New Toys Require a New Deck
4c (w/o g) Tempo at Westfalen Masters #7
After some unsuccessful runs with Reanimator it was time to play something else, because bringing Reanimator to a tournament just wasn’t fun anymore. Looking for a new deck to play, I looked at the results of the last MGM. I really liked the very streamlined Grixis Tempo list and the four color Tempo list missing green by Justus. At first I wanted to play the Grixis list, but I was missing some cards. Then, the spoiler season for War of the Spark started and Teferi, Time Raveler was spoiled and I instantly knew that I wanted to play with this card. Therefore, I settled for the four color tempo list, added Teferi (and Lilian’s Triumph) and went to Münster.
Round 1 – Marvin with RG Beats
The first game was very close. I had a good start with a first turn Delver of Secrets and some removal. Unfortunately, my Delver didn’t flip the whole game and dies at some point. I slowly lost control over the game to multiple creatures that were beating me down, while I was missing lands and needed to play my my creatures as chump blockers. Then, I found lands and also Mantis Riders and Lightning Angels, both helped by attaching in the air and also blocking very efficiently
The second game was very one sided. While I tried to get a decent board presence, he first had a Magus of the Moon, which slowed me down. I never was able to kill the Magus because he played a Verdurous Gearhulk. As if a giant Magus of the Moon wasn’t bad enough, a Wolfir Silverheart joint his side of the board. I was dead.
In the last game I tried to keep him low on resources. I used a Wasteland on his Kapsulan Forest, which left him with a single land for two turns. Unfortunately, my mana base wasn’t that much better (color-wise). In the end, he was able to finish me off with a Magus of the Moon (I really should mulligan more when facing a deck that plays this card) and a Price of Progress.
Score: 0-1
Round 2 – BUG with Reanimator Sub-Theme
The first game was very close, I applied some pressure with an early Seeker of the Way, which got pumped by Preordain, Gitaxian Probe, and the like. The Gitaxian Probe showed me a hand full of reanimation spells, thus I assumed I played against a Reanimator Deck. Later, my Nahiri, the Harbinger not only filtered through my deck, but was also excellent against the opposing Animate Dead and Necromancy. However, in the end I got a little bit flooded and lost a very close game.
The second game was the perfect example why one needs practice with a deck. I decided to keep more or less reactive hand with only counters and cantrips. This is way to slow for this matchup and I was beaten down by a late Gurmag Angler. In all later matches I mulliganed more aggressively, which was rewarded most of the time.
Score: 0-2
Round 3 – Felix with Big Red
Not knowing what my opponent was playing I kept a hand that was not able to beat a Magus of the Moon (at least that’s what my notes tell me). Since he ended the game with 20 life this must be somewhat true.
The second game was won by me before he could deploy his bigger spells, because he was mana screwed. Now, I was sure that he wasn’t playing RDW but Big Red, which is a way easier matchup.
After two non-games, the third one was very close. He starts with a good amount of ramp, while I was looking to apply pressure. Unfortunately, he can handle my Delver of Secrets (which wasn’t flipping for two turns). He also had a good control over my graveyard with a Relic of Progenitus and a Voltaic Servant—no delve spells for me this game. This also locked down my Lingering Souls. While we were fighting for control over the game and applying pressure with different smaller creatures, he decided to keep the Relic tapped for one turn untapping the Servant to block. Thus, I was able to deploy four flying Spirits that won me the game in the next few turns.
Score: 1-2
Round 4 – Alan with BW
Alan played an Orzhov (if we want to use the new fancy names for color combinations) deck, which he just put together for this tournament. It was based on early discard and larger threads and some token generators. I cannot remember what happened during the games (I won 2-1) and my notes don’t tell me anything either.
Score: 2-2
Round 5 – Sebastian with Izzet
I don’t remember much of the first game, expect that it was close and I lost. The second game was somewhat crazy.
I had a good hand featuring Bomat Courier, True-Name Nemesis, a blue and a non-blue dual, and Ash Barrens. Hence, I play the non-blue dual, Bomat Courier, attack and pass the turn. He plays a cantrip and passes. I attack with the Courier, play my other dual and pass the turn, planning to search my Island with the Ash Barrens. He tapps out for a Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, which is great because I drew Force of Will and should now be able to get my True-Name Nemesis through. Then I started looking for my Island, kept looking, … the Bomat Courier removed my fu**ing Island. I wasn’t able to cast my True-Name Nemesis and the game went downhill from that point.
Score: 2-3
Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun in Münster. The location was very nice, having a separate room for just the Highlander players, big tables, and comfortable chairs. Still, I’m looking forward to the next (now quite close) MGM. See you all in Berlin.