I wasn't even going to play...
So Friday night my friend and Reckless Bear editor Beau invites yours truly and my lovely girlfriend Mercedes to a late showing of Iron Man 2. My buddy Nick and Lauren decide to join us all and just like that we have a nice group outing. Aside from my 5am work time that is.
So as the credits roll Lauren needs Benadryl for an allergic reaction. While we wait for them to return it starts creeping towards 1 am and I start really wishing I drove.
When it is all said and done I manage about 2 hours of sleep. I stumble through my morning an decide to nap for 45 minutes on my lunch break. Only I sleep about 90 minutes instead, whoops. On the plus side I felt great after. Now with such a lack of sleep I was going to skip the Saturday tournament but that extra 90 minutes had me feeling like Finkel at world's. I was down to cascade tonight. I roll up about 5 minutes to start time and shuffle up the former menace to standard.
Without further ado, here's is what I brought to the table.
4 Savage Land
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Raging Ravine
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
2 Dragonskull Summit
1 Rootbound Crag
3 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Putrid Leech
4 Sprouting Thrinax
4 Bloodbraid Elf
3 Siege-Gang Commander
2 Broodmate Dragon
1 Sarkhan the Mad
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
3 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Blightning
1 Momentous Fall
Sideboard:
3 Deathmark
1 Vendetta
2 Jund Charm
2 Goblin Ruinblaster
1 Pithing Needle
2 Duress
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
2 Consuming Vapors
I haven't seen many lists with Sarkhan or Momentous Fall let alone any Jund discussion. So I decided to try things on my own.
Round 1 Vs Naya
Lots of Ramp and Control here. Not sure what to expect.
Game 1 : I keep and he plays 2 Trace of Abundance and Luminarch Ascension by turn 3. Ajani Vengent and Transcendent Master are turns 5 and 6. I peel Momentous Fall turn 4, decide after the Transcendent Master that now is as good a time as any and Fired Netting 3 life and Siege-Gang Commander, Broodmate Dragon, and Bloodbraid Elf, which power me to victory.
Game 2: Starts off with Oran-Rief, the Vastood for more power out a 3/3 Putrid Leech. A turn 5 Siege-Gang Commander, forces Day of Judgment. This intriguing part for me was Naya charm kept recurring the DoJ. Bloodbraid into blighting gets his to 1 and next turn I get it.
On a side note I did almost punt myself the game by forgetting to use the Oran-Rief on the Bloodbraid as another Ajani Vengent could have possibly forced me into a Game 3. Sometimes I lack focus. Sigh .
2 - 0
1 - 0
Round 2 Vs Vampires.
I'm positive this is budget vamps as I saw zero Nocturnus and/or Bloodghast. But nonetheless, he still has threats, threats that must be dealt with.
Game1: I see Duress, followed by Blood Seeker, Pulse Tracker, and Vampire Nighthawk. My team of Double thrinax and Double Bloodbraid probes the stronger
Game 2 : I do punt this one. I keep a bad hand and sit there as one pulse tracker whittles me to 10. Turn 5 Anowon the Ruin Sage prompts maelstrom Pulse. He answers to my Siege- Gang Commander with Vampire Nighthawk, Kalastria Highborn, and a kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir. A turn later I deal with everyone but the flier and sit at 1 life, with a Leech staring down Vampire Nighthawk. I peel Sarkhan the Man. After bringing him to the battlefield, I Jedi Mind Trick myself into using his 0 ability to draw a blightning with him at 24, I immediately shuffle for a game three where I just flat out outrace him.
2 - 1
2 - 0
Round 3: U/B Control
I really must cover this deck at a later date as a future post. Its good and has major potential "post Shards". But in the meantime, I have a Match to win. Time to focus as my opponent is one of the more skilled players in the room. And only one with a pro point.
Anyway I'm too aggressive game 1 with a Leech and Elf turns 3 and 4. Game 2 I duress a negate, follow with a Leech. Double Blightning pretty much seals the deal afterwards.
2 - 0
3 - 0
Round 4 Open The Vaults
This one is against my buddy Steve. He's been beating up on me lately, so I was determined to get this one.
Game 1: We both mull to 5 and my hand is 3 land double blightning. A Bloodbraid Elf nets me a third blightning and helps send me to game 2 up a game.
Game 2: Perimeter Captain and Wall Omens starts the game for Steve and puts me in a bad spot after I had mulled my 7 into a mediocre 6. Jace turn 4 and Sphinx of Lost Truths signals a game 3.
Game 3 : I keep my 7 this time while Steve takes a mulligan.
I curve out perfect turn 2, 3, and 4 with the Bloodbraid Elf getting me a Blightning. The key to the game was Consuming Vapors turn 5 that clears the way for my team.
2 - 1
4 - 0
Round 5 : Intentional Draw
Top Eight vs Open the Vaults
Rematch Time!!!
Game 1: Very Quick. Turn 2 Putrid Leech and turn 3 Blightning are all I need.
Game 2: I fight through a turn 2 Spreading Seas with Putrid Leeches turn 3 and 4. My friend sadly knows my play style well enough to know I am ultra conservative with my Leech. That approach plus a Bloodbraid Elf with a failed cascade gets him to six. It gets tough from here though. Two Perimeter Captain and a Wall of Omens followed by a Sphinx of Lost Truth gets him back to 24 . I fight through two of the walls and clear the way with Consuming Vapors again to make it to the top 4.
Top Four Vs Super Friends (U/W/R Planeswalkers)
Just got to say that this was a tough match.
Game 1: I mull on the play and keep a decent hand. He has Wall of Omens turn 2,3, and 4. While I chip away at the walls he tries getting planeswalkers to stick. I think I gain the upper hand with a Sarkhan the Mad making a dragon off of a Sprouting Thrinax, but he has all the answers. He assumes control and just doesn't finish me off. Game 1 lasts way too long and he finally finishes me after I mount a last ditch effort to Garruk him out.
Game 2: The thing I hate most is mulling on a play down a game. I have early aggression though, and Garruk and Sarkhan finish the job.
Game 3: This match wouldn't be complete without another mulligan by me. My 7 was keepable but lacked early aggression. The mull is a mixed bag with the early Leech and Duress but no red source. He gets his mojo going a little and he wont path my Leech so I can fix my mana. I chip away at his life and eventually play stuff and start trading blows. I end the game on 3 life staring down a lethal Celestial Colonnade.
This match was intense and put me a bit on tilt so the finals are a bit fuzzy.
Finals Vs Naya
Round 1 rematch
Game 1: I trade blows with a Raging Ravine, but Putrid Leech and Bloodbraid Elf with my own Ravine is just too much for him.
Game 2: I try to get off tilt and fail. I play Pithing Needle naming Raging Ravine instead of Ajani Vengent and that ends up costing me the game.
Game 3: Very fuzzy but I only took damage to 2 of my Verdant Catacombs. VICTORY!!!
So I made some bad plays, made more good plays, and had some good cascades. But what did I learn? Well hopefully I learned to focus and RTFC (read the fucking card). I learned that I can go on tilt and win. I learned that I love Momentous Fall, I don't talk about it too much but the card was great for me all night.
But where do I go from here? Well I know Jund needs to adapt to the changes of standard. Here's a card combination I like.
4 Savage Lands
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Raging Ravine
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
2 Dragonskull Summit
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Oran-Rief the Vastwood
3 Swamp
3 Forest
3 Mountain
4 Putrid Leech
4 Sprouting Thrinax
4 Bloodbraid Elf
3 Siege-Gang Commander
2 Broodmate Dragon
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Terminate
3 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Sarkhan the Mad
1 Momentous Fall
2 Trace of Abundance
4 Blightning
This isn't very special but it does replace Garruk with Sarkhan.
I did see a PTQ winning Jund build from Santa Clara that caught my eye. It turns Spreading Seas into a plus.
Jund by John Pham
1st Place at a Pro Tour Qualifier in Santa Clara
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Borderland Ranger
4 Plated Geopede
4 Putrid Leech
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Sprouting Thrinax
2 Bituminous Blast
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Blightning
4 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Raging Ravine
4 Savage Lands
1 Scalding Tarn
4 Verdant Catacombs
Sideboard
4 Sedaxris Specter
1 Bituminous Blast
1 Burst Lightning
2 Doom Blade
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Chandra Nalaar
3 Consuming Vapors
1 Island
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