Standard: Grixis Control | 2012-04-26

Standard: 2012-04-26
played at: Gamers of the West.
Attendance: 14 people.
Final Score: 2-1. 2-0, 1-1 & 2-0 = 10 points aka The Winner.

Deck piloted by: Deckschrobber
Deck designed by: Unknown, source here.

// Lands
    3x Blackcleave Cliffs
    4x Darkslick Shores
    1x Dragonskull Summit
    3x Drowned Catacomb
    1x Ghost Quarter
    1x Haunted Fengraf
    3x Island
    1x Mountain
    1x Shimmering Grotto
    4x Sulfur Falls
    4x Swamp


// Creatures
    1x Bloodgift Demon
    1x Grave Titan
    1x Massacre Wurm
    2x Olivia Voldaren
    1x Wurmcoil Engine
    3x Snapcaster Mage

// Spells
    1x Ancient Grudge
    3x Black Sun's Zenith
    3x Desperate Ravings
    1x Devil's Play
    1x Doom Blade
    3x Forbidden Alchemy
    1x Go for the Throat
    1x Incinerate
    4x Mana Leak
    2x Ratchet Bomb
    1x Surgical Extraction
    3x Tragic Slip
    1x Tribute to Hunger


// Sideboard
SB: 1x Ancient Grudge
SB: 2x Curse of Death's Hold
SB: 1x Devil's Play
SB: 2x Dissipate
SB: 2x Elixir of Immortality
SB: 1x Flashfreeze
SB: 1x Ghost Quarter
SB: 1x Grave Titan
SB: 1x Phantasmal Image
SB: 2x Surgical Extraction
SB: 1x Wurmcoil Engine

The deck performed well but I made a lot of mistakes while playing it. So admittedly, save for the last round, I only won the tournament by the poor decisions  made by my opponents. Though the final round versus Ritchie was a round where I was actually playing well and making correct plays. Ritchie played a close variant of Brian Kibler's Naya Pod deck and was off to a flying start. His turn one BoP met with a Tragic Slip, his turn two BoP befell the same fate. He gets up to four mana and gets a Huntmaster of the Fells into play. It gets incinerated and he hurts me with his wolf token the turn after. His second Huntmaster gets countered and his wolves get killed by my Snapcaster Mage and the flashbacked Incinerate. Geist-Honored Monk hits his board with the two tokens and I cast Olivia Voldaren who's ping ability eats away at his board and a few swings ends the first match in my favor.  The 2nd match is a difficult one, having a poor hand that has to be thrown back the new hand isn't all that much better. No blue mana source, some counters and 3 land...keep it and pull another Olivia Voldaren from the top of my library and by turn four she hits the board and swings in for the win again after spreading death and decay amongst Ritchie's critters...

The deck is a lot of fun to play and seems like quite a sturdy deck capable of dealing with a number of different threats, even in my screw-up hands. Resolving a Massacre Wurm the turn after your opponent cast an Increasing Devotion, sending 7 of his creatures in total to the graveyard, making him lose 14 life which just happens to be the exact life total he was at is pretty hilarious.

Olivia Volaren is really proving herself once again in Standard in such an aggro environment.  She pings the small stuff to death while growing in strength herself. Or she persuades whoever she has bitten to join our side...which is pretty nice, for sure.


Grixis Control is definitely a deck that I'd elect to play again in these last days of the Dark Ascension era of Standard. By next week Avacyn Restored will be Standard Legal and whole nature of the game will change again. So we'll have to see what that will bring us, I'm guessing Angels...


In conclusion, I did finally win me such a lovely looking FNM promo of Dismember, yeah! :)