2014-2015 Precon Championships: Tinsman Division (Part 2 of 2)

And we’re back! It’s a weekend of exciting Preconstructed Championship action as the four decks that advanced last week duke it out. Only one of them can advance as the divisional winner, they leave it all  on the line today.

Let’s head down to the arena, the first match is about to begin!

Game One: Power and Profit (Fate Reforged Clash Pack) versus Mardu Raiders (Khans of Tarkir Intro Pack)

Round One

Power and Profit hits out with a Brain Maggot, plucking a Necrogen Scudder, while Raiders opens with a Gurmag Swiftwing in the air before building with a Mardu Hordechief and Timely Hordemate. The Hordemate is played with an empty yard, the priority speed over value.

But Profit has speed, too. A Satyr Wayfinder and Merciless Executioner are deployed, and the latter is swapped with the Hordemate. Profit knows that it’s power is in the long game, and is happy to stall for time. Raiders knows it, too, and when its adversary drops a Whip of Erebos, it reluctantly snipes the Maggot with Bring Low– just to get back a little more fuel in the tank in the form of the exiled Scudder.

Raiders has Profit on the ropes due to its aerial threat and congested ground game, but Profit has plenty of tricks. It Whips out a Doomwake Giant for a nice chunk of lifegain on the attack, while letting it draw a card off a freshly-played Eidolon of Blossoms.

Profit is still looking to stabilize, however, and trades the Eidolon for the Marauder. It does manage to sort out the frustrating Scudder with a Sultai Charm, and when it deploys a Scuttling Doom Engine, it looks to gain the upper hand. Raiders picks it off with Smite the Monstrous, but drops to 4 life from the resultant explosion. Raiders attacks, however, mean that Profit is itself at 3 life, a neck and neck game. It Whips the Doom Engine for another bust of life; Raiders easily chumps it.

Once it finds a Nyx Weaver, however, the problem of the Gurmag Swiftwing seems to be solved. It kills the Swiftwing with a Debilitating Injury– just in case- and summons a Necropolis Fiend. With no way to deal with the Fiend, Raiders drops the opener.

Round Two

Profit keeps a risky hand with only two Forests, but the gamble clearly pays off with a turn-3 Courser of Kruphix. The poor Mardu- already having mulled to six- scramble to establish itself with a Carrion Crow and Hordeling Outburst.

But the outcome is never in doubt. Profit just runs too many hard-to-manage creatures for its opponent, from the Courser to the Doomwake Giant to a Nighthowler stuck on a Necropolis Fiend. Raiders gave its all in the first round; here, it’s a shell of its former self. Cards like Goblin Roughrider just aren’t going to cut it.

WINNER: Power and Profit

Game Two: Sultai Schemers (Khans of Tarkir Intro Pack) versus White Player’s Guide Deck (Magic 2015)

Round One

The Sultai lead off with a Black Cat and Walking Corpse, followed by a Research Assistant. That’s a fine start, but in the same period of time its White opponent has dropped a Sungrace Pegasus, Selfless Cathar, and a gaggle of tokens with Raise the Alarm and Triplicate Spirits.

Taigam’s Scheming resolves, helping fill the Sultai yard and enabling delve for the Shambling Attendants. White, meanwhile, cracks off two more Raise the Alarms. Victory is just a Sanctified Charge away.

Round Two

Here we go again! The Sultai get a stronger look this game, behind a Satyr Wayfinder and pair of Hooting Mandrills. They even manage to kill a Paragon of New Dawns with a Sultai Charm.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter a jot. An opening Selfless Cathar followed by Spirit Bonds gets the token generation going, as a Sungrace Pegasus and Kinsbaile Skirmisher follow on (each bringing a Spirit along thanks to the enchantment). The second game ends as the first did, behind a Sanctified Charge-fueled alpha strike.

WINNER: White Player’s Guide Deck (Magic 2015)

Divisional Final: Power and Profit (Fate Reforged Clash Pack) versus White Player’s Guide (Magic 2015)

Round One

White gets off to a strong start, chaining together an opening-turn Soulmender followed by Spirit Bonds, a Sungrace Pegasus (+ Spirit) and Selfless Cathar (+ Spirit).

Power and Profit, meanwhile, begins with a Satyr Wayfinder, then a Brain Maggot. No dummy, it exiles Sanctified Charge, then goes on to play Monastery Siege. Before long, it has no problem delving out the dreaded Necropolis Fiend, and starts exiling White’s Spirits.

White does draw another Sanctified Charge, but by now lacks the creature-power to push through a decapitation strike- or even a serious maiming. Another Brain Maggot plucks away a Devouring Light, and White is staggering under a land glut. A Divine Favor on the Pegasus does little to stop the Power and Profit juggernaut- and even then, the Pegasus simply draws a spiteful Murderous Cut.

Power and Profit is the ruler of the skies, with the Fiend and a Sultai Soothsayer enchanted with a bestowed Herald of Torment. White clings to life as long as it can behind Soulmenders, but all it’s doing is circling the drain.

Round Two

Profit goes all out in the next round, looking to close out the White Player’s Guide Deck and secure its date with destiny. It quickly trots out a Courser of Kruphix, Reaper of the Wilds, and Satyr Wayfinder, and sets about for the long game.

White, meanwhile, is happy to find a turn-2 Spirit Bonds, and begins Spirit generation with a Sungrace Pegasus and Kinsbaile Skirmisher. A Raise the Alarm puts the deck in more familiar territory- having an abundance of token creatures.

But Power and Profit keeps the pressure on with a Commune with the Gods, Sultai Ascendancy, and Whip of Erebos. White finds a Sanctified Charge, and uses it to kill off the relentless Reaper of the Wilds before adding a Divine Favor to the Sungrace Pegasus. Profit hardly skips a beat, rolling out a Brain Maggot (peeling away Devouring Light), Nyx Weavers, and a Nighthowler enchanting the Courser.

However, all the library shenanigans has left Profit sorely depleted, with only a quarter of its library left (although at nearly 40 life, thanks to the Whip’s lifelink). Can White ride out the storm and see Profit deck itself? When Power and Profit plays a Necropolis Fiend, White plays Triplicate Spirits. But Power and Profit doubles down, enchanting the Doom Engine with a Herald of Torment, blasting the Pegasus with a Hero’s Downfall, and hammering across in the skies.

White’s defenses finally succumb, and Power and Profit takes the game and the match.

WINNER: Power and Profit

The 2014-15 Tinsman Division Winner