[HLL]Scoreboard - Season XIX

[Vazdru]

Results, reports, linked videos ...

Current season uses an enlarged cardpool.

Tolarian Academy and/or Mystical Tutor are allowed to play in matches of Season XIX !
Free Mulligan instead of Spoils /Poker Mulligan

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0At-ahxh_VoQPdDBxVExJZG0yRHZYQkExZEtOaktsc1E&authkey=COHGnbsD&hl=en&authkey=COHGnbsD#gid=5

[Vazdru]

tournament is ready to start:

pairings for first round:

Nastaboi ( 1 ) - LasH ( 8 )
hamsert ( 4 ) - Vazdru ( 5 )
ChristophO ( 3 ) - pyyhttu ( 6 )
goblinpiledriver ( 2 ) - hitman ( 7 )

good luck and have some fun!

[hitman]

hitman (Esper Control) vs Goblin Piledriver (bUG Recursion) -> 2:1
Dice Roll: me

G1: we both kept our hands
I held a hand with two lands(both produced blue), Mana Drain, Coalition Relic and Sorin and hoped he would play into Drain for an easy win but his first 'play' was a transmuted Tolria West into Wasteland on t4 after i missed landdrop 3+4. Again no land for me and i conceded quickly.
0:1

G2: we both kept our hands
The game started slow with t2 Baleful Strix for me and an expedition map + brainstorm on is side. In the replay I could see that his lands didn't fit to his spells (No UU for Mana Drain + Muddle the Mixture / GG for Garruk on board). I played a t3 Coalition Relic while he did nothing because he needed his Map for fixing. His Garruk was held back by Venser. Next turn I bribed his Primeval Titan wich got answered by his bribery on Wurmcoil Engine. But Phyrexian Metamorph into 2nd Venser was enough to win.
1:1

G3: we both kept our hands
His first play Lotus Cobra got countered by Force Spike (still love this card). Fauna Shaman was countered by Mana Leak. I accelerated myself afterwards with Chromatic Lantern so I could eat his Dryad Arbor with Shriekmaw. He animated his Fauna Shaman but got beaten slowly by Shriekmaw + Baleful Strix. He then discarded Avenger of Zendikar for his own Baleful Strix to stop the beatdown. My Shackles got countered but so I was able to play Crucible of Worlds and with the Wasteland from Expedition Map I started to destroy his landbase. He later stops the destruction via Demonic Tutor into Abrupt Decay but still gets beaten by Baleful Strix. My Tabernacle takes some of his lands out again and so his lately found Recurring Nightmare(only Avenger as target) didn't helped him out. He was forced to go all in and an eot Snapcaster Mage for his remaining two lifepoints seals the Deal.
2:1

Edit:
I played 34 Lands (6 Basics) + Maze + Tabernacle + 8 Manastones
He played 38 Lands (10 Basics) + 3 Manadudes
--> I strongly believe that 10 basics are way to much. Since you can't dig into your colors via spoils you have to play more multicolored lands in a three colored deck.

The games (not the first one with the shaky hand) were not decided in the early turns like its happen to often with Spoils Mulligan. Especially game three was very intense and close like games should be.

[Vazdru]

hamsert (Izzet-AggroControl) vs Vazdru (WW)

he played 36 lands, me 34 lands - we've had no mulligans in our 3 games at all
I expected he would play any kind of control (UW/UR) and pimped my WW with some anti-control-stuff (Vial, Orb, Tangle Wire, Armageddon)

1st: i won the roll and started with Plains + Isamaru, he had Preordain to find solutions for. T2 i added Land Tax and T3 Precinct Captain which got remanded with no further landdrop on my side, turn later Land Tax did what its made for and flooded my hand with a mass of plains during the game. When he played Augur of Bolas (which fizzled) i had a window to lock board with Winter Orb. Augur locked ground vs Isamaru and Dryad Militant. When he tried to get board-control with Mindsparker + suspended Visions i had the opportunity to sneak SoFI in to break his lines and kill Mindsparker. When he played Wurmcoil Engine he was already on 5 life so my Leonin Skyhunter got a Sword and dealt the last points of damage for the win.

2st: I kept a hand with 3 Plains, Wasteland and 2x cc2-drops + StP hoping to get him in mana troubles. He fetched T1 and T2 so Leonin Arbiter was at least one turn too late. As he fetched on basics and couldn't even slow him down so i just added Silver Knight and Silverblade Paladin which got bolted before it went crazy. He played Imperial Recruiter for Sower while Silver Knight did some damage. I've had StP for Sower but he got Shakles too...meanwhile i've drawn 3 lands (Mishra's Factory) and Land Tax which wasn't as impressive as Bribery for Sublime Archangel. A turn later he played Treachery, Critter and attacked with Archangel for 8 which i couldn't cope with.

4 lands and 3 buisness cards were definately too slow...on the other hand side the free mulligan seems to offer more cons as pros so i stayed with that medicore hand


3rd: he had all the good stuff and told me he was sure to win this game, but...i started with t2 Grand Abolisher which got Spell Snared T3 he remanded my Soltari Trooper, T4 i've had Knight of White Orchyard + Rishadan Port while he had Maze of Ith. I dropped Knight of Meadowgrain and he had Sower. Dismember got rid of Sower and Rishadan controlled maze so i was able to deal some damage. When his Ancestral Visions were at 1 i was able to drop SoFI again. This time he tries to protects himself with Izzet Charm (before equip Knight) and Venser for Sword while i've attacked ... so second main phase i just dropped orb because my Knight of Meadowgrain still controlled the board. I played nothing as long he had UU open as i smelt Mana Drain so Knight did most of the job. When he was in need to get rid off that critter and played Flametongue Kavu I tapped one of his U with Port and played soltari trooper and a turn later Sublime Archangel for the win while he had Dungeon Geist, Snapcaster, Mana Drain, Mental Misstep, Clique, Stifle and Earthquake still in hand...Orb did the job twice


1:2 - thx for the ggs

Game 1 and 3 were intense like it should be, g2 was ok...decided by flood which could happen from time to time
mulligans had no influence on the games...at least not directly as noone needed to take one

[Nastaboi]

Nastaboi High Tide vs. LasH Reanimator goodstuff 2 - 0

I played 33 lands and Mystical from the watch list.

LasH kept his 7 and I took free mulligan. He had midrangeish hand and played just some dorks while I used counters to buy time. I was stuck on four lands and no draw spells, but tutored High Tide and had Palinchron. I was forced to go off with double High Tide making infinite, but had to transmute for Ponder to dig for a win and succeeded.

We both mulled to 6. LasH kept one-lander had to burn Worldly for Birds, and then Exhume for Merfolk Looter after I topdecked a Mana  Leak. I kept two lands but was in luck and kept hitting land drops, while LasH flooded and failed to find another reanimate spell despite heavy lootering. I was finally able to go off with counter backup; Desire for six, then Venser bouncing original in stack and another for over ten copies more.

How I felt about new mulligan rule affecting the match: 1st game lasted considerably longer, but I thought I had an advantage of the new mulligan rule. 2nd game LasH drew poorly and I was definitely favored with the new mulligan rule. Color screw was not an issue for his four-color deck, but not drawing match-relevant spells definitely was.

[Vazdru]

Second round:

Nastaboi vs Vazdru
hamsert vs LasH

@ pyyhttu / ChristophO
plz try to play your league match till the end of this week, thanks in advance

[pyyhttu]

@ pyyhttu / ChristophO
plz try to play your league match till the end of this week, thanks in advance

We agreed to play this game latest next Sunday.

[ChristophO]

Finally we were able to play:

ChristophO (UW Control) vs Pyyhttu (Green Ramp splash White)

G1:
Pyyhttu realizes this is the League without spoils mulligan. I offer him the choice to switch to a different deck but he decides not to do so and mulls to 5.
I keep a hand with Brainstorm, Terminus, Metamorph, 2c Artifact ramp and Lands. I draw and resolve T3 Fact or fiction. Later I copy Primeval and wrath afterwards.
I outcard the mull to 5 and pyyhttu scoops after a while.

G2:
We both take our free mulligan and then keep 7. I have a slow start but play Day of Judgment on T4 going down to 12. Pyyhttu has a a couple of bombs and a primeval titan in Hand but only 3 lands after wrath, so he zentihs for a Roffellos. I topdeck Brbery and get a Terastodon destroying 2 of his and one of my lands. After pyyhttu makes a second land drop a Restoration Angel rebuys the Terrastodon and seals the game.

I built a very basic UW Control list with a lot more cantrips and a few more lands than normal and tested it for half a day two weeks ago. The deck felt very stable but a little underpowered in testing because I only had test partners that used the spoils mulligan, since i tested online.

[Vazdru]

Second round:

Nastaboi vs Vazdru
hamsert vs LasH
ChristophO vs hitman
goblinpiledriver vs pyyhttu

[Nastaboi]

Nastaboi Gr Midrange vs. Vazdru Monored

2 - 0

I took a mull to 7 while Vazrdu kept his intial hand and had Black Vise on draw. My first plays were Fauna Shaman, Huntmaster (via Recruiter) and Master of the Wild Hunt, which were all answered while laying down some one-drops. Then I got Scavenging Ooze which was too enormous for even Koth to handle.

I mulled slow hand to no-lander and down to six, which was okay, if my Birds lived. They did, and I had turn three Arc-Slogger against Shrine and Ram-Gang. Vazdru ticked Shrine to five on his turn, but I made my Slogger Increasingly Savageous before he could pop it. He managed to kill Slogger with Shrine and a burn spell, failing just short to kill me. Of course I drew Ooze and stabilized. Vazdru didn't draw enough burn to kill me before Ooze did him in.

[Vazdru]

we played 3 games altogether and Gr-Midrange has been a quite bad match-up for me like expected as I've lost all games obviously
i had good opening hands in each of the games so I've never been in need taking a free mulligan
i was playing 33 lands in my RDW

I blundered badly in game 2 as my brain took a short break...i shoot 10 dam on slogger and he had just 10 lp left at end of turn...stupid me   I've had 5 lands, ball lightning, Lightning Strike, Shrine at 5 counters...and i've had rebound staggershock + ramgang on board while he had one blocker (toughness 1) and 13 lp ...easy puzzle how to win but sometimes you just don't see the wood for the trees... ...another nightmare garanteed  

i've lost third game anyway ... thanks for the games and gl for the final

[ChristophO]

Semi finals:
ChristophO (UW Control - 35 Lands) vs Hitman (MonoRed 33 Land)
Game 1 looked pretty good for me, but when I tapped out for a Wurmcoil engine Vortex hit and never left the board.
I tried to race but narrowly missed.
Game 2 I had perfect information due to Gitaxian Probe and saw that Hitman was flooded. I countered everythin relevant (Wheel of fortune)
and landed Geist of St. Draft soon after who finished the game.
Game 3 I had Rune of protection: Red in start hand and 3 lands. Snap keep! hitman mulled to 6. I dropped the Rune T3 with two open mana and was abel to take control of the game. I finished with Banesalyer some turns later.

Hitman always drew too many lands from top and had dead or near dead drwas with blood moon and Burning earth, too.
Thx for games!

[Vazdru]

finals winner-bracket: Nastaboi vs ChristophO

looser-bracket:
hitman vs winner LasH-hamsert
Vazdru vs winner goblinpiledriver-pyyhttu

[Hamsert]

Me (UR-Control, 36 Mana Lands + 5 cantrips) VS. LasH (5c Staxx) 2:1


Game 1 I'm basically stuck at 2 Lands from screw and Wasteland on my Karakas and I just conceded vs his demonic tutor. 0-1

Game 2 Some early counters + Snapcaster Mage of me counter his Phyrexian Totem, Chromatic Lantern and Armageddon while he damages himself with his Ancient Tomb. I start beating him with my Snapcaster and add a Mindsparker to the board. He plays Catastrophe already down to 7 life. Fact or fiction battle gives him Mox Diamond, Chrome Mox and Flooded Strand and me Mana Drain and Wooded Foothills. I play Augur of Bolas and find a Remand. Next turn I get Magus of the Moon and Remand his responding Sphinx's Revelation. He plays Academy Rector wich I Vensered and then kill him with an attack of Augur and Magus + Rolling Earthquake for 1. 1-1

Game 3 He starts again with Ancient Tomb on Turn 1. I counter his Turn 3 Garruk Wildspeaker with my Counterspell and then play my Mindsparker. He Demonic Tutors for Tangle Wire which I counter with my Daze. He's already down to 12 and I start beating him with my Mindsparker. Down on 6 he plays Fact or Fiction, paying 2 Life again to his Tomb (now 4) and I decided not to counter it with my Spell Pierce cause he only had 3 Lands (1 of it is the Tomb) and an Izzet Signet. He gets Braingeyser, Academy Rector, Underground Sea vs Mana Drain and Staff of Nin. He decides to take the Academy Rector stack and plays him, going down to 2 from his Tomb. In my turn I just get the Rector with Treachery and finish him of with my Mindsparker.

Thanks for the GG's

PS: Regarding mulligans I was just too stupid to take one in G1, I didn't think of the free mulligan and was too greedy to go down to 6 in my head. I had 2 Lands on the opening hand on the draw and thought it would be enought, but I only drew one more Land for the entire game.
Game 2 I took my free mulligan cause of 1 Land in the first hand and then kept the 2 Land hand with more early game spells like Augur, Condescend, Counterspell, Explosives and this was okay. I drew the Condescend and could get a solid amount of mana sources.
Game 3 was okay for me, he kept 2 lands (one of them the Ancient Tomb)and the Signet but he only drew one more land for the rest of the game + 1 from the fact before his last turn.
If I had taken the mulligan in G1 I would have been pretty satisfied with the mulligan rule now.

[Hamsert]

Me (UR-Control, 36 Mana Lands + 5 cantrips) VS. hitman (BWG Midrange) 2:0

Game 2: He won the roll and started with Quasali Pridemage which I countered with my Spell Snare. In my turn two I suspended an Ancestral Vision and played Ponder. He Enlightened Tutored for his Chains of Mephistopheles and played them. When the Ancestral Vision was on 1 I countered his Green Sun's Zenith with my Cryptic Command bouncing the Chains of Mephistopheles. Some creature removals later he played Bitterblossom which I Condescended finding Wurmcoil Engine and Rolling Earthquake on top. I played the Engine, he played Sorin, Lord of Inistrad in his turn producing a token, in my turn I played Rolling Earthquake for 1 and he conceded.

Game 2: He began and his Fetchland got Stifled in his Turn 2. I played my Trinket Mage on Turn 3 finding a Sensei's Divining Top. He Demonic Tutored for a Loxodon Smiter and played a Mother of Runes which got Mental Misstepped. My Trinket Mage started beating at him but the Top was Krosan Gripped before it could do anything. He down to 14 played the Loxodon Smiter and a Noble Hierarch and I played an EOT Mystical Tutor into Bonfire of the Damned which I miracled for 4 damage in my turn + the Trinket Mage kept beating him to 8. In his turn he Tainted Pacted for a Swords to Plowshares for the Trinket Mage. I played Arc Trail in my turn, followed by an EOT Lightning Bolt and finished him off with an Incinerate.

We didn't take any mulligans but the Mystical Tutor was pretty devastating. It pretty much decided the game. It depends on if you want another strong card (which often wins on it's own) unbanned but with all the miracle spells it does not feel like it would make that much sense.

Thanks for GGs.