MTG: Standard, 8th @ CBA Games 2.5k with GB Ooze

Since we've returned to Ravnica I've been in a stump when it comes to Standard, for some reason I hated most of the format and didn't find a deck that flowed for me. Then after Quebec City I realized it's a really interactive format that rewards good deck building and tight play, sadly I was doing neither since my shitty deck usually tilted me. Then out of the blue a buddy suggested I try out GB Ooze which he had built physically and online. I started grinding with Kibler's list, after I got enough experience with it I start making modifications. My practice consisted of 3 dailies where I went 3-1, 1-3, and 4-0 and probably about 15 to 20 Practice Room Matches. This is what I sleeved up for the CBA 2.5K.

Lands: 23

11 Forest
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Overgrown Tomb

Creatures: 27

3 Ulvenwald Tracker
2 Deathrite Shaman

4 Arbor Elf

4 Strangleroot Geist

4 Lotleth Troll
2 Gloom Surgeon

4 Wolfir Avenger
4 Predator Ooze

Spells: 10

4 Rancor
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter

Sideboard
1 Vraska the Unseen (Never got to Judo Chop Olivia)
2 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Ranger's Guile
1 Ultimate Price
2 Appetite for Brains
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Duress
2 Triumph of Ferocity

I'll go over some of the note worthy additions and subtractions

-4 Dreg Mangler: 3 drops are like trans/satured fat in the deck, they aren't healthy but you need them to make a delicious fast food joint. 11 was way to many, they routinely clogged my arteries/hand . Also Dreg Mangler is a very fair card in a deck that's trying to play semi unfair/hard to kill threats, Mangler is neither.

+2 Garruk, Primal Hunter: My thoughts on Garruk are the same as my GP Quebec City report, he's a better Thragtusk if you don't have slots to support it and is a hard to kill threat (notice a trend?).

+2 Gloom Surgeon: Much easier on the curve then Mangler, but also provides another amazing wall against the slew of aggro decks in the format. Few things make grown men cry as turn 2 Surgeon turn 3 Predator Ooze.

+2 Sever the Bloodline (maindeck): Olivia is this decks bane so I added 2 to the main. It's 4 mana cost is perfectly fine since you want to develop your board in the first turns and THEN start removing threats, also the flashback and pulse qualities give you some much needed hedge against mana flood.

Now for the report.

Round 1 vs Bant Wolf Run Control, 2-0

g1: I battle through triple Azorious Charm and Detention Sphere in the first 6 turns, he double Sphinx's Revelation, but since my threats are dying at a extraordinarily slow rate all he's doing is treading water while I eventually deal lethal.

g2: Rhox Faithmender buys him infinity time, letting him get up to 38 after his third Revelation. A key turn 3 Triumph of Ferocity lets me keep up card wise and I'm eventually able to beat him with about 15 cards left in his deck.

Round 2 vs Naya Midrange, 2-0

g1: I battle through double Thragtusk with my little army of regenerators.

g2: My opponent draws 16 draws off 3 Garruk, Primal Hunters over the course of the match, plays double Armada Wurm, and I'm STILL able to fight through that over time with Predator Ooze+Rancor+Ulvenwald Tracker.

Round 3 vs UWR Flash, 2-0

g1: My opponents stumbles with lands and his Azorious Charm's just buy time but don't translate into any pressur, eventually I'm able to grind him down despite drawing more lands then him.

g2: Opponent stumbles with, doesn't draw Azorious Charm and get's stomped quickly.

Round 4 vs Jund, 0-2

g1: I draw 4 Rancor's this game but only one threat, not a winning hand against a deck with varied removal like Tragic Slip.

g2: I'm a little light on lands for a bit, making it hard to apply pressure while keeping regeneration mana open. I misplayed by not tapping out for Vraska to kill a Vampire Nighthawk that sealed the game with the help of Kessig Wolf Run.

Round 5 vs GW Human Aggro, 2-1

g1: I almost stabilize against double Rancor on a 4/4 Champion of the Parish that's bonded with a Nearheath Pilgrim, but he lethals me while he sits at a lofty 40.

g2: Turn 2 Ooze with back up is very hard for his deck to deal with, the longer the games go the more they favor me since I'll be able to bury him in synergy or durable threats.

g3: On the draw, I close my eyes and play turn 2 Gloom Surgeon turn 3 Predator Ooze, I'm relieved that I'm still in the game when I open them on turn 4. Ulvenwald Tracker and company eventually grind him into dust.

Round 6 vs Humanimator, 2-1

g1: Sadly get comboed out before I can 0 him.

g2: He boards out the combo and morphs into a Resto/Thragtusk. I'm able to easily fight through that, surprise surprise.

g3: He wiffs on a turn 3 Mulch, misses his land drop, and I'm able to kill him on turn 4 with a Deathrite Shaman in play covering any combo shenanigans.

Round 7 vs Unknown, Intentional Draw

We shake hands and draw into top 8. I go from 4^th to 7^th place.

Round 8, Quarterfinals, vs Jund, 0-2

g1: As the second seed my opponenet plays first and slams a turn 4 Olivia that is sadly unanswered and buries me.

g2: I mullagin to 5, I had a small chance with Arbor Elf and Ooze but he has Tragic Slip, Liliana of the Veil, Garruk Primal Hunter, and Olivia to bury me.

With that I'm vanquished from the top 8 with 100$ in my hands. As lame as it was to lose in that fashion, I'm still happy about the finish cause I had fun playing my deck, put work and preparation, and finally won in RtR  T2. On the hour walk home I brainstormed Deadly Allure as a potential answer to Olivia. These are the changes I've made to my list after playing in a Premier Event (awful awful value please don't ever play these!)  and a Daily (amazing value play these!).

Maindeck: -2 Abrupt Decay, +2 Tragic Slip

Sideboard:-1 Ultimate Price, -1 Vraska, +1 Abrupt Decay, +1 Deadly Allure

Lands: 23

11 Forest
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Overgrown Tomb

Creatures: 27

3 Ulvenwald Tracker
2 Deathrite Shaman

4 Arbor Elf

4 Strangleroot Geist

4 Lotleth Troll
2 Gloom Surgeon

4 Wolfir Avenger
4 Predator Ooze

Spells: 10

4 Rancor
2 Tragic Slip
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter

Sideboard
1 Deadly Allure
2 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Ranger's Guile
2 Appetite for Brains
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Duress
2 Triumph of Ferocity

Special thanks of Nathan Enkel and Jonny Teigesser for loaning me both online and physical copies of the deck. If you've got any questions or comments feel free to post em or send them my way.

MTG: Standard, Grand Prix Quebec City Report, 5-4

My preparation was lackluster since I wasn't a fan of standard before the GP and waited for the Pro Tour to inform my decisions, then I proceeded to get sick Saturday to Tuesday and wasn't able to think till Wednesday. After grinding some solitaire games on Cockatrice (so sad they're being sued by Wotc) I chose Eric Frolich's Naya “Aggro” deck cause it looked very well positioned against the aggressive decks I expected (WRONG) and had game against control decks with hasters and varied threats. After wolfing down some deliciously cheap Friday Subway while scrolling dailies of free wifi this is what I rampantly borrowed/sleeved up.

Lands: 24

4 Sacred Foundry

4 Temple Garden

4 Stomping Ground

2 Mountain

4 Rootbound Crag

3 Clifftop Retreat

3 Sunpetal Grove

Creatures: 26

4 Burning-Tree Emissary

4 Squire aka Gyre Sage

4 Loxodon Smiter

4 Boros Reckoner

4 Hellrider

4 Flinthoof Boar

2 Thundermaw Hellkite

Underpowered Cards: 10

2 Mizzium Mortars

4 Domri Rade

2 Boros Charm

2 Garruk, Primal Hunter

Sideboard: 15

1 Boros Charm

2 Nearheath Pilgrim

2 Pacifism

1 Aurelia, the Warleader

2 Rest in Peace

2 Triumph of Ferocity

2 Centaur Healer

1 Thundermaw Hellkite

2 Mizzium Mortars

My tournament wasn't overly memorable, so here's a quick write up of the rounds I remember.

R1: Bye vs Subway: I opted for a 6 inch instead of a 11 inch Ham sub since I didn’t want to be sluggish, picked up some ice for value.

R2: 2-1 vs Esper Control: Got very lucky to win this match, won g2 off Hellrider → Thundermaw → Aurelia, only 3 spells I cast. G3 he got mana screwed.

R3: 0-2 vs Uwr Flash: Everything came together for my opponent and I got revelated out both games.

R4: 0-2 GBWR Reanimator: Got smashed by Gisela 2 games in a row.

R5: 2-0 UWR Flash: All I remember was ultimating Garruk Primal Hunter and Domri Rade at the same time on the last turn and attacking for 108 damage.

R6: 2-x ?? Literally no idea what happened

R7: 2-x ?? Literally no idea what happened

R8: 0-2 vs Naya Midrange: Opposing deck was exactly one level bigger then mine, never had a chance.

R9: 1-2 vs Jund: The first 2 games where even, almost won g3 for planeswalker points but double Sever the Bloodline was just enough to keep him in the game.

After bombing out at 5-4 I proceeded to drown my sorrow in Poutine, a slice of smoked meat sandwich, washed down by a bottle of Red Wine (don't judge! :P). Team drafts provided little comfort as I went against the golden rule, CURVE CURVE CURVE and built 6 drop riddled abominations.

Coming into this tournament I wasn't a big fan of t2, but after jamming big monsters over 8 rounds and interacting with my opponents I've come around. I think the reason I wasn't having fun with t2 was that I hate playing Uwr and all the colors I typically like just aren't up to par. Now I'm digging turning green monsters like Loxodon Smitter or Wolfir Silverheart's sideways while playing varied and resilient threats to dodge sweepers.

My deck was a piece of crap and I hate Efro for making it, I hate Gyre Sage, and I hate myself for playing it. Here's a list of cards I have strong feelings toward.

Gyre Sage: I have no idea why I sleeved up Squire. This piece of crap deck can't effectively evolve it OR utilize the 1-2 mana you generate from it. It's playable in some G/R lists but not here.

Garruk, Primal Hunter: This was a better Thragtusk in the absence of Resto Angel and very resilient.

Boror Reckoner: IMO this is a pillar of the format, you have to have a good reason if you're getting colded by this.

Hellrider: Unless you're hyper aggro there is no bloody reason you should be playing this into Thrag/Resto/Reckoner.

Boros Charm: Very happy I swapped 2 for Mizzium Mortars, functioned virtually as removal while canceling sweeprs.

Mizzium Mortars: Was fine, not being able to dome people was annoying vs control

Aurelia: Sick sick sick card, should be playing moar.

I liked the jist of what this deck was trying to do, but it wasn't aggressive or big enough to do well. In the future I'd either lean more toward a Naya Midrange deck with Thrag+Resto and Aurelia, a hyper aggro red based aggro deck, or a RG Big Stuff deck (personal front runner). Either way I'm just gonna pick the list that I have the most fun playing.

I'd like to thank all the people that loaned me a literal metric ton of cards and put up with my constant moaning, bitching, and rants on #value. Jonny Teigesser, Nathan Rober Enkel Jr, Ryan Duffield, Bjarn, Bjarne Ling + co, Derek Lansche, Brian “Ryzaru” Liu, and Lisa Seelye. Well that's it for this week. I'd like to thank all the If you've got any questions, suggestions, or comments please feel free to post em.