The Winner’s Circle: Born of the Gods Game Day Event!

This past Saturday, we had our Born of the Gods Game Day event.  Our 2 champions, Jason Arnold and Peter Bloomingdale agreed to draw the finals of the event, giving them first and second place, so we decided to cover both of their decks in this special edition of The Winners Circle!

Jason Arnold’s Azorius Control:

Main Deck: 60
Creatures: 1
1x Aetherling

Planeswalkers: 5
2x Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
3x Jace, Architect of Thought

Artifact: 1 1x Elixir of Immortality

Spells: 27
4x Supreme Verdict
4x Detention Sphere
1x Fated Retribution
2x Cyclonic Rift
3x Dissolve
1x Essence Scatter
2x Syncopate
3x Divination
3x Sphinx’s Revelation
4x Azorius Charm

Land: 26
3x Mutavault
4x Temple of Enlightenment
4x Hallowed Fountain
7x Island
8x Plains

Sideboard : 15
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Essence Scatter
2x Negate
1x Nullify
1x Blind Obedience
2x Gainsay
1x Jace Memory Adept
1x Heliod, God of the Sun
1x Pithing Needle
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Ratchet Bomb
2x Render Silent

Blaine: So you’re running Azorius control, is there anything particularly unique about any of your card choices?

Jason: Not much is terribly unique… control is always very limited on what can be even remotely effective, so many decks look very similar… I’ve never seen “Fated Retribution” played before, and I can honestly say that I was never disappointed when I drew it… Side Board Nullify did a lot more work than I had anticipated it would, as it can counter not only pesky creatures/gods, but also bestowed auras as well as good cards like underworld connections.

Blaine:  OK, so what are some good and bad match-ups for your deck?

Jason:  Good matchups are pretty much anything that is creature based. If your objective is to play guys and turn them sideways, you’re not going to have a very fun time against this deck. As far as bad match-ups go, I’d say that my most difficult match was against mono-black devotion. Their ability to gain a lot of life and do a lot of damage without having creatures on board (combined with their ability to draw extra cards) makes that deck a moderately challenging opponent.

Blaine: Did you face any of these match-ups on day?

Jason: I did:
Round 1 : Vs. G/W Midrange
Round 2: Vs Mono-Black Devotion (same one I lost to the night before)
Round 3: B/W midrange.
Round 4: Draw vs U/W control into top 8
Top 8 round 1: Vs. R/G Monsters
Round 2: Vs Mono-Blue Devotion
Round 3: Draw vs R/G Monsters

Blaine: What were some reasons for and against your choosing this deck:

Jason:
Reasons FOR: It beats creature based decks almost always.
Reasons AGAINST: If you’re not a good player, you will make mistakes that cost you the game almost always.

Blaine: And lastly, do you prefer Standard or Modern and why?

Jason: Generally I prefer Modern…

I hate to say that standard seems too “easy”, but the majority of standard decks don’t require the thought that the more intricate modern decks require. MOST of the top standard decks are based on playing creatures that are difficult for your opponent to deal with, and attacking with them. Modern opens the door to many different strategies. I have always been a combo player at heart, and unfortunately playing a combo deck in standard just hasn’t been a possibility in a very long time.

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Peter Bloomingdale’s R/G Monsters:

Creature (27)

3x Courser of Kruphix
4x Elvish Mystic
3x Fanatic of Xenagos
4x Ghor-Clan Rampager
4x Polukranos, World Eater
1x Scavenging Ooze
4x Stormbreath Dragon
3x Sylvan Caryatid
1x Xenagos, God of Revels

Land (23)
8x Forest
5x Mountain
2x Mutavault
4x Stomping Ground
4x Temple of Abandon

Sorcery (4)1x Flesh / Blood
3x Mizzium Mortars

Planeswalker (6)
4x Domri Rade
2x Xenagos, The Reveler

Sideboard (13)
2x Destructive Revelry
1x Flesh / Blood
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
3x Mistcutter Hydra
2x Plummet
1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Unravel the Aether

Sideboard

2x Destructive Revelry
1x Flesh / Blood
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
3x Mistcutter Hydra
2x Plummet
1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Unravel the Aether
2x Unknown

Blaine: Ok, so you’re playing RG Monsters. What made you choose the deck?

Peter: I picked it because it is currently one of the strongest decks in standard and I wanted to win a pain seer promo lol.

Blaine: Ok, so what are your best and worst match-ups?

Peter: I would say the hardest match ups are U/W control and the mirror match. U/W control is usually a loss game one, but post board it’s a pretty even match. This deck does pretty well versus both monoblack/monoblue.

Blaine: What is the best card in your deck?

Peter: Basic Mountain! But seriously, it is hard to pick a best card. They all just work so well together. I would say the best card in the deck would be Domri Rade. Without Domri, the deck would just be mediocre.

Blaine: Yeah, Domri is pretty insane right now! Lastly, do you prefer standard or modern and why?

Peter: I prefer standard, but maybe it is just because I haven’t gotten into modern as much. The extremely high cost of the modern mana base as well as some modern staples really deters me from getting into modern.

Well it was an action packed weekend for us at Dave and Adams and this is just the start! We have a ton of other great events this month all ending up with our PTQ on March 29th!! Don’t wait…you can register NOW!

Keep your eyes peeled for regular winner’s circle blog later this week covering our Friday Night Magic standard and modern decks!