Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Ryan's Roto

I spent the first couple hours bitching to Marina about taking Worldknit and the last 30 minutes bitching to John about taking my Plating. You already had 2 swords and a Skullclump, what more did you need?

I punted a little by not keeping track of how many picks were left with, then Spencer hacked our last pick for the rub ins. In the end I left a few great sideboard cards on the table after taking some speculative combo pieces. Voltaic Key and Ensnaring Bridge mocked me from the sidelines every time I wanted The Abyss and Steel Overseer. To be fair, John was probably about to take the Overseer with his last pick, so no big. 

Rnd 1: Dan dispatched me as mentioned with turn 1 mox, mountain, gob guide + rancor before curving in to more beats. We had an interesting 2nd game where I had wasted his 1 red source and he needed to rip another to burn me out and keep me from gaining a bunch of life every turn thereafter. Dan's a nice guy and his deck was very good so he deserved to rip it the turn before I was going to stabilize.

Rnd 2: I offered Mike B, whoever the hell that is, a potpourri of proper spell sequencing, minor misplays, and savage punts on immensely complicated boards. In the end my draws of pure gas trumped his flooding and cautious play I was able to get there despite my best efforts.

Rnd 3: Marina, my draft Opponent, I was hoping to beat with my most evil cards. Mind Twist, Tinker, and Metalworker fired on all cylinders to get her in two, once again despite some misplays. Game 2 was the second game of the draft where my opponent had to rip a land to win. While Dan needed a red source, Marina, who had correctly spent the afternoon knitting like a champ, needed any land. The Gods were good, my metal worker lived a turn, and the little robot proceeded to explode my hand on the board to the tune of 8 mana (shoulda been 10, but I slammed my top deck Mox like a boss). On the 50th time I counted my mana I was sure my mistake did not matter and I indeed had enough to cast everything in my grip. There's no justice in the world.

Rnd 4: Jeff and I were both trying to do broken things. The cheapness of his reanimation spells made a crucible+strip lock a slower and unlikely proposition, and Twisting, while still good, could fuel the most busted of top decks. Thankfully he decided to beat me the old fashion way, by playing very well. In one game I had stripped and wasted him to no lands. In response to targetting his last swamp he Vamp Tutored for Bazaar. No lands in play, no problem. He dug through his deck over a few turns while I prayed to draw business or crucible. Eventually he set up swamp + reanimate a fatty. Gutsy move on his tutoring, but definitely correct as he had neither side of his combo in hand and had the read on me that I didn't have crucible. 

Rnd 5: Game 1 I stuck to my strategy from my matches against Marina and Boland to punt and still win. Unfortunately, the best laid plans can fall apart. I had the option to play Revoker naming his Master that was about to spit out wolves and eat everything but instead I chose to mind twist his goyf to epic proportions. Apparently there's a downside to 5 for 1s. Game 2 I got the strip + crucible combo against him. He dug in Bolandish fashion with Sylvan Library but the lock was too strongu and his life too low. Game 3 I can't recall what happened, but I think I did something broken. Got it 2-1.

In honor of J2H here's some props and slops

Props: 

The Hosts - Thanks for having us and, as always, cleaning up our mess. I trust you inherited a bunch of food for your efforts.

Loki - As well behaved as I've ever seen him. He was a delight the entire day aside from the bomb he dropped on the lawn.

The Food - Thanks to everyone that considered the lighter options to compliment what's usually a rich spread. Extra props to Marina for going all out and baking up some deliciousness again. Her personal touch of adding booze to something that doesn't need it was the best part. Classic Marina.

The Decks - Everyone seemed to have executed their plan very well, or at least audibled in to a deck that read the signals well. 

The Pool - A perfect end to a day spent sitting inside. Twas great to do something physical for once with all you cerebral types. 

Slops:

Not enough time with Jordan and John.

At the end of the day people talking about Worldknit being broken in roto. Don't take it out too soon, please.

All the rough play going on in the pool. The sign clearly says no rough play.

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