It seems that ever since my victory at the SCG San Diego Legacy Open last year, the 12Post strategy has slowly but steadily picked up steam. Deck brewers have strayed from the original blue/green color scheme, opting for monogreen in some cases and adding red as a third color in other builds. A glance at tcdecks.net and Magic Online daily event results reveal that the deck is being played more than ever before, and consequently, opposing players have wised up on how to combat it. The Legacy community is well aware of the power of 12Post.
Admittedly, I have been unable to play paper Magic as much as I want to lately. StarCityGames has cut back on the number of Open Series events around the west coast, and my work schedule has prevented me from attending most weekly events at local game stores. Luckily, Arizona has been provided with the wonderful AZMagicPlayers.com Legacy Series this year, giving Legacy newcomers and veterans alike a chance to play competitive Legacy at several different locations across the state. These monthly events, coupled with some Magic Online (username into_play) allowed me to refine my playing skills and 12Post build. By the time the AZMagicPlayers.com Legacy Series Championship rolled around, I felt assured rocking the following list:
1st Place – Tony Murata – 12Post
| Creatures (7) 4 Primeval Titan 1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth 1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn Spells (28) 4 Brainstorm 4 Repeal 4 Show and Tell 3 Crop Rotation 1 Moment's Peace 4 Sensei's Divining Top 3 Pithing Needle 3 Expedition Map 2 Candelabra of Tawnos Lands (25) 4 Cloudpost 4 Glimmerpost 3 Vesuva 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Tropical Island 1 Forest 1 Island 1 Glacial Chasm 1 Eye of Ugin 1 Karakas 1 Bojuka Bog | Sideboard (15) 4 Force of Will 3 Flusterstorm 3 Blue Elemental Blast 3 Obstinate Baloth 1 Moment's Peace 1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale |
I decided to stay with a more conventional blue/green build, since I think the color combination offers the best balance of versatility and mana base stability. This was my first paper tournament running Moment’s Peace (thank you John Kassari for suggesting this card), a virtual double Time Walk for a deck where land drops are so vital. Another first for me was using Force of Wills in the sideboard. I used to be unconvinced of including the card in this deck for fear of not having enough blue cards. However, testing Force of Will on Magic Online revealed that this was not usually an issue, and simply having a zero mana answer for combo matchups outweighed any limitations of the format’s most prevalent counterspell.
I have seen several of the more recent 12Post lists remove either Kozilek or Ulamog, and I think this is incorrect. I have always been an advocate for Show and Tell in this deck, and have always main decked four copies. It has stolen many games that I would have otherwise lost, and gives me a somewhat quick way to apply pressure to combo and aggro decks. To supplement the four Show and Tells, the four titans and three Eldrazi are the bare minimum of large creatures to be cheated into play, and a third turn Kozilek or Ulamog will often be enough to risk playing a Show and Tell over. Not to mention, having some variation in your Eye of Ugin fetchable win conditions never hurts. In the past, a Jund opponent cast Slaughter Games, removing my Emrakul. I was not worried, however, as the two little brother Eldrazi gave me plenty of ammunition to close out the game. Kozilek and Ulamog, I believe, are important cogs in the deck. Plus, if you aren’t casting more huge colorless aliens, then why are you playing Cloudposts?
Another card that I feel has been wrongly omitted from recent lists is The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. The Legends land is great at stalling the rampant Delver decks that want to drop creatures every turn and it serves as a Wasteland magnet, effectively protecting your more important Cloudposts. In a deck with so many ways to find bullet lands, Tabernacle is certainly worthy of at least a sideboard slot.
The following are some of the highlights of my rounds at the Legacy Series Championships:
Round 1 – UWR Miracles
Game 1 – This was a quick Show and Tell into Primeval Titan into Emrakul. It was the perfect example of why Miracles struggles with 12Post.
In: 2 Flusterstorm, 3 Blue Elemental Blast (for fear of Blood Moon)
Out: Bojuka Bog, Moment’s Peace, 3 Crop Rotation
Game 2 – He got in a swing with a Vendilion Clique and two Angel tokens, bringing me to five life. I was able to play a Glacial Chasm and some subsequent Glimmerposts to stall and cast a Primeval Titan and Emrakul.
1-0
Round 2 – Dredge
Game 1 – He had an explosive hand with a land, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Breakthrough and Faithless Looting, but his first and only dredger revealed no other dredge creatures. The following turn, I was able to Crop Rotation into Bojuka Bog.
In: The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Moment’s Peace, 3 Flusterstorm
Out: 3 Pithing Needle, 2 Repeal
Game 2 – He had another first turn Breakthrough and ended up dredging four Stinkweed Imps, but didn’t hit a Narcomeoba to Cabal Therapy the Crop Rotation from my hand. The following turn, Crop Rotation into Bojuka Bog earned me a concession.
2-0
Round 3 – UWR Delver
Game 1 – I was able to eventually resolve a Show and Tell into Primeval Titan after some beats, which ramped me to victory.
In: The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Moment’s Peace
Out: 2 Candelabra of Tawnos
Game 2 – His start of the game included casting Delver, Dazing my turn one Map, and then casting a second Delver. The Tabernacle I played on my second turn then forced him to get rid of one of the Delvers and pay for the other. He Wasted the Tabernacle, then got stuck on two lands for a while. Later in the game, when I cast a Show and Tell, he Vendilion Clique’d in response, seeing a Primeval Titan and a Kozilek in my hand. He made me get rid of the Kozilek, so I put in the Titan and quickly ramped to hardcast Emrakul that I drew off of the Clique.
3-0
Round 4 – UG Infect
Game 1 – He dropped a Glistener Elf his first turn. His second turn, he swung for six (after casting a Noble Hierarch and Invigorate). His third turn, he cast a second Hierarch and then Green Sun Zenithed for a third one, dealing me the tenth poison counter before I could establish anything.
In: The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Moment’s Peace, 4 Force of Will, 3 Flusterstorm
Out: 2 Cloudpost, 1 Vesuva, Bojuka Bog, 3 Pithing Needle, 2 Candelabra of Tawnos
Game 2 – This ended up being my most intense game of the tournament. I hadn’t played this matchup before, but I figured I should approach it like the Elves matchup and try to hide behind a Glacial Chasm while working toward a Show and Tell into a monster. I was able to get a Chasm in early, then after a few turns, played a Crop Rotation on my upkeep to get a Vesuva and copy the original Chasm in response to the cumulative upkeep trigger, effectively buying myself an extra turn. When I finally was forced to give up my Chasm, I was at two life. He amusingly swung with his Noble Hierarch and Berserked it, but I had a Moment’s Peace to stop it from killing me. The next turn I was able to Show and Tell a Primeval Titan, get the Eye of Ugin and Cloudpost, use the Moment’s Peace flashback to survive the following turn and then swing with Titan and hardcast Emrakul.
Game 3 – By now, we were very short on time and only had about four minutes left, much to my disadvantage. I was most likely unable to win, but could perhaps force a draw. I kept a hand that had Glacial Chasm but was otherwise pretty weak. The Chasm bought me a few turns before he had assembled five power worth of infect creatures. When he first swung on turn one of the last turns, he dealt five poison counters to me. On turn two, I repealed a Glistener Elf. On turn three, he swung for four poison counters and I Flusterstormed his one pump spell. On turn four I Brainstormed to find a Moment’s Peace, which I cast during his upkeep on turn five to earn a draw.
3-0-1
Round 5 – Death and Taxes
Game 1 – He played no Wastelands this game, but two Rishadan Ports stalled me early. When I eventually played a Show and Tell, he put in an Aven Mindcensor against my Primeval Titan. Later during one of my upkeeps, when he tapped out to Port me, I Repealed his Aether Vial (then with three counters), Repealed his Mindcensor, and then proceeded to attack with the Titan and search for everything I needed in one turn, including Emrakul.
In: The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, 1 Moment’s Peace, 3 Flusterstorm (for Cataclysm)
Out: Bojuka Bog, 2 Candelabra of Tawnos, 1 Expedition Map, 1 Repeal
Game 2 – An early Thalia slowed me down, my first Map got removed with Council’s Judgment, and my second Map was rendered useless by Phyrexian Revoker. I was able to Flusterstorm a Cataclysm, but was beaten down by small creatures and flyers before I could do much.
Game 3 – I kept a hand that was all-in on Show and Tell into Emrakul. With one Pithing Needle I named Wasteland, a second one I named Karakas, and the third turn I played Show and Tell to put in the Eldrazi. He had enough permanents to survive the annihilator trigger with two lands, but was unable to find the Council’s Judgment at any point.
Round 6 – ID for Top 8
Quarterfinals – Death and Taxes
Game 1 – He was running Ghost Quarters in place of Rishadan Ports, which was actually worse for me. I had an early Show and Tell into Primeval Titan, which allowed me to cast and ultimately win with Ulamog.
In: The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, 1 Moment’s Peace, 3 Flusterstorm
Out: Bojuka Bog, 2 Candelabra of Tawnos, 1 Expedition Map, 1 Repeal
Game 2 – This was very similar to the first game, where I had another Show and Tell into Primeval Titan, although a Thalia made this a turn slower. Again, I was able to cast Ulamog and then win with it.
Semifinals – BUG Delver
Game 1 – An early Delver, Hymn to Tourach and Tarmogoyf put some pressure on me early, plus a Deathrite Shaman eventually joined the fray. It got to a point where I was at one life and needed to draw a non-fetchland green source to cast a Primeval Titan in my hand. My draw was a Tropical Island, and I was able to cast it, grabbing a Glimmerpost and Glacial Chasm to survive both the Deathrite Shaman and attackers for a couple of turns. From there I was able to claw my way back to casting Emrakul.
In: The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, 3 Obstinate Baloth
Out: 2 Candelabra of Tawnos, 1 Expedition Map, 1 Repeal
Game 2 – He Hymned me when I had a Baloth in hand, but he didn’t hit it. His clock was pretty slow, but he eventually had an Insectile Aberration and a Tarmogoyf in play. I played a Bojuka Bog to remove the artifact in my graveyard and shrink the Goyf, then cast the Baloth to prevent the 3/4 Goyf from attacking. When he attacked with the Goyf and I blocked, he had the Abrupt Decay in hand to destroy my Pithing Needle, killing the blocking Baloth and me the turn after.
Game 3 – This was a long, drawn-out game that saw him without much early pressure but an eventual Liliana of the Veil. Liliana got to six loyalty counters when I was finally able to cast a Primeval Titan in hand. His Liliana dropped to four to kill the Titan, then I cast another Titan, then Liliana dropped to two to kill that one. I then had enough mana to cast Kozilek, Repeal the Kozilek on his turn in response to the last Liliana edict effect, and then cast the Kozilek again on my following turn, giving me enough card advantage to close out the game.
Finals – UWR Miracles
Game 1 – For whatever reason, I didn’t cast the Pithing Needle in my opening hand within the first two turns of the game. Maybe it was because I had a Top of my own and didn’t want to name that, or that I didn’t fear Jace, the Mind Sculptor at that point. It ended up costing me, because he was able to assemble the Countertop lock on his second turn and eventually played a Jace. I was able to hardcast a Kozilek, but he played Swords on it and I was unable to draw any more threats from there. His Jace then kept fatesealing me all the way to his ultimate.
In: 3 Flusterstorm
Out: Bojuka Bog, 2 Crop Rotation
Game 2 – I knew he wasn’t playing Blood Moons, so I went for direct Cloudpost ramp. This game, my deck simply did what it did best. By the end of my fifth turn, I had four Cloudposts in play and had hardcast Kozilek and also Emrakul.
Game 3 – I was never under any pressure this game, and I was eventually able to Show and Tell a Primeval Titan into play. Within a couple of turns, I was able to hardcast Emrakul.
Thus, the Legacy Championship Series concluded with me taking home the trophy, a playset of Force of Wills, and two byes at Grand Prix: New Jersey. It’s been a pleasure as always to play 12Post, and I feel I have fine-tuned the most solid possible blue and green build for an unknown metagame. It feels like a privilege to be able to cast Show and Tell but not need it to win the game, and my journey over the course of the day revealed how game-winning the sorcery from Urza’s Saga is in this deck. I will be taking advantage of it before it gets banned, if what the Show and Tell naysayers say ends up being true. I was lucky to not have encountered much combo at the event, but I think the sideboard countermagic would have been sufficient and the best this kind of deck could hope for. I would not make any changes to my list if I were to play it in another tournament tomorrow.
In conclusion, I want to thank Jason and Jeff Abong for organizing an incredible tournament series, as well as the great local establishments that have hosted these tournaments. They have given me a chance to reconnect with old friends, as well as make new ones, all with a love of the game. The AZMagicPlayers.com Legacy Series has revealed that the Legacy format is anything but dying in the state of Arizona, and many Magic players who are new to Legacy have gotten a glimpse at why it is the greatest format. Thank you all for a memorable year of events, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future.
