July Tournament (in progress)

[aww1979]

Juzamjedi vs Monopoman AI: 2-0 (+2 juzamjedi)
Monopoman vs Juzamjedi AI: 1-2 (+3 juzamjedi)

Juzamjedi:
Game 1: taiga, 3x elves, visionary, archdruid, belcher. Kept. Turn 1 land, fyndhorn elf. AI doesn't even play a land. Turn 2 Priest of Titania; AI plays Seaside Citadel. Turn 3 I play fyndhorn elf, elf of deep shadow, then Elvish Archdruid, but it gets Force of Willed; AI plays land and Werebear. Turn 4 I play elf of deep shadow, Goblin Charbelcher and activate; it does exactly 20 damage :p 1-0
Game 2: Forest, 2x belcher, fyndhorn, visionary, wren's run, joraga. Kept. Turn 1 forest, fyndhorn; AI plays savannah. Turn 2 Wren's Run Vanquisher; AI plays Seaside Citadel. Turn 3 I topdeck and play Priest of Titania and swing for 3 with WRV; AI plays Tundra, Coiling Oracle; I click too fast and I don't see what it drew, but it wasn't a land. Turn4 elf of deep shadow, elvish archdruid, elvish visionary, swing for 6; AI brainstorms in response and Nimble Mongoose and Werebear on its turn. Turn 5 I play and use belcher for 8; AI uses fetchland in response and is at 2, and then I attack for the win. 2-0

Monopoman:
Game 1: 4 land, ponder, plow, force of will. I'll keep it. Turn 1 fetchland go; AI plays taiga, elf; I plow it at end of turn. Turn 2 Tundra, Ponder; I see 2 land and tarmogoyf; I draw tarmo;I'll draw a land next turn, and I'll use a fetch to shuffle the other one in; AI plays land, fyndhorn elf. Turn 3 3/4 tarmo, fetchland; AI plays Land Grant, Imperious Perfect, Elves of Deep Shadow. Turn 4 I draw Trygon Predator, but I don't play it; I saw two archdruids in AIs hand and I keep it to pitch to FoW; AIs turn I do exactly that, and let through a Bramblewood Paragon. Turn 5 I draw Progenitus; land-go; AI plays the other Archdruid and a Priest of Titania. (has empty hand now) Tarmogoyf scares everything into not attacking. Turn 6 I draw land and pass; AI attacks with everything this time; I block the Perfect and am taken down to 1 life. Turn 7 I topdeck Coiling Oracle, play it, draw Werebear, and concede, as I'll have 3 blockers against 5 attackers and am at 1 life. 0-1 (I maybe shouldn't have kept that hand; hopefully I do better on the next one)
Game 2: Island, Tundra, 2x Ponder, Natural Order, plow, Trygon Predator; kept; AI mulls to 6. Turn 1 Tundra/Ponder, I see tarmo, FoW and Savannah; I draw the FoW; AI plays land, EoDS. Turn 2 Savannah/Ponder; I draw Tarmogoyf. AI plays land/ WRV; I plow it end of turn. Turn 3 I draw land, play Tarmogoyf (not Trygon; I might need to pitch him to FoW again); AI plays Land Grant, Bramblewood Paragon, and then Elvish Visionary. I don't FoW any of it because Land Grant showed me Priest of Titania and Belcher. Turn 4 I draw Ponder, play land, and Natural Order for my old friend 'Cuddles'; AI tries to cast an Imperious Perfect, and I force it, throwing Ponder. Turn 5 I swing for 10 (AI at 12 now) and play Trygon Predator (instead of Tarmogoyf) so that I threaten the win next turn; AI casts two elves. Turn 6 I swing for 12 and win. 1-1
Game 3: I get a weird hand this time. Werebear, 2x Brainstorm, Coiling Oracle, City of Brass, Force of Will, Nimble Mongoose. Only one land, but I can play almost anything I have, and two brainstorm will hopefully let me find a second land quick, so I keep it. Turn 1 brainstorm finds tundra tarmo and mongoose #2; AI plays land, Joraga Warcaller. Turn 2 I play tarmo and pass; AI plays land and two EoDS. Turn 3 Brainstorm, find Savannah, play it and then a second Tarmogoyf; AI tries to cast Imperious Perfect, and I force it, pitching the Coiling Elf I've been saving for that. (I'm down to 16, thanks to that and City of Brass; AI at 19 from EoDS) Turn 4 I play Werebear and Mongoose (keeping drawn Oracle in hand) and swing for 4 with tarmos; AI plays land and takes 1 from EoDS to play a belcher. Uh oh. Turn 5 I play Oracle (hit forest) and play Mongoose. I attack with everything; AI blocks a mongoose with joraga, and takes 5, not blocking werebear with the other EoDS for some reason; AI uses belcher on my werebear, dealing 16 damage to it. (which would have killed me!) Turn 6 I topdeck another oracle; it hits land. I attack with everything; one EoDS trades with my mongoose, the other EoDS doesn't block and AI takes 5; AI uses belcher for 14 on a tarmogoyf. (life 15-4) Turn 7 I topdeck a plowshares; if I use it, AI will be at 5, and out of lethal damage range, so I just attack; AI chumps tarmogoyf and takes 2. Plus, this way if I really have to, I can plow my own tarmo for life. Sadly, AI belches me for 26, and puts me to -11. 1-2 (I guess AI was teasing me by belching my creatures first! :p)

[jatill]

I also noticed that creatures sometimes get vigilance without any particular reason, I wasn't able to see a pattern but it's probably linked to Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers since that is the only creature that has vigilance in the deck.

When did this start?

Aww-
I see a couple likely mistakes in your 1st game with Monopman's deck, but I won't go into detail unless you're interested.

[Cognis]

I noticed it when I tested the deck for the tournament, but it wasn't relevant for the game so I forgot to report it, maybe it started later, I don't know, I don't think it happened in the tournament to me.

[aww1979]

I also noticed that creatures sometimes get vigilance without any particular reason, I wasn't able to see a pattern but it's probably linked to Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers since that is the only creature that has vigilance in the deck.

When did this start?

Aww-
I see a couple likely mistakes in your 1st game with Monopman's deck, but I won't go into detail unless you're interested.

-I'm not sure when the vigilance thing started, but I think it's been there awhile. I've seen it happen before this tournament; I've also seen something similar happen with Captain of the Watch and soldiers, where some soldiers still have vigilance if the captain leaves play.

-Sure, I'd appreciate your comments. There weren't very many choices available that game, and the biggest mistake I made I think was to keep that hand in the first place.

Turn 1 I could have used Ponder instead of keeping W open for plowshares. I don't think Pondering here would have made any difference, unless I chose to shuffle (but I think keeping Tarmogoyf is correct) but saving the plowshares for something nastier may have been smarter. Had I not killed that elf, though, the AI would've had 6 mana on turn 3 and done an Archdruid instead of a Paragon. (though I don't that this would've mattered)

Turn 4 I could have cast the Trygon Predator. I could also have saved that first turn Ponder to pitch to Force of Will. (if I had, I'd need one more turn to draw back what I got with Ponder; mind you it might have bought me a turn Forcing something with Ponder and keeping Predator. It also depends which order the 3 cards were; I'd have used a fetch at the earliest opportunity, so if tarmo wasn't first, I'd have shuffled him without knowing) I could also have attacked with Tarmogoyf and hoped AI blocked with Perfect+EoDS, but if it didn't trade, I'd be in even worse shape than if I'd done nothing.

Looking back, if I'd 1) saved plowshares for something bigger 2) saved Ponder for Force of Will and 3) cast Trygon Predator, I'd have done better I think. I'm not sure that would've been enough to survive, but it probably would've bought a turn or two.

http://rapidshare.com/files/408452478/zetaboth.zip

[jatill]

aww-
Besides keeping the hand, the 2 mistakes you make (in my opinion) are both in the first 2 turns First, there's no point to killing a mana elf in that matchup. Ideally, you save Swords for Elvish Champion only, since they're the real threat that Progenitus won't scare off.
Second, playing Fetch turn 1 is a mistake since you want to save those for Brainstorm / Ponder. Case in point, you end up drawing another land after Ponder, which should have been shuffled away on turn 2 when you cast Ponder + Fetch.

[aww1979]

Yeah, that's true; I never even thought of that second point. I did shuffle one of the lands I saw with Ponder with a second fetchland, but if I'd done it your way, I could have shuffled both of them back and still got the Tarmogoyf.

[discoransom]

Cognis vs Yggdrasil

game 1:

I cast six creatures and the AI has five answers. Cavaliers win the game.

game 2:

I overextend into Damnation in order to get more exalted beats. AI goes to one, sweeps the board, and commits suicide by Bitterblossom.


2-0


Yggdrasil vs Cognis

game 1:

I get a dynamite start with Hymn to Tourach and Vampire Nighthawk, with Damnation backup. I eventually draw into a couple Demigod of Revenge and win a race.

game 2:

I start with a hand full of removal, and hope the 1 for 1s can stall long enough. AI gets manascrewed and one of my blightnings hits 2 (!) Wilt-Leaf Liege. Oops. Still I have enough removal to survive a couple big attack phases and manage to win a close one.


2-0


Cognis 2 points
Yggdrasil 2 points

[discoransom]

Juzamjedi vs Monopoman

game 1:

I have to mull to 5, but I get explosive and get Goblin Charbelcher in play on turn 4. Naturally, the AI gets Natural Order on turn 4 (it always does), but I am able to win the race thanks to forestwalk and some damage from the belcher.

game 2:

I keep a triple Land Grant hand with a couple elf lords and it's over on turn five when I draw belcher.


2-0


Monopoman vs Juzamjedi

game 1:

AI gets off a little slow and I win with a pair of Trygon Predators, staying just one turn ahead the whole way.

game 2:

I mull to 5 and it's a turn 3 Natural Order kind of hand. Still, the AI comes out huge and casts a lethal Elvish Champion on turn 4, but I have Force of Will to win.


2-0


Juzamjedi 2 points
Monopoman 2 points

[monopoman]

I will report both brackets sometime on Saturday just a heads up!

[aww1979]

Sounds good Cognis and Juzamjedi are leading right now, but they can still definitely be caught, as there are four players left to report. (five, actually, but shantak said he won't be able to)

[thedrigo]

Sounds good Cognis and Juzamjedi are leading right now, but they can still definitely be caught, as there are four players left to report. (five, actually, but shantak said he won't be able to)

I'll get around to it today.... I'm presently fighting a little bit of a hangover.
Hehehe.

[thedrigo]

BRACKET EPSILON

Match 1: COGNIS (ME) vs YGGDRASIL (AI)

Game 1: WIN. Too many creatures, too little removal. Bitterblossom finished the AI off.
Game 2: WIN. Same as before.

Match 2: YGGDRASIL (ME) vs COGNIS (AI)

Game 1: WIN. Bitterblossom chump-blockers resisted the onslaught until Demigod of Revenge came down to clean up.
Game 2: WIN. Double Demigod of Revenge after getting rid of the AI’s hand was just unfair.

Cognis +2
Yggdrasil +2





BRACKET ZETA

Match 1: JUZAMJEDI (ME) vs MONOPMAN (AI)

Game 1: WIN. Even though the AI got Proggy online on turn 3, my elves were already HUGE thanks to Priest of Titania and Joraga Warcaller.
Game 2: WIN. HUGE elves + Elvish Champion cleaned up pretty quickly.

Match 2: MONOPMAN (ME) vs JUZAMJEDI (AI)

Game 1: WIN. AI was manascrewed. I made sure it never had enough mana to play. Proggy took the game on turn 7.
Game 2: WIN. AI’s skull got crushed under nasty Tarmogoyf and Werebear feet.

Juzamjedi +2
Monopman +2

[monopoman]

Bracket Epsilon

Cognis (Human) vs. Yggdrasil (AI): Yggdrasil (AI) wins 2-0

Game 1: I get overwhelmed fairly easily here I never can get more then 1 creature ont he board and the AI has an easy time removing them eventually bitter blossom x2 kills me. I draw a ton of land over this game. Yggdrasil wins!

Game 2: Similar to the first game I get a mediocre hand but its not enough at all. AI strips my hand clean and beats me down removing nearly any creature I play. Yggdrasil wins!

Yggdrasil (Human) Vs. Cognis (AI): Cognis (AI) wins 2-0

Game 1: Have problems this game AI seems to be getting a hand 2x better then mine each game. The G/W beats come fast and furious even damnation x2 isn't enough to hold it back. Cognis wins!

Game 2: Another horrible game for me the hand is mediocre the AI's hand is unbelievable can't win no matter what I do. Cognis wins!

Bracket Zeta

Monopoman (Human) Vs. Juzamjedi (AI): Monopoman (Human) wins 2-0!

Game 1: AI neglects to make a first turn land drop I get a 3rd turn Natural Order for Prog and easily swing in for the win. Not sure why AI decided to keep that hand... Monopoman wins!

Game 2: This game AI comes out a bit slow also but much faster then the first game I get a 4th turn natural order and predators to help hold back his force while I swing in for two hits of 10. Monopoman wins!

Juzamjedi (Human) Vs. Monopoman (AI): Monopoman (AI) wins 2-0!

Game 1: AI swords my first lord on turn 2 then forces my warcaller that I had multikickedd twice. It is not looking good for me as the AI has a nimble mongoose and I have 0 cards in hand with my only creatures being 2 elves of deep shadow. AI achieves threshold on the very next turn that he forced my warcaller I topdeck a 2nd warcaller though. AI starts to hold back as a creature stalemate develops. I am unable to get any damage through at all the AI eventually does order for a progenitus and it is not looking good. I can not get enough damage through before Progenitus beats me down. Monopoman wins!

Game 2: This game is a bad time for me I am forced to mulligan to 5 with no land hands for the first two. Unfortunatly with only one land and an elves of deep shadow I am unable to come out extremely fast. AI gets a 4th turn natural order in this game and I have no answer whatsoever. Monopoman wins!

Definitely tried my best here I can't believe how poor some of my hands were.

[Cognis]

Since I'm going on vacation in a couple of hours I won't be able to play the next round so I played all the possible outcomes. Enter the points of the two matches that will happen (Juzamjedi vs me and monopman vs yggdrasil probably) and disregard the other two. I will enter the next months tournament. See you in a weeks time.

Possible outcomes

Juzamjedi vs Yggdrasil 2-0
Yggdrasil vs Juzamjedi 1-2

Juzamjedi: 5 points
Yggdrasil: 0 points

Match 1 (Yggdrasil AI)
Game 1: Goblin Charbelcher won the match.
Game 2: Army got wiped out twice by Damnation and the AI mounted an offensive with Death’s Shadow and Vampire Nighthawk but was stopped again with Goblin Charbelcher.

Match 2 (Juzamjedi AI)
Game 1: Couldn’t keep up with an elven army.
Game 2: I thought I was dead when I topdecked a land for Damnation. After that 2 Death’s Shadow brought the win.
Game 3: I was severely mana screwed not being able to draw a land my entire game leaving me with two I had in my starting hand. I was able to play 2 Hymn to Tourach, 2 Bitterblossom and 2 Chainer’s Edict but without more mana for Damnation I got run over.

Yggdrasil vs Monopman 0-2
Monopman vs Yggdrasil 2-0

Yggdrasil: 0 points
Monopman: 7 points

Match 1 (Monopman AI)
Game 1: I had a decent hand but discarding his cards gave 2 Nimble Mongoose threshold and when Progenitus hit the board I couldn’t keep up.
Game 2: I’m at 3 and so is the AI. I have Demigod of Revenge in hand and need to topdeck a land, but I don’t so I lose. Even if I did draw a land AI had Swords to Plowshares and Force of Will. I had removal but Nimble Mongoose with shroud again evaded my Lightning Bolt. I didn’t even play Vampire Nighthawk in four matches. Bah.

Match 2 (Yggdrasil AI)
Game 1: What can I say? Turn 3 Progenitus.
Game 2: AI decimated my hands in the beginning but 2 Tarmogoyf were enough for the win.

Cognis vs Monopman 2-0
Monopman vs Cognis 2-0

Cognis: 2 points
Monopman: 2 points

Match 1 (Monopman AI)
Game 1: Wilt-Leaf Liege and Gaddock Teeg for the win.
Game 2: Noble Hierarch powered a turn 2 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers, turn 3 Wilt-Leaf Liege and turn 4 Baneslayer Angel. Only the angel stays on the board and the AI plays Natural Order, after I attack AI is at 11 and I’m at 32. I need two more turns to win since angel is exalted. AI is at 5 and plays a flyer while I’m at 23 after the attack. AI turn’s comes up and it sacrifices Nimble Mongoose for another Progenitus killing them both, but it didn’t change the outcome of the match since the AI had no flyers so angel would finish him.

Match 2 (Cognis AI)
Game 1: AI mounted an early offensive but Force of Will stopped Wilt-Leaf Liege and then Progenitus finished the game.
Game 2: AI had a decent hand but I again had just enough removal and counterspells to control the game until Progenitus finished it.


Cognis vs Juzamjedi 2-0
Juzamjedi vs Cognis 2-0

Cognis: 2 points
Yggdrasil: 2 points

Match 1 (Juzamjedi AI)
Game 1: AI had an army of elves and three Elvish Archdruid but attacked only the next round and two Path to Exile and blockers decimated it. After that my army overrun the AI.
Game 2: A few well placed removals, 2 Elvish Champion and Elvish Archdruid, proved decisive. After that it was easy to overrun the opposition.

Match 2 (Cognis AI)
Game 1: Triple kicked Joraga Warcaller and Elvish Champion made a comfortable win.
Game 2: Again Elvish champion secured a quick win.

[aww1979]

With Monopoman's reports, I have the following update for group epsilon: (cognis vs yggdrasil)

Cognis leads Yggdrasil 30-15, and nine players have reported, plus shantak has said he will not be testing this round. That means only two players remain and the most Yggdrasil can earn is 14 points, so Cognis is the winner of this group.

The Juzamjedi vs Monopoman winner is still undetermined.

Also, if anyone has votes for 'most fun' deck, post them here or PM them to me.