Tournament Report #1
Posted by gatch | Labels: Magic: the Gathering | Posted On Friday, September 18, 2009 at 11:39 AM
I went to a small 8-man tourney recently, piloting Kithkin. It was a last minute decision, as I had been planning on running the Jund cascade deck to counter the sudden increase in 5 color control players in my area. I scouted three out of the seven players would be running white, placing my Jund build at a disadvantage - so I ran back to the car to change decks. One of the players at the tournament was Zax Ozaki, a high rated player who placed 3rd at the recent Philippine Nationals. He was running about the same Kithkin build that he did then. I wanted to get paired against him, as I had beaten him only once before (with the Jund deck even..i just got lucky topdecks). Before I get into the details of the matchups, here's the deck: 
Round 1 vs. RW Tokens (0-0-0)
Game 1: I started off with FOD into turn two swing-pump, + Windbrisk heights hiding a Cloudgoat. He responded with his own FOD and a turn two Honor of the Pure. We went back and forth until I activated my Windbrisk, outnumbering him 2-1. An unchecked Ajani boosted my army twice, winning me the game.
Game 2: I keep a hand with no one drops, two lands and a whole bunch of two drops. He opens with FOD, swing-pump + Windbrisk. I drop Meadowgrain. He drops Spectral. The next few turns he swings with his spirits and reveals Honor of the Pure from windbrisk. I respond with two Wizened cenns and an Honor of my own. Meadowgrain keeps our life totals about the same, until the valiant knight on his chicken-legged sheep mount called a Springjack takes the Path to Exile like a man. I get to five mana too late, only via another Path and my sided Knight of the White Orchids. I get run over.
Game 3: I draw a god hand and keep but he gets his sideboard cards - Ajani Vengeant and Stillmon Cavalier. I have no answers and he takes the match pumping Stillmoon to lethal.
Round 2 vs. 5 Color Control (0-1-0)
Game 1: Ah the dreaded 5CC matchup. An early FOD deals significant damage, getting to 4/4. A Spectral procession eats Maelstrom Pulse, another eats Hallowed Burial, also taking out FOD. I somehow resolve a Cloudoat and get my opponent to 0 life with it.
Game 2: I side in my counter magic (4 Lapse of Certainty). I get him down to the red zone, but he resolves 2 Cruel Ultimatums, one of which I already delayed via Lapse. I die.
Game 3: Two Kitchen finks hold the fort for him until he has control. He plays Ajani Vengeant, I counter it. He plays it again next turn and I let it resolve, saving my second Lapse for a bomb or to force in lethal damage later. Big mistake. It taps down my lone FOD until Baneslayer angel hits the table. I can't race a 5/5 flying first-strike lifelinker. I lose due to the misplay.
Round 3 vs. Esper Mill (0-2-0)
Game 1: Upon seeing my matchup I was glad I hadn't dropped from the tournament, I shuffle up the deck and draw. Now I get my god hands (sigh) . I win by turn 4.
Game 2: I side in Lapse again, taking out the useless BFTs and the Rangers of Eos. I beat him down again. He resolves a Scourglass but the match ends that turn.
Final standing: 6th place (1-2-0)
Well it's nothing to be ashamed of, I've lost terribly before. I felt like I wasn't on my game the whole time. That and I don't think I'm a very good Kithkin pilot. I over-strategize sometimes despite the deck being so simple and straightforward. That's what I got for tweaking a deck for a week then deciding to play a different one at the last minute. Then again, metagaming has rewarded me before - I played Jund and went up against Fae 3 times in a row, went ahead and won that tournament without even breaking a sweat.
Round 1 vs. RW Tokens (0-0-0)Game 1: I started off with FOD into turn two swing-pump, + Windbrisk heights hiding a Cloudgoat. He responded with his own FOD and a turn two Honor of the Pure. We went back and forth until I activated my Windbrisk, outnumbering him 2-1. An unchecked Ajani boosted my army twice, winning me the game.
Game 2: I keep a hand with no one drops, two lands and a whole bunch of two drops. He opens with FOD, swing-pump + Windbrisk. I drop Meadowgrain. He drops Spectral. The next few turns he swings with his spirits and reveals Honor of the Pure from windbrisk. I respond with two Wizened cenns and an Honor of my own. Meadowgrain keeps our life totals about the same, until the valiant knight on his chicken-legged sheep mount called a Springjack takes the Path to Exile like a man. I get to five mana too late, only via another Path and my sided Knight of the White Orchids. I get run over.
Game 3: I draw a god hand and keep but he gets his sideboard cards - Ajani Vengeant and Stillmon Cavalier. I have no answers and he takes the match pumping Stillmoon to lethal.
Round 2 vs. 5 Color Control (0-1-0)
Game 1: Ah the dreaded 5CC matchup. An early FOD deals significant damage, getting to 4/4. A Spectral procession eats Maelstrom Pulse, another eats Hallowed Burial, also taking out FOD. I somehow resolve a Cloudoat and get my opponent to 0 life with it.
Game 2: I side in my counter magic (4 Lapse of Certainty). I get him down to the red zone, but he resolves 2 Cruel Ultimatums, one of which I already delayed via Lapse. I die.
Game 3: Two Kitchen finks hold the fort for him until he has control. He plays Ajani Vengeant, I counter it. He plays it again next turn and I let it resolve, saving my second Lapse for a bomb or to force in lethal damage later. Big mistake. It taps down my lone FOD until Baneslayer angel hits the table. I can't race a 5/5 flying first-strike lifelinker. I lose due to the misplay.
Round 3 vs. Esper Mill (0-2-0)
Game 1: Upon seeing my matchup I was glad I hadn't dropped from the tournament, I shuffle up the deck and draw. Now I get my god hands (sigh) . I win by turn 4.
Game 2: I side in Lapse again, taking out the useless BFTs and the Rangers of Eos. I beat him down again. He resolves a Scourglass but the match ends that turn.
Final standing: 6th place (1-2-0)
Well it's nothing to be ashamed of, I've lost terribly before. I felt like I wasn't on my game the whole time. That and I don't think I'm a very good Kithkin pilot. I over-strategize sometimes despite the deck being so simple and straightforward. That's what I got for tweaking a deck for a week then deciding to play a different one at the last minute. Then again, metagaming has rewarded me before - I played Jund and went up against Fae 3 times in a row, went ahead and won that tournament without even breaking a sweat.
