This week, we put a low curve green/red deck through its paces.
Round 1 Game 1
Game 1 starts with a snap keep; a 2-drop, 3-drop, removal, and even Call of the Full Moon for early aggression. I run out a mountain as my first land drop in case I need to play a turn 1 Fiery Impulse for some reason, then start working on curving out. I make a slight mistake in trying to cast Thopter Engineer after combat on turn 3, instead of before (considering the thopter would have haste), but it ends up not mattering since my opponent counters it with Clash of Wills. Most likely, my opponent just didn't have a 2-drop in his opening hand, so planned on using Clash of Wills to stop my early curve-out, no matter what I played on my turn 3.
Since I can't attack into a Watercourser on turn 4, and dropping a leaf Gilder here wouldn't change that fact, I play Call of the Full Moon on my 2/2 so I can start my beatdown. My opponent is tapped out, so he chooses not to block, but I know he'll want to block on his next turn when he can pump his Watercourser up to a 4/1. I can't play out my Leaf Gilder on this turn, unfortunately, since it would count as a "second spell" and trigger Call of the Full Moon's secondary effect and make it fall into the graveyard. After I shop the turn, my opponent plays out a 1/1 Hangarback Walker on his turn, leaving up the 2 blue mana he needs to pump his Watercourser on my attack. Since I don't want to deal with the Walker when it gets bigger, I use one of my Fiery Impulses now to nuke it off the field, leaving him with a single thopter for his trouble.
I attack in on my turn, and he blocks, then double pumps with the Watercourser, just as I knew he would. I wait for him to tap in both times, then use my second Fiery Impulse to nuke it off the field. Unfortunately, this means I still can't play one of my Leaf Gilders that are sitting in my hand, but my opponent doesn't really have a board to speak of and he's now down to 8 life, so I feel like I'm in a pretty good position. He runs out a Returned Centaur to buy some time, and I draw into my third Fiery Impulse, which I'm not sure is going to be entirely helpful now that my opponent is at 5 mana. However, now I can run out one of my Leaf Gilders, since I've not had to answer any of my opponent's threats this turn.
He plays out Possessed Skaab, pulling back his Hangarback Walker, and I nuke it off the field with my last Fiery Impulse at the end of his turn. I could have just done it on my turn, but doing it this way means that I can play whatever I draw into next turn without making my enchantment fall off. Or so the theory goes, but I unfortunately draw a land, which means my only play is dropping my other Leaf Gilder. As it stands, I can't even attack in with the one I have, because it'll trade for a thopter.
My opponent uses Hangarback Walker's variable casting cost to his advantage to play two spells in one turn, playing it alongside Aspiring Aeronaut, to knock my Call of the Full Moon into the graveyard. He's on 2 life, but my board is easily chumped and traded by his. I draw into a Titanic Growth, so I swing in with everything so I can clear most of his board while keeping most of my creatures in play. He's only got 1 card left in his hand, so I'm hoping that I can draw into enough gas to deal the two damage I need to close this match out. Unfortunately, that "one card" ends up being Skaab Goliath, which is essentially just a huge brick wall for me right now. I'm not going to get in any time soon, unless I draw into more creatures than he does.
Somberwald Alpha is a good start, especially with its trample feature, but his Goliath and growing Hangarback Walker make it impossible to get more than a single point of damage in on an attack. If he blocks the Alpha with the Goliath, the Forcemage with the Walker (then pumps it to a 3/3), and my Leaf Gilder with his newly-casted Tower Geist, all I'll manage to get is one point of damage through to his face on the trample, and all my creatures will die.
Orchard Spirit might have been able to close out the game, but he draws into Meteorite and lands it right on top of my Somberwald Alpha, nuking my pump and trample off the field. Now that my opponent has a bigger board and enough fliers to hold off my Orchard Spirit, I'm in a pretty dire spot, even with 16 life left. I can't think of any singular card in my deck that would win me the game or turn the tables in this situation, so when he attacks in with his 6/6 Hangarback Walker, I chump block to buy myself a little extra time.
And then I immediately regret that decision when I draw into the singular card that would have won me the game, had I still had 3 creatures in play. With only 3 blockers for my 3 creatures, Firefiend Elemental would have tipped the combat equation in my favor, forcing him to have removal or lose on the spot. Since it doesn't do me any good to just run it out onto the field on its own, I decide to keep it in my hand for one more turn, hoping to draw into another creature to play out alongside it. But I draw into more land, and concede the match.
Round 1 Game 2
Since I can't attack into a Watercourser on turn 4, and dropping a leaf Gilder here wouldn't change that fact, I play Call of the Full Moon on my 2/2 so I can start my beatdown. My opponent is tapped out, so he chooses not to block, but I know he'll want to block on his next turn when he can pump his Watercourser up to a 4/1. I can't play out my Leaf Gilder on this turn, unfortunately, since it would count as a "second spell" and trigger Call of the Full Moon's secondary effect and make it fall into the graveyard. After I shop the turn, my opponent plays out a 1/1 Hangarback Walker on his turn, leaving up the 2 blue mana he needs to pump his Watercourser on my attack. Since I don't want to deal with the Walker when it gets bigger, I use one of my Fiery Impulses now to nuke it off the field, leaving him with a single thopter for his trouble.
I attack in on my turn, and he blocks, then double pumps with the Watercourser, just as I knew he would. I wait for him to tap in both times, then use my second Fiery Impulse to nuke it off the field. Unfortunately, this means I still can't play one of my Leaf Gilders that are sitting in my hand, but my opponent doesn't really have a board to speak of and he's now down to 8 life, so I feel like I'm in a pretty good position. He runs out a Returned Centaur to buy some time, and I draw into my third Fiery Impulse, which I'm not sure is going to be entirely helpful now that my opponent is at 5 mana. However, now I can run out one of my Leaf Gilders, since I've not had to answer any of my opponent's threats this turn.
He plays out Possessed Skaab, pulling back his Hangarback Walker, and I nuke it off the field with my last Fiery Impulse at the end of his turn. I could have just done it on my turn, but doing it this way means that I can play whatever I draw into next turn without making my enchantment fall off. Or so the theory goes, but I unfortunately draw a land, which means my only play is dropping my other Leaf Gilder. As it stands, I can't even attack in with the one I have, because it'll trade for a thopter.
My opponent uses Hangarback Walker's variable casting cost to his advantage to play two spells in one turn, playing it alongside Aspiring Aeronaut, to knock my Call of the Full Moon into the graveyard. He's on 2 life, but my board is easily chumped and traded by his. I draw into a Titanic Growth, so I swing in with everything so I can clear most of his board while keeping most of my creatures in play. He's only got 1 card left in his hand, so I'm hoping that I can draw into enough gas to deal the two damage I need to close this match out. Unfortunately, that "one card" ends up being Skaab Goliath, which is essentially just a huge brick wall for me right now. I'm not going to get in any time soon, unless I draw into more creatures than he does.
Somberwald Alpha is a good start, especially with its trample feature, but his Goliath and growing Hangarback Walker make it impossible to get more than a single point of damage in on an attack. If he blocks the Alpha with the Goliath, the Forcemage with the Walker (then pumps it to a 3/3), and my Leaf Gilder with his newly-casted Tower Geist, all I'll manage to get is one point of damage through to his face on the trample, and all my creatures will die.
Orchard Spirit might have been able to close out the game, but he draws into Meteorite and lands it right on top of my Somberwald Alpha, nuking my pump and trample off the field. Now that my opponent has a bigger board and enough fliers to hold off my Orchard Spirit, I'm in a pretty dire spot, even with 16 life left. I can't think of any singular card in my deck that would win me the game or turn the tables in this situation, so when he attacks in with his 6/6 Hangarback Walker, I chump block to buy myself a little extra time.
And then I immediately regret that decision when I draw into the singular card that would have won me the game, had I still had 3 creatures in play. With only 3 blockers for my 3 creatures, Firefiend Elemental would have tipped the combat equation in my favor, forcing him to have removal or lose on the spot. Since it doesn't do me any good to just run it out onto the field on its own, I decide to keep it in my hand for one more turn, hoping to draw into another creature to play out alongside it. But I draw into more land, and concede the match.
Round 1 Game 2
With all the thopters in play, I decide to sideboard out my Volcanic Rambler for Chandra's Fury, which I'm hoping will also give me the instant-speed reach I could have used in my last game to close things out. My opening hand is fine, if not as fast as I would like. I can get an Akroan Sergeant out on turn 3, assuming I draw into a third land by then, and I have plenty of 2-drops I could draw into as well.
I hit my third land immediately, and drop Akroan Sergeant on 3, not having to worry about a Clash of Wills this time around, since my opponent tapped out for a Fetid Imp. He goes full-on defensive mode with a turn 3 Maritime Guard, but I have Call of the Full Moon in my hand, and nothing he has on the field is going to stand up against a 5/4 trampling first-striker. Knowing he doesn't have the stats on the board to deal with my 6/5 (after renown), he just plays an Aspiring Aeronaut and swings for two damage at my face. I force him to stare down a second trampler with Rhox Maulers after taking him down to 9 health, but he has an answer for my Sergeant with Unholy Hunger on his next turn. He attacks with everything, though I'm not sure that's such a good idea in his situation; he may be afraid of a blowout if he quad-blocks my Maulers and I have removal, but he's not going to race me to the finish with his current board, and he doesn't have the creatures in the graveyard he needs for Skaab Goliath.
I take him down to 5 life and get my Rhox Maulers renowned, then play out my Undercity Troll, with just enough mana to regenerate if necessary, and a Fiery Impulse to play if not. The removal actually ends up being very relevant here, as my opponent tries to kill my Rhox Maulers with Wild Instincts and the deathtouch from his Fetid Imp. I blow him out for 1 mana, and he instantly concedes.
Round 1 Game 3
I hit my third land immediately, and drop Akroan Sergeant on 3, not having to worry about a Clash of Wills this time around, since my opponent tapped out for a Fetid Imp. He goes full-on defensive mode with a turn 3 Maritime Guard, but I have Call of the Full Moon in my hand, and nothing he has on the field is going to stand up against a 5/4 trampling first-striker. Knowing he doesn't have the stats on the board to deal with my 6/5 (after renown), he just plays an Aspiring Aeronaut and swings for two damage at my face. I force him to stare down a second trampler with Rhox Maulers after taking him down to 9 health, but he has an answer for my Sergeant with Unholy Hunger on his next turn. He attacks with everything, though I'm not sure that's such a good idea in his situation; he may be afraid of a blowout if he quad-blocks my Maulers and I have removal, but he's not going to race me to the finish with his current board, and he doesn't have the creatures in the graveyard he needs for Skaab Goliath.
I take him down to 5 life and get my Rhox Maulers renowned, then play out my Undercity Troll, with just enough mana to regenerate if necessary, and a Fiery Impulse to play if not. The removal actually ends up being very relevant here, as my opponent tries to kill my Rhox Maulers with Wild Instincts and the deathtouch from his Fetid Imp. I blow him out for 1 mana, and he instantly concedes.
Round 1 Game 3
My opening hand is decent, with a 2-drop and plenty of land. I also like knowing that I have a 5-drop for later in the game, since my deck has such a low curve. I play out the Leaf Gilder I drew into when turn 2 rolls around, so that I have a trigger for my Dwynen Elite, but it gets countered with Clash of Wills. My opponent doesn't have a 3-drop, though, so I'm far less concerned about a counterspell with my followup play in Thopter Engineer.
Yeva's Forcemage is a great topdeck here, allowing me to continue my beatdown. I swing with both creatures, reading to use Might of the Masses to kill his Tower Geist, should he block my 1/3, but without any mana open, he decides to let the extra point of damage slip through. I continue building my board and swinging in with everything, against his singular blocker, and he finally decides to block with a full board of mana open. He blocks my thopter and I pump with Titanic Growth, partly because I think I might get more damage through with might of the Masses later, and partly because I want him to believe that my earlier attack with 1 forest untapped was a bluff (I'm essentially bluffing a bluff). Unfortunately, he has Unholy Hunger to eat my creature while the pump is on the stack, but it doesn't really feel like a blowout since he basically used a big removal spell on a thopter token.
I'm happy to trade one of my 2/2's straight up for his Nantuko Husk on the next turn, as it leaves open the mana I need to run out my Rhox Maulers. I try to close out the game quickly on the next attack with Might of the Masses, but he has another Unholy Hunger in his hand to kill off my Rhox Maulers. I just want to point out here that I specifically targeted my Yeva's Forcemage with the pump spell for this exact reason; I hoped he didn't have removal, but if he did, I didn't want to lose both the pump and my best creature by tacking it onto the Maulers.
Unfortunately, Spell Mastery is active and that puts him just out of lethal range of Chandra's Fury, but there's a point of damage on both of his creatures already, so I cast the spell anyway to kill off his board and take him down to 3 health. At this point in the game, though, we're both in a topdeck situation, and my opponent's deck is much more geared for that sort of battle than mine is. He may only have 3 health left, but after the way game 1 went down, I'm not entirely convinced that's going to be close enough.
I get down an Orchard Spirit, which is a good start, but he has a lot of fliers and I can't just attack with impunity. However, a Yeva's Forcemage makes things a little easier. My opponent chumps with a thopter the first time around, which I fully expected. On the next swing, he double blocks with a thopter and Aspiring Aeronaut, and I'm able to blow him out with the Fiery Impulse in my hand. I take the hit from the 4/4 Hangarback Walker, having learned my lesson in the first match about not panicking over damage I can easily soak, then crack back with my Orchard Spirit again.
At this point, I've drawn into another Fiery Impulse, and I have a decision to make: Do I let him chump block with his last thopter and save the Impulse for an emergency kill, should anything unexpected happen, or do I nuke his thopter off the field and force him to have an immediate answer in his hand, or die next turn? He has 11 points of damage on the field (10 if he chump blocks with his thopter). If he plays any other creatures at all, he can pretty safely attack in with his Hangarback Walker and Guardian Automaton without worrying about me cracking back for lethal. Not only that, but I absolutely do not want that Automaton dying, as the extra three life could give him the turns he needs to pull this game out, which means nuking it with my Fiery Impulse instead just isn't an option.
Ultimately, I decide that my best chance of winning is by forcing him to have an answer to next-turn lethal. He swings in with everything as a response, and I think about the best blocks for a few moments before making any moves. If he had a removal spell for my Orchard Spirit, he would have used it. This smells like a play designed to see how many creatures he can kill off my board, so he can bounce my Orchard Spirit and stall for another turn. That in mind, I set up my blocks so that I only lose 1 creature, leaving three potential lethal threats on the board.
I swing in for lethal and win the game on the next turn, but I should point out that the way I do it is actually a mistake. My thought process at the time was, "If he has something in his hand to wreck this attack, I want to have blockers held back just in case." He could have had Hydrolash to buy him another turn, but any other (more likely) spell he played would have been single-target only; another Unholy Hunger or Disperse. The best case would have been to swing in with Orchard Spirit and a single Yeva's Forcemage. This would have been the better balance between playing around Hydrolash, and forcing him to have two removal spells to avoid losing the match.
Yeva's Forcemage is a great topdeck here, allowing me to continue my beatdown. I swing with both creatures, reading to use Might of the Masses to kill his Tower Geist, should he block my 1/3, but without any mana open, he decides to let the extra point of damage slip through. I continue building my board and swinging in with everything, against his singular blocker, and he finally decides to block with a full board of mana open. He blocks my thopter and I pump with Titanic Growth, partly because I think I might get more damage through with might of the Masses later, and partly because I want him to believe that my earlier attack with 1 forest untapped was a bluff (I'm essentially bluffing a bluff). Unfortunately, he has Unholy Hunger to eat my creature while the pump is on the stack, but it doesn't really feel like a blowout since he basically used a big removal spell on a thopter token.
I'm happy to trade one of my 2/2's straight up for his Nantuko Husk on the next turn, as it leaves open the mana I need to run out my Rhox Maulers. I try to close out the game quickly on the next attack with Might of the Masses, but he has another Unholy Hunger in his hand to kill off my Rhox Maulers. I just want to point out here that I specifically targeted my Yeva's Forcemage with the pump spell for this exact reason; I hoped he didn't have removal, but if he did, I didn't want to lose both the pump and my best creature by tacking it onto the Maulers.
Unfortunately, Spell Mastery is active and that puts him just out of lethal range of Chandra's Fury, but there's a point of damage on both of his creatures already, so I cast the spell anyway to kill off his board and take him down to 3 health. At this point in the game, though, we're both in a topdeck situation, and my opponent's deck is much more geared for that sort of battle than mine is. He may only have 3 health left, but after the way game 1 went down, I'm not entirely convinced that's going to be close enough.
I get down an Orchard Spirit, which is a good start, but he has a lot of fliers and I can't just attack with impunity. However, a Yeva's Forcemage makes things a little easier. My opponent chumps with a thopter the first time around, which I fully expected. On the next swing, he double blocks with a thopter and Aspiring Aeronaut, and I'm able to blow him out with the Fiery Impulse in my hand. I take the hit from the 4/4 Hangarback Walker, having learned my lesson in the first match about not panicking over damage I can easily soak, then crack back with my Orchard Spirit again.
At this point, I've drawn into another Fiery Impulse, and I have a decision to make: Do I let him chump block with his last thopter and save the Impulse for an emergency kill, should anything unexpected happen, or do I nuke his thopter off the field and force him to have an immediate answer in his hand, or die next turn? He has 11 points of damage on the field (10 if he chump blocks with his thopter). If he plays any other creatures at all, he can pretty safely attack in with his Hangarback Walker and Guardian Automaton without worrying about me cracking back for lethal. Not only that, but I absolutely do not want that Automaton dying, as the extra three life could give him the turns he needs to pull this game out, which means nuking it with my Fiery Impulse instead just isn't an option.
Ultimately, I decide that my best chance of winning is by forcing him to have an answer to next-turn lethal. He swings in with everything as a response, and I think about the best blocks for a few moments before making any moves. If he had a removal spell for my Orchard Spirit, he would have used it. This smells like a play designed to see how many creatures he can kill off my board, so he can bounce my Orchard Spirit and stall for another turn. That in mind, I set up my blocks so that I only lose 1 creature, leaving three potential lethal threats on the board.
I swing in for lethal and win the game on the next turn, but I should point out that the way I do it is actually a mistake. My thought process at the time was, "If he has something in his hand to wreck this attack, I want to have blockers held back just in case." He could have had Hydrolash to buy him another turn, but any other (more likely) spell he played would have been single-target only; another Unholy Hunger or Disperse. The best case would have been to swing in with Orchard Spirit and a single Yeva's Forcemage. This would have been the better balance between playing around Hydrolash, and forcing him to have two removal spells to avoid losing the match.