[Deck] Amulet Titan

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FoodChainGoblins
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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
About the Stirrings play, I would've played out the Stirrings regardless because I value any bounceland higher than Scout, as +1 card is more relevant and there's a chance the Scout dies. Even knowing he sided out push, I would still rather dig for a bounceland instead, since there's no way for him to interact with it.
I see. Yeah, maybe I got too tunnel visioned on wanting to ramp as soon as I could to get Titan on board before he would draw Thoughtseize. Bounceland is very good against him, as long as I have another land to sacrifice in play. I told him that. I told him that a lot of his deck is good vs. me, but the bouncelands I have are great against him. This match really made me miss the non Karn version that has 2 Obstinate Baloth in the side. I don't know why, but I always feel more comfortable with those. I guess Karn also provides some card advantage as well, so it's not complete downside.

I should say that I sided out 1 Amulet because I didn't know what else to side out in the Jeskai matchup. How does that feel?
Can I see your list? I can tell you how I'd side for the matchup overall. Amulet is pretty medium in the control MUs, so I could see siding one out for sure. How do you feel about boarding out a couple Scouts vs. Jeskai? They're weak to Bolts and they can't possibly cut all of the Bolts post board.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2952172#paper

My list is very close to that. I actually want to revert it to non Karn, but I am missing 3 foil Aether Gust and I don't want those cards to stand out, lol. I bought the Arboreal Grazer foils recently. I have 1 more Cavern of Souls main board over the 2nd Snow Forest and I play 4 STS, taking out a Karn, the Great Creator. The SB has the Karn targets and 2 Force of Vigor, 2 Dismember, 1 Rec Sage, 2 Beast Within, 1 Field of the Dead, and 1 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath.

Taking out Scouts vs. Jeskai most likely is correct. I just felt like his Jeskai was more aggroish and I actually expected Geist of St. Traft since I saw him going through them before the tournament. We talk. We've known each other for a long time, mostly from this other very epic store that ended up going bankrupt. We used to have 40-70 players there at free FNMs, where the payout was around $110 for 1st and $70 for 2nd and down from that. Yeah, they can't cut their bolts. I was just hoping that I could get out an early 2/4 to block his Geist of St. Traft if he doesn't have Path to Exile. I was really scared of losing to Geist, which I assumed he had.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
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Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

Ok, so from this list:

I would sideboard against Jeskai Stoneblade as follows:

In: 2 Beast Within, 2 Dismember, 1 Reclamation Sage, 1 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
Out: 2 Sakura-Tribe Scout, 1 Amulet of Vigor, 2 Ancient Stirrings, 1 Summoner's Pact

I don't think Force of Vigor is good here, actually. Beast Within covers Sword of Feast and Famine and even Ashiok, Dream Render, and you don't care at all about Batterskull, especially since Karn +1 on the Skull kills the token. Force does nothing most of the time, and you frequently have to 2-for-1 yourself to cast it. Dismember is mainly for Spell Queller. You may want to side in a copy of Engineered Explosives too, since you would presumably still have one in the board for Karn anyways, but I'm not totally sure. I think trimming an Amulet is fine, you don't want too many of them, and you can easily win without it -- not to mention that Karn can grab it from the board too. Scout is weak to Bolts, but good for acceleration sometimes and can "clock" a T3feri or Ashiok, so I'd trim 2. You already know by this point why I like siding out Stirrings, but I wouldn't cut them all because they do find Karn in your list as well. If you wanted to bring in another card, my first candidate for a cut would be the 3rd Stirrings for sure.

I could also see bringing in the Ballista too, since you can TWest for it, and it can kill a Stoneforge Mystic or something, but it's a little slow. It plays very well with Cavern tho. Trying to resolve a Karn to fetch Ballista, then playing the Ballista a turn later doesn't seem very good to me tho, and it exposes Karn to Bolt(s).\

Edit: As for the list itself, I'd HIGHLY recommend playing Arboreal Grazer over Scouts entirely. Grazer pairs especially well with Karn, protecting it from chip damage, and I also just think that the card is just better. It enables those T2 Dryads you were talking about without drying to Bolt as well. I'd also suggest cutting a Stirrings for a 3rd Explore, as Explore powers out Karn pretty well, including in those double Amulet draws.

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
I would sideboard against Jeskai Stoneblade as follows:

In: 2 Beast Within, 2 Dismember, 1 Reclamation Sage, 1 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
Out: 2 Sakura-Tribe Scout, 1 Amulet of Vigor, 2 Ancient Stirrings, 1 Summoner's Pact

I don't think Force of Vigor is good here, actually. Beast Within covers Sword of Feast and Famine and even Ashiok, Dream Render, and you don't care at all about Batterskull, especially since Karn +1 on the Skull kills the token. Force does nothing most of the time, and you frequently have to 2-for-1 yourself to cast it. Dismember is mainly for Spell Queller. You may want to side in a copy of Engineered Explosives too, since you would presumably still have one in the board for Karn anyways, but I'm not totally sure. I think trimming an Amulet is fine, you don't want too many of them, and you can easily win without it -- not to mention that Karn can grab it from the board too. Scout is weak to Bolts, but good for acceleration sometimes and can "clock" a T3feri or Ashiok, so I'd trim 2. You already know by this point why I like siding out Stirrings, but I wouldn't cut them all because they do find Karn in your list as well. If you wanted to bring in another card, my first candidate for a cut would be the 3rd Stirrings for sure.

I could also see bringing in the Ballista too, since you can TWest for it, and it can kill a Stoneforge Mystic or something, but it's a little slow. It plays very well with Cavern tho. Trying to resolve a Karn to fetch Ballista, then playing the Ballista a turn later doesn't seem very good to me tho, and it exposes Karn to Bolt(s).\

Edit: As for the list itself, I'd HIGHLY recommend playing Arboreal Grazer over Scouts entirely. Grazer pairs especially well with Karn, protecting it from chip damage, and I also just think that the card is just better. It enables those T2 Dryads you were talking about without drying to Bolt as well. I'd also suggest cutting a Stirrings for a 3rd Explore, as Explore powers out Karn pretty well, including in those double Amulet draws.
I think that was the deck, except 1 Wurmcoil Engine over the 2nd Engineered Explosives.

Your analysis is spot on. I actually didn't side Beast Within. I thought I could do without them since I hadn't seen a planeswalker in 2 weeks playing him in long games. But he did show me that he sided in his 1 Ashiok, Dream Render, which is HELL for us. And they always have a backup plan against an equipment or Spell Queller. I should definitely have brought them in.

I did bring in all of those other 4 cards, thinking if I don't Dismember a Spell Queller, it can get a Germ or Stoneforge Mystic in a pinch. It kills a lot of things just to slow them down. I still am so scared to side out Pact because of what happened to me in a very odd variance game, lol.

I did want to add another Explore, but I just didn't see space.
Last edited by FoodChainGoblins 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
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Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

Have you ever considered playing Garruk Relentless // Garruk, the Veil-Cursed in amulet? Because I have! First match of Cursed Amulet is up!

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Have you ever considered playing Garruk Relentless // Garruk, the Veil-Cursed in amulet? Because I have! First match of Cursed Amulet is up!
No, I had never considered it. I will be playing Amulet only this week, so hopefully my plays will be better. I'll see how you do with it.

Played an 8 person MNM. Karnamalakut still.

Round 1 vs. BW Taxes. In the first game, I get out Amulet off Slayer's Stronghold. Drew this card within the first 3 turns 4 times today. I do an Arboreal Grazer into Dryad of Ilysian Grove into Prime Time and swing for his death. He scoops. In the next game, I keep on a tapped land. My hand is too slow and he Thought-Knot Seers a Prime Time, then gets Ashiok. I have a Walking Ballista off Karn to blow it up, but my hand can't draw a colored source other than Green. I have Engineered Explosives that I never used this game because it could only be played on 0 or 1. He did an Ashiok on me, exiling Gruul Turf, SGC, and Breeding Pool. Ouch, that's when you know it's game. I get run over by some dudes when a Thought-Knot Seer joins in. In the next game, he goes turn 2 Displacer into Thought-Knot Seer. He attacks me for 7 on turn 4 and goes for Displace his TKS on upkeep, but my draw is Dismember. I Dismember the TKS in response. I made a huge mistake here, as I put in Selesnya Sanctuary instead of another SGC. This keeps me from doing Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath a turn earlier. I do Uro and put in the Sanctuary and Radiant Fountain again. But he plays Leonin Relic-Warder, which I didn't expect since I had Force of Vigor in my opener that he saw and had picked up the other along the way. I hardcast it on my Amulet and the next turn I had 5 cards in graveyard to bring back Uro, but only Simic Growth Chamber, Selesnya Sanctuary, and Radiant Fountain. So I have to do it next turn and by then he added Flickerwisp and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. It's funny because these are creatures that I hope he would draw if I had a chance to do a Titan. I am able to Uro the next turn and then I am able to bounce the Fountain, then replay it, then play an Azusa that I drew off it. I don't know exactly if I'm dead on board, but I know that Path to Exile ends it. He has 1 card that he's had for a while and having only cast 1 Path to Exile this game, I'm nearly 100% positive that it is Path. He draws for the turn, sacrifices Silent Clearing, and then Paths the Uro. I scoop immediately. 1-2.

Round 2 vs. Niv to Light. This didn't go well for him. He does fair things. My hand ramps up and gets a Titan into play. He Assassin's Trophy on it, but another one lands and does him in with Dryad and a horde of Zombies. In the next game, it is similar, except no Thoughtseize on turn 2. He does Assassin's Trophy X 2, but this is good for me. I was scared that at 4 cards for him, Blue and Red up with Arcum's Astrolabe, that he would counter it for sure. But he didn't have 2U for Mystical Dispute, so I figured it's my best chance. If he has Disdainful Stroke, he has it. It got there and Trophies are not enough for the Prime Time train. At this point, I had 2 Summoner's Pact and drew a 3rd for the turn, lol. 2-0.

Round 3 vs. E Tron. I talk a lot of bad about E Tron. I've almost never lost to E Tron, but I'm only 50% vs. this player. I cannot win the die roll, but mostly double E Temple into biggies while I struggle with mana or Tron into pure gas is tough to beat with struggling hands. In the first game, turn 1 Chalice of the Void on 1 after exiling an SSG. I can't play Arboreal Grazer. So I'm slowed down. Turn 3 Smasher into turn 4 Smasher after that and I have to block each one with a Dryad while I'm at 5 life. So my 4 colorless mana and the Castle Garenbrig can no longer cast Prime Time. My next 2 draws. Prime Time X 2. :P In the next game, I get Karn, the Great Creator and it slows her down. She misses the Tron on turn 3 and I go to work on her lands to keep her off. I have in the back of my mind that I want to make her Chalice of the Void on 0 into a 0/0 creature, but I need to keep her off Tron. She knows I have fetchland, so I can use it with the Tolaria West in play to transmute for Summoner's Pact and with Karn in play, I can resolve the Pact. Karn also got a Wurmcoil Engine early on Castle Garenbrig to keep a TKS and a Smasher at bay. But I draw Prime Time naturally and go for that instead to conserve mana. She sees all the triggers and when Vesuva copies a bounceland and Valakut kills a Smasher, she scoops. In the last game, I was just a big old bonehead. I kept a hand with Boros Garrison, Radiant Fountain, 2 Amulet of Vigor, Karn, the Great Creator, and Summoner's Pact. I felt like a bounceland would get me there. But she natural Trons after I Karn on turn 2. To make a long story short, I don't find Green mana and she finds Akroma's Memorial with her Karn, the Great Creator and kills mine. I draw a Crumbling Vestige to Ancient Stirrings for a Simic Growth Chamber. She does Thought-Knot Seer into Phyrexian Metamorph and swings me for 15 life. I am able to use the SGC for Prime Time after a Summoner's Pact, but she has Ghost Quarter. She doesn't use it in response to the Amulet triggers, which I would have scooped to immediately. I look at the lands that I can choose, but I cannot figure out any combination that protects me from 2 TKS, Akroma's Memorial, and whatever else she draws for the turn. 1-2.

I should have definitely mulled to 5 in the last game. I actually drew Slayer's Stronghold for my first draw, which allowed a turn 2 Karn. Unfortunately this didn't do much. Very rough day for me. I actually got to see how many colorless lands this deck runs. In game 2 in Round 1, I sided out 2 Cavern of Souls and Ghost Quarter, but still drew 4 colorless mana sources. I should have just mulled more. I kinda thought I'd draw a Green mana source in a few of those and be okay.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
I should have definitely mulled to 5 in the last game. I actually drew Slayer's Stronghold for my first draw, which allowed a turn 2 Karn. Unfortunately this didn't do much. Very rough day for me. I actually got to see how many colorless lands this deck runs. In game 2 in Round 1, I sided out 2 Cavern of Souls and Ghost Quarter, but still drew 4 colorless mana sources. I should have just mulled more. I kinda thought I'd draw a Green mana source in a few of those and be okay.
Akroma's Memorial is a new one to me haha. Are you sure you drew the Stronghold? Because you said you started with Radiant Fountain in hand in that game?

I am also acutely aware of the colorless sources. I would advise against siding out Cavern too often, as it can actually serve as a green source situationally. Since you run two, I could see siding out one; I only run one myself. The only lands I personally ever side out are Ghost Quarter, Bojuka Bog, and a redundant bounceland (Selesnya Sanctuary for me, probably Golgari Rot Farm for everyone else). I never side out Castle Garenbrig because it plays around Damping Sphere, nor Radiant Fountain because it's often relevant even against control decks, either as an untapped source or for the lifegain.

I finished the league with Cursed Amulet with Garruk Relentless / Garruk, the Veil-Cursed. Ended up 3-2 overall. I've also played some more games off-camera with it for testing, and I think it's just barely not worth it, because 1) Garruk Relentless always dies to Bolt, and 2) you can't activate Garruk, the Veil-Cursed in the same turn Relentless flips into him. If either of those things were not true, I think he'd be a fine inclusion, but as is he's just a bit too weak. That said, if you're looking for some fun spice for FNM, I HIGHLY doubt Garruk will cost you any games, and in fact he might win some for you, as he did for me a few times. I don't have enough experience with the Karn lists to make a comparison, but I have to imagine this is a fine budget alternative, though you won't get the saw raw power-level.

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
I should have definitely mulled to 5 in the last game. I actually drew Slayer's Stronghold for my first draw, which allowed a turn 2 Karn. Unfortunately this didn't do much. Very rough day for me. I actually got to see how many colorless lands this deck runs. In game 2 in Round 1, I sided out 2 Cavern of Souls and Ghost Quarter, but still drew 4 colorless mana sources. I should have just mulled more. I kinda thought I'd draw a Green mana source in a few of those and be okay.
Akroma's Memorial is a new one to me haha. Are you sure you drew the Stronghold? Because you said you started with Radiant Fountain in hand in that game?

I am also acutely aware of the colorless sources. I would advise against siding out Cavern too often, as it can actually serve as a green source situationally. Since you run two, I could see siding out one; I only run one myself. The only lands I personally ever side out are Ghost Quarter, Bojuka Bog, and a redundant bounceland (Selesnya Sanctuary for me, probably Golgari Rot Farm for everyone else). I never side out Castle Garenbrig because it plays around Damping Sphere, nor Radiant Fountain because it's often relevant even against control decks, either as an untapped source or for the lifegain.

I finished the league with Cursed Amulet with Garruk Relentless / Garruk, the Veil-Cursed. Ended up 3-2 overall. I've also played some more games off-camera with it for testing, and I think it's just barely not worth it, because 1) Garruk Relentless always dies to Bolt, and 2) you can't activate Garruk, the Veil-Cursed in the same turn Relentless flips into him. If either of those things were not true, I think he'd be a fine inclusion, but as is he's just a bit too weak. That said, if you're looking for some fun spice for FNM, I HIGHLY doubt Garruk will cost you any games, and in fact he might win some for you, as he did for me a few times. I don't have enough experience with the Karn lists to make a comparison, but I have to imagine this is a fine budget alternative, though you won't get the saw raw power-level.
Yeah, I actually had seen her with Memorial before the quarantine started, but I had forgotten. It didn't matter, as there's not much I can do about it. I think the Stronghold was my first draw of the game. I asked fpawlusz about the hand and he said it was a keep. I was unsure about it and actually thought it was pretty greedy, but a Green bounceland wins the game for me on the spot, so he's probably right.

I consider Cavern as part of a Green source sometimes, but I have to also consider that it doesn't cast Stirrings or Explore. I think I side out more lands than you do. If I feel that they don't have land destruction and I may need more gas/answers, then I lean on siding out up to 2 more lands than I put in. For example, taking out 3 lands and putting in 1 more Field of the Dead. I never take out Castle Garenbrig. Card's way too good and a card that I always want 1 of in play. ;) For Radiant Fountain, I am more liberal in siding it out. If I feel that I'm the beatdown, I usually can take it out.

I watched a lot of those videos with Garruk. I think I just didn't watch Rounds 4 and 5 yet. It shows up on my youtube feed automatically now. :) It seems fun, but I think I'm gonna try something close to your regular 75, but only 1 Vesuva, today at Super FNM. A Secret Lair; Fetchlands is on the line. :smirk:
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
something close to your regular 75, but only 1 Vesuva
Blasphemy! :)

Also, now I get to be jealous of you. My local is only hosting M21 prerelease tonight, no Modern. :(

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
something close to your regular 75, but only 1 Vesuva
Blasphemy! :)

Also, now I get to be jealous of you. My local is only hosting M21 prerelease tonight, no Modern. :(
The shop that I go to on Monday was surprised they're doing Super FNM during PR weekend. Both of these shops have a sort of beef, even more than the normal one because of all the figures involved, lol. I like both of them.

Can you give me a good baseline? I'm looking at mtgtop8 now. I'm taking out Karns now.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
something close to your regular 75, but only 1 Vesuva
Blasphemy! :)

Also, now I get to be jealous of you. My local is only hosting M21 prerelease tonight, no Modern. :(
The shop that I go to on Monday was surprised they're doing Super FNM during PR weekend. Both of these shops have a sort of beef, even more than the normal one because of all the figures involved, lol. I like both of them.

Can you give me a good baseline? I'm looking at mtgtop8 now. I'm taking out Karns now.
Sorry, I didn't get back on in time to see this. :/

So what's the scoop? How'd you do?

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Sorry, I didn't get back on in time to see this. :/

So what's the scoop? How'd you do?
I went 4-1, so I did well, but fell short of my goal. It's tough to go undefeated at these kind of things, much tougher than to make top 8 and then win 3 rounds from there to win. But if we did that, we would be at the store till 3 am, :laugh:

I can't remember how many player and since we don't have planeswalkerpoints.com, I can't look it up. I will update this when I find out.

Round 1 vs. Humans. This is probably going to be my toughest competition here. He is a former teammate at another store as well and the only Magic player for the store team on the "A" team. But he doesn't usually play Modern and was borrowing Humans from another guy I've known for a long time on the "B" team. They said they practiced all week. In the first game, he gets me at lethal with a pretty devastating Meddling Mage on Prime Time and Reflector Mage on Dryad since I had drawn Valakut naturally like a lucksack. But I get it down in time and my topdeck is a bounceland, so I am able to kill Mantis Rider, Lieutenant, and Meddling Mage (freeing up 2 Prime Times that were in my hand) after I drop a 2nd Dryad for the turn. He scoops to that. The next game is similar, but the clock goes slower at first, then quicker after 2 Lieutenant. I was lucky to have Engineered Explosives in my opener to kill a Champion of the Parish on turn 2 and then drop Amulet later. I am down to lethal again, but I have Dryad in play and an active Valakut. If I draw bounceland or Tolaria West, it's good. I draw Prime Time and that makes it super easy. 2-0.

Round 2 vs. I'm sorry, I can't remember right now. This is one reason I needed pwpoints.com because it usually showed the opponent and I could remember the deck from there. I think it was Humans and I won 2-0, but I'll update this part when I can remember. I think if I see the final standings, I can figure out who I played and I'll remember what happened since the. To be fair, some of us did some drinking afterwards and I ended up going home at 4 am. :woozy:

Round 3 vs. Mono Red Prowess. In the first game after a mull to 5, I need 1 ramp spell on the way to get something going. Turn 1 Amulet into Explore TWICE on a bounceland into Ancient Stirrings, but I was unable to put extra lands in the way. I got out Titan, but need the next turn. I lose to double Bolt on Titan because I have a bunch of lands in hand now and Arboreal Grazer I think. He attacks with Runaway Steam-Kin and Swiftspear. I block Azusa on Steam-Kin and he Bolts and Lava Darts me in combat. The 3/3 Steam-Kin still kills Azusa. Then he goes to his next main phase, plays Fiery Islet, Flashes back Lava Dart, uses 3 mana from Steam-Kin, it dies, sacrifices the land with me at 2 life, draws Bonecrusher Giant // Stomp and Stomps me for exact lethal. :dizzy: In the next game, I think I kept on 7 and was looking for 1 ramp spell or Castle. I don't find it and have to set up for a turn 4 Titan. He kills me on turn 3 with those same creatures, and Bolt after Bolt with Lava Darts. :? 0-2.

Round 4 vs. Bant Reclamation. It was kind of similar to Bant Snow, but it was his own type of deck. This guy has done well here. He was the 4-0 that I beat 2 weeks ago with RG Planebound Accomplice to put us both at 4-1. I don't know him personally though. He mulls to 4 in game 1. After I Pact of Negation on a Path to Exile on my Dryad, he draws for the turn and has 2 cards now. He plays Field of Ruin and destroys my Simic Growth Chamber, which scares me for a moment because if he Paths the Dryad now, I don't have another Blue mana to pay the Pact. Luckily he didn't have it. Thinking back later, he probably was not going to have it because after his Path got Pacted, he would have just done it right away if his last card was another. So I end up swinging with that Dryad and getting Valakut triggers since I had that. I felt like I had to Pact to save Dryad because I had nothing else going on at the time, other than Valakut triggers. The next game is drawn out. The game goes really long and I get to see his whole deck. Wilderness Reclamation. Okay, ready. The final game goes to time, but I had an extension because I asked the Judge if I could go to the bathroom when there was a short line. I end up resolving Prime Time because I sandbagged a Cavern of Souls, watching 2 other lands get destroyed (one my Vesuva on HIS Field of the Dead). I immediately get 2 Field of the Dead and I keep on Titaning every turn, while he does Terminus, Sanctuary Terminus, I am able to slip in the Bojuka Bog and eventually he doesn't have the answer anymore, after he Pathed Titan and Detention Sphere the Zombies. I got there right before turns after the extension was over. 2-1.

Round 5 vs. E Tron. In the first game, he mulls to 4. I have Dryad and 3 lands with Grazer, but I get stuck on that with a Slayer's Stronghold for a bit. Luckily for me, I drew 2 more Dryad and they increase the clock until he scoops. He Dismembered one pretty quickly, but that doesn't slow the clock much. In the next game, he got all the toys, with Tron on turn 3. I had Titan AND Summoner's Pact for my turn 3, so I was hoping he wouldn't Thought-Knot Seer (which I assumed is 90% that he has) AND Chalice of the Void on 0. I figured he may not have that because he would have already played out the Chalice ... unless he drew it that turn. He did play TKS and Chalice of the Void on 0. I eventually get out of it after drawing 2 Dismember for 2 Thought-Knot Seers, but baby Karn gets Ensnaring Bridge and he puts some roadblocks in the way, even after I kill baby Karn because I kept drawing Dismembers to get a Dryad through attacking Karn. I was hoping to draw Force of Vigor to get out of this lock, but Endbringer pings away my life total for a few turns before I can get anything going. He also had Torpor Orb out early so I couldn't even attempt to get Rec Sage. In the last game, he will have Tron on a mull to 6 on turn 3 after turn 1 Map. But I power out a Titan on turn 3 and they really can't beat that kind of thing. A Prime Titan/Grave Titan is just too much for a few 3/2s, 4/4s, and 5/5 tramply bois to take down. I consider going for Dryad with Summoner's Pact, but I feel he has Dismember, so I just go for Titan #2. Much easier game than game 2, lol. 2-1.

I wasn't on stream for any of my matches. I missed that by losing Round 3. I would say to watch the other Amulet player, who has played Amulet since his KCI got banned. But the stream looks all messed up right now and even on mute, is only showing Round 5 (4-0 Amulet vs. 4-0 Jund, this player also being the guy from Round 1 and my former teammate and now part owner of this shop)
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Sorry, I didn't get back on in time to see this. :/

So what's the scoop? How'd you do?
I went 4-1, so I did well, but fell short of my goal. It's tough to go undefeated at these kind of things, much tougher than to make top 8 and then win 3 rounds from there to win. But if we did that, we would be at the store till 3 am, :laugh:

I can't remember how many player and since we don't have planeswalkerpoints.com, I can't look it up. I will update this when I find out.

Round 1 vs. Humans. This is probably going to be my toughest competition here. He is a former teammate at another store as well and the only Magic player for the store team on the "A" team. But he doesn't usually play Modern and was borrowing Humans from another guy I've known for a long time on the "B" team. They said they practiced all week. In the first game, he gets me at lethal with a pretty devastating Meddling Mage on Prime Time and Reflector Mage on Dryad since I had drawn Valakut naturally like a lucksack. But I get it down in time and my topdeck is a bounceland, so I am able to kill Mantis Rider, Lieutenant, and Meddling Mage (freeing up 2 Prime Times that were in my hand) after I drop a 2nd Dryad for the turn. He scoops to that. The next game is similar, but the clock goes slower at first, then quicker after 2 Lieutenant. I was lucky to have Engineered Explosives in my opener to kill a Champion of the Parish on turn 2 and then drop Amulet later. I am down to lethal again, but I have Dryad in play and an active Valakut. If I draw bounceland or Tolaria West, it's good. I draw Prime Time and that makes it super easy. 2-0.

Round 2 vs. I'm sorry, I can't remember right now. This is one reason I needed pwpoints.com because it usually showed the opponent and I could remember the deck from there. I think it was Humans and I won 2-0, but I'll update this part when I can remember. I think if I see the final standings, I can figure out who I played and I'll remember what happened since the. To be fair, some of us did some drinking afterwards and I ended up going home at 4 am. :woozy:

Round 3 vs. Mono Red Prowess. In the first game after a mull to 5, I need 1 ramp spell on the way to get something going. Turn 1 Amulet into Explore TWICE on a bounceland into Ancient Stirrings, but I was unable to put extra lands in the way. I got out Titan, but need the next turn. I lose to double Bolt on Titan because I have a bunch of lands in hand now and Arboreal Grazer I think. He attacks with Runaway Steam-Kin and Swiftspear. I block Azusa on Steam-Kin and he Bolts and Lava Darts me in combat. The 3/3 Steam-Kin still kills Azusa. Then he goes to his next main phase, plays Fiery Islet, Flashes back Lava Dart, uses 3 mana from Steam-Kin, it dies, sacrifices the land with me at 2 life, draws Bonecrusher Giant // Stomp and Stomps me for exact lethal. :dizzy: In the next game, I think I kept on 7 and was looking for 1 ramp spell or Castle. I don't find it and have to set up for a turn 4 Titan. He kills me on turn 3 with those same creatures, and Bolt after Bolt with Lava Darts. :? 0-2.

Round 4 vs. Bant Reclamation. It was kind of similar to Bant Snow, but it was his own type of deck. This guy has done well here. He was the 4-0 that I beat 2 weeks ago with RG Planebound Accomplice to put us both at 4-1. I don't know him personally though. He mulls to 4 in game 1. After I Pact of Negation on a Path to Exile on my Dryad, he draws for the turn and has 2 cards now. He plays Field of Ruin and destroys my Simic Growth Chamber, which scares me for a moment because if he Paths the Dryad now, I don't have another Blue mana to pay the Pact. Luckily he didn't have it. Thinking back later, he probably was not going to have it because after his Path got Pacted, he would have just done it right away if his last card was another. So I end up swinging with that Dryad and getting Valakut triggers since I had that. I felt like I had to Pact to save Dryad because I had nothing else going on at the time, other than Valakut triggers. The next game is drawn out. The game goes really long and I get to see his whole deck. Wilderness Reclamation. Okay, ready. The final game goes to time, but I had an extension because I asked the Judge if I could go to the bathroom when there was a short line. I end up resolving Prime Time because I sandbagged a Cavern of Souls, watching 2 other lands get destroyed (one my Vesuva on HIS Field of the Dead). I immediately get 2 Field of the Dead and I keep on Titaning every turn, while he does Terminus, Sanctuary Terminus, I am able to slip in the Bojuka Bog and eventually he doesn't have the answer anymore, after he Pathed Titan and Detention Sphere the Zombies. I got there right before turns after the extension was over. 2-1.

Round 5 vs. E Tron. In the first game, he mulls to 4. I have Dryad and 3 lands with Grazer, but I get stuck on that with a Slayer's Stronghold for a bit. Luckily for me, I drew 2 more Dryad and they increase the clock until he scoops. He Dismembered one pretty quickly, but that doesn't slow the clock much. In the next game, he got all the toys, with Tron on turn 3. I had Titan AND Summoner's Pact for my turn 3, so I was hoping he wouldn't Thought-Knot Seer (which I assumed is 90% that he has) AND Chalice of the Void on 0. I figured he may not have that because he would have already played out the Chalice ... unless he drew it that turn. He did play TKS and Chalice of the Void on 0. I eventually get out of it after drawing 2 Dismember for 2 Thought-Knot Seers, but baby Karn gets Ensnaring Bridge and he puts some roadblocks in the way, even after I kill baby Karn because I kept drawing Dismembers to get a Dryad through attacking Karn. I was hoping to draw Force of Vigor to get out of this lock, but Endbringer pings away my life total for a few turns before I can get anything going. He also had Torpor Orb out early so I couldn't even attempt to get Rec Sage. In the last game, he will have Tron on a mull to 6 on turn 3 after turn 1 Map. But I power out a Titan on turn 3 and they really can't beat that kind of thing. A Prime Titan/Grave Titan is just too much for a few 3/2s, 4/4s, and 5/5 tramply bois to take down. I consider going for Dryad with Summoner's Pact, but I feel he has Dismember, so I just go for Titan #2. Much easier game than game 2, lol. 2-1.

I wasn't on stream for any of my matches. I missed that by losing Round 3. I would say to watch the other Amulet player, who has played Amulet since his KCI got banned. But the stream looks all messed up right now and even on mute, is only showing Round 5 (4-0 Amulet vs. 4-0 Jund, this player also being the guy from Round 1 and my former teammate and now part owner of this shop)
Excellent read. Can you share your list if you still have it? 4-1 is just the classic finish for Amulet. :) Humans is usually my rough matchup, and prowess my better one, but you seemed to have flipped them around somehow. :P

I've started another league with Amulet btw, going a little deeper on TWest, playing a 3rd one as the 31st land.

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Excellent read. Can you share your list if you still have it? 4-1 is just the classic finish for Amulet. :) Humans is usually my rough matchup, and prowess my better one, but you seemed to have flipped them around somehow. :P

I've started another league with Amulet btw, going a little deeper on TWest, playing a 3rd one as the 31st land.
Yep, it is. I'll admit, as you can see, that I got pretty lucky against Humans. I drew the card to turn the tide on the last possible turn, even if there were several outs. I could have just drawn Amulet at that point and lost. His damage was a bit slow for Humans as well.

I normally stomp Prowess too, but this guy has had some really good draws. It makes me happy that I didn't mull past 5 and 6 against him because it could have been even worse. As it was, I needed to ramp one more time to possibly get there (or get burned out from the top of his library).

I saw the first one. It is on my favorites. Taxes with Red potentially? Taxes sometimes scares me because they can have those draws that are tough for slower hands by us to deal with. Triple TKS was pretty rough in Game 2. :poop:
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

Played Amulet at FNM tonight. Nothing super interesting tho, sadly. 0-2 Ponza, 2-0 Boros Burn, 2-0 Boros Burn. Just bad match into two good matchups. *shrug*

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Played Amulet at FNM tonight. Nothing super interesting tho, sadly. 0-2 Ponza, 2-0 Boros Burn, 2-0 Boros Burn. Just bad match into two good matchups. *shrug*
No FNM for me, as California is tightening up with the recent surge in Covid cases. :\ The game stores were forced to not be open. Also there turned out to be a case of someone (a Yugioh player) that played there who contracted Covid. Now the staff and others were checked for it, but have been negative for it so far. :cool: They are currently under a deep clean in the whole store, but there will be no FNM for at least 3 weeks from what they said.

I was about to watch the last few rounds of your last league. I just got caught up watching a lot of Snoop Goblins on various streamers' channels, as it is a deck that I want to try and now have bought the final cards for (all cheap, except Snoop).

It's funny, because I know Burn has always been a good matchup, but often, some of my hardest matches are against them.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
It's funny, because I know Burn has always been a good matchup, but often, some of my hardest matches are against them.
I mean it helps when you draw like I did. I was otp G1 in both matches. In the first match, we both mulled to 5 and he kept a 1-land no 1 drop creature hand in the blind. My 5 killed him on t4 I believe. G2 he tapped out to get me to 3 before I double Amulet combo'd him out.

Match 2, otp again, I played Radiant Fountain (or Vesuva copying) at least 4 times before getting a Titan that found 2nd Vesuva to copy fountain AGAIN. All the while, he was on mono-canopy lands and at 11 when my Titan resolves. G2 I played T1 Grazer (which he tapped out to Searing Blaze) into T2 Amulet, Azusa, Baloth. :) It was over then pretty much.

Spoiler: my league for this upcoming week did NOT go very well at all, but I'm posting it for science because it's still a useful learning tool haha.

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
It's funny, because I know Burn has always been a good matchup, but often, some of my hardest matches are against them.
I mean it helps when you draw like I did. I was otp G1 in both matches. In the first match, we both mulled to 5 and he kept a 1-land no 1 drop creature hand in the blind. My 5 killed him on t4 I believe. G2 he tapped out to get me to 3 before I double Amulet combo'd him out.

Match 2, otp again, I played Radiant Fountain (or Vesuva copying) at least 4 times before getting a Titan that found 2nd Vesuva to copy fountain AGAIN. All the while, he was on mono-canopy lands and at 11 when my Titan resolves. G2 I played T1 Grazer (which he tapped out to Searing Blaze) into T2 Amulet, Azusa, Baloth. :) It was over then pretty much.

Spoiler: my league for this upcoming week did NOT go very well at all, but I'm posting it for science because it's still a useful learning tool haha.
Yeah, that'll beat Burn. I found it somewhat interesting in Games 2 and 3 when they bring in Path to Exile and sometimes Deflecting Palm. Sometimes we can't play around that. Maybe we try to go for Baloth and do tiny beats. Then they have Skullcrack. Maybe we Titan and swing, losing to Deflecting Palm when 4 damage (Baloth) would have been doable with the extra 4 life. Also, which lands do we get? Do we hedge against Path to Exile? Do we go all-in? Sometimes we are forced to lose to a certain set of cards that they can have, but it's often tough knowing what we're willing to lose to.

Those Radiant Fountain hands feel the best though. :love:

That's okay. Nobody does well all the time. I had not gotten less than 3-1 when I started to go to this LGS for 1 and a half years. But in the past year, I have gotten a lot of 2-2s, some 2-1-1s, a couple of 1-3s, and even the legendary 0-4 (my worst record ever; previously was 1-5 at a PTQ when I was a really good player believe it or not). I have been pretty humbled in the past year and even beyond that; pretty much after UW Delver rotated out of Standard. But then increasingly so more recently. After seeing our local End Game Boss in Magic top 8 a GPT after starting 0-2, I realized that you never give up. Science is very important. :smirk:
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
It's funny, because I know Burn has always been a good matchup, but often, some of my hardest matches are against them.
I mean it helps when you draw like I did. I was otp G1 in both matches. In the first match, we both mulled to 5 and he kept a 1-land no 1 drop creature hand in the blind. My 5 killed him on t4 I believe. G2 he tapped out to get me to 3 before I double Amulet combo'd him out.

Match 2, otp again, I played Radiant Fountain (or Vesuva copying) at least 4 times before getting a Titan that found 2nd Vesuva to copy fountain AGAIN. All the while, he was on mono-canopy lands and at 11 when my Titan resolves. G2 I played T1 Grazer (which he tapped out to Searing Blaze) into T2 Amulet, Azusa, Baloth. :) It was over then pretty much.

Spoiler: my league for this upcoming week did NOT go very well at all, but I'm posting it for science because it's still a useful learning tool haha.
Yeah, that'll beat Burn. I found it somewhat interesting in Games 2 and 3 when they bring in Path to Exile and sometimes Deflecting Palm. Sometimes we can't play around that. Maybe we try to go for Baloth and do tiny beats. Then they have Skullcrack. Maybe we Titan and swing, losing to Deflecting Palm when 4 damage (Baloth) would have been doable with the extra 4 life. Also, which lands do we get? Do we hedge against Path to Exile? Do we go all-in? Sometimes we are forced to lose to a certain set of cards that they can have, but it's often tough knowing what we're willing to lose to.

Those Radiant Fountain hands feel the best though. :love:

That's okay. Nobody does well all the time. I had not gotten less than 3-1 when I started to go to this LGS for 1 and a half years. But in the past year, I have gotten a lot of 2-2s, some 2-1-1s, a couple of 1-3s, and even the legendary 0-4 (my worst record ever; previously was 1-5 at a PTQ when I was a really good player believe it or not). I have been pretty humbled in the past year and even beyond that; pretty much after UW Delver rotated out of Standard. But then increasingly so more recently. After seeing our local End Game Boss in Magic top 8 a GPT after starting 0-2, I realized that you never give up. Science is very important. :smirk:
Honestly I've never been Deflecting Palmed in all of my time playing versus Burn. I don't really play around it, honestly, unless it's unreasonably easy for me to do. And as you know, I don't even play Pact of Negation most of the time. I'm willing to lose to a Palm up until I know they play it for sure. As for Path, I've feel like my opponents both in person and online have Path'd my Dryads far more often than my Titans, oddly enough. If they leave Path mana up tho, I'll play around it usually. It's generally enough to search for some combo of Field, Radiant Fountain, TWest, and Valakut depending on the situation. Keep in mind that Valakut lines play quite well around DPalm too.

I also don't usually cut more that 1 SPact, even against Aggro decks, which makes it more likely to recover from losing a Titan to 2x Bolt or to even draw one in the first place. Idk how much impact that has, but it could be relevant.

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Honestly I've never been Deflecting Palmed in all of my time playing versus Burn. I don't really play around it, honestly, unless it's unreasonably easy for me to do. And as you know, I don't even play Pact of Negation most of the time. I'm willing to lose to a Palm up until I know they play it for sure. As for Path, I've feel like my opponents both in person and online have Path'd my Dryads far more often than my Titans, oddly enough. If they leave Path mana up tho, I'll play around it usually. It's generally enough to search for some combo of Field, Radiant Fountain, TWest, and Valakut depending on the situation. Keep in mind that Valakut lines play quite well around DPalm too.

I also don't usually cut more that 1 SPact, even against Aggro decks, which makes it more likely to recover from losing a Titan to 2x Bolt or to even draw one in the first place. Idk how much impact that has, but it could be relevant.
I have a long history with Deflecting Palm, which started when I played Bogles. It is the card that Bogles fears the most and is incredibly hard to play around it. So, Burn in general is an outstanding matchup for Bogles, making the Palm a terrible thing to die to. When you play Bogles, you try to spread around the love if you can, so that a 4/4, a 5/5, and a 5/3 attacking are not each individually enough to make you lose to Palm. Plus you can Nature's Claim or Path to Exile your dude after a Deflecting Palm has chosen it (and I mean chosen because the wording is not to target it).

1. I made it to the top 4 of an SCG Classic when in response to a Deflecting Palm in game 2 on my big Bogle, I Nature's Claim on my Ethereal Armor, absorbed the damage, and then killed him next turn instead. I ended up losing to Andrew Tenjum the next round in 2 long drawn out games and 1 beating that I put on him on a mull to 5 in game 2.
https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=11132&d=263319&f=MO

2. I also lost in the finals of a GPT to Burn when I kept not attacking for fear of Deflecting Palm. My dudes were too big and since I had Kor Spiritdancer, I felt like my chances of drawing 4 Nature's Claim was more than his chances of drawing 2 Destructive Revelry. I had Leyline of Sanctity in play since the beginning. I even had both of my dudes with first strike, so I could have played for the tie since both damage would be assigned simultaneously. I just didn't want to move to another game since my deck has variance and his doesn't. I felt like this game was mine to win. So he ended up drawing Revelry, destroying it EoT, then a flurry of Burn to my face for game. He asked me afterward why I didn't attack. I told him about Palm and he said that he didn't even have it in his 75. :dizzy:

Since dropping Bogles and moving more towards other decks, I haven't had to worry about Deflecting Palm much. But it has come up a lot since I've been jamming Primeval Titan decks a lot after the banning of Splinter Twin. I got caught by one a few months ago by a Burn player that does pretty well with it (my friends say he's bad, but I think his results say something). After it happened, it felt bad. But I realized that I couldn't play around it because if it were a burn spell and I hold back, I lose to a flurry of burn. That's the allure to the card I believe because like you said, quite often it is very beatable (Valakut triggers, etc.). I was at 8, he Palmed my Titan and then Bolted me with his last mana (had 3 cards in hand at the time). I definitely don't cut Pact vs. Burn. I would be more likely to cut Prime Time, which I have done in the past when I was Scapeshift (always keep in 4 Scapeshift because it wins, whereas Prime Time sets up to win next turn). But I never cut Pact cuz it's Obstinate Baloth #3-6 and super flexible.

I think online, people stick to certain decks much more often. I do realize that most innovation is done online, but a lot of times, people just run someone's #75 because that's how they get it from Cardhoarder or whoever else. In paper, people play all kinds of stuff, so you have to be ready for anything. A half year ago, I got GOT by Embercleave in the Temur Clover mirror when I could have played around that, but I even told him that I don't know all the cards in Standard, so I may as well jam. Lost the game 3 to that, so after going 3-0 three times, losing that one and another later on got me 1-2 that night. :\ Felt badly because I knew that card from Pioneer. I just felt VERY sure that he didn't have it, especially in a deck like Clover where spots are very hard to switch out.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

I watched the match vs. Elementals. Very interesting. Since I have both of these decks, I somewhat have it down how to run it. In the 1st game, I think not blocking the Thunderkin Awakener with Dryad of the Ilysian Grove may have cost you because the Spitebellows wrecked you that turn, but at least the Awakener should have been dead. I think it's just unfamiliarity. Everyone always blocks my Thunderkins, lol. In the 2nd game, you can't play around Omnath, Locus of the Roil. If he draws that, you lose. I think you need to go with the double Field line. Since you have a possible Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion hit with Titan next turn and lethal if you get double Vesuva for Field of the Deads, I think you win that one even with the top deck of Lightning Skelemental, which was rough. Actually, I think you didn't play a land, so Vesuva one Field, then bounceland, bounce it, then copy another Field. This sets you up to win next turn if he doesn't top deck Omnath, which is a real possibility in a deck with 4 Flamekin Harbinger.

That being said, you played amazingly considering you've never played the matchup and don't know what they have. I play 2 Fulminator Mage mainboard because I like to hedge against decks that aren't played that much because they can be rough matchups - Tron/Amulet. Admittedly, it's probably not the best in the current meta, but I don't know what would be better to play. By the way, Busterbrown52 got 7th place at the recent Modern Challenge with Elementals, so there's no shame in losing to him. I actually have wanted to get a hold of him since Elementals is one of my 2 favorite decks to play right now, along with Amulet. Do you know if there's any way to do that? He's not a Streamer from what it looks like.
Last edited by FoodChainGoblins 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

FoodChainGoblins wrote:
3 years ago
I watched the match vs. Elementals. Very interesting. Since I have both of these decks, I somewhat have it down how to run it. In the 1st game, I think not blocking the Thunderkin Awakener with Dryad of the Ilysian Grove may have cost you because the Spitebellows wrecked you that turn, but at least the Awakener should have been dead. I think it's just unfamiliarity. Everyone always blocks my Thunderkins, lol. In the 2nd game, you can't play around Omnath, Locus of the Roil. If he draws that, you lose. I think you need to go with the double Field line. Since you have a possible Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion hit with Titan next turn and lethal if you get double Vesuva for Field of the Deads, I think you win that one even with the top deck of Lightning Skelemental, which was rough. Actually, I think you didn't play a land, so Vesuva one Field, then bounceland, bounce it, then copy another Field. This sets you up to win next turn if he doesn't top deck Omnath, which is a real possibility in a deck with 4 Flamekin Harbinger.

That being said, you played amazingly considering you've never played the matchup and don't know what they have. I play 2 Fulminator Mage mainboard because I like to hedge against decks that aren't played that much because they can be rough matchups - Tron/Amulet. Admittedly, it's probably not the best in the current meta, but I don't know what would be better to play. By the way, Busterbrown52 got 7th place at the recent Modern Challenge with Elementals, so there's no shame in losing to him I actually have wanted to get a hold of him since Elementals is one of my 2 favorite decks to play right now, along with Amulet. Do you know if there's any way to do that? He's not a Streamer from what it looks like.
Yeah, not blocking the Thunderkin was a pretty big mistake. I sort of was confused by the fact that Spitebellows is a ltb trigger, not etb, so I expected both Dryads to be dead before blocks and just didn't realize. I also agree that there's no sense in playing around Omnath, Locus of Mana there.

As for contacting Busterbrown52, the only way I can think to do it is by MTGO, just sending a chat message when they happen to be online. But that depends on their privacy settings as well, so...

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

Okay, so quick question. Is it right to side out EE against ETron? I'm fenced because, with a colorless land in play, we can transmute TWest for EE and blow up Chalice of the Void on 0 to free up a locked-out Summoner's Pact. But on the other hand, EE doesn't hit anything else, and we usually side out 2 SPacts in the matchup anyways. We can always hit Chalice with Beast Within, Force, Rec Sage, etc. as well. Here's my current list (not that it's the best one) and sideboarding plans for the MU for reference:
Enter at your own risk!
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I sideboard as follows:

In: 3 Dismember, 2 Beast Within, 1 Rec Sage, 1 Force of Vigor
Out: 1 Engineered Explosives, 2 Ancient Stirrings, 2 Summoner's Pact, 1 Pact of Negation, 1x Bojuka Bog

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Post by FoodChainGoblins » 3 years ago

TheAnnihilator wrote:
3 years ago
Okay, so quick question. Is it right to side out EE against ETron? I'm fenced because, with a colorless land in play, we can transmute TWest for EE and blow up Chalice of the Void on 0 to free up a locked-out Summoner's Pact. But on the other hand, EE doesn't hit anything else, and we usually side out 2 SPacts in the matchup anyways. We can always hit Chalice with Beast Within, Force, Rec Sage, etc. as well. Here's my current list (not that it's the best one) and sideboarding plans for the MU for reference:
Enter at your own risk!
Show
Hide

I sideboard as follows:

In: 3 Dismember, 2 Beast Within, 1 Rec Sage, 1 Force of Vigor
Out: 1 Engineered Explosives, 2 Ancient Stirrings, 2 Summoner's Pact, 1 Pact of Negation, 1x Bojuka Bog
Engineered Explosives vs. Chalice of the Void in this matchup is its own little game. If they have Chalice of the Void on 0, you can't EE for 0 without using colorless mana. So it can often be very tough to do, as we don't have all that many colorless sources early on in the game. Their Chalice is just meant to slow us down, not stop us completely, so if they slow us for just 2 or more turns, they usually can put on the pressure and end it soon thereafter.

My choice to do so is completely play/draw dependent. If I'm on the play, I actually side in the 2nd copy. I can just play it on turn 1 to preemptively slow Chalice. But now that I think of it, maybe that's very bad. It is a dead card at 0 even on turn 1 if they never draw a Chalice and it often is a fairly dead card later on. I've always dreamed of having 4 different colors of mana to blow up a TKS, but that's never happened. I think you have to consider EE vs. the alternatives since it is rarely guaranteed to be amazing. I think it's better than the alternatives. Others may disagree. BTW, I don't play Karn, the Great Creator anymore in Titan.

*I will admit that a fault of mine is that it was very hard for me to side out Summoner's Pact in any matchup previously because I didn't want my Titan count to ever go down. But in the past year, I've been siding out some number vs. decks guaranteed to get Ashiok and E Tron (Chalice decks). Even nowadays, I side out fewer than I should, but I agree that 2 is the right number to side out in this matchup.
Standard - Will pick up what's good when paper starts
Pre Modern - Do not own anymore
Pioneer - DEAD
Modern - Jund Sacrifice, Amulet, Elementals, Trollementals, BR Asmo/Goryo's, Yawmoth Chord
Legacy - No more cards, will rebuy Sneak Show when I can
Limited - Will start when paper starts
Commander - Nope

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

Hey everyone! I've had some scheduling issue with my vid today (Wednesday), and it seems like notifications were not sent out for match 3. I'm posting the link here for access in case you missed it:

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Post by TheAnnihilator » 3 years ago

So can we talk about how Moraug, Fury of Akoum + Sakura-Tribe Scout + bounceland is infinite combat steps? :D

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