Report - 5 Steps closer to Nationals but still 2 far away.

So this time I’m going to play Standard in the regionals.

So what deck should I take?

I was playing turbo fog in standard and I also have a Boros deck. My first choices was between this 2 at first, but when a friend of mine said he couldn’t go Jund joined my possibilities  and I ended playing Jund, borrowing my 2 decks to other people.

So I was going to play the deck that most people play but there are quite a bit of different builds.  So which one should I play or rather which one I wanted to play? There was another guy that was with me in this, since he would play Jund too but hadn’t decided which build to play.

So basically, we entered a quest to find the right build for which one of us.

He was faster to choose the desired build than me, he quickly decided by a Göertzen build only changing the Rampant Growth for Terminates and a revamped sideboard.

I took a lot of time to decide, actually I only got the complete list on the day before and only got some last cards on the place (I was rather lucky).

The build I played was one that got 9-0 on the first day of the GP Brussels and proceeded to a top8 finish piloted by Francesco Ciposlleschy. I only did 2 changes on the main list; one was intended, -1 Rootbound Crag +1 Raging Ravine, and  the other one was forced,-1 Dragonskull Summit +1 Lavaclaw reaches.

The sideboard was revamped by me, has I didn’t like some cards he had in it.

So the list was this:

creature [19]

4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Putrid Leech
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Sprouting Thrinax
3 Vampire Nighthawk

instant [8]

1 Bituminous Blast
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Terminate

sorcery [7]

4 Blightning
3 Maelstrom Pulse

land [26]

3 Dragonskull Summit
3 Forest
2 Lavaclaw Reaches
3 Mountain
4 Raging Ravine
4 Savage Lands
3 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs

60 cards

Sideboard:
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Deathmark
3 Duress
2 Doom Blade
2 Grim Discovery
1 Maelstrom Pulse

15 cards

I won´t say much about the sideboard, I will instead post my sideboard notes that I took to the tournament. It’s a lot more descriptive of what I wanted my side to do than saying this is good against this or against that.

So here it is:

UW Tapout Control		UWR		Grixis		Jacerator		Runeflare Trap
Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In
3Terminate	3 Duress	3Terminate	3 Duress	3Terminate	4Ruinblaster	3terminate	4Ruinblaster	3terminate	3 Duress
1 BituBlast	3 DeathMark	1 Bitublast	2Doomblade	1 BituBlast	2 Gdiscovery	1 Bitublast	3 Duress	1 BituBlast	1 Pulse
4 Bolt	2Doomblade	4 Bolt	4Ruinblaster	4 Leech	3 Duress	3 Nhawk	1 Pulse
3 Nhawk	4Ruinblaster	4 Leech	2 Gdiscovery	2 Bolt	1 Pulse	4 leech	3 Deathmark
4 Leech	1 Pulse		1 Pulse
	2 GDiscovery
UW(b) Open the Vaults		Valakut Ramp		Polymorph		RDW | BR Burn		WW
Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In
4 Bolt	3 Duress	3 Nhawk	1 Pulse	4SiegeGang	3 Duress	3 Pulse	3 Duress	3Terminate	1Doomblade
1 BituBlast	1 Gdiscovery	1 BituBlast	4RuinBlaster	3 Pulso	2Doomblade	2SiegeGang	2Doomblade	1 BituBlast	3 DeathMark
3 Nhawk	4Ruinblaster	2Terminate	2Doomblade		3 DeathMark			1 Thrinax	1 Pulse
4Blightning	1 Pulse	1 bolt
	3 Deathmark
Naya | Boros		Mono Green		Vampires		Bant | Mythic		Jund
Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In
4Blightning	3 Deathmark	3 Nhawk	1 Pulse	3 Leech	1 Pulse	4 Leech	3 DeathMark	2 LBolt	2 Gdiscovery
2Terminate	2Doomblade	3 Leech	3 Deathmark		2 GDiscovery	1 BituBlast	1 Pulse	4 Leech	4 Blaster
	1 Pulse		2Doomblade				1Doomblade	3Nighthawk	3 Deathmark

 

I actually played some games with this against the Göertzen build and it was mostly 50/50 for my surprise, the Broodmate Dragon proved not to be such a game breaker than I actually though, since most time when we got to Broodmate Dragon mana one of us would be mostly dead.

Siege-Gang proved to be very good whenever I played it (I had tried a build with one less Siege-Gang and 1 more Bituminous, but I abandoned that idea) and broken whenever I untapped with him on the board.

Now to the report.

I finished with 5-2 record and so did my friend who played the Göertzen build, but he wasn’t so happy with his sideboard has I was with mine.

So to the games:

 1^st Round 

U/W  Tappout control

1^st Game

I actually never thought I would win this one, I got stuck in 4 lands while he developed his mana  and hitting one of my ravines to get me stuck on 3 lands.  I already have gotten rid of 1 Jace with a Blighting and a Bolt, and at the time he got rid of one of my ravines he decided to go to the ultimate. He tried to keep me out of land but I had a lot of gas on my hand to play and was drawing even more. He counters a bunch of spells from my part while I’m now getting some lands into play. We eventually reach to a stalemate where he has 4 soldier tokens – from a Martial Coup – Jace with 9 counters and I have a Leech in play 5 untapped lands 1 Bituminous, 1 Bloodbraid, 1 siege gang and a Terminate on my hand-  this time he decides to Brainstorm instead of powering up Jace to 11 counters, so the 2 cards that he has in his hand are lands or irrelevant stuff, I decided to Bitublast on one of the tokens  so he hasn’t the chance to get a Counter Spell and if I hit a Blightning it would be  pretty good. I didn’t get the Blightning instead I got a Bloodbraid into a Thrinax – I can’t complain- he Oringed my Thrinax and passed the turn. On my turn I terminate a token activated 1 ravine and they all go to Jace.

On his turn he played Day of Judgement and I just kept attacking with the Ravine letting her eat a Colonnade and hitting home. He conceded showing me 3 Day of Judgment in his hand.

2^nd  Game.

Not much to talk about this one. His 3^rd turn Jace gets obliterated by my third turn Blightning,

His 4rd turn Jace gets destroyed by a Pulse, and a Bloodbraid into a Thrinax eat his life in a couple of turns.

Record 1-0

2^nd Round

1^st Game

Jund probably the Göertzen build

I’m on the play and he both go Leech, then he Blightnings –I discarded 1 bolt and a land to it- and I played a Thrinax he played a Garruk and put a token in play, on my turn I Blightning him – I had it In my starting hand – which got 2 of the 4 cards on is hand 1 siege gang and 1 broodmate and destroying Garruk  in the process. He then dropped a siege gang (I think) wich I Terminated and lead the way with a Siege-Gang from my part shortly after he was dead.

2^nd game

The same as game 1 but this time he won since I never got removal to kill is 2^nd turn leech.

3^rd game

He once again starts with a 2^nd turn leech and I kept a hand with 4 land a bolt 1 siege gang and a bitu blast, unfortunately for me He had 2 Blastminer to slow down my 5 turn plays while I only draw land and 2 additional Siege-Gangs to stay still on my hand until it was too late.

Record 1-1

3^rd Round

WR Boros

1^st Game

Well, I’m playing against my deck.

This was a crazy game, since he played 4 Rangers and got me on 1 life before I stabilized. He had 2-4 turns where any burn spell would kill me before I played Bloodbraid into Nighthawk who quickly got me out of his range.

2^nd Game

There isn’t much to talk about this one since I get the nuts draw against him

Record 2-1

4^th Round

WW Soldier Brew

1^st Game

We traded creatures and removal for about 6, 7 turns. I’m at a point where I have 4 lands in play , 2 leech and 2 Bloodbraids in my hand where he only has 6 lands – one of them is a Emeria –  and 1 card in hand. I Drop a leech and pass. He draws captain of the watch and plays it. I draw a land play it and drop a Bloodbraid who it’s a Blightning making him discard is only card in hand a Plains and I pass the turn. He draws and plays a Conquerors’ Pledge and pass. Now I’m at 12 life have a Leech and a Bloodbraid in play, I need some sort of removal to get rid of Captain or a Pulse to hit the tokens. The odds where in my favor somehow but unfortunately I drew a CIPT land and my Braid got a Thrinax, so I have 2 Bloodbraids and a Leech facing a board of 9 2/2 soldiers and a Captain of the Watch GG.

2^nd Game

He starts with a Honor of the Pure into a Firewalker then a Blademaster. My second turn Leech got Oringed and the Blademaster got a Terminate pointed to his head. After getting hit 2 3 times by the Firewalker I finally draw a Doomblade but 1 of the 2 cards he has on his hand is a Brave the Elements so he stays lives and I proceed to drop a Thrinax. He drops another Blademaster and hits me again with the Firewalker, I’m at 9 at this time. I drop a Bloodbraid that hits another Doomblade this time getting rid of the Firewalker.  He draws and plays a Oring on the Thrinax and attacks with the Blademaster which founded a Bloodbraid in is way. I draw a bolt that promptly kills the Blademaster and drop another Thrinax on his turn he drops a firewalker and pass, I drew a land played another thrinax and still had a land on my hand. He still had a card in his and too who was most likely a land. So he draws, and the 3^rd Firewalker joined the ranks while the other one got me on 6. I draw a DeathMark and who got a Firewalker, attacked with the Thrinax is at 20 life. On his turn he drops a land attacks with the Firewalker and pass I got a Nighthawk drop it and attack with the Thrinax, he draws a purge and it’s GG.

Record 2-2

5^th Round

Boss Naya

1^st Game

It was a quick matchup where I killed pretty much anything relevant to him and ride a ravine into the dome.

2^nd Game

Same has the first one but this time even faster.

Record 3-2

6^th Round

Vampires

1^st Game

I’m stuck at 3 lands and he has 3 Bloodghasts running GG.

2^nd Game

He Kept a 7 hand with only one land to my mulligan to 6 and got promptly devastated.

3^rd Game

On this game there wasn’t mana problems for either of us but I played 3 Thrinax in my first 6  turns and his Vampire Lord got Terminated immediately after hitting play, he even wasted a Ravine from my part but a Grim Discovery got a Thrinax and the Ravine back  to once again join his bros and give me the Game.

7^th Round

Jund Göertzen build with Explore instead of Rampant Growths

1^st Game

He started first and we both mulligan to 6 and ramped on the second turn with a explore , on my turn I played leech, he then played Blightning –I discarded a land and a bolt- dropped a land attacked with the leech and decided to pump it but  a Lightning Bolt killed him before getting fat. He now has 3 cards in his hand and I Blightning him and hit a Siege-Gang and a Broodmate Dragon. He draws plays a land and drops a Siege-Gang. On my turn I drop a land and Pulse the tokens. He plays another land attacks with the a Ravine and the Commander

I Play a Thrinax and pass, he drops another land attacks with the Ravine that gets terminated.

Them I play a Siege-Gang who got Lightning Bolted but I got another Siege-Gang for my next turn, which sealed the deal.

2^nd Game

He got a 3^rd turn Blastminer into a 4^th turn Siege-Gang into a 5^th turn Siege-Gang GG,

3^rd game

This time he has problems getting black mana and 2 Blastminers make sure he doesn’t get black mana before I’m done with him – I still had a Grim Discovery to get a Blastminer from the GY when the game ended.

So this is all folks.

P.s. There are certainly a lot of mistakes on the report. Since I didn’t make notes I’m doing this from memory which isn’t a exact science. Either way, the essential plays are there.