Two Volcanic+Island decks, two very different strategies—Chris Boozer would need to tread carefully against David's Hive+Mind build, which had taken down many other players this weekend.
Chris awaits David's winning combination.
Game 1
David took the play in the first game and kept, as did Chris. He began with Scalding+Tarn for Island and cast Ponder, choosing to leave his top three in place. Chris fetched Volcanic+Island on the first turn and played Goblin+Guide, attacking to reveal Show+and+Tell on top of David's deck. David played Ancient+Tomb on the next turn, and passed.
Chris had another Goblin+Guide, revealing City+of+Traitors and then Grim+Monolith as he put David to 13. David dropped to 11 for the Tomb and cast Intuition—Chris responded by fetching another Volcanic+Island and casting Spell+Pierce. On his own turn, David cast Brainstorm in search of the kill, and found Force plus Summoner%27s+Pact waiting.
He fetched Island and cast Show+and+Tell, falling to 8 in the process. He put Hive+Mind into play, and then cast Summoner%27s+Pact and Pact of Negation, retaining priority for the kill.
David 1, Chris 0
Game 2
Chris kept his starter, but David was more pensive. Volcanic Island and Goblin+Guide revealed Intuition, and David began with Misty Rainforest. The next Guide attack revealed Show+and+Tell, and Chris added Delver+of+Secrets to the battlefield alongside Misty+Rainforest. David popped his own Misty for Island and played City+of+Traitors, passing with Intuition on the brain.
Fetching after his Delver missed (presumably a land) Chris played Arid+Mesa and attacked, spotting Brainstorm on top of the deck. Fetching after damage, Chris put down a third Volcanic+Island and cast Sulfuric+Vortex, tapping out. Intuition during the end step resolved, and David searched his deck for three copies of Emrakul%2C+the+Aeons+Torn.
While David has a faster goldfish, his opponent is no goldfish.
He could've gotten Summoner%27s+Pacts to go for the Hive+Mind kill; he had a copy of the enchantment in his hand, although he couldn't beat a Daze that way. The Show+and+Tell met Force+of+Will anyway, and he'd sacrificed his City+of+Traitors to play Volcanic+Island in the meantime. David was far behind now.
Chris attacked him to 7 and cast another Sulfuric+Vortex, looking to lock it up if he got one more upkeep without any Pact triggers. David's Ponder merited a shuffle, and when the random reveal didn't give him a potentially game-winning Show+and+Tell, he conceded.
David 1, Chris 1
Game 3
David kept an awkward starting hand for game 3, with two Leylines, no library manipulation, and one land. Chris cast Delver+of+Secrets and revealed Smash+to+Smithereens on the following turn—“Don't ask…â€â€”before fetching Mountain. David had missed his second land, and when Chris added Goblin+Guide to the Aberration attack force, Blue+Elemental+Blast took the bug down. Another Delver resolved.
Ancient+Tomb for David and a pass, while Chris revealed Red Elemental Blast to his second Delver. Casting Intuition during the upkeep for three Hive+Minds, David now had to play through that REB. He took 6 damage from the 3/2s, falling to 8 life and needing to combo quickly.
Land, pass for David—Sulfur Elemental gave Chris lethal damage on the next turn.
David 1, Chris 2
