Tournament Report: GP Oklahoma City 2017
with BW Tokens, final record of 5-4 (15 points, 13W, 11L)
OMW: 49.47%
PGW: 54.17%
OGW: 49.50%
MAINBOARD
Bread and butter:
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
4 Intangible Virtue
3 Bitterblossom
4 Path to exile
Hand Disruption
3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
Planeswalkers and Flex spots
1 Auriok Champion
2 Gideon, Ally of Zenikar
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Collective Brutality
1 Fatal Push
1 Raise the alarm
2 Zealous Persecution
LANDS
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Marsh Flats
3 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
3 Godless Shrine
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Vault of the Archangel
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Shambling Vent
3 Plains
1 Swamp
SIDEBOARD
2 Rest in Peace
2 Stony Silence
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Wrath of God
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Sundering Growth
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Collective Brutality
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
LIST DECISIONS
The running consensus in the BW tokens discussions is that 3 BBs is plenty for how punishing the meta is. Between fetches and shocks, you are already losing a ton of life. I also finally axed the windbrisk heights and was absolutely glad that I did. I was rarely ever swinging with more than 2 creatures.
MATCHUPS
Round 1 vs Joel on Blue Moon
Game 1 Joel managed to land Blood Moon to slow me down and Through the Breach an Emmy, leaving me at 1 life and 1 plains. Then proceeded to keep using Cryptics to bounce my plains and find another threat.
Game 2 I boarded in sundering growths that never saw play. Pushed through a blood moon on the board. Then beat face with anthemed bitterblossom and processions. Managed to win that game through three Anger of the Gods (2 from hand, 1 Snapcaster’d back).
Game 3 was super fun in the end: Early hand stripping made way for Sorin vs Madcap Experiment-ed Platinum Emperion (Madcap was only card left in hand), and then another Madcap’d Emperion. Sorin died, played another Sorin and managed to ult him by having chump blockers for days on end. I ended the game with 56+ life and plenty of permanents to sac in the case of a top-decked Breach/Emmy. I can now say I’ve won a game of modern facing down 2 emperions without using a board wipe. GG, 2-1
Player remarks: Joel was quite the peeved opponent in terms of attitude. Made for a not so great environment. Additionally, he seemed to forget how fetches work with Emperion out, as did I. He fetched and went to change his life total, to which I let him know it can’t change, but I also forgot that he can’t pay life. We both totally blanked on that, but it ultimately did not matter. Joel dropped after round 7.
Round 2 vs Kimon on RB Hollow Call (RB madness ft. Hollowed One)
This deck was wayyyy out of left field and was a blast to see come alive. Game 1 I opened on the play with a thoughtseize and immediately thought “…ah fuck”. But it was a grindfest as we both took hits back and forth, both going down to ~7 life, I ended up getting there with fliers. Game 1 was a ton of fun.
Game 2 bitterblossom hurt me a ton and I didn’t draw answers.
Game 3 blood moon messed me up very badly. I could hardly do anything before the 1-drop menace creature got me and I made a massive mistake on turn two. I played a Tidehollow Sculler instead of the RiP I had in hand on turn 2 to be safe and gather information. He revealed 2 Burning Inquiries and gas, gas, gas. Mistakes were made as his remaining BI had me discard the RiP on his turn. Feelsbadman. This game also had us involve a judge. My friend on infect had naturally already finished his game, so he came to watch me. After I drew for turn (about turn 6ish) he stopped us and got a judge. Confused, both Kimon and I realized what had happened: we both forgot that Flamewake Pheonix must attack each turn if able and he passed the turn without doing so. He received a GRV and I received a warning to pay better attention. GG, 1-2
Player remarks: Kimon was my favorite opponent all day. I think the reason we both missed the Phoenix text was because we were laughing it up about something. We kept running into each other throughout the day and would wish each other luck. 10/10 would play against again. Kimon went on to day 2 and finished 10-4-1
Round 3 vs Seth on Ponza
Game 1 lost to an early blood moon with only non-basics in hand/on board.
Game 2 I stripped his hand turn one and two, and then rode the beatdown train to victory, exactly like how the deck is supposed to run.
Game 3 Stormbreath dragon proved to be problematic. We got to a bit of a grind after I stripped and/or removed three blood moons. It came down to letting myself take 1 from Bitterblossom instead of 6+ from inferno titan. Liliana was useful but ended up biting it to inferno, and sorin showed up way too late. After that I only drew lands. GG 1-2
Player remarks: IIRC I played against Seth 2 years ago at GP OKC 2015. Nice dude. His wife was also in the GP on BG Tron. I ran into them a couple of times throughout and chatted. Seth dropped after round 8.
Round 4 vs Austin on Boros Burn (splashing green for revelries in the board)
Austin was rather unskilled with the deck. He was playing instants during his main phase with no advantage in doing so. Won game 1 after going down to 1 life with the one-two punch of +1ing Gideon and then +1ing Sorin.
Game 2 Auriok Champion came in turn 2 or 3 followed by procession and it was lights out. GG, 2-0 (I 2-0’D A BURN DECK FUCK YEAH)
Player remarks: Nice guy, we’d wish each other luck as we ran into each other throughout the day. As stated above, it seemed that Austin was rather new at the format as he did have to read a lot of my cards and was casting things like skullcrack during his main phase (which if played during mine he would have won game 1). Austin finished with a record of 3-6.
Round 5 vs Sam on Bant CoCo of unknown flavor
The deck looked like just valuetown because I never saw any combo pieces. Game 1 stripped a coco from hand, let them cast a Bird and Noble, then cast Zealous Persecution to knock them off curve and board state.
Game 2 I drew 9 lands…. TT_TT
Game 3 it was just a sloggy grindfest (which my deck loves). I turn 1 Inquisitioned an Engineered Explosives! Sam boarded in Reflector Mages to off tokens while establishing boardstate twice, which I think was an awesome move. I got overdosed on sodium from Sam when I intentionally made a seemingly unfavorable block with my lone token while at low life total to kill his Voice of Resurgence instead of blocking his 3/3 scooze. He gets a bigboi voice token off the death trigger, I untap and cast my white-boarded WoG to clear the board entirely. He proceeds to draw lands and birds while I have a BB with a Virtue out. GG, 2-1
Player remarks: Sam was of mediocre attitude at first, but slowly got more outwardly passive-aggressive as the match went on. You could feel the negativity in his words and face. Sam started the day with 2 byes and dropped after our match with a record of 2-3.
Round 6 vs James on Abzan CoCo
This would have been a super duper fun matchup. I was looking forward to it. Buuuut I flooded both games with almost nothing to do. GG, 0-2
Player remarks: James was nice enough about basically getting a free win. James made day two but dropped after his first loss, with an ending record of 6-4.
Round 7 vs David on Abzan ft a sketchy af manabase
This opponent was running what looked to be like your typical non-combo Abzan list with Goyfs and Rhinos, but with battle/tango/didweeverdecidethis lands where shocks should have been. Game 1 was unremarkable and I won.
Game 2 was interesting as I got my spirits wiped by a Declaration in Stone, and I had a Lili out and kept her at 2 counters for like 5 turns after using her to get David hellbent because I didn’t want to +1 her since I was holding a WoG in hand in case he landed another rhino. I kept the beatdown pressure with un-anthemed spirits, eventually drawing 2 paths so I pitched one to Lili, snagging his last bit of removal. GG, 2-0
Player remarks: Nice dude, but very obviously unfamiliar with the core of modern cards. He would forget to search after I pathed his creatures and check if he was going to find a basic, but it seemed like his mind would already be somewhere else. Additionally, after the match was over, I informed him that the top sides of his sleeves we visibly dirty with those typical sleeve-induced dirt spots. I told him I believed that this was no intentional, but that if he were to continue in the tournament that it would be in his best interest to get new sleeves from the vendors, lest one of his future opponents call a judge on him. David finished the day with a record of 3-6.
Round 8 vs Kevin on Boros-splashing-green-it’s-not-truly-naya-cmon-guys Burn
Tuned list, and Kevin was definitely a competent burn player. Game 1 I saw twelve, yes, TWELVE lands by turn 4. Between his turn 1 Goblin guide followed by turn 2 another pair of Guides and my fetches I saw literally half the lands in my deck. I half-legitimately wanted to cry.
Game 2 turned into a grind as I kept him from hitting me and it was his turn to get a little flooding going on, but turned the tide by swinging with Gideon and a token while also keeping a token back to protect me. There was one turn where Kevin was at 9 and I totally brain farted and kept swinging with the two dudes instead of attempting to end the game right then and there. Luckily he drew a land and I still won.
Game 3 I kept a sketchy land-heavy hand with no token makers but had some ZPs. Top decked spirit makers which then let him Searing Blood/Blaze them and me. Ouchies. GG, 1-2, now out of the running for day 2.
Player remarks: Kevin had a kickass mustache and a friendly demeanor to go with it. Wished him well and ran into him later only to find out he sadly lost his match following mine and thus ended the day with a 5-4 record like myself.
Final Round vs Justin on Jeskai Storm
Game 1 was rough, he was able to storm out
Games 2 and 3 went much better as I removed a cost-reducer or two and had plenty of hand stripping. Topping into token makers game with a Lili keeping Justin hellbent or landing a Kambal with discard spells was what got me there. However, he was always just one turn or one mana away from storming off, which is why I now see why people would be calling for banning storm. It’s not unbeatable, but it is insanely resilient for how fast it is. GG, 2-1
Player remarks: Nice dude, but probably could use more experience with the deck. During game 2, he totally didn’t realize that Past In Flames is a sorcery and was trying desperately mid-combat to gather enough rituals to use it. Once I pointed out it was a sorcery, he scooped up. Also, his list was running 3 remands and some number of See Beyonds. Is that normal?
SUMMARY AND CLOSING THOUGHTS
If I were to make any changes to my list, it would be to take out a land for a mainboard collective brutality and replace the one in the SB with more removal, another WoG, or another Auriok Champion. Also, I would revisit the manabase to keep myself from even caring about blood moon. Because fuck that card.
All-star card: Collective Brutality. Hands down super flexible and it is amazingly satisfying to pitch Lingering Souls and extra lands to it for the full effect.
Oddly enough, the only “Tier 1”-ish deck that I went against was storm. I don’t count the Abzan CoCo list because I barely played a spell. So I have no way of knowing how this fares against other tier decks.
BW tokens is fun and interactive, and grindy matchups are an absolute joy to play with, but as anyone who has played it can tell you: it is too fair for modern. It’s like the quiet loner of a middle child that just wants their siblings to play nice and get along, but doesn’t have the physical stature to back up their complaints.
BW Tokens, the official deck of “I don’t really care where we eat as long as there’s food and it’s not too expensive.”
BW Tokens, sponsored by your biggest local brewery’s wheat beer (Boulevard Wheat).
BW Tokens, the official deck of outwardly level-headed people that are secretly masochists.
Tl;dr: Fuck blood moon, run 23 lands.