This is already a week later than I wanted, but I had match notes so going to still get it out. Not a lot of deep analysis here though.
As previously mentioned, the only events I got to play at Eternal Weekend were the Thursday Old School event and the Legacy Championships on Saturday. I hadn't played Legacy in over three years, but assumed I would still be playing whatever the current flavor of Blood Moon was.
Turns out, the current flavor is White and doesn't involve Blood Moon at all.
The Deck
I ordered the Initiative white creatures early enough that I would have them, even though I still didn't know what they did. As the week of the event approached, I finally read all the rooms of the Undercity dungeon and printed out a copy to use.
Collin Rountree and Jacob Nagro were advocating for a Once Upon a Time build with Mox Diamond and more lands instead of Chrome Mox and Emeria's Call. They also were less interested in the lock pieces of Chalice and Thalia and instead wanted to speed run the dungeon. At the time, this sounded reasonable, but I'm not sure it is the correct approach overall. I went with their advice and played this:
4 White Plume Adventurer
4 Seasoned Dungeoneer
4 Solitude
4 Anointed Peacekeeper
4 Elite Spellbinder
1 Palace Jailer
4 Once Upon a Time
4 Mox Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Touch the Spirit Realm
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Karakas
2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
6 Plains
Sideboard
1 Gemstone Caverns
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Containment Priest
2 Cathar Commando
1 Dismember
4 Faerie Macabre
3 Archon of Emeria
Just a few notes here:
Once Upon a Time is strong and lets you find the Cavern of Souls and Initiative creatures way more frequently. It also does the same with important sideboard creatures like Palace Jailer, Containment Priest, and Faerie Macabre. With 4 Mox Diamond and 4 Lotus Petals, we decided that a basic Forest was not needed, and I'm glad that decision was made. Dismember was great and I had two up until the last minute. Should have stayed with two as it answers Empty-Shrine Kannushi, but probably should have also had a Walking Ballista for that since it can also be found off of OUAT. I managed to use Gemstone Caverns twice in eight rounds and lost both games, so maybe it's not worth the sideboard slot.
The Games
(opponent names taken from MTG Melee)
Round 1 - Adam Prusa on 4-Color Yorion Spellseeker
Game one he had to Force Petal on turn one facing my Cavern opener but the turn two Orc still won easily. Game two I had two Swords to Plowshares and a Dismember to stop his Spellseeker for Ephemerate Shenanigans.
1-0
Round 2 - Mark Kitchenman on Elves
Game one I mulligan to five cards and only have turn one Peacekeeper on the draw. I manage to slow down his development by naming Quirion Ranger but eventually he found a Cradle and Natural Order to kill me. Game two is similar as I have turn one Chalice but he has two Elvish Visionary to continue development. My Archon of Emeria probably isn't doing much but he does Zenith for Grist to kill it, and then Natural Order for Craterhoof kills me again.
1-1
Round 3 - Chad Maurer on Jeskai Miracles
Game one I use Peacekeeper on his Flooded Strand which prevents him from being able to miracle the Triumph of Saint Katherine (yes, I had to read it). He draws some spells which don't interact with Initiative and I win. Game two I get initiative and keep him from using Snapcaster to get it back, but he does miracle Entreat the Angels. At this point, he's too low on life to race so I attack with an Orc with some counters on it to kill one angel. Eventually I kill him with the Undercity.
2-1
Round 4 - Bryce Morgan on 4-Color Loam
Game one my hand does nothing and he has Swords for my only guy and his creatures win easily. Game two I have turn one Initiative and he didn't have Force of Will. He gets too far behind. Game three I again have turn one initiative and he Brainstorms in response but doesn't find the answer. I have Containment Priest in play when my dungeon reaches the end so that non-bo happened but I was so far ahead that it did not affect the game.
3-1
Round 5 - Brandon Chang on MonoWhite Initiative
Game one I have first initiative but he has Jailer to try to swing the tide. I also have Jailer and being both Monarch and the one with Initiative was too much. Game two he has turn one Empty-Shrine Kannushi so I can't go for Initiative right away. I hold up mana for Eiganjo but he doesn't swing into it. Eventually I play the Orc to get Initiative and try to win the race. I manage to do so by using both Eiganjos after I reveal one to Explore and that with Solitude and a Swords to Plowshares meant I kept Initiative from that point on and won.
4-1
Round 6 - Justin Ryan on Izzet Delver
Game one I have an Orc on turn two and he has Daze. Unfortunately for him, I also had Cavern of Souls. The loss of tempo was too much for him to recover from. Game two I have Chalice for one but he already has a Dragon's Rage Channeler in play. I take about 7 points from it before using Solitude to stop the bleeding. He follows up with Unchained Berserker (!!) and I'm in a tight spot. I draw enough Initiative creatures though to progress the Undercity to the point where I get a Skeleton to block with just in time. He has a Murktide Regent to threaten lethal but I draw Solitude for that. He only draws one-mana spells from that point and I win with Initiative.
5-1
Round 7 - Jeff Kinsey on MonoWhite Initiative
He asks if I played Vintage on Friday and I tell him no. I ask him if he played and he says yes. I ask him what he played and he said "I'd rather not say". Which is basically saying that he's playing Initiative, so I mulligan appropriately. Game one I have first Initiative but then draw five land in a row and lose. Game two I have turn one Dungeoneer and turn two Palace Jailer off of so many Lotus Petals and the advantage of both is too much. Game three I have Gemstone Caverns on the draw, but only have turn one Spellbinder. He shows me a hand with three Orcs and a Dungeoneer. I manage to slow him down but draw too many lands and eventually he can cast Dungeoneer and win. I had a spot where I could block and Dismember to keep iniative but I save my creature to attack back. This made my clock lethal if he doesn't find removal or flyer off of the end of his dungeon and also gave me more outs, but I drew another land. Maybe keeping him from initiative one turn to delay his end of dungeon was the better play.
5-2
Round 8 - Jeffrey Zhang on FiveColor Loam Zenith with Yorion
Game one he has Wasteland and Loam to slow me down but I eventually get some basics and Palace Jailer. Despite all his creatures, he can't get the Monarch from me so this game goes long, even though I'm so far behind from Wasteland I really don't think I can win. Eventually I get Initiative back after he forgets the trigger twice in his upkeep. I reach the end of the dungeon and reveal ten non-creatures off the top so I guess it wasn't meant to be. Game two I have turn one Spellbinder which takes his Abundant Growth and he can't cast any spells. Game three I use three Peacekeepers on the two Swords to Plowshares in his hand but can't find an Initiative card or any other gas to close the door. Eventually he uses Prismatic Ending on one Peacekeeper to unlock the two Swords and all my threats are neutralized. I just play along as he generates tons of value with Yorion and Karakas and I lose.
5-3
I was fairly confident that 7-3 would not make prize, especially after the 5-3 start so I elect to drop instead of coming back to play again on Sunday (which would have cost me another $20 to get on site, what's up with that?)
My Thoughts on Initiative
One of my better skills in Magic is the ability to identify a broken deck when I see one. I've done this many times over my playing career to great success. This event didn't have the success, but I feel the same about this deck as I did with Mythic Conscription, or Dungrove Ramp, or any of the other times I've done this. The following opinions presented with the caveat I have only eight matches of sample size, but on the other side of that coin, keep in mind that its clear to me after just eight matches.
Initiative feels like a weird combination of Eldrazi (for disruptive bodies that end the game quickly), True-Name Nemesis (for the inability to be interacted with), and CawBlade (for board state complexity and decision tree intensity). I think it is an issue and should be addressed.
The best way to combat Initiative is to play your own Initiative creatures. I don't think the fast mana of Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors would be enough to stop the coming Initiative arms race. There are certainly decks that will improve in a metagame full of Initiative (I think Elves is a good candidate), but that does not mean Initiative is not an issue. There are always metagame decisions to be made when busted cards are around, whether they be Necropotence or Skullclamp or Treasure Cruise or Underworld Breach or whatever.
There are so many initiative creatures that banning just the best ones might not be good enough. It probably is, but I'm not sure thats a risk worth taking. The only reason to fix the problem with a ban instead of a rules change is to maintain the playability in Vintage. The initiative deck in Vintage is probably good for the format as a whole, but I do not think it is good for Legacy.
Future Legacy
I don't know how much Legacy I'll play in the future. I'll try to play in Eternal Weekend again next year, but don't even know when or why I would play beyond that. Maybe there will be a team event where someone needs a Legacy player and I can join them.
Props:
Philadelphia Convention Center for being great place for big events
Reading Terminal Market
My wife
Slops:
Daily badge entry to event sites with only a voucher for side events included
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