Berto’s Beats | The Confectionery Demon

by Roberto Castro-Mahoney
(Roberto probably submitted this PTQ report with a normal title. However, I am drunk and mad with power  - Gesualdi)

So it’s the 11th of December and time for another PTQ.  I’ve recently re-taught my cousin the rules, so he’s along for the competition as well (fitting, since he’s the one who first showed me Magic back when Revised was in print and Serra Angel was the beater of choice). This Saturday is the first 50 degree day we’ve had all week and it’s a bit of a shame that we’ll be indoors, unable to enjoy the mild weather.

Scratch that. 50 is still cold and Magic rules! On to the report:

I open a pretty shitty pool but between two copies of Darksteel Sentinel and a good group of removal spells, I figure my deck is good enough to win some rounds.  I love playing with the Indestructible Golem as he swings so many of the games against Red/White decks, the most popular in the format. The removal includes Turn to Slag, Galvanic Blast, 2x Shatter, a Trigon of Corruption, and Skinrender.  I really don’t have very good creatures outside of my one bomb Steel Hellkite, but my Necrotic Ooze has some fun toys to play with in the form of the Dragon, Bloodshot Trainee, and some Replicas. This was the first time I’ve been happy to see a Razorverge Thicket because it gives me a splash for [/card]Sylvok Replica[/card], and also assists my Gold Myr in casting a singleton Arrest. Two sources for an off-color card and one for a three-mana 1/3 ain’t so bad. The deck performed as I thought, stomping on everyone who couldn’t get their bombs out but struggling to hold against two huge threats (or as you’ll see later, four.)

Round 1 vs. Jonathan Morawski

I win the roll and choose to go second.  My deck definitely just wants to trade off as often as possible and win through attrition.  This game Embersmith does its job at killing no less than five mana Myr.  He can’t keep a board and game one ends with me at 20.

Game two I see a little bit more of his plan as he hits Rusted Relic on turn three but my Trigon of Corruption does the dirty work and leaves him with no board again.  After the match I find out that his options for deckbuilding were super thin and so he played 12 land and 6 mana Myr, hoping to ramp out Liege of the Tangle. No dice.

[1-0]

Round 2 vs. Adam Fontaine

Adam shows me a slew of high-powered cards in game one.  His deck features Glimmerpoint Stag, Oxidda Scrapmelter, Turn to Slag, Rust Tick, and the way he’s playing it looks like Sunblast Angel might show up too.  My pair of Sentinels show up at the right time and paired with the Axe they break through. Flesh Allergy for the win.

Second go he stalls at two mana while I get Sentinel again on turn five.  He tries to get back in with Arrest but I break it with the Allergy again.

After the game he shows me his Sunblast Angel, Sword of Body and Mind, and a deck full of action at every slot featuring 3x Glint Hawk Idols. I breathe a sigh of relief.

[2-0]

Round 3 vs. Robert Messing

I always seem to have good games against guys named Robert… and this one was one for the ages.

First game he starts with Copper and Palladium Myr, which I gladly Arc Trail.  He then lands Mimic Vat which sits around before I activate my Sylvok Replica to end its shenanigans. Next turn he drops Myr Battlesphere which meets my Shatter.  Meanwhile I finish assembling my shotgun of Trainee + Axe.  With one token gone he drops Koth of the Hammer which he’s been holding since opener.  Holy shit!  Here’s one of two theory-based mistakes that I make during the event:  I’m super afraid of Koth’s emblem and so I shotgun his dorks instead of the 4/4s he makes.  I simply didn’t think that, with him in topdeck mode, my Trainee could Stone Rain him every time Koth went +1.  Truthfully he could +1 my own Mountains but A) I don’t think he knew it, and B) he’d only have two Mountains left.  Anyway, I end up Bloodshooting and Skinrending his tokens.  His next card? CARNIFEX DEMON!  Holy shit again!  I break through Demon with an activation plus Grasp of Darkness but he keeps Koth alive with another topdeck of Tumble Magnet.  Koth 4/4s hit me for 20.  This was one of the best games of Magic I’ve played and I’m still not positive about that first Trainee shot.

Game two I look at my seven best cards but no lands so down to six.  I play Blistergrub early and it goes the distance, racing his Battlesphere and Demon with the help of a 7-point Flesh Allergy.

Third game my sideboard shows up – Psychic Miasma!  His cards are so good and require so much mana that I’m thrilled to play it.  It gathers no less than four cards, the final being a Vulshok Replica.  His last card is Carnifex though and I’m sitting there with RRB on the table.  In hand Flesh Allergy, Grasp, Arc Trail, and four threats.  The Swamp comes one turn late (turn 9) and his Demon gets out of reach.  Shitty luck.  Good game, sir.

[2-1]

Round 4 vs. Dustin Taylor

He starts off on double-mulligan compared to my removal-heavy hand and the game is boring until I count his outs and realize they’re all named Land + Carnifex Demon, thus I save my Grasp.  Sure enough he hits the bomb but my answer means GG.

Second game is off to the races but when he misses a crucial hit with Rusted Relic (he forgot that he sacrificed his third artifact and didn’t play out more pre-combat) it swings the race in my favor.  Grub + Allergy wins again.

[3-1]

Round 5 vs. Will Morgan

I’ve known Will for about five years and we have a little ‘how-ya-doin?’ chat before starting.  He sat next to me last round and I know he’s playing a speedy RW deck.

Game one he chooses to play and I know that he must have some real gas, since most experienced players relish the draw in sealed. He starts with Memnite into Glint Hawk Idol and Snapsail Glider.  A pair of Vulshok Replicas edge the race for him but I get him to 2 with my Skinrender and Sentinel.  Next card for him is Precursor Golem.  BOOM! No removal from me means I’m down going into game two.

Much like the first game my 3/3s get him to 7 but his curve of 2x Glint Hawk and Idol and Glider proves to be too quick.

[3-2]

Round 6 vs. Shane Knapp

At this point I’m out of Top-8 contention but as I get to play less Magic these days I’m happy to play three more rounds and get some packs.  I saw Shane at 3-0 earlier so he may have some good cards.

Game one we both mulligan but I ramp into turn five Steel Hellkite.  He has the answer but next turn I drop Necrotic Ooze.  If you watched coverage of Worlds this past weekend and saw Conley Woods’ deck, you may know how silly Ooze can get.  With a pair of removal I break my Ooze in and use Hellkite’s ability to kill two of his guys.  His Rust Tick can’t shut off my non-artifact Hellkite and so he leaves some blockers.  Luckily one of the first men I killed was Saberclaw Golem and so he can’t block effectively (Firebreathing + First Strike is good).  Next comes Molten-Tail Masticore.  Presents!  Grasp deals with the best card in the set and then Ooze shotguns his team.  That’s a sexy motherfuckin’ Ooze!

Game two is super-close and after turns and turns of tradeoffs it’s my 2/3 versus his life total at 10.  His topdeck threats get answered by topdeck removal until at 2 life he draws the Masticore!  I draw Sylvok Replica!  I pick up the Masticore to sigh at its Regenerate ability as I drop the Replica.  I’m at 6 and if he untaps with Masticore I die. He falls for the bluff and regens the Kitty and now tapped it lets my Trainee through for lethal.  It turns out that if he had shot my Trainee I had Arc Trail on top but still, I’m always happy when Jedi mind tricks go the distance.

[4-2]

Round 7 vs. Greg Schwartz

As you may recognize, Greg is a contributor to Draftmagic.com and knows his stuff.  I used to play Greg every weekend before I moved and it really hit me how much I missed playing with those guys when I sat down to face Greggie. Thanks for the memories out in Hadley, guys.  I miss you. (Don’t come back – Hadley)(lol jk)

Back to the game.  I accelerate into a Steel Hellkite and into the second theoretical mistake of the day. He controls a Perilous Myr and Chrome Steed when he swings just the Myr into my Dragon.  Why just the dragon?  I thought for a long time and decided that if he had Grasp (he was playing WB) he would have attacked with both creatures.  Then again since I should be afraid of Grasp, attacking with both would have been right anyways.  And Greg’s been to Australia so clearly I could not choose the glass in front of me. I take too long anyways and decide that his line doesn’t make sense so I block.  He had the Grasp.

(As a note, I play poker and general wisdom is that if their line doesn’t make sense, get out of the hand.  Generally it’s a trap.  In this instance I knew Greg was a by-the-book player and his non-swing of Steed baited me into the block.  Congrats Greg on mixing up your play.)

He had a Necrotic Ooze of his own and I died after running lands.

Game two I again draw twice as many lands as I needed and he made short work of me with a stampede of Chrome Steeds.

[4-3]

Round 8 vs. Dave Meier

Dave and I have a good time chatting before the rounds starts.  The first game was not long as his Forest/Swamp/Myr got Skinrended and he never caught up.

He’s doing some extensive sideboarding so I hold my Blistergrub.  Game two he’s clearly on a RB Furnace Celebration theme. Carnifex Demon shows up (does everyone have this fucking card?) and he wins shortly.

Game three he draws all his sac outlets but no Celebration and no Demon.  I goldfish and win a quick one.

[5-3]

There you have it!  5-3 was enough for one slot shy of six prize packs but my buddy Zach King is in Top8 so I stay for a while.  I do a few trades and sell some Cryptic Commands and call it a night.  Ten minutes down the road we realize that I never collected my prize haha.  I come back, grab the packs, and on the ride home open them (into a Sealed pool) and get a foil Venser, the Sojourer.  Good ending.