So, this current standard looks really fun to me, with no one deck just dominating the format. So, I've been piecing together a cheap Blightning Deck Wins deck for a local tourney decided to try my luck.
Round 1: Mike w/ Kithkin Aggro
Game 1: Like me, this is his first tourney in a few years. I know that my matchup favors me from the outside since I maindeck 4 Volcanic Fallouts and 3 Goblin Outlanders. Unfortunately for him, he misses his 5th land-drop needed to get Cloudgoat Ranger into play, giving me another turn to bash with Ashen Gouger and Mogg Fanatic. He gets his fifth land + Ranger drop the following turn, but I have Fallout at EOT, saccing my Fanatic to off the Ranger for the instant board sweeper. Gouger + incinerate win the game.
Game 2: I side out Lash Out for Death Mark, to create more efficient creature removal. This allows me to DM his Stallwart (sp?) on turn turn and drop Fanatic no. 2 as well. He then misses his next two land drops and can't recover from my Sygg, River Cutthroat burn engine.
1-0; 2-0
Round 2: Dane w/ 4-color Planeswalker.
Games 1/2: Apparently the Planeswalker decks are my worst matchup. Each game saw the exact sequence of plays from him against me. Turn 3: Jace. Turn 4: Wrath. Turn 5: Kitchen Finks (with Negate Backup). Turn 7 Cryptic Command. Turn 8: Nicol Bolas. Ugh....
1-1; 2-2
Round 3: Bryan w/ Jund-color land destruction
Game 1: After witnessing Turn 1 Fanatic and Turn 2 Hellspark Elemental, he promptly states "Great. My deck has no outs for this." He didn't seem upset about this, just simply stating to his friends about his bad luck in pairings. He seemed friendly enough, though, as I followed my plays with Boggart Ram-Gang and Ashen Gouger on successive turns. The only plays he made were against my lands, but they really didn't affect me with my most expensive card costing 3 (Flame Javelin nevers costs more than 4).
Game 2: I try to reassure him that I'm still feeling out the waters with my deck, but he merely states that his deck has no answers for the onslaught of burn my deck handles (turns out, he played a Sygg/Blightning deck in the previous months and knows this matchup well). Turns out, he was right as this game was a complete blowout. Ram-Gang, double Hellspark and a Flame Javelin bash hard.
2-1; 4-2
Round 4: Oliver w/ 3-color planeswalkers
Game 1: Knowing that this matchup is horrible, I decide to take the learning route and try to figure out what the correct strategy to salvage this match would be. I figured it out too late, as I foolishly offed his Garruk too early when I could've been bashing in for more damage that would've provided a set-up to kill a few turns down the road. I would've had him at 3 life by turn 5 to hopefully draw into one last burn spell. Unfortunately, I don't and he gets an Ajani Vengeant on board to Helix himself out of burn's reach.
Game 2: I keep a hand chock full of burn, but only two lands..... which is all I saw the entire game. I resolved a Mogg Fanatic and an Incinerate..... which doesn't get the job done.
2-2; 4-4
Round 5: ???
This opponent left without dropping, giving me an automatic 2-0 win. :yawn:
3-2; 6-4.
Out of 23 entrants, I end up 10th. This is where I expected me to be after a standard lapse of 2 years or so. I didn't expect to see so many Planeswalkers decks (turns out my Round 5 opponent would've played one, too). I imagine that Fulminator Mage should be in sideboard for this matchup to mess up their precious Vivid/Filter lands, but that buys them another turn by taking time away from me burning them.
My decklist:
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Mogg Fanatic
3 Boggart Ram-Gang
3 Ashen Gouger
3 Sygg, River Cutthroat
3 Goblin Outlander
4 Blightning
4 Volcanic Fallout
3 Flame Javelin
4 Lash Out
3 Incinerate
1 Banefire
4 Graven Cairns
4 Sulfurous Springs
9 Mountain
4 Swamps
The sideboard was just a bunch of random junk I could throw together, but noble inclusions were Death Marks and Dragon Fodder.
I just picked up a playset of Auntie's Hovels for $11 on eBay, so those will get thrown in as well (as will a set of Tarfires in place of Lash Out to help get them untapped). Other than that, I know my newly acquired Fulminator Mages will be added to my sideboard and that some lifegain-denying withering enchantment was suggested to be maindeck.
Ransac, cpa trash man
Round 1: Mike w/ Kithkin Aggro
Game 1: Like me, this is his first tourney in a few years. I know that my matchup favors me from the outside since I maindeck 4 Volcanic Fallouts and 3 Goblin Outlanders. Unfortunately for him, he misses his 5th land-drop needed to get Cloudgoat Ranger into play, giving me another turn to bash with Ashen Gouger and Mogg Fanatic. He gets his fifth land + Ranger drop the following turn, but I have Fallout at EOT, saccing my Fanatic to off the Ranger for the instant board sweeper. Gouger + incinerate win the game.
Game 2: I side out Lash Out for Death Mark, to create more efficient creature removal. This allows me to DM his Stallwart (sp?) on turn turn and drop Fanatic no. 2 as well. He then misses his next two land drops and can't recover from my Sygg, River Cutthroat burn engine.
1-0; 2-0
Round 2: Dane w/ 4-color Planeswalker.
Games 1/2: Apparently the Planeswalker decks are my worst matchup. Each game saw the exact sequence of plays from him against me. Turn 3: Jace. Turn 4: Wrath. Turn 5: Kitchen Finks (with Negate Backup). Turn 7 Cryptic Command. Turn 8: Nicol Bolas. Ugh....
1-1; 2-2
Round 3: Bryan w/ Jund-color land destruction
Game 1: After witnessing Turn 1 Fanatic and Turn 2 Hellspark Elemental, he promptly states "Great. My deck has no outs for this." He didn't seem upset about this, just simply stating to his friends about his bad luck in pairings. He seemed friendly enough, though, as I followed my plays with Boggart Ram-Gang and Ashen Gouger on successive turns. The only plays he made were against my lands, but they really didn't affect me with my most expensive card costing 3 (Flame Javelin nevers costs more than 4).
Game 2: I try to reassure him that I'm still feeling out the waters with my deck, but he merely states that his deck has no answers for the onslaught of burn my deck handles (turns out, he played a Sygg/Blightning deck in the previous months and knows this matchup well). Turns out, he was right as this game was a complete blowout. Ram-Gang, double Hellspark and a Flame Javelin bash hard.
2-1; 4-2
Round 4: Oliver w/ 3-color planeswalkers
Game 1: Knowing that this matchup is horrible, I decide to take the learning route and try to figure out what the correct strategy to salvage this match would be. I figured it out too late, as I foolishly offed his Garruk too early when I could've been bashing in for more damage that would've provided a set-up to kill a few turns down the road. I would've had him at 3 life by turn 5 to hopefully draw into one last burn spell. Unfortunately, I don't and he gets an Ajani Vengeant on board to Helix himself out of burn's reach.
Game 2: I keep a hand chock full of burn, but only two lands..... which is all I saw the entire game. I resolved a Mogg Fanatic and an Incinerate..... which doesn't get the job done.
2-2; 4-4
Round 5: ???
This opponent left without dropping, giving me an automatic 2-0 win. :yawn:
3-2; 6-4.
Out of 23 entrants, I end up 10th. This is where I expected me to be after a standard lapse of 2 years or so. I didn't expect to see so many Planeswalkers decks (turns out my Round 5 opponent would've played one, too). I imagine that Fulminator Mage should be in sideboard for this matchup to mess up their precious Vivid/Filter lands, but that buys them another turn by taking time away from me burning them.
My decklist:
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Mogg Fanatic
3 Boggart Ram-Gang
3 Ashen Gouger
3 Sygg, River Cutthroat
3 Goblin Outlander
4 Blightning
4 Volcanic Fallout
3 Flame Javelin
4 Lash Out
3 Incinerate
1 Banefire
4 Graven Cairns
4 Sulfurous Springs
9 Mountain
4 Swamps
The sideboard was just a bunch of random junk I could throw together, but noble inclusions were Death Marks and Dragon Fodder.
I just picked up a playset of Auntie's Hovels for $11 on eBay, so those will get thrown in as well (as will a set of Tarfires in place of Lash Out to help get them untapped). Other than that, I know my newly acquired Fulminator Mages will be added to my sideboard and that some lifegain-denying withering enchantment was suggested to be maindeck.
Ransac, cpa trash man
