MJ said he wanted to play Vindicates yesterday and that's what he's doing today.

“This is gonna be embarrassing” Mike said. “I haven't played a game of Legacy since Columbus . . . got turn 2'd three times in that tournament.” Ben won the die roll while Mike kept his opener. Ben opened on a nice Beta Island while Mike played a Stirring Wildwood. Ben played a Brainstorm at the end of the turn and untapped for a Ponder shuffling and drawing a card—missing his second land drop. Mike played a Sensei's Divining Top and passed missing his second land drop as well while Ben continued to churn Ponder for shuffles on the third turn. Exciting!

That Ponder also missed a land and Ben discarded Duress. Mike's Top failed to hit a land and he discarded a Tarmogoyf during the cleanup step. “How lucky” mike laughed as Ben drew an Island and played another Brainstorm putting two Brainstorms back and Preordaining them to the bottom. Mike had to pop his Top after the draw step to find his own second land—a Verdant Catacombs which got a Bayou. Thoughtseize soon followed revealing 2 Lion's Eye Diamonds 3 Dark Rituals a Cabal Ritual and an Infernal Tutor.

Ben drew a Verdant Catacombs and passed the turn ready to play the waiting game now. Mike knew any action from his opponent would turn on that beast of a hand but he needed to start winning the game in order to cut down that time. Dark Confidant hit on his side hopefully enough to dig him into the lands and spells he would need. Alas it was not to be. Ben drew for turn using that Catacombs to find a Swamp as he began chaining Rituals. With 10 black mana in his pool and 2 Lion's Eye Diamonds in play Ben played a Hellbent Infernal Tutor. That found another Infernal Tutor followed shortly after by a lethal Tendrils of Agony.

Ben 1 Mike 0

Both players sideboarded in silence but resumed some chatter as they shuffled. “Embarrassing for both of us that game” Mike said and Ben nodded. He'd managed to runner-runner Mike immediately after the Thoughtseize had revealed his high-variance keep—a classic case of “Got there.”

Mike's hand for game 2 had considerably more mana sporting a trio of fetchlands and a Wasteland alongside Knight of the Reliquary Hymn to Tourach and Sensei's Divining Top. Mike found a Bayou in order to play the Top on turn one and passed turn to Ben. A Polluted Delta from Ben looked up an Island and he passed the turn. Mike played his Hymn immediately off a second Bayou prompting a Brainstorm in response from Ben. After hiding away some goodies Ben lost a Swamp and a Flooded Strand. “That was probably terrible” Mike said.

Ben played Ponder to sift for more cards as Mike watched with not much else to do. He'd actually discarded both of Ben's lands but a Misty Rainforest was waiting. That found an Underground Sea and gave him the mana to Thoughtseize. Naturally Ben was disappointed to see a Wasteland but elated to take his opponent's only spell—that Knight.

Mike Topped during his upkeep before playing a Duress—that stripped Ben of his Infernal Tutor and left him with 2 Cabal Rituals and an Island after the Wasteland cracked. He promptly drew a Polluted Delta played it and passed turn. Mike topped and then went fetching for a Scrubland dropping to 18 life. Ben played draw go while Mike untapped into a Vindicate on the Island. Ben drew and passed again and Mike finally landed a real threat—Tarmogoyf. Thoughtseize cleared the way popping off his Grim Tutor and leaving Ben with just a trio of Cabal Rituals to go with his Polluted Delta and Island. “You just draw everything you need!” Ben lamented and Mike grinned. “So do you apparently.”

Ben drew and played a Brainstorm after taking a beat from the 4/5 Tarmogoyf hanging onto a Chain of Vapor and some Rituals. Mike Topped his way into another Duress stripping the Chain and bashing once again. Mike used a Wasteland to force Ben to shuffle away his Brainstorm and leave him struggling to topdeck a tutor and combo off. Preordain was not enough and Ben scooped up his cards.

Ben's traditional ANT build seemed well-suited to fight a Rock deck.

Ben 1 Mike 1

“I should've hid one land and one tutor away” Ben realized recalling the Brainstorm he'd used to put two Tutors on top of the deck. Now that he had the play once again he'd be unlikely to make that error. Both players mulliganed for game 3 but Mike wound up going to 5 in search of a playable opener. A Thoughtseize from Ben took away Mike's Hymn to Tourach leaving him with a Nihil Spellbomb a Sensei's Divining Top and another Hymn.

Ben began going off on turn 2. Dark Ritual Cabal Ritual Lion's Eye Diamond and crack in response to an Infernal Tutor sent him off into the deck with 5 black mana floating. He started doing a lot of math and Mike shook his head helplessly. “I guess I should've played that?” Mike said pointing at his Nihil Spellbomb but Ben was far from the hard lock. He tutored up an Ad Nauseam and played it with zero mana floating.

He hit Underground Infernal Tutor Underground Dark Ritual Lion's Eye Diamond Infernal Tutor Brainstorm Dark Ritual and finally another Lion's Eye Diamond. It was academic from here as Ben played out all the Rituals he could before dropping out the Diamonds and popping them in response to Infernal Tutor finding a lethal Tendrils of Agony.

Ben 2 Mike 1