Month: March 2019

1,000 Matches on MTGO

On April 23, 2015, I played my first match on MTGO with Modern BW Tokens.  On March 14, 2019, I played my 1,000^th.  All of the matches minus 10 (two 5-game friendly leagues, where I went 4-6) were what I would consider competitive: 8-player queues, 2-player queues, competitive leagues, PTQ preliminaries, and MOCS monthlies.  All 80 of my 2019 matches were competitive league matches.  While my decklist changed often and I didn’t record each individual decklist I ran online, my decklists closely matched what I played in Grand Prix around that time, so I’m providing all my Modern BW Tokens Grand Prix decklists below from 2015 on.  While I sporadically ran some more unique online versions, such as splashing red for Blood Moon and main decking Slaughter Games, the majority of my decklists didn’t stray far from the lists I ran at the Grand Prix.

My 2019 decklist for each of the 80 competitive league matches stayed the same with the exception of swapping Wrath of God in for Damping Sphere in the sideboard.  You might also notice my list is off by one card from my SCG Classic Top 4 and Grand Prix Toronto Day 2 list:  I run 3 Arid Mesa online, 2 Mesa and 1 Heath in real life.

Here’s my updated list: Tokens

While I admit major limitations of this analysis including not providing complete decklists, my own subjective coding of matchup names, and no context of the metagame at the time of each match, I know of no other 1,000 game analysis from someone dedicated to playing Modern BW Tokens over a three and a half year period of time.  A data-driven process should lend itself well toward supporting or rejecting certain assumptions and “feelings” about BW Tokens matchups or the deck in general.

First, results by year.

Modern BW Tokens Results by Year

YEAR	# OF MATCHES	WINS	LOSSES	WIN%
2015	265	148	117	.558
2016	451	290	161	.643
2017	148	59	89	.399
2018	56	24	32	.429
2019	80	47	33	.588
TOTAL	1,000	568	432	.568

Discussion

As you can see from the chart, my overall win rate for BW Tokens is 56.8%.  This is a result I can stand behind.  For someone like me, who isn’t a top-level player and doesn’t spend a ton of time playing Magic, going 56% vs. people who care enough to play MTGO competitively is what I would consider a success.  Furthermore, my in real life Grand Prix win % with BW Tokens (not counting byes) is 56.4%, so my MTGO win % being higher feels like a win.

The real win came in 2015 and 2016.  I went a whopping 64% across a whopping 451 games in 2016, leading me to conclude that BW Tokens was EXCELLENT in the meta in 2016 and that it’s been downhill since.  However, all my recent yammering about how BW Tokens is favorable in the meta once again (see every blog post below) seems well-founded, as my win percentage over 80 games in 2019 (58.8%) is even higher than my overall win percentage.  Based on my results, BW Tokens is in a better spot now than it has been since 2016.

Ok, here are the results by matchup.  I’m including data for all matchups, but note many are just one or two matches, making it very hard to draw conclusions from such a small sample. 

Modern BW Tokens Results by Matchup

Matchup	Matches	Win %
8 Rack	3	67%
Abzan Midrange	21	57%
Abzan Blue Good Stuff	1	0%
Ad Nauseam	19	37%
Affinity	50	70%
Allies	2	0%
Altar of Brood	2	100%
Amulet Titan	11	27%
Bant Eldrazi	11	9%
Bant Knigthfall	8	13%
Bant Midrange	1	100%
Bant Training Grounds	1	100%
BG Deathcloud	1	0%
BG Journey to Eternity Grave Titan	1	100%
BG Rock	4	75%
Big Red	6	83%
Blue Moon	6	66%
Boggles	28	64%
BR Hangarback (Greenless Jund)	1	100%
Burn	67	58%
BW D&T/Deadguy Ale/Eldrazi	13	46%
BW Tokens (Mirror)	9	78%
CoCo Decks (non-counters)	12	58%
Control – 4 Color	1	100%
Counters Company	4	0%
Cruel Control	1	0%
Dark Naya Kiki Resto Midrange 62 card pile	1	100%
Death and Taxes (not BW)	9	56%
Death’s Shadow (non-Grixis)	15	53%
Delver	26	81%
Dredge	25	64%
Eldrazi (non-Tron)	6	67%
Eldrazi Tron	15	20%
Elves	16	63%
Enchantments	6	67%
Esper Control	7	29%
Esper Midrange	1	100%
Faeries	8	63%
Fiery Justice/Tainted Remedy 4 Color	1	100%
Footsteps Combo – Protean Hulk Body Double	1	0%
Four Color Creatures Fliers	1	0%
Four Color Gifts Worm Harvest/Raven’s Crime	1	100%
Genesis Wave – GR	1	0%
Goblins	10	90%
Goryo’s Vengeance (non Grishoalbrand)	4	75%
Grishoalbrand	5	80%
Grixis Control	15	73%
Grixis Death’s Shadow	13	85%
Grixis Pyromancer	1	100%
Grixis Twin	8	75%
GW Angels	2	100%
GW Hatebears	2	50%
GW Séance	1	0%
Hardened Scales	1	100%
Heroic BW	1	100%
Hollow One	4	50%
Humans	15	47%
Infect	38	53%
Izzet Phoenix	6	33%
Jeskai	20	60%
Jund	38	79%
Kiln Fiend Combo	3	67%
KCI	12	75%
Kiki Evolution	1	100%
Lantern	21	38%
Living End	18	33%
Loam – Bant Unburial Rites Gifts	1	100%
Mardu	10	90%
Merfolk	20	40%
Mill – UB	4	25%
Mono-Black	4	100%
Mono-Green Aggro	4	75%
Mono-Red Phoenix	8	100%
Mono-White Aggro	3	100%
Naya Aggro/Blitz	4	100%
Naya Walkers Doubling Season	1	0%
Norin the Wary	3	67%
Ponza	15	60%
Prison – BR	1	0%
Puresteel Paladin Equipment Mono White	1	0%
Rally the Ancestors	4	100%
Red Deck Wins	7	86%
Restore Balance	4	50%
RG Tree Shamans	1	100%
RG Valakut Breach	5	20%
RG Vengevine	4	50%
RW Aggro	2	50%
RW Angels	2	50%
RW Nahiri Control	4	75%
Scapeshift	17	47%
Slivers	2	50%
Smallpox	6	67%
Soldiers	1	100%
Soul Sisters	16	69%
Sphinx’s Tutelage	1	0%
Spirits	4	50%
Storm	21	34%
Sultai Ascendancy – 4-Color (no red)	1	100%
Sultai Midrange	1	100%
Sultai Reclamation	1	0%
Sun and Moon	6	100%
Sword of Meek Tezzeret Esper Thopter	1	100%
Temur/Temur Kiki	3	0%
Temur Twin	1	100%
Through the Breach	2	50%
TitanShift	7	29%
Treasure Hunt	1	100%
Tribal Flames	2	100%
Tron	68	26%
Turns	1	0%
UB Tezzeret	2	50%
UR Possibility Storm	1	0%
UR Prowess/Pyromancer	3	100%
UR Twin	8	63%
UW Control	14	43%
UW Control (non-traditional)	11	73%
Waste Not	1	100%
Whir	2	0%
Zombie Infestation	2	100%
Zoo	18	72%

Here are the matchups best to worst, only including matchups over 10 matches or decks currently in the meta.

Modern BW Tokens Best to Worst Matchups

Matchup	Matches	Win %
Hardened Scales	1	100%
Mono-Red Phoenix	8	100%
Goblins	10	90%
Mardu	10	90%
Red Deck Wins	7	86%
Grixis Death’s Shadow	13	85%
Big Red	6	83%
Delver	26	81%
Grishoalbrand	5	80%
Jund	38	79%
BG Rock	4	75%
KCI	12	75%
Grixis Control	15	73%
UW Control (non-traditional)	11	73%
Zoo	18	72%
Affinity	50	70%
Soul Sisters	16	69%
Boggles	28	64%
Dredge	25	64%
Elves	16	63%
Faeries	8	63%
Jeskai	20	60%
Ponza	15	60%
Burn	67	58%
CoCo Decks (non-counters)	12	58%
Abzan Midrange	21	57%
Death’s Shadow (non-Grixis)	15	53%
Infect	38	53%
Hollow One	4	50%
Spirits	4	50%
Humans	15	47%
Scapeshift	17	47%
BW D&T/Deadguy Ale/Eldrazi	13	46%
UW Control	14	43%
Merfolk	20	40%
Lantern	21	38%
Ad Nauseam	19	37%
Storm	21	34%
Izzet Phoenix	6	33%
Living End	18	33%
TitanShift	7	29%
Amulet Titan	11	27%
Tron	68	26%
Eldrazi Tron	15	20%
Bant Knigthfall	8	13%
Bant Eldrazi	11	9%
Counters Company	4	0%
Turns	1	0%
Whir	2	0%

Discussion

I’ve long considered Bant Eldrazi the worst matchup for BW Tokens, and that’s consistent here, as 9% is the lowest win rate against any deck I faced over ten times.  I still haven’t beaten Whir Prison and I think that deck is looking to be Tokens’ new Bant Eldrazi.  Beating Tron one out of four tries seems pretty good and clearly I’m doing something right to survive that often.

Surprises include the low win percentage vs. Izzet Phoenix (hopefully just an artifact of few matches, but it’s concerning) and Abzan Midrange.  I’m not really sure about that one.  I will say that I beat Lucas Siow on Abzan at GP Pitt in 2015, and if you’re beating Lucas Siow, you’re doing something quite remarkable, so I do like BW Token’s chances vs. Abzan regardless of the 57% here.  Similar thoughts on Infect, what I perceive to be another great matchup, though I did get smashed by Blighted Agent both games en route to an 0-2 demolition at day 2 of GP Toronto 2019.

My support of Auriok Champion was vindicated.  Great matchups vs. the red decks are clear from the results above.  While Auriok Champion may cost me some matches vs. combo and control, I’ll take my 58.8% this year and continue focusing on winning my good matchups.

GP Toronto 2019

4	Concealed Courtyard
4	Marsh Flats
2	Arid Mesa
4	Plains
1	Swamp
4	Godless Shrine
1	Fetid Heath
2	Shambling Vent
1	Vault of the Archangel
1	Windswept Heath
4	Auriok Champion
4	Lingering Souls
4	Spectral Procession
2	Bitterblossom
2	Hidden Stockpile
2	Secure the Wastes
3	Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4	Intangible Virtue
2	Zealous Persecution
4	Path to Exile
3	Thoughtseize
2	Inquisition of Kozelik
60
2	Rest in Peace
1	Burrenton Forge-Tender
3	Stony Silence
2	Disenchant
2	Duress
1	Runed Halo
1	Lost Legacy
1	Fatal Push
1	Engineered Explosives
1	Damping Sphere
15

GP Hartford 2018

4	Concealed Courtyard
4	Marsh Flats
2	Arid Mesa
4	Plains
1	Swamp
4	Godless Shrine
1	Fetid Heath
2	Shambling Vent
1	Vault of the Archangel
1	Windswept Heath
4	Auriok Champion
4	Lingering Souls
4	Spectral Procession
2	Worship
2	Hidden Stockpile
2	Secure the Wastes
3	Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4	Intangible Virtue
2	Zealous Persecution
4	Path to Exile
3	Thoughtseize
2	Inquisition of Kozelik
60
2	Rest in Peace
1	Burrenton Forge-Tender
3	Stony Silence
2	Disenchant
2	Duress
1	Runed Halo
2	Lost Legacy
1	Fatal Push
1	Engineered Explosives
15

GP Charlotte 2016

4	Marsh Flats
2	Arid Mesa
5	Plains
1	Swamp
4	Godless Shrine
1	Isolated Chapel
2	Fetid Heath
2	Windbrisk Heights
1	Vault of the Archangel
2	Shambling Vent
4	Auriok Champion
2	Thoughtseize
1	Worship
3	Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4	Lingering Souls
4	Spectral Procession
4	Intangible Virtue
2	Zealous Persecution
4	Path to Exile
1	Murderous Cut
4	Inquisition of Kozelik
2	Secure the Wastes
1	Anguished Unmaking
60
2	Rest in Peace
1	Burrenton Forge-Tender
3	Stony Silence
1	Disenchant
2	Duress
1	Runed Halo
1	Nevermore
1	Zealous Persecution
1	Ratchet Bomb
1	Timely Reinforcements
1	Relic of Progenitus
15

GP Pitt 2015

4	Marsh Flats
2	Arid Mesa
5	Plains
1	Swamp
4	Godless Shrine
2	Isolated Chapel
2	Fetid Heath
3	Windbrisk Heights
1	Vault of the Archangel
4	Auriok Champion
2	Timely Reinforcements
2	Worship
3	Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4	Lingering Souls
4	Spectral Procession
4	Intangible Virtue
2	Zealous Persecution
4	Path to Exile
1	Murderous Cut
4	Inquisition of Kozelik
2	Secure the Wastes
60
2	Relic of Progenitus
1	Burrenton Forge-Tender
3	Stony Silence
2	Disenchant
2	Duress
1	Runed Halo
1	Nevermore
1	Zealous Persecution
1	Bitterblossom
1	Timely Reinforcements
15

Hi All, Corbin Hosler of TCGPlayer.com featured my deck for his 3/18/19 weekly “Mining Modern” article, both writing about my deck and playing three rounds on MTGO (and winning all three). You can find the link to the article and video here: Mining Modern – White-Black Tokens.

Hi All, on 3-12-19 I went 5-0 in another competitive modern league with BW Tokens. The list is nearly identical to the one I ran at SCG Syracuse earlier this month.

Here’s the decklist: SCG Syracuse Decklist

You can also check out my deck guide, prior league reports, and paper 2019 tournament reports below.

Round 1 – Tron – Mono Green – Win 2-1

I’m on a heater against Tron – while I went 3-2 overall in my prior league, I was 2-0 vs. Tron, bringing my record against it in the last 10 games (this league and last) to 3-0.  I got very lucky in game 3 of this match as my opponent was stuck on 2 lands with my stony silence preventing them from drawing cards.

My two prior games (league before) played out a bit differently.  In the first match, during game 2 my opponent mulled to 4 while I mulled to 5.  I attacked with Shambling Vent about seven times to win.  Game 3 they had infinity lands and I somehow faded any action.  In the second match of the last league, my opponent mulled to infinity games 1 and 3.

Tron is a horrible matchup and we need to get lucky to win, and sometimes we do.

In – 3 Stony Silence, 2 Disenchant, 2 Duress

Out – 4 Auriok Champion, 1 Bitterblossom, 2 Zealous Persecution

Round 2 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Win 2-1

Game 2 I unfortunately played right into Blood Moon, which is probably that deck’s primary win condition against BW Tokens. The match is just so horrifically bad for them that they need to get lucky to win.

In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress, 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Halo

Out – 3 Seize, 2 Bitterblossom, 2 Virtue, 1 Sorin

Some people have taken issue with my removing 1 Sorin, but I think it’s fine to do so.  Sorin is great, but drawing multiples early in the game is one way for Mono-Red Phoenix to steal a game by going under you.  This seems counterintuitive, but there have been several games where I’ve had two Sorins in hand early with little action and I’m generally not happy about it.  I think two is the perfect number after sideboard.

Round 3 – Dredge – Win 2-1

How I won game 2 is a still a mystery to me.  I mulled to 5 and was ready to concede when somehow on the back of one Auriok and two spirits, Sorin came down and helped me stabilize.  My opponent having all 4 Nature’s Claims in their yard was instrumental as Runed Halo and Stockpile put in work.  Game 3 I also got very lucky as my opponent was unable to trigger a Bloodghast on turn 2 and passed the turn with about 15 cards in the yard.  My turn 2 RIP won that game.

In – Runed Halo, 2 RIP, Burrenton, Lost Legacy

Out – 3 Seize, 2 IOK

Round 4 – Grixis Deaths’ Shadow – Win 2-1

Game 1 my opponent played two Temur Battle Rages, yes, two, the card they need to win the matchup.  Games 2 & 3 went a lot better for me.

In – Halo, Push, EE, Burrenton, Wrath

Out – 2 Zealous, 2 Sorin, 1 Seize

This is another situation where people may disagree with my removing Sorin.  Sorin is generally a win more card in this matchup.  First, it’s a prime target to get stubborn denied.  Sorin is best when you’re racing.  You’re not racing Shadow.  They’ll play one giant threat, which you will chump block forever (while fading Temur Battle Rage), and you’ll eventually overwhelm their board.  Sorin is clunky when you have multiples in hand, is easily countered, and wasting an entire turn doing nothing is not where you want to be in this matchup, which is already insane.

Round 5 – Humans – Win 2-1

After losing to Humans twice in my least league, I get my revenge.  A Runed Halo on Thalia’s Lt. (see below) along with a much needed Virtue nets me my second recent 5-0 with BW Tokens.

In – EE, Push, Wrath, Halo

Out – 3 Seize, 1 Auriok

Final Thoughts

Tokens continues to do just fine for me.  It’s not insane or broken, but it’s a great fair deck to play in the current meta.  It has game against all seven top decks on MTG Goldfish – Izzet Phoenix, Dredge, Burn, Hardened Scales, Tron, Humans, and Death’s Shadow.  It’s great against Izzet, Dredge, Burn, Scales, and Shadow, fine vs. Humans, and Tron, a horrible matchup, is still winnable, as evidenced by my recent success.

With the conclusion of this match, my total games played with BW Tokens on MTGO since Fall 2015, when I began preparing for GP Pitt, comes to 990.  When I hit 1,000 games, I will compile my results by matchup and by year and post them here.  Stay tuned. 

BW TOKENS MODERN SCG CLASSIC TOURNAMENT REPORT

Introduction

I placed 4^th at the SCG Syracuse Modern Classic on March 3, 2019 with BW Tokens, making top 8 of the 229 player event through a grueling 9 swiss rounds.  I played the same deck I played to a 10-4-1 finish at GP Toronto last month. 

The tournament report is below, but first I wanted to highlight two themes that emerged during the tournament.

• Auriok Champion is insane.  In my opinion, BW Tokens needs to play 4 Auriok Champion maindeck if it wants to be competitive.  As I mentioned in my deck guide and 5-0 MTGO league post (both below), I’m a firm believer in 4 Champions and I would never have made top 4 of this event without them.  Tokens is already an underpowered deck and to eschew Auriok because it’s bad in half your matchups is just making BW Tokens a worse deck overall.  Your bad matchups stay bad and your good matchups get much worse.  If Auriok Champion is good in the matchup, the matchup is superb.  She is the primary reason BW Tokens is good in the current meta.  Not playing her is just giving your opponents a better chance to beat you.

Auriok Champion allows me to beat much better players than me in Modern.  Since many of the best players are currently on decks weak to Auriok Champion, I’d be foolish not to take this opportunity to close the gap.  If you’re not playing Auriok Champion and still aren’t convinced, perhaps the tournament report will change your mind.  I believe the only way BW Tokens top 8s a major tournament is through 4 Auriok Champions and getting lucky with matchups.

• Hidden Stockpile over performed.  I initially wasn’t too high on stockpile, but I must say, it plays incredibly well to the midrange strengths of the deck.  Further, I played against Detention Sphere, Deputy of Detention, and Maelstrom Pulse in four matches this tournament, and three times Hidden Stockpile turned a board wipe into a three-mana fatal push.  I also found a Disenchant in my final match through the card selection effect.  All in all, I’d never leave home without two maindeck.  Hidden Stockpile was a star for me this tournament.

Tournament Report

Here’s my decklist:  BW Tokens

Round 1 – Mono-Red Phoenix – Win 2-0

After telling my friend that I’m hoping to face Phoenix nine times today, I sit down at my first match to stare down a turn 1 soul-scar mage.  A turn two Auriok Champion from me in both games is simply game over for my opponent.  The games went long, but there was never a moment in either match where it didn’t feel as though my opponent had absolutely 0 chance of winning.

For how bad Tokens can look when losing to Tron or diddling around vs. Whir Prison, any snapshot of this match would have looked similarly embarrassing, just the other way around.  BW Tokens is a serious deck in a world of Mono-Red Phoenix and Auriok Champion is the harbinger of the apocalypse in the matchup.

Sideboarding:

In – 2 RIP, 2 Duress, 1 EE, 1 Burrenton, 1 Push, 1 Halo

Out – 2 Virtue, 1 Sorin, 3 Seize, 2 BB

Bitterblossom seems good, because it can block Phoenix, but it’s really only good against the Izzet Phoenix version.  Against Mono-Red, the ways you die are that you don’t draw Auriok Champion, they burn you out quickly, or they tick up Shrine of Burning Rage to an astronomical number.  Bitterblossom helps their game plan, while not really advancing yours in an overly meaningful way, so they come out.  At the same time, this matchup is so good it probably doesn’t matter how you sideboard, but there will certainly be times when casting Thoughtseize or BB hurts you more than helps.  I wouldn’t board in Disenchant for the Shrine, but wouldn’t fault anyone who did, as it’s easy to kill because they constantly tap out.

Round 2 – Jund – Win 2-0

My incredible draw of insane matchups and good luck continues as my Jund opponent mulls to 6 both games.  He attempts to pulse my tokens, but my Hidden Stockpile saves the day.  My lifepad is a great indication of how this matchup typically goes, as I never drop below 20 in either game and gain an incredible amount of life.

In – 2 RIP, Fatal Push, Wrath, Burrenton

Out – 3 Seize, 2 IOK

Round 3 – Jeskai – Loss 1-2

My incredibly favorable matchups cease as I’m paired against Jeskai Control, a matchup that’s probably 40-60 favoring Jeskai.  Electrolyze really hurts me the entire match and we’re deep into a back and forth game 3 involving an insane amounts of Cryptic, then Snap + Cryptic.  On turn 3 of extra turns, I decide to go for an all-out attack into my opponent’s two cards with an active and flipped Search for Azcanta and tons of mana.  He could double helix me and I wouldn’t have enough to kill him so I decide to go for it.  He activates his Search and finds…Detention Sphere.  Ok.  He nonchalantly taps four mana and Settle the Wreckage arrives.  I was at 2 life and would have died next turn anyway; however, I surely could have played differently the past few turns around Settle and preserved my life.  It’s hard for me to backtrack my sequences as we were rushing near the end of the game, and we were the last match so I don’t hang around to chat with my opponent.  This one hurt because I had so many opportunities to win but literally got Cryptic Commanded to infinity and beyond that game. 

In – 2 Duress, Lost Legacy, Burrenton

Out – 4 Auriok

True to form, when Auriok Champion is not great, the matchup is not great.

Round 4 – BR Hollow One – Win 2-0

I know my opponent from my local store and he’s on his usual weapon of choice.  Fortunately, Auriok Champion is INSANE in this matchup and so after a quick game 2, I’m feeling lucky once again to have seen a great matchup.

In – Halo, 2 RIP, Burrenton, Fatal Push, Wrath

Out – 3 Seize, 2 IOK, 1 Virtue

Round 5 – Humans – Draw 1-1

Auriok is just ok in this matchup, but Tokens is generally favored.  Not so game 1 as I get run over by a steady stream of little then suddenly huge dudes.  Game 2 involves me Wrathing the board, then slowly and surely overwhelming my opponent.  Game 3 I make the biggest mistake of my tournament, at least one that I notice.  With both of us nursing anemic battlefields, including his Deputy of Detention holding my Hidden Stockpile and his Kitesail holding my Secure the Wastes, I draw Wrath of God.  Instead of Wrathing and creating an incredibly favorable position with Hidden Stockpile (with revolt trigger coming) and Secure in hand with literally TONS of land, I decide to hold it until he further develops his board.  The very next turn, he plays a Sin Collector.  WHAM.  I immediately realize my incredible mistake and watch as my tournament goes down the train.  However, the silver lining is that Sin Collector does nothing to improve his anemic board and after not drawing anything relevant on both sides, we go to time and I’m happy to still be live (possibly) for Top 8.

In – EE, Push, Wrath, Halo

Out – 3 Seize, 1 IOK

Round 6 – BG Rock – Win 2-0

Auriok to the rescue!  In yet another favorable matchup, Hidden Stockpile saves my tokens from a Maelstrom Pulse and my opponent can’t get anything going against my army of flying tokens.  Similarly to the Jund match, my lifepad matches how lopsided this match feels, though I do fall to 16 at one point in game 1.

I was playing this matchup online recently, and used my singleton IOK on turn 1 nabbed a Golgari Charm.  Most Rock decks currently don’t play this card sideboard, which improves the matchup, but alas, some do.

Gerry Thompson picked this deck today (March 7^th) as his deck choice for Modern Regionals this weekend, a good sign that BW Tokens is still well-positioned.

In – 2 RIP, Fatal Push, Wrath

Out – 3 Seize, 1 IOK

Round 7 – Mono-White Eldrazi – Win 2-0

My first bad matchup arrives and so I know I need to get lucky when I Seize turn 1 and see the 2 mana Thalia and a Reality Smasher.  His holding 4 lands is the start of that luck.  Game 1 he draws into and plays about twelve more lands (probably pretty accurate) and I play out 3 Auriok Champions and we sit there with Thalia staring at the 3 Champs for about 10 turns of draw, go until I finally draw some Lingering Souls.  He doesn’t draw anything and that’s that.  Game 2 goes about the same way.  I play a turn 2 Stony Silence so he can’t play EE (he later tells me he has no EE, but rather Declaration in stone – hello, Hidden Stockpile!) and Worship.  Fortunately, he doesn’t draw any of the cards that can actually affect the game and I path two reality smashers on the way to a too-quick victory.

My friend David Napolitano, who also had a charmed run to the top 8, sitting next to me, looks up between one of his many games vs. Dredge, sees that my opponent is gone, and offers me kind words on a good tournament run, assuming there’s no way I could have dispatched an opponent this quickly with my deck.  Sometimes things just break your way.

I haven’t played this matchup often, so my sideboarding isn’t well developed.

In – Push, Halo, Wrath, 2 Disenchant (if your opponent has multiple EE, I can’t fault Stony since Disenchant can’t nab a fresh EE before it’s activated, but if you also see Chalice, Disenchant seems best)

Out – 4 Auriok, 1 IOK (Zealous also seems ok to take out – both can deal with a Thalia)

Matches where Auriok comes out are tough, so I’m very fortunate to have gotten lucky here.

Round 8 – Hardened Scales – Win 2-1

It’s a win and in for my opponent as I’m paired up.  Fortunately, this matchup is one that’s still great even if Auriok is bad.  Game 1, however, proceeds in the typical way I lose this matchup – my opponent resolves a Walking Ballista.  Typically this can be ok, but my draws of infinite tokens include no Virtues or even a Zealous that would likely have won me the game.  Game 2 and 3 go better, and Game 3 is a real sweat, probably the most intense and fun game of the day.  I nab my opponent’s Ballista before it gets out of hand.  He goes all in with another Ballista to stop my swarm of creatures and eventually plays to the plan of attacking me with a gigantic Inkmoth.  This is exactly how I drew it up, as the Runed Halo that’s been sitting in my hand comes down and my creatures are just too much for him.

In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, Halo, EE, Push

Out – 4 Auriok, 3 Seize, 1 IOK

Round 9 – Concession

I look at the standings and find myself 9^th going into round 9, the only 19 pointer with eight 21 pointers ahead of me and the 18 pointers starting in 10^th place.  The great news is that my breakers are 7.9% higher than the 8^th place 21 pointer, so despite my 6-1-1 record, I’m probably something like 99% to make top 8 with a win here.

I look at the pairings to find myself playing against 10^th place, the top 18 point opponent.  As I sit down, the four top tables instantly draw.  My opponent, knowing he can’t make top 8 and that a win will probably get me in, graciously concedes so I can wait 50+ minutes to see if my 7.9% tie-breakers hold!  Thank you!!! Spoiler alert:  They do and I squeak into 8^th place! 

Quarter-finals – Grixis Deaths’ Shadow – Win 2-0

During the Round 9 slip-signing, Edgar Magalhaes asks if I’m the Tokens player.  He notes the top 8 probably isn’t looking great for Tokens.  Of course, I know what Edgar is playing (Amulet Titan) and that matchup is bad anyway you look at it, even without one of Canada’s very best Magic players in the pilot seat.  The other seven top 8 decks include:  Whir, Amulet, Ad Nauseam, Jeskai (my round 3 opponent), Humans (my friend Dave), Tron, and Grixis Death’s Shadow.

Wouldn’t you know that I got paired against Grixis Death’s Shadow.

My opponent, the first seed, a great player, has no idea what I’m playing.  Neither do a row of his teammates cheering him on behind him.  They lean forward when he leads with a turn 1 seize.  A bunch of whispers commence when I turn over a bunch of white cards.  No Auriok Champion yet, but she doesn’t fail me.  She arrives both games, and while my opponent is clearly an excellent player, the power of BW Tokens and Auriok Champion in particular is just too much for his deck to overcome.  Even at the end of game 2, when my opponent has a 12/12 Death’s Shadow and is drawing for a Temur Battle Rage, I’m on 30 life (thanks to Auriok and Sorin).  The reason BW Token is a fine deck to play is showcased in this match.  Death’s Shadow and Mono-Red Phoenix are all-you-can-eat buffets for Auriok Champion and I was fortunate to face both decks once this tournament.

In – Halo, Push, EE, Burrenton, 1 Wrath (draw)

Out – 2 Zealous, 2 Sorin, 1 Seize

Semi-finals – Whir Prison – Loss 0-2

Similarly to last round, this match looks and plays out incredibly lopsided.  The problem is, this time I’m on the embarrassing end.  Game 1 I’m feeling OK when I turn 1 and turn 2 discard his two Whir of Inventions to leave him with NOTHING in hand.  However, he has 7 more ways to win the game (4 Bridges, 2 more Whirs, 1 Inventor’s Fair), not to mention 2 Tolaria Wests to tutor the Inventor’s Fair.  Playing an Ensnaring Bridge is literally game over for BW Tokens.  Soon after he natural draws the card leaving me with no way to win.  Game 2 I lead with a turn 2 Stony Silence, which is OK because it shuts off the Welding Jar on the battlefield so I can Disenchant his first Bridge.  My meager army attacks a few turns, but it’s not enough.  One more bridge arrives, and while I’m Wrathing my entire board to feed Stockpile in search of my second Disenchant, he drops a third Bridge and I concede.

The worst part about this matchup is that, unlike Tron or Living End, I literally have no gameplan to beat Whir.  It’s not feasible to try to race because it just takes too long and he has plenty of time to find a way to get a Bridge into play.  Dispossess or a Lost Legacy effect that can hit artifacts is really needed here.  Stony Silence, Lost Legacy (on Whir), Disenchant, and Duress are just laughable vs. the deck.  I’m really stuck with what to do here.  Nevermore is a never play due to Whir so going back to Memoricide might be where I need to be.  Or adding a green source and including Assassin’s Trophies?  Perhaps Vindicate will return in Modern Horizons….  I could really use some help with what on earth to do about this matchup.

I did have a sideboard guide during the event and as I was looking at it during this match, I just shook my head with how poorly it seemed to line up.

In – 3 Stony, 2 Disenchant, 2 RIP, Halo (on Ipnu Rivulet – ew), 2 Duress, Lost Legacy (on Whir)

Out – 3 Sorin, 4 Auriok, 4 Path

This matchup also highlights why I’m so low on discard spells.  Even with the best possible disruptive start I could anticipate game 1 (two discard spells), my opponent easily drew into Bridge while I couldn’t do anything about it.

Final Thoughts

While I admit I was incredibly lucky with such favorable matchups, these are the matchups I expected and the matchups which are highly represented in the meta currently.  There is no better time to play BW Tokens than right now.  However, there is just no way to consistently beat Tron and Whir Prison with Tokens, but the fact that the deck (so long as you include Auriok Champion) is just bonkers versus the majority of the metagame, in my opinion, makes up for that weakness.  Tron is still beatable as are many of your bad matchups (maybe not Whir!), but you have to beat a few bad matchups to win a tournament and I managed to plow through one bad matchup before losing to another.

The top 8 of GP Los Angeles, occurring at the same time as this Classic, had more favorable matchups for Tokens, but regardless, the metagame will likely hold for now around Phoenix, Dredge, Burn, Grixis Shadow, Jund/Rock, Affinity/Scales, Tron, and Whir.  BW Tokens is a great deck choice currently because it’s so good in most of those matchups.  The reason it’s so good is because of Auriok Champion.  I’m hopeful the Champion and I will get to share more good times together before the meta drastically changes.

Shout out to Dave, Scott, Greg, and everyone else who supported me and wanted to chat about Tokens during the day.