enemyzero.v.5

In a repeat from the last time I played at FNM I went 3-1-1 again and then lost in the Top 8. Last time I used my MBC deck but this week I decided to revamp my Bant Mid Range deck into a more aggro style one that resembles the “Mythic” deck from PT San Diego but tuned to my style and my meta game here (which is retarded btw, no Jund). The updated decklist is here.

01 // Eldrazi Wolves
I thought this was Elves at first but it was just Arbor Elves and mana ramp to try and get a big Wolfbriar Elemental or Howl of the Night Pack off before dropping an Eldrazi Monument. He couldn’t do anything against a turn 3 Baneslayer the first game, the second game he went off like a madman where I think I only did a single point of damage to him before I was dead. The third game he got mana flooded while I had a turn 2 Warmonk into a turn 3 Rafiq. Pretty easy match-up as green doesn’t have a lot of removal for my creatures which far outclass his. 2-1

02 // Admiral Ackbar
A pretty solid combo deck showed it’s stuff in game one when I had him down to 8 life he finally Time Warped and then triple Runeflare Traped me after I drew. Sideboarding I decided to put in my Negates and Manabarbs which is a weird choice for my deck and the only reason I have 1 Mountain in the deck, but honestly it won me 2 matches today and that’s why it’s there. The second game I put the Barbs out at the right time where he couldn’t go off without killing himself and my man lands plugged away at his life total. The third game my strategy was just to empty my hand as fast as possible and I did that due to having 2 Hierarchs and a Birds in my opening hand and my creatures just were too much for his minimal removal of Pyroclasms and Earthquakes. 2-1

03 // Vampires
Just your average cookie-cutter Vampire deck, the first game I lost because I didn’t get a single white mana all game and I tryed my chances by not mulliganing. I’m not very smart sometimes. The second game I won soundly as he got stuck on 3 mana for 3-4 turns and my life gainers kept gaining me life. If I mulliganed in game 1 I’m confident I would have won the match by winning game 2 but it wasn’t to be. The third game I drew into 3 Mind Controls in a row while stuck at 4 mana while my opponent was hitting Bloodghasts and multiple Nocturnus and bashing my face in. Again I kept a hand with only 2 lands and it was a bad choice. In my defense I had 2 Heirarchs but he had 2 Disfigures. 1-2

04 // RW Allies
Typical aggro deck with all the new Allies from Worldwake and not a lot of removal. Even though Allies have a lot of good abilities the creatures I run are better and without removal, they can run wild. He did out aggro me in game 1 but after sideboarding in Day of Judgement and Mind Controls the next 2 games were short, I was over 40 life when he died in each game. 2-1

05 // Cruel Control
This match was against a fellow member of Birds with Rancors and we would both be in the top 8 if we drew so that’s what we did. We played for fun and I won 2-0, I knew my deck was better then his and I won decidedly both games. Manabarbs was an ace yet again, it really is very underrated against any type of control deck. draw

06 Top 8 // Boss Naya
Now this match was epic. Probably the funnest match I’ve ever had. Except for the second game where I only drew 2 lands all game. And third game where I didn’t draw a single green mana all game. Mulligan much? The first game I got off to a slow start, playing nothing until turn 4, and then trading blows between his army of Nacatyls and Bloodbraids and my Baneslayer with Finest Hour out. He all out attacked while leaving one Birds of Paradise open to block the Baneslayer me bringing me to 6 life, but I topdecked a Path to Exile. I promptly Pathed the Birds and dropped a Rafiq swung for 32 with the Baneslayer. Game 2, like I said before, I got stuck on 2 lands and just my luck, also getting screwed in game 3 where I had an amazing hand hopeing to draw into a green mana but it wasn’t to be.

In hindsight I definitely need to work on when to mulligan better, that is definitely one of my weak points. In the matches I lost where I got mana screwed I definitely could have won the matches if I had decided to mulligan instead of playing the odds. But hey, no ones perfect and I just have to use the experience to make me a better player and learn something. At any rate I had a good time even though I was upset at myself for not mulliganing.

- enemyzero

I thought I’d share the Valentine’s Day cake I made for my wife and a contest at work in which I won for presentation.

I updated my Bant deck, take a look. Advice is welcome.

I tried something new this week, for me at least, and went away from my normal Bant colors to try MBC, or Mono-Black Control. A lot of people here play control so I geared up with this deck to beat control which I did handily all night. Eldrazi Elves however beat me twice during the course of the night, my only loss before Top 8 and then again in the Top 8 first round to knock me out. I know I could beat the deck as both matches I won the middle game but I could only really do it after sideboarding and hoping he gets off to a slow start. My deck was really built for control match-ups and there were just too many dead draws against Elves.

After 5 rounds I was 3-1-1 then lost in Top 8.

My decklist is here.

Match 1 // Jacerator/Turbo Fog
This was hardly even a match. In the first game he got me down to 4 cards in my library by stalling me with Safe Passages (etc) but with me drawing so many cards each turn I drew all my Bloodwitches eventually and made him keep losing life which he couldn’t prevent. Second game was a laugher as I Pithing Needled Jace and Maelstrom Pulsed his Howling Mines. Tectonic Edge was an all-star killing his man lands and Glacial Fortresses to slow him down even more. 2-0

Match 2 // Eldrazi Green net deck copy
Foreword. I know every FNM venue in the world HAS to have that one guy that is a total dick, thinks he’s the hottest Magic player on the planet, and everyone hates playing him because of those facts. This is that guy.

He netdecked an Eldrazi Green deck this week because of the recent Elves deck win at GP Oakland (it was extended) which took me as a surprise as he normally plays this weird mill deck with Hedron Crabs and Lotus Cobras, sometimes with Clarion Ultimatum. This was an EXTREMELY bad match-up for me as my deck was built mainly against control decks. The first game was decently close, we were both at 10 when he hit his Eldrazi Monument and could do lethal. The second game I stomped him to put it plainly, after sideboading and even with a Great Sable Stag out he couldn’t out damage my Persecutors. Third game was unlucky for me, he drew into an Overrun right when he needed it and that was the end. I didn’t see a SINGLE Infest any game, Sorin was an all-star but just not enough. 1-2

Match 3 // Warp World
This was a very hard match-up for him as all I really had to do was Mind Sludge him or Duress the Warp World out of his hand since it costs so much. Tectonic Edge helped disrupt his mana and slow him down, he never really got anything rolling either game. 2-0

Match 4 // Valakut Ramp
Tectonic Edge. Tectonic Edge. Tectonic Edge. I played 3 main deck and don’t regret it one bit, they helped in almost every single matchup and obviously were the ace in this match-up. Grim Discovery helped by getting my Tectonic Edges back to reuse and I just saved my Urge to Feeds and Tendrils for his Bloodbraids and Seige-Gangs. Pretty easy although he got the second game when I couldn’t get rid of my own Persecutor in time. 2-1

Match 5 // Vampires
We drew the game beforehand as we would both get into the Top 8 either way but we played it out for fun. It was an interesting match-up, he was using a variation that incorperated Kalastria Highborns and Basilisk Collars, which worked amazingly well. Bloodghasts with Basilisk Collars are the new sex. draw

Top 8 Match 1 // same Eldrazi Green net deck copy
Just my luck, I got “that guy” again and it pretty much went down the same as before, lost the first game, won the second after sideboarding (Maelstrom Pulsing my Persecutor ftw), lost the third after he got the exact start he wanted and I drew 3 Sign in Bloods in a row while I was stuck at 2 life. I did the honorable thing and killed myself. 1-2

After talking it over with my playgroup I think I’m going to make these changes:

Main
-4 Duress – Moved to sideboard.
-2 Grim Discovery – Was good but the slots could be better.
+4 Everflowing Chalice – Will let me play a lot 1 turn sooner, play-testing.
+1 Urge to Feed
+1 Liliana Vess – Would like to work a second in somewhere. Amazing against control after Mind Sludging and multiple tutors are a plus.

with major changes to the sideboard:
2x Infest or Marsh Casualties – Can’t decide. Pro-con?
4x Duress – Amazing against control, was a dead draw against others so moved it out of main deck freeing up slots.
3x Path to Exile – Swapped these for Maelstroms. Sable Stag, Iona protection, much more versatile.
1x Plains
2x Pithing Needle
1x Malakir Bloodwitch
2x Sadistic Sacrament

Any other advice? What does everyone think?

Just showing off my quick little team logo for Birds with Rancors, my MTG teams name. We even have little custom notepads with the logo on it to keep life totals!

It’s busy season at work so I haven’t had a Friday off in a few weeks to FNM and it doesn’t look like my streak is going to end soon. It makes me very sad…Still I’m buying and selling on MoTL, still trying to go “infinite” but it’s pretty hard. I didn’t buy any Worldwake because my wife and I are moving out of the country this year sometime and I have to save all my funds for that. Sad panda.

On a side note, I beat Mass Effect 2 today and it was absolutely amazing all the way through. If the first one was a 8/10 then part 2 is a 20/10, it really is that much better. I’ll give a run down of how my ending played out later so we can compare.

After my 1-4 performance last week at FNM with an untested deck that I just couldn’t get to get flowing correctly, this week I really wanted to do good and bounce back. It was a very up and down night, I came up a little short, 1 win away from top 8, going 3-3 playing my trusty old Bant deck that has been very good for me in the past.

My decklist is here.

Match 1 // Vampires
I got rolled game 1 and 3 as he hit every drop in the exact order you would want for vampires both games, didn’t get a single creature removal either game to get rid of Nocturnus and he out aggroed me. Second game I rolled him hard and vamps is usually a decent matchup for me after sideboarding but I just didn’t get it going the third game. 1-2

Match 2 // BW Control
Doing my testing I knew that control was a hard match up for me if I don’t get a fast start. Game 1 I did and it was pretty close but I had the Negates and Dauntless Escorts when he needed to Day of Judgement and I just overpowered him before he could stabalize. Both games I managed to get Elspeth’s ultimate off to making all my stuff indestructible which puts a pretty big crimp in a control players plans. After a great game 1, game 2 he didn’t get his second blue mana until around turn 6 so it wasn’t very close. I told him that’s happened to me 1,000 times before and even the best pro players get mana screwed so don’t get to hung up on it. 2-0

Match 3 // Vampires
Like I said my deck is actually decent against Vamps after sideboarding but I didn’t even need it this match, I won both games pretty soundly. I have Windstorms for Bloodwitchs but I didn’t anticipate many Black Knights and they were pretty hard to overcome but without a Bloodwitch or Nocuturnus, which I save my removal for as it’s the only creature I need to get rid of, my flyers can have a field day. Baneslayer with a Rafiq out, backed up by Vines and Negates is hard to overcome. 2-0

Match 4 // Eldrazi Control
This match was against an old friend of mine who just happens to be the top ranked player in the area with a DCI rating of 1908 so I was expecting the worst. His deck was based around getting an Eldrazi Monument out with an Elspeth, Emeria, or Baneslayers and Rite of Replication. He came back the first game after I got him to 13 while I was at 67 life when he stabilized by getting all his pieces out and me not being able to draw into a Bant Charm to destroy the Monument. The second game we ran out of time while I was at 197 life and in good shape but I could not kill him within 5 turns. We drew the game obviously and he got the 1-0 win, it was an extremely close match and I was proud of how I did even though I didn’t win. 0-1

Match 5 // White weenie
Quick match, both games my creatures far outclass his and every time he Day of Judgments I have a negate in my hand or a Dauntless Escort out. Rafiq brought home the win like usual, neither game was very close. 2-0

Match 6 // Control with Sphinx of the Steel Wind
His deck was pretty much anti-Bant in every way and I had no answers for the Sphinx which he got multiples of both games. It’s got Protection for Green which you don’t see very often and all of my removal is green. All he really had to do was answer my Baneslayers and Rafiqs, have Negate and Vines battles with me over them, and the Sphinx could take care of everything else. 0-2

I hadn’t posted in awhile because I’ve been busy moving and I haven’t drawn in awhile because of my wrist as it seems I have a really bad case of carpal tunnel that I might need surgery on…HOWEVER I thought today I would post one of my EDH decks so people could have a glimpse at my thought process when building an EDH deck.

EDH is starting to catch on locally here and we play it quite often. At the store we normally play at there was just a Two-Headed EDH tournament for the first time, I couldn’t enter because I was working sadly, and I would have cleaned house if I was there due to the newness of EDH for most people here so their decks aren’t all that good honestly.

I’ll try to post more often, especially when more Worldwake spoilers start but no promises when Mass Effect 2 comes out!

Here is my favorite EDH deck and if you have any suggestions or anything let me know!

general [1]
Rafiq of the Many

creatures/planeswalkers [29]
Acidic Slime
Augury Adept
Baneslayer Angel
Battlegrace Angel
Bloom Tender
Cloudthresher
Cold-Eyed Selkie
Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Enlisted Wurm
Inkwell Leviathan
Knight of New Alara
Knight of the Reliquary
Knotvine Paladin
Lorescale Coatl
Mirror-Sigil Sergeant
Mulldrifter
Ohran Viper
Qasali Pridemage
Seedborn Muse
Shorecrasher Mimic
Simic Sky Swallower
Solemn Simulacrum
Spirit en-Dal
Tornado Elemental
Vigor
Wilt-Leaf Liege
Winged Coatl
Woodfall Primus
World Queller

instants/sorceries [15]
Austere Command
Bant Charm
Berserk
Braingeyser
Brave the Elements
Cataclysm
Day of Judgement
Disenchant
Naturalize
Path to Exile
Snakeform
Swords to Plowshares
Wargate
Whirlwind
Wrath of God

enchantments/artifacts [19]
Behemoth Sledge
Crawlspace
Defense of the Heart
Faith’s Fetters
Finest Hour
Glorious Anthem
Hunting Grounds
Lightning Greaves
Loxodon Warhammer
Lurking Predators
Pacifism
Pariah
Rancor
Rhystic Study
Shield of the Oversoul
Sol Ring
Steel of the Godhead
Whispersilk Cloak
Worship

lands [36]
Adarkar Wastes
Azorius Chancery
Flooded Grove
Gemstone Mine
Mystic Gate
Selesnya Sanctuary
Simic Growth Chamber
Shimmering Grotto
Temple of the False God
Thran Quarry
Vesuva
Vivid Grove
Vivid Meadow
wooded bastion
Forest – 6
Island – 5
Plains – 10

The rumors are true, Zendikar WILL contain the enemy fetch lands. Now before you get all crazy remember that the rares in Zendikar will be much easier to get then the Onslaught ones so don’t go all crazy and expect these to be 15-20 dollars like those ones. I think they’ll probably settle around the same price as the dual lands from M10, maybe a little more because they are more desirable for Legacy/Vintage then the M10 lands.

I don’t exactly see all the hype though for Standard, I think people aren’t thinking this through very much. Standard already has Terramorphic Expanse which is slightly better and slightly worse then a fetch land. You don’t lose the life and your land comes into play tapped BUT you can search for any basic land. Unless the other non-basic lands in the set have a subtype of a basic land I don’t really see them as being A LOT better, in standard only.

I’m getting too excited though, I preordered 1 box and now I want 2 but my wife would kill me. What to do!? Living, I guess, would be the obvious choice.

So I guess Planar Cleansing wasn’t doing it, Wizards reveiled to free promo foil for Zendikar today for buying a box and it’s…

So why not just reprint Wrath of God? Doesn’t quite make sense to me but what do I know. And it’s great that they are making white even stronger, that’s all white needs right now is a buff!

If you haven’t seen the new Zendikar playmats, one of them is:

So there is definitly a Lotus of some sort in the set. Hmm interesting…

I might change hosts soon, this one seems to be going slower everyday.

Anyways:

Sept. 20th is going to be amazing, that video gets me so excited.

I’m going to be posting about Magic a lot soon because I’m back into it again…I guess now that I’m out of World of Warcraft for good I need something nerdy to fill that space and Magic I’m definitly good at.