Finals – Terry (RW Giant Kithkins aggro) vs Jonlim (GB Treefolk aggro)
Terry finds himself in his first top 4 ever in draft, and the dizzying heights are well deserved. His Giant Kithkin aggro deck is suited to deal with most situations. Cards combinations like Avian Changeling, Kithkin Greatheart and Blind Spot Giant dominate the early game, Tarfire, Crush Underfoot, Crib Swap, Consuming Bonfire and Neck Snap for a frightening abundance of removal, and the heavy artillery in the form of multiple Thundercloud Shaman, which provide for a one-sided Wrath of God, and 2 Arbiter Of Knollridge help to turn a late game deadlock in his favour, providing for a solid case of one of the best giant decks ever to have been drafted in our drafting circles. Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Plover Knights added speed and firepower to an already very menacing and powerful starting lineup. Will this be the first time Terry tops the draft? His arsenal seems to put his case across as very very strong indeed. Despite the 2-0 loss to Jonlim in the group stages, it is a big mistake to write him off just yet.
Jonlim has been consistently in the top 4 in draft, but taking top place has always been a problem. Plagued by a lack of luck to make the final cut, Jonlim lost out on top place the last time round to Leon’s Bog Strider Ash who swampwalked to victory. This time, his draft pool allowed him to go for either elves or treefolk, and since there were no bomb elves such as Imperious Perfect, the option to go for treefolk wasn’t particularly hard. Despite a deck boasting only 1 direct removal card in the form of Moonglove Extract, and 1 nondirect removal in Final Revels, it was hard to say if the deck would actually work. However the bombs in the deck, including a Timber Protector, 2 Thorntooth Witch and a Liliana Vess (which was surprisingly passed by Terry), were hardly toys to be messed around with. The supporting cast included a smattering of Cloudcrown Oak, Bog Strider Ash, and 2 Warren Pilferers, while both Treefolk Harbinger and Boggart Harbinger among them could fetch any of these cards, the bomb Timber Protector, as well as the ever handy single copy of Changeling Titan jonlim managed to get. The synergy was there, the power was there but was it enough to get past Terry?
Game 1
Jonlim won the cutdeck and opted to go first. Terry played the first creature in the form of Fire Belly Changeling, while Jonlim responded with a Battlewand Oak. Terry then dropped his Stinkdrinker Daredevil, a card never to be laughed at, and then jonlim made his first noteworthy move of the match. Dropping a forest pumped his Battlewand Oak to 3/5, and then playing out Black Poplar Shaman pumped it further to 5/7. Swinging with Battlewand Oak, Terry opted not to block and took the first 5 points of damage in the game.
Jonlim 20 Terry 15
Terry was trying to regroup, and Avian Changeling saw play. To his dismay, jonlim dropped another forest on his turn and swung with the 3/5 Battlewand Oak. Since jonlim had mana open to regenerate it through Black Poplar Shaman, Terry opted to take the damage. To make things worse, jonlim dropped a Moonglove Extract, which was eventually traded with Avian Changeling.
Jonlim 20 Terry 12
A Lairwatch Giant for Terry was matched by Nath’s Elite which lost the clash, and then the following turn Blind Spot Giant was matched by Liliana Vess, which made Terry discard and he chose to discard Tarfire, to the groans of the onlookers. But it was obvious he was trying to get his Arbiter Of Knollridge out from his hand to stem the bleeding, and taking down Nath’s Elite was second priority (Jonlim felt after the game that Terry should not have pushed for the Arbiter Of Knollridge and instead prevented the Nath’s Elite from killing his creatures, and use the 2 removal spells to kill jonlims creatures so the planeswalker would be vulnerable to combat damage).
Nath’s Elite took down Fire Belly Changeling and Lairwatch Giant, and Liliana Vess kept pulling all sorts of trumps from Terry, including Crush Underfoot. Terry was desperate to keep his Arbiter Of Knollridge, but it was in vain as Marsh Flitter and Oakgnarl Warrior hit play, and Liliana Vess went off for an alpha strike of 24 damage in total.
Jonlim 20 Terry 0 (Aggregate 1-0 to Jonlim)
Game 2
Having lost, Terry did not opt to sideboard and Jonlim did likewise. He chose to play first and a Kithkin Greatheart was answered by Battlewand Oak. Avian Changeling then saw play, boosting the Kithkin Greatheart to 3/2 first strike and Jonlim did not block. Jonlim was unfazed and played a forest and attacked with his 3/5 Battlewand Oak, before playing down a Boggart Harbinger which fetched Woodland Changeling, in a bid to stop Terry’s weenies until his bigger treefolk could see play.
Jonlim 17 Terry 17
Terry then swung with his Kithkin Greatheart and Avian Changeling for 5 potential damage. Jonlim cut that to 3 when he sacrificed his Boggart Harbinger to the first striking Kithkin Greatheart.
Jonlim 14 Terry 17
The game then swung dramatically when Jonlim played down Final Revels, taking down the Avian Changeling and Kithkin Greatheart, as well as his own Boggart Harbinger. He played a Forest down and Woodland Changeling and swung with the 5/7 Battlewand Oak to take Terry down to 12.
Jonlim 14 Terry 12
Terry then dropped a Lairwatch Giant, which was matched by Liliana Vess, which made Terry discard a plains. Jonlim was having a creature drought, and Terry had the upper hand when he dropped another Lairwatch Giant and swung to Liliana Vess. Jonlim was in trouble now and was trying to do enough to protect Liliana Vess from dying, as it was obvious he was not going to be able to stall for the bomb to go off. To cut a long story short, Terry saw another Lairwatch Giant, an Arbiter Of Knollridge while Jonlim finally drew out stuff with Warren Pilferers, Boggart Harbinger and Nath’s Elite hitting the board.
Terry then won the game when Thundercloud Shaman came in and dealt 4 damage to all non-giants, killing all Jonlim’s creatures in one massive blast, and all the giants whacked in for an alpha strike of 14 the next turn to level the scores at 1-1.
Jonlim 0 Terry 12 (aggregate 1-1)
Game 3
Jonlim opts to play first and keeps a one lander. Terry developed with Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Blind Spot Giant while jonlim missed his 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th land drops.
When Terry was about to play a Avian Changeling, and Jonlim looked at the top of his deck and found yet another land, he scooped up and handed Terry the free win.
Jonlim 18 Terry 20 - Jonlim concedes (Aggregate 2-1 to Terry)
Game 4
Jonlim plays first in a game he has to win to stay in this match. In a very familiar opening, Terry once again uses Kithkin Greatheart as his first creature while jonlim answers with Boggart Harbinger fetching a Woodland Changeling. Terry then knocks down a Blind Spot Giant and whacks again with his trusty 3/2 first striker which jonlim blocks. Jonlim then drops his Moonglove Extract, while Terry picks up his tempo with a second Blind Spot Giant. The board now is Kithkin Greatheart and 2 Blind Spot Giant for Terry with Jonlim hanging on through a Moonglove Extract. The Kithkin Greatheart and a Blind Spot Giant go into the Red Zone with the Moonglove Extract taking out the Kithkin Greatheart, and 3 damage going though.
Jonlim 17 Terry 20
Jonlim then Warren Pilferers for a Boggart Harbinger and gains haste in the process, but chooses not to attack. Terry swings with 2 Blind Spot Giant and jonlim trades one with his Warren Pilferers. Another 3 damage goes through and jonlim shakes his head when Terry has Avian Changeling on his postcombat main phase.
Jonlim 14 Terry 20
Jonlim lays down the Boggart Harbinger he fetched from the grave with the now-dead Warren Pilferers, and searched for Warren Pilferers number two, which sat prettily on the top of his library. Using the remaining mana he played out a Woodland Changeling. Terry attacks with his Avian Changeling and Blind Spot Giant, which gets traded with the chump blocking Woodland Changeling and Boggart Harbinger. 2 damage goes through and things are looking grim as Terry knocks down a Lairwatch Giant on the postcombat, and if jonlim doesn’t do anything, he will lose the game in 2 turns, and with it, the match as well.
Jonlim 12 Terry 20
Jonlim starts to make his move: Warren Pilferers fetching Warren Pilferers then swings with the hasty 3/3, which terry responds by raising his brows and accepting the 3 damage. On postcombat the fearsome Black Poplar Shaman makes his grand entrance. Terry seems unfazed and helps himself to another Avian Changeling, before swinging with the first Avian Changeling. If not for the Black Poplar Shaman with mana open, Terry would have swung with Lairwatch Giant, but he is still making headway through the air. Now jonlim is staring at a Lairwatch Giant and 2 Avian Changeling in the face, and with the prospect of 4 flying damage going through every turn, Jonlim’s situation is looking grim. However he shows no emotion regardless, although it is very possible he would lose soon.
Jonlim 10 Terry 17
Once again in this see-saw matchup in which dominance is shifted frequently between the 2 players, jonlim gets himself back into the game. Final Revels proves to be the key, and down goes 2 Avian Changeling. Jonlim then attacks with his Warren Pilferers which terry allows through despite the Lairwatch Giant still untapped. Jonlim then plays out his second Warren Pilferers and fetches the Boggart Harbinger from the graveyard for the 3rd time in this game. Terry then takes advantage of jonlim being tapped out to Crush Underfoot the Black Poplar Shaman, and jonlim grimaces. He then decides that times are desperate enough to play out his Thundercloud Shaman which kills nothing and passes the turn.
Jonlim 10 Terry 14
Jonlim does not do anything at all the next turn and passes, while Terry pushes through with his Thundercloud Shaman. Jonlim chump blocks with his 2 Warren Pilferers and one of them dies.
On the next turn, Jonlim then attacks with his remaining Warren Pilferers, which does not get blocked once again by the untapped Lairwatch Giant. On postcombat, Jonlim smells blood and lays down his only copy of Boggart Harbinger for the 4th time this game (only this game, not the whole match) , picking up the final trump card jonlim needs, Changeling Titan.
Terry then fights back by using Consuming Bonfire on the Warren Pilferers the next turn, which proved not to be the best move later on, especially with Changeling Titan looming one turn away. He made the second possibly mistake by pushing for victory and attacking with his Lairwatch Giant when jonlim had mana open, and a Gilt Leaf Ambush with a Changeling Titan on the topdeck was always going to ensure he won the clash. Terry unnecessarily lost his Lairwatch Giant to a puny 1/1 deathtouch elf, while jonlim still has an extra 1/1 to fiddle with. He unhappily drops a lone Kinsbaile Balloonist and passes the turn.
Jonlim 10 Terry 11
Now Jonlim senses he can pull a rabbit out of the hat. With a Warren Pilferers and Boggart Harbinger out, as well as a elf token, he swings through with all his creatures, which Terry lets through for 6 damage. Jonlim then plays a Changeling Titan on his token, and drops a Cloudcrown Oak, just to ensure that there is no way back for Terry.
Jonlim 10, Terry 5
Terry draws a card and lays a Lairwatch Giant and passes the turn. Jonlim simply attacks with his Changeling Titan, Warren Pilferers and Cloudcrown Oak. Changeling Titan gets stopped by Kinsbaile Balloonist while Lairwatch Giant trades with Cloudcrown Oak. Terry takes 3 damage. The death knell is sealed when Jonlim plays down another Cloudcrown Oak. Now he was Changeling Titan, Cloudcrown Oak, Boggart Harbinger, and Warren Pilferers out against an empty board.
Jonlim 10 Terry 2
Terry topdecks a land and shakes his head. Jonlim swings with all his creatures to redeem himself for his poor decision of keeping a one lander in his previous game, and level the scores, sending the match into a decider at 2-2.
Jonlim 10 Terry 0 (aggregate 2-2)
Game 5
Terry chooses to play first. In the first time in this entire draft, both players mulliganed a first time, which Terry having all lands and Jonlim having no lands. Jonlim then kept while Terry mulled a second time. Terry then started. Mountain for Terry. Forest for Jonlim. Mountain for Terry. Swamp and Woodland Changeling for Jonlim. The game then started revving into high gear when Terry dropped his Stinkdrinker Daredevil on turn 3.
Jonlim wanted to take the Stinkdrinker Daredevil out, and made a move that a top drafter would be proud of when he opted to attack with his 2/2 Woodland Changeling, to get blocked by the 1/3 Stinkdrinker Daredevil. Jonlim then played and used Moonglove Extract to finish off the little goblin, to deny Terry the tempo advantage he might have depended too much on in the past few games. Jonlim knew that this play was going to be very important in deciding the outcome of the decider. (Lol get the pun) Terry then dropped a Fire Belly Changeling, while jonlim attacked with his Woodland Changeling for the first 2 damage in the deciding game when Terry let it through.
Jonlim 20 Terry 18
Terry then swung with his Fire Belly Changeling, and jonlim was waiting on it with a Gilt Leaf Ambush, which won the clash with jonlim showing Marsh Flitter and terry showing Crib Swap but it didn’t really matter anyway because Fire Belly Changeling has only one toughness. Jonlim then plays out the Marsh Flitter from the topdeck and attacked with the 1/1 elf and Woodland Changeling for 3 more damage, while Terry opted to Crib Swap the Marsh Flitter(jonlim felt that this was a wrong decision, he should have waited for jonlim to sac a goblin before crib swapping in response). Terry now has to contend with an elf token, a changeling token, 2 goblin tokens and a Woodland Changeling , with no creatures out and at 15 life.
Jonlim 20 Terry 15
Another Stinkdrinker Daredevil came down for Terry as he tried to find a way back. Jonlim showed his dominance by laying Warren Pilferers as a 3/3 vanilla creature and attacking with all his tokens and the Woodland Changeling. Stinkdrinker Daredevil got in the way of one of the Changeling Token but 4 damage still went through and Terry was in serious trouble.
Jonlim 20 Terry 11
Terry then used Thundercloud Shaman for 1, to destroy all the tokens and suddenly now jonlim was left with the Woodland Changeling and Warren Pilferers. However, it did not seem to hurt him much as Thorntooth Witch a.k.a the-nameless-inversion-creature saw play for jonlim.
Terry then swung with the Thundercloud Shaman which got chump blocked by the Warren Pilferers and Woodland Changeling, and traded with the former. Double Avian Changeling came in on the postcombat. Now Terry has the prospect of multiple nameless inversions coming through once again, and such thoughts are never pretty.
As if to mock Terry, Jonlim thought for a long time and then layed down Timber Protector, and suddenly Terry seemed like he was almost resigned to the fact that he would lose. To make things worse, Timber Protector triggered Thorntooth Witch and down went one Avian Changeling. Thorntooth Witch and Woodland Changeling then went into the red zone with Avian Changeling stopping Thorntooth Witch, and 2 damage went through to put Terry on 9 life. Terry then played down a Blind Spot Giant and sighed, passing the turn.
Jonlim 20 Terry 9
Terry's only answer to the Timber Protector and the army of indestructible treefolk was his other Crib Swap which was almost never going to come. Jonlim played down Boggart Harbinger, and Changeling Titan was once again on top of his library, grinning eerily at Terry's chances of survival. Timber Protector, Woodland Changeling and Thorntooth Witch came through and very soon alpha strike damage with the help of Changeling Titan and the redundant trigger of Thorntooth Witch to knock down the remains of Terry's board sealed it and jonlim completed the turnaround to be the only person ever to win two perfect games (20-0) in the knockout rounds of our draft-in-friends-house history, and in the process clinching top spot in the draft and breaking the jinx.
Jonlim 20 Terry 0 (Jonlim wins match, aggregate 3-2)
In the end the mass army of fat treefolk and synergy among cards in jonlim’s deck just proved a tad too strong for terry’s giants to handle. Nevertheless, Terry was still happy with what he went home with, a glorious anthem along with an unhinged booster pack.
Terry finds himself in his first top 4 ever in draft, and the dizzying heights are well deserved. His Giant Kithkin aggro deck is suited to deal with most situations. Cards combinations like Avian Changeling, Kithkin Greatheart and Blind Spot Giant dominate the early game, Tarfire, Crush Underfoot, Crib Swap, Consuming Bonfire and Neck Snap for a frightening abundance of removal, and the heavy artillery in the form of multiple Thundercloud Shaman, which provide for a one-sided Wrath of God, and 2 Arbiter Of Knollridge help to turn a late game deadlock in his favour, providing for a solid case of one of the best giant decks ever to have been drafted in our drafting circles. Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Plover Knights added speed and firepower to an already very menacing and powerful starting lineup. Will this be the first time Terry tops the draft? His arsenal seems to put his case across as very very strong indeed. Despite the 2-0 loss to Jonlim in the group stages, it is a big mistake to write him off just yet.
Jonlim has been consistently in the top 4 in draft, but taking top place has always been a problem. Plagued by a lack of luck to make the final cut, Jonlim lost out on top place the last time round to Leon’s Bog Strider Ash who swampwalked to victory. This time, his draft pool allowed him to go for either elves or treefolk, and since there were no bomb elves such as Imperious Perfect, the option to go for treefolk wasn’t particularly hard. Despite a deck boasting only 1 direct removal card in the form of Moonglove Extract, and 1 nondirect removal in Final Revels, it was hard to say if the deck would actually work. However the bombs in the deck, including a Timber Protector, 2 Thorntooth Witch and a Liliana Vess (which was surprisingly passed by Terry), were hardly toys to be messed around with. The supporting cast included a smattering of Cloudcrown Oak, Bog Strider Ash, and 2 Warren Pilferers, while both Treefolk Harbinger and Boggart Harbinger among them could fetch any of these cards, the bomb Timber Protector, as well as the ever handy single copy of Changeling Titan jonlim managed to get. The synergy was there, the power was there but was it enough to get past Terry?
Game 1
Jonlim won the cutdeck and opted to go first. Terry played the first creature in the form of Fire Belly Changeling, while Jonlim responded with a Battlewand Oak. Terry then dropped his Stinkdrinker Daredevil, a card never to be laughed at, and then jonlim made his first noteworthy move of the match. Dropping a forest pumped his Battlewand Oak to 3/5, and then playing out Black Poplar Shaman pumped it further to 5/7. Swinging with Battlewand Oak, Terry opted not to block and took the first 5 points of damage in the game.
Jonlim 20 Terry 15
Terry was trying to regroup, and Avian Changeling saw play. To his dismay, jonlim dropped another forest on his turn and swung with the 3/5 Battlewand Oak. Since jonlim had mana open to regenerate it through Black Poplar Shaman, Terry opted to take the damage. To make things worse, jonlim dropped a Moonglove Extract, which was eventually traded with Avian Changeling.
Jonlim 20 Terry 12
A Lairwatch Giant for Terry was matched by Nath’s Elite which lost the clash, and then the following turn Blind Spot Giant was matched by Liliana Vess, which made Terry discard and he chose to discard Tarfire, to the groans of the onlookers. But it was obvious he was trying to get his Arbiter Of Knollridge out from his hand to stem the bleeding, and taking down Nath’s Elite was second priority (Jonlim felt after the game that Terry should not have pushed for the Arbiter Of Knollridge and instead prevented the Nath’s Elite from killing his creatures, and use the 2 removal spells to kill jonlims creatures so the planeswalker would be vulnerable to combat damage).
Nath’s Elite took down Fire Belly Changeling and Lairwatch Giant, and Liliana Vess kept pulling all sorts of trumps from Terry, including Crush Underfoot. Terry was desperate to keep his Arbiter Of Knollridge, but it was in vain as Marsh Flitter and Oakgnarl Warrior hit play, and Liliana Vess went off for an alpha strike of 24 damage in total.
Jonlim 20 Terry 0 (Aggregate 1-0 to Jonlim)
Game 2
Having lost, Terry did not opt to sideboard and Jonlim did likewise. He chose to play first and a Kithkin Greatheart was answered by Battlewand Oak. Avian Changeling then saw play, boosting the Kithkin Greatheart to 3/2 first strike and Jonlim did not block. Jonlim was unfazed and played a forest and attacked with his 3/5 Battlewand Oak, before playing down a Boggart Harbinger which fetched Woodland Changeling, in a bid to stop Terry’s weenies until his bigger treefolk could see play.
Jonlim 17 Terry 17
Terry then swung with his Kithkin Greatheart and Avian Changeling for 5 potential damage. Jonlim cut that to 3 when he sacrificed his Boggart Harbinger to the first striking Kithkin Greatheart.
Jonlim 14 Terry 17
The game then swung dramatically when Jonlim played down Final Revels, taking down the Avian Changeling and Kithkin Greatheart, as well as his own Boggart Harbinger. He played a Forest down and Woodland Changeling and swung with the 5/7 Battlewand Oak to take Terry down to 12.
Jonlim 14 Terry 12
Terry then dropped a Lairwatch Giant, which was matched by Liliana Vess, which made Terry discard a plains. Jonlim was having a creature drought, and Terry had the upper hand when he dropped another Lairwatch Giant and swung to Liliana Vess. Jonlim was in trouble now and was trying to do enough to protect Liliana Vess from dying, as it was obvious he was not going to be able to stall for the bomb to go off. To cut a long story short, Terry saw another Lairwatch Giant, an Arbiter Of Knollridge while Jonlim finally drew out stuff with Warren Pilferers, Boggart Harbinger and Nath’s Elite hitting the board.
Terry then won the game when Thundercloud Shaman came in and dealt 4 damage to all non-giants, killing all Jonlim’s creatures in one massive blast, and all the giants whacked in for an alpha strike of 14 the next turn to level the scores at 1-1.
Jonlim 0 Terry 12 (aggregate 1-1)
Game 3
Jonlim opts to play first and keeps a one lander. Terry developed with Stinkdrinker Daredevil and Blind Spot Giant while jonlim missed his 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th land drops.
When Terry was about to play a Avian Changeling, and Jonlim looked at the top of his deck and found yet another land, he scooped up and handed Terry the free win.
Jonlim 18 Terry 20 - Jonlim concedes (Aggregate 2-1 to Terry)
Game 4
Jonlim plays first in a game he has to win to stay in this match. In a very familiar opening, Terry once again uses Kithkin Greatheart as his first creature while jonlim answers with Boggart Harbinger fetching a Woodland Changeling. Terry then knocks down a Blind Spot Giant and whacks again with his trusty 3/2 first striker which jonlim blocks. Jonlim then drops his Moonglove Extract, while Terry picks up his tempo with a second Blind Spot Giant. The board now is Kithkin Greatheart and 2 Blind Spot Giant for Terry with Jonlim hanging on through a Moonglove Extract. The Kithkin Greatheart and a Blind Spot Giant go into the Red Zone with the Moonglove Extract taking out the Kithkin Greatheart, and 3 damage going though.
Jonlim 17 Terry 20
Jonlim then Warren Pilferers for a Boggart Harbinger and gains haste in the process, but chooses not to attack. Terry swings with 2 Blind Spot Giant and jonlim trades one with his Warren Pilferers. Another 3 damage goes through and jonlim shakes his head when Terry has Avian Changeling on his postcombat main phase.
Jonlim 14 Terry 20
Jonlim lays down the Boggart Harbinger he fetched from the grave with the now-dead Warren Pilferers, and searched for Warren Pilferers number two, which sat prettily on the top of his library. Using the remaining mana he played out a Woodland Changeling. Terry attacks with his Avian Changeling and Blind Spot Giant, which gets traded with the chump blocking Woodland Changeling and Boggart Harbinger. 2 damage goes through and things are looking grim as Terry knocks down a Lairwatch Giant on the postcombat, and if jonlim doesn’t do anything, he will lose the game in 2 turns, and with it, the match as well.
Jonlim 12 Terry 20
Jonlim starts to make his move: Warren Pilferers fetching Warren Pilferers then swings with the hasty 3/3, which terry responds by raising his brows and accepting the 3 damage. On postcombat the fearsome Black Poplar Shaman makes his grand entrance. Terry seems unfazed and helps himself to another Avian Changeling, before swinging with the first Avian Changeling. If not for the Black Poplar Shaman with mana open, Terry would have swung with Lairwatch Giant, but he is still making headway through the air. Now jonlim is staring at a Lairwatch Giant and 2 Avian Changeling in the face, and with the prospect of 4 flying damage going through every turn, Jonlim’s situation is looking grim. However he shows no emotion regardless, although it is very possible he would lose soon.
Jonlim 10 Terry 17
Once again in this see-saw matchup in which dominance is shifted frequently between the 2 players, jonlim gets himself back into the game. Final Revels proves to be the key, and down goes 2 Avian Changeling. Jonlim then attacks with his Warren Pilferers which terry allows through despite the Lairwatch Giant still untapped. Jonlim then plays out his second Warren Pilferers and fetches the Boggart Harbinger from the graveyard for the 3rd time in this game. Terry then takes advantage of jonlim being tapped out to Crush Underfoot the Black Poplar Shaman, and jonlim grimaces. He then decides that times are desperate enough to play out his Thundercloud Shaman which kills nothing and passes the turn.
Jonlim 10 Terry 14
Jonlim does not do anything at all the next turn and passes, while Terry pushes through with his Thundercloud Shaman. Jonlim chump blocks with his 2 Warren Pilferers and one of them dies.
On the next turn, Jonlim then attacks with his remaining Warren Pilferers, which does not get blocked once again by the untapped Lairwatch Giant. On postcombat, Jonlim smells blood and lays down his only copy of Boggart Harbinger for the 4th time this game (only this game, not the whole match) , picking up the final trump card jonlim needs, Changeling Titan.
Terry then fights back by using Consuming Bonfire on the Warren Pilferers the next turn, which proved not to be the best move later on, especially with Changeling Titan looming one turn away. He made the second possibly mistake by pushing for victory and attacking with his Lairwatch Giant when jonlim had mana open, and a Gilt Leaf Ambush with a Changeling Titan on the topdeck was always going to ensure he won the clash. Terry unnecessarily lost his Lairwatch Giant to a puny 1/1 deathtouch elf, while jonlim still has an extra 1/1 to fiddle with. He unhappily drops a lone Kinsbaile Balloonist and passes the turn.
Jonlim 10 Terry 11
Now Jonlim senses he can pull a rabbit out of the hat. With a Warren Pilferers and Boggart Harbinger out, as well as a elf token, he swings through with all his creatures, which Terry lets through for 6 damage. Jonlim then plays a Changeling Titan on his token, and drops a Cloudcrown Oak, just to ensure that there is no way back for Terry.
Jonlim 10, Terry 5
Terry draws a card and lays a Lairwatch Giant and passes the turn. Jonlim simply attacks with his Changeling Titan, Warren Pilferers and Cloudcrown Oak. Changeling Titan gets stopped by Kinsbaile Balloonist while Lairwatch Giant trades with Cloudcrown Oak. Terry takes 3 damage. The death knell is sealed when Jonlim plays down another Cloudcrown Oak. Now he was Changeling Titan, Cloudcrown Oak, Boggart Harbinger, and Warren Pilferers out against an empty board.
Jonlim 10 Terry 2
Terry topdecks a land and shakes his head. Jonlim swings with all his creatures to redeem himself for his poor decision of keeping a one lander in his previous game, and level the scores, sending the match into a decider at 2-2.
Jonlim 10 Terry 0 (aggregate 2-2)
Game 5
Terry chooses to play first. In the first time in this entire draft, both players mulliganed a first time, which Terry having all lands and Jonlim having no lands. Jonlim then kept while Terry mulled a second time. Terry then started. Mountain for Terry. Forest for Jonlim. Mountain for Terry. Swamp and Woodland Changeling for Jonlim. The game then started revving into high gear when Terry dropped his Stinkdrinker Daredevil on turn 3.
Jonlim wanted to take the Stinkdrinker Daredevil out, and made a move that a top drafter would be proud of when he opted to attack with his 2/2 Woodland Changeling, to get blocked by the 1/3 Stinkdrinker Daredevil. Jonlim then played and used Moonglove Extract to finish off the little goblin, to deny Terry the tempo advantage he might have depended too much on in the past few games. Jonlim knew that this play was going to be very important in deciding the outcome of the decider. (Lol get the pun) Terry then dropped a Fire Belly Changeling, while jonlim attacked with his Woodland Changeling for the first 2 damage in the deciding game when Terry let it through.
Jonlim 20 Terry 18
Terry then swung with his Fire Belly Changeling, and jonlim was waiting on it with a Gilt Leaf Ambush, which won the clash with jonlim showing Marsh Flitter and terry showing Crib Swap but it didn’t really matter anyway because Fire Belly Changeling has only one toughness. Jonlim then plays out the Marsh Flitter from the topdeck and attacked with the 1/1 elf and Woodland Changeling for 3 more damage, while Terry opted to Crib Swap the Marsh Flitter(jonlim felt that this was a wrong decision, he should have waited for jonlim to sac a goblin before crib swapping in response). Terry now has to contend with an elf token, a changeling token, 2 goblin tokens and a Woodland Changeling , with no creatures out and at 15 life.
Jonlim 20 Terry 15
Another Stinkdrinker Daredevil came down for Terry as he tried to find a way back. Jonlim showed his dominance by laying Warren Pilferers as a 3/3 vanilla creature and attacking with all his tokens and the Woodland Changeling. Stinkdrinker Daredevil got in the way of one of the Changeling Token but 4 damage still went through and Terry was in serious trouble.
Jonlim 20 Terry 11
Terry then used Thundercloud Shaman for 1, to destroy all the tokens and suddenly now jonlim was left with the Woodland Changeling and Warren Pilferers. However, it did not seem to hurt him much as Thorntooth Witch a.k.a the-nameless-inversion-creature saw play for jonlim.
Terry then swung with the Thundercloud Shaman which got chump blocked by the Warren Pilferers and Woodland Changeling, and traded with the former. Double Avian Changeling came in on the postcombat. Now Terry has the prospect of multiple nameless inversions coming through once again, and such thoughts are never pretty.
As if to mock Terry, Jonlim thought for a long time and then layed down Timber Protector, and suddenly Terry seemed like he was almost resigned to the fact that he would lose. To make things worse, Timber Protector triggered Thorntooth Witch and down went one Avian Changeling. Thorntooth Witch and Woodland Changeling then went into the red zone with Avian Changeling stopping Thorntooth Witch, and 2 damage went through to put Terry on 9 life. Terry then played down a Blind Spot Giant and sighed, passing the turn.
Jonlim 20 Terry 9
Terry's only answer to the Timber Protector and the army of indestructible treefolk was his other Crib Swap which was almost never going to come. Jonlim played down Boggart Harbinger, and Changeling Titan was once again on top of his library, grinning eerily at Terry's chances of survival. Timber Protector, Woodland Changeling and Thorntooth Witch came through and very soon alpha strike damage with the help of Changeling Titan and the redundant trigger of Thorntooth Witch to knock down the remains of Terry's board sealed it and jonlim completed the turnaround to be the only person ever to win two perfect games (20-0) in the knockout rounds of our draft-in-friends-house history, and in the process clinching top spot in the draft and breaking the jinx.
Jonlim 20 Terry 0 (Jonlim wins match, aggregate 3-2)
In the end the mass army of fat treefolk and synergy among cards in jonlim’s deck just proved a tad too strong for terry’s giants to handle. Nevertheless, Terry was still happy with what he went home with, a glorious anthem along with an unhinged booster pack.
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