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Sullivan Library – Examining the Wisconsin State Championships Top 8

The StarCityGames.com $5,000 Standard open Comes to Philadelphia!
Friday, November 14th – With the States Top 8 decklists rolling in, it’s time to examine the new face of Standard. Adrian looks at the Top 8 decks from Wisconsin, and walks us through the strengths and weaknesses of each in their respective Top 8 matches…

States in Wisconsin is always a big deal. Typically, it’s the tournament where nearly all of the people around come and play, even if they’ve decided they’ve “retired” (like Brian Kowal claims). Sadly, many of the really old-school players do silly things like help administer the tournaments rather than play in them, or move away to Curacao to work for the Dharma Initiative.

For an old-school local like me, one of the most exciting things about the tournament happened even before it began. My friend, Robert Castro, pulled out this old piece of paper he’d used for a decklist years and years ago, telling the story of noticing it because of the mailing label with his address on it. “Who would be mailing me something back then?” Flipping it over, he saw that it was an invitation from Legion Events to play in the first Wisconsin State Championship, back in 1997. Rob went to that tournament and beat me in the Top 8 on his way to becoming our first Wisconsin State Champion. His deck of choice: 5cG, Five-Color Green. For a whole slew of people, Rob Castro will always be known as Rob Castro, Wisconsin State Champion 1997 (or alternately Five-Color Castro). It was sad to a bunch of us that tournament organizer Steve Port (of Magic Cruise fame) was not at our event to be able to see it — I’m sure that he would have gotten quite a kick out of it.

This year’s States compared pretty well to last year’s, in terms of attendance. 179 people made the trek to Madison to fight it out, down just a teeny smidge (183) from the year before. Steve’s other events also were fairly similar in attendance: Minnesota dropped a very few people to 136, and South Dakota had a small showing of 37, though there was a snow storm that shut down much of the state the night before.

As the event began, I know that I was deeply excited. I had a couple of worries, to be fair. I had gotten very little playtesting in with my board, a clearly dangerous proposition. Perhaps more depressing was the deeply explored nature of the format.

I tend to excel in formats that are not explored. I used to feel that anything constructed would be a space in which I could have a deep advantage — my deck would be better than those of nearly any opponent I might face, even if my play skill was decidedly not. These days, though, anybody and their brother, sister, and neighbor can get a good decklist if the format is explored. The nature of the internet has made it so that anything that is tech will be available shortly thereafter. “New” formats, then, become the place that I’ve preferred.

States tended to be, historically, a “new” format tournament. I’m hoping that, in the future, it will again be the place that Standard premieres. It’s so exciting to see a slew of new ideas and to see what will rise to the top in real live tournaments all over, rather than have the format doled out week by week with a few events so that by the time we do get to States, most people who care to take the effort can tell you how the format breaks down.

Here is the list I played:


The deck played out very well, I thought, but not quite right after board. I got murdered by two Red decks in games that were particularly frustrating. The quintessential example of this was on the beginning of turn 4:

I was holding to Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tenders, two Bant Charm, a Condemn, Cryptic Command, and a few other cards in my hand, sitting with no creatures in play but two Reflecting Pools, a Faerie Conclave, Flooded Grove, and a Loxodon Warhammer, waiting for a White mana to go crazy. My opponent swings in with a pair of 4/4s, so I Repulse one (a Figure), hunting for that White mana. If I draw it, I’ll be able to drop both Forge-Tenders and equip one with a Warhammer and just rip away the match. I don’t, and my opponent redrops the Figure.

I go to my draw step and again fail to draw the White I need. A few moments later, I die.

The problem that I had was simple: I hadn’t tested enough boarded games to realize that I was deeply more dependent upon White mana after boarding! My game 1 White is 3 Sygg, 4 Bant Charm, and 2 Elspeth. But after boarding, I’m up to all of my Syggs, Bants, Condemns, and BFTs — 15 cards. In all probability, I need to find room for one to two more White sources, either with Adarkar Waste or Seaside Citadel. Undoubtedly they would come out of the Faerie Conclave/Island count. But, having failed to do my homework, I definitely deserved the pain I got.

The deck itself probably looks a little strange in some of its numbers, but I’m very happy with them. Sygg is a card you always want, but the Legend rule is meaningful, and four simply cannot be justified. The singletons (Aquitect’s Will, Loxodon Warhammer, and Giant Growth) all feel quite right. In a deck with four Cold-Eyed Selkie, having “Giant Growth” like effects is really exciting. There are so many games where you will absolutely rip a game away from an opponent by drawing four cards (Selkie + Elspeth/Warhammer/Giant Growth). At the same time, having more Warhammers really does slow your draws down, especially when they are competing with a pseudo-six drop in Oona. Giant Growth is a card you are always happy to draw a single copy of, but often are deeply unhappy to draw a second copy of. Aquitect’s Will works much the same.

Puresight Merrow really is in the deck out of necessity. As I got to testing, I decided I really needed someone who was 2/x for 2 to fill out the deck. I had already filled up on Sygg and Silvergill Adept, so the choices came down, to me, to Puresight Merrow and Grimoire Thief. Ultimately, having a quasi-Merfolk Looter and an untap ability seemed more relevant than the Grimoire Thief’s ability, but it really is pretty close. The body for the cost is what was important, as was having another Merfolk to up my already low count.

Shying away from Sage’s Dousing was another difference in the deck. Without running Dousing, the draw from Banneret became much weaker. With Bant Charm in the deck pushing out the Sowers, Banneret was all the less interesting. In the end, I’m really excited about how the deck played out, though I do recognize I need to work my mana so that it is better after board. Those Red decks showed me that I couldn’t afford to play so loosely with my White, though maybe another strategy might be more effective, or reveal itself when a new set arrives.

In the end, the field was reduced to these eight decks:

8th Seed — Jason Myatt — Faeries (Esper)
1st Seed — Tim Saari — Cruel Control

4th Seed — Matthew Beeman — Kithkin
5th Seed — Harrison Ehlers — Kithkin

7th Seed — Collin LaFleur — Feldman Fish
2nd Seed — Lucas Duchow — Jund Manaramp

6th Seed — Tyler Passow — Four-Color Painter
3rd Seed — Tim Peplinski — Five-Color Reveillark

*decklist below

The quarters was an exercise in the expected.

In Saari versus Myatt, it’s completely unsurprising to me that Faeries was the winner. While Saari’s 5cU deck did pack Remove Soul and Negate main, ultimately, it is playing cards that aren’t progressively growing in power like a Faeries deck will. With three Cruel Ultimatum, one Broodmate Dragon, and three Condemn, Saari’s deck feels particularly unexciting versus Faeries.

In the Kithkin mirrormatch, Ehler’s win is unsurprising as well. Ehler’s access to three Pollen Lullaby seems absolutely devastating in the mirror, and he also ran more Mirrorweave.

Feldman’s Merfolk (which I like to think of as akin to a Madness deck) would seem to be a heavy favorite in the first game, especially if it wins the coin flip, with only 3 Firespout to really resist its mastery of the board early. As the game progresses, it seems likely that the lower curve plus the ability to play an actual counterspell should take the game.

The Five-Color crossbreeds (Painter and Reveillark) was won by Painter. While both decks had some minimal access to counterspells, the Painter list simply had a ton of cards that could just rip away a game. With seven Planeswalkers and the Painter’s Servant/Chaotic Backlash combo, things could just fly out of control for the Reveillark deck, struggling to maintain control.

Here are the semi-final matchups:

Collin LaFleur versus Tyler Passow (Feldman Fish versus Four-Color Painter)

Collin LaFleur — Feldman Fish
7th Seed after Swiss

4 Mutavault
2 Faerie Conclave
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Wanderwine Hub
4 Mystic Gate
2 Reflecting Pool
4 Windbrisk Heights
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
3 Stonybrook Banneret
3 Sygg, River Guide
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Oblivion Ring
3 Sage’s Dousing
4 Wake Thrasher
4 Cryptic Command
3 Sower of Temptation

Sideboard:
1 Sower of Temptation
2 Condemn
2 Wispmare
2 Crib Swap
3 Cursecatcher
2 Reveillark
3 Wrath of God

Tyler Passow — Four-Color Painter
6th Seed after Swiss

4 Painter’s Servant
4 Wrath of God
2 Pyroclasm
2 Esper Charm
2 Ajani Vengeant
2 Jace Beleren
4 Mulldrifter
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Cryptic Command
3 Chaotic Backlash
2 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Chandra Nalaar
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Sunken Ruins
3 Adarkar Wastes
3 Mystic Gate
2 Cascade Bluffs
4 Reflecting Pool
1 Fetid Heath
2 Vivid Crag
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Meadow

Sideboard:
2 Knight-Captain of Eos
2 Shriekmaw
2 Esper Charm
2 Guttural Response
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Puppeteer Clique
3 Runed Halo

Passow’s deck has a few things going for it over a typical Five-Color Blue deck. Where many of those decks don’t run Pyroclasm, this build maindecks two. The large number of Planeswalkers can be both a boon and a curse. They typically take time to get out, but at the same time, they can really provide means to swing a game. Chandra Nalaar and Ajani Vengeant can threaten to overpower the board, especially in conjunction with Wrath of God, and Elspeth can supply a steady stream of attackers.

Conversely, the deck hasn’t chosen to do any of the typical early game plays to take some steam out of an attacking deck. Where are the Bant Charms or Condemns? After board, one means to keep the game under control, Knight-Captain of Eos, is simply too expensive to be able to hope to rely on, and a paltry two Sower of Temptation are one of the only means to reacquire lost tempo.

Richard Feldman deck should regularly expect to beat this opponent in a match.

In the other bracket, Jason Myatt versus Harrison Ehlers (Faeries versus Kithkin)

Jason Myatt — Faeries
8th Seed after Swiss

4 Secluded Glen
3 Mystic Gate
3 Sunken Ruins
3 Faerie Conclave
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Mutavault
1 Island
1 Adarkar Wastes
2 Underground River
2 Jace Beleren
1 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Remove Soul
2 Sower of Temptation
4 Bitterblossom
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Agony Warp
4 Mistbind Clique
4 Cryptic Command
4 Scion of Oona
4 Esper Charm

Sideboard:
2 Hindering Light
2 Puppeteer Clique
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Condemn
2 Plumeveil
2 Negate
3 Thoughtseize

Harrison Ehlers — Kithkin
5th Seed after Swiss

2 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
3 Cloudgoat Ranger
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
2 Ranger of Eos
1 Thistledown Liege
4 Wizened Cenn
2 Ajani Goldmane
3 Mirrorweave
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Spectral Procession
2 Mutavault
4 Rustic Clachan
4 Windbrisk Heights
14 Plains

Sideboard:
2 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Oversoul of Dusk
3 Pollen Lullaby
2 Redeem the Lost
2 Reveillark
2 Thistledown Liege

This classic matchup revisits its Block counterpart with a few updates. Agony Warp is almost certainly a direct improvement for the Faerie deck in this matchup, with a small smattering of 10th Edition cards playing backup. Ehlers gains access to Ranger of Eos and Elspeth, but is otherwise largely a Block deck.

Ehlers maindeck is clearly more situated to deal with Red opponents, a smart move in Wisconsin. Add to this his sideboard, which actually looks incredibly weak against Faeries, and you can see the make up for a Faerie win. Only Oversoul of Dusk is deeply relevant to the match, with Reveillark less exciting against counterspells, and not returning much of note, Redeem the Lost a weak reach of a card to bring in, if at all, Elspeth a Planeswalker that is easily dispatched by a Faerie player, and Thistledown Liege in the board rather than being scary in the main.

Compare this to Myatt, who has the classic singleton Warhammer which could easily tear a game away from his Kithkin opponent, access to four Sower of Temptation after board, and a combination of Condemn and Plumeveil. In a full match, especially should Myatt win the coin flip, this looks solidly in Myatt’s favor.

As expected, Myatt won, putting a Feldman Fish versus Faeries final.

Feldman’s description of the way this match should go is enlightening. According to Feldman, the cards from Faeries that decide the game are Sower of Temptation, Bitterblossom, and Mistbind Clique. LaFleur’s deck was Feldman’s exact 75 from that article, so he almost certainly was aware of this plan. Myatt’s list is pretty deeply similar to a cross between Tim Furrow’s Cruise-winning list and Alex Bertoncini 3rd-place $5K list, sans Esper. The Esper Charms are liable to be a liability, as compared to a Broken Ambitions, if only because Merfolk can position itself as the deeply aggressive deck, and then untap with a few counters to wrap it up. The only games that would look at all favorable for the Faerie deck would have to be those games where a Bitterblossom hits on two, and it can be held onto.

Where Feldman’s deck has a clear plan for the mirror, Myatt is stuck with a simple anti-aggro strategy for his opponent, LaFleur. All of this can go to complete hell if a Sygg resolves, though. Plumeveil can be annoying in that case, but overall, it seems like it has to be a “Bitterblossom or no?” match, with Wispmare and Oblivion Ring helping the fight and very little else going on to change that dynamic. Whereas I feel like Fish versus Faeries typically is a very close 50/50 matchup, in the finals here, it probably leans much closer to 60/40 for Feldman Fish.

I’m pretty excited about Standard for now. I expect I’ll probably still play my own Fish deck for a while, but when I get the chance, I’ll likely mostly be focusing on Limited. Until next week!

Adrian Sullivan

PS – Congratulations to Collin LaFleur, Wisconsin’s 2008 State Champion! Extra shout out to Justin Meyer, this year’s Minnesota Champion (and guy who kept me from Berlin) and Cedric Phillips, deservedly taking the Indiana Crown (with Adam Prosak Fish list). Just for funzees, here are the rest of the Wisconsin Top 8 and a few more State Champion lists:

Justin Meyer — Minnesota Champion — Kithkin

1 Akrasan Squire
2 Burrenton Forge-tender
2 Ranger of Eos
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 Wizened Cenn
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
4 Cloudgoat Ranger
2 Elspeth, Knight Errant
4 Unmake
4 Spectral Procession
4 Rustic Clachan
4 Windbrisk Heights
17 Plains

Sideboard:
1 Ranger of Eos
3 Reveillark
2 Ajani Goldmane
2 Burrenton Forge-tender
4 Stillmoon Cavalier
3 Oblivion Ring

Cedric Phillips — Indiana Champion — Prosak Fish

4 Stonybrook Banneret
4 Ponder
4 Wanderwine Hub
4 Merfolk Looter
4 Mutavault
4 Mystic Gate
3 Sygg, River Guide
4 Adarkar Wastes
3 Sower of Temptation
3 Sage’s Dousing
4 Cryptic Command
5 Island
3 Reveillark
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Silvergill Adept
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Faerie Conclave

Sideboard:
2 Arbiter of Knollridge
2 Condemn
3 Mulldrifter
4 Wrath of God
1 Reveillark
3 Remove Soul

Thomas Cleberg – South Dakota Champion — Demigod Red

4 Figure of Destiny
4 Boggart Ram-gang
4 Incinerate
4 Ashenmoor Gouger
4 Magma Spray
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Flame Javelin
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Stigma Lasher
4 Ghitu Enchantment
20 Mountain

Sideboard:
4 Hell’s Thunder
4 Chaotic Backlash
4 Unwilling Recruit
3 Everlasting Torment

* Here are the rest of the Top 8 from Wisconsin

Tim Saari
1st after Swiss
5th Place

2 Negate
2 Jace Beleren
3 Remove Soul
1 Nucklavee
4 Cryptic Command
4 Mulldrifter
2 Pyroclasm
3 Cruel Ultimatum
4 Esper Charm
3 Condemn
1 Cloudthresher
2 Wrath of God
2 Resounding Thunder
1 Broodmate Dragon
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Vivid Meadow
3 Vivid Marsh
4 Vivid Creek
3 Sunken Ruins
1 Cascade Bluffs
2 Flooded Grove
2 Mystic Gate
1 Island
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Forge[/author]“]Battlefield [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]

Sideboard:
1 Mind Shatter
1 Wrath of God
1 Firespout
1 Plumeveil
3 Resounding Wave
1 Remove Soul
2 Cloudthresher
3 Runed Halo
1 Broodmate Dragon
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae

Lucas Duchow
2nd after Swiss
6th Place

4 Garruk Wildspeaker
3 Firespout
1 Hellkite Overlord
2 Broodmate Dragon
2 Shriekmaw
3 Violent Ultimatum
4 Resounding Thunder
4 Fertile Ground
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Rampant Growth
2 Primal Command
4 Chameleon Colossus
4 Treetop Village
3 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Swamp
6 Forest
2 Mountain
4 Savage Lands
2 Twilight Mire

Sideboard:
4 Vithian Stinger
3 Jund Charm
1 Firespout
1 Shriekmaw
3 Mind Shatter
1 Primal Command
1 Foxfire Oak
1 Faerie Macabre

Timothy Peplinski
3rd after Swiss
7th Place

4 Kitchen Finks
4 Mulldrifter
2 Sower of Temptation
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Siege-Gang Commander
2 Reveillark
4 Wrath of God
2 Condemn
2 Bant Charm
3 Esper Charm
4 Cryptic Command
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Remove Soul
1 Story Circle
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Negate
1 Broken Ambitions
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Meadow
2 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Arcane Sanctum
2 Adarkar Wastes
1 Underground River
1 Yavimaya Coast
4 Mystic Gate
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Sunken Ruins
4 Reflecting Pool

Sideboard:
3 Resounding Thunder
2 Memory Plunder
2 Wispmare
2 Condemn
1 Story Circle
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Esper Charm
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Pyroclasm
1 Glen Elendra Archmage

Matthew Beeman
4th after Swiss
8th Place

4 Figure of Destiny
4 Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 Wizened Cenn
4 Spectral Procession
4 Cloudgoat Ranger
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
3 Unmake
2 Ranger of Eos
2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Mirrorweave
2 Ajani Goldmane
17 Plains
4 Rustic Clachan
4 Windbrisk Heights

Sideboard:
3 Reveillark
2 Ranger of Eos
3 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
3 Wispmare
4 Stillmoon Cavalier