Monday, November 1, 2010

Feature Article - Taking Down a Tournament with Hushmi

I played in the “Blue Duals” tournament at Get Your Game On last weekend. I split with the other players in the top four taking home 1 Underground Sea, 1 Tropical Island, and 1 Volcanic Island. I played the following list:





















An Important Note: Playing this deck is possible because of the particular metagame I expected at the tournament. A room full of Landstill, Enchantress, Combo, and Vengevine decks will make for an exceptionally difficult tournament for any zoo deck, especially one that is slower and has relatively few sideboard cards for those matchups. However, against Zoo, Merfolk, Goblins, and Rock decks, “going big” is desirable. Gandhi put it perfectly, saying, “If I want to beat fair decks, this is the deck I want to be playing.”

On to card explanations:

Anywhere from 20-22 lands is acceptable in Zoo depending on the cards you are playing. I prefer to play more land than necessary because I would rather flood than not have enough lands. I considered playing 22, but I thought that Noble Hierarchs would count as at least an extra land, so 21 it was.

The strangest card is Stirring Wildwood. Both Rich and Gandhi advocate playing a Treetop Village, and I knew that I wanted a man-land as well. Wildwood blocks 3/3s and is cannot be Bolted; I found these attributes to be significant enough to play the Wildwood. (I did not have trouble activating it during the tournament. It should be noted, though, that there were two instances where, if I had Village instead of Wildwood, I could have activated the Village and blocked a creature.)

The 4 Nacatl, 4 Pridemage, 4 Tarmogoyf are numbers that Zoo decks should not budge from. Noble Hierarch seems like a strange addition, especially when you see that it has replaced Steppe Lynx, Kird Ape, and Loam Lion in my list. It is generally accepted that Lion and Ape are the worst creatures a Zoo deck can play. I also have never been particularly impressed by the 2/3s in the deck. Steppe Lynx is an excellent attacker, but the first time you run out of lands in hand with him in play leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. With four Knights in my deck, this is mitigated to some degree, but I felt that it was wrong for the deck philosophically. This isn’t meant to be an exceptionally fast list. Instead, it focuses on consistently playing larger guys or expensive spells that create awesome amounts of card advantage. Lynx would provide another angle of attack (an ability to generate fast starts), but Hierarch helps you play your game winning spells a turn earlier. The mana he provides is also not insignificant against Enchantress (paying for Elephant Grass), Stax (reaching three mana for Trinisphere, beating Wastelands, and paying for Ghostly Prisons), and Canadian Threshold (once again, limits the effectiveness of Wastelands). He also is another exalted creature, which, in tandem with Pridemage, creates decent sized monsters out of some of your weaker creatures during the attack step.

I knew I wanted four Knight in any Zoo deck I played. He can certainly provide some nice utility in the form of lands like Wasteland, Karakas, the manland of your choice, or Bojuka Bog, but he is also usually huge. He is usually the largest creature on the table during any given match, and he will end any game quickly if he is left unchecked.

The Ranger is the so-called “icing on the cake.” He restocks your hand after your creatures have been killed. He gives you a way to reign in long games against tribal decks by presenting three 3/Xs. Fetching a Lavamancer or two can give you the last points of burn to finish an opponent off, and finding a Figure can give you another sizeable threat. Against some decks the effect is too slow, but against most “fair decks,” he can break a game wide open.

The final card that may require some explanation is Elspeth. Planeswalkers are finally starting to see some play in Legacy (mostly Jace the Mindsculptor), and Elspeth is the second best (she also beats Jace in a fight). In Zoo, she does two significant things for you: she provides a stream of blockers to help you find a way back into games where you are behind, and she can break stalemates and end games very quickly. She is very difficult to deal with. Usually, she must be attacked to be destroyed, and this leaves you open for a counterattack with +3/+3 and flying.

The sideboard is mainly for other creature decks. The Elspeth comes in against Zoo and control decks. The Rangers are for creature decks, especially Zoo and tribal decks. The Oblivion Rings are primarily for Enchantress and Stax. They are meant to be functionally similar to Krosan Grips in some matchups, but being able to remove creatures is not insignificant. Lavamancer is for tribal decks and decks where extra reach is useful. The Vortexes come in against control decks. The Swords are for creature decks and decks with problematic creatures, such as Stax or creature heavy Counterbalance decks. The Bog is a nice utility land that is searchable with Knight.

The Report:

R1 Against Robert with Big Zoo

G1: We both draw an absurd amount of lands. I remove almost every creature he plays, land a Library, and a Goyf. He plays some more guys as well, and follows it with an Elspeth. I cannot deal with the Planeswalker, and I quickly succumb to her second ability.

Sideboarding: +2 Ranger, +2 Swords, +1 Elspeth, -3 Chain Lightning, -1 Lavamancer, -1 Figure


G2:  I mulligan to four. The game starts with lots of creature removal being thrown around. I am stuck on two lands and he lands a Ranger. I remove most of creatures during the course of the game, but he plays a Library and is able to find an Elspeth. I die shortly after.

I don’t feel great after this match. I played the same guy before in the weekly Legacy tournament on Wednesday as well. We were both playing Counterbalance decks, and he managed to kill me with Elspeth (presumably the same ones in his Zoo deck) in both those games as well. I am fairly disappointed, but I grab a drink, ask everyone everybody how they are doing, and calm down before round two.

R2 Against Ravi with White Stax

G1:  My opponent mulligans to four. He plays a land and passes. I play Noble Hierarch off a basic Forest. He plays Chalice for one. My entire hand is ones, but he doesn’t draw anything for the remainder of the game, while I eventually draw some creatures to close it out.

Sideboarding: + 3 Oblivion Ring, +2 Swords, -1 Figure of Destiny, -1 Ranger of Eos, -3 Chain

Note: I knew he was going to bring in Baneslayer Angels and Wurmcoil Engines, so that it why the Swords came in. I’m not sure that boarding out Ranger and Figure is correct, but I wanted to drop my curve.

G2: I am able to draw two Oblivion Rings and two Swords. I remove his Magus, remove his Chalice at one, and Plow his Baneslayer Angel. All the while, my guys are attacking, and I am able to win.

This win lifts my spirits. Stax is not a good matchup, and I won by a decent margin. I grab some Subway, and have a nice conversation with Ben Porter outside the shop.

R3 Against Enchantress

G1: I get him to four life before he is able to get two Enchantress effects and a Solitary Confinement. A Sigil of Empty Throne kills me in three turns.

Sideboarding: +3 Oblivion Ring, +3 Sulfuric Vortex, + 1 Lavamancer, -1 Figure, -4 Path to Exile,
-1 Noble Hierarch, -1 Ranger of Eos

Note: It is probably incorrect to board out the Hierarch. It helps me fight through Elephant Grass, and it is more important than the third Vortex, especially since Confinement shuts the Vortex off.

G2: He plays a Chrome Mox and plays a Suppression Field off of it on turn one. My hand is full of actual lands, so it does nothing to me on turns one through three. I am able to play a Vortex, and my creatures plus Vortex takes him to three. Then he plays a Confinement with an Enchantress’ Presence in play. He is able to draw an enchantment off the Enchantress triggers to stay alive for a few turns. Vortex burns me down to 7, but when he finally fails to draw an enchantment, I am able to bolt him for the win.

G3: He leads on Suppression Field again. I have actual lands again, so I am not hindered by it in the first turns of the game. He plays a fast Sigil, and has window where I am unable to pay three to sacrifice Pridemage to destroy it. He draws a land instead of an enchantment, and my Pridemage destroys the Sigil. He doesn’t draw anything after, and my creatures quickly seal it.

This was not the most enjoyable round. I had to sit facing the windows of the store when it was fairly bright outside. I had to squint almost the entire match. My opponent was a nice guy, but was sloppy and took his time, so we had ten minutes to finish the last game. I played at a lightning fast pace and was able to close it out. Enchantress is an awful matchup, and I have nothing amazing against it in the board. I was very happy to be able to win this match as well.

R4 Against Goblins

G1: I play some early guys, while he tries to set up withVial. He tries to Stingscourger to clear the way for his Lackey, but I burn the Lackey. He is always behind on the board and Lavamancer clears away his significant blockers. I also have a Library in play for most of the match. I am able to end the game with a Knight jumped via Elsepth the turn before he kills me.

Sideboarding: +2 Ranger, +2 Swords, +1 Lavamancer, -1 Noble Hierarch, -4 Path to Exile

G2: This one is similar to game one, except it is not nearly as close. He spends the early turns trying to slow my mana, but I draw lands and continue to beat down. My creatures take it down without much real resistance.

I think that 4-1-1 will make it into the top eight, so if I win the next round and am not paired down, I should make it in.

R5 Against Jordan with Goblins

G1: I mulligan to five. I put up some resistance, but I stupidly fetch a Savannah when needing to activate a Lavamancer to destroy a Lackey. Instead, I am forced to block with the Lavamancer, and I fail to draw anything. He quickly runs me over.

Sideboarding: See R4 sideboarding

G2: We both take our time developing our boards. Eventually, we get into a stalemate. I am able to draw a Ranger to fetch two Lavamancers in order to provide the last few points of burn.

G3: He Warren Weirdings me twice, but I keep drawing creatures. He is not able to draw anything of consequence besides a Ringleader. He is forced to play defense the entire game, and my superior creatures take down the match.

R6 Against James with UB Ooze

We look at the standings for a while before figuring out that we can draw in safely.

Quarterfinals Against Phil with Affinity

G1: He starts quickly, and has an equipped Plating on turn three. I am forced to block all of his creatures, but my burn forces him to sacrifice some artifacts to keep it alive. I play Elspeth and she creates blockers until I can find enough creatures to start attacking. I kill him in the air with a jumped Knight the turn before he can draw a lethal Galvanic Blast off of a Thoughtcast.

Sideboarding: +2 Swords, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Lavamancer, -1 Noble Hierarch, -2 Sylvan
Library, -1 Figure of Destiny, -1 Ranger of Eos

G2: He sacrifices all his artifacts to a Ravager and moves the counters to an Ornithopter via Modular to make it 6/8. I have an active Lavamancer, Chain, and Bolt in my hand, but fail to draw an untapped red land and die to the Ornithopter.

G3: He has a turn three Master of Etherium, but I have Bolt and Chain to clear it away. I Needle Ravager, and he plays one and draws and plays another one. I am able to clear his blockers, and eventually, my creatures are able to beat him.

I’m fairly happy at this point. Phil is probably the best overall player in the room, and beating him is no easy task. The other three players are fine with a split, so we each get a Sea, a Trop, and a Volcanic Island.

Props:
Josh for lending me a Savannah and a Taiga.
Gandhi for letting me see his list and helping me out with mine.
Stu for helping me with all my Myrfolk, Veggievine, and Survival related questions.
Mike for playing a disgusting deck and still top four’ing.
Phil for writing down his list for me.
Get Your Game On for the amazing prize support.
“I ate twelve dollars worth of McDonalds food. I got 6 Double Cheeseburgers, 3 McChickens, 2 Fries, and a Large Coke, and it cost 11.98. I’ll kill you if you don’t believe me,” for being the most awesome thing that I heard on Saturday.

Slops:
Packard and State for having no good food nearby. I have eaten way too much Subway while playing Magic.  (I disagree, unless you're talking about having a reasonable sit-down place where you could enjoy a 10-12 dollar meal.  -G)
My van for being an overall piece of junk.
Mtgthesource.com deck threads for being practically useless. Seriously, just play more games of Legacy and try things out yourself. You won’t have to read through pages of useless and limiting opinions and have to deal with some absolute idiots this way.

I’ve never done this well at a tournament where the prizes were not just some store credit. Maybe there’s some hope for me yet.

Hushmi

Posted by Gandhi at 12:00 PM
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