Waiting for Godot: ACR #5 – Swiss – Round 1

R1G1

I win the roll and mull a one-lander into this:

Nayatron, early plays, and my bomb; a trivial keep.

This is usually the part where I present all the tough choices I had, but by my seventh turn in this game, I had yet to draw a spell, so there weren’t any choices. Villain, meanwhile, had gone T3 (Trace of Abundance), T4 (Rhox Brute), T5 (Skeletonize) my (Stun Sniper), T6 (Giant Ambush Beetle), T7 (Jund Hackblade) + (Gluttonous Slime), devouring his skeleton token.

I'm dead, right?

No, because I have an untapped (Obelisk of Alara) and three colors of mana. I am facing quite the attack, though. What’s my survival plan? I have to take out a creature and leave my rioters standing or I can’t win this game, so from there it’s a clear choice to block the most damage. (Matca Rioters) jumps in front of the (Rhox Brute), pumps to 7/7, and I take 7 on the chin.

Drawing my first spell of the game would be nice, and manage to do so with my second rioters. I can work with two 3/3s and an (Obelisk of Alara) on (mana=W)(mana=G)(mana=R), even at 5 life. He complicates matters by untapping and casting (Breath of Malfegor), though, forcing my to use my obelisk activation now on life gain, treading at 5.

He attacks all out, and I have no choice but to block and trade:

Isn't (Obelisk of Alara) nuts, though? I mean, he ought to have a stranglehold on this game: I've drawn six land and one spell, he's dropped multiple big threats, has a (Breath of Malfegor) for reach, and my only creature is a 3/3. The obelisk hits play, though, and suddenly he’s making suicidal attacks, trying desperately to kill me before I take over.

I’m not out of the woods yet, though. If I don’t find a way to my Swamp or a creature, I will be netting only 2 life a turn against his hackblade attacks, and if he adds just one more threat without a response, I’m sunk. I manage to pull my (Rhox Brute), though, which immediately tips the scales in my favor.

He plays (Relic of Progenitus) and (Rockslide Elemental), but fails to cycle the relic, which is a large mistake on his part—you need every draw you can get when racing an (Obelisk of Alara). He has no attack, and I gain life to go back to 7 at his end step.

I pull (Slave of Bolas) and am excited at first, before remembering the whole “casting cost” thing. No slaving until I find some black mana, but now that I’m at 7 life, is there an attack in here given the threat of +4/+4?

8 damage is a lot, and Villain might chump with the 1/1 if I attack. That would be a great result, as I could save the obelisk for 3 to the dome or a 5-point life infusion. However, if Villain doesn’t block, I could be opening myself up to some comeback scenarios that are preventable with an untapped obelisk and a 4/4 back on defense.

The (Obelisk of Alara) provides such inevitability, it’s better to win like a python, here. Strangle Villain slowly but surely rather than risk a surprise loss in an effort to end a game I have locked down a turn earlier.

He draws and adds a (Pestilent Kathari), and I hit him in the head for 3, bringing him to 9. Gloriously, I draw (Gleam of Resistance) and promptly fetch my Swamp. What’s the plan to finish this thing?If I choose to turn a creature into a (Slave of Bolas), I have to target the (Pestilent Kathari) or he can first strike/deathtouch my attack. If I slave the kathari, he would chump my (Rhox Brute) with the (Jund Hackblade) and end up with a 3/3 first striker after the end-of-turn slave trigger. That result still favors me, but with my python plan, I don’t feel the need to use the (Slave of Bolas) until it would win me the game, which ought to be next turn. Hang tight.

He untaps and casts a (Hellkite Hatchling). Once it resolves, I can't respond to his devour choices, they just happen, so it's now or never. Use the (Obelisk of Alara) in response? Targeting what? Let him devour away, and (Slave of Bolas) the hatchling next turn for the win. If he leaves the (Pestilent Kathari) behind, kill it at EOT to clear the path. He actually devours the kathari and the hackblade, and I take out the (Rockslide Elemental) in response to the +1/+1 triggers. Slave plus the obelisk next turn take it down.

R1G2

On the play, Villain keeps and I ship back another one-lander on the draw. Let’s try six:

I have a solid shot at a Forest or the means to one in my first two draws, and that would produce a turn-four 5/3. That would be solid, but that's not exactly a stellar best-case scenario, when a very likely scenario is that I don’t draw a Forest in the first few turns and Just Lose. I'll take my chances with five.

Not much better, if better at all, but I can't go to four from here.

I draw a Mountain and back-to-back (Stun Sniper)s to open, giving me some early action to bail out the ugly starter. Two early pingers is serious trouble for most decks, and apparently Villain agrees, using a (Dark Temper) on one. He casts (Obelisk of Jund), and my next play is the turn-five (Naya Sojourners) after drawing more land and a (Resounding Roar). He then drops the (Grixis Slavedriver) I passed up in the draft, making me prove my “overrated” opinion by beating it. I draw (Igneous Pouncer), and must decide: tap now, swing for 5 and race, or sit back and tap the slavedriver defensively on his turn? With the bigger creature, the (Resounding Roar) and the ability to landcycle my way to 7 mana, I like my chances in a race. If the board doesn’t change, I win, so let’s force Villain to change the board. I tap the slavedriver, attack, and pass. The board changes. I cycle for the Swamp and draw a Forest, which will put me at (Resounding Roar) cycling mana next turn. I won’t be cycling roar if it leaves me unable to tap down the dragon, though.

Speaking of tapping, whenever you are within striking distance, facing multiple blockers with a tapper on your side, look for plays where you tap one blocker at Villain's end of turn, tap another on your turn, and swing for the win. Unfortunately, I need nine mana to tap down the dragon and the slavedriver and cycle the roar. Even then, the play deals 11 damage, not 12. If that were a lethal move, it would be plan A. As it is, Plan A is: don't ever let that dragon attack, and draw something to help.

He casts (Dispeller's Capsule) and a (Gluttonous Slime) main phase. I tap down his dragon, and he elects to swing with the slavedriver. This is risky on his part unless he has a way to take out the (Stun Sniper) and knows he will be winning the race shortly. With his main-phase (Gluttonous Slime), though, I'm not reading him for that kind of sophistication.

I draw a (Matca Rioters) and make the free attack with the slavedriver not around to block. he chumps with the slime, and I drop a 4/4 rioters. He plays a land and I tap his dragon again. This time, he correctly leaves back the slavedriver. I rip and cast (Bull Cerodon), leaving two mana up. What’s the best attack plan?If he has a blank in hand, I have the play I was looking for earlier: I can swing with everything, (Stun Sniper) the (Grixis Slavedriver) (or (Resounding Roar) an unblocked creature), and win. If I go for the throat with the (Stun Sniper) and he has something to disrupt the kill, though, I lose to the counterattack. Between the slavedriver and the dragon activation, he can do 17, which is alpha.

If I’m going to go for it this turn, it is more correct to (Resounding Roar) an unblocked creature for 12. Then, if he has something for my pumped creature and trades his slavedriver, I still have the (Stun Sniper) to chump block the unearth and keep Villain from alpha damage.

Regardless of whether I use the (Stun Sniper) or the (Resounding Roar), though, is it worth the risk?

If I swing with everything and save the (Stun Sniper) for defense, I’ll trade for the slavedriver, knock him down to 2 or 3, and be in great shape the following turn if he doesn’t draw anything. I can tap down the dragon again, at which point he has to unearth the slavedriver just to make a second 2/2 chump if he hasn’t drawn anything relevant.

That sounds good, but playing it conservatively gives him two more draws, and if his first one takes out the (Stun Sniper) and his second one is more help, he could claw his way back into it with an unchecked (Flameblast Dragon).

Based on his main-phase use of (Gluttenous Slime), though, I feel that if he had removal of any kind, he would have used it by now. I ultimately go with my read and tap down his slavedriver, looking for the win. He has no response, and I find it. I don’t know if I make that play against an opponent who has shown me better fundamentals, but I felt it was safe to go for the alpha in that spot.

 

Same Time, Same Channel

Thanks for reading. I’ll return next week with the second and third rounds of this draft. Another benefit of Swiss is that it’s not a spoiler to know it went three rounds! I’ll see you in seven for Part 2, at which point that link will be active.