On Saturday, May fourteenth, I played in a Grand Prix: Detroit Trial in Clermont, Florida. While I wasn't planning on going to Detroit, I would most likely go if I had three rounds of byes.

Just so you know my level of play, I Top 8ed at States last year (playing a hybrid between Red Zone 2k2 and the-deck-that-would-later-be-known-as Beasts), Top 4ed a $1000 Sealed deck a month or so ago (I might have done better, but Top 4 opted to split the prizes rather than play it out), and passed my Level 1 judge test. I'm not ready-to-Q (predominantly due to time constraints and my inability to get a good Sealed deck), but I'm not far off.

Florida is more interested in drafting, so Constructed takes a back seat: thus, we expected a lot of netdecks. Like many areas, the better players prefer control, leading us to expect lots of Slide. We were aware that some players were testing Beasts/Bidding, likely in an effort to beat Slide. We naturally anticipated little kids would bring Goblin decks due to their relatively low cost and their ease of play. I also knew of a decent player playing G/W Explosive Vegetation religiously since Venice.

Since Exalted Angel can just end games on Turn 4, I started my deck search with ways to kill her. Three of the best ways are black: Cruel Revival, Skinthinner, and Visara the Dreadful. After hearing the hype about blue in post-Venice/pre-Scourge Block Constructed and the need for fatties + Explosive Vegetation, I tried a B/G/u deck. While Revival was useful, it was too expensive, especially when you aren't returning a Zombie. The deck was very good with a solid draw, but it lacked consistency.

A friend offhandedly mentioned Contested Cliffs. I thought of Jordan Berkowitz's deck, and it seemed the perfect metagame call. Canopy Crawlers and Avaraxes for Slide, pressure for Beasts/Bidding, Ravenous Baloths for Goblins, and Cliffs for Angels.

I don't like long rounds in events. I hate losing Round 1, so I favor consistency. So for the millionth time in a row, I played Fires/Fat Crank/Red Zone/Beasts/whatever.

My friend Evan was the first to practice with the deck. He played about ten unsideboarded games against Goblins, winning eight of them. We were amazed that the deck held up to Goblins, and we quickly turned our focus elsewhere. But The Night Before The Tournament (when all good playtesting is done), I tried my hand against Goblins and lost around eight out of ten presideboarded games. I couldn't understand how my results differed so much; it turned out that Beasts does, in fact, have an unfavorable matchup against Goblins.

Since we expected a particular metagame (and we had previously posted solid results against Goblins), we sought to minimize the sideboard slots dedicated to this matchup. I first tried Broodhatch Nantuko. Goblins doesn't mind attacking into it with Clickslither, and they have enough other forms of removal (Sparksmith, Gempalm Incinerator, and Shock) that the Nantuko just never proved that useful. I always preferred having an Incinerator for the guaranteed removal (Smith, Skirk Prospector, Goblin Sledder) and the cantrip ability. Four sideboard slots didn't seem enough, so we added two Starstorms to the board.

Berkowitz's deck is very good. There didn't seem to be much opportunity for the decklist to change; as I said, too many of the cards are golden in particular matchups. However, the Barkhide Maulers seemed pretty poor. You have eight other five-drops, and the cycling didn't seem worth it. After testing, I found that the Maulers were most frequently used for cycling (and amplify, of course). Evan had suggested trying out Feral Throwback, which can Cliffs even the mighty Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Silvos, Rogue Elemental.

Cutting the Maulers for Throwbacks makes you want to swap three of Berkowitz's cycling lands for basic lands. Additionally, it seemed like a bad idea to have so many cycling lands in what amounts to a tempo deck, especially when you're having problems with the Goblins matchup. I tested the Throwbacks against Goblins - and unsurprisingly, they sucked. I further realized that the loss of tempo in letting Goblins trade their four-drop (Clickslither or Goblin Goon) or less (Incinerator, Smith) for your four-drop (or higher) was too much. So I considered Vitality Charm.

The Charm is golden. Charm lets you gain tempo on Slide, regenerating your Beast for less than the cost of their Akroma's Vengeance or Starstorm. It lets you maintain tempo on Goblins. It lets you activate Cliffs with greater impunity, and it totally breaks the Cliffs and Tephraderm"combo." I enthusiastically dreamed of taking out an attacking Sparksmith with it.

The morning of the tournament, I did some last-minute research: It turns out that many people realized that Beasts were good in the format, so we reconsidered our sideboard. Vitality Charms main helped improve the Goblin matchup (which, at this point, we thought was a 50/50 pairing), and we had two more Charms in the board as well as the Incinerators. We added Starstorms as a possible three-drop, clearing out Smiths and Prospectors and forcing the use of Sledders. We cut a Naturalize and a Savage to add in the two Feral Throwbacks, since the Throwback is good against both Slide and Beasts (as are the Charms) and we wanted to add more generalized cards over matchup-specific choices.

By starting the Charms and sideboarding Feral Throwbacks, I felt comfortable adding back in one cycle land.

Thus, our decklists were:
4 Contested Cliffs
3 Tranquil Thicket
2 Forgotten Cave
4 Wooded Foothills
6 Mountain
7 Forest
4 Shock
4 Wirewood Elf
4 Ravenous Baloth
4 Canopy Crawler
4 Avarax
4 Tephraderm
4 Thoughtbound Primoc
4 Krosan Tusker
2 Vitality Charm

Sideboard:
2 Wirewood Savage
3 Naturalize
2 Vitality Charm
2 Starstorm
2 Feral Throwback
4 Gempalm Incinerator

Once we arrive at the tournament, we find that a whopping fifteen people are participating, requiring four rounds of Swiss. The judging staff announces that there will be a cut to Top 8. This, in fact, shouldn't be the case, and they later announce that there will be a cut to Top 4. People aren't pleased with this change (since they were planning on drawing in at 2-0-2), and the TO decides to honor the Top 8 decision.

I failed to record where my sources of damage came from (and on which turns), so I may be sensationalizing a bit.

Round 1: Carlos, with G/R Vegetation
I recognize Carlos from other events, and he does respectably there. I think he recognizes me. We have fairly casual games. This relaxed attitude is limited because we both seem to fear any possible rules-lawyering.

Game 1, his deck just clicks. I take two from fetchlands, he Explosive Vegetates on Turn 4, plays Rorix on Turn 5, and Slice and Dices my team on Turn 6.

As I sideboard, I cut the Wirewood Elves and add in two Charms and two Throwbacks.

Game 2, I drop an 8/8 Canopy Crawler on turn 4, revealing (among other Beasts) triple Baloth. The Crawler dies after I Cliffs Rorix, and Carlos follows up with a Chain of Plasma (which I Chain back at him for tempo reasons). A Baloth comes out, and Carlos Starstorms. I play another Baloth. He then gets out Centaur Glade, and I keep attacking into the Centaurs. I'm"stuck" on seven lands, as I really want to drop a Beast, activate Cliffs, and have Charm mana available. He keeps drawing land, and eventually can activate Centaur Glade twice a turn. I start dropping an Avarax each turn, forcing him to trade a Centaur with an Avarax and increasing my chances of drawing land. Eventually, he plays something, tapping a green mana. I Cliffs the creature, and I swing in with Baloth and Avarax. He trades the Centaur for the Avarax, and Baloth gets through, dropping him to three. At the end of his turn, I make a 1/1 Insect token with a Charm, subsequently swing in on my turn with Baloth, Avarax, and Insect, and then Shock him for the win.

As he goes back to his sideboard, he mumbles something about sideboarding incorrectly. I have no idea if more Glades are coming in (or are going out), so I resist any temptation to bring in Naturalize.

Game 3, he seems to be packing a lot more burn. I pass on dropping a Turn 3 Primoc; he cycles Slice and Dice at his end of turn to draw a card. He Vegetates on Turn 4, and I reply with a 7/7 Canopy Crawler (revealing four Baloths - I'm such a good player). He plays a land (now with seven lands in play) and starts complaining about how I had to make it a 7/7 (signaling the Starstorm in hand). I swing in for seven and play a Baloth. He targets the Baloth with Erratic Explosion. His graveyard contains a Starstorm, a Slice and Dice, and Explosive Vegetation; I play it safe due to his large amount of burn (since he would certainly burn a Shock or Chain of Plasma on the Baloth), and I sac the Baloth. I swing in for six more. He Erratics the Crawler on his turn. I regenerate via the Charm, and he hits... Shock.

Games: 2-1
Rounds: 1-0

Round 2: Kyle Tracy, with Goblins
I think Kyle is from Tallahassee. He looks to be a former JSSer, and he certainly knows how to play. He tells me that he's going to Detroit.

Game 1, he plays first and starts with Sledder; after some deliberation (mostly based on the fact that I have to play Foothills to get a red source for my Shock), I kill it. He drops 'Smith on turn 2. Eventually, I get a Baloth and bounce back to twenty. I get out a Canopy Crawler and a guy Baloth, then get Cliffs going, and he can't keep out enough guys for his Goon.

At one point, I have a green open as he would kill a creature and he half-jokingly asks,"Vitality Charm?" He's surprised when I have it, and he tells me how he had been wondering about it the night before. I continue the bluff for the rest of the match.

I sideboard out the Elves and Tuskers for two Charms, two Starstorms, and the Gempalms.

Game 2, my opening hand is double-Incinerator, and I quickly draw into a third. He plays Primoc on turn 3 and Clickslither on turn 4, dropping me to fifteen. I play Baloth. He attacks for five more. I kind of lose track of this game at this point, but I end up gaining eight more life, wishing I had a third red source to triple-Incinerate his Primoc at end of turn after he plays a Goon (his first Goblin of the game), and I just beat down past his Goon after I Cliffs his Primoc. He just draws land. I believe there was a second appearance by the Vitality Charm.

Matches: 2-0

Games: 4-1

After Round 2, the announcement about Top 4 is made. Once they decide to keep the Top 8, all the 2-0s decide to draw in. I get paired against Robert Smith (who got 38th place at Grand Prix: New Orleans). While we wait to receive match slips, we play an unsideboarded match for fun.

Round 3: Robert, with Slide
Game 1, he literally does nothing other than cycle some cards, and I win.

Game 2, I realize the inherent problem with Slide: Akroma's Vengeance is no good unless it's card advantage. I play accordingly, making sure I only have out one more Beast than Robert has enchantments. Eventually, he drops a face-up Angel, and I attack, dropping him to two. I Shock him with life gain on the stack.

Matches: 3-0

Games: 6-1

Next round, I get paired against Adam Kuyrkendall (playing Slide). He's a friend of mine and is very mathematically-oriented. It should come as no surprise that he wanted to draw in. Incidentally, I was also in the middle of a 5-Color game, so I had no interest in playing Block for fun. I make the Top 8.

Quarterfinals: Robert, with Slide
Robert lets me know that he is, in fact, going to Detroit. He's already got a plane ticket. I ask him if he'll actually put the byes to good use, which is when he informs me of his finish at Grand Prix: New Orleans. I'm pretty sure I can beat him, but I don't want to be That Guy. I concede, and I mention something along the lines of a prize split. Since we're killing time now, we decide to play a match for fun.

Game 1, he starts by cycling Renewed Faith. I get in a few hits with Thoughtbound Primoc, then drop a Baloth and an Avarax. He Vengeances while I'm tapped out and holding Vitality Charm; I gain twelve and win with Avaraxes.

I sideboard out the four Elves and three Tuskers for two Naturalizes, two Charms, and two Throwbacks.

Game 2, he goes off: Lightning Rift on 2, Slide on 3, morph on 4 with a cycle land to Slide it out when I have the Shock. Not so surprisingly, it's an Angel and not a Daru Sanctifier. It goes all the way, since I can't find anything useful. I sideboard out the remaining Tusker for a Savage.

Game 3, I get out the Savage early. I cantrip off a Baloth and the Savage gets Rifted. I get out a large Canopy Crawler, but he gets Pacified. A Vengeance sends me to twenty-seven. He casts a Renewed Faith, but isn't able to gain control as I keep dropping guys and I play around the Vengeance.

Rounds: 4-0
Games: 8-2

The winner of the other half of our bracket was playing Beasts, and I'm very confident of my deck in the mirror (despite Evan, playing a card-for-card copy, losing to him in the Swiss). This guy also concedes so Robert can get the byes.

The other finalist is playing Goblins, and he concedes. Robert gives twelve packs to the other finalist and six each to other-Beast-player and myself.

In looking back, the maindeck is amazing with the Vitality Charms: it makes every card in the deck good.

The sideboard should have been:
4 Naturalize
4 Gempalm Incinerator
2 Vitality Charm
4 Wirewood Savage
1 Feral Throwback

Some Slide decks were running Pacifism as extra creature control, so the Naturalizes would have been nicer than Throwbacks. Slide isn't particularly keen on Savages, since they need to Rift it; they're not going to waste a Vengeance or a Starstorm on just the elf, so it can beat for two. Since Slide has to play Vengeance (and risk losing its enchantments), the Savage lets you"overextend" a bit more without costing you any cards. Also, the Savage is very good in the mirror. The 1 Throwback is amazing in the mirror, but a lot of tempo can be lost to sideboarded Threatens (which are a reasonable sideboard choice) and the Savages are just more generally useful.

People may want to test whether the deck functions without Wirewood Elf: He's only good on Turn 2. Perhaps this would be the first place to look for changes from Scourge.

Comments to dkc4ever at yahoo dot com.

- brian