As promised...Deckwars part 1.

[GandoTheBard]

Deck Name (me) vs Deck Name (ai)

1st round:

Chaos-greenSteel vs BlackRed results (best of 3): 2-0
Notes;First game got the classic combo...land,mox, elf, elf, piper, tutor collosus collosus dead opponent. Damnation hurt the 2nd game but was able to come back with a strong hand and though the AI had 3 fatties on the table my disk cleared things up for the end game. Interestingly threaten almost ended the game in the AI's favor but the trample bug interfered.

RedBlack vs Chaos-greenSteel results (best of 3): 2-0
First game was a bye for me. Hymn 2nd turn followed by Shriekmaw to kill an elf, 4th turn Highway Robber 5th turn Sengir (yes got a land drop every turn which is unheard of with MTG Forge usually) 6th turn Liliana Vess, 7th turn Beacon of Destruction FTW.

2nd game: parised to 6. :/ thankfully the 6 cards I drew were sufficient to pull off a wheel of fortune, then a Sengir, then animated a collosus (dropped by wheel) and despite a disk it was all over.

2nd round:

Chaos-greenSteel vs BlackWhite results (best of 3): 0-2
first game: wrath of god/Hymn ruined my plans with Kokusho repeatedly coming back with animation, managed to get a collosus out and AI to 8 but it edged me out.

2nd game: AI starts by skipping a turn but since I have nothing to play except wall/land its all to the good.Then wall gets plowed! yippie! Tutor for a piper and play it. And it gets crib swapped. So I witness the tutor to try again next turn. (Collosus is in hand). It hymns me...so I cast the tutor which is somewhat moot now...:/ I pick a piper anyway...at 6 mana Im not hard casting collosus soon and there are NO other win conditions in this deck. :/ Next turn AI plays an Angel and makes me frown. 5 turns till dead? Did I say I wont be able to hard cast a collosus? hmmm well Im at 8 mana and lost a forest to another hymn. Its looking really bad for the home team at the moment...there is an enemy angel on the table and it slaps down a kokusho..so I draw a collosus...yay?? a little late though I have a piper on the table and ready to tap...tapping it as a fast effect is probably pointless since Ill be at 3 before it hits the table and my opponent is at 16. Make that 13...I alpha attack with the elf and witness and the AI doesnt bother to block...guess it thinks Im holding a supergiant growth. still not quite enough unless it fails to block again next turn. Wait, what's this? It doesnt attack with Serra...why not?? ok Im at 7 instead of 3. And it plays a Goldmeadow...huh...gold meadow blocks collosus...serra blocks witness, computer is at 2. I play the elf I drew and pray it repeats the error it made last turn. But no...it plays a Shriekmaw killing the crib swapped shapeshifter token and proceeds to lay the 9 point beats. :/

Ouch...ok time for revenge.

blackwhite vs chaosgreenSteel results (best of 3): 2-0

game 1...stuck on 3 mana having removed 2 elves from the table the AI still manages to kodamri's reach to 4 lands and plays piper...ruh roh...need to draw a land...ok no land but animate on the shriekmaw I used earlier will do. AI plays a disk. turn 6 still no land but I swing with the slightly weakened shriekmaw. AI does: harmonize, + elf + world tutor +mox. STILL no land...Hymn! netting a forest + a disk...yay turn 8 draw a mox. Highway robbers...he still doesnt blow the disk...swing? no he played a wall the turn before :/ next turn I get 2 through and still stuck on 3 lands and a mox. Goldmeadow. Finally I provoke it into blowing the disk by playing another Goldmeadow.To recap..hes at 9 Im at 21...hes got 10 lands (ruh roh) and Ive got 3...:/ I do have a plow in hand...and two animates...Ill use one now. elf!!! (I have 4 mana again:)) make that 5 as I get plains #2.the AI hard casts collosus :/ (notice I do alot of frowning in this game.) he gains 11 life and goes to 20. I play the legendary black dragon and see what happens. he reaches again. 7 mana to 12 mana. I swing for 5. He witnesses a piper and plays it...why? I havent a clue...oh yeah no collosus in the grave I guess. I evoke a shreikmaw...dont know why...I could have hard cast it...and hymn his remaining card (commune with nature). and swing again. AI 10 life. Wow next turn he draws a witness and piper's it., and gets the other witness which gets a wall...no real help for him as I am going to kill him this turn with Kokusho + damnation.


game 2: again stuck at 3 mana...the game hates to give me land unless I have a ton already...some shuffling there bud. opponent of course is doing fine and gets a harmonize turn 4. by turn 7 hes got 7 lands and has played a few elves which get consecutively Shrieked to death. At this rate I expect another hardcast collosus in a few turns.turn 8 he plays disk...yay? oooh! Iget a 2nd swamp! now it comes.hymn the AI for a collosus and commune. wow that was strong...hes got nothing in hand and I might just stabilize if I draw more lands. ack! he lays down a piper from a 2nd harmonize..I wrath he witnesses the collosus in the grave...:/ and reaches. uh oh...hes got 10 mana...forest and collosus in hand. please draw me another hymn.no such luck...didnt even draw a land. Ive got two kokushos in hand and no 6th mana. I play a highway robber and click end turn. oh sure now I draw the land...after he lands his collosus. Kokusho hits the table and makes to block the mean collosus...:/ thankfully kokoshu saves me for a turn oh but of course I dont draw a plow or cribswap...swamp!:/ play the 2nd kokusho. he lays 2nd collosus but doesnt attack...what??? well I guess since he doesnt have any flying blockers and I draw an animate I can win after all. yep he doesnt blow the disk and takes 5 bring him to 8...I animate the other kokusho...game over.

round 2: thoughts;
Ok I think this proves that BW just wrecks Greensteel unless screw/flood happens and even then its a tight contest. I dont think Greensteel just sucks either..the AI makes loads of mistakes with it and against it that wouldnt happen vs a competant player.

More to come: blue vs greensteel, blue vs blackred, blue vs blackwhite, greensteel vs bluered, bluered vs blackred, bluered vs blackwhite, bluered vs stinkydoll, etc...

[GandoTheBard]

round 3
my modified version of JPG's blueControl vs greenSteel results (best of 3): 2-0

game 1: land mox land evoke mulldrifter land control an elf. hes got 2 walls... turn 5 I play mulldrifter.yay 2 more islands...hes got 3 manasources Ive got 6. he plays 4th land and disk. I play 7th source and take possession of the disk...no blowing up my mana dammit.swing over the treetops for 2. 20-18. hmmm double worldly tutor...Im guessing the AI doesnt know that the first one gets nullified by the 2nd. another minor bug. :/ swing for 2 more (20-16) and cast bribery...collosus!! he harmonizes on his turn and plays an elf. my turn echoing truth the elf and swing. He blocks with a wall. (20-7). next turn he plays piper & elf. I bounce the piper and steal the elf and attack with darksteel collosus and mulldrifter to finish the game.

game 2: turn 1 land mox, ai: land wall me: ancestral turn2: land mox ai: land elf me: bounce the wall turn 3: steal the elf. no land drop. ai: land witness (nothing to get back). turn 4: land bounce the witness (:P) for some reason I thought I swung but didnt. ai: plays piper. and it bounces. turn 5 bribery collosus thought I swung again and did not :/. he plays piper again. turn 6: this time I make certain to swing (20-9). he pipers an Eternal witness..but has nothing to get and then casts Kodamri's Reach. (I have a counter but I make it a habit never to deny spells like Kodamri's unless there is a good tactical reason to. Particularly with one counter in hand.) swing for 12 after ancestral recall then repulse on the witness.

time to see how I do against the blue control deck.
GreenSteel vs BlueControl (2-1)


game 1: I paris to 6 see 1 forest, no elves and paris again. ok 5 cards got an elf, a forest, a disk, a wall and a commune..this is playable I suppose.

land elf...ai: land mox mox (ouch forgot to take out the illegal extra moxes :/) man o war (one of my innovations) to elf.(ouch :/). And turn 2: no land draw...but I got a kodamri's reach...I still hold out some hope...elf done. ai: repulses elf on its turn and swings (18-20) turn 3: 2nd land drop!! elf. wall. ai: doh bribery collosus...game over (even though the AI forgets to attack). I play on anyway...turn 4 I play kodamri's reach and another elf. ai: attacks with collosus ...I take advantage of the dumb trample bug and block with wall and elf...collosus kills wall but not elf strangely. plays a disk...hmmm so wrong...not like I can win ANYWAY...this deck has no answer to its only threat. so to rub it in the Ai gets out a 2nd collosus with another bribery...and this time I concede...and now that I think of it...unless I get the combo off really quickly and the computer DOESNT draw any counters/bounce/briberies I cant win against this deck with greenSteel. well onto game 2 wishing I could sideboard out the collosi.

game 2:

land elf. ai: land turn 2: land Kodamri's reach. ai: land. turn 3. land reach elf elf. ai: man o war elf. turn 4: land Worldly Tutor for collosus harmonize tutor for piper play a steel wall. ai: man o war(#2) on elf turn 5: play elf and piper ai: repulses llanowar elves echoing truth fyndhorn elves. (could have bounced all the elves by reversing that.) turn 6: replay elves and pass turn. Ai: casts Bribery on collosus. at the end of turn I piper a collosus into play. turn 7: draw and play yet another elf and swing with the Collosus. (20-9). ai: plays control magic on collosus (boo!). in response I piper the other one in my hand since we cant do anything in response to combat or attacking declarations. I double block his attacking collosus with wall and elf. AI plays ancestral recall on itself.and somehow on my next turn I swing for 11 and kill the AI. fluke?

game 3: ruh roh...if I dont paris this...forestx2, diskx2, collosus, wall, piper Im going to regret it since I have no mana accelleration.I will probably regret parising too. but I paris anyway.

turn 1: forest, elf. ai: land mox turn 2: land elf worldly tutor for piper and swing for 1 (20-19). of course ai: land man o war on elf. turn 3: land piper. ai: land echoing truth on llanowar elves (x2). swings for 2 (18-19). turn 4: replay both elves ai: plays land cast mulldrifter in response I piper the collosus in my hand. turn 5: land swing with collosus. (18-8) ai: swings for 4 (no blocks because I cant piper in time to have my witness block.) eot: piper witness...get worldly tutor and cast that for a collosus. completely redundant btw. swing for 16 and win....??? thats wack..

I cant believe I stole that match from the AI. Greensteel is totally mismatched against a good player with BlueControl. If Control Magic was actually an enchantment and the green player had access to Naturalize and Tranquility and Serene Heart and all the other enchantment removers it would still be a very hard match but a little fairer.

[GandoTheBard]

Round 4:

Control Blue vs RedBlack
results: (best of 3): 2-0
game 1:
turn 1: land mox ai: mountain
turn 2: land ai: swamp
turn 3: mox ai: mountain
turn 4: land Bribery: Visara the Dreadful (antiterror and its just big and kills anything else he can play). ai:highway robber (18-22)
turn 5: nothing ai: nothing...eot destroy robber with visara.
turn 6: swing for 5 (18-17) ai: casts sengir vampire...Remove Soul ancestral targeting self.
turn 7: land, swing for 5 (18-12) ai: casts Sengir Vampire which gets hit with Repulse
turn 8: land swing for 5 (18-7) Darksteel Gargoyle (yes another innovation I added to make the deck a little more resiliant against the BW deck.) ai: Sengir Vampire.
turn 9: man o war the vampire and swing for 8.

game 2: Parised to 6. kept hand of mox, island, remove soulx2, mulldrifter, bribery.
turn 1: mox, land ai: mountain mox jet mox ruby
turn 2: no land drop ai: swamp eot echoing truth the ruby. (note that while the Forge text for echoing truth prompts for a creature it does work properly vs nonland permanents.)
turn 3: land! mulldrifter evoked! I draw an ancestral and disk. ai: mountain ruby beacon of unrest on mulldrifter :/
turn 4: man o war on drifter. ai: Liliana Vess..activates Vess..bastage! I drop the disk.
turn 5: land, swing at the planeswalker. evoked mulldrifter drew counterspell and island. ai: vess's me I discard...a remove soul. ewww it casts Chandra Nalaar...:/
and pings me(19-20) eot I ancestral myself.
turn 6: I swing for 2 at the Vess and cast Bribery on Visara. If I had a choice Id have swung and Chandra instead. ai: Threaten! yikes! Visara.Vess's me ...I discard Evacuation (a really useless/situational card in this deck I feel) then Chandra pings me (18-20) and swings with Visara(13-20).
turn 7: echoing truth on chandra...(Ill get it with a counter.) swing on Vess with Visara and AI with manowar(13-18). ai: casts shivan dragon...removed soul.
turn 8: swing for 7 (13-11). ai: casts Liliana Vess...counterspell.
turn 9: land, swing for 7 (13-4). ai: casts Kamahl, Pit Figher I consider countering it but I have 2 control magics in hand and it cant kill Visara or me. Ai pings me with Kamahl for 3 (10-4).
turn 10: I swing for the win.

RedBlack vs ControlBlue results (best of 3): 2-1
game 1:
turn 1: swamp ai: land
turn 2: swamp ai: land
turn 3: mountain ai: land
turn 4: mountain Highway Robber (22-18). ai: land man o war on robber!
turn 5: no land draw! Highway Robber (24-16) ai: land man o war on robber! swings for 2. (22-16). ancestral targeting ai.
turn 6: no land draw! Highway Robber (24-14). ai: repulse on robber, swings for 4.
turn 7: swamp! damnation: ai: evacuation?? (no creatures were in play).
turn 8: no land draw! Liliana Vess. Activate Vess (ai drops echoing truth). ai:land Bribery targetting Visara. Ancestral targeting AI.
turn 9: no land draw! Activate Vess (drops a remove soul) ai: attacks Liliana Vess with Visara ...I cast Beacon of Destruction on Visara killing it. Vess loses 5 counters anyway(...should have remembered that ridiculous bug and killed it on my turn. :/ the combination of this bug and the no combat phase design wrecks instant speed play.) plays mulldrifter, mox and land. (discards a remove soul at cleanup)
turn 10: no land, Activate Vess (discards an ancestral recall) cast Shriekmaw killing mulldrifter. ai: echoing truth Shriekmaw. Mulldrifter.

turn 11: badlands! Activate Vess (discards counterspell), cast Shriekmaw killing Mulldrifter ai: land bribery on shivan! ouch.
turn 12: Activate Vess (drops Control Magic), Beacon of Unrest on Man O War targeting Shivan. Swing for 3. (20-11) ai:land Darksteel Gargoyle Ancestral on AI.
turn 13: Activate Vess (drops counterspell), Swing for 5 (no blocks!!) (20-6) cast Beacon of Destruction on AI, Bolt on AI.


game 2: paris due to drawing 1 land. kept mountain, swampx2, animate dead and highway robberx2.
turn 1: mountain ai:land mox mox
turn 2: swamp ai: land
turn 3: swamp ai: land bribery on shivan dragon.
turn 4: no lands! (dead in 4 turns?) ai: land swings for 5 (15-20)
turn 5: no lands! (draw a damnation...) ai: land swings for 5(10-20) Darksteel Gargoyle.
turn 6: blood crypt (8-20)(2 life ouch) damnation.) sadly the Gargoyle Survives. ai: swings for 3 (5-20) inexplicably evacuates (yay?)
turn 7: highway robber (7-18) ai: man o war on highway robber.
turn 8: highway robber (9-16) ai: land man o war swings blocked with robber. casts Gargoyle.
turn 9: animate dead on shivan dragon. cast Hymn To Tourach (disk and counterspell) ai: casts disk, ancestral and ancestral and then echoing truth on dragon. (forgot to attack)
turn 10: Threaten Gargoyle and swing for 3 (9-13). Bolt on AI (9-10) ai attacks with Gargoyle (6-10) casts Bribery on Visara the Dreadful.
turn 11: STILL stuck at 4 lands. Animate Dead Man o War on Visara. ai: attacks for 3 ((3-10) casts repulse on manowar. eot I bolt AI. (3-7).
turn 12: no land! Highway Robbers (5-5). ai: man o war on robbers then disks! and swings for 3(2-5), casts ancestral on ai.
turn 13: blood crypt (auto not paying 2 life). Highway RObbers (4-3) if I survive this turn I might be able to win. AI: man o war on robbers swings for 3. (1-3).
turn 14: choices: I could a) cast Beacon of Unrest on Man O War to bounce the gargoyle. b) cast robbers to reverse our lives (loses) c) cast Liliana Vess...(useless) d)cast Chandra (also useless, sadly). cast Shriekmaw. so it looks like a) is the only choice that might work. (crosses fingers). (AI has 7 cards btw...the chances of it NOT having a bounce card is almost nil). so the ai casts a manowar and bounces the manowar I have and swings with the manowar it cast last turn.
The lesson learned here...4 mana is not enough to do anything of consequence in the Red Black deck. :/

game 3: paris down to 3 cards before I get 2 lands :/ this is a bye for the AI unless it is particularly dumb.

turn 1: bloodcrypt ai: land mox mox
turn 2: swamp ai: land
turn 3: swamp ai: land
turn 4: nothing ai: land
turn 5: wheel of fortune swamp ai: land
turn 6: bloodcrypt (18-20) Sengir Vampire ai: land Control Magic on Vampire
turn 7: animate dead on Man O War on Vampire ai: land Repulse on Man O War
turn 8: badlands sengir ai: manowar on vampire
turn 9: mountain shriekmaw on manwar ai: repulse on Shriekmaw.
turn 10: swamp vampire ai: manowar on vampire mulldrifter
turn 11: damnation ai: bribery on visara
turn 12: beacon of unrest man o war bouncing visara ai: echoing truth on man o war mox
turn 13: Kamahl, Pit Fighter swing for 6.(18-14) ai: man o war Kamahl. bolt on man o war.
turn 14: Kamahl, Pit Fighter swing for 6. (18-8) ai: echoing truth on Kamahl.
turn 15: Kamahl, Pit Fighter swing for 6. (18-2) ai: mulldrifterx2
turn 16: Tap Kamahl for 3 to AI.

Round 4 thoughts:
Red black is a very strong color alliance if there are no color hosers in the opposing deck. The bounce of the BlueControl was good at stalling but only made the games longer while the control aspect was a little scary but dealable with the various things in the Red Black toolkit. The only trouble the blackred deck had was with the Gargoyle. On the other hand playing BlueControl vs the AI meant counterspells + the other two mechanisms which made a more robust defense. I think if the AI could figure out how to play counterspells Blue Control would be much better. Now I did not make BlueControl a legal deck by removing the extra moxes and recalls but honestly I dont think they were instrumental in the 1 game the deck won with the AI playing it. It is interesting to me that the maker of the deck did not want to use Time Twister which can be really good for control blue if it runs low on answers. For Red Black Id have felt better if I could have some Fallen Angels to thrown in it.

[GandoTheBard]

round 5:
Modified Blue Control (see deck list) vs BlackWhite. results (best of 3): 2-0

Decklist: Control Blue Modified :
1x Ancestral Recall
4x Bribery
4x Control Magic
4x Counterspell
4x Echoing Truth
1x Impulse
4x Keiga, the Tide Star
4x Man-o'-War
1x Memnarch
4x Mulldrifter
4x Remove Soul
4x Repulse
1x Timetwister
18x Island
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Library of Alexandria

notes on the deck modifications: I believe initially I left the 3 extra moxes and ancestrals in but my sense of the game means I expect no more than 1 of each of the restricted power 9 cards so to assuage that part of my brain I took them out. Also I put in some cards that seemed like essential mechanisms in this deck: namely Man O War who is so versatile its not even funny and Mulldrifter which seems expensive but really isnt. Mulldrifter makes it possible to play with Library effectively. The 1 twister was not useful this round but I think it should be against the mirror match and situationally against other control decks.

game 1: 1 land ...paris to 6 keeping Library of Alexandria, Mox Sapphire, Island, Man O War and Briberyx2

turn 1: library, mox ai: land mox pearl
turn 2: land ai: swamp
turn 3: land ai: plains Goldmeadow Lookout
turn 4: no land Man O War on Lookout ai: swamp plowshares on man o war (:() highway robber (18-22)
turn 5: no land Evoke Mulldrifter (no land) ai: Goldmeadow, swing for 2.
turn 6: tap Library for draw...Ancestral self play Island (thinking...could play timetwister (but opponent has 3 cards...:/) ai: hymn (countered) swing for 4 (14-20)
turn 7: land Keiga, the Tide Star ai: Shriekmaw Keiga (I get Shriekmaw) swing for 4 I block 2 with Shriekmaw killing Goldmeadow (12-20)
turn 8: Bribery Kokusho ai: passes turn
turn 9: Swing for 5. Control Magic on Robbers ai: Crib swap Kokusho Wrath of God (bleh)
turn 10: Bribery Kokusho ai: swamp
turn 11: Swing for 5 Evoke Mulldrifter tap Library for a card, play island ai: crib swap Kokusho
turn 12: land, library, swing for 1. Mulldrifter discarding: island, man o war ai: swamp damnation animate Keiga
turn 13: man o war keiga discarding keiga ai: plowshares on manowar (14-11) eot tap library for card
turn 14: land Keiga. ai: hymn (remove soul, control magic)
turn 15: swing for 5 (14-6) mulldrifter ai: damnation library in response, echoing truth on mulldrifter
turn 16: land Keiga ai: plow Keiga repulse it in response.
turn 17: land Keiga discarding Time Twister (to 7 cards in hand) ai: swamp crib swap Keiga library then echoing truth in response
turn 18: land Keiga library discarding man o war (to 7 cards) ai: plains
turn 19: land swing with Keiga ai: crib swap on Keiga countered with counterspell.
turn 20 swing for game.


game 2: keeping 3 islands, echoing truth, remove soul, repulse and control magic.
turn 1: island ai: plains
turn 2: island ai: swamp
turn 3: island ai: plains
turn 4: island ai: swamp eot impulse: choice of islandx2, bribery or echoing truth..I choose Bribery (and hope to draw the island)
turn 5: no land :/ ai: beacon of unrest on impulse??? yikes...guess I can repulse that eh? eot echoing truth on the impulse...impulse keiga, mulldrifter, repulse, time twister...I choose Mulldrifter
turn 6: yay land! Bribery on Serra Angel ai: plains Shreikmaw on Serra (duh)
turn 7: land Control Magic on Shriekmaw ai: swamp Crib Swap on Shriekmaw (countered) Animate Dead on Serra Angel
turn 8: Swing with Shriekmaw (20-17) ai: plains Swing with Serra (repulse to hand) Kokusho (removed soul)
turn 9: Swing with Shriekmaw (20-14) play library Mulldrifter ai: Shriekmaw Mulldrifter Echoing truth in response.
turn 10: Control Magic On Shriekmaw and Swing for 3 (20-11) ai: swamp Kokusho (counterspell) eot ancestral self
turn 11: library to draw a card play Island, Swing for 6 (20-5) ai: swamp Serra Angel (removed soul) Highway Robber (18-7)
turn 12: library, Control Magic on Highway Robbers Swing for 6 (18-1) ai: Crib Swap on Shriekmaw..(he cheats and gets the token). Highway Robbers (counterspell)
turn 13: Man O War the Token and Swing for the win.

Now to reverse roles here

BlackWhite Vs Modified Control Blue results (best of 3): 2-0
game 1: keeping: plains, swamp, hymn, Shriekmaw x2, plowshares and Lookout.
turn 1: plains ai: island
turn 2: swamp ai: island
turn 3: swamp Hymn getting (Keiga x2) ai: island
turn 4: plains Goldmeadow Lookout ai: island Man O War
turn 5: swamp plow Man O War (20-22), Lookout again ai: island mulldrifter
turn 6: plains (misclicked on ok for combat so no combat) Shriekmaw on Mulldrifter ai: island repulse on Shriekmaw eot make a token from discard plains
turn 7: swing for 3 (20-19) play another Goldmeadow Lookout ai: island
turn 8: swing for 5 (20-14) ai: Man O War on Lookout
turn 9: Shriekmaw Man O War, Swing for 3 (20-11) ai: mox
turn 10: Swamp Swing for 6 (20-5) ai: nothing
turn 11: swing for the win...

game 2: 1 land draw parising to 6: keeping: mox pearl, scrubland, swamp, cribswap, lookout and kokusho
turn 1: mox pearl, scrublands ai: island
turn 2: swamp ai: island
turn 3: no land :/ ai: island
turn 4: plains Goldmeadow Lookout ai: island man o war on Goldmeadow
turn 5: no land Highway Robbers (22-18) ai: island Repulse Highway Robber swing for 2 (20-18)
turn 6: no land Korlash Granduer (fetching swamp and scrublands...well at least it picked randomly and didnt disclude the scrublands ai: Island Control magic on Korlash (doesnt die dammit...where are HIS swamps??) swings for 2 (18-18) ancestral on ai
turn 7: no land Damnation ai: island Keiga
turn 8: no land Hymn (time twister, echoing truth) ai: swings for 5, crib swap...Keiga again...
turn 9: no land yet again Hymn (repulse, control magic) Highway Robbers (20-16) ai: repulse Robbers Swings for 6 (14-16)
turn 10: no land Kokusho...ai: echoing truth on Kokusho, swing for 6 (8-16) Mulldrifter
turn 11: no land Damnation ai:keiga #3
turn 12: no land ai: swing for 5 crib swap
turn 13: plains highway robber (10-14) ai: man o war on robbers, swings for 1 (9-14)
turn 14: highway robbers (11-12) evoked Shriekmaw on Man o war ai: echoing truth on robbers swing for 1 (10-12) Bribery on Kokusho
turn 15: Beacon of Unrest on Man O War (Kokusho, 3rd in hand) Hymn (getting 2x Remove Soul) ai: Memnarch! ruh roh better finish this fast. (Where is my DISENCHANT dammit!)
turn 16: scrubland Kokoshu (and pray) ai: Control Magic Kokusho...Man O war Man O war Swing for 5 :/ (5-12)
turn 17: Kokusho (both die doing 10 to Computer (bug) and I gain 10 (15-2) ai: swing for 7, mulldrifter, mox
turn 18: Highway robbers for the win.

man did that get hairy...

Round 5 thoughts: All through both games I noticed the computer making grievous errors and bugs and still it managed to survive for a long time and even threaten to win at one point. Control Blue for being a monocolor deck is quite strong at least after modification. Also I had to replay this round because I started it using [strike]jpbs[/strike] phorce's rather old unmodified version first before I realized I had overwritten my decklist with his. His Control blue rolled over to Blackwhite so it was a really tough ride against the computer playing it. Frankly one of the keys to victory with Blue is draw...aka Card Advantage...and Synergy. Without those you just cant hold up to the viscious attack power of the other colors. Even green mono can rollover blue without enough draw.

[GandoTheBard]

Round 6
BlueRedControl vs BlackWhite results (best of 3): 2-0
game 1: keeping Volcanic Island, Faerie Conclave, Fire Imp, Mogg Fanatic, Lightning Bolt, Mulldrifter, Keiga, the Tide Star
turn 1: Faerie Conclave ai: plains
turn 2: Volcanic Island Mogg Fanatic ai: swamp
turn 3: Volcanic Island Swing for 1 (20-19) Mulldrifter Evoked ai: plains Crib Swap on fanatic sac it in response to deal 1 to ai. (20-18)
turn 4: Island ai: swamp Korlash
turn 5: Island Fireimp targeting Korlash ai: plains Swords to Plowshares on Imp (22-18) Highway Robber (counterspell)
turn 6: Island Keiga, the Tide Star ai: swamp Shriekmaw on Keiga I get Shriek.
turn 7: Swing for 3 (22-15) ai: Hymn (getting both Bolts) Animate on Keiga
turn 8: Swing for 3 (22-12) Control Magic on Keiga ai: Wrath of God Animate Dead on Keiga (again!)
turn 9: mox ruby...(enough to cast imp and kavu to kill Keiga...but I lose Kavu to Keiga on exit and I still dont get to fly over with Conclave. bah ok) Fire Imp and Flametongue Kavu (both targeting Keiga.) ai: predictably swings with kavu...I block with imp.
turn 10: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (22-10) ai: plains
turn 11: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (22-8) ai: nothing
turn 12: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (22-6) Mulldrifter evoked ai: Goldmeadow Lookout Bolt it.
turn 13: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (22-4) ai: nothing
turn 14: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (22-2) ai: mox jet
turn 15: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for the win.

game 2: 1 land draw parising to 6: keeping faerie conclave, island, kavu, bolt and control magic x2
turn 1: conclave ai: plains
turn 2: mountain ai: swamp
turn 3: Volcanic Island Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (20-18) ai: plains
turn 4: Volcanic Island Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (20-16) ai: swamp Korlash bolt at eot.
turn 5: Island Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (20-14) ai: plains Serra Angel
turn 6: Flametongue Kavu on Angel ai: Swamp Swords to Plowshares on Kavu (24-14) Goldmeadow Lookout
turn 7: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (24-12) Fire Imp on Lookout ai: Goldmeadow Lookout.
turn 8: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing with Conclave and Imp for 4 (24-10) Goldmeadow blocks Imp ai: nothing.
turn 9: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (24-8) ai: nothing.
turn 10: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (24-6) ai: plains
turn 11: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (24-4) ai: nothing
turn 12: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (24-2) Bolt AI for win.

Easy match lets see how I fair in reverse

BlackWhite vs RedBlue Control results (best of 3) 2-1
game 1: keeping plains, swamp, mox pearl, swords to plowshares, crib swap and highway robberx2
turn 1: mox pearl, swamp ai: island mox sapphire
turn 2: plains ai: mountain mogg fanatic eot plow it (20-21).
turn 3: plains ai: island
turn 4: no land! ai: mountain Mulldrifter :/ crib swap it at eot.
turn 5: no land again (I have 5 cards with double black and no 2nd black mana, typical shuffle with this client sadly.) ai: island swings for 1 (19-21)
turn 6: Goldmeadow Lookout ai: Fire imp on lookout...swings for 1(18-21)
turn 7: draw and play a swamp! yay Highway Robber (20-19) ai: island man o war on robber swings for 3 (17-20) Mogg Fanatic
turn 8: Kokusho, the Evening Star ai: mountain Control Magic on Kokusho and Swing for 6 (11-19)
turn 9: looking bad here...:/ of course I played the last turn poorly based on my knowledge of both decks and the fact that the ai almost always draws what it needs. not sure what else I could have done though...I drew into an animate but there isnt anythign good to animate...so my choice is to Highway Robber and hope he doesnt bolt me for the win next turn.(13-17) ai:island swings for 11 but I block the man o war (4-17)
turn 10: Animate Man O War targetting Kokusho Highway Robber (6-15) ai: manowar on highway robber (bad play?) and swings for 4 I block the imp with the manowar trading them off (4-15)
turn 11: Scrubland Hymn gettingCounterspellx2 and Highway Robber again (6-13) ai: swings for 4 I block manowar (4-13)
turn 12: Kokusho ai: Control Magic Kokusho Swing for 2 and bolt for the win :/ Ouch (Next turn I had the 2nd Kokusho.)

game 2: Keeping plains, damnation, plow, scrubland, lookout, mox pearl and robber
turn 1: mox pearl, scrubland ai: island
turn 2: plains ai: mountain
turn 3: swamp Highway Robber (22-18) ai: Island Fire Imp on Robber
turn 4: swamp Goldmeadow Lookout ai: MountainFire Imp on Lookout swing with Imp (plow)(22-20)
turn 5: Hymn (man o war, control magic) ai: island swing for 2 (20-20) Mulldrifter
turn 6: Goldmeadow Lookout ai: Mountain Man O War on Goldmeadow (plow in response) (22-20) Swing for 4 (18-20)
turn 7: Plains, Damnation ai: Mulldrifter :/ :/ x(
turn 8: Plains! (no cards in hand vs his 5 cards in hand...topdecking mode = game over) ai:Island swing for 2 (16-20)
turn 9: Hymn (control magic and imp) ai: swing for 2 (14-20)
turn 10: Highway Robber (16-18) ai: Man O War on Robber, swing for 2 (14-18)
turn 11: Highway Robber (16-16) ai: Man O War on Robber swing for 4 crib swap on Mulldrifter (14-16)
turn 12: Highway Robber (16-14) Shriekmaw evoked on Man O War ai: Man O War attacks and is blocked. Plays Mogg Fanatic
turn 13: draw a swamp (kept in hand for no good reason) ai: swing for 2 (14-14)
turn 14: nothing ai: swing for 2 (12-14)
turn 15: Beacon of Unrest on Robber (14-12) ai: mox sapphire
turn 16: Scrubland ai: nothing
turn 17: nothing ai: nothing
turn 18: Swamp Animate Mulldrifter Hymn for (counterspell and control magic) ai: bolt drifter and disk.
turn 19: Swamp ai: nothing
turn 20: Kokusho, swing for 2 blocked by fanatic and token...all die. ai: mogg fanatic.
turn 21: swing for 5 (14-7) ai: swing with mogg (13-7) flametongue kavu on Kokusho...mogg fanatic....no follow up to kill Kokusho.
turn 22: Swing for 5 and then wrath of god for the win.

game 3: keeping Mox Pearl, Swampx2 Shriekmaw, Kokusho, and Highway Robberx2
turn 1: Swamp, mox ai: island
turn 2: swamp ai: mountain
turn 3: swamp Highway Robber (22-18) ai:Island Man O War on Highway Robber
turn 4: swamp Evoke Shriekmaw on Man O War and Animate it(*you can tell Im getting tired when I do stupid stuff like this. ). ai: Mountain Man O War Shriekmaw (yay!)
turn 5: Shriekmaw on Man O War ai: Island Fire Imp on Shriekmaw
turn 6: Highway Robber (24-16) ai: Imp attacks and is blocked. Mulldrifter
turn 7: Beacon of Unrest on Shriekmaw targetting Drifter ai: Mountain Fire Imp on Shriekmaw
turn 8: Highway Robber (26-14) ai: attacks with Fire Imp and is blocked (another mistake at this point...shouldnt be trading, should be counterattacking)...Mulldrifter
turn 9: Goldmeadow Lookout (notice the lack of land for 5 turns and no double white mana if I needed it) ai: Fire Imp on Goldmeadow...swings for 2 (24-14)
turn 10: scrubland! Kokusho (waiting for the control magic) ai: and predictably Control Magic on Kokusho swing for 4 (20-14)
turn 11: Hymn for bolt and counter...Damnation (25-9) ai: Keiga, the Tide Star
turn 12: Plains Kokusho (and pray) ai: but of COURSE Ai has Control Magic on Kokusho and swings for 5 (20-9)
turn 13: Serra Angel (oh so weak...:/) ai: Man O War on Serra...swing for 10! (10-9)
turn 14: Hymn (for bolt and disk) Serra again :/ ai: Flametongue for the Win...ouch


Thoughts on this round: Ive said it before Ill say it again...based on the randomness of AI's play and the bugs in MTG Forge the AI should never win..but here we see how strong the RedBlue deck is (yes I made a few tactical mistakes but they didnt amount to losing mistakes I think. ) The game play is so propelled by the draw and being able to replenish one's hand...Blackwhite does not have a lot of draw potential in Forge. And clearly I got out creatured playing Blackwhite...even the game I won I had to fend off a hoard of creatures. So I think we can see a trend here...lets see how Red Blue does against some of the other decks in the Deckwars (tommorow or later today maybe). For sure changes I will make to Blackwhite will involve removing Goldmeadow Lookout which turns out to be irrelevant, overcosted/underpowered and not tough enough. There are a myriad of potential replacements to consider. But I wont tweak it until this series is over.

[GandoTheBard]

Round 7
WhiteWeenie vs RedBlueControl
game 1: Keeping plainsx3, Glorious Anthem, Ajani Goldmane, Meadowboon, Ghost Warden
turn 1: plains ai: mox sapphire, island
turn 2: plains Ghost Warden ai: Mountain Man O War
turn 3: plains Glorious Anthem ai: Island Swing for 2(18-20) Mogg Fanatic
turn 4: plains Ghost Warden ai: Mountain Man O War on Ghost Warden, Swing for 3 (15-20)
turn 5: plains Serra Angel ai: Island Control Magic on Serra Angel
turn 6+ (at this point I stopped taking notes as there was some ruckus when my gf came home but basically I plowed the angel (and inexplicably gained the life...took a beating to about 6 before I could get Ajani on the table...which brought me to 8 life...then I got a wrath of god in and managed to get a ghost warden on the table to stay. the ai played a fanatic and I got another warden down then a serra and ai predictably stole Serra then I drew armageddon and with 7 counters on Ajani I decided to blow the lands and make an Avatar. next turn got a plow and plowed Serra (opponent correctly gained the life this time) Ghost Warden x2 and Avatar went all the way. Im sorry for the lackluster reporting of this game..when I got back to it I was sure it was going to be onesidedly against me. Surprisingly the Computer held back no lands.

game 2: Keeping a poor hand of 2xplains, fresh volunteers (why arent these the better WW critters? Note to self: fix deck abit), serra x2, and meadowboon x2.

turn 1:Plains ai: Island
turn 2: Plains volunteers ai: Mountain mogg fanatic
turn 3: Plains Swing for 2 (20-18) ai: Island Fireimp on Volunteers Swing for 1 (19-18)
turn 4: Plains Meadowboon. ai: Mountain Man O War Swing for 3 (16-18)
turn 5: no land, Meadowboon ai: Fireimp on Meadow Boon, Swing for 3 (13-18)
turn 6: no land, Meadowboon ai: Island Mulldrifter (bah flying :/) Mox Sapphire
turn 7: no land Glorious Anthem ai: Mountain Control Magic ON Meadowboon swing with everyone including Meadowboon (friggin cheater!) Blocked Meadowboon (yay got the counters) Plowed Mulldrifter (6-20)
turn 8: Serra Angel ai: Island and of course....Control Magic on Serra. Not cheating this time though he attacks and I block a fire imp (1-20). Will he sac the mogg? nope Timetwister! Then Mox Sapphire
turn 9: Plow the Serra (5-20) and Ponder whether to attack then wrath. Nope holding the wrath back...we will plow imp and manowar...attack (5-19) then play Volunteers...which leads to ai: Man O War x2 and Mogg Fanatic then ai Swings for 1. (4-19)
turn 10: Wrath of God, Volunteers. ai: disk. :/
turn 11: Swing for 2 ai:
turn 12: Swing for 2 ai: Mountain, Mulldrifter
turn 13: Serra Angel ai: Island Attacks into Angel then disks
turn 14: Meadowboon and Volunteers ai: Island pass the turn
turn 15: Swing for 5 (4-10) and Soul Warden ai: Mulldrifter (5-10)
turn 16: Evoke Meadowboon (6-10) Swing for 9 Mulldrifter blocks Meadowboon (6-5). ai:Control Magic on Meadowboon (tapped) Mogg Fanatic (7-5)
turn 17: Plains, Serra Angel (8-5) Swing with Volunteers and Soul Warden Fanatic blocks (8-3)
ai: Island Meadowboon attacks and is blocked by Serra (both die and My critters get the counters)
turn 18: just because I can: Akroma, Angel of Wrath (9-3) Swing for 13! for the win.

Ok turn it around:

RedBlue Control Vs White Weenie.
game 1: Keeping Conclave, Island Flametonguex3, Fire Imp and Man O War
turn 1: Conclave ai: Plains Soul Warden...nice start!
turn 2: Volcanic Island ai: Plains, Swing for 1 (19-20)
turn 3: Island Fireimp on Warden.(19-21) ai: Plains, Glorious Anthem
turn 4: Mountain, Swing for 2 (19-19) ai: Plains swords to plowshares on imp (21-19)
turn 5: no land, Activate Conclave and attack for 2 (21-17) ai: Meadowboon.
turn 6: Island. Flametongue on Meadowboon. ai:Plains Plowshares on Flametongue (25-17) Meadowboon. Mox Pearl
turn 7: no land, Flametongue on Meadowboon Mogg Fanatic. ai: Plains Wrath of God...sac mogg in response (25-16).
turn 8: no land Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (25-14) ai:plains
turn 9: Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (25-12) ai: Ghost warden
turn 10: Mountain Fire Imp on Warden Activate Faerie Conclave and swing for 2 (25-10) ai: mox pearl plains
turn 11: Mulldrifter Swing for 2(25-8) ai: Wrath of God, Fresh Volunteers
turn 12: Flametongue Kavu on Volunteers, Island ai: Swords to Plowshares on Kavu (counterspell)
turn 13: Volcanic Island Flametongue swings for 4 (25-4) Man O War on Flametongue, Mulldrifter ai: plains
turn 14: swing for the win.

game 2: Keeping Island, Library, Conclave, Counterspell, Lightning Bolt, Mogg Fanatic, Flametongue Kavu.
turn 1: Library ai: plains
turn 2: tap Library, Conclave ai: plains Ghost Warden.
turn 3: Volcanic Island, Tap Library, Mogg Fanatic ai:Plains Glorious Anthem...In response I sac the Fanatic (knowing he wont tap the Warden to protect itself.)
turn 4: Volcanic Island, ai: Plains Meadowboon, In response I tap Library...I could counter this but I wont.
turn 5: Island, Mox Ruby, Tap Library, Flametongue on Meadowboon ai: Plains Serra Angel!
turn 6: Volcanic Island, Tap Library, Swing with Flametongue (no block 20-16), Fireimp (on Serra) + bolt on Serra. ai: Serra Angel (counterspell)
turn 7: Swing for 6 (20-10), Mulldrifter, Tap library, Island, Mox Sapphire ai: Plains, Breath of Life on Serra
turn 8: Tap Library, Swing for 8, Serra Blocks Flametongue. (20-6), Mogg Fanatic, sac to kill Serra, ai: Wrath of God
turn 9: activate Conclave and swing for 2 (20-4) double bolt for the win.

Thoughts on Round 7:
Well I expected better from Whiteweenie...but Control really is just that...I never once felt threatened by WW playing RUControl but contrarily felt it was an uphill battle winning with WW against the AI playing RUControl and keep in mind that is sans Counterspell. I suspect the AI hasnt a clue how to play with Armageddon so it is possible it drew it and couldnt play it properly. Anyway on to the next matchup...

[GandoTheBard]

round 8
WhiteWeenie vs RedBlack results (best of 3): 2-0
game 1: keeping 2xplains, soul warden serra angel, akroma, glorious anthem and meadowboon
turn 1: plains warden ai: mountain
turn 2: terramorphic expanse (sac to get plains) swing for 1(20-19) ai:swamp
turn 3: plains glorious anthem swing for 2 (20-17) ai: mountain
turn 4: terramorphic expanse (sac for plains) swing for 2 (20-15) ai: swamp Highway Robber (19-17)
turn 5: plains Serra Angel ai: mountain Liliana Vess (activates, discarding soul warden)
turn 6: Swing for 4 at Vess, Meadowboon(21-17) ai: Vess (discarding Akroma (Breath of life still in hand) Chandra Nalaar activate for 1 (20-17) Mox Jet
turn 7: Breath of Life on Akroma, Swing for 12 at ai (21-5) and 5 at Vess (no blocks?!) plains ai: Kamahl, Pit Fighter (tap to kill soul warden) (21-5) Chandra ping (20-5)
turn 8: swing for the win.

game 2: keeping 3xplains, serra x2, akroma, and wrath of god
turn 1: plains ai: mountain
turn 2: plains ai: swamp
turn 3: plains soul warden ai: mountain wheel of fortune...yikes!
turn 4: plains mox pearl glorious anthem ghost warden (21-20) swing for 2 (21-18) ai: swamp highway robber (20-20)
turn 5: plains swing with soul warden (blocked) enhance with ghost warden (robber dies) Adakar Valkerie (21-20) ai: Mountain Beacon of Unrest Akroma (frown) yay because its on Main 2.(22-20)
turn 6: swing with Adakar (hoping for block) (22-15) ai: swing with Akroma (block with Adakar and enhance with warden) after blockers I tap Adakar targetting Akroma (didnt gain a life for Akroma for some reason) Swamp Visara the Dreadful (23-15)
turn 7: plains Swing with Adakar and Akroma (Visara blocks Akroma lol) after blockers I tap Adakar targetting Visara (23-8) no life gain again for Visara. ai: Mountain Damnation (not too surprising I suppose.) Mox Jet
turn 8: Fresh Volunteers Glorious Anthem ai: Swamp Sengir Vampire
turn 9: Swing for 4 (no block) (23-4) Meadowboon ai: Swing with Vampire (19-4)
turn 10: swing for the win...

yikes even without problack/red that match was onesided...lets reverse the decks

RedBlack vs WhiteWeenie results (best of 3): 2-0
game 1: keeping swamp, mountainx2, badlands, highway robbers,threaten and shriekmaw
turn 1: badlands ai: plains soulwarden
turn 2: swamp evoke Shriekmaw (20-21) ai: plains fresh volunteers
turn 3: mountain (misplayed...should have played Blood Crypt tapped) ai: plains swing for 2 (18-21) Ghost Warden
turn 4: mountain highway robber (20-21) ai: plains plow highway robbers (22-21) swing for 3 (19-21)
turn 5: badlands Chandra Nalaar kill the volunteers with Chandra (4 loyalty counters) ai: plains Swing for 1 (18-21) Serra Angel
turn 6: Blood Crypt (tapped) Chandra to Ghost Warden (3 loyalty counters) and Beacon of Destruction on Serra (Id do this as a fast effect except for the structure of the turns and the planeswalker combat damage bug) ai: Serra Angel
turn 7: animate dead on Shriekmaw (Serra) Ping ai (18-18*, +1 loyalty on Chandra) ai: Plains Soul Warden
turn 8: Chandra Pings ai: (18-17) Liliana Vess (activate, discards Wrath to 0 cards in hand) I keep Shriekmaw back to protect Chandra ai: Mox Pearl
turn 9: Blood Crypt (tapped) Ping ai: (18-16) Activate Vess even though Player has no cards (+1 loyalty each) Animate Dead on Serra Angel (18-17) ai: Glorious Anthem
turn 10: Ping Ai (18-16) + act Vess for loyalty. Swing for 5. (18-11). ai: plains
turn 11: Ping Ai (18-10) + act Vess for loyalty. Swing for 5. (18-5) ai: Soul warden (bug means no + life)
turn 12: (lol) Activate Chandra (lose 8 counters it goes away) and Liliana in response (getting back ai enough life to put it at 1)(18-1) Swing for the win

game 2: keeping mox jet, mox ruby, badlands, blood crypt, highway robbers, shriekmaw, shivan dragon
turn 1: badlands (misclicked instead of mox so no crypt this turn) mox jet mox ruby ai: plains soul warden
turn 2: crypt (tapped) evoked Shriekmaw (20-21) ai: plains Ghost Warden
turn 3: Highway Robbers (22-19) ai: plains plow robbers (24) swing for 1 (23-19) Fresh Volunteers
turn 4: Animate Shriekmaw killing Volunteers ai: plains Ghostwarden
turn 5: Swing for 2 (23-17) Highway Robbers (25-15) ai: plains
turn 6: Hymn to Tourach (getting: 2x Wrath of God) Swing for 2 (25-13) ai: Glorious Anthem, Ghost warden pumps Ghost Warden attack for 3 (22-13)
turn 7: Swamp, swing for 4 (22-9) Shriekmaw Ghost warden (tempting fate) ai: Plains Ghost Warden attacks into Shriekmaw
turn 8: Crypt (20-9) (idiot move? yes ) Swing for 4 (20-5) ai: Mox Pearl
turn 9: Swing for 4 (20-1) ai: Meadowboon
turn 10: Swing for the win

*: somehow lost track here but I thought the ai was at 20 at this point...then I looked at the life total and realized he took two points somewhere.

Anyway seems like the AI doesnt know how to cast certain spells...Wrath of God for example. The Tempting fate I was refering to before was him playing a big fattie after I killed the Ghost warden...that would have been a pain...though I did have damnation and a Shivan in hand.I was going to cast Shivan the turn before he cast Meadowboon but decided I really didnt want all my eggs in one basket so I lost 2 life for no reason. And of course once he cast the Meadowboon it was all over.