Four Card Blind - Round 2

[Simon O'Keeffe]

http://www.starcitygames.com/article/25627_Bringing-Theory-To-Your-...

Current Banned List

Chancellor of the Annex
Calciform Pools
Mishras Factory
Dismember

Current Winners

Simon (wk1)

Round 1 thread

Same deal as before, email your decklists to [e-mail]

Decklists:

[Kieran]
The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale
Tomb of Urami
Dreadship Reef
Molten Slagheap

[Ross]
Talon Trooper
Cavern of Souls
Island
Plains

[Thom]
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Dark Depths
Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth
Strip Mine

[Levi]
Saprazzan Skerry
Fog Bank
Invisible Stalker
Force of Will

[Louis]
Steel Golem
Mishra's Workshop
Trinisphere
Strip Mine

[Simon]
Black Lotus
Laboratory Maniac
Force of Will
Gitaxian Probe

[Tom]
Black Lotus
Laboratory Maniac
Force of Will
Gitaxian Probe

Results:

Simon 16
Tom 16
Kieran 8
Louis 8
Thom 8
Levi 3
Ross 0

[Kieran Symington]

The first round was easy to build for. Mostly because I didn't even think of half the decks submitted. This round is much harder. Might just have to go Talon Trooper.

[Thomas David Baker]

I have five decks submitted so far.  Once I get a couple more I'll publish.

[Thomas David Baker]

Alright.  Here goes.

[Kieran]
The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale
Tomb of Urami
Dreadship Reef
Molten Slagheap

[Ross]
Talon Trooper
Cavern of Souls
Island
Plains

[Thom]
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Dark Depths
Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth
Strip Mine

[Levi]
Saprazzan Skerry
Fog Bank
Invisible Stalker
Force of Will

[Louis]
Steel Golem
Mishra's Workshop
Trinisphere
Strip Mine

[Simon]
Black Lotus
Laboratory Maniac
Force of Will
Gitaxian Probe

[Tom]
Black Lotus
Laboratory Maniac
Force of Will
Gitaxian Probe

Kieran v Ross (WW)
Ross gets Kieran to 2 on the play and 4 on the draw but is just outraced by Urami.

Kieran v Thom (DD)
This one is hard.
Thom can Strip Mine Urami if it is exposed to him before it is turned into a Demon.
If Kieran only runs it out when he has sufficient mana then Thom can Pendrell Vale the Demon.
So Kieran cannot win.
However, Kieran can legend rule Pendrell Vale and Thom must Strip Mine him to stop him winning.
So Thom can never get all the counters off Dark Depths.
He can only get down to one counter left on Dark Depths racing the demon instead of Strip Mining it on the play. And 2 on the draw.
I think that's right.

Kieran v Levi (WW)
Nothing for Levi to Force. Levi cannot keep either of his creatures alive long enough through Pendrell Vale.
Urami beats down.

Kieran v Louis (DD)
Trinisphere is irrelevant as Kieran has no spells and Louis' spells cost 3.
Louis cannot make Steel Golem until turn 2 because of Pendrell Vale.
Louis cannot use Strip Mine if he wants to win because of Pendrell Vale.
Kieran can make a turn 6 Urami without exposing Tomb of Urami to Strip Mine.
Turn 6 Urami cannot race Turn 2 Steel Golem on the play or draw.

Kieran v Simon/Tom (LL)
Kieran is unable to interact with the combo and Simon/Tom win on their turn 1.

Ross v Thom (LL)
Strip Mine prevents Ross from ever reaching 3 lands.
The other 3 lands make a Marit Lage token.

Ross v Levi (LL)
Levi blocks Talon Trooper with Fog Bank and beats down with Stalker.

Ross v Louis (LL)
Strip Mine prevents Talon Trooper from ever resolving. Steel Golem beats down.

Ross v Simon/Tom (LL)
Ross has no way to interact with the combo and Simon/Tom win on their first turn.

Thom v Levi (WW)
Strip Mine means that Levi can only ever cast Force of Will. Thom has no force-able spells. Marit Lage wins.

Thom v Louis (DD)
Trinisphere is irrelevant as Thom has no spells and Louis has no spells that cost less than 3.
If Louis Strip Mines Dark Depths, Thom cannot win.
If Thom Strip Mines Strip Mine and has Pendrell Vale left then Louis cannot win. So he just keeps both in hand until Louis plays Strip Mine. If Louis plays Strip Mine he Strip Mines it. If Louis does not he can get the Golem with Pendrell Vale. If Louis never plays the Golem he cannot win.
So the actual game is both players doing nothing forever! The only winning move is not to play ...
Welcome to Strip Mine wars.

Thom v Simon/Tom (LL)
Thom has no way to interact with the combo. Simon/Tom win on their first turn.

Levi v Louis (LL)
If Levi doesn't Force Trinisphere he cannot force anything or resolve a spell.
If Levi does Force Trinisphere Louis can resolve Steel Golem.
Louis can always Strip Mine Sparazzan Skerry before it untaps so Levi can never resolve anything except Force.
Steel Golem beats down.

Levi v Simon/Tom (LL)
Simon/Tom Force back whatever Levi Forces, ignore his creatures, and win via Laboratory Maniac's trigger.

Louis v Simon/Tom (LL)
Simon/Tom Force Trinisphere and win via Laboratory Maniac's trigger.

Simon v Tom (DD)
Force each other's Laboratory Maniacs and sit there for a long time doing nothing.

Simon 16
Tom 16
Kieran 8
Thom 8
Louis 8
Levi 3
Ross 0

[Philip Dickinson]

surely in the lab maniac mirror who ever goes first wins (ie a WL result not a DD result)? i guess its sorta the same either way though lol.

i actually really really (really) enjoy these kinds of games but i am too intimidated to enter!

[Simon O'Keeffe]

Yes, whoever goes first wins, but the match is still a draw:

On the play:

Black Lotus - opponent forces, you force back (both exiling Gitaxian Probe), resolve Lab Maniac

they have no Gitaxian Probe, so can only resolve their Lab Maniac, you win on draw step.

All the lands matchups look ugly to calculate, but luckily are irrelevant to determining which deck wins and which cards are banned!

Now that much of the oppressive combo and counters are gone, some creativity and interaction will hopefully surface. I imagine the matchups are going to get harder to calculate.

Philip Dickinson said:

surely in the lab maniac mirror who ever goes first wins (ie a WL result not a DD result)? i guess its sorta the same either way though lol.

i actually really really (really) enjoy these kinds of games but i am too intimidated to enter!

[Louis Mackie]

Aw, I guess Trinisphere was a really crappy choice for this one. Lab Man shows up and obviously beats everything :).

Time to start brewing for next time, shame I can't use my sweet Unmask + Dismember combo...

[ross miles]

Can't beliese my amazing cavern tec didn't net me at least one win

[Kieran Symington]

This is fun. I also like how the turnaround is so quick. I already have a deck in mind for round three...

[Louis Mackie]

Playing moxen instead of basics would've beaten Kieran!

ross miles said:

Can't beliese my amazing cavern tec didn't net me at least one win

[Thom Richardson]

And me.  I can't make a blocker until turn 12 on the play.

Louis Mackie said:

Playing moxen instead of basics would've beaten Kieran!

ross miles said:

Can't beliese my amazing cavern tec didn't net me at least one win

[Kieran Symington]

Hah. It's all about the metagame!

[ross miles]

i thought island was meant to be the best card in magic

Louis Mackie said:

Playing moxen instead of basics would've beaten Kieran!

ross miles said:

Can't beliese my amazing cavern tec didn't net me at least one win