4-0

Paired down again.
I'm pretty nervous about the match-up because BG constrictor wrecked me the one time I played against him and I'm pretty powerless against a hand stacked with a Constrictor, any creature generating counters, and Blossoming Defense.
From post-match discussion, he only plays 2 Blossoming Defenses, and 2 Duress in his sideboard, he also doesn't use his splash to play Negates, so the match-up's more balanced than it should.

Game 1 he starts a bit slow and I handle the Constrictors, however his mulligan and me being on the draw are quickly nullified by the Glint-Sleeve Siphoner he drops on turn 5 or 6.
My 1-of Commit // Memory comes in to save my ass as he'd finish my 11 life with the Siphoner (6 power if the trigger resolves, then doubled) but I bounce Hadana's Climb instead at the end of his main phase.
Before he can replay it, I play the Scarab God with an activation available (or possible countermagic back-up) so he can't just bash in. By the time he replays the Climb, I can attack with God, reanimated Hydra and Ballista and Ballista mana available, forcing him to sac his board to survive because of the combined life loss from Siphoner draws, Scarab God upkeep triggers and the burst from shoving counters on the Ballista. He scoops on the following turn, though if the Ballista he topdecked had haste he'd have just finished me with Climb.
Scary and one of these games where Scarab God pulled through in a way Torrential Gearhulk couldn't have managed.

Game 2 is one of these weird ones. He mulls to 5 on the play and even his keep is a half-hearted one. It's the usual where you feel good about the first mulligan because it's a Constrictor deck on the play post-board, then immediatly feel bad about the second one 'cause you're still here so both of you can play.
My hand is a mix of removal and lands, so I take some damage to kill his Constrictors on end step and cycle lands while he's stuck on 3, negating a couple Climbs.
Then starts the draw-go dance, with me drawing lands after lands despite bottoming 2 lands off of Glimmer. At some point I bottom 2 cards, then proceed to draw a fastland and a cycle land, which I cycle into another cycle land. RIP.
Hydras start becoming scary and I don't know if he's running Carnage Tyrant or planeswalkers, and despite digging like crazy I just can't seem to find my wincons.
I let a Hydra come in just so I can Hour of Devastation for a 1-for-1, trying to save a counter, and as a result have to burn it when he plays the other hydra in his hand as he's got an energy buffer now.
Abrade and a Harnessed Lightning in response to the EtB trigger take care of 2 Gearhulks.
Scarab God comes in, and reanimates a Ballista in response to the Hour of Glory. Then Ballista attacks and gets to ping for 1 in response to the Fatal Push.

In the end a Gearhulk comes in, followed by a Scarab God to try and end the game next turn, and a Gearhulk I just topdecked buys back a counterspell for his removal and he scoops.
I count 11 cards left in my library at the end of the game, knowing I bottomed 6 of them on Glimmers, all lands, and I also cycled 5 lands that game. I cast 3 glimmers and flashed one back.
All in all I'm lucky he mulliganed so low and as a result couldn't just slam his Hydras one after the other because all my wincons were in the bottom half of the deck, all but one of them in the bottom quarter, and I had a ton of lands at the top.
I guess "Opp mulled to 5, I still dropped to 10 life despite Contempts and I saw 55 cards of my deck" sums up the game.

5-0