[10th Trial of Water] JonathanCrazyJ 5-2 Basman-1453

[JonathanCrazyJ]

10th Trial of Water: Match Report

First of all, this was not easy, as you will see. Basman is a great deck builder, and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge he presented.

Prematch: Bans

Mutual Shards: Shard of Focus, Shard of Freedom, Shard of Sacrifice

JonathanCrazyJ is Banned from using:
All Games: Trident, Earthquake, Discord
Even Games Nova, Graboid
Odd Games Steal, Deflagration, Momentum

Basman-1453 is Banned from using:
All Games: Dimensional Shield, Wings, Discord, Nymph Tears/Queen
Even Games Steal, Deflagration, Pulverizer, Poison

Ban Comments: I'm happy with my bans, but if I did them again, I would have banned Trident instead of Nymphs. I chose the latter because I know that Basman loves Nymph decks and I wanted to frustrate him and force him into building other decks from scratch. On balance, however, I would have been able to handle nymph decks easier than trident decks. i was ecstatic he left Pulvy unbanned, because that allowed my signature deck from last trials: Shipwrecker.
We mutually agreed not to ban Shard of Patience. I agreed to this knowing full well it was more of an advantage for him than me, but with War including shards, we should prove our worth with SoP.

Match Report

Game 1: Win

Shipwrecker

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6r9 6r9 6r9 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77f 77f 77f 77m 77m 77m 77m 77m 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 8pl

I started off with my beautiful creation from Trials #9, updated. It circumvents his PC bans, and I regarded it as my deck with fewest weaknesses.
Its reliability is hampered compared to Patient Wardens, and I started with a poor hand, with only 1 Mark, and no Gemfinders. I immediately Topdecked 2 of the earthy critters, and the deck played out perfectly from there.
[15:35:23] ‹Physsion› Basman's fishy friends and flatulent females have found themselves Shipwrecked! First game goes to JCJ!

Spoiler for Winscreen:

Game 2: Loss

Thunderhead

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

4sp 4sp 4sp 5i4 5i4 5i8 5i8 5i8 5i8 5i8 5ia 5ia 5io 5io 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 6r9 6r9 6r9 7gn 7gn 7gn 7go 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7n1 7n1 7n1 7n1 7n5 7n5 7n5 7n7 7n7 7n7 7n7 7n8 7n8 7n8 7n8 7n8 7n8 8pr

This was almost a test to see what i could expect from Bas, and how well he had understood my intentions with the banlist. He passed with flying colours and mindgated me with Shard of Wisdom Dragons. I was actually only one turn away from killing him with Bolts, but he burst 3 dragons and finished me.
[15:45:21] ‹Physsion› Basman's dragons were too Wise for Mr Craze's Eagle's Eyes. Basman evens it out!

Game 3: Loss

The Veil

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6r9 6r9 6r9 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7tg 7tg 7tg 7tg 7tg 7ti 7ti 7ti 7ti 7ti 8pt

I actually played the wrong version of this deck. I intended my patient vamps with fewer cloaks and voodoos. This was a deck I meant to use on Evens when, knowing he had no PC meant that cloak give me protection from CC creatures, and would allow me to control the board in a CC war. Voodoos were protection against Trident. I had an awful draw, played badly in this one, and really should have run a different, more diverse version of this deck. Starting panicking.
[15:58:41] ‹Physsion› With JCJ too busy playing with his Dolls under his blanket, Basman proves himself worthy of wielding the Darkness and takes the lead! JCJ 1 - 2 Bas

Game 4: Win

Patient Wardens

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6r9 6r9 6r9 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77m 77m 77m 77m 77m 78q 78q 78q 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gq 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 8pp

I wanted to play the final with flair, so built Patient Wardens, my strongest overall deck, intending to only use it in times of strife. being 1-2 down counted, and despite a late SoP, this was a simple win. I built this with Water mark and extra Earth pends to increase the chance of a CC creature out on turn 1, and so that i could still gain water quanta if hit by tridents, as I was.
[16:07:11] ‹Physsion› Basman brought the fearsome wrath of Poseidon, but JCJ's Vanadium defenders held strong against the incoming tsunamis. 2-2!

Spoiler for Winscreen:

Game 5: Win

Frostbite Borealis

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5if 5if 5if 5if 6r9 6r9 6r9 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 7jp 7jp 7jp 7jp 7jp 7jp 7k2 7k6 7k6 7k6 7k6 8pu

Partial defense against Devourers, as I expected Patient Devourers+trident at some point, and having Mind Flayers offered greater chance of first turn CC creature, which I always wanted to have access to. A late SoP again, but an easy win.
[16:21:37] ‹Physsion› Basman's flood of dragons and the useless white dinner plate thing he was hiding behind had nothing on JCJ's superior Patience. 3-2!

Spoiler for Winscreen:

Game 6: Win

The Mariana Trench

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6r9 6r9 6r9 7gk 7gk 7gk 7go 7go 7gp 7gp 7gq 7h3 7h3 7h3 7i6 7jo 7q9 7q9 7q9 7q9 7q9 7q9 7tb 7tb 7u2 7u2 7u2 7u2 7u2 7u2 8pt

Firstly, to explain parts of the deck. As he had no access to PC, this was a great way to circumvent... well almost anything. The lone Light tower is because I believe drawpower from dials to be one of the best parts of them, and I'd have roughly/over 50% chance to have drawn it by the time I started chaining.
This game... I thought I was in for trouble when I saw the poison mark, and hoped my Purify would show up. He started well, and I bolted a Chrys. I also started with 4 dials and my light tower. thinking this would be standard speed poison, I thought it was going to be a race between his poison and my Void. So I made a play to spunk all 4 of my dials for their drawpower.
The following turn he played Shard of Patience. I froze.
Purify showed up at a good time, making the poison part of the game almost irrelevant against my Vagger. I drew into my remaining 2 Dials, and started chaining probably the turn before he was going to pop. I won like this:
[16:33:23] ‹Physsion› JCJ that deck is amazing
[16:35:21] ‹Solaris› Despite Bas's patience, JCJ dials in a win for 4-2!
[16:35:48] ‹Physsion› "dials in a win"... why did I hire you
[16:37:57] ‹Physsion› Basman's toxic personality couldn't sway JCJ's stunning ability to read four watches at the same time. 4-2

Spoiler for Winscreen:

Game 7: Win

Shipwrecker

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6r9 6r9 6r9 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77f 77f 77f 77m 77m 77m 77m 77m 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 8pl

I started with it, and wanted to finish with it. Everything went to plan and I... I...

I AM THE 11TH MASTER OF WATER!

[16:43:07] ‹Physsion› JCJ sails his beloved flagship to a 5-2 victory. Congrats JCJ, our new Master of Water

Spoiler for Winscreen:

Thanks again for the wonderful matches, I hope I can take up the mantle and lead Water to greatness!

[Basman-1453]

GGWP, JCJ, and may your term bring prosperity for Water~

Spoiler for Bans:

Global shard bans (excluding Shards of Integrity {banned by default}, of course)
Shards of Freedom
Shards of Focus
Shards of Sacrifice

What I banned for him
Discords
Earthquakes
Tridents
Steals (odd)
Deflagrations (odd)
Momentums (odd)
Novae (even)
Graboids (even)

What he banned for me
Dimensional Shields
Wings
Discords
Nymph's Tears/Nymph Queens
Steals (even)
Poisons (even)
Pulverizers (even)
Deflagrations (even)

Bans thoughts
If you're wondering why Shards of Patience weren't banned, it's because we agreed not to.

Honestly, I was surprised he banned Nymph's Tears rather than Trident (I thought it probably had to do either with my Death/Water NT deck, the upgrade advantage that lets him handle the effects of 'quakes more easily, or *shudders* both).

As for my bans, while I'm happy with most of my bans, I found later I'm facepalming on trying to cripple GrabBow (which isn't a common sight on Trials finals due to the 50% in-element restriction).
As for the Pulvy (un)ban, well~ it's completely a case of 'out of sight, out of mind' XDD

Decks are in one huge spoiler, just like my Phase Two stuffs. And all decks I deployed were named after spellcards from Touhou, also like my Phase Two stuffs.

Spoiler for Decks deployed:

(L) Autumn Sign "Falling Blast"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5f9 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5jm 5jm 5jm 5p0 5p0 5p0 5p0 7dp 7dp 7dp 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7n0 7n0 7n0 8pr

"Patient Wa-wait, Shipwrecker? Oh my. Oh my my my~ XP"

I palmed a turn 1 Immolation, which ended up a dead card. I mean, I can't even have the Blue Nymphs prepare some Gas to explode in the first place when they're all either frozen or delayed (or, rather, smited with extreme justice XD). My Toadfishes weren't more lucky, either, as his crew rained destruction from the land and the seas XD

The results were obvious, too:

[2016-06-09 21:35:23] ‹Physsion› Basman's fishy friends and flatulent females have found themselves Shipwrecked! First game goes to JCJ!

(W) Origin Sign "Ephemerality 137"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 62m 62m 62m 62m 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gt 7gt 7gt 7gt 7gt 7i6 7i6 7i6 80h 80h 80h 80h 8pu

"Flight 909," I muttered slowly upon looking at his Mark of Air and deck size.

With a Quintessence and Shard of Wisdom in my opening hand, about the only way I'm going to lose is by botdecking my Dragons too badly. And while 16-card-down first Dragon ain't that great, the quanta I accumulated from that quanta-rich opening I initially loathed before I grabbed that first Dragon ends up working in my favor as those very quanta lets me burst him down with three more (all extra Dragons unbuffed) at his 40 HP.

[2016-06-09 21:45:21] ‹Physsion› Basman's dragons were too Wise for Mr Craze's Eagle's Eyes. Basman evens it out!

(W) Asura Sword "Obsession with the Present World"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i8 5i8 5i8 5i8 5i8 5um 5um 5um 5um 5um 5um 5up 5up 5up 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 7t5 7t5 7t5 7t5 7tb 7tb 8pt

"Oh, boy, Darkness v Darkness? What could it b-welp, Patient Dolls XP"

I was fortunate I managed to Steal the only Shard of Patience he managed to deploy (and have my Vamp Dagger deployed after I stole his Patience). I was also fortunate to draw some Obsidian Dragons. (The last one wasn't really necessary since I had Ice Bolts waiting in the wings, though, as the screencap proves.

And while I'm dead sure there was DC between the time I stole his Patience and deploying the second Dragon, I can't exactly remember whether it happened before I summoned my first Dragon.)

[2016-06-09 21:51:34] ‹Physsion› Both players turning to the Dark side in game 3 proved too much for the poor servers

Despite having forgotten to unactivate the Shard of Patience I stole before I summoned that left Dragon (as evidenced on the Devourer's and right Dragon's Attack and HP)~

[2016-06-09 21:58:41] ‹Physsion› With JCJ too busy playing with his Dolls under his blanket, Basman proves himself worthy of wielding the Darkness and takes the lead! JCJ 1 - 2 Bas

We had to wait quite a few mins just to let me upload the screenie because I forgot to tell Paint to save it as jpg and it saved as png, which size ends up torturing my slow 'net ^^;

(L) Psychokinesis "Telekinesis: Illegal Dumping"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5jm 5jm 5jm 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gs 7gs 7gs 7gs 7gt 7gt 7gt 7gt 7i6 7i6 8pm

"Hmm, Patient Wardens~ XP"

My loss this time boils down to botdecking enough Octopuses that his Octopuses (and, later, Wardens) were running around the place earlier than I hoped. Of course, Mark cards cannot fall victim to Earthquake (be it the spell or the Trident's copy of it) (or so I thought, as JCJ pointed later after I completed my report). There were a DC fairly early in the game, but it was after his Octopuses and Wardens running around the place. Of course, since I didn't prepare the deck for bursting~

[2016-06-09 22:07:11] ‹Physsion› Basman brought the fearsome wrath of Poseidon, but JCJ's Vanadium defenders held strong against the incoming tsunamis. 2-2!

to which I can't resist quipping to Physs,

[2016-06-09 22:09:15] ‹Basman-1453› ‹@Physsion› You're lucky fact(2) = 2 XD

(Several hours later, here's JCJ's quip on the 'EQ-on-Mark' stuff:

[2016-06-10 00:29:32] ‹JonathanCrazyJ› Bas, you CAN eq marks btw. they are only protected by EQ and trident if they stack on the deck's mark
[2016-06-10 00:29:53] worldwideweb3 left.
[2016-06-10 00:29:57] ‹Basman-1453› ‹@JonathanCrazyJ› Eh? I thought open Marks aren't EQ-able.
[2016-06-10 00:30:15] ‹JonathanCrazyJ› ‹@Basman-1453› they are

Looks like I still have lots to learn, man~ XDD)

(L) Miracle "God's Wind"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i4 5i4 5i4 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5jm 5jm 5jm 5ld 5lh 5lh 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gt 7gt 7gt 7gt 7i6 7i6 7i6 7jt 7jt 7jt 7k2 7k2 7k2 8pq

*left dazzled on what deck JCJ's going to deploy before several Sanctuaries were deployed*

His early Octopuses forced me to burst again, and rather poorly (since Toadfishes implies I was gearing it up for DPT rather than burst). And then there were Patience. Despite a Miracle I managed to cast when he (or the DC'd parallel, I honestly forgot to cap G5's end T_T), it didn't end well on me.

[2016-06-09 22:21:37] ‹Physsion› Basman's flood of dragons and the useless white dinner plate thing he was hiding behind had nothing on JCJ's superior Patience. 3-2!
[2016-06-09 22:21:56] ‹Solaris› ‹@Physsion› useless white dinner plate is goddamn amazing
[2016-06-09 22:21:57] ‹JonathanCrazyJ› ‹@Physsion› lol, I can tell you're getting tired
[2016-06-09 22:22:00] ‹Vineroz› geez I think it is about to setup spectate...
[2016-06-09 22:22:06] ‹Basman-1453› ‹@Physsion› Add 'despite the Miracle' to that XD

(BTW, the agenda of the deck resembles more of a rush, except with a Miracle or two as a safety net, fueled mostly by hostile creatures :V )

(L) Mallet "You Grow Bigger!"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i4 5i4 5i4 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i5 5j2 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7i6 7i6 7i6 7i6 8pk

*was confused by the lone Light Tower and Mark of Darkness, before it dawned on him he's pulling a Shards of Void-based deck*

Well, good thing his Purify came relatively early (as in, not when he had 15+ Poison counters on him). I was surprised at him showing up four Sundials at once, TBH. And then there was his finishing blow~

[2016-06-09 22:34:31] ‹Physsion› can someone fill me in for the witty comment please
[2016-06-09 22:34:42] ‹Solaris› ‹@Physsion› sure i got it
[2016-06-09 22:34:45] ‹Solaris› VOID DIALS
[2016-06-09 22:34:59] ‹Physsion› HAMMER TIME!
[2016-06-09 22:35:21] ‹Solaris› Despite Bas's patience, JCJ dials in a win for 4-2!
(several moments later~)
[2016-06-09 22:37:57] ‹Physsion› Basman's toxic personality couldn't sway JCJ's stunning ability to read four watches at the same time. 4-2

(L) "One-Winged White Heron"

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i4 5i4 5i4 5ib 5ib 5ib 5ib 5ib 5j2 5j2 5j2 5jm 5jm 5jm 7dm 7dm 7dm 7ds 7ds 7ds 7ds 7ds 7ds 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gk 7i6 7i6 7i6 8po

"Crickets, Shipwrecker again~"

Faildrawing Squids (only one of mine in the entire game). Again. XD

[2016-06-09 22:43:07] ‹Physsion› JCJ sails his beloved flagship to a 5-2 victory. Congrats JCJ, our new Master of Water
[2016-06-09 22:43:23] ‹Physsion› well played Bas, hope to see you in the final again next Trials

[Manuel]

gratz jcj, love the mariana trench

[Afdarenty]

All decks are legal (yay!).

Congrats again JCJ, knew you'd be a Master one day. Really like your first two decks, Basman.

[Spielkind]

Gratz jcj!!! You really deserve it!
And very good job bas!

Glad to see so clever guys swimming in the ocean!

[Higurashi]

Man, there's a lot of making things hard for yourself in this duel. Lotta counters unused from both and direct CC for Squids in only 1 out of 7 Basman decks. That's pretty suicidal.

Seems like it had high entertainment value though. Yer a good player, JCJ. I look forward to seeing how far you can become attuned with Water, as it's a long process to master an element.

[JonathanCrazyJ]

Man, there's a lot of making things hard for yourself in this duel. Lotta counters unused from both and direct CC for Squids in only 1 out of 7 Basman decks. That's pretty suicidal.

Seems like it had high entertainment value though. Yer a good player, JCJ. I look forward to seeing how far you can become attuned with Water, as it's a long process to master an element.

Interested to know what counters you are thinking of from my end. I feared trident so shied away from Fractal Dims, and in all decks i made sure I had an answer either by lack of creatures, cloaking, or a way to get faster CC creatures, to CC creatures. I also thought about gravity shield, but really I had so much CC it seemed a bit pointless. The wings stall was a bit counterproductive because it mitigated some of my upgrade advantage, but as I said, it was partly to gauge how Basman was mindgating, so I could understand his process better and mindgate his mindgates.
Thankyou for  the compliment though, and you are right. I have learned a huge amount since last Trials, and I hope to learn a lot more. I certainly still have much to learn.

[Blacksmith]

Congrats to both of you to making it this far. Extra congrats to Jonathan, I hope you do well in war. Me gusta Sov deck and Voodoos

[Physsion]

Oh wow, hahaha. Glad you both enjoyed my running commentary. Can pretty clearly see the general decrease in my joke quality as the matches approached 4am...

Big congratulations, JCJ, and very well played by Basman - these were some close games. You both provided another very entertaining Water final, I'm glad I stayed up to watch it.

[Solaris]

Oh wow, hahaha. Glad you both enjoyed my running commentary. Can pretty clearly see the general decrease in my joke quality as the matches approached 4am...

Big congratulations, JCJ, and very well played by Basman - these were some close games. You both provided another very entertaining Water final, I'm glad I stayed up to watch it.

I started off and ended with a terrible quality joke

It was great to sign into chat to see 2 of my favorite forums-goers going at it for the Mastership! Congratulations, JCJ, you deserved. Don't get disheartened, Basman, you put up a great showing, and I'm excited to see you in Trials 11

[Tiko]

Congratulations!  Looking forward to the next Team Water and their great deeds :]

[antiaverage]

Posting this individually for the End of Year Awards to be able to link to this specific deck

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6r9 6r9 6r9 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77f 77f 77f 77m 77m 77m 77m 77m 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 8pl