NQ data Part 3: UW control

Thanks all for your patience- yesterday's update was delayed whilst we got some important data!

As reported on Monday, a slight error in the Top 8 lists occurred. The missing decklist was the UW control list of Russ Davies. We presented Rob Davies' list in error- sorry for the confusion! The correct, qualifying list:

4 Tectonic Edge
4 Plains
3 Island
3 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Halimar Depths
4 Tectonic Edge
4 Everflowing Chalice

1 Path to Exile
1 Journey To Nowhere
2 Negate
4 Treasure Hunt
3 Spreading Seas
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Cancel
3 Jace, the Mindsculptor
2 Day of Judgment
3 Baneslayer Angel
2 Mind Spring
3 Martial Coup
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria


Sideboard:
4 Celestial Purge
3 Flashfreeze
1 Pithing Needle
2 Mind Control
1 Deft Duellist
2 Kor Firewalker
1 Kiss of the Amesha
1 Marshals Anthem

Let's look at the matchups for this deck.

Overall, UW did very, very well. It had an overall record of 25-15-2, winning almost 60% of its matches. Its record was also consistent with the die roll- it went 12-7-2 on the play, and 13-8 on the draw.

In specific matchups, it wasn't all the same story. Just to recap Tuesday, against Burn, UW went 5-4, with 5-1 on the play and 0-3 on the draw.

Against Jund, the boogieman of the format, UW scored 5-3-1. On the play, that was a 2-2 split; on the draw, Jund's aggressive discard saw it slip to 1-3-1.

The mirror looked to be a real skill-tester, although in our tournament we had only 4 such matches. They went evenly, 2-2, depending on the die roll.

Finally, against the Naya decks, UW found itself at 5-1. It was a stonking 4-0 on the draw against this deck, and split games on the play 1-1.

Join us tomorrow when the Naya and Jund stats are revised and revealed.

Til then,

~David

(incidentally, if you want to know more about this project, the podcast, or anything else related, the address to email is savia dot wanderer at gmail dot com!)

NQ data Part 2: Burn

Ok, let's Burn.

This category includes a few noticeably separate variations, but they are all very similar and hence grouped together for the purposes of this analysis.

These decks almost all play Lightning Bolt, Burst Lightning, Goblin Guide, and Ball-Lightning. The majority splash black for Blightning and friends, but some are pure red.

A well-performing variant also picked up white, for Ajani Vengeant and Refraction Trap.

These decks are very, very aggressive. Let's see how that translates into success for the 9 players that took it to our event.

Overall, the deck went 31-23, winning a respectable 57% of its matches. Predictably enough, it didn't draw once.

That record is hugely skewed based on the die roll. On the draw, the deck went a pretty average 13-14. On the play, it took matches at a rate of 18-9. How's that for speed?

MATCHUPS

In our event, Burn only faced off against the ubiquitous Jund. The score was 5-4 in Burn's favour, but again the die roll was a big factor. On the play, Burn achieved a score of 4-1. On the draw, it got only 1-3.

This skew was carried on to the UW matchup, where a 1-5 record on the draw contrasted with a 3-0 on the play.

Naya, another popular deck, had a more even result: 5-2 on the play, and 3-2 when burn was on the draw.

Sadly, we only had 2 Burn mirrors, not enough data to draw anything interesting from. The matches were split evenly between the play and the draw- but with more data as the season rolls on, we'll see if that continues.

From the fastest deck in the format, to one of the slowest. Come by tomorrow for all the data on UW control.

Statistics from NQ Reading Part 1: General data

Hi all.

In the first installment of statistical data from this tournament, some generic information about the event.

In total, we had 7 rounds of play. 184 matches were completed and entered into our data pool, and that's what's getting presented here.

I.D.s and matches won by a non-present opponent weren't included.

First of all, let's look at the path to victory. Here's what each qualifying player faced on their way to the slot:

Aaron Cadwallader (playing UW control, won 2 die rolls out of 7):

UW control, won

Naya, won

UW control, won

Burn, lost

Naya, lost

Vampires, won

Naya, won

Kris Pietron (playing Jund, won 5 die rolls out of 6):

Burn, won

UW control, lost

Jund, won

Elves!, won

Jund, won

Naya, won

I.D.

Arun Banghar (playing Burn, won 3 die rolls out of 6):

UW control, lost

Jund, won

Vampires, won

Open the Vaults, won

Naya, won

Naya, won

I.D.

Gary Lynch (playing Jund, won 2 die rolls out of 6):

Boros, won

GW junk, won

Elves!, won

UW control, won

I.D.

UW control, won

UW control, lost

James Mills (playing UW control, won 4 out of 6 die rolls):

Naya, won

Open the Vaults, won

Jund, won

Jund, won

White Weenie, won

Jund, lost

I.D.

Dominic Penton (playing Jund, won 4 out of 7 die rolls):

UW control, won

Jund, won

Mythic, won

UW control, lost

Jund, won

Naya, won

Jund, won

Steve Bains (playing Burn, won 4 out of 7 die rolls):

Jund, won

Elves!, lost

GW junk, won

Jund, won

UW control, won

Burn, won

UW control, won

Now, some more stats for you.

Out of those 184 matches played, 5 were natural draws.

The remaining 179 matches were split 93-86 in favour of the draw. That's right, the player on the draw won around 53% of the time.

Now, a quick statistics lesson- with this size of sample, that result isn't what's termed statistically significant. That is, you can't draw a conclusion like "drawing is better", because there's not enough of a skew and not enough data to support that. But, it is excellent evidence that, on the whole, the die roll is not a major factor in the current Worldwake Standard metagame.

But what about specific matchups? Which decks win more, and which care more about that die roll?

Join us tomorrow, when we talk about Burn.

Nationals Qualifier, March 21st

Hi all!

This event was a special one.

We had 68 players competing for 8 slots over 7 rounds of Swiss play. As always, the top lists will follow.

What is different about this is that, thanks to all the players contributing a record of who won or lost the die roll, and a thorough metagame breakdown, we have a lot of extra information about this event!

We're going to start with just the meta breakdown and the qualifying lists. Then, each day this week, we'll update with some more statistics on the tournament.

So, without further ado:

METAGAME BREAKDOWN

Jund 15

Naya 10

UW control 10

Burn 9

Elves! 4

White Weenie 4

Open the Vaults 3

Mythic 2

Vampires 2

Allies 1

Boros 1

Goblins 1

GW control 1

GW Junk 1

Mill 1

Monowhite control 1

TurboFog 1

Valakut 1

The Top 8 looked like this (in no particular order):

Steve Bains

4 Burst Lightning

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Searing Blaze

4 Blightning

1 Banefire

3 Earthquake

/20 spells

4 Hellspark Elemental

4 Goblin Guide

4 Hell’s Thunder

4 Ball-Lightning

/16 creatures

4 Arid Mesa

4 Lavaclaw Reaches

4 Dragonskull Summit

4 Scalding Tarn

7 Mountain

1 Swamp

/24 lands

//60 cards

SB:

4 Goblin Ruinblaster

2 Doom Blade

3 Dragon’s Claw

4 Deathmark

2 Slave of Bolas

Dominic Pietron’s “Jund”

4 Putrid Leech

4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Sprouting Thrinax

2 Broodmate Dragon

2 Master of the Wild Hunt

/16 creatures

4 Blightning

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Maelstrom Pulse

3 Bituminous Blast

2 Garruk Wildspeaker

2 Terminate

1 Burst Lightning

/19 spells

4 Savage Lands

4 Verdant Catacombs

3 Dragonskull Summit

2 Raging Ravine

2 Rootbound Crag

2 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood

3 Mountain

3 Swamp

2 Forest

/25 lands

//60 cards

SB:

3 Doom Blade

3 Goblin Ruinblaster

3 Jund Charm

2 Thought Hemorrhage

1 Maelstrom Pulse

3 Malakir Bloodwitch

Updated 23rd March: Sorry, but due to human error, Rob Davies' White Weenie deck was listed as qualifying instead of Russ Davies.

Correct decklist to follow ASAP. Mea culpa.

Rob Davies’ “Plan Z”

3 Kor Duelist

2 Kor Skyfisher

4 White Knight

4 Kor Firewalker

2 Stoneforge Mystic

3 Knight of the White Orchid

2 Devout Lightcaster

2 Emeria Angel

/22 creatures

1 Basilisk Collar

1 Hammer of Ruin

1 Sigil of Distinction

3 Path to Exile

2 Brave the Elements

2 Oblivion Ring

2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

2 Ajani Goldmane

2 Day of Judgment

/16 spells

13 Plains

3 Dread Statuary

2 Emeria, the Sky Ruin

2 Arid Mesa

2 Marsh Flats

/22 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Path to Exile

3 Relic of Progenitus

1 Brave the Elements

3 Celestial Purge

2 Devout Lightcaster

1 Oblivion Ring

3 Scepter of Dominance

1 Day of Judgment

Gary Lynch

4 Bloodbraid Elf

2 Broodmate Dragon

4 Putrid Leech

4 Sprouting Thrinax

1 Borderland Ranger

2 Siege-Gang Commander

/17 creatures

2 Terminate

4 Blightning

3 Bituminous Blast

4 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Lightning Bolt

/17 spells

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Savage Lands

4 Raging Ravine

1 Rootbound Crag

3 Swamp

3 Mountain

3 Forest

1 Lavaclaw Reaches

3 Dragonskull Summit

/26 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Basilisk Collar

3 Malakir Bloodwitch

4 Goblin Ruinblaster

4 Deathmark

1 Mind Rot

2 Duress

James Mills’ “Dan Barrett is the best friend ever!”

4 Baneslayer Angel

2 Iona, Shield of Emeria

3 Knight of the White Orchid

/9 creatures

4 Mind Spring

4 Martial Coup

2 Divination

2 Treasure Hunt

3 Path to Exile

3 Day of Judgment

3 Oblivion Ring

4 Everflowing Chalice

3 Fieldmist Borderpost

/28 spells

4 Celestial Colonnade

4 Glacial Fortress

6 Island

8 Plains

1 Tectonic Edge

/23 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Kor Firewalker

2 Celestial Purge

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

3 Negate

3 Flashfreeze

1 Marshal’s Anthem

2 Mind Control

1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Arun Banghar’s “RDW”

4 Goblin Guide

4 Plated Geopede

4 Hell’s Thunder

4 Ball-Lightning

4 Hellspark Elemental

/20 creatures

4 Burst Lightning

4 Searing Blaze

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Earthquake

/15 spells

4 Scalding Tarn

4 Arid Mesa

3 Teetering Peaks

1 Terramorphic Expanse

13 Mountain

/25 lands

//60 cards

SB:

3 Rakka Mar

3 Unstable Footing

4 Journey to Nowhere

1 Plains

4 Chandra Nalaar

Kris Pietron

4 Bloodbraid Elf

2 Broodmate Dragon

4 Putrid Leech

3 Siege-Gang Commander

4 Sprouting Thrinax

/17 creatures

4 Blightning

2 Garruk Wildspeaker

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Maelstrom Pulse

2 Rampant Growth

2 Terminate

/17 spells

3 Dragonskull Summit

3 Forest

1 Lavaclaw Reaches

3 Mountain

4 Raging Ravine

1 Rootbound Crag

4 Savage Lands

3 Swamp

4 Verdant Catacombs

/26 lands

//60 cards

SB:

4 Goblin Ruinblaster

1 Terminate

2 Master of the Wild Hunt

3 Deathmark

2 Malakir Bloodwitch

3 Great Sable Stag

Aaron Cadwallader’s “Bunch of Jaces”

1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

/1 creature

4 Everflowing Chalice

2 Oblivion Ring

1 Essence Scatter

2 Flashfreeze

2 Negate

3 Path to Exile

4 Cancel

4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

2 Mind Spring

2 Martial Coup

3 Day of Judgment

4 Treasure Hunt

/33 spells

1 Scalding Tarn

2 Marsh Flats

3 Island

4 Tectonic Edge

4 Celestial Colonnade

4 Halimar Depths

4 Glacial Fortress

4 Plains

/26 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Essence Scatter

1 Luminarch Ascension

1 Negate

1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

1 Plains

2 Celestial Purge

3 Kor Firewalker

2 Flashfreeze

3 Baneslayer Angel

Come back Monday for the first of our statistics!

PTQ San Juan, Reading 20/2/2010

Hi all!

We had a record 103 players turn out to sling spells in Extended today, at Reading's Eclectic Games. The judge staff kept all the balls in the air, and the players brought bottomless enthusiasm, their best decks, and a lot of dual lands!

Let's kick off by looking at how the metagame looks:

Zoo 13

Faeries 11

Thopter Depths 9

Scapeshift 8

Elves 6

Affinity 5

Bant 5

Living End 5

Thopters 4

Hypergenesis 4

White Weenie 4

Boros 4

UW control 3

Dark Depths 2

RDW 2

AIR 2

Dredge 2

Rock 2

Smallpox 2

Storm 1

B/W aggro 1

Reveillark Combo 1

Bloodchief Burn 1

Fish 1

Jund 1

Pyro Ascension 1

4CC 1

Treasure 1

KCI 1

So there you have it. Using a very rough analysis, another way of looking at this is:

Control 23

Combo 38

Aggro 42

The Top 8 reflected that a little:

1 Doran

1 Scapeshift

1 Affinity

1 Thopter Depths

1 Elves

3 Zoo

Here's how it panned out.

First of all, our quarterfinalists:

Tim Hows

1 Plains

1 Forest

1 Swamp

4 Verdant Catacombs

4 Marsh Flats

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Horizon Canopy

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Treetop Village

1 Godless Shrine

2 Temple Garden

2 Overgrown Tomb

/23 lands

4 Tidehollow Sculler

4 Noble Hierarch

4 Doran, the Siege Tower

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Tarmogoyf

3 Birds of Paradise

2 Qasali Pridemage

2 Baneslayer Angel

/27 creatures

2 Umezawa’s Jitte

2 Smother

2 Putrefy

4 Path to Exile

/10 spells

//60 cards

SB:

3 Cranial Extraction

4 Thoughtseize

3 Extirpate

2 Loxodon Hierarch

3 Deathmark

Jake Wheatley’s “Bath Magic Loves Hungry Spriggan”

4 Grove of the Burnwillows

2 Treetop Village

4 Stomping Ground

1 Swamp

6 Mountain

2 Valakut , the Molten Pinnacle

1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood

5 Forest

/25 lands

4 Kitchen Finks

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Tarmogoyf

/16 creatures

4 Search for Tomorrows

4 Scapeshift

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Punishing Fire

3 Umezawa’s Jitte

/19 spells

//60 cards

SB:

4 Volcanic Fallout

4 Blood Moon

4 Ancient Grudge

3 Thought Hemmorhage

Christian Bateman’s “Blood Zoo”

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Arid Mesa

2 Marsh Flats

1 Scalding Tarn

2 Stomping Ground

1 Temple Garden

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Treetop Village

2 Forest

2 Plains

1 Mountain

/22 lands

4 Noble Hierarch

4 Wild Nacatl

4 Qasali Pridemage

4 Tarmogoyf

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Bloodbraid Elf

/24 creatures

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Path to Exile

2 Umezawa’s Jitte

4 Blood Moon

/14 spells

//60 cards

SB:

1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

2 Tormod’s Crypt

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Ghost Quarter

3 Baneslayer Angel

4 Chalice of the Void

3 Aven Mindcensor

QF

Nathaniel James’ “Bad Robot”

2 Great Furnace

4 Vault of Whispers

4 Seat of the Synod

1 Island

3 Blinkmoth Nexus

4 Ancient Den

/18 lands

4 Ornithopter

4 Arcbound Ravager

4 Frogmite

4 Master of Etherium

2 Ethersworn Canonist

4 Arcbound Worker

4 Myr Enforcer

/26 creatures

4 Springleaf Drum

4 Chromatic Star

4 Cranial Plating

4 Thoughtcast

/16 spells

//60 cards

SB:

4 Extirpate

4 Thoughtseize

1 Chalice of the Void

4 Path to Exile

2 Ethersworn Canonist

Next up, the semifinalists:

Jonathan Hagan’s “Zoo”

1 Treetop Village

1 Plains

1 Forest

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Steam Vents

1 Stomping Ground

2 Temple Garden

4 Scalding Tarn

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Arid Mesa

1 Mountain

/22 lands

4 Loam Lion

4 Kird Ape

4 Wild Nacatl

4 Tarmogoyf

3 Knight of the Reliquary

3 Qasali Pridemage

2 Ranger of Eos

/24 creatures

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Path to Exile

2 Lightning Helix

2 Bant Charm

1 Oblivion Ring

1 Umezawa’s Jitte

/14 spells

//60 cards

SB:

2 Bant Charm

3 Negate

1 Ranger of Eos

3 Damping Matrix

1 Umezawa’s Jitte

4 Ethersworn Canonist

1 Jötun Grunt

Dom Harvey’s “We Love Hungry Spriggan”

4 River of Tears

4 Sunken Ruins

5 Island

3 Tolaria West

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Academy Ruins

1 Swamp

1 Dark Depths

/21 lands

4 Dark Confidant

1 Vampire Hexmage

/5 creatures

4 Thoughtseize

4 Chalice of the Void

4 Muddle the Mixture

4 Thirst for Knowledge

4 Thopter Foundry

3 Sword of the Meek

2 Repeal

2 Engineered Explosives

1 Into the Roil

1 Smother

1 Slaughter Pact

4 Chrome Mox

/34 spells

//60 cards

SB:

2 Sphinx of Jwar Isle

1 Vendilion Clique

4 Leyline of the Void

2 Duress

2 Darkblast

4 Deathmark

The runner-up:

Finalist

Yi Ming Lai’s “Domain Zoo”

4 Scalding Tarn

4 Arid Mesa

4 Misty Rainforest

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Godless Shrine

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Temple Garden

1 Steam Vents

1 Breeding Pool

1 Stomping Ground

1 Forest

1 Plains

/22 lands

4 Kird Ape

4 Wild Nacatl

3 Loam Lion

4 Tarmogoyf

3 Qasali Pridemage

3 Knight of the Reliquary

1 Ranger of Eos

/22 creatures

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Path to Exile

4 Tribal Flames

4 Bant Charm

/16 spells

//60 cards

SB:

4 Meddling Mage

3 Negate

4 Ancient Grudge

2 Ranger of Eos

2 Umezawa’s Jitte

And last but certainly not least, congratulations to Richard Bland, the winner of PTQ San Juan in Reading!

Richard Bland’s “Elves”

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Verdant Catacombs

5 Forest

1 Pendelhaven

1 Temple Garden

2 Horizon Canopy

/17 lands

4 Nettle Sentinel

4 Heritage Druid

4 Elvish Archdruid

4 Elvish Visionary

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Arbor Elf

2 Boreal Druid

1 Regal Force

1 Eternal Witness

1 Ranger of Eos

1 Essence Warden

/30 creatures

4 Glimpse of Nature

4 Summoner’s Pact

4 Cloudstone Curio

1 Primal Command

/13 spells

//60 cards

SB:

4 Ghost Quarter

4 Umezawa’s Jitte

3 Ranger of Eos

1 Gaddock Teeg

1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

1 Loaming Shaman

1 Viridian Shaman

Report from PTQ Nottingham

Hi all! We're going to be bringing some coverage to your today from the first English PTQ for San Juan and the Extended format, in Nottingham.

First of all, this was the first time Nottingham had been the host to a PTQ in some years. Dave Sisson, the TO, played host to a great turnout of 78 players. Everyone felt that the venue, in Nottingham Uni's student bar, was great and the event ran very smoothly.

Now, let's get on to some data!

First of all, here's a breakdown of the metagame by rough archetype:

Dark Depths 1 / T

Dredge 2 / T

Faeries 8

Hypergenesis 1

UW Tezz control 8 / TT

UG control 1

Scapeshift 8 / TT

Martyr 3

Zoo 16 / TT

Swath Shot 1

Living End 2

Hive Mind 1

Gifts Rock 3

Bant 4

Goblins 1

RDW/burn 6

Restore Balance 1

AIR 2

Rock 1

Misc 3

Those numbers are the total number represented in the field, and the Ts indicate how many of that archetype made Top 8.

Now, let's proceed to that Top 8!

The roster was:

Gavin Goh, playing Zoo

Stephen McIntosh, playing Dark Depths

Richard Bland, playing Scapeshift

James Corwood, playing Tezz / Thopters

Hari Mukautheran, playing Zoo

Rob Wagner, playing Tezz / Thopters

Bruno Panara, playing Scapeshift

Tom Harle, playing Dredge

The quarterfinals went like this:

Goh beats McIntosh 2-1

Bland beats Mura 2-0

Wagner beats Corwood 2-0

Panara beats Harle 2-1

And here are our quarterfinalist's decks:

Steven McIntosh's “Dark Depths”

4 Dark Confidant

4 Vampire Hexmage

3 Vendilion Clique

/11 creatures

4 Muddle the Mixture

4 Beseech the Queen

3 Chalice of the Void

2 Engineered Explosives

4 Thoughtseize

1 Duress

2 Repeal

1 Echoing Truth

4 Chrome Mox

/25 spells

4 Dark Depths

4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Swamp

4 Tolaria West

4 River of Tears

4 Sunken Ruins

2 Underground River

1 Ghost Quarter

/24 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Tormod's Crypt

3 Bitterblossom

1 Doom Blade

1 Chalice of the Void

1 Slaughter Pact

1 Yixlid Jailer

1 Pithing Needle

2 Cranial Extraction

2 Damnation

1 Thopter Foundry

1 Sword of the Meek

Hari Mukautheran's “Naya”

4 Baneslayer Angel

4 Wild Nacatl

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Tarmogoyf

4 Noble Hierarch

/20 creatures

1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

4 Punishing Fire

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Oblivion Ring

4 Path to Exile

/16 spells

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Treetop Village

4 Arid Mesa

3 Verdant Catacombs

4 Marsh Flats

4 Grove of the Burnwillows

2 Sacred Foundry

1 Temple Garden

1 Stomping Ground

1 Plains

1 Mountain

1 Forest

/24 lands

//60 cards

SB:

2 Ancient Grudge

2 Gaddock Teeg

3 Ravenous Trap

3 Yixlid Jailer

4 Kitchen Finks

1 Blood Crypt

James Corwood

1 Baneslayer Angel

2 Trinket Mage

/3 creatures

1 Ritual of Restoration

1 Day of Judgment

1 Wrath of God

1 Tormod's Crypt

3 Path to Exile

2 Engineered Explosives

2 Gifts Ungiven

4 Thirst for Knowledge

1 Time Sieve

2 Mana Leak

2 Cryptic Command

2 Muddle the Mixture

3 Spell Snare

1 Sword of the Meek

2 Thopter Foundry

1 Vedalken Shackles

2 Tezzeret the Seeker

1 Chrome Mox

/32 spells

1 Arid Mesa

1 Marsh Flats

2 Scalding Tarn

2 Misty Rainforest

2 Hallowed Fountain

2 Steam Vents

1 Watery Grave

1 Mystic Gate

1 Academy Ruins

1 Tolaria West

1 Vault of Whispers

1 Ancient Den

2 Seat of the Synod

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Snow-Covered Plains

2 Snow-Covered Island

2 Island

1 Plains

/25 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Path to Exile

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Chalice of the Void

1 Deathmark

3 Firespout

1 Flashfreeze

2 Pulse of the Fields

3 Extirpate

1 Baneslayer Angel

Tom Harle

4 Narcomoeba

4 Stinkweed Imp

1 Sphinx of Lost Truths

4 Hedron Crab

4 Golgari Grave-Troll

3 Bloodghast

4 Drowned Rusalka

1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

1 Flame-Kin Zealot

1 Dryad Arbor

/27 creatures

4 Bridge from Below

3 Dread Return

3 Ideas Unbound

1 Life from the Loam

4 Glimpse the Unthinkable

/15 spells

1 Steam Vents

2 Breeding Pool

3 Watery Grave

3 Verdant Catacombs

3 Scalding Tarn

4 Misty Rainforest

2 Island

/18 lands

//60 cards

SB:

1 Life from the Loam

2 Ancient Grudge

3 Thoughtseize

2 Darkblast

2 Echoing Truth

3 Leyline of the Void

1 Bloodghast

1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

Moving on to the semifinals, the results were:

Bland beats Goh 2-0

Wagner beats Panara 2-1

And the semifinalists decks were:

Gavin Goh's “Eternal Zoo”

4 Noble Hierarch

4 Wild Nacatl

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Tarmogoyf

3 Baneslayer Angel

2 Gaddock Teeg

/21 creatures

4 Path to Exile

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Bant Charm

2 Lightning Helix

2 Umezawa's Jitte

/16 spells

1 Ghost Quarter

4 Arid Mesa

4 Misty Rainforest

3 Scalding Tarn

2 Stomping Ground

2 Temple Garden

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Steam Vents

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Forest

1 Island

1 Plains

1 Treetop Village

/23 lands

//60 cards

SB:

4 Negate

1 Gaddock Teeg

3 Meddling Mage

2 Ravenous Trap

1 Tormod's Crypt

3 Rhox War Monk

1 Baneslayer Angel

Bruno Panara

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

4 Coiling Oracle

4 Wood Elves

/12 creatures

4 Scapeshift

4 Remand

4 Peer through Depths

3 Ponder

3 Cryptic Command

3 Repeal

3 Firespout

1 Gigadrowse

/25 spells

4 Steam Vents

4 Stomping Ground

2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

4 Forest

3 Island

1 Mountain

2 Misty Rainforest

1 Breeding Pool

2 Flooded Grove

/23 lands

//60 cards

SB:

4 Kitchen Finks

3 Negate

1 Gigadrowse

3 Ravenous Trap

1 Sudden Shock

1 Magma Jet

1 Rude Awakening

1 Cloudthresher

So finally it came down to Richard Bland versus Rob Wagner for the prize- a flight and slot at Pro Tour: San Juan. In the end, Wagner's Thopters put up too much pressure for Bland, and Rob took the match 2-1 - despite having a broken hand!

Congratulations to Rob, and good luck in San Juan!

Here's the finalist, Richard Bland's, deck:

Richard Bland's “Scapeshift”

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

4 Coiling Oracle

4 Kitchen Finks

/12 creatures

4 Scapeshift

4 Condescend

3 Peer through Depths

3 Firespout

3 Remand

3 Into the Roil

2 Hunting Wilds

1 Ponder

/23 spells

4 Steam Vents

4 Stomping Ground

4 Misty Rainforest

4 Forest

3 Island

2 Mountain

2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

2 Breeding Pool

/25 lands

//60 cards

SB:

4 Ravenous Trap

3 Vendilion Clique

2 Tormod's Crypt

2 Engineered Explosives

2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

1 Into the Roil

1 Firespout

And the champion's:

Rob Wagner

2 Trinket Mage

/2 creatures

1 Tezzeret the Seeker

3 Chrome Mox

2 Engineered Explosives

1 Pithing Needle

2 Sword of the Meek

3 Thopter Foundry

1 Tormod's Crypt

1 Vedalken Shackles

2 Cryptic Command

1 Day of Judgment

2 Gifts Ungiven

3 Mana Leak

1 Muddle the Mixture

3 Path to Exile

4 Spell Snare

4 Thirst for Knowledge

1 Wrath of God

/35 spells

1 Academy Ruins

1 Ancient Den

1 Ghost Quarter

2 Hallowed Fountain

3 Island

3 Marsh Flats

2 Misty Rainforest

2 Mystic Gate

1 Plains

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Seat of the Synod

2 Snow-Covered Island

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Tolaria West

1 Watery Grave

/23 lands

//60 spells

SB:

1 Chalice of the Void

3 Cranial Extraction

1 Engineered Explosives

3 Kitchen Finks

2 Negate

2 Pulse of the Fields

1 Tormod's Crypt

2 Vendilion Clique

Thanks all and tune in next time for more coverage!

Episode 26 - Season's Beatings

Hi all,

Welcome to our last episode of 2009, episode 26 of The Gamer's Podcast.

This week DLS joins me to discuss the first few cards from worldwake, as well as looking at blue's role in the history of magic.

Hope you enjoy listening. 2009 has been a brilliant year for us and we've been delighted to have you as listeners. Thank you and we look forward to bringing you more top news, decks and discussions in 2010!

The Gamer's Podcast Team