I picked up Colorless Eldrazi when Walking Ballista was printed and Delver became unplayable. It was harder when Forgemaster was replaced with Ravager and Ballista was the nail in the coffin. I started with JacoDrazi and found I wanted more speed. Derek Gallacher T8'd Champs last year, adding Phyrexian Revokers. I added a Mana Crypt and then a Sol Ring and then a Black Lotus. Then Akash Naidu T8'd the Waterbury in April with a fully powered version, moving the Null Rods to the sideboard in exchange for Walking Ballistas. During this whole transformation, I 4-2'd four events with a T4 split in the middle, never seeming to push the deck to tier 1. With the increased presence of Paradoxical Outcome, I wanted Null Rod maindeck. Andy Markiton was helpful in making this build work. I decided on the following:
Threats - 21
4 Eldrazi Mimic
1 Endbringer
2 Endless One
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
Permission - 9
1 Chalice of the Void
4 Null Rod
4 Thorn of Amethyst
Mana - 30
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Traitors
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Eye of Ugin
3 Mishra's Factory
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
Sideboard - 15
1 Dismember
4 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Karakas
2 Mindbreak Trap
1 Pithing Needle
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Trinisphere
Roland Chang, Hank Zhong, David Ata and I drove in from NYC. This was a special event, being a luau series. Obviously, I was the only one from our car to wear a Hawaiian shirt.
Round 1: Zach Dobbin (Outcome Oath)
– I've known Zach for a couple of years and it's good to have him back in the game
Game 1 - I have a Chalice 1 FOW'd. Two Revokers tie up his mana
Game 2 - I get down a Thorn and am able to Mindbreak Trap his Oath, which he FOWs
Game 3 - I get a Thorn and then a Cavern'd Reality Smasher
Round 2: Nick DiJohn (Outcome Combo)
– Nick has been a prominent fixture of the Shops archetype, T8ing the majority of his events. It was quite a surprise seeing him cast Ancestral Recall after a couple years of seeing Spheres
Game 1 – I'm able to follow up a Thorn with a TKS and he stumbles on mana
Game 2 – Nick goes Lotus, Mentor, Mox, Top, Go, FOW your Dismember
Game 3 – I Revoker a Sol Ring, he follows up with a Mana Crypt, I Cavern Shapeshifter, Metamorph and lock down his Crypt and he's unable to come back
Round 3: Dan Sollazzo (BUG Delver)
--I do not believe Dan and I have competed before, I was excited to see BUG Delver in action
Game 1 – I open on Chalice 0 and Cavern out a quick Smasher while he cantrips
Game 2 – I Chalice 1, Waste his first land, have a Smasher Dismember'd and follow up with another
Round 4: Ryan Glackin (Shops)
–Ryan just came off a NYSE win with Workshops and is well versed in all archetypes, this won't be easy
Game 1 – I waste his first Shop, he has another. I get down a TKS while he has been chipping away with a Factory and a couple of guys. I add a Smasher and knock him down to lethal next turn. He can draw a Shapeshifter to stalemate or a Ravager for the win. Ravager it is
Game 2 – I keep a hand of: Wasteland, Lotus, TKS, Chalice, Null Rod and 2 non-mana. It worked
Game 3 – Neither of us apply much pressure while he drops Spheres. I decide to Metamorph a Mox so I can get down a Smasher the next turn. I have a Ruby and he has a Pearl. I choose to copy Ruby and he punishes me for the misplay by Revoking Ruby. I am able to comeback nonetheless and get down a Smasher for the win
Round 5: Chris Rowland
–ID
Round 6: Josh Potucek
Josh is a consistent ringer, pushing the metagame with unique brews. There is a possibility that a 4-1-1 won't make it so we ID. Roland leads the swiss standings in 1st place
Top 8: Will Magrann (Blitzkrieg Shops)
I end up 4th and have the play. Will persistently goes deep in large events wth Shops, most recently getting 3rd place at NYSE. He transitioned over to Blitzkrieg Shops, with Steel Overseers and Porcelain Legionnaires in the board.
Game 1 – I have an early TKS followed by a Null Rod and strip his Shop to lock it up
Game 2 – I Waste his Shop, Needle his Overseer, but am unable to contain his 2 Legionnaires
Game 3 – I mulligan to a hand that is all in on a Null Rod. I initially lock down his mana and Overseer, but he finds a Legionnaire that I just can't answer as my mana is constrained to get out a TKS/Smasher
Congratulations to Will who ended up taking the whole event down.
Roland, Hank and David and I went out for a nice steak dinner to celebrate my birthday afterwards. The food, service and company were excellent. I feel privileged to be a part of the NYC vintage community and a part of the overall North East scene. A big thanks to Keith for organizing the luau at Top Deck Games, Nick Coss for making everything work and all the competitors for an enjoyable event.