50 Goblins and 5 Smoking Craters - 19th at SCG Day 2

After a difficult though well done (in my opinion anyway) Star City day one, Saturday night was again spent testing and reconstructing decks. People were rebuilding GAT to take into consideration the metagame from the day’s event, so now the ‘T’ in GAT would stand for Tarmogoyf, for example, and everyone was telling me not to play Fish again.

My plan going into Star City was to play Fish day one and either reward myself with playing Belcher day two if I won power or to punish myself by playing GAT if I didn’t. Instead, at the near insistence of Jerry Yang, I decided to console myself by playing Belcher instead. He and I spent a few hours testing it in the atrium of the hotel.

Odd sidenote: The atrium had a sign outside that said it closed at 10 p.m. We went in and tested there anyway. While we’re there, a gaggle of small children is out roaming the halls and riding the elevators, not being especially noisy for children, but still louder than a hotel after 11 p.m. should be. So we’re sitting in the atrium, testing quietly, when the security guard comes up and tells us the area is closed and we have to move. Then he points us to another table, just outside the atrium apparently—the distinction wasn’t very clear, and the new table was right outside a couple of rooms. While he’s escorting us to this new table, the gaggle of children runs by and he ignores them.

I think that guy might be focusing on the wrong parts of his job. It just struck me as odd. Also, he kept pointing out this other table that we could move to, as though we didn't see it the first time he indicated it. I still don't know how it was outside the atrium.

So anyway, I was happy enough in testing that I decided Belcher would be a fine deck for day two, and nobody really steered me away from it this time. Here’s what I played:

4x Goblin Charbelcher
4x Empty the Warrens
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Rite of Flame
4x Tinder Wall
4x Land Grant
4x Street Wraith
3x Goblin Welder
3x Pyroblast
3x Red Elemental Blast
2x Living Wish
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Memory Jar
1x Lotus Petal
1x Lion's Eye Diamond
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt
1x Grim Monolith
1x Chrome Mox
1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Taiga

Sideboard
2x Tarmogoyf
1x Storm Entity
1x Goblin Welder
1x Ingot Chewer
2x Gorilla Shaman
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Shattering Spree
1x Taiga
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Mishra’s Workshop
1x Bazaar of Baghdad

That’s right; Tarmogoyf proved his dominance again by showing up in the sideboard of my list. I can’t remember any games where he didn’t come in, either. Probably, I wanted three in the board, but I’m not sure what I would have dropped for the third. Ancient Tomb and Mox Monkey number three sat out for the two I got in there.

The maindeck is largely the same as the one I’ve been playing, though I cut Serum Powders a while ago and put everything back in that I had taken out. After extensive testing (I goldfish this deck all the dang time and play against it when I want to test against combo), I realized that Jerry had been right all along about Serum Powder being the worst topdeck ever. I’ve not looked back.

Also, I should probably play more Ingot Chewers between the main and the side, or at least test them more. He seems good against a lot of different things, especially Thorn of Amethyst. I could see cutting a maindeck Red Blast or two for some sort of artifact destruction, and Chewer might make the cut there.

Anyway, pre-tournament was largely the same as last time, except that as I was filling out my decklist at Denny’s, I had to show it to Jerry to see what restricted card I was missing. He looked over the list for a few minutes, then gave me an are-you-kidding look and said, “You’re missing the best card in here!”

“What?” I ask.

“The green one that’s part of all the really easy wins in the deck!”

Oh yeah! The brokenest card ever if its cost were blue or black—1x Channel. Please add that to the list above.

Ninety people shuffled up and dealt for day two, which was unfortunate because Mystic Gaming (who was supplying the prizes) refused to give out prizes through the top 16 for some reason. I guess $2,700 wasn’t quite good enough for them. Whatever.

Anyway...

Round 1 – Zak – GAT

Zak was a fine opponent who took some pre-game hits from a friend of his who implied that he was a bad player. This gave me some hope of winning round one, though since I hadn’t realized my own problem yet (which I’ll explain before round three) I was also a bad player. Zak was polite and friendly, though, and we both laughed at our inabilities to win.

In game one I used the power of Lotus and Mana Vault to power 12 goblin tokens out of the Warrens. My last card in hand was Pyroblast, but my opponent scooped before I could get a chance to use it.

Game two, Zak got a great start by playing Fastbond and Demonic Tutoring for Ancestral. Unfortunately, his draw spells must have chained into more lands, and when he Gushed with one card in hand, I Blasted it in hopes of crippling him there. Later he told me that the one card in hand was Yawgmoth’s Will, which allowed him to do everything over again, still finding no action, and putting Zak to eleven life. With no action myself, I decided to cast an Elvish Spirit Guide and start beating. I think If I had played two Guides I could have pulled this one out, but my opponent found Goyf and Time Walk and won instead.

I made some mana on turn one of game three, but nothing else. Zak Ancestralled and played Needle for Belcher and Tutored for Trickbind. Unfortunately, that’s where it ended. Five turns came and went, so we drew.

Match 0-0-1; Games 1-1-1; Goblins 12

Who draws with Belcher? Honestly! Neither one of us should do that. Belcher should win or lose, never draw.

Round 2 – Steve – Trinket Fish

I don’t remember whether Steve’s deck had Tarmogoyfs in it or not. I think it was more like Bruce’s deck from round one the day before. Either way, Trinket Mage for Pithing Needle hurts Belcher bad.

Steve won the roll and made a first turn Dark Confidant. Then he Drained the Welder I was hoping to use to get Belcher into play. Then he played Trinket Mage, going to get Pithing Needle. From there it was pretty much over. Confidant and Trinket Mage stomped me flat in six turns.

The second game was pretty much the same story except I actually got Goblin Welder into play and blocked a Dark Confidant with it. Unfortunately, he had the backup Confidant and the Trinket Mage for Needle, and I lost in short order.

Match 0-1-1; Games 1-3-1; Goblins 12

At this point the tournament broke for a forty-five minute lunch, and the Trogvan adjourned to Potbelly Sandwich Works for lunch. There, like Juan finally correctly punching Jimmy McCarthy’s sub sandwich, the realization hit me like a fist from the heavens: Belcher is not Fish!

Why this concept took so long to hit me, I don’t know. The last four hands I kept were terrible, terrible Belcher hands. Mana, Welders, and Red Blasts are totally weak in a deck that’s meant to win on turn one. I need at least one threat, possibly two, and it’s even better if the mana’s there to play one or both of them. This version of Belcher is meant to be consistent and to mulligan well—so, mulligan! My opponent shouldn’t even have time to Trinket Mage for Pithing Needle because he should be lying dead in a smoking crater!

Armed with this newfound knowledge and a belly full of meatball sub and mocha shake, I went back with the Ohio Crew, determined to win out! Raaawrrr!

Round 3 – Bob – GAT

Bob was friendly, but I really don’t remember too much about this match. I think I'm getting it and the next one confused.

Bob mulliganed in game one, and I opened with Street Wraith and won. I assume I made Belcher and activated it since I don’t have him taking any damage from goblins, but I’m not sure. My life total went from 20 to 18; his stayed at 20, then game two started.

I kept a good opener in game two that unfortunately folded to Bob’s turn one Duress. Then he played Tarmogoyf and began the beats, resolving Needle on Belcher and Welder along the way. Though I kept plugging away and gave myself some turns by throwing out must-counter threats, my opponent took this one fairly quickly after Vamping for Fastbond.

I opened game three with 10 goblin tokens. This was too fast for my opponent to deal with and after drawing for his turn and playing some land, he scooped, unable to get Engineered Explosives and the activation mana to save himself.

Match 1-1-1; Games 3-4-1; Goblins 22

I’d add some insight here, but I just don’t remember having any. Stupid Belcher players.

Round 4 – Brennan - GAT

Brennan was a quiet opponent who seemed very tired, probably in part because he drove more than 1,000 miles from his home in Colorado. Our games were fairly long and, like I said, I can’t distinguish this match from my previous one except that I know afterward we both admitted to having made play mistakes.

Game one was overkill. My opponent Thoughtseized Goblin Welder out of my hand, leaving me with mana and Empty the Warrens. Obviously, since he left Empty, he had easy access to Echoing Truth, but I had to do it anyway. I made eight goblins, and he played Echoing Truth into my Red Elemental Blast, a card he knew I had from the Thoughtseize. I attacked for eight and was able to make Belcher. I finished him off on my next upkeep with the blast.

We both mulliganed in game two—him to six, me to five—and that slowed us down a bit. He was fortunate to open the game with a Pithing Needle on Belcher, and things went downhill for me from there. My notes indicate he played Ancestral, Dryad, and time Walk, then Goyf, then Vampiric Tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will. I’m not sure how I beat that short of immediate combo.

I mulliganed to six in game three, keeping a slower hand with an early Goyf and a Wheel of Fortune for later. He Duressed my REB and saw my plans, but has no counter for the Wheel. Goyf got some beats in (though I should have played Wheel before I attacked, so he’d be bigger), and my opponent had no counter for my draw-7. I made a mistake by not playing Empty the Warrens to finish him off, and Brennan capitalized by ripping the card from my hand next turn. Fortunately he could only delay losing by playing Echoing Truth out of his graveyard with Yawgmoth’s Will, and I win with Vintage’s new hot creature card.

Match 2-1-1; Games 5-5-1; Goblins 30

There were serious mistakes on both sides of these games, starting with him allowing me to counter the Echoing Truth and ending with me not breaking game three wide open with Empty the Warrens. If it weren’t for those, I’d say this was my best match of the day.

Round 5 – Keith – Goblins

Poor Keith. He had no idea what was coming. Still he was a friendly competitor and seemed interested in the deck afterward.

Game one, since I didn’t know what he was playing, I kept a weak Empty the Warrens hand and made six goblins. Usually this would enough pressure to win turn three, though it’s iffy. His opening play was Lotus, Goblin Sharpshooter, go. How good for him! He shot my goblins, drew lands before I could rebuild, and killed me.

Game two I played, Lotus, Tinder Wall, Rite of Flame, Sol Ring, Simian Spirit Guide, Belcher. Belch?

Game three he played Mountain, Goblin Welder. I answered with Land Grant, Taiga, Simian Spirit Guide, Tinder Wall, Rite of Flame, Wheel of Fortune with one red floating. Then I continued with Rite of Flame, Petal, Tinder Wall, Black Lotus, Belcher. Belch?

Match 3-1-1; Games 7-6-1; Goblins 36

Dang. Sorry, Keith. I guess next time play Force of Will? I had tested some games against Goblins before day one and could not win. Jimmy kept telling me, “Win on turn one!” and I was keeping stupid hands with Welders. I’m glad I finally listened to him.

Round 6 – Stephen – GAT

Stephen Menendian. Of course. Thank you, computer, for pairing me against a friend I rode up with, the most famous Vintage player today, the guy who invented and reinvented the deck he’s playing. Oh, and at a time where one of us has to win and the other has to go home. Weak.

I’m not saying that I couldn’t win; I’m just saying this pairing was about the most unfortunate one either of us could have. GAT is not a lock against Belcher.

In game one, I mulliganed twice while Steve mulliganed once. I played Mox Ruby and Goblin Welder, which Steve does not counter. When Steve Duressed me he saw a handful of gasoline, including Belcher. “I have to prevent you from getting to four mana,” he said, and took my Chrome Mox. My best chance to win was Lion’s Eye Diamond, and Steve’s hand was slow enough that I have time to do it. Three or four turns after being Duressed, my hand is perfect—Lotus Petal, REB, Lion’s Eye Diamond, and Force of Ape. I played Lotus Petal; Steve thinks about it, then counters. I played LED. “Oh God!” said Steve. “Do I lose? I think I lose!” He did. I discarded my hand, Welded in Belcher, and cratered him.

Game two, Thoughtseize took my Mox Emerald, crippling my mana and preventing me from playing the Tarmogoyf in my hand. For my draw, I get Land Grant to find Taiga, cast Goyf and begin the beats. Steve matched with a Goyf of his own, and our beaters stared each other down. I was drawing awesome cards, though—Memory Jar, Channel, Living Wish for my second Taiga. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it. Steve goes combo mode and I scooped since we’re running low on time.

As we shuffled and resolved mulligans for game three, a judge came up and asked us if the game had started yet. We said no, but we’re about to. He said we couldn’t start because we’re already past time. What a gyp. I had mulliganed to Mox Pearl, Mox Jet, Belcher, Lotus Petal, Rite of Flame. Steve had mulliganed to Force of Will. A battle of the titans was about to commence, and the stupid judge came in and wrecked it.

Match 2-1-2; Games 8-7-2; Goblins 36 (I think I missed some somewhere)

I scooped Steve past me. One of us was in contention, and the other was out. We both assumed he had the better chance.

Match 2-2-1; Games 8-8-2; Goblins 36

This all would have been okay had Steve won his next match. Oops! Oh well. I guess we can’t win them all.

Round 7 – Don Juan Diego de la Vega Rodriguez – GAT

At this point, Juan and I were playing pretty much for fun, as evidenced by the fact that Juan blatantly cheated in game one and then blatantly punted in game two. Juan told me beforehand that he was going to dreamcrush me, “Just like you dreamcrushed Twaun!” Then he said later that he was going to scoop to me anyway.

I’m not sure why he would scoop to me, though, since my last round loss would have put me too far out of contention to matter. Like I said, prizes did not go down to 16th day two, and there was no way I would make top 8.

Oh well. The game notes for game one are good enough to type.

I opened game one with Empty the Warrens for ten and get in a swing. Juan Mystical Tutored on turn two, revealing Echoing Truth. “I hope you have Lotus to cast it,” I said. “I do,” he replied, playing Mox Jet and Sapphire from his hand. Ouch. I played Empty the Warrens for six next turn, and he matched it; our guys stare at each other. I hardcast Street Wraith off of Lotus, he Forced it and comboed off.

The key thing to realize here is that Juan’s Mystical Tutors are better than other people’s. When he Tutored, not only could he put an instant or sorcery on the top of his deck, he could also pick any two 0cc artifacts and put them in his hand. Man, that card is such a beating against Empty the Warrens.

Watching game two, Jerry Yang was going into convulsions over the plays Juan is making. After Juan put multiple lands in play on one turn without the use of Fastbond, he shuffled Fastbond and YawgWill into his library with Brainstorm and a fetchland. Then he tutored for Yawgmoth’s Will. Funny thing was, he still might have won that game. I only had Goyf on board.

We must have ended the day there, because I don’t have notes for game three. Like I said, I think Juan and I should have played it out. He loses game one (probably), wins game two (probably), and we let game three decide it for real.

Match 3-2-1; Games 10-8-2; Goblins 52

Next time, I guess.

So that’s it. Jimmy McCarthy and Jerry Yang made top eight on day one playing GAT and Workshop Aggro respectively. Congratulations, guys! Unfortunately, nobody made it in on day two.

I finished 43rd on day one and 19th on day two. I feel that’s respectable. Certainly I would have liked to do better, but I didn’t wake up this morning crying into my Cheerios. The highs and lows of this weekend were dispersed throughout a generally awesome time, hanging out with friends, eating awesome pizza, and playing Magic. The only way that could get better is winning, but I don’t need a Mox to feel better.

Plus, Vintage was a lot of fun this weekend (even though Tarmogoyf was all over the place and is now one of the best cards in any format ever). The metagame feels wide-open right now, a far cry from July, when everyone was playing Gush so that seemed like all you faced.

Out of fourteen matches, I played seven different decks. That doesn’t seem too bad. And most of the others were GAT decks that I faced day two at the higher tables. There’s obviously some reason for concern over Gush, but it seems like people have adapted to beat it enough that it’s just a solid choice, not the only choice.

We’ll see what happens, I guess. The December B&R list could be pretty interesting if the people in charge take any of Menendian’s recommendations from the Invitational.

For now, I’ll just be waiting for the next tournament, and I hope you’ll all be there. It will be awesome. Here’s the December Gamers Lounge tournament!

The Gamers Lounge
127 E. Market St.
Downtown Sandusky, OH
419-621-0282
www.theherozone.com

All tournaments are full-proxy, and everyone who enters will get a free premium card just for signing up!

December 8, 2007
Registration - 12 noon
Tournament - 1 pm
Cost - $15
Prize - Full cash payout of entry fees awarded to top four
1st: 50%
2nd: 30%
3rd: 10%
4th: 10%