This weekend, Blaine Johnson nearly completed the dream – back-to-back State Championships! Read his tournament report with the GB Aristocrats deck for Standard, and GB Midrange for Modern! Reposted with permission, but check out his post on the r/spikes subreddit here.
This past weekend I came so close to living the dream of getting first place in both of the Arizona SCG State Championships. I had two great tournaments and one hell of a weekend, so I thought I’d share my experience with you guys.
STANDARD:
While at work the Friday before States, I spent part of my time trying to follow the Pro Tour so I could keep up with any interesting decks that emerged. I took note of LSV’s GB Sacrifice deck that was gaining momentum and popularity with each of his wins on camera. Then, like many of you I went to the internet to see if any information had leaked about the cards that comprised his team’s deck. Thankfully you guys(r/spikes) came through and there was a thread discussing the possible deck list. I was really surprised to see the amount of work and analysis that everyone did to determine potential cards based upon brief glimpses of cards seen inside deck boxes, or accidentally flipped over on camera. This insight combined with the Saffron list was enough for me to compile a 75 card deck that I was reasonably happy with. I put the deck list into a mtg app and solitaired it over and over throughout the day to get a feel for the interactions between cards and to look for optimal lines of play, as well as watching LSV’s matches on camera.
Saturday morning I woke up and immediately checked out the current results of the PT and crossed my fingers that a deck tech would be released showcasing the GB Sac deck. I was fortunate enough to see that Matt Nass had recorded a brief video and it allowed me to reevaluate some of the choices I had initially made. With these updates I felt way more prepared for the event ahead. I changed the cards in my deck, packed my essentials, got in my car, and I was off! Well, not really since my car’s battery had decided to die on me, but once one of the judges for the event had picked me up from my house, I was off!
Standard List
| Creatures (30) 4 Blisterpod 4 Loam Dryad 4 Duskwatch Recruiter 4 Elvish Visionary 4 Zulaport Cutthroat 4 Catacomb Sifter 2 Liliana, Heretical Healer 4 Nantuko Husk Spells (7) 3 Cryptolith Rite 4 Collected Company Lands (23) 8 Forest 4 Hissing Quagmire 4 Llanowar Wastes 4 Swamp 3 Westvale Abbey | Sideboard (15) 3 Hangarback Walker 4 Transgress the Mind 3 Ultimate Price 2 Ulvenwald Mysteries 3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet |
89 players showed up for the Standard portion of AZ SCG States. Shout out to Play or Draw and the judging staff for running a very smooth tournament on both days. I’ll now give a brief round by round breakdown of each match.
Round 1: Wu Humans
It was nice to get paired against Humans right away because I was under the impression that this GB deck was designed to play well against the two top dogs of the format, Humans and Bant Company. After getting thrashed game one due to a solid curve of 1 drop, 2 drop, Always Watching, followed by removal and more dudes, I was starting to question my deck choice and the long day ahead of me. I managed to bounce back with a game two win that included flipping Westvale Abbey along with a handful of Zulaport triggers. I initially had boarded in Kalitas because I figured it would be good against a deck with a ton of creatures and few removal spells, but after playing out the second game I kept hoping I wouldn’t draw him. In game three I kept a hand with Dryad into Rite, with a CoCo. I had a game plan, but it was horribly disrupted when he bounced my Dryad with his Reflector Mage and set me back 2 turns when I played a tapped land on turn 3 and passed. I never did cast that Collected Company and started off the event with a loss.
0-1
Round 2: Mono White Humans
Not feeling good on a loss to Humans I was even more unhappy having to sit across from it again. Through a combination of average draws from him and some very well timed draws from me, we managed to split the first two games. Game three he stumbled on lands and gave me all the time in the world to durdle with his lack of pressure. After game two I finally realized that Hangarback Walker was solid in this match up. They only have so much removal, and even though it’s good against H.W. you still have a ton of other targets they want to remove. H.W. effectively gives me a lot of time to chump block and survive long enough to build up a lethal board.
1-1
Round 3: Jund
I can’t remember all the details of this match, which is probably good for those readers who are just skimming through this post. I won game one, and lost game two after he played Radiant Flame with a Kalitas in play. Game three may have been a case of either poor draws, mulligans, or mana screw, but I remember there being something off about the victory and thinking that I dodged another bullet.
2-1
Round 4: Big White Eldrazi
Game one he had my two Nantuko Husks on lock down with an Eldrazi Displacer, which I found out was impossible for me to kill with my current list. I eventually dug into a second copy of Cutthroat and held priority to eat my whole team to one of the Husks. Game two wasn’t as gridlocked and I had a decent curve as he slowly grabbed lands with Knight of the White Orchid. He passed with 5 mana up and we openly discussed how I should play around Avacyn. I eventually won the game, and my opponent got to enjoy his food that had been delivered to him during our match.
3-1
Round 5: Bant Company
This matchup feels really good for the GB deck. They don’t put much pressure on you and only interact lightly. With that said, some well-timed CoCos can do some serious work. Game one I cast a second Cuttthroat to put lethal on board, he responded with a CoCo that hit two Reflector Mages and bounced both of my Nantuko Husks. Without being able to play them next turn, and facing lethal I had to eat my team to Westvale Abbey, and hit him down to 1 life. He had a Bounding Krasis for my final swing of the game. It was an unfortunate loss, but they certainly happen. Game two went to time, and I got my revenge by peeling a Cutthroat on turn 5 of turns to kill him, and forcing the draw. I learned to over value Cutthroat in this match up and not run them out too early when they can be eaten by Dromoka’s Command and have little impact on the game.
3-1-1
Round 6: Esper Dragons
My friend who was also on GB Sac had lost his match to my opponent earlier in the event. I discussed with my opponent the necessity of being aggressive in the match up, and with that said I had a smooth start and was able to win with a gigantic Nantuko Husk off of a CoCo. Game two he Languished and ignored all of my plays, and beat me to death with an Ojutai. Game three I played out my hand at a normal pace with multiple CoCos in my hand. I continuously tried to set up situations where he would spend his mana on his turn or at an inopportune time. He never had a counter spell for the CoCos and after passing my turn back to him, he tapped out to play a draw spell, and I responded with my last CoCo to hit a second Cutthroat and end the game.
4-1-1
Round 7: GB Sac (Mirror)
This was our Win-and-In round, and we decided ahead of time that in the event of a draw one of us would concede to the other. Game one he destroyed me and taught me a valuable lesson about the mirror. The matchup is very draw dependent. The more individual powerful cards you draw, the more likely you are to win. He cast 2 Company to my 1 and hit a Duskwatch Recruiter and smothered me in card quality and quantity. We ended up expectedly going to time in game three, each with our own flipped Westvale Abbey. My opponent conceded the match to me because I had more action in hand and 3 clues in play thanks to Ulvenwald Mysteries (which was utter garbage outside of this match, a 3 mana investment plus 2 more to get a the first draw/token was way too much).
5-1-1 (8th place)
Quarterfinals – Mono White Humans
I learned a lot after my first two rounds against the deck and was effectively able to manage my resources, from mana, creatures, removal, and life total, to find a path to victory after 3 games. Once again Hangarback Walker was key to keeping my board healthy while also advancing my game plan.
Semifinals – BG Control
This was a spicy brew with Mindwrack Demon and The Gitrog Monster. Our game one was such an amazing match and I wish every game of Magic was that in-depth and fun. He played both Mindwrack Demon and Gitrog and managed to flip Delirium to avoid taking damage from his Demon. After a few hits from Mindwrack my life total was very low and I was forced to flip Westvale Abbey, drain him, and start attacking. On the second swing he had to chump block which left him with only Gitrog and some lands in play. With his two draws for the turn he hit a Languish and a To the Slaughter to clear my board. Then we each build up our fields again with new threats and he put me on a one turn clock with another Demon. That final turn I activated Duskwatcher Recruiter to find the last piece to my puzzle, either a Cutthroat or a Husk to flip my Liliana to get back a Cutthroat. Whichever it was I won on the spot and after an intense game one I came up ahead. Game two wasn’t very exciting and I won the match 2-0.
Finals – GB Sac (Mirror)
My finals opponent and friend wasn’t interested in playing Magic for any longer than he had to and really only wanted the Championship playmat to give to one of his buddies. I agreed to give him the mat and I’d take the medal and we declared ourselves Co-Champions. It’s not a solid 1st place finish but nonetheless a victory on the day and a really fun tournament.
MODERN:
For the Modern portion of SCG States I already knew exactly what I wanted to play. At the last two Modern States I had played in I did well (4th and 1st) by playing Abzan. At its core Abzan is a Liliana of the Veil deck and I love playing decks that have draws that are solid in any match up. The combination of Thoughtseize, Inquisition, and Liliana are too strong for me to deviate from. My least favorite card in Abzan has always been Siege Rhino as it’s normally a do-nothing in a lot of different match ups. It’s too slow and mana inefficient against combo, too low impact against control and other midrange decks, and once again to slow or ineffective against the most played aggro decks such as Burn or Affinity. The only real upside to playing white is for Lingering Souls for the BG mirror and Affinity, and white sideboard cards to hose certain matchups. I wanted to play a deck that featured all the cards I enjoyed playing and in the smoothest way possible. With that in mind I decided to play The Rock, or just straight BG Midrange. This also allowed me to max out on my favorite man-land, Treetop Village. Treetop is wonderful at applying pressure while still being able to cast spells in the same turn.
Modern List
| Creatures (16) 4 Dark Confidant 4 Scavenging Ooze 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Kitchen Finks Spells (20) 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Thoughtseize 4 Abrupt Decay 2 Dismember 4 Liliana of the Veil 2 Maelstrom Pulse Lands (24) 3 Bloodstained Mire 2 Forest 3 Overgrown Tomb 4 Swamp 4 Treetop Village 4 Twilight Mire 4 Verdant Catacombs | Sideboard (15) 4 Courser of Kruphix 4 Disfigure 3 Nihil Spellbomb 4 Fulminator Mage |
Very clean right? Probably too clean, and I have since moved around some cards in the list.
Arizona’s Modern States had 99 players sign up and outclassed our Standard showing. That is a real testament to some of the community leaders in AZ that truly love Modern and support the format so much that our weekly scene is constantly healthy. Arizona and more specifically Phoenix is a unique place to play Magic. It has such a large population of players, but the city is gigantic and spreads players all around. Because of this we have an insane number of local shops, almost to an unhealthy degree, yet players are still willing to drive 30-60 minutes to get to the shops they want to play at and be with their friends that live on the other side of The Valley. We have a very strong community and I’m always grateful to be a part of it.
Round 1: Jund Planeswalkers
This was a very interesting deck that played Liliana, Domri Rade, Xenagos, and the new GR planeswalker, Arlinn Kord. It has a lot of different angles of attack and neither of our games were easy to win. Highlight included having to continuously plus and minus my Lili to remove his Sylvan Caryatids while holding down a Desecration Demon until I could finally set up a place to kill it with Lili. I discovered how soft I was to 4+ CMC creatures with greater than 5 toughness. Hopefully I never have to face any Primeval Titans.
1-0
Round 2: Abzan Little Kid/Abzan
I thought his deck was a Noble Hierarch and Loxodon Smiter deck with Thoughtseize and Abrupt Decay. I started game one by killing his Noble and keeping him off three mana for several turns, eventually killing him with my duders. After not seeing much from his deck I mistakenly brought in disfigure for his early plays and he proceeded to smoosh my face in with Lingering Souls and Siege Rhino. Game three I readjusted back to a respectable deck but we didn’t get to play the game due to mana screw on his part.
2-0
Round 3: Jund
Game one I win after some back and forth and then he draws more blanks to my hits. These BG matchups care so much about getting value on your spells and I know I’m behind unless I can draw more Finks, Fulminators, or Coursers. I don’t stick to that plan and poorly choose to keep a Bob dependent hand and lose to his average draw with lots of 2 for 1s. Game three I choose to be on the draw because I value cards over getting the first action. He mulls to 5 while being forced to be on the play and I keep my 7.
3-0
Round 4: Scapeshift
I like this match if I can keep pressure on them while still disrupting their starting hand. Game one I got the perfect recipe of both and got out an early Lili after a couple discard spells, then played my threats and brought the beat down. Game two went much the same way but with a Fulminator lingering in play which stopped a potential Scapeshift win when he drew one off the top.
4-0
Round 5: Affinity
All three games he came running out the gates with some sweet 6 card plays on turn 1. I couldn’t keep up game one and scooped after a few turns. Game two I was able to keep pace with his main threats and kept draw spot removal. Then in game three with his same fortunate start I remained behind the whole game and couldn’t get my footing even after we we’re both drawing off the top for a couple turns. His Spellskite ended up embarrassing me when I drew a Disfigure.
4-1
Round 6: Kiki-Chord
Game one he kept a slow hand that made my discard heavy hand better than it should have been. I got some large creatures to stick and they won me the game. Game two was back and forth but one too many Restoration Angel kept me out of the game. This was another situation where 4+ CMC dudes were trouble for me. In the final game I had a double Goyf draw with three removal spells and I was able to keep attacking from the start and force him to start chump blocking.
5-1
Round 7: Abzan Company
We drew this round and played some fun games, in which he crushed me. :/
5-1-1 (6th Place)
Quarterfinals: Jund
I started off the top 8 with a mull to 5 but each of our hands consisted of a Liliana, which made us trade resources and cards, and we ended up being even regardless of my mulligan. The top of our decks were the deciding factor and his won that battle thoroughly. Game two we once again went back and forth but my three Treetop Village eventually dealt the final blow. They shined in the match up, where he still has Lightning Bolt, but so many cards demand the use of them and something ends up slipping through the cracks. Game three both of us mulliganed to four and laughed hysterically at the ridiculousness of our match. So again the game came down to our draws and I hit a Kitchen Finks and Bob to take over the game.
Semifinals: Scapeshift
I was paired against Scapeshift again but this time in the hands of a different pilot. Game one played out partially how I’d hoped it would. I disrupted his hand with discard and Liliana, but I wasn’t putting enough pressure on him. We got to the point where he was live to peeling Scapeshift and just killing me, but with some luck I won the first game. Second game he drew a lot of his sideboard in the form of two Obstinate Baloth and a Batterskull. I slowly got my Goyfs and Ooze to be larger than his team and with the help of Dark Confidant I outdrew him and finally found a Maelstrom Pulse that I had left in to cover all my bases. Pulse hit Batterskull, which went back to his hand, and a Thoughtseize plus Liliana cleared out his hand. Then I still had to dodge a Scapeshift draw, and it was of course the very next card he would have drawn if he could have survived one more turn.
Finals: Abzan
There were to be no draws or concessions this time and I’d have to earn my title. Game one went great and I played a smooth linear game plan to an easy victory while avoiding a Lingering Souls from him. Game two and three were not very close and I never hit my 4th land drop in either game. It’s a pretty rough beat to have a Courser sitting on the table for a few turns and always revealing more nonland cards. There’s no telling how the games would have turned out but that’s just part of the game we play and love.
Thank you guys for reading along and sharing in my States experience.