all your report are belong to us

Shawn hosted a Vintage tournament at The Player's Guild this past Saturday, and
I brought the Blue Danube Waltz to battle. There were 16 players and we cut to
top 8. I managed to go undefeated on the day (in matches, not games), and split
top4 with 3 other valiant combatants.

1 Island
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
3 Underground Sea
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Academy Ruins
3 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Sphere of Resistance
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Null Rod
1 Trinisphere
1 Pithing Needle
3 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Trinket Mage
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Baleful Strix
1 Notion Thief
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4 Force of Will
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Propaganda
1 Tinker
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Daze

SB:
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Illness in the Ranks
1 Engineered Plague
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Propaganda
1 Baleful Strix
2 Ghost Quarter
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Guardian Beast
1 Flusterstorm
1 Null Rod
1 Extirpate

Report below:

Round 1: Mentor Control

Game 1: I win the die roll, and my opponent mulls to 6. I open to sources with
null rod, revoker, and tezz. I don't know what my opponent is on, and I choose
to play a t1 revoker and blind name dack, thinking I follow up with t2 null rod
if he's playing blue/shops or a t3 tezz against fish/dredge/oath. Opponent goes
land-lotus-jace. And though it is a little back-and-forth for a few turns, I get
buried in card advantage and lose the game.

I board in mentor hate: Illness, Plague, Porpaganda, Flusterstorm, Null Rod,
Extripate, Beast all come in. Sphinx, Cage, 1 Sphere, 1 Chalice, 1 Strix, 2 Tezz
go out.


Game 2 is somewhat of a blowout if I recall correctly, though I don't fully
remember the details. I think that I get ahead and stay ahead, denying my
opponent sources.


Game 3, my opponent starts island-preordain. I respond with t1 land-mox-time
walk and set a chalice on 0. For my extra turn, I play chalice on 1 and a strip
mine and strip his island. We draw cards for a few turns, then I get some lands,
start playing threats, and a few turns later, my opponent concedes.


Round 2: Frobots.

Game 1. My opponent wins the die roll and opens with mox-mox-chalice. I have
Lotus in hand, and though I could let it go, I have trap, so I trap the chalice.
He then plays tomb + ravager and passes the turn. I go land-lotus-trinket into
mox, followed by strix. My opponent is out of gas and can't attack into my
strix, so I start beats; he won't trade his moxen to kill my attacking trinket
mage, and I chip away at his life a bit. We both land some man lands; I get out
a null rod, he gets a legionnarie. Tombs have taken his life low at this point
(casting a chalice on 1, trying for a tangle wire, etc.), and I am too far
ahead. Strix finishes him off and we go to game 2.

I board out my spheres, chalices, explosives, cage, metamorph, and bring in some
ghost quarters, another strix, propaganda, extripate, plague, deluge, null rod.

Game 2 he lands a t1 legionnaire. I get out a strix, which doesn't fare well
against the first striker, though it stops his factories. He gets out a sphere
and revoker. I have factories of my own, and he lands a golem. Legionnaire has
taken a chunk out of my life, so I trade my factory for his golem. I land a null
rod and have a hand of propaganda, tabernacle, land, and tinker with 3 sources
in play. He takes the opportunity to attack with his revoker, factory, and
legionnaire. I use strix to kill his factory, lest I go to 2 life and next turn
I tinker my rod for sphinx (which I should not have done - I should go to 2 and
attack with and then tinker out strix instead, leaving the rod in play). He
comes back with ravager, and attacks into my sphinx with his legionnaire
(realizing too late to attack with revoker as well so I can't gain life but he
can still kill me). I block, he sacks most of his board and ravager to make
legionnaire a 9/7, killing my sphinx and putting me on a one turn clock. I come
back with propaganda and tabernacle to his lone ancient tomb, hoping he doesn't
draw a source. He pays for his legionnaire and revoker and doesn't get the
source. I waste his tomb, nuking his board, and he scoops. Two slops, but an
exciting game nonetheless.


There are 16 players and we're cutting to top8. There are three 2-0s and two
1-0-1s. I get paired with another 2-0, and we ID.


Round 4: I could still draw in, but my opponent wants to play it out. He is on
'Boat Control'

Game 1: We fight for resources a bit, he cantrips some, I get out some creatures
and man-lands and chip away at his life; he replies with moat. Once both of our
hands are dwindled, I land a Tezz to his Dack and manage to ultimate for the win
in two turns.

I board in some blue hate in rod, flusterstorm, extirpate and board out
explosives, propaganda, and Sphinx.


Game 2: He lands a t1 library that I can't respond to, and I get buried under
CA. I manage to take down a jace with double factory. He gets out a Devout
Witness, which is bad news with his library active. I try for a tezz around t6
which meets a force, and jace and dack come in. I scoop to game 3.

Game 3: I waste a few of his sources, get out a chalice, and he doesn't draw
into sources. I land some threats, and that's the match.


I have the #1 seed in top 8, so off to the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinal match I'm up against dredge.
I'm on the play and keep my 7; he powders and mulls to 3 or so. I play t1 needle
naming bazaar. He plays bazaar and passes. I get out a factory and commence the
beats, and he scoops soon thereafter.

I board in a bunch of dredge hate and board out irrelevant stuff.

Game 2: Opponent opens with bazaar, I go t1 needle on bazaar (which he activates
in response). He plays a mana confluence and claims my needle, dredges into a
narcomoeba, and passes. I play land then cage. He plays another claim next turn,
and I feel pretty good because I will respond with t3 propaganda, but he dredges
then plays another bazaar, makes a bunch of zombies that gain haste from
DR+Zealot, and we're onto game 3.

Game 3: I keep a good 7 with factory, sol ring, cage, tormod's, ghost quarter,
demonic tutor, guardian beast.
He keeps and I start with t1 factory-sol ring-cypt-cage. He plays bazaar and
passes. I think about quartering the bazaar, but decide that beast is my best
play, so I quarter my own factory into swamp, play out my beast, and pass. He
bazaars away claims and chewers, and will eventually hardcast a narcomoeba. I
tutor for crucible and start quartering his lands. He attacks with narcomoeba a
few times, then I replay a factory. He holds back narcomoeba and I attack into
it, crypting his yard after he declares blockers, leaving him with a narcomoeba
in the graveyard and no lands in play. Game over.

I learn later that not playing beast that turn would have most likely resulted
in a loss, so I'm happy I made that line of play.


My next opponent is my round 2 Frobots player, and the other top4 match is Oath
vs. my round 4 Boat Control player, so I'm feeling pretty confident. However,
it's getting late, and we decide to split.

Props to everyone, especially Shawn for hosting. Thanks!