2010-11 Precon Championships: Turian Division (Part 1 of 2)
Welcome back to the exciting 2010-11 Preconstructed Deck Championships! We’re about halfway through our coverage with the Rosewater Conference now down to two remaining contenders, Knights and Doom Inevitable. They’re on hold for now as we move the action over to the Forsythe Conference’s historic Turian Division. We say ‘historic’ for while this is a relatively new competition, we’ve already crowned two champions for their respective seasons. The 2008-09 Champion, Alara Reborn’s Dead Ahead, came from the Turian and defeated two different Duel Decks– including a titanic final battle against Jace. Will the Turian prove to be the spawning ground of champions? Or just another contender?
Let’s take a look at this season’s Turian bracket:
The Teams to Beat
This season’s Tinsman is a hard place to be a little guy in. With power-packed decks from Archenemy and a pair of Event Decks, the lesser Intro Pack decks will have their work cut out for them. We’ll begin with a review of the eight decks contending to lead the storied Tinsman to a repeat championship!
Bring About the Undead Apocalypse
Colours: Black/Red
Set: Archenemy
Rares: Avatar of Discord, Avatar of Woe, Beacon of Unrest, Cemetery Reaper, Extractor Demon, Kaervek the Merciless, Scion of Darkness, Vampiric Dragon
Detail: With a strategy as straightforward as it is diabolic, Apocalypse looks to dump enormous brutes into its graveyard then animate them back out again on the cheap. With a sizable number of ways to do so, it is a monstrous threat when given time and space to set up its recursion engines. For any deck facing down the shambling hordes of the undead, Apocalypse’s weakness might well be that it can take some time to engage, meaning a quick deck might be able to pull off a win. (Reviews: deck, play)
Into the Breach
Colours: Red
Set: Mirrodin Besieged (Event Deck)
Rares: Contested War Zone, Devastating Summons, Goblin Guide, Leyline of Punishment, Spikeshot Elder
Detail: One of the first two Event Decks to make themselves known, Into the Breach is a version of the “Kuldotha Red” Standard deck. A variant of Goblin aggro that throws in a few tricks, it goes up against Bring About the Undead Apocalypse in its opener. Will it have the speed it needs to secure victory before being outclassed? (Reviews: deck, play)
Life for Death
Colours: White/Red
Set: New Phyrexia
Rares: Moltensteel Dragon, Phyrexian Rebirth
Relic Breaker
Colours: Red/Green
Set: Scars of Mirrodin
Rares: Asceticism, Hoard-Smelter Dragon
The antidote to artifice, Relic Breaker was included in Scars of Mirrodin to give a silver bullet to the overreliance upon artifact decks- namely, the other four in the set! While the rest of the decks of the block give it plenty of juicy targets to smash, the big question Relic Breaker has to face is how it will perform against the premium decks in this season’s playoffs- decks which may carry little of interest to Relic Breaker. (Review: deck, play)
Rot from Within
Colours: Green
Set: New Phyrexia (Event Deck)
Rares: Green Sun’s Zenith, Inkmoth Nexus, Melira Sylvok Outcast, Obstinate Baloth, Putrefax
Powerful on paper, Rot from Within is the very definition of a ‘glass cannon.’ It looks to dump almost everything it has in just a few attacks, getting in with a cheap infect creature then using Green pump-spells to take it over the top. With nearly half its rares mothballed in the sideboard (which won’t be in use here), it’s a good thing it can get the job done with just commons! (Reviews: deck, play)
Stampede of Beasts
Colours: Green/red
Set: Magic 2011
Rares: Overwhelming Stampede, Protean Hydra
Detail: A traditional heavy Green stompy deck, Stampede will be looking to ramp into trampling fatties and overwhelm its opposition. As the lowest-tier deck in the Division (as a Core Set Intro), it will have its work cut out for it. But it should take heart- it’s not every deck that can deal with the rolling thunder of a Green stampede, and if it can get its bruisers into play anything can happen! (Reviews: deck, play)
Tezzeret
Colours: Blue
Set: Duel Decks: Elspeth vs Tezzeret
Rares: Master of Etherium, Pentavus, Razormane Masticore, Steel Overseer, Tezzeret the Seeker, Triskelion
Trample Civilization Underfoot
Colours: White/Green
Set: Archenemy
Rares: Feral Hydra, Forgotten Ancient, Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer, Mosswort Bridge, Primal Command, Thelonite Hermit, Verdeloth the Ancient
And now… to battle!
Trample Civilization Underfoot vs Rot from Within
Game One
Rot from Within leads off with a Glistener Elf, then hits for extra damage next turn with a Mutagenic Growth. Trample Civilization Underfoot manages a Wall of Roots to buy it some time, then adds a morphed Thelonite Hermit. By then, however, Rot has added a second Glistener Elf and a Rot Wolf. A turn-4 strike with a Groundswell seals the deal for Rot, and Trample never contended.
Game Two
Rot plays out its optimal curve- Glistener Elf, Overgrown Battlement, Rot Wolf + Glistener Elf, then Viridian Corrupter… then Putrefax with a Mutagenic Growth for lethal. Trample? It played a Watchwolf and Fertilid. Grats?
WINNER: Rot from Within
Relic Breaker vs Life for Death
Game One
Both decks play to their strengths here, and both begin equally strong. For Life, a turn-3 Pristine Talisman enables a turn-4 Rage Extractor after erecting some defense with an early Cathedral Membrane. For Breaker, it was an early Copper Myr into a Prodigal Pyromancer, with an Oxidda Scrapmelter smashing the Rage Extractor before it can do any harm. It gets a Barrage Ogre on-line as well, pitching the now-obsolete Copper Myr to team with the pinger to tear down the wall.
Breaker’s numberical advantage is crushed when Life chains an Act of Aggression and an Incite to bring over the Pyromancer (now a 3/1 thanks to a Vulshok Heartstoker) and trade it with the onrushing Ogre. Life then lands a Shattered Angel and rides it to victory.
Game Two
Breaker struggles early and leaves itself wide open. It lands a turn-2 Copper Myr and follows up with a Molder Beast. Meanwhile, in those few turns Life has brought out a Cathedral Membrane, Pristine Talisman, and Rage Extractor. This time, the Extractor sticks.
With the Extractor in place, a Slash Panther kills off the Molder Beast, then swings in virtually unopposed. While breaker scrambles for answers, Life adds Kemba’s Skyguard and an Ogre Resister. Breaker brings in a Flameborn Hellion in desperation, and it falls prey to the Cathedral Membrane the very next turn. Breaker Arc Trails the Panther and Fireballs the Skyguard, but the Ogre Resister gets stuck in hard. A 5-point blast from the Extractor off an Act of Aggression stealing Breaker’s lonely Copper Myr finishes the game.
WINNER: Life for Death
Bring About the Undead Apocalypse vs Into the Breach
Game One
Opening up a blitzkrieg against the undead, Into the Breach blows its hand early with a Goblin Guide, Ornithopter, and Memnite, while Apocalypse looks to stall for time. A Reassembling Skeleton helps a little, trading out with the Memnite, but the Memnite is immediately replaced with another. An Infectious Horror draws a Lightning Bolt, as does a Corpse Connoisseur. A Spikeshot Elder joins the fray for Breach, then a Devastating Summons comes down for a pair of 3/3’s. An Avatar of Discord and a Reanimated Festering Goblin buy it a round, but Apocalypse gets steamrolled by aggressive Red.
Game Two
This time, Apocalypse holds off the early rush, thanks in part to good removal in the opening hand. Breach opens with a Goblin Guide, Memnite, and Ornithopter. A few lucky hits off of the Goblin Guide fill Apocalypse’s hand with land and keeps it flush with resources. An Infectious Horror and Urborg Syphon-Mage get some early attack damage in after the Goblin Guide is traded with a Dregscape Zombie. A Devastating Summons (again sacrificing a trio of lands) is neutralised with a Terminate and Bituminous Blast, and the cascade of the Blast offers a replacement Infectious Horror. It’s neck and neck, but the Syphon-Mage keeps the life coming and ultimately deals the fatal blow.
Game Three
Once more Breach has a consistent opener, leading with a Memnite and pair of Ornitopters, while Apocalypse looks to try and outlast the initial rush. A Festering Goblin and Dregscape Zombie hold off the swarm after a Kuldotha Rebirth, but the real play is a Rakdos Guildmage. The Guildmage is triggered to kill off an enemy Goblin Wardriver, and the Scion of Darkness discarded to pay for the Guildmage is then brought into play with a Zombify. A Devstating Summons for 4 is no match as one of the 4/4’s gets Shriekmawed away. The Scion grabs the Wardriver afrom Breach’s graveyard after pounding in for 6, and next turn the Wardriver leads Apocalypse’s troops to victory after the Guildmage picks off the last Ornithopter.
WINNER: Bring About the Undead Apocalypse
Tezzeret vs Stampede of Beasts
Game One
A slow start for Stampede gives Tezzeret the time to build up, and with the planeswalker himself touching down on turn 5 to lead by example, build they do! With a Clockwork Condor and Contagion Clasp keeping Stampede’s forces in check, Tezzeret fetches a Trip Noose to bolster its defenses, an Everflowing Chalice, and an Energy Chamber. Against this? Stampede’s Awakener Druid is picked off immediately by the Clasp. A Sylvan Ranger does little. A Greater Basilisk never gets the chance to help, thanks to a timely Foil (discarding a Thirst for Knowledge– painful!), and Garruk’s Packleader is tripped up by the Noose.
Tezzeret builds up into a Pentavus, then Tezz himself goes ultimate with a flock of Pentavites for a stampede of his own!
Game Two
Stampede looks to go big early with a turn-1 Llanowar Elves leading into a turn-2 Awakener Druid. Again Tezzeret solves the puzzle with a Contagion Clasp to kill the Druid, but Stampede retrieves the Druid with a Nature’s Spiral. Tezzeret sets out a Moonglove Extract in anticipation, and Stampede boldly plays the Druid anyway. Next turn before the attack, Tezzeret pops the Extract to kill the Druid, but Stampede responds with a surprise Giant Growth to save it.
For its part, Tezzeret adds a turn-4 Juggernaut, but it gets Act of Treasoned into a devastating 11-point attack from Stampede. Battered but not broken, Tezzeret holds the line with a Synod Centurion (trading for an onrushing Yavimaya Wurm), an Æther Spellbomb (returning the 4/5 “Treefolk” to hand), and a Triskelion to kill a second Awakener Druid. Although Chandra’s Outrage blasts the Triskelion, it takes the earlier Druid and the Llanowar Elves with it.
All the while, Tezzeret has laid down a foundation with a Stalking Stones and Mishra’s Factory. Along with a Faerie Mechanist, he animates the lands to attack across a clear board (after the Juggernaut trades with a Basilisk). Although pushed to the edge, Tezzeret manages the comback on the back of the animated lands and finishes off Stampede.
WINNER: Tezzeret
Eight walked in, four walk out and today’s coverage of the 2010-11 Preconstructed Championships draws to a close. Join us next week as our four remaining contenders go head to head to see which one will stand alone beneath the Turian Division banner!
Ertai's Lament 
hmmm. got one dropped three. I’m not sure a comeback is possible at this point, but I’ll keep in it.
Never say die! Every time we do one of these series, we learn a few things for the next. For instance, this is the third one we’ve done, but the first Playoffs that involve both reader predictions (in a formal sense) as well as a contest for the winner. For the next one, we’ll not only do a contest for the winner, but also a random prize for all the players that had the most predictions- no matter if they were right or wrong. So if you start in the beginning and predict to the end, you’ve still got a shot at walking away with something. Thanks for playing so far, we’re really enjoying the turnout!
Breach I thought was one of the safest bets alongside rot, but it fell. Surprised Tezzy won too to be honest.
1 event deck one. The other lost. Quite interesting.
Surprising indeed. And now i’m two points behind. Good games though. You got three correct, right? I betted Stampede over Tezz, quietly hoping to beat you there 😉
I must not be playing Tezz right since usually I lose with him, unless i can get Steel Overseer out fast enough.
In my Elspeth vs. Tezzeret testing, Elspeth had a higher win rate than Tezzeret. Her deck’s more consistent and almost always has a tempo advantage; she mulligans better and has better early drops and removal. The key with Tezzeret is to stabilize the board until you can drop a good haymaker like Masticore or Pentavus and try to beat Elspeth’s one-for-one removal with card advantage spells like Faerie Mechanist and Thirst for Knowledge. The difficult thing, though, is that Elspeth can play any of her pump spells, and then all of your good blocks disappear because your creatures are all Runed Servitors and Assembly Workers and hers all have first strike or flying.
You can see in the first game how Stampede of Beasts came in real slow and Tezzeret had plenty of time to set up durdly combo shenanigans.
Haha, I actually dropped out of the competition, but these were still some cool matches. ^_^
I say that you should make a Werekill ranking with how Werekill-tastic the dropouts are.