[ED: This feature match took place during the AZMagicPlayers Legacy 500 at Pop Culture Paradise on April 3rd, 2011. Stay tuned for more events by AZMagicPlayers!]
Adam Prosak (Countertop) vs Mike Lester (Team America)
Mike Lester wins the die roll and starts the Top 4 off with a mulligan. They both start laying out lands, but Mike makes the first move with a Dark Confidant. Adam thinks for awhile, attempts to fetch. Mike attempts to Stifle the fetch. With a second land, Adam attempts to fetch again, but is Stifled by Mike yet again. Adam responds with a Force of Will to the Stifle, which resolves. Adam gets out two lands to Counterspell the Dark Confidant and it resolves, finally ending the convoluted train of spells. Adam soon lays down a Counterbalance, which is Maelstrom Pulsed, but Adam follows up with yet another Counterbalance. Mike casts an Engineered Explosives with X equals 3 but Sunburst 2 to avoid the Counterbalance trigger and is successful as Counterbalance flips a blank. Mike activates the Explosives, blowing up the Counterbalance and follows up with a Tarmogoyf, and a Dark Confidant soon after. However, Adam casts a Top and gets to work, casting a Vedalken Shackles with five Islands out, stealing Bob.
Mike attacks with the Tarmogoyf and Adam lets Bob die, casting a Jace, the Mind Sculptor the turn after and bouncing the Tarmogoyf. Mike plays Tarmogoyf again, but Adam lands his 6th Island, which is just enough to steal the 6/7 Tarmogoyf. Mike draws a Wasteland and reads the Shackles to confirm its Oracle text. Unfortunately the card does not work the way he thinks, and he lays down the Wasteland and passes the turn. Adam realizes what Mike wanted to do.
“Can’t mise if you don’t try,” Adam says. Mike scoops his cards up as the team of Vedalken Shackles and Jace overtakes Team America.
Adam Prosak 1, Mike Lester 0
Mike elects to play and opens up with a turn 1 and 2 Ponder. On Adam’s turn 2, Adam plays just a land and tells Mike to not cast anything good. Unfortunately for Adam, Mike casts a Hymn to Tourach which is met promptly by a Counterspell.
A Dark Confidant is soon to resolve for Mike. At the end of turn, Adam attemps to Fire/Ice it, but Mike counters with Spell Pierce. Instead, Bob is Submerged during Adam’s turn. Mike lays out Dark Confidant again, but Adam casts Fire/Ice again, certainly not eager for Bob’s trigger to resolve at all.
Adam casts a Trinket Mage, fetching out a Seat of the Synod. Lester counters with a Tombstalker. Adam casts Vendilion Clique in response, which forces a Stifle out of Lester’s hand. However, Adam ends up casting Swords to Plowshares on the Tombstalker anyway, sending it away for good. As Prosak Threatens 5 damage each turn, Mike attempts a last minute Engineered Explosives set at 3, but Prosak lays out the Counterbalance.
“The odds that this resolves…” Mike says, casting a Tarmogoyf. When Adam reveals the Force from his hand, Mike scoops.
Adam Prosak 2, Mike Lester 0.