In preparation for the Grand Prix KL this March and the Dark Ascension Game Day this coming Saturday, we had been doing daily playtests (about three to four hours) after work. Also to gain knowledge of the possible matchups and game plays, I’ve decided to take down some notes on each of the game results. Here are a few from the playtest at Rei’s Place earlier.

Each matchup was given three games preboard and here are the results.

Match One – Red Deck Wins vs Black Red Zombies

Game 1: BR Zombies curved into Gravecrawler to Geralf’s Messenger to Falkenrath Aristocrat and answers to Red’s threat quickly ended the game.

Game 2: The early turns were pretty slow for the undead while Red setup the Shrine on turn two. An opening for Hero of Oxid Ridge took a huge chunk of life on the Zombie player. While he could deal with the 4/2, the counters on the shrine proved lethal a few turns later.

Game 3: Exchange of spot removals was made on the first turns while the Zombies setup Geralf Messengers. Sword of War and Peace then equipped the undead and the Red deck’s burn and critters were not enough to outrace the life gain.

BR Zombies 2 – Red Deck Wins 1

Match Two – Red Deck Wins vs Wolf Run Ramp

Game 1: The match ended on a typical ramp-up into Primeval Titan while Galvanic blasted Red’s threats.

Game 2: It was a slow start again for Red while WRR set up a turn-four Huntmaster of the Fells and then into Primeval Titan. Yeah, we all know what happens after that.

Game 3: No ramps on turn two and three for WRR while RDW was beating down with a 3/3 berserker. A top-decked Slagstorm dealt with the threat and WRR followed it up with a Huntmaster. Red furthered the beats with Chandra’s Phoenix while WRR cast a Primeval Titan. RDW’s burn wasn’t enough to go for the kill so the titan was the one dealt with. However, a follow-up Inferno Titan was not answered so it was a quick concession.

Wolf Run Ramp 3 – Red Deck Wins 0

Match Three – Red Deck Wins vs Mono Black Zombies

Game 1: Early threats from MBZ took the lead on the aggro. Geralf’s Messenger and the Gravecrawler-Mortar Pod combo is just too much for RDW.

Game 2: One-mana cost Zombies again swarmed the battlefield and the Sword of War and Peace and recurring Gravecrawlers took the match for MBZ.

Game 3: Geralf’s Messenger to Phyrexian Obliterator to Liliana. We know the drill.

Mono Black Zombies 3 – Red Deck Wins 0

Match Four – Wolf Run Ramp vs Mono Black Zombies

Game 1: Three Gravecrawlers with no follow up for MBZ weren’t enough and WRR stabilized & took the game.

Game 2: Cheap-costing Zombies and a turn-four obliterator proved that WRR is MBZ’s best matchup.

Game 3: The game was somewhat of a close one. WRR’s Huntmaster was outmatched by an obliterator but he followed it up with a Primeval Titan, threatening a poison kill. MBZ played a second obliterator, further stalling the board for the Ramp player. The Phyrexian horrors attacked, taking the Ramp player to a precarious 5 life. MBZ set up blockers for the trampling Titan and Huntmaster, but even with the Kessig pump, it was not enough.

Mono Black Zombies 2 – Wolf Run Ramp 1

Match Five – Mono Black Zombies vs Black Red Zombies

Game 1: It was somewhat of a close mirror match, with recurring Gravecrawlers and undying Messengers. BRZ was able to set up a Sword of War and Peace on a Geralf Messenger and took the game a few turns later.

Game 2: Geralf Messengers and an Obliterator on the MBZ side and that was the game.

Game 3: BRZ took the beats early with a turn-three messenger and a turn-four aristocrat. The evasion (with no Tragic Slips from MBZ) proved to be effective and the undying life-loss effect took the last points of life from the MBZ player.

Black Red Zombies 2 – Mono Black Zombies 1

Match Six – Black Red Zombies vs Blue-Black Control

Game 1: BRZ took the game with an early beat and recurring Gravecrawlers.

Game 2: BRZ got stuck on three lands while UB stabilized with Black Sun Zeniths and a Curse of Death’s Hold. Follow-up threats were countered and UB dug for the Sphinx to take the game.

Game 3: A double Curse of Death’s Hold with no outs for BRZ earned a concession.

Blue Black Control 2 – Black Red Zombies 1

A total of six matches all in all plus side playtests which I didn’t bother to note down. Overall, I can say that it is still a paper-scissors-rock metagame and will continue to evolve in the coming weeks. I am to maintain an open sideboard, probably generic card choices as to deal with the popular decks.

I hope my explanation of the match results was understandable. Just hit the comments below for clarifications.

Thanks for reading and until the next post.