MTGO Tournament - Build Your Own Standard #1 (Ended)

[Thomas David Baker]

Final Table

Player	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Simon	10	9	0	1	18	3	27	UW Control
Josh	10	7	0	3	14	9	21	RG Valakut
Max	9	6	0	3	12	10	18	White Weenie
Tom	10	4	0	6	10	13	12	UW Control
Nick	9	4	0	5	9	12	12	Mono G Aggro
Louis	7	3	0	4	9	10	9	UW Control
Paul	6	3	0	3	6	7	9	Mono B Infect
Kieran	8	2	0	6	9	12	6	Blue Sun Combo
Phil	7	2	0	5	5	10	6	Mono W Control
Ben	5	2	0	3	4	7	6	UW Opposition
James	5	1	0	4	5	8	3	RG Aggro

Decklists

magic.bluebones.net/byos/1/decklists.txt

Rules

This competition is MTGO-based. You may play games with real/proxied decks in person but you must have your deck built on MTGO. The banned list is set in such a way to make the construction of MTGO decks very cheap (anything 1 tix or over is banned).  Anyone is welcome to enter.  If it's a success perhaps we will run others with a small entry free and (even) better prizes.

Entry
FREE

Prizes
4-8 players
1st Place - Premium Deck: Slivers (Foil Sliver Overlord, lots of foil Slivers)
9+ players
1st Place - Premium Deck: Fire and Lightning (foils of Figure of Destiny, Grim Lavamancer, Lightning Bolts)
2nd Place - Premium Deck: Slivers (as above)
(All prizes in MTGO product).

Format
Decks must contain a minimum of sixty cards. There is no maximum deck size. If a player wishes to use a sideboard, it must contain exactly fifteen cards. With the exception of basic land cards, a player’s combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent. All cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest are basic.

The following card sets are permitted in this tournament:
7th Edition
Dissension
Mirrodin Beseiged
Nemesis
Shadowmoor
Visions
Zendikar

The following cards are banned in this tournament:

Accumulated Knowledge
Anvil of Bogardan
Arid Mesa
Ascendant Evincar
Blightsteel Colossus
Blood Crypt
Bloodghast
Breeding Pool
Chandra Ablaze
City of Brass
City of Solitude
Consecrated Sphinx
Daze
Demigod of Revenge
Desertion
Divining Witch
Eldrazi Monument
Ensnaring Bridge
Eternity Vessel
Felidar Sovereign
Fire-Lit Thicket
Fracturing Gust
Flame Rift
Fulminator Mage
Glissa, the Traitor
Goblin Guide
Goblin Recruiter
Greater Auramancy
Green Sun's Zenith
Hallowed Fountain
Hero of Bladehold
Hero of Oxid Ridge
Inkmoth Nexus
Iona, Shield of Emeria
Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
Kitchen Finks
Kor Haven
Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
Lorthos, the Tidemaker
Lotus Cobra
Mana Reflection
Mana Short
Marsh Flats
Massacre Wurm
Meekstone
Mindbreak Trap
Misty Rainforest
Moggcatcher
Mystic Gate
Natural Order
Nissa Revane
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Obsidian Fireheart
Parallax Tide
Parallax Wave
Praetor's Counsel
Predator, Flagship
Prismatic Omen
Proclamation of Rebirth
Pyromancer Ascension
Rampaging Baloths
Reflecting Pool
Rhys the Redeemed
Rootwater Thief
Saproling Burst
Scalding Tarn
Seahunter
Skyshroud Poacher
Sorin Markov
Spectral Procession
Spell Snare
Submerge
Sunken Ruins
Sword of Feast and Famine
Tangle Wire
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Thrun, the Last Troll
Tithe
Undiscovered Paradise
Vampiric Tutor
Verdant Catacombs
Vexing Shusher
Warren Instigator
Wilt-Leaf Liege
Wooded Bastion
Woodfall Primus
Wrath of God

Complete List of All Legal Cards
http://magic.bluebones.net/byos/1/legal.txt

Complete Visual Spoiler of All Legal Cards
http://magic.bluebones.net/byos/1/spoiler.html

Signed up

1. Tom Baker (bakert99) [submitted]
2. Paul Hodgson (YerMum) [submitted]
3. Louis Mackie (Daesik) [submitted]
4. Philip Dickinson (cdnza) [submitted]
5. Simon O'Keefe (Torq) [submitted]
6. Peter Dun (dv8r)
7. Kieran Symington (ksym) [submitted]
8. James Mills (thuganomics) [submitted]
9. Josh Tovell (Meerkat) [submitted]
10. Ben Titmarsh (lebenskii) [submitted]
11. Max Botten (MischieviousPuck) [submitted]
12. Nick Lovett (leafstar) [submitted]

...

Results

Tom 2 - 0 Louis
Nick 2 - 1 Kieran
Ben 2 - 0 Phil
Simon 2 - 0 Nick
Josh 2 - 0 Simon
Simon 2 - 0 Tom
Josh 2 - 0 Ben
Louis 2 - 1 Kieran
Josh 2 - 0 Max
Louis 2 - 0 Josh
Simon 2 - 0 Max
Simon 2 - 0 Phil
Kieran 2 - 0 Phil
Phil 2 - 0 Max
Ben 2 - 1 Tom
Max 2 - 0 Nick
Tom 2 - 0 Nick
Simon 2 - 0 James
Max 2 - 1 James
James 2 - 0 Josh
Max 2 - 1 Tom
Simon 2 - 1 Louis
Max 2 - 1 Louis
Max 2 - 0 Paul
Simon 2 - 0 Paul
Paul 2 - 0 Josh
Tom 2 - 1 James
Max 2 - 1 Kieran
Kieran 2 - 0 Tom
Simon 2 - 0 Ben
Simon 2 - 0 Kieran
Nick 2 - 1 Louis
Louis 2 - 1 James
Phil 2 - 0 Nick
Josh 2 - 1 Kieran
Paul 2 - 1 Kieran
Josh 2 - 0 Tom
Nick 2 - 0 Ben
Paul 2 - 0 Tom
Nick 2 - 0 Paul
Josh 2 - 1 Phil
Tom 2 - 0 Phil

 

[Nick Lovett]

Win vs Paul 2-0

[Simon O'Keeffe]

As this is wrapping up I'll post my decklist now:

3x Condemn
4x Force Spike
4x Counterspell
4x Impulse
2x Luminarch Ascension
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Trip Noose
1x Into the Roil
4x Cancel
4x Court Hussar
1x Blue Zun's Zenith
2x Opportunity
2x Sphinx of Jwar Isle

4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Azorious Chancery
3x Sejiri Refuge
1x Magosi the Waterveil
1x Prahv, the Spires of Order
2x Plains
9x Island

SB
3x Circle of Protection: Red
3x Disenchant
3x Spell Pierce
2x Plumeveil
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Into the Roil
1x Oona, Queen of the Fae
1x Felidar Sovereign

Initially I made loads of combo decks, but quickly came to the conclusion that they would all fold to any deck with 8 counterspells in, so I made that. Then I made some aggro decks, and they all seemed pretty bad (mono red was the only one with any real reach), so I optimised my UW list for control matches.

I think the maindeck was pretty good, the Opportunites should probably also be Blue Sun's Zeniths, but I couldn't be bothered to go to a bot and get them. I totally forgot White Sun's Zenith, and there should be two in there. Probably replacing one Sphinx and the Journey to Nowhere. I was pretty greedy with the lands, but they were all great, although the Magosi I think I charged once, but never actually used, so it could probably just be another island. In fact I probably need another land in there, but 24 was a bit of a holdover from when I still had 4x Sleight of Hand in the list.

None of the other UW decks I played seemed to have Force Spike or Court Hussar but they were great for me in pretty much every match up, I even had a single Court Hussar do Louis over 22 damage to win a game.

The sideboard was mostly a concession to aggro decks, and generic answers for potential issues, but a lot of the time I actually had trouble sideing things out as the maindeck always seemed pretty solid anyway!

There is probably room  to make decks that beat this, certainly the one actual game I played vs Josh, his two Valakuts by turn 4 meant I was dead before even casting a spell (sideboarding 4 Ghost Quarters might make that winnable). Mills and I discussed the potential LD deck that could be pretty redundant, although I always worry those kind of decks are not consistent or powerful enough to win against disparate strategies. Probably just banning Counterspell would open tthe format right up, but I imagine people would rather random up a new group of sets than evolve the metagame of this one.

[Josh Tovell]

beat nick 2-1

[Kieran Symington]

As I have more game wins and fewer losses than Baker, yet am currently two places below him, I decided to make a table showing game wins as a percentage of games played:

Simon	86%
Josh	60%
Max	55%
Louis	47%
Paul	46%
Nick	43%
Kieran	43%
Phil	40%
Tom	38%
James	38%
Ben	36%

Outide the top 3, nobody is over 50% on game wins, so the format does seem pretty decently balanced just on this unscientific study. Also Baker is pushed into a far more satisfying position!

[Josh Tovell]

i beat phil 2-1

[Josh Tovell]

here's my list:

3 Viridian Emissary

4 Rampant Growth

4 Khalni Heart Expedition

4 Harrow

4 Wildfire

3 Slagstorm

4 Deus of Calamity

4 Expedition Map

3 Oracle of Mul Daya

2 Burst Lightning

4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

9 Forest

12 Mountain

SB

1 Slagstorm

1 Firespout

3 Indrik Stomphowler

2 Relic Crush

3 Mercy Killing

1 Swamp

4 Go for the Throat

The sideboard is kind of a mess. Relic Crush was insane all tournament. swamp plus go for the throat was a reaction to paul's deck. Mercy Killing was intended for Oversoul of Dusk, because i can be weak to that card on the draw.

[Thomas David Baker]

In order to ruin Kieran's stats I beat Phil 2-0 to finish 4-6 with UW Control.

I think my deck was better than that result but the pilot may not have been the best :)  I tried so hard to make Bant Tokens Opposition with Beastmaster Ascension for the amazing one-shot kill after tapping down anything relevant of your opponent's in their turn.  Amazing when it happened, otherwise pretty useless.  Patagia Viper and Conqueror's Pledge don't play nicely together in a format with terrible mana.

My hardest matches were against Kieran and Josh.  They both felt fairly hopeless due to the glacial speed of my wincons.  Simon beat Kieran with a similar list so possibly I was just countering the wrong things.

In my deck I should definitely have played Impulse (probably over Into the Roil?) and taken more of a look at Court Hussar.  I'm still sure that Azorius Signet wasn't exciting and bouncelands were too much of a risk in a format with Pillage and Stone Rain.

Counterspell was my best card by far and I would have happily played 16.  Memory Lapse sometimes did what it was supposed to do (deny them a draw step, let me make a land drop on the way to a Day of Judgment or big Zenith) but was probably a bit useless slightly too often.  Really not sure about Force Spike.  Wish I had had Luminarch Ascension in the sideboard.  Not very happy with Into the Roil.  It was meant to be my catch-all for decks I hadn't anticipated but ended up being fairly useless most of the time (most often bounced: my own Plumeveil in order to draw a card).  Never really looked at Cancel (which Ben and Simon and possibly others played) as not being Constructed-worthy.  I guess that was wrong.

Next time I'm going to play a deck that is fun regardless of whether I think it is best or not.  A lot of my matches were very boring!

List:

9 Island
9 Plains
4 Sejiri Refuge
4 Adarkar Wastes

4 Condemn
4 Counterspell
4 Into the Roil
4 Day of Judgment
4 Blue Sun's Zenith
2 White Sun's Zenith
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae
4 Force Spike
3 Memory Lapse
3 Plumeveil

//Sideboard:
//4 Circle of Protection: Red
//2 Godhead of Awe
//3 Disenchant
//3 Spell Pierce
//1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
//1 Plumeveil
//1 Delusions of Mediocrity

[Nick Lovett]

When can you play Mills?!

[Thomas David Baker]

Only Paul and Ben can possibly catch Josh for second place and both have to win out to do it while only dropping a maximum of 2 games in 5 matches.  So Josh is fairly locked for second place.  Don't let me stop you from playing it out though guys!

I was thinking about playing the next version as a one-off event maybe the evening of Monday 3rd December or Monday 10th December with Swiss rounds followed by a final or a top 4.  Or perhaps we could do a preliminary competition Monday 3rd-Sunday 9th then a you-can-change-your-deck final real time competition on the final Monday.  Or maybe that is just overcomplicating things.  Thoughts?

[Philip Dickinson]

i like the idea of doing a single date one-off tournament, but it can be difficult to get a time and date when everyone can be available. I think the "have a week to play as many of your matches as you can" approach is probably the best way. and i say that even as someone who was only able to complete 2/3s of my matches!

how are we going to select the new pool?

[Paul Hodgson]

Random selection of sets from the modern pool? 2 full blocks & one core set? Uncommon & Common only? Plenty of options I reckon.

Dates wise I'm away from the 8th - 11th December, will be getting busier in the next week or so as well - although am probably going to have the 16th onwards off work :D

[Kieran Symington]

I would definitely do this again - the banned list meant it wasn't expensive so I could do something interesting rather than actually good! Here's my decklist anyway:

 

4 Prosperity                           
4 Summer Bloom                   
4 Skyscribing                         
4 Vision Skeins                      
4 Early Harvest                      
4 Vernal Bloom                      
4 Helm of Awakening              
4 Elsewhere Flask                   
2 Elven Cache                         
1 Blue Sun's Zenith                 

15 Forest
10 Island

Sideboard
4 Elephant Grass                   
4 Emerald Charm                  
4 Reverent Silence                
2 Magma Mine
1 Blue Sun's Zenith

 

The only win con in the maindeck is the single Blue Sun's Zenith, but since I was drawing my whole deck anyway, it was always available when I needed it. I probably should have just played some more draw N instead of 4 Skyscribing since I usually cast a Prosperity when comboing off and the extra blue made them way more awkward to use - plus the Blue Sun's Zeniths I cast would have been lethal with all 60 cards left in a library anyway!

The sideboard is kind of awful - I have 8 enchantment removal spells just because Arcane Lab was legal and totally ruins the deck, but since nobody played it they were wasted spaces that I could just have filled with Counters and given myself a much better game against the multiple control decks. Elephant Grass was totally boss, though.

If the cards are there, I'll definitely play another combo deck next time. And hopefully won't end up facing so many counterspells...