MBS Phyrexian Sealed - Winning without Infect

I figured since I haven’t posted an article in an eternity, that it was time I put forth the effort and did one.  Usually I don’t like playing in MODO Prereleases because they are such –EV (check the prize structure), but because it was with faction boosters, I didn’t care.  I ended up getting a really good pool, and eventually settled on this deck:

 

As you can see the deck is pretty tight.  This ended up being the final deck except at the last minute I took out the Psychosis Crawler for Horizon Spellbomb.  Didn’t play Decimator Web or splash for Arrest, it was just that tight.  I went Phyrexian and my non-infect was stronger than my infect with three control magics, Geth, and Black Sun's Zenith.  Lol at the random Koth, but hey, 15 tix is 15 tix.  This is a deck you should 4-0 with if you don’t get unlucky or play bad.

 

Round 1

G1 – My hand was 2 land, Spellbomb, Sphere, Geth, Conscience, and Serum Raker.  My opponent plays Ardent Recruit on one, so I already know I’m in good shape.  I had T2 Sphere, but he played Divine Offering on it, which was a good play.  Then he goes T5 Concussive Bolt, T6 Concussive Bolt just for the 8 damage.  He also played Burn the Impure on my 3/2 so I know he was packing a lot of removal.  I played Geth and he died easily.

G2 – I kept a very similar hand to G1.  He played Livewire Lash on T2, which is an annoying card to play against.  But then he got stuck on three mountains and had to rawdog Blisterstick Shaman to my face.  Good value bro.  I ended up playing Geth and milling him a bunch while making sure not to attack into Dispense Justice.  The game went on for a while because I played around that, but he didn’t have any outs.

Round 2

G1 – I keep a greedy hand on the play, which includes 2x Swamp, Grasp, Conscience, Drake, Disperse, and Perilous Myr.  You have to know me.  I’m playing against a Phyrexian player who plays Fume Spitter on one.  Of course I got an Island on T2.  We trade some guys and he Morbid Plunders them back into his hand.  He then casts Decimator Web after about ten turns of board stall.  I land a Geth and another dude and he has one card in hand.  He has splashed Plains but of course I am an idiot and attack to put him to 7 (he had no targets to Geth, or something, there had to be a reason I didn’t use him).  Of course he has the Sunblast Angel next turn for the blow out.  I Control Magic it and then he has Stag to bounce it.  Then I control magic it again, to which he is dead in two swings, but he has me dead in two Web activations and I lose a close one I probably could have won.  

G2 – He’s stuck on about two Mana for four turns but I can’t capitalize because I am only beating with 2/2s.   I do have 2x control magics in hand, and cast BSZ to wipe the board.  It is 10+ turns into a topdeck board stall (actually I have 2x control magics in hand) and he draws creatures and I don’t.  I’m forced to control magic 1/1s and even though I draw BSZ again, I have to kill one of his guys with it.  I still can’t draw a creature and he ends up casting Praetor’s Counsel to get back 17 cards.  Yeah, let’s just say I lost that one…

Round 3

G1 – Ok, so now I’m 1-1 and a little upset that I’m already out of the contention for ten packs.  He casts Wishtand Death on his 3/3 infect guy for the trade with my 3/2.  He Viridian Corruptor’s my Strandwalker and I end up casting Geth.  I clogged the ground with it while I won with my Necrogen Scudder.  That card is my favorite uncommon in the set.

G2 – I end up with 8 total land by T5, only drawing one non land card in that time.  Then I rip two more lands in my next three draws and I’m cursing the screen.  Luckily he doesn’t have that much of a threat (he is Mirran).  He plays Mirran Crusader but I have the control magic for it.  Then he casts Myr Battlesphere and I ended up topdecking BSZ to stay alive.  Must be nice (I had exactly 9 mana for it too).  But he has a Morbid Plunder and I have 0 cards so I lost.

G3 – I bring in Nihil Spellbomb (a game too late of course) to deal with his recursion.  I end up mulling to six, but get lucky because he only has 3-4 forests and no swamps.  My Scudder is beating him down for about 4 turns until he casts Battlesphere, but I have the control magic for it and win with Scudder.

Round 4

G1 – I am playing a Phyrexian player.  I keep a hand of 2x Island, 2x Swamp, 2x control magic, Serum Raker.  Good game already lol.  I end up ripping three straight lands while he plays Flensermite, Tumble Magnet, into Carrion Call.  At this point I was a little worried but I hopefully I could stabilize.  He ends up casting GSZ for Blightwidow but I managed to stabilize with my control magics when I drew a third one I kept in my hand.  He ends up playing Phyresis on a Flayer Husk token…lol, he’s maindecking Phyresis.  I eventually drew Geth and won.  

G2 – I keep four land, Sphere, Disperse, and Spellbomb.  Hand does nothing, I know, but I never mulligan.  At least I had Sphere for the green draw on the Spellbomb (+EV!).  I have a combined 9 land in my hand/play by turn 5, which as usual was frustrating.  I traded with a 2/2 infect guy and he had the Corpse Cur for max value.  Then he plays Horrifying Revelation (lol) and blows me out, making me discard a disperse and get back a land.  He gets me to 8 poison counters before I have to waste my control magics on 1/1s because I couldn’t draw any creatures.  He topdecks foil Geth and I’m dead on the next turn, but somehow I mise the Spread the Sickness.  Then he casts Genesis Wave for four and hits GSZ, forest, and 2x Blightwidow to my near empty board, lol.  But at this point, the board was clogged and he never attacked because he forgot about a Flayer Husk that would have let him push damage through.  I ended up drawing Geth and won easily.  Sometimes 2 – 1 opponents are just that bad.

Ended up only winning four packs (instead of ten for 4 – 0), but I sold the Koth at 15 tix and BSZ at 5 tix, so that recouped 20/30 tix.  Worth it for playing with awesome faction packs.