Great match. Really intense games. Writeup coming soon.
Game 1: 0 - 1 vs.
GhostmareHover over cards for details, click for permalink
5up 5v0 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77e 77m 77m 77m 77m 77m 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t6 7tg 7tg 7um 7um 8ppThis little gem is probably my most exquisite creation to date. It's absolutely packed with synergies:
- Pests can burrow themselves to gain double damage from SoPa
- Voodoo Dolls keep enemy weapons stunned while SoPa is on the field
- Wardens provide creature control through delay, and also damage grounded creatures once SoPa comes out
- Wardens can additionally hit Voodoo Dolls, which does damage to the opponent and stuns their weapon
- 20 creatures in a SoPa deck is capable of extreme speed with a good draw
This tested very well against a wide range of decks, such as mono Darkness rushes, Devquake, Dark Tears, Vader Saders, and deckout stalls (as I had banned Drain Life in all games.)
Unfortunately, it doesn't perform well against Ghostmare, because of the extreme draw denial. I planned on using this until Joey brought Ghostmare, which I did expect, but hoped wouldn't appear in game 1.
I had one SoPa in my opening hand, which was stolen the turn I played it, and the second came late as the 15th card in my deck, which was also stolen immediately. Two Ghosts and Eternity were on the field by the midgame, but I only had two Wardens out - I could hold off one Ghost, but I needed to use my other Warden to stun Eternity.
I would have had enough damage to win this if the second SoPa was drawn one turn earlier, but this matchup was heavily in Joey's favour anyway.
Game 2: 1 - 1 vs.
CheeseHover over cards for details, click for permalink
4vj 4vj 4vj 4vj 4vj 4vj 77g 77g 77g 77g 77g 77g 7dm 7t4 7t4 7t4 7um 7um 7th 7th 7tb 7tb 7t9 7t9 7tf 7tf 7tf 7tf 80a 80a 8pmThink Joey was trying to deck me out here, but I'm not sure which decks this was expected to beat. He had left my Grabbow completely unrestricted, which does a very good job of throwing down huge amounts of damage very quickly. Time Towers made me fear Rewinds on my own creatures - even though I could have evolved an early Graboid, I played a Gargoyle first to see if it would get bounced. When it didn't, I rushed hard with creatures, and took the win with 11 cards remaining in my deck.
Game 3: 1 - 2 vs.
Dark TearsHover over cards for details, click for permalink
5f0 5f0 5f0 7dg 7dk 7dk 7dk 7dk 7dk 7dk 7dr 7dr 7dr 7dr 7f2 7t4 7t4 7t8 7t8 7t8 7t9 7t9 7tb 7tb 7tb 7um 7um 7um 7um 7um 7um 8poDrain Life was banned for me in odd-numbered games, so I improvised this. It destroys Ghostmare, mono rushes, and several other threats, but 7HP Water Nymphs make this an extremely difficult matchup.
To make matters worse, I was punished with a 1-tower draw against what seemed to be an ideal draw on Joey's end, and I had to use multiple spells to take down two early Queens. My control couldn't keep up, and I was crushed by the exact deck I built for game 4 of my final with Aves last year.
Game 4: 2 - 2 vs.
Entropy DuoHover over cards for details, click for permalink
542 542 542 718 718 718 718 718 718 72i 72i 72i 72i 72i 72i 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t9 7t9 7tb 7tb 7tb 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7um 7um 8ptDiscord was a nuisance for a little while, but I stole Dusk, got a Dagger out, and was able to make it to 20 Darkness quanta to start killing Dragons.
Worth noting that I only drew one Deadly Poison in the top 22 cards of my deck, making this a very, very slow win.
Game 5: 3 - 2 vs.
Entropy DuoHover over cards for details, click for permalink
4vj 4vj 4vj 4vj 4vj 4vj 77g 77g 77g 77g 77g 77g 7dm 7t4 7t4 7t4 7um 7um 7th 7th 7tb 7tb 7t9 7t9 7tf 7tf 7tf 7tf 80a 80a 8pmNoting the Entropy mark, I suspected the same deck as last game, and that it was packed with hidden Antimatters. I knew I had the choice to play it slow and go for a big burst, or rush hard and outpace the Antimatters.
Also noting that Joey's draw consisted of mostly Towers and few Pendulums, and that my Darkness quanta, Gargoyles and Graboids were coming very early, I made the decision to go aggressive.
I baited an Antimatter with a Shrieker by leaving it unburrowed, which I could then send underground to make the Antimatter less effective than on a Gargoyle. By the time Joey got the quanta for the second Antimatter, I had drawn into one of my Lightnings, and used it to kill my Antimattered Gargoyle. I drew into Nightmare the next turn, which gave me lethal damage before my creatures even needed to attack. I only drew one Nova all game, but thankfully, it was all I needed.
Game 6: 3 - 3 vs.
Gravity DuoHover over cards for details, click for permalink
542 542 542 718 718 718 718 718 718 72i 72i 72i 72i 72i 72i 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t9 7t9 7tb 7tb 7tb 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7um 7um 8ptOuch. I drew one unupgraded Death pendulum, giving me no chance against Joey's absolutely monstrous draw.
Game 7: 4 - 3 vs.
SoSac DuoHover over cards for details, click for permalink
5ul 5ul 5ul 5ul 5ul 5ul 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t6 7t9 7t9 7tb 7tb 7tb 7th 7th 7um 7um 7um 7um 7um 8ptAfter having a good look at the decks Joey was bringing, I decided to fall back onto my trusty mono. A Death mark, a full tower build with no pendulums, and especially Arsenic instead of Vampire Dagger meant the SoSac play here was obvious - I initially played my damage conservatively enough that I could win against a SoSac chain, but with my Devourers eating away at his Death quanta anyway, I could rush more aggressively.
It came down to the wire here - Joey stole my Dagger, and without drawing any of my other copies or any of my Steals, the damage race was extremely close. With both Nightmares sitting in my hand from the start of the game, I was running calculations in my head at every turn - I got a six-card Nightmare on the second to last turn, which put me on 39HP -
just enough to survive the attacks from three Dragons, a Dagger, and the two poison counters Arsenic placed on me. I did lose the coin toss here, but a 1HP win is always frightening.
Game 8: 5 - 3 vs.
Gravity DuoHover over cards for details, click for permalink
606 606 7gk 7gk 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7gr 7hi 7hi 7hi 7hi 7i6 7i6 7i6 7t9 7t9 7t9 7tg 7tg 7tg 7tg 7tg 7um 7um 7um 7um 7um 8ppAnd here it is - my baby, SoPa Dolls. To this day, I'm still refining the build, but this one seemed perfect for this match.
I drew into early Squids, but SoPa came very late, as usual. Bringing three Steals rather than my own Vampire Daggers gave me a good chance of having them when needed, and so when Cloak landed, I was able to snatch it and remain in control of the board every turn.
We traded the Cloak several times, with Joey drawing both his Steals early and also taking my SoPa, but I was able to respond with my second Steal to keep his entire board frozen. Despite his creatures beginning to look very frightening with the stolen SoPa boosting them, Squids gave me an enormous advantage in this matchup, and they eventually became big enough for me to attack, take the win, and end the match at 5-3.
I love this deck to bits - I'm proud to take my third consecutive Master of Darkness title with one of my most successful competitive creations.
Thanks for the match, Joey, this was intense, exciting, and very nerve-wracking at times! I think matching our scoreline from 9th Trials proves that both of us are getting stronger. I'm looking forward to our next battle - best of luck to you for your matches in the future, perhaps we'll fight for the title again next year.
