HoM 3 match reports
Featured matches
- Round 1: Enchanté v Matt
- Round 2: James v Glenn
- Round 3: Enchanté v Cole
- Round 4: Chris v Darryn
- Round 6: Glenn v Cole
- Round 9: James v David
- Semifinal: Glenn v Cole
- Final: James v Cole
Round 1: Enchanté v Matt
Glenn Patel
- History of Magic trophy
At the beginning of the round, David draws our attention to the magnificent trophy that we are playing for. The presence of Necropotence in each winning deck so far has been noted… but back to the match.
Game 1
Matt flips a coin, Enchanté calls heads, the coin rolls off the table, Matt reflips… and Enchanté chooses to play.
Enchanté has an interesting hand… Force of Will and some blue cards, Candelabra of Tawnos and Tolarian Academy… looks powerful. Oh, and a Swamp to cast that Candelabra.
Matt mulligans into four lands, an Animate Dead, and a Dimir Infiltrator. Not bad, not all that.
Enchanté plays the first turn Candelabra, naturally.
Matt plays an Island and ships.
Second turn Brainstorm from Enchanté off the Academy looks to be impressive… he follows it up with a Chromatic Sphere.
Matt begins his turn, and thinks intently. Very intently. Then he plays a Swamp and a Demonic Tutor. Enchanté telegraphs his Force of Will, but Matt is stony faced.
I suspect he has read Enchanté for the exact card, but you never know. He spends a while picking his card from the DT. *yawn* 9.30 isn't that early in the morning, but we only finished the HoM draft at the crack of midnight.
Meanwhile, at the next table over, Darryn has saved his life via Swords to Plowshares… and then dropped Crovax, Ascendant Hero… against Cole, who has emptied his deck of artifacts via Myr Incubator. Sick.
Back to this match. Enchanté has an Island into Trinket Mage (tapping said Island and Academy). He fishes out Phyrexian Furnace, hosing Matt just a little bit, but not before commenting on how poor his deck is.
… and Masticore and Broodstar save the game for Cole.
Enchanté – still deciding what to play, as he has Dark Ritual and Cabal Ritual in hand (but not a lot else… perhaps he is hoping to mise Mind's Desire) – eventually cracking his Sphere (drawing a Swamp) to play another Chromatic Sphere.
Matt has a Thought Courier and his third land, and then Enchanté swings for two and has a fourth land.
Matt bins Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to Thought Courier, and transmutes Dimir Infiltrator for a Looter il-Kor.
Trinket Mage beats Matt down to 16. Oh the humanity. Five lands out now…
Matt discards a Scion of Darkness to Thought Courier and plays Dance of the Dead on it. Enchanté plays the long-telegraphed Force of Will. Matt has an Animate Dead, Enchanté uses both abilities of his Phyrexian Furnace, and the Scion is gone and the spell is countered.
Enchanté has a sixth land, and another swing for two (14).
Matt discards a Swamp to Thought Courier and plays Looter il-Kor. Enchanté has an EOT Brainstorm which finds Time Spiral and Yawgmoth's Will, but does he have the nerve to play it into Matt's three untapped mana? DUN DUN DUH!
Well, Matt solves that with a Pulse of the Grid in his draw step.
So… Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Yawgmoth's Will, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual (BBBB), Chromatic Sphere, Phyrexian Furnace, suspend Lotus Bloom, tap all his lands (9 in pool), Time Spiral (lack of playing Brainstorms from the bin looks like a significant mistake to me) – storm eight. Enchanté states that he believes this is the first time he has EVER played Time Spiral… and he draws… Mind Over Matter and Chromatic Sphere. Speaking of which, Chromatic Sphere, break it, break the other one… and he draws more lands. Oops. Should've played the Brainstorms. Swing for two. Ow (12).
Matt pitches Swamp and Akroma, Angel of Fury to his looters. Enchanté takes damage! (19). Recurring Nightmare sacrifices the Looter il-Kor (stopped by Phyrexian Furnace), and then is replayed. Matt looks to be in command of this game… Enchanté dejectedly draws his card for the turn. More mana, swing for two (10).
Matt has Demonic Collusion on his turn (oh, look – fatty to be found, and then discarded via Thought Courier)… Simic Sky Swallower.
Enchanté kicks himself for not tapping the Thought Courier with Mind Over Matter… and Reanimate on Thought Courier (8).
Enchanté is now on a clock… a four turn clock.
Matt has a Diabolic Tutor on his turn. Enchanté is unconcerned (or resigned to his fate – one or the other). Then Recurring Nightmare – and Enchantéd finally counterspells it.
Matt, however, has Misdirection.
PLATED SLAGWURM comes out to play.
As does… Skirge Familiar. WOOT!
Attack, block and block, take four trample (15).
Draw, scoop.
Enchanté 0, Matt 1
Game 2
In: Dimir Cutpurse, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Dismiss, Nightmare Void, Sift, and Stormscape Familiar.
Out: Condescend, Power Sink, Avatar of Woe, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Shifty Doppelganger, and Living Death.
Transformational SB!
OTH, out goes Mishra's Bauble, Show and Tell and Mind Over Matter.
In comes Duress, Persecute and Graveborn Muse.
Well, Matt just won and sideboarded more. Oh my…
But the EPIC LENGTH ROUND means that game two is delayed.
(Result: Enchanté 0, Matt 2)
Round 2: James v Glenn
Cole Swannack
Game 1
This match displays Glenn Patel playing mono blue control against James White's mono black aggro, labelled by a number of players as the best deck in the field.
James opens with Swamp, Ritual, Ritual into Necropotence and Dauthi Slayer. The 2 drop is met by a Disrupting Shoal removing Merchant Scroll: "Sick, he's got no 3 drop for Disrupting Shoal". Turn 2 James plays yet another Dark Ritual, Order of the Ebon Hand and Stromgald Crusader, finishing the turn by drawing a second sum of four cards with Necro.
Glenn fails to find a second blue, with four lands in play including Desert, Wasteland and a blank Temple of the False God as James finishes the game off with Ashenmoor Liege rounding off the almost complete "nut" draw.
James 1, Glenn 0
Game 2
Glenn mulligans once, James opens the game with Knight of Stromgald met by Dominating Licid. While Glenn is tapped out, James takes the opportunity to cast Ritual, Buried Alive for Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, Stromgald Crusader and Undead Gladiator. Withered Wretch remains in James's hand to avoid donking off a freshly cast Buried Alive to Glenn's Dominating Licid.
Glenn taps out again for Jace Beleren and draws a card. A fourth land continues to elude James as he sends his Knight of Stromgald into Glenn's recently acquired Haakon, which is first striked down as the Licid jumps off. As the game goes on, the mono blue mage continues to build resources and draw cards with Jace, as James misses his fourth land drop for the third consecutive turn.
Glenn runs out a Vendilion Clique, finding James with a grip of Necropotence, Phyrexian Arena, Withered Wretch, Cabal Therapy, Bitterblossom, Entomb and Hypnotic Specter, and after deliberation Glenn cycles out the Bitterblossom.
James begins work on Glenn's slowly depleting hand casting Coercion for Repeal, Cabal Therapy for Sower of Temptation and flashing back to take Thalakos Deceiver, but is unable to deal with Jace, Vendillion Clique and the unexpectedly overpowered Dominating Licid.
James 1, Glenn 1
Game 3
In between games, two Withered Wretches are sent to the bench to avoid Glenn's creature control suite. James opens with another sick start in Ritual, Phyrexian Arena, but Glenn disrupts the power play with Foil, discarding Island and Meloku the Clouded Mirror. James continues to apply pressure with Dauthi Slayer and Ashenmoor Gouger, met by a Miscalculation from Glenn, but prevents him from cycling into a third mana source. James takes advantage of Glenn's lack of resources with Buried Alive for Haakon and friends plus a Hypnotic Specter on the following turn.
Glenn finally reaches his third mana, and takes the opportunity to delay Specter carnage with Repulse, but takes three from Dauthi Slayer pumped by Ashenmoor Liege dropping to 11 life. Glenn manages to hit running lands but is forced to burn Cryptic Command on a lethal attack phase with Liege and the Slayer, tapping out as James recurs Haakon and casts Knight of Stromgald.
Glenn untaps, draws and scoops to James's onslaught of creatures, concluding a decidedly tough matchup for mono-blue.
James 2, Glenn 1
Round 3: Enchanté v Cole
James White
This round sees the History of Magic version of a classic Vintage format matchup, Enchanté Chang with TPS (THoMPS?) vs Cole Swannack with Stax. This is not the first time these two have clashed in History of Magic 3, the first epic battle between the two occurred during the draft when they fought over Tolarian Academy for seven rounds of picks! Enchanté eventually won that fight, can he do the same on the battlefield?
Game 1
Enchanté gets to start the game but with only six cards. Cole states his opening grip is "sick", specators gasp in admiration. Cole draws, announces "sick" again, goes into the turn one mana count tank then unleashes Island, Mox Diamond, Sol Ring, Thoughtcast.
Enchanté plays Swamp alongside Grand Coliseum and a Chromatic Sphere. Cole tanks, plays Smokestack and ends for Enchanté to untap and Rhystic Tutor for Yawgmoth's Will. The Stack gets its first counter, Sculpting Steel on Sol Ring and Arcbound Ravager ends the turn.
Swamp sacrifices for Smokestack and Enchanté ends on Swamp go. Cole sacrifices a land and cranks the Smokestack to two counters. Ravager attacks for one and is joined by Copper Gnomes. Enchanté scoops to the inevitable mana-lock.
Enchanté 0, Cole 1
Game 2
Enchanté keeps seven on the play, Cole takes a mulligan. Turn two Candelabra of Tawnos from Enchanté is the first play of the game, the second is Brainstorm at end of Cole's turn. Cole Rishadan Ports Grand Coliseum. Svyelunite Temple tapped and "Upkeep Port the Coliseum" is Cole's turn three.
Enchanté makes his fourth land drop to play Trinket Mage for Engineered Explosives. Cole is Island, Thran Dynamo, end.
The almighty Tolarian Academy hits for Enchanté and Trinket Mage gets in for two. Gush is hardcast at end of Cole's turn. Mishra's Helix looms to dominate the game, although Enchanté sideswipes Cole by floating mana from the targeted lands and using his Candelabra of Tawnos to untap them, followed by main phase Yawgmoth's Bargain! Enchanté ends the turn on 19 life.
Cole thinks, and thinks, then Impulses (finding Memory Lapse) and plays Darksteel Ingot.
Upkeep: Port on Academy resolves.
Main phase:
- Draw. 18.
- Draw. 17.
- Draw. 16.
- Draw. 15.
- Izzet Signet.
- Talisman of Dominance.
- Draw. 14.
- Draw. 13.
- Darksteel Citadel.
- Draw. 12.
- Chromatic Sphere.
- Draw. 11.
- Draw. 10.
- Draw. 9.
- Draw. 8.
- Draw. 7.
- Draw. 6.
- Engineered Explosives for zero.
- Candelabra untaps three lands, including Academy which taps for six mana.
- Frantic Search and Counterspell are added to the stack…
- Draw. 5.
- Sacrifice Chromatic Sphere for red mana, draw.
- Draw. 4.
- Dark Ritual and Memory Lapse are spells three and four sitting on the stack…
- Draw. 3.
- Counters resolve, the stack empties.
- Chromatic Star, sacrifice, draw.
- Draw. 2.
- Draw. 1.
- Epic tanking session. Mana count. Tank. Mana count. Blank.
- Rhystic Tutor is cast off the remaining three mana and the 40 minute turn ends. Yawgmoth's Will is tutored for.
Cole plays Transmute Artifact for Mindslaver, activating Yawgmoth's Bargain on Enchanté's behalf to reduce his life total to 0.
Enchanté 0, Cole 2
Round 4: Chris v Darryn
Enchanté Chang
Darryn has just finished an epic one and a half hour game against David that involved David have enough mana to triple-Capsize Darryn's things.
Chris wins the toss and starts. Both players keep.
Game 1
Chris's first play is some pain from Battlefield Forge to play Kird Ape. Darryn retorts with one of the old white weenie classics, Mother of Runes. Chris plays a Forest to make the Ape big, swings (19–18) and then plays Umezawa's Jitte. Darryn keeps up with the white weenie strategy and plays Knight of Meadowgrain but leaves mom at home to look after the kiddies.
Basking Rootwalla joins the fun. Kird Ape uses its opposable thumbs to grasp the Jitte but is too busy playing with it to attack. Darryn plays the amazing Windbrisk Heights and plays Crusade and yet again mom stays home with the kiddies.
Chris plays one of his two morphs (is it Exalted Angel or Skirk Marauder?).
With Darryn's Knight being 3/3 now, it goes unblocked and Darryn gains some life (16–21). Darryn finishes his second main with Mobilization.
Chris unmorphs Exalted Angel and swings for five (thanks to Darryn's Crusade), switching the life totals (21–16).
Darryn has shifted his plans from white weenie to token.dec and plays Goblin Trenches then attacks with his Knight to gain some important life (18–19).
Angel snatches the Jitte from the Ape and smashes Daz's face with it, gaining two counters in the process (23–14). He finishes with Tattermunge Maniac and Mirror Entity. End of the turn Darryn sacs Tendo Ice Bridge to make two goblin soldiers.
This time the Knight has two soldiers to attack with. Kird Ape blocks a 2/2 token; mom blocks the goblin and makes herself immune to red (18–17). Daz finishes with Cloudgoat Ranger off the Windbrisk Heights!
Chris's Mirror Entity makes everyone large — 6/6 large — and he swings with everyone. Again, another one of Daz's cards helps Chris: Mirror Entity makes all of Chris's guys soldiers so they don't tap to attack thanks to Mobilization! Daz makes a soldier token. He blocks the four ground critters with all three kithkin and the lone soldier but has no option but to let the Angel through for six (24–11).
Darryn plays Worship and Chris has only one out in his deck for it.
Chris swings with Angel and Tattermunge Maniac (because he has to). Daz blocks with his Knight. Daz gains three, Chris gains five and Daz takes five (29–9). Chris then plays Watchwolf and Mire Boa. At end of turn Daz makes two more goblin soldiers.
Daz plays another broken card in Academy Rector. A couple of turns later he played Eight-and-a-Half-Tails with the life totals at 44 for Chris, 1 for Daz.
"Ooo look, this guy is good. You can't kill him and I'll just keep all my mana open and you can't kill Worship."
Chris then proceeds to kill Eight-and-a-Half-Tails with the Jitte counters.
"Oh yeah…"
Darryn spends a few turns making stupid amounts of soldiers before finally swinging and getting Chris down to 35. The very next turn, however, Chris draws his one-outer: Ronom Unicorn. Daz scoops.
"So, upsetting" says a deflated Darryn. "I should have been swinging earlier."
Chris 1, Darryn 0
Game 2
Darryn starts this game like he did the previous by asking mom for some help. Chris plays the awesome Cursed Scroll. Again Darryn plays a knight but this time it is the less awesome White Knight. Mom gets in on some action to make it 20–19. Chris plays out Jitte again and with no dudes has to pass.
Darryn plays Oblivion Ring and makes the Jitte disappear, then swings for three (16–20).
Chris morphs it up. Darryn swings with White Knight only (14–20).
Again the morph is Exalted Angel and it looks like Chris will again gain the upper hand because of her but Daz has has Vengeful Dreams.
Divine Sacrament makes everyone large… well except for Chris, he's on 9.
Chris takes his opportunity with mom having her back to him, zaps her with Arc Lightning, also giving one to Daz in the process.
Another swing with White Knight brings Chris down to 6. Academy Rector rears his ugly head again.
Chris summons Ajani Vengeant and stops the White Knight from untapping.
Daz attacks with Rector putting Chris on 4. During Chris's turn he kills off the Knight to gain three and then plays Woolly Mammoth. At the end of turn, Daz makes a solitary soldier token with Decree of Justice.
Daz swings with Rector and Chris blocks with Mammoth because Ajani won't win him the game by tapping it down (I disagree). Daz fetches Goblin Trenches.
Chris swings with the Mammoth making it 7–13. Chris plays Blade of the Sixth Pride and Scrolls a token showing Wild Nacatl before playing it.
Daz makes six goblin soldiers and wins with his horde of 3/3's. Go threshold!
Chris 1, Darryn 1
Game 3
Chris starts the deciding game (crucial) with Basking Rootwalla while Daz has no play but Vivid Meadow.
Joiner Adept joins (haha!) Rootwalla after he swings for one.
Daz plays an excellent blocker in White Knight but it gets immediately gets burnt by Seal of Fire. Walla gets Rancorous and swings along with the Adept for a total of five damage (20–14).
Daz tries to make Chris regret killing off his blocker so quickly by playing Preacher but again Chris has an answer. Ajani Vengeant enters the fray and tells Preacher not to untap. Chris swings for another five (20–9).
Daz does nothing during his turn but in Chris's upkeep he steals the Adept. Ajani solves that problem in Chris's main phase but now the Adept has summoning sickness. Walla swings and gets pumped up Arnie style by Daz has Exile (20–12). Chris plays Kird Ape and puts Rancor on the Adept then passes the turn.
Daz plays Academy Rector while Chris plays Chameleon Colossus. Ajani also tells Tendo Ice Bridge to freeze!
Daz has the required lands to play Mirari's Wake. Chris tries to one up Daz by playing a second planewalker in Garruk Wildspeaker! Chris wants to go for the Overrun route so he untaps some of his lands.
Daz trumps this and plays Hand of Honor and Worship. "That's a bitch" exclaimed Chris. Now unless Chris sided in some enchantment hate, he is again looking for his one out since killing Rector means getting Mobilization or Goblin Trenches, both of which give him dudes.
Chris draws and then tanks for a little while. He looks at Worship. Tanks again. Puts his hands on head. (I'm waiting for him to lie on the floor… it helps him think.) Tanks some more. Tells Ajani to tell Vivid Meadow that it can't untap and then makes a 3/3.
After a few turns of Chris trying and failing to use Cursed Scroll, Darryn draws Supply and Demand. He makes 19 guys. (Go Mirari's Wake!)
Chris draws. Tanks. Kills off a few of Daz's dudes but it isn't enough when Daz swings with his army of 2/2's thanks to Mirari's Wake.
What an exciting feature match!
Chris 1, Darryn 2
Round 6: Glenn v Cole
David Chambers
I was tied up at the start of this round, hoping that Enchanté would somehow manage to draw 37 cards yet miss the Yawgmoth's Will he needed to win the deciding game in our match.
- Enchanté resolves an exciting Mind's Desire
Chris took notes in my absence, which I've included here along with my write-up of the rest of the match.
Game 1
Cole won the roll and elected to start.
Cole, hoping for "the sickness", kept his opening hand. Glenn did the same, but not happily.
The only early action came in the form of Fellwar Stone from Cole on turn two. Cole missed his third land drop, but continued to develop his mana base with Worn Powerstone. Glenn had a turn three play of his own: Dominating Licid.
Cole played a Welding Jar followed by Impulse. He once again eschewed conventional mana production, adding Mana Vault to his board.
Glenn played Desert before getting in for one with Dominating Licid! (Is there anything the infuriating critter doesn't do?)
Cole played Copper Gnomes but Glenn had just what the doctor ordered: Spell Snare.
Glenn got in again with the Licid, but Cole's next play made Glenn's 20-turn clock appear rather insufficient. Myr Incubator hit the stack, and Glenn's response — Whispers of the Muse — indicated weakness. Glenn mused but could not mise, and the Incubator resolved.
Glenn played Stalking Stones and Ophidian, but looked ill-prepared to confront the artifact army that he would soon be facing.
Cole had a quiet turn, taking a damage from Mana Vault in his upkeep before passing the turn (with sufficient mana available for the Incubator's activation cost).
Glenn attacked with Ophidian — which drew him a card — before passing the turn. Cole activated the Incubator at the end of the turn and proceeded to pull 22 artifacts from his deck, eliciting a quick concession from Glenn. (One thing I've always admired about Glenn's game is his quick decision making, quite in contrast to my own.)
Glenn 0, Cole 1
Game 2
Glenn elected to start, and mulliganed once while Cole kept his opening hand.
Each player had an Island to start proceedings, but Cole's was accompanied by Mana Vault.
Glenn played Blinkmoth Nexus and passed the turn, and had Spell Snare ready for Cole's Fellwar Stone.
Glenn decided to get in for a cheeky one with his manland, allowing Cole to play Talisman of Impulse and Smokestack without having to play around Power Sink and Miscalculation.
At this point, the game was all about Smokestack. Each player hoped to outlast the other in the war of attrition that ensued. First to hit the bin was Glenn's ineffectual Library of Alexandria, followed in short order by another of his three Arabian Nights picks, Desert.
Meanwhile, Cole was sacrificing lands of his own, and wondered aloud: "How long am I going to be able to keep this up?" He tapped Great Furnace and Mana Vault to play Lodestone Myr, which resolved. Glenn played an end-of-turn Vendilion Clique, which allowed him to trade in his Pact of Negation for something less horrible. It also acted as a Rampant Growth by providing Smokestack fodder.
Glenn's turn was typically uneventful: sacrifice a permanent, draw a card, play a permanent, pass. Cole's turn was more exciting. He first played Thoughtcast for just U; Glenn tapped out to Foil the draw spell. Cole then attacked with Lodestone Myr, and Talisman of Impulse and Smokestack tapped to provide a little extra sting.
Glenn could take no more, and abruptly packed up shop.
Glenn 0, Cole 2
Round 9: James v David
David Chambers
Several of the matches during the day had gone looong (particularly the ones in which I had been involved). The featured matches were by this stage "featured" in name only, although there was a small group gathered to watch this match.
I was out of contention for the playoffs at this stage, while James was guaranteed one of the top four spots. The playoff structure — in which the first-placed finisher secures a place in the final while second, third, and fourth battle for the other berth — makes final standings of great import, so this was certainly no dead rubber.
Game 1
I'm writing this from memory nearly two weeks after the fact, so I have no idea which of us played first in this game, but I am able to recount the ebb and flow with some accuracy. James quickly assembling an army of two-power two-drops, with Dark Confidant front and centre. I had a one-man army of my own in the form of Serendib Efreet (and not the cheap green imitation, either).
The game was played at a good clip (surprising given the notoriously slow players involved) with life totals dropping quickly on both sides of the scorepad: I was going down in sixes while Serendib and Bob tooks chunks out of James's total. It was a tight race, and much hinged on how well James could run with his reveals. He hit a Swamp (0) and Choking Sands (3) before the most important flip of all – at just three life, James had to dodge plenty of bullets. He managed to rip a land, though, and proceeded to get in for the usual six points of damage, dropping me to one.
"That's it, right?" James enquired. Despite James being on three with no way to block my three-power flyer, I looked destined to lose the game to the Efreet's upkeep trigger.
"No" I replied. "I'll just rip." I made this statement as if stating fact. This is a trick I learned from Kaki: when you "hit" you look like a genius, and the downside is negligible. I tapped out at the end of James's turn to play an overpriced Inspiration Stroke of Genius for two. I untapped and — with the Efreet's upkeep trigger on the stack — sent Urza's Rage at James's head. That was my sole out. Obviously.
James 0, David 1
Game 2
James and I have tried to piece this game together, but it was certainly less memorable than the previous one. James started, but had no first-turn play. I played Seal of Removal on my first turn. James began to deconstruct my hand on turn two, with Mesmeric Fiend revealing Urza's Rage, Stroke of Genius, and Treachery before removing the red instant from the game.
The following turn James summoned Cabal Interrogator, a reusable source of hand disruption. I decided that the Interrogator was simply too much of a threat to leave on the board, so I sacrificed the Seal to return the Fiend to James's hand, freeing my burn spell from its clutch. I played the Urza's Rage immediately to dispatch the Interrogator.
Unfortunately for me, the Fiend came onto the battlefield again the following turn, this time taking Treachery. Far, far worse, however, was James's other play: the mighty Necro! Out of nowhere sprang a Ritual-fuelled army – motley, but terrifying. Mesmeric Fiend became more than a mere annoyance once equipped with Sword of Light and Shadow, and Phyrexian Negator and Ashenmoor Liege certainly know how to end a game quickly. And that's exactly what they did.
James 1, David 1
Game 3
So, I was now on the play and with a genuine chance of snatching an unlikely win. Once again, James failed to explode out of the gate, allowing me to compete on (nearly) fair terms. I used Counterspell on one of his early plays but had no answer for Choking Sands which destroyed Steam Vents, one of my two blue sources.
I immediately drew a Snow-Covered Island. Naturally. I played it and passed the turn. James Entombed Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, who promptly entered play. At the end of James's turn, I played Insidious Dreams discarding three cards (one of which was Squee, Goblin Nabob) to put Arc-Slogger, Forbid, and Capsize on the top of my library, in that order. In my turn I played both Treachery and Arc-Slogger!
The following the Slogger zapped Withered Wretch before attacking — along with the treacherous Haakon — into James's empty board. James elected not to animate Mutavault, fearing that it would hit the bin before even being assigned as a blocker.
When James's next draw step failed to provide an immediate solution to the game-ending beast, the match was over.
James 1, David 2
Semifinal: Glenn v Cole
David Chambers
Game 1
Cole rolled a 1 on a d12, Glenn a 12. Glenn opted to start.
Both players kept their opening grips, which featured some fairly impressive cards. Glenn opened with three Snow-Covered Islands; Cole two Mountains and Talisman of Impulse.
Metalworker came down on turn three for Cole, with Crystal Vein untapped to foil the potential Power Sink or Miscalculation. Snow-Covered Island number four came down for Glenn, and he passed yet again.
City of Traitors and Karn, Silver Golem began Cole's fifth turn. Lodestone Myr hit the stack immediately afterwards, to which Glenn responded with Faerie Trickery.
Glenn's turn five was pretty ill. He played his fifth Snow-Covered Island, cast the Vedalken Shackles he'd been slowrolling, and used it immediately to gain control of Karn!
Cole took advantage of Glenn's tapped-out state by playing Myr Incubator simply by tapping Metalworker and revealing three artifacts. Glenn used Karn to animated the Incubator in his own turn, and Cole, perplexed, let the ability resolve! It now had summoning sickness and could not be used this turn! As it turns out, Glenn did not have the Control Magic to make Cole pay for his mistake.
"I'm pretty sure that you have no outs" said Cole, and he was right.
Glenn 0, Cole 1
Game 2
Again, both players kept their opening sevens, and both players opened with Islands, Glenn's being of the snow-covered variety. Glenn had Riptide Pilferer on turn two, but Cole trumped that with Crystal Vein into Metalworker!
Glenn then decided to run his 1/1 into the 1/2. It's good to see that I'm not the only one who gets done in by on-board "tricks".
Jace Beleren came down on turn three for Glenn; Metalworker powered out Tangle Wire for Cole. Jace drew some cards, and Cole dropped Darksteel Ingot and Lodestone Myr. The following turn Cole played Sol Ring and Transmute Artifact. Glenn returned three Islands in an attempt to Thwart the tutor spell, but Cole had Divert and Glenn had only one untapped land. Crushing!
Mishra's Helix sealed the deal.
Glenn 0, Cole 2
Game 3
Glenn kept his opening seven. Cole sent back a hand of Island, Island, Darksteel Ingot, Memory Lapse, Masticore, Goblin Welder, and Atog.
Glenn opened with a Snow-Covered Island and Urza's Factory. Cole had Great Furnace and Island. Glenn had Broken Ambitions for Mind Stone on turn two, having played Whispers of the Muse on turn one. He untapped and played Merchant Scroll for Remand, desperate for a cantrip as he was about to miss his third land drop. Cole ramped out his mana with a Tree of Tales and Worn Powerstone. Glenn found a land the following turn, but it came in the form of Temple of the False God. :/
Cole played main phase Impulse, and chose to keep City of Traitors over Goblin Welder. He then played Mishra's Helix, Glenn responded with Remand, but Cole had Counterspell!
Glenn 0, Cole 3
Final: James v Cole
Having beaten Matt 3–0 in the quarterfinal earlier in the week and having just dispatched Glenn by the same margin in the semi, Cole came into this match with plenty of momentum. James, on the other hand, had not been involved in the playoffs until this point, and had the added pressure of being the reigning champ.
- Cole Swannack
- James White
Game 1
Cole won the die roll and elected to play first. He kept his opening hand. James deliberated over a hand containing two Swamps and lots of powerful two-drops, but without the all-important Dark Ritual. On the draw it was a dubious hand, but he eventually decided to keep it.
Cole opened with an Island, James played a Swamp, and cast Dark Ritual (nice rip!) to summon Knight of Stromgald, giving the pump knight first strike to avoid mana burn (yes, HoM 3 was played under old rules).
Cole played Great Furnace, Welding Jar, and Arcbound Ravager on turn two. James had action on his second turn as well: Swamp, Nameless Inversion on Ravager, and an attack for two.
Cole played an Island and a Worn Powerstone. James played Distress, taking Fellwar Stone and leaving Cole with nothing but lands in hand. The pump knight then got in for another two, dropping Cole to 16. Cole had nothing the following turn.
James attacked yet again before playing Order of the Ebon Hand, which he followed up with Dark Ritual into Buried Alive, which fetched Extractor Demon, Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, and Ashenmoor Liege.
Cole played Rishadan Port and tapped a land in James's upkeep, but that didn't stop Haakon from entering play. James attacked with both pump knights, dropping Cole to 10. Extractor Demon came back from the graveyard the following turn and the attack was lethal.
James 1, Cole 0
Game 2
- Out: Nameless Inversion, Addle, Choking Sands, Extractor Demon, Haakon, Entomb, 2 x Buried Alive
- In: Juzam Djinn, Slaughter Pact, Seal of Doom, Stronghold Assassin, Diabolic Intent, Kill Switch, Oblivion Stone, Divinity of Pride
- In: Withdraw, Prophetic Bolt, Flametongue Kavu, Island; out: Remove Soul, Welding Jar, Stifle, Riptide Replicator
Cole did not sideboard in Envelop, which was an interesting decision given that James's disruption came primarily in the form of sorcery-speed discard.
- Cole looks set for a blazing start to the second game
- Solid — but slow — hand for James
Cole's opening hand was very impressive. James decided to keep after much deliberation. Cole's opening turn was Island, Sol Ring into Talisman of Impulse, Voltaic Key (a different order would have left his talisman untapped, but no matter).
James played Cabal Therapy turn one, naming Masticore, and seeing a hand containing both Thirst for Knowledge and Fabricate!
Cole untapped his impressive board and played Thirst for Knowledge, discarding Ancient Den. He then decided to keep Memory Lapse open rather than casting Fabricate or dropping Tangle Wire. James played Withered Wretch and passed the turn.
Cole played Thran Dynamo, and with the help of Voltaic Key generated the requisite six mana for Myr Incubator. James attacked for two before dropping Mishra's Factory and Phyrexian Arena.
Cole untapped and drew mana from Thran Dynamo to play Tangle Wire. James floated mana in his upkeep, tapped out to Tangle Wire, drew a card, and spent the floating mana removing a couple of cards in Cole's graveyard from the game and animating his manland.
Cole activated Myr Incubator at the end of turn which produced a quick concession.
James 1, Cole 1
Game 3
James: "I get to start this one. How good!"
James looked at a hand very similar to his hand in the previous game. Both players kept their openers. James played a Swamp and passed; Cole again had Sol Ring turn one. James summoned Withered Wretch; Cole, Metalworker.
James's third turn was amazing. He played Skullclamp with which he equipped his Wretch which then attacked for three. James then played Lake of the Dead, sacrificing both his basic lands to generate BBBB, and cast Coercion. James used his floated mana to play Cabal Therapy, which he played again by sacrificing his Wretch, drawing two cards in the process! Once the dust had cleared, Myr Incubator, Transmute Artifact, and Fabricate were all in Cole's graveyard.
- Cole's hand looks impressive, but is about to be completely wrecked
Cole was left with just Atog and a land. He played the former, and got in for a cheeky one with Metalworker. James played Knight of Stromgald. Cole attacked with his two "Squires", and James decided not to trade his man with Metalworker (having sacrificed two Swamps he was down to two lands again and didn't have mana open to pump the Knight).
James sent yet another Swamp to the bin, played Mutavault, played Sword of Light and Shadow, equipped Knight of Stromgald with both pieces of equipment, and attacked for five, returning Withered Wretch to hand and gaining three life in the process. Cole elected not to attack with his little men the following turn.
- Has Knight of Stromgald ever looked so staunch?
- James casts yet another Dark Ritual
James played Dark Ritual into Seal of Doom, dropped a Swamp, animated Mutavault, and sent in both his men after capping the Atog. At this point every single card on Cole's board was dedicated to mana production – except Metalworker, of course, 1 and 0 in bouts for the day! Metalworker's record became 1 and 1 as he got in the way of the attacking Knight.
Cole played Crystal Vein and Broodstar, which entered play as a 4/4. James attacked, and Cole took another five, dropping to five. James gained three, going above 20. James followed up with a post-combat Bitterblossom.
Cole played Thran Dynamo, and left Broodstar to play defense. Knight of Stromgald attacked, Broodstar blocked, and James gave the Knight first strike which made the Mirrodin flyer nothing more than a speed bump. Cole scooped when his next draw step failed to provide a solution.
James 2, Cole 1
Game 4
Cole's opening hand featured no lands, so he quickly sent it back. James kept an opening hand featuring a turn one Necro!
Cole played Island, Sol Ring (yes, turn one Sol Ring again), and Talisman of Impulse. James played Swamp, Dark Ritual, Necropotence, and opted to draw four cards (he had no lands in hand at this point). At the time, I told James that I thought he'd taken an unnecessary risk by drawing just four cards, given that missing a land drop would essentially give Cole a free turn. James countered by saying that his deck is not a combo deck, so life must be carefully managed. I've included the various (sensible) numbers of cards that James could have drawn and the corresponding likelihood of disaster for each. I've defined "disaster" as failing to draw at least one of the following: Swamp, Mishra's Factory, Mutavault, Dark Ritual.
- 3: 24.7%
- 4: 15.1%
- 5: 9.1%
- 6: 5.4%
Looking at these percentages it appears that James may have picked the right number intuitively, although there's definitely an argument to be made for drawing one more card. As it turned out James drew rather well, hitting one Swamp and a Dark Ritual. He discarded Dark Confidant and Bitterblossom.
Cole played Svyelunite Temple and Mind Stone, but had nothing more.
James had Dark Ritual into Mesmeric Fiend and Withered Wretch. The Fiend took Cole's Flametongue Kavu. James then paid five to draw five, and pitched a Swamp.
Cole played Sculpting Steel, making a copy of Sol Ring. James played Mishra's Factory, attacked with both his creatures, and tapped out for Hypnotic Specter. He then draw three cards and discarded a Swamp, flush with land at this point.
Cole played Fabricate, fetched Mindslaver and dropped it immediately by tapping all his lands and sacrificing Svyelunite Temple.
James attacked, but was powerless to stop Cole from stealing his next turn and administering a lethal dose of card drawing.
James 2, Cole 2
Game 5
Both players had marginal hands. James had quite a few late-game cards, and Cole was lacking acceleration.
"Did you get your Sol Ring again?" asked James. Cole had opened with it three times in the four games to this point.
James decided to keep but Cole, on the draw, sent it back in the hope of getting a faster start. Cole's six card hand was less than stellar, comprising Island, City of Brass, Ancient Den, Withdraw, Voltaic Key, and Metalworker. He decided that it was better than going to five, however, so the final game of the third History of Magic draft got underway.
James had no turn one play, and Cole elected to hold Voltaic Key in hand at this point.
James played Dark Confidant on turn two; Cole simply dropped City of Brass and passed. Dark Confidant drew Lake of the Dead and attacked for two. James then tapped out to play Ashenmoor Gouger. Cole played Withdraw at end of turn, sending both men back to James's hand!
Cole played a second Island and dropped Metalworker. He still had Voltaic Key and Ancient Den from his opening hand. James resummoned Dark Confidant, and then Dark Ritual enabled Oblivion Stone.
- Cole ponders several powerful plays
Cole tanked for three or four minutes at this point. Eventually he tapped Metalworker for six, revealing Ancient Den, Tangle Wire, and Voltaic Key, sacrificed Metalworker to Transmute Artifact, fetched Masticore, shot Bob, played Tangle Wire, and passed the turn. Cole's decisions this turn had been made extremely difficult by the presence of Oblivion Stone, which made Myr Incubator ineffectual. Masticore, on the other hand, could survive the world being blown up provided that Cole kept two mana open at all times.
James got tapped out by Tangle Wire in his upkeep. He played Lake of the Dead and Cabal Therapy, taking the Voltaic Key that he'd been shown. Cole discarded Memory Lapse in his upkeep, and with no cards in hand was now completely 'Core-locked. Masticore got to work, dropping James to 16.
Tangle Wire shut James out the following turn. Cole untapped and was again forced to discard his sole card. This time it was particularly painful, however, as he was one mana shy of casting the Prophetic Bolt that would have made his clock one turn faster and given him a buffer against James's discard. Masticore attacked again.
James tapped out for Ashenmoor Gorger and Cole played Impulse at the end of the turn. It didn't make much difference which of the four cards he kept (Mindslaver) as it went to the graveyard in his upkeep. Masticore attacked a third time, giving James just two more turns to find an answer.
- Will Masticore go the distance?
James had an answer the following turn in the form of Distress, which forced Cole to discard Mishra's Helix. It was fortunate for James that the card in Cole's hand was a legal target for Distress (i.e. not a land). Cole had no option but to bid farewell to Masticore in his upkeep.
Things now looked grim for Cole, with just four mana on board and one card in hand. He passed the turn.
James played a couple of two-drops, and when Cole's next draw step failed to produce anything of interest, the match was over.
James 3, Cole 2
What a fantastic conclusion to a great event! Congratulations to Glenn, Cole, and James for making the money. Thanks to those who contributed to the coverage by writing a match report. Thanks also to Dan for providing some of the photos and the entertaining video clip.
I'm looking forward to the next one already. :D
- James and Cole shake hands after a terrific match
- Dark Ritual earned the honour of the event's Most Valuable Card