For a couple of weeks now, I have had this idea of a Doran Assassin deck, but I just never had the opportunity to use it because I was unable to play in the Block Division of the Philippine Open, and an earlier Block tournament got cancelled because very few players signed up. Anyway, here comes GP Denver, and I saw Hunter Burton's deck make it to the Top 8... it looked very familiar... with a few minor differences (Wren's Run Vanquisher instead of Stillmoon Cavalier), it was practically the same deck! I just had to change the mana base because we had only 1 Reflecting Pool. But heck, after a few playtests, it proved to be manageable. So anyway, here's the Doran Assassin deck that I used in yesterday's Berlin PTQ I. I wasn't able to get the Stillmoon Cavaliers in time, so I ended up with practically the same MD as Burton's.
// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
2 [EVE] Fetid Heath
4 [LRW] Vivid Grove
4 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
2 [UNH] Forest
2 [UNH] Swamp
// Creatures
4 [LRW] Treefolk Harbinger
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [MOR] Scarblade Elite
4 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
4 [LRW] Crib Swap
4 [LRW] Profane Command
// Sideboard
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 3 [SHM] Guttural Response
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
Round 1: vs. Chapin Toast (lost)
I really have the worst luck in matchups, as I was quickly paired against a top player in Round 1. He used Patrick Chapin's latest build of Quick 'N Toast featuring Archon of Justice, Oona's Grace and Runed Halo -- the one used by the eventual champ of GP Denver, Gerry Thompson. In the first game, I had a blistering start of double Harbinger and Doran, and he very quickly lost. In the second game, I had a pretty good start as well, but he was able to shutdown Doran with Runed Halo, so he was able to prolong the game and I eventually lost to some Kitchen Finks and Mulldrifter beats. In the third game, I got almost completely shutdown, with both Doran and Chameleon Colossus getting named by 2 Runed Halos. I eventually resolved my third threat, Cloudthresher, but he was able to Cryptic Command (tap + bounce) ftw.
Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1
Round 2: vs. Elf Grenade (won)
This was a fun game. I lost pretty badly in the first game, but I had fun watching the elf grenade in action. I mean, Luminescent Rain for 10, and gain 20 life? What's not fun about that? But the fun had to stop in the second and third game, as I killed each crucial elf that he had, and he never even damaged me in both games.
Game standing: 3-3
Match standing: 1-1
Round 3: vs. Gr Treefolk (won)
Game 1 wasn't close, with 3 Timber Protectors in my opponent's board. In game 2, I was able to Thoughtseize a crucial Fertile Ground and my opponent got too delayed and lost, despite being able to Dawnglow Infusion twice. In the third game, I made a risk by keeping a 1-land hand with 1 Swamp, 1 Thoughtseize, 3 Vanquishers and 2 Nameless Inversions. The risk paid off, when I drew my second hand right on the draw, and won the match.
Game standing: 5-4
Match standing: 2-1
Round 4: vs. Chapin Toast (lost)
I was up against another top player, which was actually the cousin of my first round opponent. He was even using the same Chapin Toast deck. The first game was really close, with my opponent at 4 life, and me at 2 life in the end. But then, Kitchen Finks did its job, and my opponent went all the way up to 10 again. In the final play, my opponent thought for quite a while, having a Mulldrifter ready to attack, and me with 6 mana open, threatening a Cloudthresher. But when he finally realized that I was down to 2, he eventually attacked, and I scooped (although I did have the Thresher in hand). In game 2, I was able to win very easily despite some more Kitchen Finks shenanigans. In game 3, my opponent was "borrowing" my dead creatures with Puppeteer Clique all day, and it was too late by the time I got Crib Swap, and I had already lost the match.
Game standing: 6-6
Match standing: 2-2
Round 5: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)
It's pretty easy to determine the outcome of Kithkin matches. If they resolve a Mirrorweave on their attack, it pretty much means they've won. If they do it on the defense, it means you're winning. The latter was the case on the first game, and I won despite having no creatures on board, via an evoked Thresher (he was on 1 life). In game 2, the former was the case, as I had no chance against the 1-2-3-4 combo of Stalwart, Cenn, Spectral Procession, Mirrorweave. Game 3 was the best game of all, with both of us at 2 life, and top deck mode at the end. Too bad I drew all lands, and my opponent was eventually able to draw Rise of the Hobgoblins, netting him 7 angry Goblin Soldiers ftw.
Game standing: 7-8
Match standing: 2-3
Round 6: vs. BR Wild Swing (won)
To be honest, I was surprised my opponent even got to 2-3 with his deck. It was the ultimate rogue deck, with him using a bunch of cards I've never seen in sanctioned tournaments before, like Wild Swing and Rekindled Flame. It was fun though, not just because I won undamaged in both games, but because he was quite lucky with his Wild Swings... even hitting Doran, and my lone Reflecting Pool (making me mana screwed for a short time).
Game standing: 9-8
Match standing: 3-3
Round 7: vs. W Weenie (won)
It was the end of the day, and I was expecting another "normal" player in round 7, but I was surprised to see myself paired once again, against a top player. That makes 3 Nats players in one tournament. Wow. Anyway, if I ever want to be competitive in Magic, I had to get used to this. In the end, I eventually saw why he was in the loser's bracket this time, as he was using a weird mono white deck, that had the usual Kithkins and Mirrorweave, but also had some Safehold Elites in it. He was probably trying to innovate, but obviously the innovation didn't work. I beat him easy in 2 games, and gained me some major DCI points in the process. ;-)
Final game standing: 11-8
Final match standing: 4-3
Final verdict: The Doran Assassin deck has lots of potential -- having some game, even against the top control deck of the format, Quick 'N Toast. But it still has to be further improved and tested against other archetypes, as I never played against Faeries, RDW, and the mirror. Hopefully, we can make those improvements by next week's PTQ.
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