A 2009 State Championships Report
by Levi Hinz
So I was fairly certain a couple of weeks before the event that I was going to play faeries. The “hate cards” that were printed were good, and the deck would have to fight a lot harder to win games, but the power of Bitterblossom was undeniable.
I went through a couple different builds, starting with my pre-conflux deck that did well at FNM, to something quite close to Manuel Bucher’s list on SCG.com. In the end, I decided that only some parts of Bucher’s list were good, and built my own thing.
Faeries
4 Bitterblossom
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Mistbind Clique
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Sower of Temptation
4 Cryptic Command
3 Broken Ambitions
4 Thoughtseize
2 Terror
2 Agony Warp
1 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Jace Belaren
2 Faerie Conclave
4 Mutavault
4 Sunken Ruins
3 Underground River
1 Reflecting Pool
4 Secluded Glen
3 Swamp
4 Island
SIDEBOARD
2 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Nyxathid
3 Infest
1 Sower of Temptation
2 Negate
2 Jace Belaren
2 Peppersmoke
1 Terror
4 Bitterblossom, 4 Spellstutter Sprite, 4 Mistbind Clique, 4 Cryptic Command
The core of the deck. Can’t touch these numbers.
3 Vendilion Clique – These were added as a way to fight Volcanic Fallout. They were pretty amazing for me.
4 Thoughtseize – Same again. Good against Faeries, good against 5 color. Not great against red, but at least you can get their fallout, and you took as much as you would have taken had they cast it.
3 Broken Ambitions – Needs more turn 2 counterspells. Other options are Negate, Remove Soul, and Countersquall, but I like the catch-all. Only 1 time did I have a problem with them just paying X.
2 Sower of Temptation – At the last minute I wanted to add some more faeries, so I figured these were the next best faerie to play main deck.
2 Terror & 2 Agony Warp - I couldn’t decide which was better. Some pros were saying Terror was better, but Agony Warp has been amazing for me. In the end I split the difference, and put another Terror in the board.
2 Jace Belaren – This card is very, very good against 5c, good against Faeries, and decent against everyone else. Heaps better than Ponder.
1 Loxodon Warhammer – I saw Warhammer’s in Bucher’s list, so I decided to give it a crack. Turned out to be ok.
25 land – Must play 25. I didn’t like the 24 land / 4 Ponder build at all.
0 Scion of Oona – Everyone was playing Volcanic Fallout, even the control decks! That made this card pretty terrible most times, so I ended up cutting it.
0 Ponder – I tried this out at FNM, but it just felt terrible. It felt as though you tapped one mana, and did nothing. Its fine on turn 1, but turns 2-4 you basically have a dead card in your hand, and I don’t think this is the right thing to do.
Sideboard:
2 Nyxathid and 2 Loxodon Warhammer – were for red. I hadn’t tested the matchup using these sideboard cards, but I just hoped that they were good enough or that I didn’t have to face red.
3 Infest – For Siege-Gang Commanders and Spectral Processions.
1 Sower of Temptation / 1 Peppersmoke – For Faeries.
So I remember that I had always done well at events in which I was really tired. At both PTQ’s I won, I was up really late, either building decks or clubbing or similar. Both times I wasn’t drinking, but just up really late. I decided to try repeat that for this event, so I stayed up until 4am with Aaron Croft, playing some games and generally just hanging out.
Suffice it to say I was wrecked in the morning.
So we went on our way to the tournament, drank some red bull, helped build some decks for people and got underway. Please note that my memory might be a little sketchy (I did have limited sleep, after all.)
Round 1:Â Â Dale from Gympie with 5 color.
5 Color is generally a good matchup for Faeries. Both games I felt like I was under complete control, playing early bitterblossom and countering all of his spells. 2-0
Round 2: Aaron Tan with Kithkin splash red
Game 1 I beat him with early guys and countering his spells. He might have even been mana screwed.
Game 2 I felt like I was in a bad way, as he had Ajani Vengeant which I couldn’t kill and I was short on mana. But then he played Ajani Goldmane, and after a quick check with the judge to confirm they can’t exist together, he buries both his Planeswalkers and I get control of the game.
2-0
Round 3: Matthew Hudson with RGW Planeswalkers.
Generally his deck would be a pushover for faeires, but I never had the turn 2 bitterblossom and he had main deck Vexing Shusher. Game 1 I felt like I was almost in it, but he just drew a few too many good cards to my mediocre ones, and a final trick removed my blocker to allow him to Elspeth me.
Game 2 started with silliness. He taps two mana and puts a Rampant Growth in the middle of the table, and I immediately, like, less than half a second later, tap 2 mana and put Broken Ambitions on the table. At about the same time he say “wait” picks up the rampant growth and puts a Vexing Shusher on the table (which I obviously can’t counter.) Judge gets involved and eventually decides to hold him to his play, putting the Growth in the bin, and we continue on. Awkward.
Turns later, I was on the ropes, but he had no red mana to go with his 5 devastating red spells. My vendilion Clique decided to let him keep all his cards. A turn later he had a bunch of attackers, roughly 7 power worth, to my Mistbind Clique and lots of Cryptics. I started tapping him down and bouncing his land every turn, and after drawing the 4th Cryptic Command to tap him one final time, I managed to tap him down for the win.
Game 3 I called over the judge the just over to watch for slow play, as we only had about 9 or 10 minutes left. But playing fast was my demise. I thoughtseize him, seeing Garruk Wildspeaker, Rampant Growth, Vexing Shusher, and land. He places the Shusher aside, assuming I would take that. I end up being mind tricked taking the Shusher, but it was a mistake as I had terror in hand. In the end Garruk made about 12 power worth of creatures and we finished just before time.
2-1
Round 4: ??? with Elf
Was a really nice guy to play and chat to (sorry for forgetting your name mate!), but his deck was essentially underpowered compared to faeries. He got me down to 3 pretty quickly one game, but I had control from that point on.
3-1
Round 5: Darren Koo with 5 color
Game 1 was very much on my side, quick guys and counter backup, and he just couldn’t keep up.
Game 2 was really close, and came down to me having two mana untapped, a Negate in the bin, and him having the choice of casting Cruel Ultimatum or doing something else. He cast the Cruel, and I cast my second Negate. I won on the following turn. He asked whether he made a misplay, but I’m not sure that it was. If he played a creature as a blocker, then he certainly is still in the game, but I had maybe 2 Negates left in the deck to 4 Cryptic Commands (which would tap his blockers), so statistically he has to assume I don’t have the Negate.
4-1
Round 6: Dave Unwin with RW Boat Brew
We get deck checked which takes a good 8 minutes or so before we get underway. Unfortunately I don’t think Dave shuffled enough, and got really clumped draws involving mana screw in game 1, so that was fairly one sided. In game 2 I managed to Infest and Terror his team to keep my life above 7. At one point I played a Vendilion Clique, he revealed his hand showing Fallout, which he would have played if he knew the correct timing for Vendilion Clique (i.e. he needs to play the spell after Clique resolves, but before the triggered ability resolves.) In the end I don’t think it mattered as I drew just a couple more spells than he did.
5-1
Round 7: ID with Basam
5-1-1
Top 8 is:
Basam Tabet playing 5 color.
Sam Atkinson playing 5 color.
Anthony Sanderson playing RW Boat Brew.
David Whitehouse playing RW Boat Brew.
Luke Campbell playing BW Tokens.
Aaron Tan playing Kithkin splash red.
Aaron Nicoll playing BR Blightning aggro.
Myself playing Faeries.
Quarterfinals: Luke Campbell playing BW tokens
I didn’t know how this matchup was suppose to go, but I quickly found out after he goes Bitterblossom, Spectral Procession, Ajani Goldmane. I wasn’t close to stabilizing.
I sideboarded in Loxodon Warhammers, Sower of Temptation, Infest. I can’t remember if I brought in Negate but I don’t think I did. In this game I’m sortof bleeding with Bitterblossom, but felt like I was getting back in it after Sower steals his Stillmoon Cavalier. Then I draw a Warhammer, play and equip, and go to back up to 10 life. 2 turns later I have drawn a second warhammer, and I am gaining 12 life per turn. (Later that night I would discover it should have been 14 life, but like it mattered.) The game lasts about 5 more turns.
Game 3 he has double Thoughtseize for my Thoughtseize and Bitterblossom, but I have Infest for his spectral and Stillmoon. Cryptic then counters the 3rd Stillmoon while bouncing the 2nd Stillmoon, which also hits a counter. Big Faeries finish him off.
Semi Finals: Basam Tabet playing 5 color
I remember Bucher saying something like “You need to mulligan aggressively.” Another writer said that Faeries mulligans very well, and he’s had some very acceptable 4 card hands. In this game I ended up mulliganing to 4 on the draw, after he kept his initial 7. His 7 had only 2 lands though, and my 4 cards had Jace Belaren, which ended up drawing me about 10-15 cards over the course of the game. It took me a long time to get past his Plumeveils, but I got there in the end.
Game 2 was more of the same at first, as his hand was very mana light when I thoughtseized him. However when I thoughtseized him about 6 turns later, he had hit every land drop and had 3 or 4 more land in hand. I got rid of a Banefire and I figured it would probably kill me. Later in the game he basically only had lands, playing lands every turn while I did a little bit of damage attacking into a Plumeveil. I was very very scared of him drawing a 2nd Banefire, but in the end I just drew lots of counters, he drew too few spells, and never had a second banefire in his deck (He only played 1).
Finals: Sam Atkinson playing 5 color
Sam is a good friend of mine, and we’re both happy to meet in the finals.
Me: “How good is this!”
Him: “I don’t even care who wins now.”
I agree, as if I don’t win it, I’m glad it will be him.
Game 1 I have a fairly sketchy hand. I think I could have gone for turn 3 Jace Belaren, but I’m not sure if he has Broken Ambitions, the last guy did. I play a Vendilion Clique in his end step, and he Cryptic Commands, countering and bouncing my Faerie Conclave. This would have been devastating if I didn’t have other lands in hand, but I did so I just played out my Jace. I still think it would have been better, though, to play it in his draw step, so at least I could have had some hand information. Jace drew me a bunch of cards, but none that were any good. I tapped low for something, and he played his 1-of Obelisk of Alara. At that point I’m certain I cannot win, but we play it out for 4 or 5 turns to make sure.
Game 2 I have turn 2 Bitterblossom, and some Cryptics and Mistbinds. I don’t get a 4th land however, and end up playing a 2nd bitterblossom. After a couple of turns I bounce one of the bitterblossoms. He clears the board a couple of times with Cloudthresher and Volcanic Fallout, but the one bitterblossom keeps on ticking. I attack 3 guys into his plumeveil for 2 damage, and a couple turns later I can do it for 3 damage, adding a spellstutter. He is doing literally nothing, so I assume he is sitting on Fallout and possibly counters. When I’m on 3 life, he passes the turn. I’m 90% sure he has fallout, so I play Cryptic Command, bouncing bitterblossom and tapping his Plumeveil. He Cryptics back, but I have another Cryptic. On my attack step, I have mutavault and 3 attackers, when he’s on 5, but again I’m sure he has fallout. I keep my Mutavault back and he has it. I drop to 1, he drops to 3.
From here on in, my plan is to just deal 1 more damage to him. This will ensure Cloudthresher and Volcanic Fallout will draw the game, rather than win it for him. I play a Vendilion Clique in my turn, while he is tapped out. Taking a Cloudthresher, I note he has path to exile and Remove Soul, and Mulldrifters. I play Mistbind Clique now rather than in upkeep, hoping he doesn’t draw one of the spells he needs. He Mulldrifters into Cloudthresher, dropping himself to 1 and me to -1, taking the final match.
In the end, I am very, very happy with how I went. I didn’t manage to win two Standard State Championships in a row, but I’m glad that a friend managed to win it. He had 2 Cloudthreshers in the main deck, and 2 in the sideboard, to go with his 4 Volcanic Fallout main. He obviously did not underestimate the faerie menace, and in the end he won the tournament because of this. I didn’t see his whole list, but I can pretty sure that he had the best deck in the room (followed by me, of course).
Congrats mate, and see you in the finals of PTQ Honolulu.
Levi Hinz