Hey everyone! We’re back with more deck lists from the Highlander Championships! Today we’re featuring the deck lists of the two players who were just barely knocked out of the top 4 winning one game but missing out (in both cases barely) on the second win.
Josh elected to bring a Grixis control deck to the fray. Much like Alistair’s Esper control deck Josh elected to insert Time Vault combo into the deck. This plan was pretty effective and made cards such as Tezzeret the Seeker a must answer as it can find Time Vault and then untap it all in one card. Josh also elected to not go too far into his combo plan and kept the rest of his deck full of typical control cards. In his victory over Nelson while he did combo in one game he also managed to win through conventional damage!
Here is Josh’s list!
Vedalken Shackles
Doom Blade
Dispel
Izzet Charm
Negate
Divert
Remand
Toxic Deluge
Misdirection
Lightning Bolt
Opt
Condescend
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Vendilion Clique
Voltaic Key
Ral Zarek
Fact or Fiction
Thirst for Knowledge
Time Vault
Into the Roil
Trinket Mage
Cryptic Command
Delay
Forbidden Alchemy
Complicate
Jace, Architect of Thought
Fire//Ice
Compulsive Research
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Batterskull
Logic Knot
Magma Jet
Electrolyze
Treasure Cruise
Spell Snare
Ancestral Vision
Ponder
Mind Twist
Mana Leak
Impulse
Muddle the Mixture
Counterspell
Pithing Needle
Tezzeret the Seeker
Blood Moon
Sensei’s Divining Top
Spell Pierce
Glen Elendra Archmage
Daze
Brainstorm
Shadow of Doubt
Flametongue Kavu
Arc Trail
Preordain
Engineered Explosives
Punishing Fire
Dimir Infiltrator
Venser, Shaper Savant
Snapcaster Mage
Force of Will
Dig Through Time
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Mystical Teachings
Portent
Young Pyromancer
Mox Sapphire
Wasteland
Sulfur Falls
Bloodstained Mire
Steam Vents
Marsh Flats
Watery Grave
Grove of the Burnwillows
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island
Arid Mesa
Badlands
Polluted Delta
Flooded Strand
Cascade Bluffs
Wooded Foothills
Verdant Catacombs
Shivan Reef
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Misty Rainforest
Scalding Tarn
Blood Crypt
Mountain
Swamp
11 Island
Nick is a well known and respected deck builder in the Highlander community. Though he is well known for playing Tolarian Academy combo and Esper control typically he is perfectly capable of designing and playing very effective decks of many varieties. He elected to play a very unexpected deck for the Highlander championships, Bant control, in hopes that he would be able to surprise some players with unexpected cards. This control deck was designed to have a better match up against some of the more aggressive decks due to the high density of large creatures with powerful enter the battlefield effects. Many of these creatures also double as powerful threats against other control decks meaning that Nick had the potential to be aggressive enough to get ahead in control mirrors. Nick actually made a pretty good call about the metagame but lost a few close games to both Spencer and Shane to be knocked out.
mox sapphire
mox emerald
batterskull
sensei’s divining top
sword of fire and ice
coercive portal
trygon predator
tarmogoyf
reclamation sage
aven mindcensor
edric, spymaster of trest
vendilion clique
consecrated sphinx
sylvan caryatid
snapcaster mage
kitchen finks
glen elendra archmage
birds of paradise
scavenging ooze
noble hierarch
llanowar elves
truename namesis
thrun
avacyn’s pilgrim
courser of kruphix
thada adel
restoration angel
detention sphere
banishing light
luminarch ascension
condescend
mana leak
daze
brainstorm
spell pierce
logic knot
dig through time
mana drain
swords to plowshares
counterspell
miscalculation
memory lapse
ancestral recall
mana tithe
remand
arcane denial
jace’s ingenuity
fact or fiction
delay
negate
force of will
path to exile
garruk relentless
kiora
jace, the mind sculptor
garruk wildspeaker
elspeth, knight errant
gideon jura
nature’s lore
compulsive research
wrath of god
treasure cruise
three visits
ancestral vision
supreme verdict
arid mesa
temple garden
marsh flats
adarkar wastes
tropical island
savannah
wooded bastion
polluted delta
sunpetal grove
stirring wildwood
glacial fortress
celestial colonnade
hinterland harbor
scalding tarn
flooded strand
flooded grove
wooded foothills
mysticv gate
yavimaya coast
tundra
treetop village
verdant catacombs
hallowed fountain
brushland
breeding pool
wildswept heath
misty rainforest
4 island
3 plains
1 forest
Thanks as always! Tomorrow we break into the top 4 deck lists with the aggro masters Shane and Spencer!
-Liam Coughlan