As I write this it is the Tuesday after the Adelaide Magic Extravaganza at Infinity Games. With a PTQ, GPT, Legacy, Vintage and Commander all over one weekend, any store would be busy and Infinity Games was no exception. With a Library of Alexandria on the line everyone is eager to get going. Leaving roughly 06:15AM on the Saturday morning with three other Melbournites including my friend who had never played in a Vintage event before, wespent the next 8 or so hours driving to Adelaide with Magic talk and long discussions (Mostly involving Workshops) we arrived at the store with the GPT in full swing.
With Legacy due to start, we decided to wait for another hour so see if we could bait any more GPT players but unfortunately we had no bites and managed to scrape an 8 man which I took down with hordes of little green men (Mono R Goblins). Beating Affinity, UR Burn and Painted Stone/Show and Tell and finding myself up $60 in store credit I left the store happy about the day.
After leaving the store we headed to our local Frenchman's (Tom) house where Socrates cooked up a storm with one of the best barbecues I have ever had with shaslicks, steaks, sausages, dips, bread, pita and salads everybody was happy to spend the night testing against each other between friendly Ciders.
Waking up in the morning of the main event (for the vintage players) we elected not to play in the PTQ and go for a swim/test instead. The fact that none of us had Modern decks was also a consideration. During that morning (and the night before), I tested extensively against the Bomberman deck and while I believe I am favoured against it, it is not as wide a margin as I had originally believed. Aiden improved his play with the deck considerably over the weekend that in my eyes the deck turned from a decent low level deck to a proper contender for the tournament. It was able to completely grind out opponents and quickly change gears into a superfash combo deck at a moments notice. This deck is now certainly on my radar of decks I will test against hopefully.
At the last minute I changed two of my sideboard slots from Lightning Bolt\ Fire//Ice to two Thoughtseize and I arrived at my final list.
3) Joshua Butler – Cobra GushARTIFACTS (6)1 x Mox Jet1 x Mox Emerald1 x Mox Sapphire1 x Mox Ruby1 x Black Lotus1 x Mana Crypt CREATURES (6)1 x Blightsteel Colossus4 x Lotus Cobra1 x Laboratory ManiacPLANESWALKER (2) 2 x Jace, The Mind SculptorENCHANTMENTS (1)1 x FastbondSORCERIES (14)4 x Preordain1 x Doomsday1 x Yawgmoth’s Will1 x Tendrils of Agony 1 x Tinker1 x Ponder1 x Empty the Warrens1 x Merchant Scroll1 x Timetwister1 x Demonic Tutor1 x Time WalkINSTANTS (16)4 x Gush4 x Force of Will1 x Ancestral Recall1 x Brainstorm1 x Hurkyl’s Recall1 x Rebuild1 x Vampiric Tutor1 x Red Elemental Blast1 x Pyroblast1 x Mystical TutorLANDS (15)1 x Island2 x Underground Sea2 x Tropical Island1 x Volcanic Island4 x Scalding Tarn3 x Misty Rainforest1 x Flooded Strand1 x Polluted DeltaSIDEBOARD 2 x Thoughtseize1 x Red Elemental Blast1 x Pyroblast2 x Ingot Chewer2 x Trygon Predator1 x Ancient Grudge4 x Leyline of the Void1 x Grafdiggers Cage1 x Yixlid Jailer
This list was an amalgamation of my previous Cobra storm list and the list Stephen Menindian took to first place in Sandusky, Ohio. I also felt that I wanted to play with the Doomsday/Lab Maniac Combo. I knew I was being greedy by throwing in another Combo and watering down the effectiveness of the deck but I had in testing had trouble with reaching the sufficient storm density for an effective early Mind's Desire so I cut that and Necropotence to test it out. Even with the additional combo the deck was testing well so when we left for the tournament I was happy with what I had sleeved up.
Round 1 is called
R1 vs Noong (Noble Fish)
Game 1
Here we are, with Noong running one of the fairest lists of the tournament and I running one of the most unfair. I lose the die roll (a common theme) and he leads with a Gitaxian Probe, Tropical and Noble Hierarch. I see my seven and know my line of play already. Fetch into tropical casts fastbond...Resolves (There was a FOW somewhere this turn and I force back). Land, tap and Gush; replay one land and cobra hits the table followed shortly after by the Doomsday combo. As much as I try to explain the Vintage is not about T1 kills, I keep proving myself wrong once every couple of tournaments
SB
-1 Rebuild
-1 Hurkyl's Recall
-1 Pyroblast
+2 Trygon
+1 Ancient Grudge
Game 2
Game 2 Noong opens with Land, Cage and passes the turn. I had snap kept my 7 with land, Mox, Lotus and Jace on turn 1. He responds with a Pridemage and the luck sac that I am Brainstorm into Time walk and cast it. On my free turn I cast the Trygon predator and pass back. Noong seemed confused at this play but elects to attack and his Jace became Pridemage food thanks to exalted but it is all for naught when I draw the tinker left on top of my deck, Trygon eats the Cage and I tinker for BSC. I never cast the A-Call in my opening hand all game as I always had something I wanted to do more than just draw three cards.
2-0 (2-0)
1-0
R2 vs Vinny (R Stompy)
Game 1- I head into game 1 with no idea what Vinny is playing but I decide to keep my hand and go Mox ,Crypt, V. Island and tinker into BSC. Vinny draws and and scoops so I still have no idea what he is playing.
I elect not to sideboard
Game 2
The second match with Vinny was very interesting. It was generally Land go from both players except for a Cobra on my side and a Porc Legs on his which I force. My Cobra beats in for a decent amount of damage until Trinisphere hits the board. While I am not struggling to pay for my spells (and electing to play them through Trinisphere rather than hold up counter magic). Two more Porc Legs join Vinnce's team and I am suddenly in trouble. With now two cobras on board I double gush (w fastbond) and Tendrils him for 8 life. I Draw Doomsday and cast it and using my mana to pay for the lotus and A- Call and gush. The extra life gain from the Tendrils saves me from his swings and with no library I draw a card for turn.
2-0 (4-0)
2-0
Round 3 Vs Dan - Red Stax
Dan was in the car on the way down to Adelaide so we both know what the other is on. 13 Spheres, 4 Stax, 4 Wires and Welders. I was in for a tough time. I lost the die roll again and open to a hand of Mox, Mox, Land, Lotus, Doomsday +x +y. I tank for a few seconds and elect to keep. My rational is that if there is no chalice for 0 I can just win early and bypass what would be a very hard matchup. Dan drops some moxen and something irrelevant and I Doomsday. He scoops the turn after as I get my Lab Maniac on board with 2 cards left in my Library.
SB
-1 REB
-1 Pyroblast
-1 Time Walk
-1 Jace
-1 Merchant Scroll (I think)
+2 Trygon Predator
+1 Ancient Grudge
+2 Ingot Chewer.
Game 2
Game two Dan leads with Shop, Mox, Resistance; which I force, Resistance. I go land go and he drops a chalice on one and his third turn is a Lodestone. My third turn play is Chewer on the Golem and my fourth turn play is the Trygon. Dan only sees lands even after Bazaaring and Trygon eats at his moxen and chalice leaving the sphere up and Dan concedes shortly after.
2-0 (6-0)
3-0
Round three was finished in under 15 minutes so I walk to see how my friend is doing and he is mulling to 4 against Lee's Panther Stax deck. He had already won game one but game 2 nearly goes to time (after the mull as well) as Lee traps himself under his own Spheres but eventually gets there. The players realise that they will go to time and as they are reboarding I do the math for them. A draw did not guarantee a top 4 place for either but a win by Aiden would guarantee his top 4 placing. Lee offers the Concession and Aiden accepts.
Round 4 vs Aiden - Bomberman ID
As the last undefeated players in the swiss, Aiden and I ID and play the round anyway which I win in two small games after him countering everything I do I manage to force an Mystical for tinker and tinker the next turn. Game two I won due to me have three cobras over the course of the game just beating down.
Cut to top 4
Semi Finals vs Socrates Stavropoulos - Happy Snappy (Snapcaster Control)
Reaching the semi finals undefeated I felt very good about the decks performance. I lose the die roll (again) and lead land go. My A-Call is eaten by a misstep, so is my Fastbond and Mystical Tutor on the following turns. I am forced to use my remaining mana for a twister essentially giving him a free hand. I go for broke and Doomsday off and both undergrounds and a Jet with force and pyroblast backing. Here I make the first mistake of the match and cast through the pile leaving me with no library and no way to draw at instant speed. but I still had force and pyroblast. I should have held onto the gush and left 2 cards in my library but it was not to be as Socrates tanks and casts Voltaic key (he already has Time vault on board) which I force. Socrates tanks again and baits a Merchant Scroll. I bite and Pyroblast it away when he Chain of Vapors my Lab Maniac. I hit my head and enter the scoop phase for the first time that day.
A point to make about that game was that I had tested against Socrates the night before so he knew I was on Red Blasts. He may not have baited the scroll if he did not know this. If we hand not tested it might have turned out differently.
I make my biggest mistake of the tournament when sideboarding and take out gas to bring in Thoughtseize, Blasts and Trygon. I slowed my deck down too much to try and control the control deck... Bad Idea.
SB
-1 Doomsday
-1Labratory Maniac
-1 Hurkyl's
-1 Rebuild
-1 Twister
-1 Empty the Warrens
+2 Blasts
+2 Thoughtseize
+2Trygon Predator
Game 2
Game 2 Socrates counters pretty much everything and I am about to concede when I draw a Jace. A flicker of hope sparks and I spend all of my resources protecting my Jace from Bob and Bolts until Soc rips Time walk off the top, hits Jace twice with Bob, Lands his own Jace and I concede shortly after.
0-2 (6-2)
3-1
And Thus ended my battle to reach the Library of Alexandria, I was fast, but not fast enough.
Adding Doomsday to the deck was very greedy, not saying it did not work but I felt it was clunky and I never wanted to draw either part of the Combo except when behind or on turn 1. In deck construction I had shied away from the higher mana spells (Bargain/Desire) and now feel that at least 1 has a place in Cobra Storm (will be testing Bargain first). I did not miss the Pearl that Menindian cut for land. Maybe it is time to try Memory Jar again as many decks are now running Cage as hate and I don't want tinker to be a dead card. I loved the Trygons in the board, I found them to be invaluable and even destroying moxen was satisfying, there to stay.
I need to be faster and the REB/Pyros were all right but just not good enough. This deck wants to be forcing questions down its opponents throat, not holding a couple of answers back. I found that often I did not want to fetch my volcanic because I had non blue spells (Cobra/DT) that advanced my game plan more than a red blast might have hindered theirs. I'll be going back to targeted discard for sure. The red blasts were a nice surprise but little more than that.
As Sanctioned Vintage is the next tournament at the Melbourne GP I guess its back to Dark Times and I will be testing the misstep/extraction builds first.
Until next time
