Guildmage Remix - Eric Jones' Booster Draft
Posted 03-09-2009 at 08:50 PM by TheWholeBuffalo
Last night, I picked up Eric Jones at the airport upon his return from Pro Tour Kyoto. I was feeling pretty unwell. My wife and my ten year old had already had bouts with the flu in the past week, and I was now coming down with a case myself. No sooner had I delivered Jones back to my place, where he had parked his car during his week in Japan, than I had to run to the toilet and promptly throw up. I’m proud of my normally cast iron stomach. (cast iron on the inside, fairly puffy on the outside) This episode was only the sixth time I have had to throw up since I was a small boy. When Eric left around 1:00am Tuesday, he asked if I was going to cancel the Tuesday night meeting. I told him that I would only call him if I were canceling, that I was most likely going to go on with the regular practice night.
At any rate, I felt bad all day Tuesday. As the time came for people to start showing up, I was truthfully wishing that I had called off the meeting.
Mark Hendrickson was the first to show up. He told me that he thought Steven Bruce would be here tonight as well. I told Mark that I had already talked to Steven on the phone and that I did not expect him. Earlier, Steven had said he had to see about a girl and that he would only be showing up possibly for a late second draft. I told Steven that considering my health status, it was unlikely that there would be a second draft.
Brian Heine and Mike Ferri showed up, virtually at the same time as Arthur Morris and Chris Block. Chris described not having enjoyed playing all that much at the previous Saturday’s PTQ in Fort Worth. I would have had Chris on the judge staff if he had not played. In fact, I would have made Chris the head judge.
Andres Campion showed up next, apparently free of college and/or fraternity obligations on this lovely Tuesday evening.
Eric, who had called earlier to let us know he was on his way, showed up about fifteen past seven.
Andy Van Zandt, from Fort Worth, was the last to show up for the booster draft.
Hunter Burton showed up mainly just to return cards he had been borrowing from me for the past couple of Extended PTQs. Hunter showed up around nine or so, and hung out just for s’s and g’s.
Steven Bruce did indeed show up, not long after Hunter. Steven also picked up some cards from Eric that Mr. Jones had borrowed for Japan. Steven did not play, but did say that he and Mark Hendrickson were going to be playing more of that new card game Dougherty and his guys recently came up with. Steven is looking for some things to do with his free time in the immediate future now that he has been banned from competitive Magic for a while.
Eight Man Booster Draft
As we sort of celebrated Eric Jones on this night as our returning hero from Pro Tour Kyoto, I decided that I wanted to record Eric’s draft picks for the night’s booster draft. Eric Jones finished 24th in Kyoto. Eric had a real chance at the top eight right up to his last match. Eric’s draft skills in Kyoto are what really made the difference. Eric went a very human 4-4 during the Standard constructed matches, but was 6-0 perfect in the two drafts. Eric’s performance in Kyoto has made him the 22nd best limited player in the world. At least one teammate suggested that Eric’s draft style was unusual enough that tracking his picks might not be useful to very many people. That might be true, but you never know until you look. Since I was in early recovery from a flu virus, and because we had exactly nine people in the room, I decided to sit out of the draft and spend my time tracking Eric’s picks.
The draft table was arranged like this, beginning with Eric and continuing to his left; Arthur Morris, Brian Heine, Chris Block, Mike Ferri, Mark Hendrickson, Andy Van Zandt and Andres Campion.
Eric’s first pick was easy, Oblivion Ring. Eric passed up two other very good ones, Naya Charm and Executioner’s Capsule. With his second pick, Eric selected Soul’s Fire over Esper Panorama, Sprouting Thrinax and another Executioner’s Capsule. The third pick was Bant Charm in a pack also containing Jund Panorama and Court Archers.
Eric’s fourth pick was Jund Panorama leaving behind a Tidehollow Strix. His fifth pick was Naya Panorama leaving behind Hell’s Thunder and Courier’s Capsule. Eric next picked up Deft Duelist, then a Courier’s Capsule, followed by Naturalize, Ridge Rannet, Waveskimmer Aven, Ooze Garden and Glaze Fiend.
Eric’s second Shards of Alara pack started with a big hit, Battlegrace Angel. Eric’s pretty easy rare pick left behind Algae Gharial, Infest and Bant Panorama. Eric’s second pick was Resounding Thunder over Esper Panorama and Sedraxis Specter. His third pick was Knight of the Skyward Eye over Hissing Iguanar. Next, Eric chose Naya Battlemage over Dragon Fodder. His fifth pick was Courier Capsule over Yoked Plowbeast. Next, Eric took a Bant Panorama followed by Qasali Ambusher, Angelsong, Spell Snip, Swerve (over a Windwright Mage), Vectis Silencers, Sunseed Nurturer, Sangrite Surge and Baneswasp Affliction.
Eric often enjoys exploring the full range of five colored decks made possible and even promoted in Shards-Conflux draft. Therefore, the Conflux pack is more important to Eric’s draft than it might have been if he were more interested in locking into cards from only one shard, or even a more narrow two color deck. Eric’s first pick reflects his desire to get all five kinds of basic land into play, he picks Armillary Sphere over Elder Mastery and Kranioceros. Eric’s second pick is Nacatl Hunt-Pride leaving behind a Grixis Slavedriver and another Kranioceros. Third pick is a Paragon of the Amesha over Nyxathid, Drag Down and Aerie Mystics. Eric’s fourth pick is Dragonsoul Knight over Wandering Goblins and Drag Down. His fifth pick is another Dragonsoul Knight, chosen over Frontline Sage. Eric’s next pick was Valeron Outlander followed by Unsummon, Suicidal Charge, Kranioceros, Maniacal Rage, Brackwater Elemental (leaving a couple of great Grixis playables behind, Dreadwing and Pestilent Kathari), Worldly Counsel and View from Above.
From his first Shards of Alara pack, Eric’s deck ends up using the first seven cards picked as well as the tenth pick Waveskimmer Aven. From his second pack, his deck includes the first seven picks as well as his tenth pick Swerve. From the Conflux pack, Eric’s deck contains his first eight picks as well as his tenth pick Kranioceros.
Eric has no fear of, and in fact clearly enjoys, playing all five colors in Shards-Conflux draft. Even so, it is not right to say that, in this draft, Eric is simply drafting the best most powerful card with each of his picks and then building the deck that results from those choices. Eric’s draft is a little closer to a Bant deck than anything else. Eric could have chosen to play the Ridge Rannet instead of Waveskimmer Aven. He could have thought the Rannet would occasionally (or rarely) get into play with his deck’s small ability to put two Mountains into play, or the Rannet could be cycled at any time. This would have been a perfectly defensible position if Eric had been a little less shard-focused than he actually was. Before Conflux arrived, Eric’s approach to his first pack picks might not have been much different. It would still be perfectly reasonable to draft Bant cards alongside a red removal spell like his second pick Soul’s Fire. Before the arrival of Conflux, Eric’s choices would very likely have continued to evolve a Bant deck with a number of red cards for removal. With Conflux, Eric’s plans change significantly. Conflux has a number of cards that reward players for having all five colors available to them, particularly in the form of basic lands. Eric’s third, fourth and fifth picks from Conflux are all powerful uncommons that become game-changing cards when you have all five colors available to you to play their five colored activated abilities. Eric’s first pick reveals a clear plan to take advantage of all five colors. To a lesser extent, Eric’s sixth pick, Fusion Elemental, is another choice made to take advantage of having all five colors available to his deck. Fusion Elemental is 8/8, a very big man for five mana with no drawback, other than the difficulty of casting him. Eric is not playing five colors so that he can play Fusion Elemental, but Fusion Elemental becomes a playable card of secondary interest when you have all five colors in your deck for other, better reasons.
Match Results
Unfortunately, I cannot recall what all the players were playing, but here is the record of how each of our two finalists got through the tournament. In round one, Eric lost 1-2 to Arthur Morris, the player that Eric passed to in the first and third packs. Arthur built a powerful Grixis deck with the unusual inclusion of three Elder Mastery enchantments. Eric won 2-1 over Chris Block in round two and won 2-0 over Mark Hendrickson in the third round. In the top four, Eric defeated Andres Campion, the only undefeated player from the three Swiss rounds. Andy Van Zandt started the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Brian Heine followed by a 2-0 win over Mike Ferri before falling 1-2 to Andres Campion in round three. In the semi finals Andy beat Arthur Morris.
Even though the two finalists split the booty in lieu of playing a final match, I took the finalists’ decks and played them off against each other in a best of seven series. The play-by-play of this series can be found at the bottom of this entry. I learned a couple of things from playing the decks against each other. First of all, I think Eric’s deck is significantly better than Andy’s. I talked to Andy about his deck. Normally a control player, Andy said that his plan with this deck was to try and race his opponent with small fast creatures. With very little in the way of hard removal, Andy relies on creature pump spells to help him put down opponent’s more powerful creatures when they eventually hit the board. Andy has four pump spells. Andy was surprised to learn that he was playing forty-one cards. He said he counted his deck at the start of the tournament and thought he was playing forty. He said if he had realized that his deck was one card heavy he would have removed the Volcanic Submersion. I suggested to him that he probably should have considered one Swamp and one Island in his deck as well. With his pair of Gift of Gargantuan cards, along with an Esper Panorama, I thought he would have no difficulty including an Island and a Swamp with which to make his Matca Rioters considerably more dangerous. A Swamp would also have given his Dusklit Gargoyle a pump outlet. Although the match recorded at the bottom of this entry use Andy’s official forty-one card version, I also played some games with the addition of the Esper Panorama and the Swamp and Island in place of three other lands. I think the five color plan makes the deck a little better without adding much risk. In the end, however, regardless of these simple improvements, Eric’s deck was just better. Here’s a few reason’s why.
Eric’s deck has three first striking Knights that can come into play on turn three. Once Eric has all five colors of mana available to him, any of these three can become very dangerous 5/5 flyers. Paragon of the Amesha is the most powerful, because it’s lifelink ability can bring Eric back from near-death experiences. These three cards are particularly troublesome for the small creatures in Andy’s deck. Generally speaking, Andy gets out a 2/1 or a 2/2 on turn two, that creature may even get one attack in, depending upon who played first, but by Eric’s turn three he has one of four different two powered creatures with first strike in play. Two Dragonsoul Knight, one Paragon of the Amesha and one Deft Duelist. Later in the game, things only get better for Eric’s deck. Along with the late game possibility of pumping his Dragonsoul Knight or Paragon, Eric can also drop one of his other powerful creatures like Nacatl Hunt-Pride, Kranioceros or Battlegrace Angel. Even though Eric’s land is set up pretty well in his deck, I found that finding the right mana was still the greatest weakness of the deck. In particular, I found that Eric’s deck wants more access to blue mana than he sometimes receives. The only games where I had cards backing up in my hand were games where I did not get enough blue mana. Also, the deck wants to get a second Plains into play for several different reasons, and this was often difficult. Obviously Battlegrace Angel needs a second white source in play. Less obviously, Eric’s Naya Battlemage often tied up the first white mana source in play, making it difficult to play other white spells and effects. In the end, however, Eric’s deck is really very consistent. Every game is a problem for Eric’s opponent. Eric’s deck has good creatures, good enough removal and even card draw. Swerve seems to have been particularly effective in Eric’s deck. I have to admit it is a card I don’t think about in draft.
Eight Man Booster Draft Finals Decks
Here are the two decks from the finals of the first eight man booster draft:
Eric Jones
Swamp x1
Mountain x2
Forest x2
Plains x4
Island x4
Bant Panorama
Jund Panorama
Naya Panorama
Unsummon
Courier’s Capsule x2
Armillary Sphere
Swerve
Worldly Counsel
Knight of the Skyward Eye
Deft Duelist
Valeron Outlander
Bant Charm
Resounding Thunder
Brackwater Elemental
Naya Battlemage
Soul’s Fire
Oblivion Ring
Qasali Ambusher
Dragonsoul Knight x2
Paragon of the Amesha
Kranioceros
Battlegrace Angel
Fusion Elemental
Waveskimmer Aven
Nacatl Hunt-Pride
Andy Van Zandt
Mountain x3
Plains x6
Forest x7
Akrasan Squire
Nacatl Savage x2
Steward of Valeron
Rip-Clan Crasher
Darklit Gargoyle
Druid of the Anima
Resounding Roar
Sigil Blessing
Metallurgeon
Court Archers
Matca Rioters x2
Gift of the Gargantuan x2
Oblivion Ring
Rhox Meditant
Aerie Mystics
Knight-Captain of Eos
Gleam of Resitance x2
Volcanic Submersion
Rakeclaw Gargantuan
Fiery Fall
Jungle Weaver
Tuesday Night Draft Format
Drafts at the weekly Guildmage meetings work like this: we play three Swiss rounds cutting to a top eight. We play one more match to determine the top two finishers, who split the rares and foils from the draft any way they want to. Lately, most guys agree to just flip the prize cards face down and take turns drawing for highest casting cost. If we have seven or eight players, we play three rounds of Swiss. If we have nine, ten or eleven players we play four rounds of Swiss. If we have six or twelve players we draw random teams for three-versus-three team draft following regular team draft conventions.
In our weekly drafts, we have a policy of not playing out the finals. There are a couple of reasons. First, after three rounds of Swiss and one round of top four playoffs, it’s nice to save a little time by not playing a finals, especially when doing so makes it able for us to have a second draft. Also, by having the finalists split the booty, the rares and foils from the draft, two players are assured of getting some prizes for their hard work.
Jeff Zandi
Texas Guildmages
Level II DCI Judge
Zanman on Magic Online
jeffzandi@hotmail.com
Texas Guildmage meeting #594, Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Roll Call (in order of arrival)
Jeff Zandi Guildage #7, 594th meeting.
Mark Hendrickson, Guildmage #26, 3rd meeting in a row, 144th overall.
Brian Heine, guest, 5th meeting in a row, 38th overall.
Michael Ferri, guest, 3rd meeting in a row, 9th overall.
Arthur Morris, guest, 5th meeting in a row, 33rd overall.
Chris Block, guest, 5th meeting in a row, 18th overall.
Andres Campion, guest, 1st meeting in a row, 14th overall.
Eric Jones, Guildmage #33, 1st meeting in a row, 55th overall.
Andy Van Zandt, guest, 1st meeting in a row, 96th overall.
Hunter Burton, Guildmage #27, 1st meeting in a row, 74th overall.
Steven Bruce, Guildmage #29, 1st meeting in a row, 78th overall.
Meeting ran from 6:45pm to 12:37am
Play-By-Play of a match between the decks in the 8 man finals
GAME ONE
T1 Van Zandt keeps Plains x2, Forest x2, Mountain, Volcanic Submersion, Court Archers. Plays Plains.
T1 Jones mulligans Island, Resounding Thunder, Deft Duelist, Dragonsoul Knight x2, Kranioceros and Naya Battlemage. Jones keeps Mountain x2, Soul’s Fire, Dragonsoul Knight, Unsummon, Bant Charm, draws Resounding Thunder, plays Mountain.
T2 Van Zandt draws and plays Akrasan Squire, plays Forest.
T2 Jones draws Worldly Counsel, plays Mountain.
T3 Van Zandt draws Forest, plays Mountain, plays Court Archers, attacks with Akrasan Squire (20-17).
T3 Jones draws and plays Island.
T4 Van Zandt draws Meditant Rhox, plays Forest, declares attack, Jones responds playing Resounding Thunder targeting Court Archers, attacks with Squire (20-15), plays Rhox Meditant.
T4 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T5 Van Zandt draws Fiery Fall, plays Plains, attacks with Meditant (20-12).
T5 Jones draws Waveskimmer Aven, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-12), plays Worldly Counsel looking at the top two cards of his library putting Oblivion Ring into his hand and putting Naya Battlemage on the bottom of his library.
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Metallurgeon, attacks with Meditant (18-9).
T6 Jones draws and plays Plains, at end of turn Van Zandt cycles Volcanic Submersion drawing Plains.
T7 Van Zandt draws and plays Oblivion Ring removing Dragonsoul Knight from the game, Jones responds playing Unsummon targeting his Knight, Van Zandt attacks with Squire, Metallurgeon and Meditant (18-5).
T7 Jones draws and plays Armillary Sphere, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T8 Van Zandt draws Gift of the Gargantuan, plays Fiery Fall targeting Dragonsoul Knight, attacks with Squire, Metallurgeon and Meditant (18-1).
T8 Jones draws Valeron Outlander, CONCEDES.
VAN ZANDT WINS GAME ONE ON TURN 8, LEADS SERIES 1-0.
GAME TWO
T1 Jones keeps Jund Panorama, Bant Panorama, Naya Panorama, Oblivion Ring, Courier’s Capsule, Resounding Thunder and Dragonsoul Knight. Plays Bant Panorama.
T1 Van Zandt keeps Forest x2, Mountain, Metallurgeon, Jungle Weaver, Nacatl Savage and Gift of the Gargantuan. Draws Rhox Meditant, plays Forest.
T2 Jones draws Worldly Counsel, plays Jund Panorama.
T2 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains, plays Nacatl Savage, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Jund Panorama searching his library and putting a Mountain into play.
T3 Jones draws Courier’s Capsule, plays Naya Panorama, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T3 Van Zandt draws Forest, plays Mountain, plays Gift of the Gargantuan putting Rakeclaw Gargantuan into Van Zandt’s hand and putting Oblivion Ring, Fiery Fall and Resounding Roar on the bottom of his library.
T4 Jones draws and plays Forest, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-20).
T4 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, attacks with Nacatl Savage (18-18), plays Rhox Meditant drawing Mountain, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Bant Panorama putting an Island into play and sacrifices Naya Panorama putting a Plains into play.
T5 Jones draws and plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T5 Van Zandt draws Volcanic Submersion, plays Plains, plays Rakeclaw Gargantuan.
T6 Jones draws Wakeskimmer Aven, plays Worldly Counsel looking at the top four cards of his library putting a Plains into his hand and putting Naya Battlemage, Qasali Ambusher and Bant Charm on the bottom of his library, plays Plains, plays Oblivion Ring removing Rakeclaw Gargantuan from the game.
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Knight-Captain of Eos, plays Mountain.
T7 Jones draws and plays Mountain, plays Courier’s Capsule.
T7 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Forest, plays Jungle Weaver.
T8 Jones draws and plays Swamp.
T8 Van Zandt draws Matca Rioters, plays Plains, attacks with Jungle Weaver blocked by both Dragonsoul Knights, Jones plays Resounding Thunder targeting Jungle Weaver, Van Zandt responds by sacrificing a Soldier token to Knight-Captain of Eos preventing all combat damage this turn, plays Metallurgeon, plays Matca Rioters, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Courier’s Capsule drawing Fusion Elemental and Knight of the Skyward Eye.
T9 Jones draws Paragon of the Amesha, plays Fusion Elemental, plays Knight of the Skyward Eye.
T9 Van Zandt draws Gleam of Resistance, cycles Volcanic Submersion drawing and playing Akrasan Squire.
T10 Jones draws Soul’s Fire, plays Paragon of Amesha, plays Courier’s Capsule.
T10 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T11 Jones draws and plays Plains, plays Waveskimmer Aven.
T11 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest.
T12 Jones draws Brackwater Elemental, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon, Van Zandt sacrifices a Soldier token to prevent all combat damage this turn.
T12 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T13 Jones draws and plays Forest, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon, Van Zandt sacrifices Akrasan Squire to prevent all combat damage this turn.
T13 Van Zandt draws and plays Aerie Mystics, at end of turn Jones plays Soul’s Fire dealing Fusion Elemental’s power to Aerie Mystics.
T14 Jones draws Nacatl Hunt-Pride, activates Paragon of Amesha, attacks with Paragon (12-24).
T14 Van Zandt draws and plays Mountain.
T15 Jones draws Unsummon, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (6-30).
T15 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T16 Jones draws and plays Island, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon blocked by Jungle Weaver, Van Zandt plays Gleam of Resistance, Jones plays Unsummon targeting Paragon of Amesha, plays Paragon of Amesha.
T16 Van Zandt draws Plains.
T17 Jones draws Deft Duelist, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon blocked by Jungle Weaver (6-36).
T17 Van Zandt draws Rip-Clan Crasher, CONCEDES.
JONES WINS GAME TWO ON TURN 17, TIES SERIES 1-1.
GAME THREE
T1 Van Zandt keeps Mountain, Plains, Metallurgeon, Knight-Captain on Eos, Aerie Mystics, Gift of the Gargantuan, Rakeclaw Gargantuan. Plays Plains.
T1 Jones keeps Plains, Mountain, Naya Panorama, Dragonsoul Knight, Paragon of the Amesha, Swerve, Naya Battlemage. Draws Dragonsoul Knight, plays Mountain.
T2 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Mountain, plays Metallurgeon.
T2 Jones draws Bant Charm, plays Naya Panorama.
T3 Van Zandt draws Volcanic Submersion, plays Plains, attacks with Metallurgeon (20-19), at end of turn Jones sacrifices Naya Panorama putting a Forest into play.
T3 Jones draws Brackwater Elemental, plays Plains, plays Dragonsoul Knight, at end of turn Van Zandt cycles Volcanic Submersion drawing Plains.
T4 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T4 Jones draws Oblivion Ring, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T5 Van Zandt draws Darklit Gargoyle, plays Plains, plays Aerie Mystics.
T5 Jones draws and plays Swamp, plays Naya Battlemage.
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, attacks with Aerie Mystics (20-16), plays Rakeclaw Gargantuan.
T6 Jones draws and plays Jund Panorama, plays Oblivion Ring removing Rakeclaw Gargantuan from the game, attacks with both Knights, one blocked by Metallurgeon, Van Zandt regenerates Metallurgeon (18-16).
T7 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Gift of the Gargantuan putting Akrasan Squire into his hand and putting Resounding Roar, Sigil Blessing and Steward of Valeron on the bottom of his library, plays Akrasan Squire, plays Darklit Gargoyle, attacks with Mystics (18-12), at end of turn Jones sacrifices Jund Panorama putting a Mountain into play.
T7 Jones draws Valeron Outlander.
T8 Van Zandt draws Rhox Meditant, plays Plains, declares attack, Jones taps Mystics with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Darklit Gargoyle (18-10).
T8 Jones draws Fusion Elemental,
T9 Van Zandt draws and plays Court Archers, declares an attack, Jones taps Mystic with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Gargoyle (18-7), plays Rhox Meditant drawing Mountain, plays Mountain.
T9 Jones draws and plays Bant Panorama.
T10 Van Zandt draws Matca Rioters, declares an attack, Jones taps Mystic with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Gargoyle (18-4), plays Knight-Captain of Eos putting two 1/1 Soldier tokens, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Bant Panorama putting an Island into play.
T10 Jones draws Deft Duelist.
T11 Van Zandt draws Nacatl Savage, attacks with Mystics, with Exalted on the stack Jones plays Bant Charm targeting Aerie Mystics, Van Zandt plays Matca Rioters.
T11 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Brackwater Elemental.
T12 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, declares an attack, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Rioters blocked by Dragonsoul Knight and Brackwater Elemental, Elemental is sacrificed at end of turn.
T12 Jones draws and plays Kranioceros.
T13 Van Zandt draws and plays Druid of the Anima, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage, Van Zandt plays Nacatl Savage.
T13 Jones draws Soul’s Fire.
T14 Van Zandt draws Forest, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage.
T14 Jones draws and plays Plains, plays Fusion Elemental.
T15 Van Zandt draws Oblivion Ring, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage, Van Zandt plays Oblivion Ring targeting Naya Battlemage, Jones responds playing Swerve changing Oblivion Ring’s target to Darklit Gargoyle.
T15 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Paragon of the Amesha.
T16 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest.
T16 Jones draws Unsummon, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon, Van Zandt sacrifices a Soldier token to Knight-Captain to prevent all combat damage this turn.
T17 Van Zandt draws and plays Nacatl Savage, at end of turn Jones plays Soul’s Fire dealing Fusion Elemental’s power in damage to Knight-Captain of Eos.
T17 Jones draws and plays Island, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (13-9).
T18 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T18 Jones draws Nacatl Hunt-Pride, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (8-14).
T19 Van Zandt draws and plays Matca Rioters.
T19 Jones draws Qasali Ambusher, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (3-19).
T20 Van Zandt draws and plays Jungle Weaver, at end of turn Jones plays Unsummon targeting Jungle Weaver, Van Zandt CONCEDES.
JONES WINS GAME THREE ON TURN 20, LEADS SERIES 2-1.
GAME FOUR
T1 Van Zandt mulligans Plains, Jungle Weaver, Rakeclaw Gargantuan, Gift of the Gargantuan x2, Fiery Fall, Matca Rioters. Van Zandt keeps Mountain, Plains, Fiery Fall, Druid of the Anima, Sigil Blessing and Nacatl Savage. Plays Mountain.
T1 Jones keeps Plains x2, Mountain, Dragonsoul Knight, Battlegrace Angel, Swerve, Brackwater Elemental. Draws and plays Plains.
T2 Van Zandt draws Gleam of Resistance, plays Plains.
T2 Jones draws Resounding Thunder, plays Mountain, at end of turn Van Zandt cycles Gleam of Resistance searching out a Forest from his library and putting it into his hand.
T3 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, plays Nacatl Savage.
T3 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T4 Van Zandt draws Aerie Mystics, plays Druid of the Anima, plays Forest.
T4 Jones draws Paragon of Amesha, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-20), plays Paragon of the Amesha, plays Plains.
T5 Van Zandt draws Metallurgeon, plays Aerie Mystics.
T5 Jones draws Qasali Ambusher, plays Plains, plays Battlegrace Angel, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (15-23).
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Gift of the Gargantuan putting Plains and Darklit Gargoyle into his hand and putting Forest and Mountain on the bottom of his library, plays Plains.
T6 Jones draws and plays Forest, attacks with Battlegrace Angel blocked by Aerie Mystics, Van Zandt plays Sigil Blessing targeting Mystics, Jones responds playing Resounding Thunder targeting Mystics, plays Brackwater Elemental.
T7 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, plays Fiery Fall targeting Battlegrace Angel.
T7 Jones draws Bant Charm, attacks with Elemental and Dragonsoul Knight (9-23), Jones sacrifices Brackwater Elemental at end of turn.
T8 Van Zandt draws and plays Mountain, plays Darklit Gargoyle and Metallurgeon.
T8 Jones draws and plays Kranioceros.
T9 Van Zandt draws and plays Matca Rioters.
T9 Jones draws and plays Mountain.
T10 Van Zandt draws and plays Court Archers, attacks with Darklit Gargoyle (9-21), at end of turn Jones plays Bant Charm targeting Metallurgeon.
T10 Jones draws and plays Plains, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Druid of the Anima.
T11 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T11 Jones draws Valeron Outlander, attacks with Kranioceros (4-21), plays Valeron Outlander.
T12 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T12 Jones draws Unsummon, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Darklit Gargoyle.
T13 Van Zandt draws and plays Rhox Meditant drawing Plains, plays Plains.
T13 Jones draws and plays Island, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Nacatl Savage.
T14 Van Zandt draws and plays Steward of Valeron.
T14 Jones draws and plays Dragonsoul Knight, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Court Archers.
T15 Van Zandt draws and plays Jungle Weaver.
T15 Jones draws and plays Deft Duelist, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Meditant, Weaver, Rioters and Steward, before dealing damage Jones plays Unsummon targeting Jungle Weaver, Jones pumps Kranioceros two times and deals lethal damage to Rioters and Steward.
T16 Van Zandt draws and plays Rakeclaw Gargantuan, CONCEDES.
JONES WINS GAME FOUR ON TURN 16, LEADS SERIES 3-1.
GAME FIVE
T1 Van Zandt keeps Forest x3, Plains x2, Mountain, Nacatl Savage. Plays Forest.
T1 Jones keeps Island, Plains, Dragonsoul Knight, Worldly Counsel, Paragon of the Amesha, Courier’s Capsule and Unsummon. Draws Oblivion Ring, plays Island.
T2 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains, plays Nacatl Savage.
T2 Jones draws Nacatl Hunt-Pride, plays Plains.
T3 Van Zandt draws Gift of the Gargantuan, plays Mountain, attacks with Nacatl Savage (20-18), plays Gift of the Gargantuan looking at the top four cards of his library and putting Mountain in his hand and putting (a different) Gift of the Gargantuan, Forest and Mountain on the bottom of his library, at end of turn Jones plays Worldly Counsel looking at the top two cards of his library putting Qasali Ambusher into his hand and putting Fusion Elemental on the bottom of his library.
T3 Jones draws and plays Mountain, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T4 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Forest.
T4 Jones draws Soul’s Fire, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-18), plays Paragon of the Amesha.
T5 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T5 Jones draws and plays Island, attacks with Paragon and Dragonsoul (14-18), plays Courier’s Capsule.
T6 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Mountain, attacks with Savage (14-16), at end of turn Jones sacrifices Capsule drawing Swerve and Deft Duelist.
T6 Jones draws and plays Bant Panorama, attacks with Dragonsoul and Paragon (10-16).
T7 Van Zandt draws Gleam of Resistance, plays Forest, attacks with Savage, Jones sacrifices Bant Panorama putting a Forest into play, Jones plays Qasali Ambusher and blocks Nacatl Savage, Van Zandt plays Gleam of Resistance.
T7 Jones draws and plays Valeron Outlander, attacks with Dragonsoul and Paragon (6-16).
T8 Van Zandt draws Fiery Fall, plays Plains.
T8 Jones draws Brackwater Elemental, attacks with Dragonsoul, Paragon and Outlander, Outlander is blocked by Nacatl Savage, Van Zandt plays Fiery Fall targeting Paragon of the Amesha, Jones responds playing Swerve retargeting Fiery Fall to Savage Nacatl (2-16).
T9 Van Zandt draws and plays Knight-Captain of Eos putting two 1/1 Soldier tokens into play.
T9 Jones draws Kranioceros, plays Soul’s Fire dealing Valeron Outlander’s power to Van Zandt (0-16).
JONES WINS GAME FIVE ON TURN 9, WINS SERIES 4-1.
At any rate, I felt bad all day Tuesday. As the time came for people to start showing up, I was truthfully wishing that I had called off the meeting.
Mark Hendrickson was the first to show up. He told me that he thought Steven Bruce would be here tonight as well. I told Mark that I had already talked to Steven on the phone and that I did not expect him. Earlier, Steven had said he had to see about a girl and that he would only be showing up possibly for a late second draft. I told Steven that considering my health status, it was unlikely that there would be a second draft.
Brian Heine and Mike Ferri showed up, virtually at the same time as Arthur Morris and Chris Block. Chris described not having enjoyed playing all that much at the previous Saturday’s PTQ in Fort Worth. I would have had Chris on the judge staff if he had not played. In fact, I would have made Chris the head judge.
Andres Campion showed up next, apparently free of college and/or fraternity obligations on this lovely Tuesday evening.
Eric, who had called earlier to let us know he was on his way, showed up about fifteen past seven.
Andy Van Zandt, from Fort Worth, was the last to show up for the booster draft.
Hunter Burton showed up mainly just to return cards he had been borrowing from me for the past couple of Extended PTQs. Hunter showed up around nine or so, and hung out just for s’s and g’s.
Steven Bruce did indeed show up, not long after Hunter. Steven also picked up some cards from Eric that Mr. Jones had borrowed for Japan. Steven did not play, but did say that he and Mark Hendrickson were going to be playing more of that new card game Dougherty and his guys recently came up with. Steven is looking for some things to do with his free time in the immediate future now that he has been banned from competitive Magic for a while.
Eight Man Booster Draft
As we sort of celebrated Eric Jones on this night as our returning hero from Pro Tour Kyoto, I decided that I wanted to record Eric’s draft picks for the night’s booster draft. Eric Jones finished 24th in Kyoto. Eric had a real chance at the top eight right up to his last match. Eric’s draft skills in Kyoto are what really made the difference. Eric went a very human 4-4 during the Standard constructed matches, but was 6-0 perfect in the two drafts. Eric’s performance in Kyoto has made him the 22nd best limited player in the world. At least one teammate suggested that Eric’s draft style was unusual enough that tracking his picks might not be useful to very many people. That might be true, but you never know until you look. Since I was in early recovery from a flu virus, and because we had exactly nine people in the room, I decided to sit out of the draft and spend my time tracking Eric’s picks.
The draft table was arranged like this, beginning with Eric and continuing to his left; Arthur Morris, Brian Heine, Chris Block, Mike Ferri, Mark Hendrickson, Andy Van Zandt and Andres Campion.
Eric’s first pick was easy, Oblivion Ring. Eric passed up two other very good ones, Naya Charm and Executioner’s Capsule. With his second pick, Eric selected Soul’s Fire over Esper Panorama, Sprouting Thrinax and another Executioner’s Capsule. The third pick was Bant Charm in a pack also containing Jund Panorama and Court Archers.
Eric’s fourth pick was Jund Panorama leaving behind a Tidehollow Strix. His fifth pick was Naya Panorama leaving behind Hell’s Thunder and Courier’s Capsule. Eric next picked up Deft Duelist, then a Courier’s Capsule, followed by Naturalize, Ridge Rannet, Waveskimmer Aven, Ooze Garden and Glaze Fiend.
Eric’s second Shards of Alara pack started with a big hit, Battlegrace Angel. Eric’s pretty easy rare pick left behind Algae Gharial, Infest and Bant Panorama. Eric’s second pick was Resounding Thunder over Esper Panorama and Sedraxis Specter. His third pick was Knight of the Skyward Eye over Hissing Iguanar. Next, Eric chose Naya Battlemage over Dragon Fodder. His fifth pick was Courier Capsule over Yoked Plowbeast. Next, Eric took a Bant Panorama followed by Qasali Ambusher, Angelsong, Spell Snip, Swerve (over a Windwright Mage), Vectis Silencers, Sunseed Nurturer, Sangrite Surge and Baneswasp Affliction.
Eric often enjoys exploring the full range of five colored decks made possible and even promoted in Shards-Conflux draft. Therefore, the Conflux pack is more important to Eric’s draft than it might have been if he were more interested in locking into cards from only one shard, or even a more narrow two color deck. Eric’s first pick reflects his desire to get all five kinds of basic land into play, he picks Armillary Sphere over Elder Mastery and Kranioceros. Eric’s second pick is Nacatl Hunt-Pride leaving behind a Grixis Slavedriver and another Kranioceros. Third pick is a Paragon of the Amesha over Nyxathid, Drag Down and Aerie Mystics. Eric’s fourth pick is Dragonsoul Knight over Wandering Goblins and Drag Down. His fifth pick is another Dragonsoul Knight, chosen over Frontline Sage. Eric’s next pick was Valeron Outlander followed by Unsummon, Suicidal Charge, Kranioceros, Maniacal Rage, Brackwater Elemental (leaving a couple of great Grixis playables behind, Dreadwing and Pestilent Kathari), Worldly Counsel and View from Above.
From his first Shards of Alara pack, Eric’s deck ends up using the first seven cards picked as well as the tenth pick Waveskimmer Aven. From his second pack, his deck includes the first seven picks as well as his tenth pick Swerve. From the Conflux pack, Eric’s deck contains his first eight picks as well as his tenth pick Kranioceros.
Eric has no fear of, and in fact clearly enjoys, playing all five colors in Shards-Conflux draft. Even so, it is not right to say that, in this draft, Eric is simply drafting the best most powerful card with each of his picks and then building the deck that results from those choices. Eric’s draft is a little closer to a Bant deck than anything else. Eric could have chosen to play the Ridge Rannet instead of Waveskimmer Aven. He could have thought the Rannet would occasionally (or rarely) get into play with his deck’s small ability to put two Mountains into play, or the Rannet could be cycled at any time. This would have been a perfectly defensible position if Eric had been a little less shard-focused than he actually was. Before Conflux arrived, Eric’s approach to his first pack picks might not have been much different. It would still be perfectly reasonable to draft Bant cards alongside a red removal spell like his second pick Soul’s Fire. Before the arrival of Conflux, Eric’s choices would very likely have continued to evolve a Bant deck with a number of red cards for removal. With Conflux, Eric’s plans change significantly. Conflux has a number of cards that reward players for having all five colors available to them, particularly in the form of basic lands. Eric’s third, fourth and fifth picks from Conflux are all powerful uncommons that become game-changing cards when you have all five colors available to you to play their five colored activated abilities. Eric’s first pick reveals a clear plan to take advantage of all five colors. To a lesser extent, Eric’s sixth pick, Fusion Elemental, is another choice made to take advantage of having all five colors available to his deck. Fusion Elemental is 8/8, a very big man for five mana with no drawback, other than the difficulty of casting him. Eric is not playing five colors so that he can play Fusion Elemental, but Fusion Elemental becomes a playable card of secondary interest when you have all five colors in your deck for other, better reasons.
Match Results
Unfortunately, I cannot recall what all the players were playing, but here is the record of how each of our two finalists got through the tournament. In round one, Eric lost 1-2 to Arthur Morris, the player that Eric passed to in the first and third packs. Arthur built a powerful Grixis deck with the unusual inclusion of three Elder Mastery enchantments. Eric won 2-1 over Chris Block in round two and won 2-0 over Mark Hendrickson in the third round. In the top four, Eric defeated Andres Campion, the only undefeated player from the three Swiss rounds. Andy Van Zandt started the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Brian Heine followed by a 2-0 win over Mike Ferri before falling 1-2 to Andres Campion in round three. In the semi finals Andy beat Arthur Morris.
Even though the two finalists split the booty in lieu of playing a final match, I took the finalists’ decks and played them off against each other in a best of seven series. The play-by-play of this series can be found at the bottom of this entry. I learned a couple of things from playing the decks against each other. First of all, I think Eric’s deck is significantly better than Andy’s. I talked to Andy about his deck. Normally a control player, Andy said that his plan with this deck was to try and race his opponent with small fast creatures. With very little in the way of hard removal, Andy relies on creature pump spells to help him put down opponent’s more powerful creatures when they eventually hit the board. Andy has four pump spells. Andy was surprised to learn that he was playing forty-one cards. He said he counted his deck at the start of the tournament and thought he was playing forty. He said if he had realized that his deck was one card heavy he would have removed the Volcanic Submersion. I suggested to him that he probably should have considered one Swamp and one Island in his deck as well. With his pair of Gift of Gargantuan cards, along with an Esper Panorama, I thought he would have no difficulty including an Island and a Swamp with which to make his Matca Rioters considerably more dangerous. A Swamp would also have given his Dusklit Gargoyle a pump outlet. Although the match recorded at the bottom of this entry use Andy’s official forty-one card version, I also played some games with the addition of the Esper Panorama and the Swamp and Island in place of three other lands. I think the five color plan makes the deck a little better without adding much risk. In the end, however, regardless of these simple improvements, Eric’s deck was just better. Here’s a few reason’s why.
Eric’s deck has three first striking Knights that can come into play on turn three. Once Eric has all five colors of mana available to him, any of these three can become very dangerous 5/5 flyers. Paragon of the Amesha is the most powerful, because it’s lifelink ability can bring Eric back from near-death experiences. These three cards are particularly troublesome for the small creatures in Andy’s deck. Generally speaking, Andy gets out a 2/1 or a 2/2 on turn two, that creature may even get one attack in, depending upon who played first, but by Eric’s turn three he has one of four different two powered creatures with first strike in play. Two Dragonsoul Knight, one Paragon of the Amesha and one Deft Duelist. Later in the game, things only get better for Eric’s deck. Along with the late game possibility of pumping his Dragonsoul Knight or Paragon, Eric can also drop one of his other powerful creatures like Nacatl Hunt-Pride, Kranioceros or Battlegrace Angel. Even though Eric’s land is set up pretty well in his deck, I found that finding the right mana was still the greatest weakness of the deck. In particular, I found that Eric’s deck wants more access to blue mana than he sometimes receives. The only games where I had cards backing up in my hand were games where I did not get enough blue mana. Also, the deck wants to get a second Plains into play for several different reasons, and this was often difficult. Obviously Battlegrace Angel needs a second white source in play. Less obviously, Eric’s Naya Battlemage often tied up the first white mana source in play, making it difficult to play other white spells and effects. In the end, however, Eric’s deck is really very consistent. Every game is a problem for Eric’s opponent. Eric’s deck has good creatures, good enough removal and even card draw. Swerve seems to have been particularly effective in Eric’s deck. I have to admit it is a card I don’t think about in draft.
Eight Man Booster Draft Finals Decks
Here are the two decks from the finals of the first eight man booster draft:
Eric Jones
Swamp x1
Mountain x2
Forest x2
Plains x4
Island x4
Bant Panorama
Jund Panorama
Naya Panorama
Unsummon
Courier’s Capsule x2
Armillary Sphere
Swerve
Worldly Counsel
Knight of the Skyward Eye
Deft Duelist
Valeron Outlander
Bant Charm
Resounding Thunder
Brackwater Elemental
Naya Battlemage
Soul’s Fire
Oblivion Ring
Qasali Ambusher
Dragonsoul Knight x2
Paragon of the Amesha
Kranioceros
Battlegrace Angel
Fusion Elemental
Waveskimmer Aven
Nacatl Hunt-Pride
Andy Van Zandt
Mountain x3
Plains x6
Forest x7
Akrasan Squire
Nacatl Savage x2
Steward of Valeron
Rip-Clan Crasher
Darklit Gargoyle
Druid of the Anima
Resounding Roar
Sigil Blessing
Metallurgeon
Court Archers
Matca Rioters x2
Gift of the Gargantuan x2
Oblivion Ring
Rhox Meditant
Aerie Mystics
Knight-Captain of Eos
Gleam of Resitance x2
Volcanic Submersion
Rakeclaw Gargantuan
Fiery Fall
Jungle Weaver
Tuesday Night Draft Format
Drafts at the weekly Guildmage meetings work like this: we play three Swiss rounds cutting to a top eight. We play one more match to determine the top two finishers, who split the rares and foils from the draft any way they want to. Lately, most guys agree to just flip the prize cards face down and take turns drawing for highest casting cost. If we have seven or eight players, we play three rounds of Swiss. If we have nine, ten or eleven players we play four rounds of Swiss. If we have six or twelve players we draw random teams for three-versus-three team draft following regular team draft conventions.
In our weekly drafts, we have a policy of not playing out the finals. There are a couple of reasons. First, after three rounds of Swiss and one round of top four playoffs, it’s nice to save a little time by not playing a finals, especially when doing so makes it able for us to have a second draft. Also, by having the finalists split the booty, the rares and foils from the draft, two players are assured of getting some prizes for their hard work.
Jeff Zandi
Texas Guildmages
Level II DCI Judge
Zanman on Magic Online
jeffzandi@hotmail.com
Texas Guildmage meeting #594, Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Roll Call (in order of arrival)
Jeff Zandi Guildage #7, 594th meeting.
Mark Hendrickson, Guildmage #26, 3rd meeting in a row, 144th overall.
Brian Heine, guest, 5th meeting in a row, 38th overall.
Michael Ferri, guest, 3rd meeting in a row, 9th overall.
Arthur Morris, guest, 5th meeting in a row, 33rd overall.
Chris Block, guest, 5th meeting in a row, 18th overall.
Andres Campion, guest, 1st meeting in a row, 14th overall.
Eric Jones, Guildmage #33, 1st meeting in a row, 55th overall.
Andy Van Zandt, guest, 1st meeting in a row, 96th overall.
Hunter Burton, Guildmage #27, 1st meeting in a row, 74th overall.
Steven Bruce, Guildmage #29, 1st meeting in a row, 78th overall.
Meeting ran from 6:45pm to 12:37am
Play-By-Play of a match between the decks in the 8 man finals
GAME ONE
T1 Van Zandt keeps Plains x2, Forest x2, Mountain, Volcanic Submersion, Court Archers. Plays Plains.
T1 Jones mulligans Island, Resounding Thunder, Deft Duelist, Dragonsoul Knight x2, Kranioceros and Naya Battlemage. Jones keeps Mountain x2, Soul’s Fire, Dragonsoul Knight, Unsummon, Bant Charm, draws Resounding Thunder, plays Mountain.
T2 Van Zandt draws and plays Akrasan Squire, plays Forest.
T2 Jones draws Worldly Counsel, plays Mountain.
T3 Van Zandt draws Forest, plays Mountain, plays Court Archers, attacks with Akrasan Squire (20-17).
T3 Jones draws and plays Island.
T4 Van Zandt draws Meditant Rhox, plays Forest, declares attack, Jones responds playing Resounding Thunder targeting Court Archers, attacks with Squire (20-15), plays Rhox Meditant.
T4 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T5 Van Zandt draws Fiery Fall, plays Plains, attacks with Meditant (20-12).
T5 Jones draws Waveskimmer Aven, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-12), plays Worldly Counsel looking at the top two cards of his library putting Oblivion Ring into his hand and putting Naya Battlemage on the bottom of his library.
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Metallurgeon, attacks with Meditant (18-9).
T6 Jones draws and plays Plains, at end of turn Van Zandt cycles Volcanic Submersion drawing Plains.
T7 Van Zandt draws and plays Oblivion Ring removing Dragonsoul Knight from the game, Jones responds playing Unsummon targeting his Knight, Van Zandt attacks with Squire, Metallurgeon and Meditant (18-5).
T7 Jones draws and plays Armillary Sphere, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T8 Van Zandt draws Gift of the Gargantuan, plays Fiery Fall targeting Dragonsoul Knight, attacks with Squire, Metallurgeon and Meditant (18-1).
T8 Jones draws Valeron Outlander, CONCEDES.
VAN ZANDT WINS GAME ONE ON TURN 8, LEADS SERIES 1-0.
GAME TWO
T1 Jones keeps Jund Panorama, Bant Panorama, Naya Panorama, Oblivion Ring, Courier’s Capsule, Resounding Thunder and Dragonsoul Knight. Plays Bant Panorama.
T1 Van Zandt keeps Forest x2, Mountain, Metallurgeon, Jungle Weaver, Nacatl Savage and Gift of the Gargantuan. Draws Rhox Meditant, plays Forest.
T2 Jones draws Worldly Counsel, plays Jund Panorama.
T2 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains, plays Nacatl Savage, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Jund Panorama searching his library and putting a Mountain into play.
T3 Jones draws Courier’s Capsule, plays Naya Panorama, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T3 Van Zandt draws Forest, plays Mountain, plays Gift of the Gargantuan putting Rakeclaw Gargantuan into Van Zandt’s hand and putting Oblivion Ring, Fiery Fall and Resounding Roar on the bottom of his library.
T4 Jones draws and plays Forest, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-20).
T4 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, attacks with Nacatl Savage (18-18), plays Rhox Meditant drawing Mountain, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Bant Panorama putting an Island into play and sacrifices Naya Panorama putting a Plains into play.
T5 Jones draws and plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T5 Van Zandt draws Volcanic Submersion, plays Plains, plays Rakeclaw Gargantuan.
T6 Jones draws Wakeskimmer Aven, plays Worldly Counsel looking at the top four cards of his library putting a Plains into his hand and putting Naya Battlemage, Qasali Ambusher and Bant Charm on the bottom of his library, plays Plains, plays Oblivion Ring removing Rakeclaw Gargantuan from the game.
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Knight-Captain of Eos, plays Mountain.
T7 Jones draws and plays Mountain, plays Courier’s Capsule.
T7 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Forest, plays Jungle Weaver.
T8 Jones draws and plays Swamp.
T8 Van Zandt draws Matca Rioters, plays Plains, attacks with Jungle Weaver blocked by both Dragonsoul Knights, Jones plays Resounding Thunder targeting Jungle Weaver, Van Zandt responds by sacrificing a Soldier token to Knight-Captain of Eos preventing all combat damage this turn, plays Metallurgeon, plays Matca Rioters, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Courier’s Capsule drawing Fusion Elemental and Knight of the Skyward Eye.
T9 Jones draws Paragon of the Amesha, plays Fusion Elemental, plays Knight of the Skyward Eye.
T9 Van Zandt draws Gleam of Resistance, cycles Volcanic Submersion drawing and playing Akrasan Squire.
T10 Jones draws Soul’s Fire, plays Paragon of Amesha, plays Courier’s Capsule.
T10 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T11 Jones draws and plays Plains, plays Waveskimmer Aven.
T11 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest.
T12 Jones draws Brackwater Elemental, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon, Van Zandt sacrifices a Soldier token to prevent all combat damage this turn.
T12 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T13 Jones draws and plays Forest, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon, Van Zandt sacrifices Akrasan Squire to prevent all combat damage this turn.
T13 Van Zandt draws and plays Aerie Mystics, at end of turn Jones plays Soul’s Fire dealing Fusion Elemental’s power to Aerie Mystics.
T14 Jones draws Nacatl Hunt-Pride, activates Paragon of Amesha, attacks with Paragon (12-24).
T14 Van Zandt draws and plays Mountain.
T15 Jones draws Unsummon, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (6-30).
T15 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T16 Jones draws and plays Island, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon blocked by Jungle Weaver, Van Zandt plays Gleam of Resistance, Jones plays Unsummon targeting Paragon of Amesha, plays Paragon of Amesha.
T16 Van Zandt draws Plains.
T17 Jones draws Deft Duelist, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon blocked by Jungle Weaver (6-36).
T17 Van Zandt draws Rip-Clan Crasher, CONCEDES.
JONES WINS GAME TWO ON TURN 17, TIES SERIES 1-1.
GAME THREE
T1 Van Zandt keeps Mountain, Plains, Metallurgeon, Knight-Captain on Eos, Aerie Mystics, Gift of the Gargantuan, Rakeclaw Gargantuan. Plays Plains.
T1 Jones keeps Plains, Mountain, Naya Panorama, Dragonsoul Knight, Paragon of the Amesha, Swerve, Naya Battlemage. Draws Dragonsoul Knight, plays Mountain.
T2 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Mountain, plays Metallurgeon.
T2 Jones draws Bant Charm, plays Naya Panorama.
T3 Van Zandt draws Volcanic Submersion, plays Plains, attacks with Metallurgeon (20-19), at end of turn Jones sacrifices Naya Panorama putting a Forest into play.
T3 Jones draws Brackwater Elemental, plays Plains, plays Dragonsoul Knight, at end of turn Van Zandt cycles Volcanic Submersion drawing Plains.
T4 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T4 Jones draws Oblivion Ring, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T5 Van Zandt draws Darklit Gargoyle, plays Plains, plays Aerie Mystics.
T5 Jones draws and plays Swamp, plays Naya Battlemage.
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, attacks with Aerie Mystics (20-16), plays Rakeclaw Gargantuan.
T6 Jones draws and plays Jund Panorama, plays Oblivion Ring removing Rakeclaw Gargantuan from the game, attacks with both Knights, one blocked by Metallurgeon, Van Zandt regenerates Metallurgeon (18-16).
T7 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Gift of the Gargantuan putting Akrasan Squire into his hand and putting Resounding Roar, Sigil Blessing and Steward of Valeron on the bottom of his library, plays Akrasan Squire, plays Darklit Gargoyle, attacks with Mystics (18-12), at end of turn Jones sacrifices Jund Panorama putting a Mountain into play.
T7 Jones draws Valeron Outlander.
T8 Van Zandt draws Rhox Meditant, plays Plains, declares attack, Jones taps Mystics with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Darklit Gargoyle (18-10).
T8 Jones draws Fusion Elemental,
T9 Van Zandt draws and plays Court Archers, declares an attack, Jones taps Mystic with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Gargoyle (18-7), plays Rhox Meditant drawing Mountain, plays Mountain.
T9 Jones draws and plays Bant Panorama.
T10 Van Zandt draws Matca Rioters, declares an attack, Jones taps Mystic with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Gargoyle (18-4), plays Knight-Captain of Eos putting two 1/1 Soldier tokens, at end of turn Jones sacrifices Bant Panorama putting an Island into play.
T10 Jones draws Deft Duelist.
T11 Van Zandt draws Nacatl Savage, attacks with Mystics, with Exalted on the stack Jones plays Bant Charm targeting Aerie Mystics, Van Zandt plays Matca Rioters.
T11 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Brackwater Elemental.
T12 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, declares an attack, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage, Van Zandt attacks with Rioters blocked by Dragonsoul Knight and Brackwater Elemental, Elemental is sacrificed at end of turn.
T12 Jones draws and plays Kranioceros.
T13 Van Zandt draws and plays Druid of the Anima, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage, Van Zandt plays Nacatl Savage.
T13 Jones draws Soul’s Fire.
T14 Van Zandt draws Forest, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage.
T14 Jones draws and plays Plains, plays Fusion Elemental.
T15 Van Zandt draws Oblivion Ring, Jones taps Gargoyle with Battlemage, Van Zandt plays Oblivion Ring targeting Naya Battlemage, Jones responds playing Swerve changing Oblivion Ring’s target to Darklit Gargoyle.
T15 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Paragon of the Amesha.
T16 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest.
T16 Jones draws Unsummon, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon, Van Zandt sacrifices a Soldier token to Knight-Captain to prevent all combat damage this turn.
T17 Van Zandt draws and plays Nacatl Savage, at end of turn Jones plays Soul’s Fire dealing Fusion Elemental’s power in damage to Knight-Captain of Eos.
T17 Jones draws and plays Island, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (13-9).
T18 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T18 Jones draws Nacatl Hunt-Pride, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (8-14).
T19 Van Zandt draws and plays Matca Rioters.
T19 Jones draws Qasali Ambusher, activates Paragon of the Amesha, attacks with Paragon (3-19).
T20 Van Zandt draws and plays Jungle Weaver, at end of turn Jones plays Unsummon targeting Jungle Weaver, Van Zandt CONCEDES.
JONES WINS GAME THREE ON TURN 20, LEADS SERIES 2-1.
GAME FOUR
T1 Van Zandt mulligans Plains, Jungle Weaver, Rakeclaw Gargantuan, Gift of the Gargantuan x2, Fiery Fall, Matca Rioters. Van Zandt keeps Mountain, Plains, Fiery Fall, Druid of the Anima, Sigil Blessing and Nacatl Savage. Plays Mountain.
T1 Jones keeps Plains x2, Mountain, Dragonsoul Knight, Battlegrace Angel, Swerve, Brackwater Elemental. Draws and plays Plains.
T2 Van Zandt draws Gleam of Resistance, plays Plains.
T2 Jones draws Resounding Thunder, plays Mountain, at end of turn Van Zandt cycles Gleam of Resistance searching out a Forest from his library and putting it into his hand.
T3 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, plays Nacatl Savage.
T3 Jones draws and plays Island, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T4 Van Zandt draws Aerie Mystics, plays Druid of the Anima, plays Forest.
T4 Jones draws Paragon of Amesha, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-20), plays Paragon of the Amesha, plays Plains.
T5 Van Zandt draws Metallurgeon, plays Aerie Mystics.
T5 Jones draws Qasali Ambusher, plays Plains, plays Battlegrace Angel, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (15-23).
T6 Van Zandt draws and plays Gift of the Gargantuan putting Plains and Darklit Gargoyle into his hand and putting Forest and Mountain on the bottom of his library, plays Plains.
T6 Jones draws and plays Forest, attacks with Battlegrace Angel blocked by Aerie Mystics, Van Zandt plays Sigil Blessing targeting Mystics, Jones responds playing Resounding Thunder targeting Mystics, plays Brackwater Elemental.
T7 Van Zandt draws and plays Forest, plays Fiery Fall targeting Battlegrace Angel.
T7 Jones draws Bant Charm, attacks with Elemental and Dragonsoul Knight (9-23), Jones sacrifices Brackwater Elemental at end of turn.
T8 Van Zandt draws and plays Mountain, plays Darklit Gargoyle and Metallurgeon.
T8 Jones draws and plays Kranioceros.
T9 Van Zandt draws and plays Matca Rioters.
T9 Jones draws and plays Mountain.
T10 Van Zandt draws and plays Court Archers, attacks with Darklit Gargoyle (9-21), at end of turn Jones plays Bant Charm targeting Metallurgeon.
T10 Jones draws and plays Plains, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Druid of the Anima.
T11 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T11 Jones draws Valeron Outlander, attacks with Kranioceros (4-21), plays Valeron Outlander.
T12 Van Zandt draws Forest.
T12 Jones draws Unsummon, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Darklit Gargoyle.
T13 Van Zandt draws and plays Rhox Meditant drawing Plains, plays Plains.
T13 Jones draws and plays Island, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Nacatl Savage.
T14 Van Zandt draws and plays Steward of Valeron.
T14 Jones draws and plays Dragonsoul Knight, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Court Archers.
T15 Van Zandt draws and plays Jungle Weaver.
T15 Jones draws and plays Deft Duelist, attacks with Kranioceros blocked by Meditant, Weaver, Rioters and Steward, before dealing damage Jones plays Unsummon targeting Jungle Weaver, Jones pumps Kranioceros two times and deals lethal damage to Rioters and Steward.
T16 Van Zandt draws and plays Rakeclaw Gargantuan, CONCEDES.
JONES WINS GAME FOUR ON TURN 16, LEADS SERIES 3-1.
GAME FIVE
T1 Van Zandt keeps Forest x3, Plains x2, Mountain, Nacatl Savage. Plays Forest.
T1 Jones keeps Island, Plains, Dragonsoul Knight, Worldly Counsel, Paragon of the Amesha, Courier’s Capsule and Unsummon. Draws Oblivion Ring, plays Island.
T2 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains, plays Nacatl Savage.
T2 Jones draws Nacatl Hunt-Pride, plays Plains.
T3 Van Zandt draws Gift of the Gargantuan, plays Mountain, attacks with Nacatl Savage (20-18), plays Gift of the Gargantuan looking at the top four cards of his library and putting Mountain in his hand and putting (a different) Gift of the Gargantuan, Forest and Mountain on the bottom of his library, at end of turn Jones plays Worldly Counsel looking at the top two cards of his library putting Qasali Ambusher into his hand and putting Fusion Elemental on the bottom of his library.
T3 Jones draws and plays Mountain, plays Dragonsoul Knight.
T4 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Forest.
T4 Jones draws Soul’s Fire, attacks with Dragonsoul Knight (18-18), plays Paragon of the Amesha.
T5 Van Zandt draws and plays Plains.
T5 Jones draws and plays Island, attacks with Paragon and Dragonsoul (14-18), plays Courier’s Capsule.
T6 Van Zandt draws Plains, plays Mountain, attacks with Savage (14-16), at end of turn Jones sacrifices Capsule drawing Swerve and Deft Duelist.
T6 Jones draws and plays Bant Panorama, attacks with Dragonsoul and Paragon (10-16).
T7 Van Zandt draws Gleam of Resistance, plays Forest, attacks with Savage, Jones sacrifices Bant Panorama putting a Forest into play, Jones plays Qasali Ambusher and blocks Nacatl Savage, Van Zandt plays Gleam of Resistance.
T7 Jones draws and plays Valeron Outlander, attacks with Dragonsoul and Paragon (6-16).
T8 Van Zandt draws Fiery Fall, plays Plains.
T8 Jones draws Brackwater Elemental, attacks with Dragonsoul, Paragon and Outlander, Outlander is blocked by Nacatl Savage, Van Zandt plays Fiery Fall targeting Paragon of the Amesha, Jones responds playing Swerve retargeting Fiery Fall to Savage Nacatl (2-16).
T9 Van Zandt draws and plays Knight-Captain of Eos putting two 1/1 Soldier tokens into play.
T9 Jones draws Kranioceros, plays Soul’s Fire dealing Valeron Outlander’s power to Van Zandt (0-16).
JONES WINS GAME FIVE ON TURN 9, WINS SERIES 4-1.
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