Nacatador: The Cat Wrangler - A GP Madrid Report

Fresh from the Top 8 tables of the largest GP ever comes the report from the highest placing Brit - Richard Bland.

I looked at the schedule with mild dismay. A Legacy GP?  I didn’t even know what was good in the format, let alone own the cards I’dlikely need. But A GP is a GP, and if Legacy was the format, then I had some work to do. After some browsing of decklists from previous tournaments, some sporadic playtesting sessions with the local Coventry players and some guesswork about the metagame, I settled on playing Zoo. The deck seemed to be pretty consistent, it stomped on Fish, which I thought would be fairly well-represented, and put up decent numbers versus counterbalance decks too, which I expected the good players to be playing. The deck was also not as exhausting to play as the counterbalance decks, which I felt would be helpful playing in a longer tournament like a GP.  Now just to work out which of the myriad builds of zoo would be best.

Having borrowed about my baggage limit’s worth of cards from Chris Harrold, and meeting up with Lukas and Joe, we made the trip over to Madrid. Apart from the flight being delayed a little and ‘losing’ our hotel for a short time, the trip was uneventful. Thursday night was spent sampling the local Tapas, featuring goose liver and pork and guacamole sandwiches.

Friday we got proper testing session in, we even used a whiteboard. From this Lukas and Joe settled on ANT and U/G countertop respectively.  The matches with ANT convinced me I needed some form of maindeck way to slow down ANT, backed up with enough burn spells to get them low enough, quick enough to make their Ad Nauseams fizzle a reasonable amount of the time.  By the time we wandered down to the venue, I’d settled on the 75 I would be playing the next day.

Zoo

4 Windswept Heath   

4 Arid Mesa

3 Wooded foothills

3 Plateau

2 Taiga

1 Savannah

1 Mountain

1 Plains

1 Forest

4 Kird Ape

4 Wild Nacatl

4 Grim Lavamancer

4 Tarmogoyf

4 Quasali Pridemage

2 Gaddock Teeg

2 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Chain Lightning

4 Path to Exile

3 Lightning Helix

1 Sylvan Library

Sideboard

3 Umezawa’s Jitte

3 Mindbreak Trap

3 Tormod’s Crypt

2 Krosan Grip

2 Pyroblast

1 Gaddock Teeg

1 Ethersworn Canonist

The deck list was decided with ANT and the mirror in mind – Gaddock Teegs main and in the board along with the 11 burn spells to have a shot at beating the combo deck, while a higher number of lightning helix and a good number of Jittes in the board helped out in the mirror and versus other creature-based decks. Crypts got the nod over ravenous traps due to the Loam deck, and were less anti-synergystic with Teeg fighting dredge. Canonist was there as a slightly less redundant extra Teeg. Singleton Sylvan Library was there for the mise factor, as well as the fact I never wanted to draw two ever. No tricky stuff with the manabase – with 20 lands, I really didn’t want to have any land that wasn’t necessary to the casting of my spells, and the times where I could get a tricky Horizon canopy to draw a card with knight in some games would most likely be outweighed by having to take damage off a drawn canopy in others.

Arriving at the venue on Friday evening and finding a mass of players preregistering already, we borrowed/bought the last few cards we each needed, and got registered, then went out to grab food and a quick team draft at a German restaurant with some other UK players, where we enjoyed beer, ribs and some of the palest sausages I’ve even seen.

After a quick 50 minute, 16 station metro journey to the venue on Saturday (a certain someone won’t be allowed to book the hotels again) we found the venue swamped by a sea of humanity. Clearly this was going to be a really big event, and it was going to be a really long day.

A couple of hours, and a game of musical chairs later, our decklists were in. Grabbing a bite to eat at a local bakery, and stocking up for lunch, we returned to see the first round just starting. Sigh.  At least nearly every had a chair now.  Finally though, round 3 did roll around and I got started – 2pm already? This was going to be a long day.

Round 3: Grigory Akilov w/ Plasma Swans Thresh

Grigory’s deck was an interesting hybrid of counter-top and Plasma Swans combo.

Game one I get a fairly fast draw before he’s able to set up counter-top and deal him enough with creatures to be able to burn him out when he starts dropping multiple Goyfs. I bring in Pyroblasts for the Teegs, and in the second game, his fetchland heavy draw, combined with a quick Nacatl from me, puts him in single-figures fast. A last ditch Swans to chump my 5/6 Goyf draws me into more than enough burn to take the match.

3-0

Round 4: Sagoba Garcia w/ Zoo

This was the first of many similar mirror matches I played thoughout the tournament. In the first game an early Lavamancer helps control the board, allowing my bolts to eat his Goyfs and keeping his Quasali Pridemages and own lavamancers off the table. I took out the Teegs and a chain lightning for the 3 Jittes. In the second, I find a Jitte and ride it to victory, keeping my lifetotal high enough, while methodically eating his creatures one by one.  The zoo mirror isn’t that hard to win as long as you play tight, don’t block to get yourself blown out by spot removal, and don’t run out your Goyfs too soon, and equally, save your paths for their Goyfs/Reliquaries. Oh, and play around Lightning Helix and Price of Progress if at all possible – but having a basic left in your deck for Path purposes is fine too.

4-0

Round 5: Antonio Micol Mora w/ GBR survival

Game one his draw isn’t very strong, and he casts a few Cabal Therapies then scoops up, so I don’t really know what he’s playing. In the second game he gets an early survival, then chains together multiple hasty Kitchen Finks. For the third game, I was more prepared, and my fast draw and with a tormod’s cyrpt out, it wasn’t possible for him to get his survival engine online

5-0

Round 6: Fernand Romero Urdin w/ Mono-U control

I lost a very long game 1 after a turn 2 chalice for 1 on the play from him, locking out about 4 spells in my hand. That, combined with me not drawing any pridemages until it was far too late and I was already nearly dead to spire golem beats, cost me the game. Games 2 and 3 his deck refused to give him enough early action, and missing land drops versus zoo is never a good thing. The deck was certainly interesting – running Energy Field to buy time versus aggro, playing a ton of counterspells versus combo.

6-0

Round 7: Davy Loeb w/ Zoo

Another round, another mirror match.  Game 1 I don’t draw as many Goyfs as he does, and a couple of Price of Progress finished me off in short order. In the second and third games, I managed to take control with a Jitte and fetched up as many basics as I could to play round Price of Progress.

7-0

Round 8: Lino Burgold w/ Dream Halls

This match was featured on the Wizards’ coverage – I get a decent opener of Nacatl into Gaddock Teeg, while he Lim-Dul’s Vaults into a turn 3 Show and Tell dropping a Progenitus. I drop a Quasali Pridemage into play to join my beaters and with no lightning helix in my hand, I know 2 swings will be lethal from the legendary mythic. I work out he needs to block my Nacatl to have a chance at racing, so I send the team in, and follow with a replacement 3/3 knight of the reliquary.  He swings with the Progenitus on his turn, and on mine I send in the whole team, and then bolt him twice for the game, safe from force of will reprisal due to Teeg, the little legend that could.

 Game 2 starts in the est way possible – a double mulligan from him. I kept a hand with Teeg, burn spells and sylvan library, not the best 7, but the Teeg would buy some time for me to draw a load of threats off of library. This plan worked out – Teeg got dealt with, but some beats off a Pridemage made burning him out from 9 life fairly simple work after Library dug me into more lands and burn.

8-0

Round 9: Nicola Landoni w/Gwu survival

Nicola seemed to be one of those people who took their Legacy seriously, with a deck of foils and black-bordered dual lands. I had no idea what he was playing, having my guys forced and sworded until he dropped a survival in game 1, then found a Squee, which found an Iona, who herself found a Loyal Retainers, which apparently plays nice with Iona. The next turn he made an Iona for the price of 2W, basically locking me out of the game.

In the second, his draw wasn’t quite as explosive, and my threats managed to stick a little better. He got a finks and a Jitte out, but Sylvan Library came to the rescue again, finding me Path to Exile when I needed it most, to keep him off-balance just long enough to get through for lethal.

The third game was a little anticlimactic – a start of Tormod’s Crypt and Lavamancer threatened his Noble Hierarch-heavy draw. He got a survival down, but couldn’t afford to chain the creatures together as I’d removed a fair few of his mana sources and had the Crypt ready. He found a Goyf, I had the removal, found another, and I had the removal again. With no creatures left in hand, his deck stalled, and my creatures swarmed him in short order.

9-0

I turned out not to be wrong about the long day – it was well past 11pm at this point already, so after finding out I needed to be at the venue for 8am the next morning, it was straight back to the hotel to grab 5 hours or so of sleep then back to the venue for the 8(!) rounds of day 2 play.

Round 10: Luis Quinton w/Zoo

I was still groggy for this round, so I don’t recall a great deal of the match. Thankfully zoo doesn’t require quite as much intense decision-making as some of the other decks in the format. Luis’ deck had Steppe Lynxes, which I’m sure helped him race combo decks, but unfortunately made great targets for my Grim Lavamancers. In the first game, I had a path for a turn when he tried to force through an 8-power Steppe Lynx, and then my Lavamancers mopped up the rest of his board. In the second game I got down a Jitte and eventually got it active after he kept killing all my dudes with spot removal and wing shards. He scoops after I get him to 2 with a Nacatl and show him the Helix, saving me the trouble of having to play round a possible Helix of his own in-hand.

10-0

Round  11: David Do Anh w/Ad Nauseam Tendrils

This match made it into the coverage as well, as we were 2 of the 3 players left undefeated at this point.  Game 1 I got a normal draw without a Teeg or 2 bolts and got rolled quickly by his combo. I brought in the traps, the Pyroblasts, Teegs, Crypts and Canonists for all my slow useless 2 and 3 drops. In the second I kept a 1-land Ape, Teeg, 2 bolt and Pyroblast hand – I failed to draw the second land on turn 2, so I countered a brainstorm with the blast and hope he couldn’t go off turn 2 – he did, but my early pressure combined with flipping a few rituals brought him low, and he had to stop before the ad nauseam could give him enough to win that turn. His hand had multiple Mystical Tutors, but vitally, no card drawing, a Slaughter Pact and Duresses. He was forced to pass, and then pact my Ape when I attacked next turn, then tutor for Ill-Gotten Gains. I didn’t draw the land for the Teeg to lock him out, or a burn spell to kill him, but I did find a Mindbreak Trap, so when he ritualed up into an Ill-Gotten Gains next turn, I trapped it for the win. Game three, he mulliganed on the play, and I kept a 2 land, Crypt, Ape, Teeg hand. Unfortunately for me, he went off turn 2 on the play – must be nice. But his Ad Nauseam flipped him into only black mana sources, discard and ponders and brainstorms before he had to stop on 2 life. With his 2 blue mana, he tried a Brainstorm to find what he needed, missed and tried a Ponder with his last blue mana, missed again and shuffled.... into Tendrils off the top. Oh well.

10-1

Round 12:  Thomas Grotenhuis w/ Goblins

I won the roll, which made it very easy to stop his turn 1 Goblin Lackey from connecting. A few well-placed Bolts on lords and it was onto game 2, where an Ape and a Jitte almost got there singlehandedly against his mulligan on the play, where he was light on lands, but had a turn 1 Aether Vial. Qausali Pridemage ate his Aether Vial before he could put down anything more threatening than a Goblin Matron for Stingscourger to bounce my Jitted Ape, which only delayed the inevitable.

11-1

Round 13:  Dimitry Niktin w/ GRW Loam

Game one; I got a fast Nacatl draw, with sylvan library to draw me into more threats when his Swords to Plowshares gave me extra life. He dropped a Seismic Assault, but lacked the Loam to be able to get going properly, and had to pitch his hand to deal with my Goyfs. My Knight of the Reliquary was too big to burn however, and 2 swings and a bolt finished him.

In the second, his turn 1 Mox diamond, fetchland Loam the cards back, turn 2 dredge Loam play knight of the Reliquary as a 4/4 opener was too fast for me to really race, especially when he followed it with a pair of Goyfs. The third game was a lot closer – I opened with a Crypt, him with a Divining Top, which worked overtime finding him Goyfs and Swords and Oblivion rings for my guys. My library found me Goyfs of my own and Pridemages for his Oblivion Rings. I found a Path to Exile on a key turn to two-for-one him when his Knight of the Reliquary and Goyf double-blocked my exalted Tarmogoyf. He assembled a Loam engine, but I Cyrpted away all his cycling lands before he could really get rolling. He found Horizon Canopy instead, but it was nowhere near as effective a draw engine, and by this point he was on a single life. I was back to living off the top of my deck as his Quasail Pridemage had offed my Sylvan Library. My Grim Lavamancer was Sworded. Wild Nacatl answered with a Tarmogoyf. A second Lavamancer finally proved to be enough, having finally exhausted his stream of removal spells.

12-1

Round 14: Jose Luis Hernanz w/ G/B Dark Depths Rock

Unfortunately my deck lacks many ways to deal with Dark Depths combo outside of Path to Exile. In the first game he Duressed away my Path, wished for Dark Depths then dropped a turn 3 Marit-lage. I wasn’t able to do much about that – and failed to draw the path or Helix I needed to stay in the game. Game 2, I got a decent start, and he wasn’t helped by his all-swamp draw. A Gatekeeper of Malakair proved only a minor hindrance, and I finished him in four turns. Unbfortunately, the third game turned out to be as one-sided as the second. I mulliganned to five cards, which became one card after he opened with a Duress and a Hymn to Tourach. I got an Ape and a Jitte down, but it wasn’t enough to race his Tarmogoyfs, let alone the Marit Lage he made shortly after.

12-2

At this point I needed 2 wins out of 3 rounds to make the top 8. Rob Wagner and Matt light were also in the running for representing team GB in the top 8, needing 2 and 3 wins respectively.

Round 15: Carlos Buillo Fernandez w/ GWU survival

This match wasn’t particularly memorable – I got beat down by mutlple goyfs game one after drawing too many lands and not enough action. Games two and three went much more to my liking – fast Nacatl draws backed up with a Tormod’s crypt to pre-emptively put a stop to any Iona shenanigans and Path to Exile for his blockers.

13-2

Round 16: Ruben Gonzales w/Pro-Bant

I quickly find out what Ruben is playing when he starts with a turn 1 Sensei’s Divining Top and a second turn Counterbalance. My Quasali Pridmage was forced and my single Nacatl wasn’t enough to deal with the Rhox War Monks and Goyfs he played out.  The second game took a lot longer. I landed an early Gaddock Teeg , which helped ensure he played no Natural Orders, and Kird Ape to his Rhox War Monk, which beat me down to single-digits until I was able to block it with a Knight of the Reliquary and grow it with a fetchland to off the big rhino. I think this must have been a misplay on his end, as he didn’t follow it with a Firespout, just a Goyf. I began the comeback beating down with my 7/7 knight, eating through Noble Hierarchs, Dryad Arbors and finally his life total, holding back my other guys to hold off his Tarmogoyf. A Firespout off the top threatened to steal the game, as I was on a meagre three life and his Goyf was 3/4, but I had the Lightning helix to remove his Goyf when combined with his own spout, so it was on to game 3. In the third game, I lead with Nacatl into pridemage into Goyf, while he seems to be digging for lands, using his Top in his upkeep turn 2, and following with a Ponder. On his turn 3, My Goyf was 2/3 from lands and Sorceries, and he made a play which I felt was greedy, and tapped his Top to try to make me unable to sac my Pridemage and keep the Goyf alive when he follows up with the Firespout. I of course sacced the Pridemage to blow up the Top in response, meaning he lost the Top and was only able to remove my Nacatl with the spout, and leaving me with a 4/5 Goyf.  I added more guys to the board, he didn’t have enough Swords to Plowshares for all of them, and I finished him off with a couple of burn spells.

14-2

And that was it. I wasn’t certain I was a lock until the standings before the next round, but with exactly 4 people on 42 points, I was sure I’d not be paired down. Checking how the rest of the UK contingent were getting on, Rob Wagner lost a close match to David Do Anh on the table next to mine to have to play the last round for a shot at the top 8, but more likely 9^th place. And Matt Light had lost, meaning he was out of top 8 contention. I ID’ed with another Zoo player in the last round and went to watch Marco OJ in the 300 player PTQ where he was busy top 8’ing with Blood Moon Zoo, and Joe and Lukas in the 2-headed giant tournament,  where Death’s Shadow turned out to be surprisingly good, though still unsynergystic with Grazing Gladeheart.

The top 8 was announced, and we all went off to get photos and fill in our player profiles. The slightly groan-worthy “what will YOUR Legacy be?” question was thankfully omitted from the final profiles, presumably as no one bothered to answer it. Decklists were handed out, and I would be playing versus another Pro-Bant list, which was great news because it wasn’t ANT, and it didn’t even run counter-top. After a quick sideboard consultation with team GB, where I decided I’d be taking out a few of my Chain Lightnings for Pyroblasts and an extra Teeg.

The match itself was covered on the wizards’ site and already covers all the relevant points. I feel I only misplayed once or twice in that match – attacking with my Lavamancer into an untapped fetchland was something that I probably wouldn’t have done had I known the format a little more, and him boarding in the Relics of Progenitus was unexpected – while not awful, I felt that they would be a bit too slow against me, and shrinking Goyfs would be more in my interest than his, considering I had the burn spells.

Atfer the match, I wandered around for a few minutes, and then got given the list I would be playing versus. Reanimator?  Hmm, not good. And it runs Show and Tell as well, so my paltry 3 Crypts would not even guarantee me any extra time before a massive guy hit play.  Again, the match is covered in more detail than I can hope to better on the official coverage. The match itself was an amazing experience – the crowd was rows deep, and they seemed to enjoy  it as much as I did – killing the same Empyrial Archangel three times then managing to fight back for exactly lethal in game two was some of the best Magic I think I’ve played, and I’m certainly not going to forget it for a long time. I was a shame my Path to Exiles were more absent in games 1 and 3 – but you can’t get lucky every time, and I’m very happy with 3^rd of 2227 players.  The rest of the evening was spent watch Marco die to Perimeter Captains (so sick) in the PTQ semi-finals, and going back to the German restaurant for greasy food, comedy-sized beers and another ill-advised team draft which was cut short by the need to not miss the last metro back to the hotel, which we made... just.

Props

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Chris Harrold for the many decks and cards we borrowed

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Joe and Lukas for the testing and encouragment during the weekend, as well as keeping me fed and watered during the tournament.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->The rest of the UK players for being there and the great advice and support

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Rich Hagon for the totally impartial and unbiased coverage

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->The staff for making the best of the crowded GP situation

Slops

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Marco for misplaying for the loss in the PTQ – though I guess you’ve made up for it now, congrats

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->The people responsible for massively underestimating the GP attendance

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Having to travel an hour to get to the venue, even though the hotel was really nice

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Sphinx of the Steel Wind for being so massively good vs. people who haven’t drawn a Path to Exile

Discuss this article on the forums. (6 posts)