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My name is J. Evan Dean, and today I going to tell you about the deck that I played at Pro Tour: Honolulu to a 62nd place finish. As this is my first article for StarCityGames.com, I should probably give you a little info on me.
I am Canadian Pro (or at least, I like to think I'm a pro) who now resides in Calgary, Alberta. I've been playing Magic since Legions, and I prefer the new card face to the old. I think Christina is better than Britney, but that Kelly Clarkson is better than them both. I like CSI: Miami, but not CSI:NY. I'm not just the president of the Billy Moreno Fan Club… I'm also a member!
As for some of my more Magical successes, I finished 12th at Grand Prix Detroit 2005, 2nd at Canadian Nationals 2005, and recently the abovementioned 62nd at Pro Tour: Honolulu.
I guess I should note that I was not qualified for PT: Honolulu, but I felt so good about the Ghazi-Chord deck that I had developed with Murray “the Mauler” Evans and my Rat Pack team members in Toronto that I decided to fly to Honolulu to take my chances at the Last Chance Qualifier. I mean, the fact that it was Hawaii at the beginning of March, and twenty-five degrees (that's Celsius - about eighty for you imperialists), as opposed to the crisp minus-ten (fifteen Fahrenheit) that it was in Calgary had nothing to do with my decision. Seriously.
For those of you that didn't read BDM's Day 1 blog, the deck was a Canadian original. Much like the Tragically Hip, Kids in the Hall, and, unfortunately, Mark Zajdner.
Here then is the Ghazi-Chord deck I played at PT: Honolulu
After having tested the deck extensively for a month, and having played twenty-six rounds with it (6-0-2 at the LCQ, and 9-5-2 in the main event), I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the deck. I think it is safe to say that I am the most experienced Ghazi-Chord player ever!
Now, with all that being said, there are changes that I am recommending be made to the deck based on the results of the Pro Tour and here they are:
Main Deck:
-1 Mortify
-2 Brushland
-1 Caves of Koilos
+1 Putrefy
+2 Selesnya Sanctuary
+1 Orzhov Basilica
Sideboard:
-2 Cremate
-1 Seedborn Muse
-2 Nezumi Shortfang
-1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
+2 Ghost Council of Orzhova
+3 Bottled Cloister
+1 Faith's Fetters
Why the changes? I'm glad you asked! All of the maindeck changes are because we thought that Eminent Domain was going to show up in larger numbers. The combination of Domain and Owl were bad times for Karoo lands. But Domain didn't show up, and based on the fact that the two finals decks were aggro, it does not bode well for the Owl's future. Owl has such a bad match-up against the Zoo that it can't even win with the aid of Ancestral Recall.
Aside:
A Toronto player I know, JP Brichta, played the Owl in Honolulu, but he called it “Tootsie Pop Roll.” You know, as in “how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop Roll.” Man, that Owl was awesome. And seriously, folks… Owling Mine? Who came up with that? The name is scary bad. It is the Nut Low of names. Owling Mine is only two-thirds of a pun. It's a pu.
End aside
As for the Sideboard changes, we had overloaded on the Cremates because we expected more Karsten Gifts; unfortunately for Frank and the Japanese that deck was found wanting in Hawaii. Seedborn Muse was there for Ghazi-Glare – again, not a real deck anymore - and the Shortfangs become casualties of the format shifting more towards Aggro.
All the new cards in the sideboard are there for the BW Aggro and all its variants. It is the dawning of a new age, and Ghost Council is the new Jitte, similar to how Orange in the new Pink. The Council Wars are a key battle for many a deck, as the card is nigh-unkillable.
Now its time for everyone's favorite part of deck articles… The match-up analysis!
Heezy Street (GRuul)
Let's start with the Pro Tour winning deck itself. I've decided to call this deck Heezy Street for two reasons.
- It's an awesome name.
- I think all Pro Tour Champions should have decks named after them. For example, let's say you are in a CBS Draft and you are heading into Saviors when you realize that you have eighteen Red playables, you should be thinking to yourself “I think I'm going to Siron this Draft!”
- 1 Yosei, the Morning Star
- 1 Angel of Despair
+ 1 Putrefy
+ 1 Faith's Fetters
In all honesty, you don't even have to sideboard and this match-up is fine. You have too much for them to fight through, eight 1/1 chump blockers, four Hierarch, two Wrath of God, and eight spot removal spells. In testing, we found that this match-up was 80% pre and post board, and that the one card that you need to watch out for is Skarrg, the Rage Pits. That card will invalidate chump blockers, and Saproling tokens. This and the Zoo are far and away your two best match-ups. Speaking of which…
The Zoo
Congratulations to Craig Jones for being part of the two best moments of the weekend: The Top Deck, and having Ancestral Recall cast against him. Oh, and for making the Finals
- 1 Yosei, the Morning Star
- 1 Angel of Despair
+ 1 Putrefy
+ 1 Faith's Fetters
This match is so in your favor that you could let them play with Lightning Bolts and still be fine. I guess the match-up is 90% in your favor. I really don't know what percentage to put as I never lost to the deck in over thirty games between testing, the LCQ, and the PT. I even beat Billy Moreno, but that was more out of revenge for him beating me at Worlds. You know, if they only make one Pro Player card this year, it has to be Billy Moreno.
Alright, enough with the Billy Love-In… onto the next deck!
Orzhov Aggro
This deck came in many a variety. Wizards actually broke it down into three different categories:
Orzhov Aggro: 38
Orzhov Descent: 27
Ghost Dad: 5
The Orzhov Aggro/Descent was not a very good matchup for me, although I did pull out a couple of wins against them. For the Ghazi-Chord, deck the main difference is the amount of discard they have; the more they do, the worse the matchup. This is why I have added Bottled Cloister to the sideboard - with the Cloister in play it leaves them with so many dead or sub-optimal cards in their hand that you should be able to win on card quality alone. The other card you want to bring in against them in Ghost Council, but mainly just as a way of dealing with theirs.
-3 Yosei, the Morning Star
-2 Angel of Despair
-1 Mortify
+3 Bottled Cloister
+2 Ghost Council of Orzhova
+1 Putrefy
If you suspect that they've brought in Extractions against you (they shouldn't), then leave in a Yosei and an Angel, and take out a Hierarch and a Guildmage. Threat diversity, my friends, is the best way to beat Extractions. In fact, this deck is very resilient against them because you have so many different ways to win. I have often won through two Extractions, and I have even won through three of them.
I would say the match-up is 40% pre-board, and I don't know how the changes will affect the post-board numbers.
Tootsie Pop Roll (Owling Mine)
Like many a control deck, you are always welcome to concede game 1. I think I have won once in testing against this deck pre-board, and that was probably due to them getting really screwed as opposed to any great plays on my behalf. However, we do have a plan in the sideboard:
-3 Yosei, the Morning Star
-2 Angel of Despair
-2 Wrath of God
+3 Naturalize
+1 Putrefy
+3 Cranial Extraction
These changes give you the advantage post-board. The main Extraction target is Sudden Impact, as you have seven artifact kill spells post-board to deal with Mines and Owls. In my testing, I would say your chance of winning pre-board is about 5%, but post-board it goes up to 65-70%. I think overall you are still behind on the match-up, but not as bad as other decks are against the Owl.
Izzetron
Beware of Blaze. Other than that, you have more threats than they have answers.
Osyp's deck is a better build that any other I have seen or faced. In my games against the deck, I felt that I had a clear advantage… but again, Osyp's deck seems better. In the LCQ, I actually managed to Extract/deal with all of my opponent's threats, and I still could not get him to concede. His response was that I might have missed something when I was Extracting, to which I replied, “don't you know your own deck?”
-2 Wrath of God
-1 Faith's Fetters
+3 Cranial Extraction
I would say that this is 50% pre-board, and 55% post-board.
The Beach House Deck (WBg)
Man, that must have been fun. Living on a beach for a month with a bunch of gamers? If you had that opportunity, who would you want in your house, either to help you prep for the Pro Tour, or just because they would be fun to live with? Obviously Billy Moreno, but after that… who?
As for their deck, I never played against it. They have a lot of answers, but not a lot of threats. However, their deck could run you out of threats, especially with four Extractions. I'm not even attempting to give you numbers – well, maybe 50-50… but I could be wrong.
-2 Wrath of God
-1 Loxodon Hierarch
-1 Selesnya Guildmage
+3 Cranial Extraction
+1 Faith's Fetters
Now, a quick run through of other matchups.
Bad Religion (WB Control)
This is another threat-light deck that is a good match-up for your answer heavy deck.
-2 Wrath of God
-2 Faith's Fetters
+3 Cranial Extraction
+1 Naturalize
60% pre-board, 60% post-board
Karsten Gifts
This matchup is very dependent on the playskill of the Gifts player. The better they are, the worse the matchup. I know this is true for every matchup… it just seems to be more extreme with Gifts decks.
-2 Wrath of God
-2 Faith's Fetters
-1 Loxodon Hierarch
-1 Selesnya Guildmage
-1 Putrefy
+3 Cranial Extraction
+2 Cremate
+2 Naturalize
35-40% versus Frank Karsten. 60-65% versus A Random Scrub like George Wu.
Eminent Domain
I don't know what is a worse matchup: this, or the Owl.
-2 Wrath of God
-2 Faith's Fetters
-1 Loxodon Hierarch
-1 Selesnya Guildmage
-1 Putrefy
+3 Cranial Extraction
+1 Cremate
+3 Naturalize
25% pre-board, 55% post-board.
Overall Summary:
Good Matchups – Zoo, Heezy Street, Bad Religion
50/50s – Gifts, Izzetron, Beach House
Bad Matchups – Domain, The Owl, BW Aggro
I hope everybody enjoyed my first article. If not, I'm sure you will let know on the message boards. Even if you choose not to play this deck, remember it's out there and is very competitive in the current Standard environment.
J. Evan Dean
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