10/17/2009 – PTQ for San Diego in Rockville, MD

First, let’s start off with the sealed pool I received.

A few lines borrowed from the Chat Dump while you think about how to build this pool:

13:54    iConn   how does your sweet pearl trident deck beat
                 a pyroclasm
13:54    Seeker_ counterspell
13:55   Seeker_ memory lapse
13:55   Seeker_ ...mana leak?
13:55  Seeker_ force spike!
13:55   iConn   also
13:55   iConn   more importantly
13:55   iConn   how do you cast coral merfolk with a straight face

[19:09] [wcb] or encyclopedia brown
[19:09] [wcb]
[19:09] [RHat] encyclopedia brown was fucken badass
[19:36] [prolep] hey rhat
[19:36] [prolep] and whoever else is around
[19:36] [prolep] [RHat] [19:09]  encyclopedia brown was
                 fucken badass
[19:36] [prolep] I have concrete proof of this fact
[19:37] [theStu]  present it
[19:37] [RHat] i am around
[19:37] [prolep] what is encyclopedia brown's first name
[19:37] [RHat] i forget
[19:37] [prolep] you are allowed to wiki it
[19:37] [RHat] leroy!
[19:37] [prolep] BADDEST MAN IN THE WHOLE DAMN TOWN

[crickets]

[19:38] [prolep] god
[19:38] [prolep] i just realized you guys might too young

[Peebles1] man selling all these pokemon cards is going
           to be ANNOYING

mary: i wrote a song
reuben: what is it
mary: it's called the people you work with
      are stupid douchebags
reuben:
reuben: how does it go?
mary: "the people you work with are stupid douchebags.
       the people you work with are stuuuuuupid douuuuuuuchebags"

A quick analysis shows that the correct build of this pool is probably blue and black, since they have removal, bombs and evasion.

The first runthrough gives the following cards for a deck:

I would prefer to play 18 lands in this type of deck (with Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, double Whiplash Trap, Merfolk Seastalkers and double Windrider Eel, getting flooded isn’t a huge issue).

I filled out the last three slots with Ior Ruin Expedition, Shoal Serpent and Bog Tatters.

My reasoning on the Serpent was that I wanted a big fat wall to block while attacking with evasion guys, or building up Ob, Nixilis to lethal them.

Tatters seemed better than the alternatives (Crypt Ripper and Hagra Diabolist) since it will usually have evasion vs the best sealed decks (which tend to be black).

Ior Ruin Expedition was extremely sketchy, and probably should have been Cancel in the maindeck.

As for the swiss rounds:

I went 6-1-1 (loss in round 4, drew in round 8). I believe it is correct to draw in this sealed format. The games themselves weren’t very interesting, since they all played out in the same sort of way: I would stabilize the board with my removal / bounce and kill them with a evasive guy or Ob Nixilis.

So I’ll fast forward to the deck I drafted in the top 8.

Round 1, I played vs the only other UG drafter at the table. Game 1, I set up a board state where Seastalkers locks down his guys and lethal him over the span of 2 turns. For the record, I almost died to quadrupule Scholar targetting me, but the Seastalkers let me kill him before this happened.

I board out Gomazoa and Gladeheart for Hedron Crab and 1 Mountain (since he had mold shamblered my only red source in game 1).

Game 2, his deck did nothing, and I took over quite easily.

Round 2, I played vs RW with bombs (such as Hellkite Charger and Felidar Sovereign). Game 1, he gets manascrewed and double Whiplash Trap + fatties finish him off.

I board in 1 Lethargy Trap for Frontier Guide, because his deck seemed to be a bunch of small guys + Teteering Peaks.

Game 2, I get him to 3 life, but his Sovereign arrives to stabilize him completely because I had already spent both Traps trying to kill him. Game 3, he smashes me easily with Hellkite Charger.

I am only slightly upset, because his deck was pretty good, and my deck didn’t have many ways to beat his.

However, I am more upset that he conceded to the other guy in the finals after losing game 1.

I will probably not be PTQing again this season, but here are a few notes:

I believe the best sealed decks are B/x, and that you should draw.

18 lands is correct for most of the sealed decks, but I can see a case for 19 if you have a TON of landfall guys.

This is a much more sane draft format than the previous two, so I recommend sticking to two colors with possibly a splash in draft.

Good luck in your sealed and drafts in the land of Zendikards! (couldn’t resist it).

–llarack