 | Date Posted: 12/6/2009
Posted By: Josh Hendricks
Member Since: 8/7/2008
Number of Replies: 6
Last Post: 12/9/2009 |
| | Valakut Combo Tourney Report | Mike asked for it, so here it is...
The deck list is posted in event results and here is a quick tournament report on it's strengths/weaknesses.
Round 1 vs. b/r Burn.
Game 1 I ramped out to plenty of mana early and managed to get 3 Valakut onto the board. However, after several Hell's Thunder and Ball Lightning both he and I were short on life. He Earthquakes for 3 and kills us both. Draw. Game two I struggled to get creatures and was quickly ran over with various hasty creatures dropping my life total to 3 or so. I manage to grab a Valakut off of an Expedition Map and play it. With several land-fetching cards in hand I am prepared to win next turn, but another timely Earthquake does me in. 0-1-1. Game 3 I still struggle to find a creature to take some of the burn off of me. Once again I set up for the kil and once again the barrage of direct damage and hasty one-shot creatures like ball lightning and Hells Thunder drop my life to low numbers and YET ANOTHER Earthquake finishes me off. 0-2-1. Match 0-1.
Round 3 vs. R/U Polymorph Progenitus Combo.
Game one he plays a third turn Goblin Assault. Fourth turn he makes a token, swings, and then polymorphs into a Progenitus. I die quickly thereafter. 0-1. Game 2 I hold lightning bolts just waiting for the Polymorph. Eventually I get some Valakut's online and start 'mountaining' him to death. When the Polymorph eventually comes I "
Bolt the token and go on to an easy victory. 1-1. Game 3 went much like game 2. Polymorph never came online, thus I never had to deal with a Progenitus. 2-1. Match 1-1.
Round 3 vs. mono red burn. (Paired down by the way, he was 0-2)
Game 1 I keep a sketchy hand with no green mana, but plenty of bolts and red creatures. After Raging Goblin, some other goblin, lightning bolt, fireball, and ball lightning my life total dwindles to nothing before I see green mana. Should have mulliganed. 0-1. Game 2 I get plenty of ramp and deal with most of his threats thanks to sideboarding in Volcanic Fallouts and Pyroclasms. Valakut seals the deal shortly thereafter. 1-1. Game 3 was too close for comfort. I took a beating from an early Goblin Guide, Raging Goblin, and that kicker goblin guy that gives your guys +1/+0 until end of turn. By the time I find an answer in Volcanic Fallout it wipes his board but puts me at 1 life while he is sitting pretty at 17 or so. I manage to cast back to back Siege-Gang Commanders just waiting for him to draw any 1 of his direct damage spells, which included lightning bolt, burst lightning, fireball and more. I sweat out every one of his draws as I beat face with goblin tokens, but luckily, the burn spell never comes and I whitle him down to death. 2-1. Match 2-1.
Round 4 vs. Cobra Landfall deck (Paired down again against a 1-2!!!)
Game 1 he plays a second turn Lotus Cobra which I promtly Bolt. Next turn he plays another. Damnit. Cobra comes online fast despite my generous portions of land. Soon Rampagin Baloths hit and 4/4 tokens start raining all over the board. I die a horrible monkey-death. 0-1. Game 2 he never finds a Lotus Cobra so my deck does what it does best and starts dropping mountains like it's Inferno Day. 1-1. Game 3 was interesting. I'm sitting there with lot's o land, a Siege-Gang with 3 tokens and only a few cards in hand. My opponent has a Rampaging Baloth and 2 4/4 beasts to go with it. On his turn he plays a fetch land and breaks it netting him 2 more 4/4 baddies. Then he plays Harrow and grabs 2 more for a total of 6 4/4 tokens. Then he plays another Harrow and grabs 2 more. He attacks with the Baloth and the 2 tokens that can swing. I chump the two 4/4's with tokens and eat the Baloth damage, but not before I sack one of the tokens to get in 2 points on the 6/6. End of utn I tap 5 mana and cast Lavaball Trap, clearing the board. God, this spell is fun! I go on to win easily. 2-1. Match 3-1.
...and then miss the finals due to shitty tiebreakers. Figures, huh?
In retrospect I would have sideboarded some sort of life gain. Probably in the form of Gladehearts. Burn decks seem to be aplenty in Standard and this deck not only has no life gain, but takes time to set up it's winning formation. At least the Gladeheart could take some of the burn from my face and maybe even net me enough life to go off. Another important reminder with Valakut, because this came up in a game and it was ruled incorrectly. If you have a Valakut, a forest, and 4 mountains and then cast Harrow, sacking the forest to grab 2 mountains, they will BOTH deal damage. Each mountain comes in to play simultaneously, and then both check to see how many other mountains there are. They will both see 5 other mountains and both deal 3 damage. Hoorah!
"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Barack Obama |
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 | Date Posted: 12/6/2009
Posted By: Matthew Ratz
Member Since: 2/29/2008
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| I am super excited to see someone playing Valakut! I must mention that my build would rock the socks off of yours however! pwn.
Playing to Win is Playing for Fun - Matthew Ratz |
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| Date Posted: 12/7/2009
Posted By: The Mike Dale
Member Since: 5/31/2009
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| Thanks for the report, josh! Valakut is a deck that I want to explore. It seems like alot of fun 'mountianing' people to death. Just look out for the monkeys!
" We are 5 days away from fundamentaly transforming the united states of america " - Barrack Obama |
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 | Date Posted: 12/7/2009
Posted By: Zack Strait
Member Since: 4/9/2008
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| Is this the scapeshift deck?
"The shit look like ya hand when you be doin a shadow puppet for a duck n shit nahmean. Shit be lookin like it jus caught a pop fly in center field n whatever whatever nahmean." re: Ghostface Killa on lil' kim's vagina. |
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| No, this is a standard deck.
The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. - Friedrich Nietzsche |
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| Date Posted: 12/8/2009
Posted By: Matthew Ratz
Member Since: 2/29/2008
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| k... my build sucks the fatted cock
Playing to Win is Playing for Fun - Matthew Ratz |
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| Noticed that a Valakut Combo deck top 8'ed a states tourney. They had Gladehearts in the sideboard!
"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Barack Obama |
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