Hello everyone! This weekend I played in two local events. There was a Modern tournament on Saturday and a Legacy tournament on Sunday, and today I want to talk about how my Modern tournament went.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter might know that I’ve been playing Eldrazi Tron recently, and that is what I played on Saturday as well. I’m still fairly new to the deck, so rather than make any changes to it I’ve simply been playing the list that was given to me.
Eldrazi Tron
| Creatures (18) 4 Walking Ballista 4 Matter Reshaper 4 Thought-Knot Seer 4 Reality Smasher 2 Endbringer Spells (19) 4 Expedition Map 3 Mind Stone 4 Chalice of the Void 2 Dismember 2 All is Dust 1 Batterskull 2 Karn Liberated 1 Basilisk Collar | Lands (23) 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza’s Power Plant 4 Urza’s Tower 4 Eldrazi Temple 2 Wastes 2 Cavern of Souls 1 Sea Gate Wreckage 2 Ghost Quarter Sideboard (15) 4 Relic of Progenitus 2 Surgical Extraction 2 Wurmcoil Engine 1 All is Dust 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon 1 Batterskull 2 Sorcerous Spyglass 2 Spatial Contortion |
Here’s how the tournament went.
Round One—Dredge (2-1)
I knew what my opponent was playing before the match started, but I had never actually played the matchup before. I’ve played a lot of games versus Legacy Dredge though, and that certainly helped a lot. The first game was an easy one, as my opponent missed their second land drop while I played Thought-Knot Seer into Reality Smasher to end the game in short order.
In game two a timely Surgical Extraction on a Bloodghast slowed my opponent down by a lot, as it took a long time for them to find any Narcomoebas to trigger Prized Amalgam. They did eventually find them however, and my Relic of Progenitus was just one turn to late. A flashbacked Conflagrate was able to finish the job.
In the third game I had an early Relic of Progenitus. I did get to exile a few cards with it, but my opponent found an Ancient Grudge. I was the one who found victory, however.
Round Two—Living End (1-2)
Living End was my only loss throughout the tournament, and that was largely because of my inexperience in the matchup. The games felt very skill intensive, especially after sideboard, and I think I would have been able to come out ahead had I played better.
I lost the first game in a fairly straightforward fashion to my opponent putting a bunch of creatures into play with Living End.
The second game was one of the closest I’ve played in a long time, and it ended with me stabilizing at one life before turning the corner and winning the game. Reality Smasher and Dismember helped stabilize the board after the first Living End resolved, and when my opponent played a second cascade spell I responded to it by casting Surgical Extraction on the Living End that was still in the graveyard, putting me to one life. A pair of All is Dust took care of my opponent’s creatures, and they died to eldrazi beatdown before they could rebuild their board.
I tried to do the same thing in the third game, but this time the topdecks weren’t in my favor, and I lost.
Round Three—Kiki Chord (2-1)
I had a good start with an early Endbringer that drew four extra cards. That wasn’t enough however, as almost all of the cards I drew were lands, and I got very flooded. Game two was easier, and the Eldrazi beatdown plan was able to get the job done.
Game three I kept slower hand, with an Expedition Map and a two copies of Mind Stone as early plays. My opponent played a turn two Reclamation Sage to answer my map, and then later an Avalanche Riders to destroy one of my lands. At one point I resolved a Thought-Knot Seer and was forced to choose between leaving them with either another Avalanche Riders or Angel of Sanctions in hand. I decided to take away the angel, as it would be very difficult to beat with a removal spell. So I lost another land and then my opponent cast Stony Silence to further attack my mana. I responded by using the last counter on my Walking Ballista to kill a Siege Rhino, leaving them with a Birds of Paradise as their only creature in play. I on the other hand had my Thought-Knot Seer still, but only one land left. I didn’t draw any more lands this game, but my opponent drew nothing but them, and Thought-Knot Seer was somehow able to go all the way.
Round Four—Jeskai Control (2-1)
My opponent mulliganed to five in game one, and eventually ran out of counterspells. I was able to start resolving my threats, and the opponent couldn’t keep up with all of them.The next game went more smoothly for my opponent. They managed to resolve a threat, and with a chain of Cryptic Commands they were able to stop me from doing anything in time to get back into the game.
The third game was off to a good start as my turn two Chalice of the Void resolved. After that I was able to get Ugin, the Spirit Dragon on the battlefield, and a chalice for four to lock up the game.
Round Five—Intentional Draw
Always nice to get a break before the top eight!
Top 8—Living End 1-2
Now equipped with more knowledge about the matchup than I had been earlier in the tournament, I was excited about getting a rematch.
The first game went about as smoothly as you could imagine with a chalice for zero followed up by Thought-Knot Seer into Reality Smasher. In game two I went down to two life before I got a Wurmcoil Engine into play. The turn after I made a mistake which ended up costing me the game. I had a lot of attackers in play and decide to swing with everything. I had figured out that they would be left with only one creature in play after combat, but forgot that one creature could be lethal if they hit two cyclers in a row to grow their Horror of the Broken Lands. If I had just held back a blocker or two, I very likely would have won.
Game three I had a Relic of Progenitus, but decided to tap out on turn three, as my opponent didn’t have enough creatures in the graveyard to make Living End a scary card. Two Street Wraiths and a Simian Spirit Guide later, I felt pretty foolish. Eventually I began to stabilize the board. I had just started drawing extra cards with Sea Gate Wreckage, and it looked like I might have a shot to win. Unfortunately my opponent found a creature I couldn’t block in Shriekmaw, and my tournament was over.
In the end I lost to my own mistakes. All I can do now is learn from them. Eldrazi Tron has performed well for me, and feel like it’s a solid choice in Modern. I’m starting to enjoy the format more and more, and look forward to experimenting with more and different decks.
Sandro is a Magic player from Stockholm, Sweden. He’s been playing Goblins in Legacy for years. Follow him on Twitter @SandroRajalin