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About JP Meyer: JP is a member of Team Mean Deck and was amongst the first to develop competitive Psychatog and U/G Madness for the Vintage format. He is also one of the foremost pundits on Magic's oldest format.
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This round features Canadian pro Rich Hoaen packing Stax against Ohio-native Brad Loesch with mono-brown Workshop Aggro, which I usually end up calling "Affinity" because of the presence of Arcbound Ravager and Skullclamp despite the absence of any cards which actually have Affinity.
Both players chose to keep their opening hands. Brad lead off with Ancient Tomb, Mox Jet, and a Metalworker. Rich opened up with a Wasteland for Brad's Tomb. Loesch revealed Mana Vault, Skullclamp, Sphere of Resistance, Myr Retriever, and Tangle Wire with Metalworker to make 10 mana. He played out the Myr Retriever and the Skullclamp first. He Clamped the Myr and drew into a Mishra's Workshop, which he tapped to play the Tangle Wire. He finished up with a second Skullclamp and the Sphere. Hoaen played a Workshop of his own to cast Sol Ring along with a Chalice of the Void for zero counters. Loesch tapped down some of his permanents for the Tangle Wire and then double Clamped the Metalworker to draw four cards. He played a second Workshop and a Myr Servitor before sending back.
Rich played a Gemstone Mine on his turn but had no other plays. Brad played a Wasteland to destroy Rich's Workshop and then Clamped the Servitor to draw two cards. Rich played a Mana Vault and then a Strip Mine, which he used to destroy Brad's Workshop. Brad pinged again from his Mana Vault (at this point, at 16 life), but finally drew a threat in Arcbound Ravager. He Wasted Rich's Gemstone Mine before ending his turn. Rich played Crucible of Worlds on his turn and began the lock by replaying his Strip Mine to kill Brad's Mishra's Workshop. "Judge! When does Mana Vault deal damage to you?" asked Hoaen during Loesch's upkleep before Brad sacrificed the Mana Vault and Tangle Wire to make his Ravager to 3/3 without having to deal with their upkeep effects. He then played yet another Wasteland, which he used to equip his Ravager with both Skullclamps. The 5/1 Ravager took Rich to 14.
Rich played a Gemstone Mine out of his graveyard in order to cast a Goblin Welder, which would potentially shut down Brad's Ravager. Brad attacked again on his turn, taking Rich to a precarious 7 life. Brad's Mana Vault dropped him down to 6 on his upkeep. He replayed a Workshop out of his graveyard and used it to cast a Smokestack. Brad pumped the Ravager to 6/2 by sacrificing the Sphere of Resistance, and when he tried to attack, Hoaen turned the Ravager back into the Sphere, causing Brad to draw four more cards. Brad played Ancient Tomb and then Sol Ring after the attack and then tapped out to play a Metalworker. Rich actually stacked his Smokestack triggers the opposite way for once, putting the sacrifice effect on the stack before he put adding a counter on the stack. This let him sacrifice the Mana Vault. "Judge! I know you're going to hate me for asking you another Mana Vault question for the fourth time, but do you draw before you take damage from Mana Vault?" before he would take damage. He Stripped the Ancient Tomb and played out a second Smokestack. To further lock Brad down, Rich finished off by swapping Brad's Metalworker for his Tangle Wire.
Brad chose to sacrifice his Tangle Wire to Smokestack. He then played a new Metalworker. Rich sacrificed his Mishra's Workshop to one Smokestack and then added a counter to both of them (giving him one with one counter and one with two counters). He replayed his Strip Mine yet again to kill Loesch's tapped Wasteland and then played a second Goblin Welder. Loesch sacrificed both Skullclamps and his Sphere to the Smokestacks and before he drew, Hoaen swapped the Metalworker for the just-sacrificed Sphere of Resistance. Hoaen had to think a bit about how to handle his Smokestacks on his own turn before choosing to sacrifice the Gemstone Mine, Chalice, and the Smokestack with one counter on it and then to add a third counter to the Smokestack with two counters. He improved his board position even more with a second Crucible, a Mox Jet, and a new Chalice for zero. Loesch had to sacrifice down to one permanent on his upkeep, and before his draw, Hoaen used one of his Welders to put his Sphere of Resistance back into play. Rich swapped his Smokestack out, and then Brad had to discard. With the lock now established, Rich played a third Welder and began attacking. At this point, Brad kept discarding while Rich attacked with two Welders, keeping the third one back. After a few turns of this, Loesch eventually drew a Workshop, which he used to play Myr Retriever. This however just allowed Rich to turn it into the other Sphere of Resistance, which along with using one of his replayed Wastelands, dropped Brad even further into the hole garnering Rich the concession.
Hoaen 1 - Loesch 0
Game one took well over half an hour to finish, so both players began game two with less than fifteen minutes remaining, keeping their starting hands for game two. Brad kicked off with a pair of Moxes, a Phyrexian Furnace, and a Skullclamp. Rich only had a Gemstone Mine for his opening. Loesch dropped a City of Traitors in order to cast Chalice of the Void for one. Hoaen played a Wasteland on his turn to kill the City of Traitors. At the end of Rich's turn, Brad cycled his Phyrexian Furnace to remove Rich's Wasteland. Brad didn't have anything for his turn and passed back to Rich. Hoaen played a Mox Jet so he could cast Demonic Tutor, which lead into the devastating play of Mishra's Workshop into Trinisphere. Loesch played an Ancient Tomb on his turn and then a Sword of Fire and Ice, although he still didn't have anything to equip it onto yet. Hoaen played Tolarian Academy and dug in further with a Smokestack and a Sphere of Resistance.
Now, Loesch needed to take two damage from his Ancient Tomb in order to play a Mox Sapphire. Rich increased the Smokestack and played a second Gemstone Mine before sending the turn back. Brad sacrificed his Sword to the Smokestack and then cast Arcbound Ravager. Hoaen sacrificed one of the Gemstones to the Smokestack and then added a second counter to it. During his mainphase, he used a Seal of Cleansing to destroy the Ravager and set Loesch back even further. Brad sacrificed his Chalice and Skullclamp this time and played out a Myr Retriever. Rich had to think on his next Smokestack, eventually sacrificing a Gemstone Mine and Strip Mine and leaving it set at two counters. He then played a City of Brass and Mox Pearl to keep his permanent count stable.
Brad sacrificed the Myr (getting back Phyrexian Furnace) and one of the Moxes. He played out a second Ancient Tomb and replayed the Furnace along with a Chalice for zero. Rich sacrificed the other Gemstone and his Sphere of Resistance. Rich dumped his hand of Mana Vault and Balance, forcing Loesch to discard his hand (both players had two lands and no creatures) as time is called. Brad sacrificed the Chalice and one of the Tombs to the Smokestack and then cycled his Furnace to remove a Mishra's Workshop. Rich sacrificed two more permanents and this time added the third counter to the Smokestack. Brad had to lose his board and with both players out of perms, the match goes to time.
Rich: "So after your deck draws a lot of cards like that, what does it actually do?"
Brad: "Well, it's supposed to drop Ravager and stuff..."
Rich: "No Disciple!?"
Brad: "Nope, I just go with Triskelion."
