A Game of Highlander

After dropping from the Highlander event I sat down to cover the games at the top tables. Today's article is a recap of the top table in the penultimate round of the tournament.

The round 4 match I covered was between Paul Mitchell (my round one opponent) and Michael Hearn who was on the evolution of Lachlan Ward-Smith’s MASTERS winning Tolarian Vault deck. This deck abuses Tolarian Academy and various untap effects to generate an ungodly amount of mana and put that toward a putting a Time Vault into play with a way to untap it every turn.

Both Paul and Michael chose to keep their seven card opening hands satisfied that they had the good to carry them to victory. Paul who won the die roll and had elected to play started the game with an Island and a Sensei’s Divining Top before passing to his opponent, ready to play the long game. 

Michael however was not looking to play a long game it all. His opening turn consisted of Mishra’s Workshop into a Grim Monolith and Voltaic Key. He used the monolith mana to play a Time Vault and untap it using the Voltaic Key. His second turn was only a Breeding Poll, which he later admitted to top decking, to continue to combo to allow him to take all the rest of the turns.

“And I though my turn one was good” remarked Paul.

Having not been presented with a win conditions yet, Paul asked that Michael play it out until he did so Michael obliged and eventually presented him with the Planeswalker Ugin. In the process of doing so he clearly advertised which deck he giving Paul more information to help his sideboarding which giving away no more information of his own. Michael was free with conversation between games letting everyone know that it was the second time during the tournament he had had a turn one victory. Both players had a laugh and Paul kindly says that “I can assure you at least we have plenty of time”

Both players spent quite a while in their sideboard clearly working out the appropriate response to what information they had been given in game one. Shuffling up for game two Paul quips “I’d wish you luck but that worked out really badly for me last time; how about reasonable luck?” and both players find amusement in the joke.

Both players took a mulligan to six cards before settling on their opening hands. Paul’s Grim Lavamancer was replied to by a Seat of the Synod by Michael. Paul seemed to hesitate before leaving up mana after playing his second land. His opponent was in no such mood and played a Signet to accelerate his mana production for the following turn. It was cut short however when Paul cast Dack Fayden stealing Michael’s Seat of the Synod leaving him without a blue source. Unfazed, Michael continued to build his mana base with two additional signets threatening six mana the following turn if he had a land drop (that was not Academy).

Cementing himself in the control role, Paul cast an Ancestral Recall and Brainstorm the following turn before fetching to shuffle away the unwanted cards. Dack Fayden continued to dig him deeper into his library discarding an unwanted Mental Misstep and Wandering Furnace.

Confronted with such a powerful sweep of cards going to his opponent, Michael had to do something but he was running low on cards at this point and whilst he managed to resolve a Pithing Needle naming his opponent’s Dack Fayden, his Fabricate was hit by a Negate. The game was basically over the next turn when his opponent destroyed two of his three signets and the Pithing Needle with a Fiery Confluence. Dack Fayden stole the last Signet and Michael was left with only two lands in play.

Michael could only shake his head as a Vendilion Clique and Sarkhan Dragonspeaker quickly finished his depleting life total. Perhaps a little more dejected than after his first game, he went straight to his sideboard changing a single card. Paul also took some time checking his board but ultimately did not make any changes.

Having lost the last game Michael elects to take the play and both players call for a reasonable game 3. Michael umms only slightly before choosing to keep his opening seven cards. After having mulliganed once Paul looks up to the heavens and errs for quite a while seemingly on the edge about his new hand. Michael senses  this and tries to sum up his opponent  and must have felt elated as Paul dejectedly chose to mulligan down to only five cards.

“Five of the best” he exclaims before seeing his hand and lightens up as he keeps and scries.

Both players play Land Go on the first turn but things become spicy when Michael Signet is effectively shut down by a simple unassuming Null Rod. This is especially devastating as Michaels land base at this point also included a Tree of Tales. His Crop Rotation was quickly Negated and while an off-the-top Academy provides some hope for him in the form of a Reclamation Sage, his hopes were dashed of the rocks of a Crypic Command followed up by a Thundermaw Helkite. Both players extended their hands for the handshake and everything was silent until after the decks were put away.

“And I started off so well” is the only wistful remark by Michael during this time.