Our very first Cosmic Horror event is in the books. And what better way then to start off your own tournament series than with a Premodern event that also gets people an invite to the European Premodern Champs in Valencia? The event capped out but unfortunately we had 1 no-show and 2 players who dropped, so that left us with a total of 37 players competing for the precious invites and some sweet cardboard.
Deck choice
A while before the event I had 2 decks on the shortlist to play at the qualifier: Psychatog and Goblins.
Psychatog has been my go to Premodern deck since I started playing the format in 2019, mostly due to fond memories of defeating my friends in the early 2000's. The xerox version that has emerged over the past few years is a lot of fun, but requires alot of reps and mental prowess to play to a decent standard. Sleep deprivation is the name of the game for me, so I opt out of this choice. I ended up lending the deck out to our very own David Lambregs for the event who went 3-3 with it if I recall correctly.
Goblins, on the other hand, is a deck where I have no real historical affinity from the premodern cardpool era. I have, however, been enjoying Goblins in Legacy for the past 6 to 7 years with some success. Needless to say we're no strangers to the existential fear Goblin Lackey can instill in an opponent in this house. I did a first test run of the deck at the Eternal Mania Team Trios event last year and was impressed with all the different angles the deck offers and the role switches you can perform even within in a single game.
Having settled on Goblins as the weapon of choice, I ultimately decide to for the black splash for a few reasons:
Cabal Therapy might just be the strongest card in the format. I will die on this hill.
Dralnu's Crusade is way more powerful then it looks.
It not only counteracts Engineered Plague but also makes sure that pesky Circle Of Protection: Red or Absolute Law effects don't stop you dead in your tracks.
It makes the game about the Crusade at some point and will cost the opponent precious hydro- / blue blasts because people tend to side out all enchantment removal against you.
Some removal in the format says 'destroy target nonblack creature'. Nothing better then shutting off a significant part of your opponents outs.
Perish offers answers to both Enchantress and Terravore / Oath decks.
I expected to see a pretty significant amount of Masticores in the room. Terminate is one of the cleanest answers Goblins can provide.
I expected some other Goblins players in the room. Black is favored vs the green version G1 due to less dead cards in the deck. Smother and Terminate both play ball while the opposing Naturalize's fail to find targets.
Ultimately the black splash makes you very much a proactive deck instead of the reactive nature of the green splash. This feels more in line with the way I tend to play the deck.
I end up receiving a few birthday presents right before the event starts. Not one to pass up on good looking cardboard, I throw the second Tormod's Crypt in the board out for a signed Goblin Bombardment.
Here's the list I ended up playing: https://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=42998&iddeck=452296
Event
R1 - Sligh (2-0)
G1: This was a very tight game where my opponent correctly tried to control the board. I make the decision to only Matron for Mogg Fanatics early on to assess my own form of board control as much as possible. Ultimately the hasty damage of a Goblin Warchief gets me over the finish line just as the Sligh gear switch goes to 'kill mode' and ends up 1 turn too short to get there.
SB: -2 Piledriver, -1 Ringleader / +1 Goblin Bombardment, +2 Pyrokinesis
G2: You know what's better then Mogg Fanatic in the matchup? Making all goblins Mogg Fanatics with Goblin Bombardment! I get to land a quick Bombardment while my opponent misses land drops and stays on 1 mana for the first few turns of the game. When he finally finds the second land it's already far too late for him to recover. Birthday present coming in clutch in the first round, you love to see it.
R2 - Mind Over Matter (2-1)
The Spice award winner of the event. The deck revolved around getting a combination of Mind Over Matter and Arcanis, the Omnipotent in play to draw the entire deck and then kill with Reveka, Wizard Savant. Seriously hot stuff.
G1: From what I can remember there's alot of sculpting from my opponent but ultimately his hand is too slow to piece together the combo and he falls to a fast clock.
SB: -1 Tinkerer, -2 Ringleader, -1 Smother, -1 Sparksmith, -1 Incinerator / +3 Cabal Therapy, +1 Pyroblast, +2 Red Elemental Blast
G2: I try to play a control game with Rishadan Port and keep a Red Blast up at all times but ultimately lose to a well timed Foil to protect His Show and Tell. Mind Over Matter hits the table, he pitches the Arcanis among others to untap his lands and plays Shallow Grave for the win.
G3: Back on the play, I take a somewhat slower posture again with port, but clock him down before he can get something together.
Lunch break
Easiest 2-0 of my life vs a very tasty hamburger and fries.
R3 - The Rock (2-0)
G1: This was one grind festival where my opponent goes through 3 Ravenous Baloths and has a few walls up to soak the damage. I was able to push some 3 damage chunks through with a 1 power creature pumped via Goblin Burrows. Fortunately, this is the type of deck where Goblins can perform 'the combo' given enough time. I ultimately kill him outside of the combat step from a virtual 18 life with the combination of Skirk Prospector, Goblin Sharpshooter and Siege-Gang Commander.
SB: -1 Tinkerer, -1 Ringleader; -1 Lackey, -1 Piledriver / +2 Perish , +2 Dralnu's Crusade
G2: I remember not over comitting to the board for Pernicious Deed reasons and being rewarded for it. Kept his manlands at bay, chipped in a few times and ultimately did the last points of damage with Sharpshooter + Skirk + fodder when a Spikefeeder hit the stack.
R4 - Angry Hermit (2-1)
My 'arch nemesis' and friend Tomas Lens. We always seem to end up playing each other eventually. Both of us know what the other person is playing pretty much down to the last cards as we regularly help tweak each others decks. I jokingly make a comment about the die roll being super important and he rolls double 6's. Guess I'll die.
G1: And so it is. To make it even worse I have to mull to 5 and keep a 'functional' hand but without Druid removal. He checks my hand with a Duress T1 and pops in a Hermit Druid T2. I topdeck Matron and Ringleader and proceed to die.
SB: -1 King, -2 Ringleader, -1 Tinkerer, -1 Prospector / +3 Cabal Therapy, +2 Pyrokinesis
G2: I have a T1 lackey that connects T2 and puts in a Siege-Gang Commander. I Cabal therapy him for Engineered Plague and miss. Flashbacked Therapy takes 2 Smothers. Next Lackey hit puts in a Warchief, I Terminate his Factory and the game pretty much ends there.
G3: Back on the draw, this time however I get to keep a good hand going to 6 with 2 removal spells for a Druid. Tomas opens up on a T1 Hermit Druid and I Mogg fanatic it. T2 he Reanimates the Druid, I Pyrokinesis it off the board again. We get to stick a Warchief T3 and then clock him out with Matron grabbing a Piledriver and playing another Fanatic.
R5 & R6 - ID / Beers
R5 I get paired into Elias Neirynck as the only other 4-0 in the room and we quickly decide to shake hands and grab a beer. Glad not to have to play as I know Elias as a skilled player from the Legacy scene. Elias also tends to play decks that are wildly favored vs Goblins across all formats. Turns out the weapon of choice was GW Terravore, dodging bullets.
R6 I'm happy to extend the hand again and get local Cédric Moulin into T8 with me. More beers (Stella for the win!) follow and we can start T8 well hydrated.
QF - Mono B Control (2-1)
G1: He gets a quick Rack going and can keep my board clean for a while. The tipping point comes when he morphs a Bane Of the Living (!) for 2 damage to the board, I ping his Bane in response with a Fanatic so that it dies as well. Both running on empty fumes my deck is way better at topdecking and I run away with it afterwards before the Rack can take me out.
SB: -1 Piledriver, -1 Skirk, -1 Lackey / +3 Dralnu's Crusade
G2: Double Rack + discard goes all the way. I eventually find a Ringleader to maybe give myself a way out but my opponent correctly identifies the plan and ports me into the dust.
SB: -1 Piledriver / +1 Lackey
G3: Dralnu's Crusade works overtime and saves my Gobbo's from both the Engineered Plague and a bunch of 'destroy target nonblack creature' removal (just the way we drew it up!). We overwhelm the board and get there quite easily.
SF - Parallax Replenish (2-0)
G1: I know Cédric is on Replenish so I keep a one lander with 2 Lackeys on the play to try and race. The T1 Lackey rides to victory. First hit puts in a Warchief and I get to play a second lackey on T2. Double triggers next turn for Ringleader and another Warchief respectively. Play a Matron with the 1 mana on board, grab a Piledriver, profit.
SB: -2 Ringleader, -1 Sparksmith, -1 Tinkerer, -1 Smother, -1 King, -1 Gempalm / +3 Cabal Therapy, +1 Pyroblast, +2 Red Elemental Blast, +1 Tormod's Crypt
G2: I keep a slower hand with Tormod's Crypt. He plays a T3 Opalescence but his mana is quite painful containing an Ancient Tomb and an Adarkar Wastes. I try a T3 Warchief but that gets Hydroblasted. T4 i play a Ringleader revealing Fanatic and Lackey. I'm forced to sit there idly next turn as he uses Abeyance to open his turn. Frantic Search pitches Attunement and the follow-up Replenish hits only that. Hallelujah! He's tapped out so we push the gas, Warchief into Piledriver and Lackey in Combination with the Ringleader hits for 12 and seals the deal.
F - The Solution (2-0)
G1: I keep a functional hand but with crappy mana (City, Port, Swamp). City of Brass into T1 Lackey, but it gets Plowed. T2 I play a Port and a Fanatic which ends up getting sacrificed to take down a Mother Of Runes. Keeping the Moms of the board is the name of the game for this matchup. Matron grabs a Ringleader on T3 with the idea that this could be a long game. I opt out of playing a Ringleader at the start of T4 as I want to make sure it resolves. My opponent Impulses in response of the Matron attack providing a free window to stick the Ringleader in the 2nd main and I take it. We hit 3 goblins. I Terminate an opposing Lightning Angel next turn. Pedal to the metal, turn 'em sideways and kill 'em dead.
SB: -1 Ringleader, -1 Piledriver, -1 King, -1 Tinkerer /+1 Pyroblast, +2 Red Elemental Blast, +1 Pyrokinesis
G2: I keep a somewhat slower hand and start with consecutive Piledrivers which meet Bolt and Plow respectively. Opponent taps out T4 for a Lightning Angel. Red Blast the big flier and follow up with a Warchief myself. His manabase catches up to him and he can't make red anymore to Bolt the Chief so we can start overwhelming the board. He ultimately finds red mana to get rid of the 3rd Piledriver but it's far too late. I kill a Meddling Mage with Sparksmith while also keeping Pyrokinesis up and there's no coming back from the onslaught of Boyz when he fails to Impulse into a Pyroclasm.
Engage Thin Lizzy's - The Boys Are Back In Town.
Overall it was a fantastic day from all aspects. The first edition was a great success both logistically and as a player. I got to hang out all with my friends and got to know some new ones. We bonded some local Premodern playgroups together (Shout out to the Brussels, Gent and Kontich groups!) to strengthen to Belgian Premodern community.
As for the deck itself there are a few things I want to toy around with:
Goblins Burrows vs Volrath's Stronghold
The great flex slot debate. While the Burrows was good during the day I can see the grinding value of Stronghold. Recouping a Gempalm every turncycle is a card advantage engine on it's own. Time to pony up and buy one I guess.
Barbarian Ring
On paper you keep even on red producing mana sources but get additional reach / removal in certain games. I'm doubtful it will be better, but it warrants testing. Pretty contingent of Slight not being overrepresented though, the additional damage on yourself would be rough in that game.
Backlash
I think there's a world where there is enough Terrageddon in the room where this could be a legit SB card. We have a few players at our local FNM's, so let's find out if this is either a meme or a dream.
On to the next Cosmic Horrors event and 'Vamos a Valencia'!
Yves