Postby poppa_f » Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:23 pm
Similar story for me, I played in my LGS "win a box" tournament. 5 rounds followed by top 8, 30-40 players. I played MDU's Big Boros list with 1 change: I was short 1 Helix, so I played 3rd Chandra instead:
[deck]Creature (18)
4x Ash Zealot
4x Chandra's Phoenix
2x Firedrinker Satyr
4x Rakdos Cackler
4x Stormbreath Dragon
Instant (10)
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
1x Warleader's Helix
Land (25)
2x Boros Guildgate
11x Mountain
4x Mutavault
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Temple of Triumph
Sorcery (2)
2x Mizzium Mortars
Enchantment (3)
3x Chained to the Rocks
Planeswalker (2)
3x Chandra, Pyromaster
Sideboard (15)
1x Assemble the Legion
2x Boros Charm
3x Boros Reckoner
1x Chained to the Rocks
2x Glare of Heresy
2x Last Breath
2x Mizzium Mortars
2x Skullcrack[/deck]
I went 4-0 and then ID'd the final round to finish 2nd overall going in to top 8. I got knocked out in QFs of top 8, but
felt slightly unlucky to lose after flooding out in the decider, despite having a Chandra in play.
Report:
Match 1, 2-0 vs Junk ramp/re-animator: first game he kept a 1 lander and didn't draw another land. I saw him discard Shadowborn Demon and Grisly Salvage, so had him down as Junk re-animator (his single land was a Temple Garden). Second game he managed to ramp in to a Angel of Serenity, but he was on low enough life by then that I swung in with SBD for the win.
SB:
OUT: 2 FDS, 4 Cackler, 1 Chandra, 2 Jet. IN: 1 chained, 2 mizzium, 3 reckoner 2 Glare
1-0
Match 2, 2-0 vs Naya Mid-range: he was playing quite a weird deck. It was very slow, but had a lot of ramp and a lot of bombs (Elspeth, SBD, Polukranos). I managed to blitz him in both games, SBD doing most of the work.
SB:
OUT: 2 FDS, 4 Cackler, 2 Ashley. IN: 1 chained, 2 mizzium, 3 reckoner 2 Glare
2-0
Match 3, 2-0 vs Mono-green aggro: This was against the guy
that eventually knocked me out in the QF. He was playing a pretty a/b/c green ramp deck. I managed to burn most of his creatures out lock down the ground game, then win with SBD/Phoenix.
SB:
OUT: 2 FDS, 4 Cackler. IN: 1 chained, 2 mizzium, 3 reckoner
3-0
Match 4, 2-1 vs Gruul Aggro: (I was glad to be playing him as he beat Esper Aggro in R3 and I fancied this match-up a lot more than that one). First game I curved out perfectly and had him down to 5 life with me on 16, but he top-decked an armed//dangerous and managed to swing for 22 damage with trample! Fortunately he flooded out in both of the following games.
SB:
OUT: 2 FDS, 4 Cackler. IN: 1 chained, 2 mizzium, 3 reckoner
4-0
Match 5, 1-1 vs Selesnya Aggro: Intentional Draw with the other guy that was 4-0.
Qualify in 2nd place for top 8 knock-out stages
Match 6, 2-1 vs Mono-green aggro: I played first due to seeding. Won the first game very easily, curving out in to
phoenix and SBD. Second game was tighter but he won. Decider I think I made a mistake in not side-boarding in Skullcrack. He played a Nylea's Disciple for 11 life gain. I managed to wipe most of his board and resolve a chandra. At this point I had a mutavault in play and he had a Deadbridge Goliath. I had two draw steps and two +0 of Chandra but drew 4 lands. I eventually drew a Magma Jet, but by then he had Nylea on the board and trampled over my final blocker for lethal.
First time I've top-8'd anything, so was very happy with the final result (I peeled a SBD in one of the prize boosters, so was happy with that too!). Thanks to MDU for the list, I actually prefer this version to the PyroSkies. Having Ashley helps lock down the ground game and having 25 lands makes it a lot easier to curve out and of course having 4 SBD is amazing. Most of the games I won were from players running out of answers and having no flyers to block with (helped that all 6 decks I faced were at least partly green).
I'm
still undecided whether 2 or 3 Chandra is the right number. I didn't have any game where she was stuck in my hand or was unhappy to see her, but then I didn't play any fast aggro decks. At the very least I'd have liked to have had one more in the SB (although not sure what I would cut, maybe LB, as no-one is playing Mono-U in my local meta any more).