FNM Report 9-17-2010

FNM Report 9/17/10 (RegentCid33)

Decklist—Jund-Structive Force (2-2)

Forest x 7
Swamp x 3
Mountain x 3
Verdant Catacombs x4
Tectonic Edge x 4
Raging Ravine x 3

Earthquake x 4
Destructive Force x 4
Terminate x 4
Cultivate x 3
Rampant Growth x 4
Harrow x 4
Cultivate x 3
Garruk Wildspeaker x 3
Roiling Terrain x 2
Liliana Vess x 1

Ob Nixilis, the Fallen x 3
Primeval Titan x 4

Sideboard:
Nature’s Claim x 4
Leyline of Punishment x 4
Jund Charm x 3
Pithing Needle x 2
Back to Nature x 2

I decided to give this deck another shot at our local FNM. I ended up going 2-2 on the night. I’m not sure what really happened with my deck, but I think it totally underperformed this time around. I think our meta sped up just enough to get the jump on me. I found myself about 1 turn away from winning most games, but as a result, I never got that turn because I was beat down. The newest addition of Roiling Terrain however was just fantastic.
Round 1 I faced a G/W deck that didn’t do much of anything. I saw 4 creatures in that deck. I saw Birds, Ajani’s Pridemate, Blinding Mage, and Baneslayer Angel. Both rounds I had built up enough mana for a turn 6 Destructive Force to kill his lands and Baneslayer Angels. After that, he pretty much scooped.

Round 2 was by far my most interesting and intense round of the night. I faced a Mono-Green Eldrazi Ramp deck. The first game I managed to keep her in check by blowing up her Eldrazi Temples with my Tectonic Edges and her Eye of Ugin. She did manage to drop an It That Betrays, but I was able to Remove it with a timely Primeval Titan and followed it with an Earthquake. Game 1 dragged on until that point. After that I was able to stick a Garruk and start making beast tokens. She then stuck a Primeval Titan of her own. It was at this point I decided to use my Destructive Force and risk getting pummeled by the Titan for a bit because I had Roiling Terrain in my hand. I blew up 5 more of her lands to put her land total in the graveyard to 10. I then was able to punch through the titan with a beast token and put her life down to 11. I then cast Roiling Terrain to finish her off. That’s right kids, Roiling Terrain dealt 11 damage! Game 2 of this match was much the same in the way I blew up her temples and mana acceleration. Finally I hit a Destructive Force with a Titan in play and swung with my Titan and a Raging Ravine for the narrow victory.

Round 3 I faced Jesse’s much improved Soul Sisters deck and got beat down just one turn too quickly in straight games. Game two of this match he had a turn 4 kill. That was easily made possible with three soul sisters out and 2 pridemates. Just a weee bit too slow.

Round 4 I faced a Naya Shaman deck. This had me a little bummed because we hadn’t seen one in our meta for weeks and I knew my deck was not favored against it. Sure enough I was swept out. Game 1 he stuck a turn 2 Fauna Shaman and did his thing. In game 2 it was much of the same except I was once again 1 turn away from winning, but I just got beat down.
Not a bad night, just didn’t predict that the meta would have sped up like that in the past few weeks. This will be my last FNM in the current Standard environment. I have obligations to keep up with. I’ll be back with some more crazy ideas come the release of Scars of Mirrodin.

FNM Report 9-17-2010 Top 4 (jessehogie) 3-0-1

Decklist – Soul Sisters

Plains x 14
Kabira Crossroads x 4
Tectonic Edge x 4

Brave the Elements x 4
Survival Cache x 2
Rest for the Weary x 2
Oblivion Ring x 2
Ajani’s Pridemate x 4
Ranger of Eos x 4
Serra Ascendant x 4
Soul Warden x 4
Soul’s Attendant x 4
Lone Missionary x 4
Elspeth, Knight-Errant x 2
Ajani Goldmane x 2

Sideboard:
Oblivion Ring x 2
Path to Exile x 3
Kor Firewalker x 3
Baneslayer Angel x 2
Linvala, Keeper of Silence x 2
Celestial Purge x 3

After taking a week off I decided to run Soul Sisters again since I did well last time I played. I made a few changes, taking out 2 Survival Cache’s and replacing them with 2 Rest for the Weary’s. This made a big difference. Combined with a land, Rest for the Weary can put you to 30 very fast. I also took out my Sun Titan and War Priest of Thune in the SB and replaced those with 2 Baneslayer Angels. The thought behind this was to add another finisher and to have something against any possible demons running around.

Round 1 I faced a Pyromancer’s Ascension deck that never really got going. Game 1 he only played one Ascension but I cast Oblivion Ring the next turn. In game 2 he sideboarded some Polymorph cards and managed to morph into an Emrakul, but I had 3 Oblivion Ring’s waiting for him. After I cast that, my opponent promptly threw his cards down, scooped and stormed off.

Round 2 I faced a variation of Soul Sisters but it was missing some of the big cards (Planeswalkers). Game 1 I won pretty fast, 6 turns. Game 2 was much different. We kept playing small creatures to fuel the life gain with Soul Warden and Soul’s Attendant and anytime we cast a big creature, they would either be Path’ed or O-ringed. At one point he was 80+ life and I was 70+ life and he asked if we could just draw and move on. I had a Baneslayer Angel and Serra Ascendant in my hand so I said no. Generally I wouldn’t just draw like that, but the hand I had helped a lot. My angel ended up being Path’ed, but I drew another O-ring and cast that on the O-ring that was on my first Baneslayer. Then I cast the Ascendant which he had no answer for and the game started to turn. I kept gaining life and adding counters to my Pridemate (he had 16 at the end of the game) and my damage just overwhelmed him. He was pretty upset that I didn’t just draw the game but I don’t understand how he expected me to. I know the deck and what I was going to draw eventually, so why give up? My build was better than his and I refuse to give up when I know I will win.

Round 3 I ended up getting paired against Bob who was my only loss last time I played Soul Sisters. I went into the match fully expecting to lose (bad on my part) but I was wrong. Both games he was always one step behind me. Game 1 he just didn’t get what he needed fast enough and game 2 I won in 4 turns. It’s very hard to beat Soul Sisters when you get a Pridemate with 7 counters on turn 4.

Round 4 I was paired with the only other 3-0 deck and we decided to split. For fun we decided to play and I ended up winning 2-1. He was playing a G/W Eldrazi deck with Summoning Trap. After that we kept playing and he tried his luck with an Affinity deck which I also won 2-1.

Yet again, I am very pleased with the way the deck ran. It seems like the perfect deck to play in my store’s meta. There have been many other variations but this build always seems to rise above the rest. No other build has come close to the top 4 each week. This build (or variation) has placed in the top 4 every single time it has been played.