Chicago on the Horizon

With my trip to Boston for Extreme Beer Fest behind me, I can now spend a bit more time focusing on the upcoming GP in Chicago.  My deck of choice for this event is TES (with Ad Nauseam and Mystical Tutor), because in all honesty, I hate the format right now, and it makes my matches over quickly - whether I win or lose.  I'm not happy with my game 1 percentages against decks like Team America, which pack basically every card I don't want to see, all in the same deck, but I think games 2 and 3 become slightly more favorable for me, as I gain additional protection from their counters.  I've been considering making a few changes to the list, which I'm sure Bryant will consider blasphemous - for example, I've been debating the inclusion of Dark Confidant into the main, as it provides additional pressure, as well as reach, should it go unanswered.

The most problematic thing I've seen from testing is certainly manabase disruption.  It's diffucult enough to establish a manabase with only 10 lands (and realistically, only 8 you ever want to see - 4 of which go away), if you're facing Wastelands and Sinkholes on top of that, then it's even more difficult to establish yourself.  I don't think there's a simple solution, but hey, that's combo vs. blue.

My strategy has basically been to go all in game 1, no matter what.  If I can win in the first two turns, I go for it.  The odds have to be better that way than in biding my time.  As the blue decks in the format run 8 cantrips or more, the more time they are given, the more hate they accumulate.  I feel like the odds of "do you have the Force of Will?" only get worse as the game progresses.  So, game 1 (assuming an unknown opponent) you have to either get info through Duress, or run into a wall.  Should you be facing a non-blue opponent, it pays off.

On that note, I truly hope people pick up Survival based Progenitus/Natural Order decks.  While they kick the shit out of blue decks, based largely on Legacy's lack of answers to Big Progs, they've got next to no game vs. combo.  This looks good as the tournament advances.  In my eyes, I'll be facing Counterbalance three times in the projected 9 round event.  Maybe that's optimistic, but its my guess.  If I can snake one of those matches, then I can still lose two and make day two.  I just need to beat all the non-blue I see, which is why I'm playing TES, right?

Anyway, that's where my testing is at this week.  I'll keep you guys updated as it progresses.