According to Webster – Bleeding BBQ Sauce, a PT Austin Report *21st*
Posted by David Ochoa
October 20, 2009 | 
42 comments
Bleeding BBQ
I'm back from Austin and oh man was it a fun trip. Coming into the weekend I didn't expect the trip to be as entertaining as it proved to be. There were many unexpected events and awesome stories to be told. Before I start recounting the actual trip, a bit of background information must be told.
In the last weekend of August I was planning on taking a trip to my friend [card Indrik Stomphowler]Eirik's[/card] house in Davis for a barbeque on Saturday. He'd been planning this for a while and everyone who was invited was excited about it. It'd been a while since I'd last seen him and was eager to do so. There was also a Vintage tournament on Sunday for a [card Mox Pearl]Mox[/card] that I wanted to play in. I love Vintage and it looked like my weekend was filled up with non-stop fun.
Premier events started out pretty well for me this year. I managed to top-24 GP: LA, but performed terribly at PT: Kyoto (going 0-4). After that I wasn't invited to PT: Honolulu because I hadn’t qualified on rating. Despite going to Hawaii anyways and winning some side events, I still had the fire: I needed to get back to playing on the tour.
I had barely missed top-8 of the PTQ the prior weekend with 5-color control (beating both of the finalists). That PTQ had been the last one in the area, with one more down in Los Angeles (a 6-hour drive) the next weekend. I didn't really want to make the drive; it was too long. Despite my distaste for traveling, I was coerced into making the trip by Luis. The PTQ was 248 people; a grueling fifteen hour affair. I played the same 5-color control list that Josh Utter-Leyton (Wrapter) had played the week before. When the dust had settled, I was the last man standing.
Testing for Austin proved to be more difficult than I had expected. Zendikar hadn't been spoiled yet so we weren't able to build optimal decks or foresee what the metagame would look like. As it turned out, Zendikar had a massive impact. We had also been pretty busy with life. As much as I'd like to spend twelve hours a day for a month preparing for an event, at a certain point other things get in the way. We didn't have a deck we liked for Constructed, though there were a few lists that showed promise. We also hadn't done many drafts. Of the five to seven that I'd done, I had been mono-Red or Mono-White almost every time. I would have liked to been able to experiment more with as many different archetypes as possible to be able to appropriately evaluate cards for each build. As it was, I had a very shallow knowledge of the format.
The best lead we had was a Dark Depths deck that PV had been brewing. Dark Depths were proving difficult to locate due to the unpopularity of Coldsnap. A few of our friends were able to find some in local card stores. Luis acquired a playset of Dark Depths from our friend Andrew Plinston during GP: Melbourne and another few through Superstars' loyal customers. It looked like we'd be covered if we decided to play Dark Depths.
Travel day was on Wednesday. Thankfully my flight was at a reasonable hour and arrived safely in Austin with time to spare to meet up with Luis and [card Hedron Crab]Tom Raney[/card]. The room we had for the night was at a shady Super-8 motel. Our room key didn't work when we got to the room; some dude answered the door and suspiciously looked at us: "Can I help you?" The door in the second room that was "ours" was already open with some people in it. So finally we got to a room without people in it and it was ours. We were running so well.
Some of the French players were at the motel. They had just started a draft and weren't going to be free for a while so we decided to get some dinner. Texas being known for awesome barbeque, it was only logical to find the best barbeque that Austin could offer: enter Stubbs. That place was awesome. They offered a family-style special with a choice of unlimited meats and sides. They had succulent pork ribs and most tender beef brisket imaginable. Their best side dish was easily the Serrano cheese spinach; a spicy affair. After plate and plate of barbequed meat, we had had our fill. The only downside of the meal was losing the credit card game and having to pay for it all. Life can be such a dagger.
Thursday rolled around and we met up with Gabe Walls and GerryT for a late lunch at Macaroni Grill. I was preparing for the player's dinner and decided to forego a normal meal. I asked our waitress, "May I have a loaf of your finest bread?" The few loaves of rosemary potato bread with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil was enough to hold me over until the player's dinner at 7 PM.
We packed up and headed to the site and our hotel. The change of scene was a massive improvement. Everything worked. The site was less than a two-minute walk from our hotel with a Starbucks and Fogo de Chao along the way. Yes, it is nice. Everyone was at the site; all the people I'd met before and become friends with. I knew that good times were ahead regardless of how the tournament went.
The player dinner finally started, though it was down the street at a restaurant. They had a spectacular spread with all sorts of Texas/Mexican cuisine, though their best dishes had to have been the barbequed beef brisket and marinated pulled pork. We registered there and got some sweet cowboy hats along with our free draft set and t-shirt. After a lot of barbeque and a desert, I left with the others to go back to the site and draffffffffft! At some point we'd also figure out what to play for Extended.
The drafts went long into the night like they always do. Drafting is just too much fun to put below anything else. I was just birding the drafts because I was too full to do anything else. I would have definitely bled barbeque sauce if I had been cut. After a few drafts we headed back to the room and flesh out our deck. Dark Depths was definitely the deck to play. We played a bunch of games against everything and settled on most of our sideboard and how to sideboard.
Friday is day one. Having played so many rounds in such a short time makes the less memorable games blend together. There were a total of eight rounds, the first five extended with a Zendikar draft to follow:
Here's the list that I decided to play:
Round 1: Joseph Naseef [USA] Naya Zoo
Game one I Thoughtseize him and take a Jitte, then Chalice for one. He's already got a Steppe Lynx out and draws into a Tarmogoyf which is able to kill me the turn before I can go off.
Game two is similar. He's put a lot of pressure on me and I'm at five life with a Hexmage and Dark Depths in play against his Steppe Lynx, Knight of the Reliquary, and Treetop Village with no cards in hand. I'm dead if he has a land for his turn. He draws and plays a land, but leaves his Knight of the Reliquary back when he attacks. He was obviously planning to use it to search for a fetchland to kill me with his Steppe Lynx. He got too cute and missed the on-the-board kill. I made a Marit Lage token, blocked his Lynx, and killed him on my turn.
Game three was much easier. I used Thoughtseize to buy time and made a token with Muddle backup.
WIN 2-1
1-0
Round 2: Benjamin Lundquist [USA] Dark Depths
This was an interesting round. We get deck-checked and the judge said that I have a 59-card maindeck/16-card sideboard and will receive a game loss because of that. I knew my deck was sixty cards when I was pile shuffling and realized that one card had slipped past the divider into the sideboard when I put the deck back into my box. I immediately appealed to the head judge. The judge believed me and I was fortunate enough to escape the wrath of the DCI. The Dark Depths mirror is a huge attrition war.
I thought I was going to win game one after making a Marit Lage token even though he had Dark Confidant in play for a long time. I decided to hold back my Ghost Quarter on his Sunken Ruins because I knew he had Vampire Hexmage in hand. I wanted to be able to destroy his Dark Depths if he tried to combo off and use the legend rule to destroy my token. As it turned out he had drawn Repeal and Muddle the Mixture to counter my Muddle the Mixture. From there he was too far ahead in cards and was able to kill me with Dark Confidant and Vampire Hexmage before I could recover.
Game two went longer than game one. I played a Bitterblossom and got ahead on tokens before he played one. I was able to use the advantage in tokens to kill him before his Dark Confidant could find an answer.
Game three was similar except that he was ahead on tokens. I was able to use Sower of Temptation to kill his Vampire Hexmage and Repeal to take the board to parity. We were both low on life but he was one lower and would die to Bitterblossom first unless he drew into something. Fortunately he didn't, and I drew into consecutive Threads of Disloyalty to steal faerie tokens and kill him.
WIN 2-1
2-0
Round 3: Remi Fortier [FRA] Scapeshift
Game one I was on the play and played Chalice for one on turn one. I played a Vampire Hexmage on turn two and transmuted for Dark Depths on turn three. He wasn't able to do anything with the Chalice out and packs up his cards. At this point I thought he was playing Zoo and sideboarded incorrectly.
Game two he Thoughtseized my Hexmage and played Sakura Tribe-Elder. I had a Dark Depths and Muddle the Mixture in hand; I had been planning on transmuting it to find another Vampire Hexmage but drew it instead.
WIN 2-0
3-0
Round 4: Chris Davis [USA] Hypergenesis
Game one I had Thoughtseize and Dark Confidant on turn one and two. Beseech the Queen let me play Chalice for zero to stop his Hypergenesis. I assembled my combo two turns later without any opposition.
Game two I kept a two land hand on the draw with two Thoughtseize. I took his Ingot Chewer and Oblivion Ring but never draw another land. He played Street Wraith on turn five and Malfegor on turn six to kill me.
Game three I got Dark Confidant out and played a Chalice for zero. His Vendilion Clique traded with my Confidant but I already had another and Vampire Hexmage. I drew into Muddle the Mixture the turn before he drew Ingot Chewer to get rid of my Chalice. He wasn't able to break through my counter and lost.
WIN 2-1
4-0
Round 5: Brian Kibler [USA] Midrange Naya
Game one I used Thoughtseize to get rid of his Knight of the Reliquary. He drew into another and used it to find Ghost Quarter and beat me down before I could tutor for my own Ghost Quarter, blow up his, and make a Marit Lage token.
Game two I had two Damnation in my opening hand but his draw was all disruption like Ancient Grudge and Path to Exile to go along with two Knight of the Reliquary. I was forced to use Damnation as a one-for-one trade each time. He resolved Blood Moon and then played Tarmogoyf. I used Engineered Explosives to destroy the Tarmogoyf but died to a pair of Noble Hierarchs.
LOSE 0-2
4-1
I was happy to start off 4-1 considering the lack of preparation. I was looking forward even more to getting to draft. I was sure I'd be able to 2-1 or 3-0 my pod without much difficulty. The draft started off rocky for me. I took Hideous End, Quest for the Gravelord, and Giant Scorpion in order, but Black dried up after that. I took a Whiplash Trap and Bladetusk Boar. From there I abandoned black and entrenched myself in a heavy Red deck splashing Blue for Umara Raptor and Seascape Aerialist off of two Scalding Tarns (mise!) and three Islands. My deck was solid enough to expect a 2-1 finish. I had two Spire Barrages, Inferno Trap, and Punishing Fire to deal with stuff along with four Goblin Bushwhackers and an Ally package.
Round 6: Austin Bursavich [USA] Black/White
Game one I get him low with a Bladetusk Boar before he is able to remove it. He wasn't playing many spells and my only pressure was a Geyser Glider and Highland Berserker. I decided to play around Arrow-Volley Trap. After two turns I decided he didn't have it and killed him before he could play the Iona, Shield of Emeria in his hand. Game two I get a fast Ally draw and killed him on turn seven.
WIN 2-0
5-1
Round 7: Yuusuke Iwasaki [JPN] Green/White
Game one he curves out with Steppe Lynx, Kazandu Blademaster, Grazing Gladehart, and Oran-Rief Survivalist. I had Plated Geopede, Spire Barrage, and Tuktuk Grunts, but was too low to stabilize before he killed me.
Game two he played another Steppe Lynx on turn one. Oracle of Mul Daya allowed him to keep hitting land-drops and making his Steppe Lynx big. I missed my fifth land drop and drew Teetering Peeks a turn later. That set me back quite a bit. We both played some creatures and I had set a kill with Geyser Glider and Spire Barrage, but he Oracle’d into into two lands (one of which was Kabira Crossroads). I was forced to block with my Hellfire Mongrel and couldn't do enough damage.
LOSE 0-2
5-2
Round 8: Paul Heynen [NLD] Green splashing Burst Lightning/Disfigure
This was by far the most frustrating round. Game one I miss my fourth land drop despite having eighteen lands in the deck. He had some guys and was beating me down, but I double-blocked to stay alive. He was getting flooded and I drew into lands to start casting spells. I end up coming back and winning, as he had like 14 land in play and was doing nothing.
Game two I was racing with Bladetusk Boar against his Woodcrasher Baloth and Grazing Gladehart (doesn’t sound like much of a race to me – LSV). He used Disfigure to kill a blocker and three-for-one me. The turn before he was dead to my Bladetusk Boar, with no cards in hand, he drew and attacked with his Grazing Gladehart, Woodcrasher Baloth, and Vastwood Gorger. I blocked everything but his Woodcrasher Baloth and he played Primal Bellow to kill me exactly. Game three I kept Scalding Tarn, Teetering Peaks, Plated Geopede, Umara Raptor, Goblin Buskwhacker, and two Highland Berserkers. I missed my third land drop for three turns and can't come back because he played Mold Shambler with kicker and Timbermaw Larva along with some other green men.
LOSE 1-2
5-3
After the disappointing 1-2 in the first draft, I was ready to do something else; anything really. We decided to go out to dinner again. Stubbs had been so good on Wednesday that we decided to go back again. The memories proved to be accurate as we ran it back with the family style buffet. The only difference was that we tried onion rings instead of the fried okra which was an improvement. Oh yea, I obviously lost the credit card game again; and there went another $100. Despite being down, I was happy to be there with everyone and was looking forward to drafting again tomorrow.
We went back to the site and drafted a few times. After a few drafts I went back "early" (around Midnight) to the hotel to sleep. Fate had it in for me though as I was unable to sleep soundly. I kept waking up for what seemed like hours. Around four AM I finally got to sleep and woke up a few hours later to go to the site. I was ready to battle.
The second draft started off much more smoothly. I opened Living Tsunami and then got a few Umara Wrapters along with some nice Green spells like River Boa, Oran Rief-Survivalist, and Lotus Cobra. I ended up with three Umara Raptor, one Survivalist, two Into the Roil, two Whiplash Trap, Hagra Diabolist, and Disfigure. I had excellent fixing with Verdant Catacombs (rare-draft much? – LSV), Jwar Isle Refuge, Harrow, and Lotus Cobra. I was quite happy and ready to 3-0.
Round 9: Rob Dougherty [USA]; Black/White
Game one he played turn one Kor Duelist, turn two Kor Outfitter, turn three equip Adventuring Gear,. His start put me far behind and I wasn't able to race, especially after he played Vampire Nighthawk. I had already used Disfigure to kill his Kor Duelist and was cold to his Nighthawk.
Game two he played Steppe Lynx, Kor Outfitter, Adventuring Gear, and Trusty Machete early. I was racing with Umara Raptor and had River Boa to block. On the critical turn I decided to play Joraga Bard instead of holding mana open to play Whiplash Trap. He played Marsh Casualties, killing my River Boa which forced me to chump block with Joraga Bard and go to four life. I couldn't use Whiplash Trap as effectively at that point and lost to [card Vampires Bite]Vampire's Bite[/card] a few turns later.
LOSE 0-2
5-4
Round 10: Ben Rubin [USA] Mono-Red
I don't remember much about game one. I know he played multiple Hellfire Mongrels. He killed my Vastwood Gorger with Spire Barrage. I had a Joraga Bard, Nissa's Chosen, and a 3/3 Umara Raptor against his Hellfire Mongrel. I attacked him down to six life with my team. He attacked also and played a second Hellfire Mongrel. I drew Into the Roil to bounce his untapped blocker and kill him.
I boarded in my second Harrow and two Ondu Cleric for game two. He played a Hellfire Mongrel and Highland Barbarian against my Nissa's Chosen. I used Harrow to Disfigure his Mongrel when he went to double-block my elf. Afterwards, I played Ondu Cleric. He played Zendikar Farguide and Trusty Machete. I couldn't cast Whiplash Trap, so the forestwalker started doing a bunch of damage to me. I had been beating him down with Nissa's Chosen and River Boa. I was able to draw into a second Island in time to bounce the Farguide and attack with my creatures before he killed me.
WIN 2-0
6-4
Round 11: Shuuhei Nakamura [JPN] Green/Black Allies
I don't remember much about game one. I played some Umara Raptors, and he killed one with Hideous End. He also had Oracle of Mul Daya so I knew what his plays were likely to be, so I forced him to tap out for Heartstabber Mosquito. Afterwards, I bounced both of his creatures with Whiplash Trap and attacked him for lethal.
Game two was similar to game one. He played the Oracle of Mul Daya again and put a Savage Silhouette on it. I forced him to block and regenerate, and afterwards, I put Paralyzing Grasp on it. It got to the point where I had to alpha-strike so his Tajuru Archer couldn't kill my Umara Raptor. He knew his next card couldn't stop me from killing him.
WIN 2-0
7-4
Despite going 2-1 in the second draft, I was a bit disappointed. I thought my deck was a 3-0 deck. I was eager to get back to Extended and finish the day off. Hopefully I would be able to rattle off a bunch of wins in a row and have a strong finish.
Round 12: Liking Saiyasely [FRA] Bant
Game one I Thoughtseized him and took Mana Leak. He had a bunch of creatures in his hand that I didn't care about and I was able to use one of my two Muddle the Mixture to find a Vampire Hexmage use the second Muddle the Mixture to counter the Path to Exile he had drawn.
Game two I kept Urborg, two Sunken Ruins, Dark Confidant, two Damnation, and Thoughtseize on the draw. I took his Bant Charm, leaving him with two Rhox War Monk. Over the next few turns I drew the remaining three Urborgs and no other mana sources. Dark Confidant had been in play drawing an extra card each turn, and I had even used Vendilion Clique to cycle away a useless Thoughtseize, but it was all to no avail.
Game three I kept the nuts: Chrome Mox, Sunken Ruins, Muddle the Mixture, Dark Depths, Beseech the Queen, Dark Confidant, and Vampire Hexmage. I played Vampire Hexmage on turn one and he didn't use Path to Exile to kill it on his turn two. He had played Treetop Village on turn one so he couldn't do anything. I untapped and played Dark Depths with counter backup.
WIN 2-1
8-4
Round 13: Matthias Kunzler [CHE] Dredge
Game one he was too far ahead of me, too quickly. I had Chalice but he played Hedron Crab on turn one to start his chain. Ideas Unbound dredged him into enough stuff to Dread Return Iona, Shield of Emeria (on blue). I was able to deal with his nine Bridge from Below tokens with Engineered Explosives and his 12/12 Golgari Grave-Troll with my Vampire Hexmage (that conveniently ate his four Bridges), but Iona finished me off.
Game two I had Tormod's Crypt and a turn two Dark Confidant. I was going to search for Vampire Hexmage because I had drawn into Dark Depths, but I drew into the Hexmage in my next draw step. The Tormod's Crypt prevented him from doing anything scary despite having two Chrome Moxes to accelerate him.
Game three I used Engineered Explosives to blow up his Hedron Crab and Tormod's Crypt to remove his dredgers. He played Ideas Unbound and discarded some dredgers. I made a Marit Lage token and used Repeal to bounce his Stinkweed Imp, but he played Echoing Truth to bounce my token. I was fine. I had another copy of each in my hand. I made the same sequence of plays and then used Threads of Disloyalty to take his only blocker.
WIN 2-1
9-4
Round 14: Liang Chen [TWN] Blue/green/red Control
Game one I played Chalice on one to play around Spell Snare. He played two Chrome Moxes and Chalice for two. I had to tutor for an Engineered Explosives and blow up our artifacts so I could play spells. A few turns later, Dark Confidant found enough cards to assemble the combo.
Game two I mulliganed to six and kept a hand that required me to draw lands. I didn't and died to Sphinx of Jwar Isle.
Game three he mulliganed to five. My hand was slow and he was able to resolve Blood Moon followed by Chalice for zero to prevent me from playing Chrome Mox or Engineered Explosives, and then he played a Trinket Mage. I played Chalice for three which shut his deck down. I was able to play Beseech the Queen with six lands to find my Swamp and play Bitterblossom. I had enough life to make enough tokens to kill his Trinket Mage and start attacking. He played Thirst for Knowledge, Trickbind on the Chalice trigger, and conceded when he didn't find anything.
WIN 2-1
10-4
Round 15: David Felske [CAN] Previous Level Blue
My Dark Confidant got Spell Snared on turn two, and then I played a Vendilion Clique and made him ditch his Meloku. I took Cryptic Command with Thoughtseize, seeing Rude Awakening and lands. I played Chalice for one to stop Spell Snare but he played Engineered Explosives and was able to Snare my second Dark Confidant. He was at five life from Vendilion Clique when he played Vedalken Shackles. He waited to take my Vendilion Clique during my attack step, but I had Repeal in response. He drew into Vendilion Clique, but I was able to draw into Vampire Hexmage and finish him off the hard way. It was a little disappointing, since I was about to manually unfreeze Marit Lage, but a win’s a win.
Game two he mulliganed to five. I Thoughtseized his Spell Snare and played Dark Confidant. He played a Tarmogoyf and started to beat down. I wasn't drawing lands which made the Tarmogoyf more of a threat than I had anticipated. I had to use Beseech the Queen to find Slaughter Pact to kill his Tarmogoyf. He only had one card in his hand at the time, a Firespout, but drew into Repeal on his turn and bounced my Chrome Mox. I died when I couldn't pay for the Pact.
Game three went long. I had Thoughtseize followed by Dark Confidant, but I was drawing into garbage. He played Vendilion Clique but I used Repeal to bounce it and force through damage. He played Meloku the Clouded Mirror. I knew that he had Pact of Negation in his hand and was able to set up a sequence of plays to kill him. I played Beseech the Queen and played Slaughter Pact from my deck to kill Meloku. He took the bait and played Pact of Negation to stop me. Afterwards, I played Sower of Temptation to take his Meloku and kill him.
WIN 2-1
11-4
Round 16: Paulo Vitor Dama da Rosa [BRA] Dark Depths
I had looked at the standings and knew that PV was in with a win for sure. I would be able to top 8 if I won, Brian Kibler lost, Rob Dougherty lost, and if the breakers of the other people went south. I didn't foresee everything working out for me. Knowing PV so well, I decided to concede him into top 8.
11-5
Afterwards, I found out that I would have come in tenth place. Satisfied with my decision, I went to look at the standings and saw that I came in 21st place. Luis had been playing in the Vintage tournament with my deck and ended up winning the whole thing, taking home a Mox Ruby for his troubles. With the swiss round over, we went back to what we love doing: drafting. After several drafts, I had had enough and went out with Wrapter to get some food at a sports bar. I realized that I hadn't eaten all day and had only had a coffee from Starbucks in the morning.
Sunday was quite similar to the end of Saturday. We drafted all day long and went out to Fogo de Chao, the penultimate Brazilian steakhouse. We gorged ourselves there on bacon-wrapped filet mignon, parmesan pork loin, top sirloin, along with an assortment of the finest cuts of meat imaginable prepared to perfection, the very thought of which made me weak at the knees.
Monday was the final day of the trip. Everyone found their way back to the airport and went their separate ways, sure to meet up next weekend in Tampa for the Grand Prix. This was my most successful PT finish and I was quite happy with all the decisions I made regarding my deck choice and drafting. Moreso than that, I was happy because I was back on the tour where many of my friends are.
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About This Author
David Ochoa
David (“Web”) Ochoa has had a string of consistent finishes recently, making Top 16 at two of the last three Pro Tours, and Top 8 at Grand Prix Minneapolis. Along with LSV, Web is also an active member of the West Coast Vintage scene, and it is rare for him&hellip
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MH says: October 20, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
It’s Stubb’s, not Stumps.
http://www.stubbsaustin.com/
Brian Kibler says: October 20, 2009 @ 10:14 pm
If Fogo is the penultimate churriscaria, what’s the ultimate one?
aww says: October 20, 2009 @ 10:32 pm
good run at the top 8 :[
Blyder says: October 20, 2009 @ 11:28 pm
Mouth is watering….stubb’s
hmmmmmm
arogers907 says: October 21, 2009 @ 12:22 am
Great summary of the PT. You’re a class act with one heckuva memory! =P
Chris Young says: October 21, 2009 @ 12:36 am
Was just wondering if considering how much work you guys put into beating the mirror and all the possibilites in that arena how viable do you think the Deck is long term. I wonder if it wasnt simply numbers that pushed it as far as it went. I just think that its going to be a hard deck to ultimately win with when decks run sufficient ways to bust your combo by either killing the land or the token. I mean most decks have to be able to efficiently handle large flying things like Baneslayer and even have to handle Progenitis and equally more difficult big monsters than Lage offered up with suprising speed.
I like the build of the deck you guys are running and is probably the right way to build it considering the ideas that go into it. Can the deck be improved upon by adding combo/token protectors etc like silence etc?
It just seems to me to be a good deck but not the best deck and not likely to become the best deck without some additional disruption effects.
Not being too critical just thinking out loud about the logic of running a deck that probably has a below average “average case” against the field.
Alan says: October 21, 2009 @ 12:49 am
Hey David,
It’s Alan again! I saw you are PTQ LA and I must say it was so worth the trip for you dispite you had long drives because you won! =) I love the new dark depth deck. It’s freaken awesome! This weekend I been following the PT and I was proxying the deck, I had most of the cards just no dark depths. Just wondering, how come the deck doesn’t play grim discovery? I enjoy playing with that card especially again knight of reliquary + ghost quarter being so popular now.
well great job! Congratz on 21st place!
oyzar says: October 21, 2009 @ 4:04 am
“I drew into Muddle the Mixture the turn before he drew Ingot Chewer to get rid of my Chalice. He wasn't able to break through my counter and lost.”
How exactly does muddle deal with ignot chewer?
lsv says: October 21, 2009 @ 4:20 am
Chris Ingot Chewered the Chalice, which resolved. Then Chris went for Hypergenesis, which did not, thanks to the Muddle.
Alex says: October 21, 2009 @ 4:36 am
@ Chris Young: The deck already runs Thoughtseize, Muddle, Vendillion Clique and Chalice, I don’t think it really needs something as narrow as Silence. There’s already a quarter of the deck that’s disruption.
Moxrubo says: October 21, 2009 @ 5:48 am
Congrats for your 21th place!!!. Can u post the ist of the vintage deck that LSV play?. Thanks
Chris Young says: October 21, 2009 @ 6:27 am
Alex
I was only throwing out ideas because the more I think about the deck the more I see it as really being a fragile combo deck that is helped significantly by the speed of the combo.
It realisticly should be considered a hand destruction\nullification deck with Dark Depths as its kill shot. Dark Depths is is nothing more than a BFM really. I just wonder if that is the right strategy for the deck it seems to be but it also doesnt seem reliable enough in the format considering all the archetypes that are there. Close but missing some sort of lockdown to allow the token to do its job.
I guess what Im sayin is “Is this the best we can expect from the deck considering the current viable field.” Similarly to Alex’s Ascention Pulse deck in Standard beating everything but Jund-Aggro seems like a sure way to get beaten since its the dominantly played deck. it just seems like its something away from becoming the deck to beat. Just trying to take an objective look at the deck in context of the the current field.
And Im not trying to be critical at all. Congrats on the placing and everything. I have a lot of respect for the pros. Family commitments have made it difficult to put in the time needed to make it there myself.
egal says: October 21, 2009 @ 6:29 am
just google “austin vintage side event decklist”
http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=39101.msg543273
here you are
Dane Molotok says: October 21, 2009 @ 6:59 am
I don’t know if I could have conceded round 16, forfeiting a chance at another $4k. Unless there’s an understanding that such a move would be … compensated for.
Seeker says: October 21, 2009 @ 7:17 am
Magic tournaments are not one-time events, though they may appear that way. As there are multiple iterations per year, you can count on your generosity coming full-circle in the future. Were the places reversed at Worlds, PV would probably not hesitate to scoop him in.
Lems says: October 21, 2009 @ 8:01 am
As the judge that checked your deck round two, I think you presented the situation here in a pretty negative light, and perhaps it’s because you recall it differently due to being upset, frustrated, or just worried at the time.
I didn’t return your deck and just say “This is a game loss – proceed to game 2. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.”
I told you that you *gave me* a 59 card deck, which by policy is a game loss, but made sure to remind you that “you have every right to appeal.” I told Riccardo exactly what I believed happened, and he agreed with me. We went to ask you if you pile shuffled, to which you actually said you couldn’t remember. Compare this to “I knew my deck was sixty cards when I was pile shuffling”
I’m not trying to “call you out” or anything of the sort, I just think this is a good example of how players can recall or report things differently than they actually went down. I’m genuinely glad you managed to “escape the wrath of the DCI,” because we’re not here to throw thunder down at players at every opportunity – we’re there for you guys, to make sure everyone is playing fairly and treated equally.
Congrats on the high finish.
– Lems
Frein says: October 21, 2009 @ 8:32 am
“My hand was slow and he was able to resolve Blood Moon followed by Chalice for zero to prevent me from playing Chrome Mox or Engineered Explosives, and then he played a Trinket Mage.”
Last time I checked, spells on the stack have X added to their CMC, which means Chalice for zero wouldn’t be able to stop Explosives for anything but zero. Is there something I’m missing here?
A great tournament report, though, and grats for the solid performance.
Shyft- says: October 21, 2009 @ 8:34 am
Howdy Web,
Thanks for being so charitable on your coverage of our match! Great report, and congrats on a great run after the 5-4 start.
Various people,
To clarify since there were some questions in comments, I had the ability to evoke Ingot Chewer and play Outburst into Hypergen while he was tapped out, getting a pair of Woodfall Primuses, however he had just played Hexmage and revealed Tolaria West. So I needed to wait on the HG, hardcast the Chewer (figuring he’d be playing around removal rather than instant speed Woodfall Primus), and scooped ‘em up when his Bob revealed Muddle on the upkeep to end me. He had an early Chalice and turn 2 Bob, then revealed a land and topdecked Seize on T3 to get my Oblivion Ring. In summary, the Bobs got there against a VERY good draw for me. It was a good game.
Congrats again Señor Ocho! See you in San Diegochoa.
dowjonzechemical says: October 21, 2009 @ 8:47 am
good job, man…
I think you are a real gentleman, and I am sure PV does too.
Robin says: October 21, 2009 @ 8:56 am
“If Fogo is the penultimate churriscaria, what's the ultimate one?”
Seriously!
CSB says: October 21, 2009 @ 9:10 am
Penultimate means second to last, by the way.
I know, I know it has “ultimate” right in there.
David Ochoa says: October 21, 2009 @ 9:22 am
@ Comment by Brian Kibler – October 20, 2009 @ 10:14 pm :
I actually like a local place in San Francisco named Espetus. The service at Fogo is a bit better, but I prefer the specialties of Espetus more. Plus, it’s local!
@ Comment by Chris Young – October 21, 2009 @ 12:36 am :
The mirror is skill intensive. The games go long and there are lots of decisions to make. There are definately cards to include in the sideboard that are amazing in the mirror.
There is already enough disruption in the deck to protect Marit Lage. Silence wouldn’t help at all because virtually all of the removal is instant speed. Silence is also white which would make the manabase terrible.
The deck is quite good and will definately remain viable.
@ Comment by Alan – October 21, 2009 @ 12:49 am :
I don’t like Grim Discovery. We tested it and it was worse more often than not.
@ Comment by Moxrubo – October 21, 2009 @ 5:48 am :
Tezerret Control:
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Thoughtseize
2 Repeal
1 Echoing Truth
1 Fire // Ice
1 Rebuild
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Ponder
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
3 Dark Confidant
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Island
2 Snow-Covered Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
Sdeboard:
2 Mystic Remora
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
3 Ingot Chewer
2 Smother
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
jshapiro says: October 21, 2009 @ 9:41 am
Excellent report, congrats on the finish!
@Dane: In addition to things “coming full circle” later in the year, oh dearie me yes there is an understanding. The recipient absolutely can’t even insinuate that they’ll compensate, and people sometimes don’t, so you have to scoop out of a mixture of faith and generosity, but yeah, scoopees usually express their gratitude.
@Frein: It took me a sec to get it, too, but with Blood Moon out he can do very little, and Explosives is his only answer to Blood Moon. Since his lands tap for Red only, the only way to get Explosives up to three is via basic land – which are scarce – or Chrome Mox – which is locked out by the Chalice. The fact that he won this game is actually kinda incredible.
@Chris: Everyone’s happy for David, no one’s flaming you, yadda yadda friendly point-by-point debate:
The deck seems to me much less narrow than a traditional combo deck. You’ll note from his report that over a third of his wins come from beatdown and disruption, not a 20/20 flying token. It only looks like a combo deck if Thoughtseize, Vendilion Clique, Repeal, and Chrome Mox are viewed as crutches propping up the combo. While Repeal is certainly a combo-friendly problem solver, all 4 of those cards are vastly more flexible than traditional combo cards like say Ideas Unbound or Rite of Flame.
The narrowest cards in the deck are Dark Depths, Vampire Hexmage, Tolaria West, Muddle the Mixture, and Beseech the Queen. That list is in order of increasing utility; Beseech is actually the opposite of “narrow”, but its inefficiency is only justified by the presence of a combo. So, that’s 18 cards’ worth of “combo” slots, one of which beats down, one of which is a narrow but mana-efficient counterspell, and one of which can tutor for any other card in the deck including the wrecking ball that is Chalice of the Void. The tradeoff for those narrow/inefficient cards is a very fast, very simple combo. It’s easily stopped, but easily rebuilt (again, note in report how often they had the path/bounce and he just did it again), and demands an immediate answer.
Lastly, you mention the “current viable field”. Arguably one of the best decks in the field and indisputably the most popular is Zoo. I have no idea what Dark Depths’ percentage is in the Zoo matchup, but my approximation goes like this:
Zoo consistently kills around 4 without disruption, and has a healthy amount of reach such that they’ll finish you off before too long even if you stop the animals.
Depths very inconsistently kills around turn 3. It also has Chalice of the Void, which when set at one minimally disrupts its own spells while dealing a crippling blow to the Zoo deck. As a further concession, David has a pair of Threads of Disloyalty main.
Add all that up and I can’t believe game one is heavily in Zoo’s favor or anything. Against the rest of the field, the Thoughtseizes, Vendilion Cliques, Dark Confidants, Muddle the Mixtures and Chalice of the Voids disrupt the opponent while he attacks with one huge beater or many tiny ones. It’s not a foolproof plan, but it’s powerful, flexible, and has Master Paulo’s seal of approval
Chris Young says: October 21, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Didnt think I was being flamed. Just thinking out loud trying to be objective about the deck. Its definitely strong outside of the combo just wondering if the combo makes it stronger or if there might be a better disruption deck in the attempt to make Depths good. Like I said before i like the deck build. Cant wait to see how these decks evolve.
Jeremy says: October 21, 2009 @ 10:48 am
Congrats!!! Nice top 50 and nice report
Round 6 Austin Bursavich- this is the guy that beat me in the finals at PTQ Birmingham to make it to PT Austin…glad to see that he did ok the first few rounds
beer says: October 21, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
Congrats!! Really dig all your reports. Keep up the fantastic work!
David Ochoa says: October 21, 2009 @ 5:02 pm
@ Comment by Lems – October 21, 2009 @ 8:01 am
I didn’t present what happened in a negative light. I am not upset, nor was I upset. I figured out what had happened and appealed immediately. I don’t remember counting my deck because I didn’t count it numerically. Rather, I started pile shuffing, started and ended where I would normally end which indicated a 60-card deck.
The reason I paraphrased so much is because of time constraints with writing the report and because the situation wasn’t a big deal in the first place yet memorable enough to talk about. Anyone who talks to me IRL knows of my sarcastic wit which managed to show itself here.
There’s no reason to act so defensively. Really.
Mr Weeks says: October 21, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
Nice work on the high finish.
lewk says: October 21, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
I always enjoy your reports. It’s probably because you go into detail on two of my favorite things – magic and food.
Alan says: October 21, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
Hey David,
Just wondering if you like the “Into the north” pitch version of the deck. The nut hand was awesome. I actually got it out on turn 2. Since your team has played the extended format, do you think it is possible to make jund zoo?
Trackback MTGBattlefield says: October 21, 2009 @ 11:53 pm
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David Ochoa says: October 22, 2009 @ 9:11 am
@ Comment by Alan – October 21, 2009 @ 9:00 pm :
The only list I saw running Into the North was when I walked by a table where the Dark Depths deck was losing…
We only looked at the UB version in depth. I don’t really know what the god-hand would be with that deck, but the UB version coughed up quite a few that seem hard to beat.
I’m sure you could make Jund zoo. The real question is why would you want to? What are you looking to gain from black that you don’t get from white? Steppe Lynx, Wild Nacatl (being a 3/3), Path to Exile, Lightning Helix, Meddling Mage, Gaddock Teeg, Qasali Pridemage, Knight of the Reliquary, and Etherwsworn Canonist are excellent cards. I don’t see how black offers better options.
Jon Lewis says: October 22, 2009 @ 12:51 pm
Congrats on the high finish.
In my opinion, Dark Depth combo shold stay 100% UB. The deck has a very Trix feel to it, as the entire deck is either disruption, card draw, or tutoring and it is brutally efficient. Being in UB also gives you access to all of the best answers to hate cards that you can want. I can’t see wanting to change that by adding or changing a color.
Seeing that your only loss in the Extended portion was to the “Rubin Zoo” deck, do you feel that this is actually a bad matchup? The sideboard for that deck seems very prepared to beat Dark Depths, and I’m wondering what your sideboarding would look like against Rubin Zoo with 20/20 hindsight.
APL says: October 22, 2009 @ 5:36 pm
Great report and well done doing so well!!
I really like the deck you guys came up with, hopefully I’ll be able to come and eat some awesome meals with you guys at Rome
TomM says: October 23, 2009 @ 9:24 am
@Ocho No love for Churrascaria Plataforma in NY?
Killer Bee says: October 25, 2009 @ 3:03 pm
9th place GP Tampa woot woot! dareIsay top 8 next??
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