SA: Dragon’s Lair Sailsbury Adelaide 04/09/2021 (21 Players)| Deck Lists &Tournament Report

Dragon’s Lair Salisbury hosted a really smooth event with a good turnout of both new and established players (21).

1st -Rob Lark won the title, beating Socrates in the finals. When I asked what archetype Rob would describe his deck as he shrugged and said “I’m just playing the best cards.” I would describe it as Grixis Tempo splashing white for Mentor, Teferi3, Swords, Prismatic Ending. You could call it control I guess; but Rob elected to play Dragon Rage Channeller, Dark Confidant and only 20 lands. He was on an Acall package for his points. Well done Rob on two wins in a row!

2nd – Socrates was actually on a rather similar list. Soc was meant to be playing the Acall package also, but he made a last minute swap in favor of the Thoracle package. Classic Soc. His last minute switcheroo isn’t reflected in his moxfield link. This was the only real combo in the Top 8; but as stated both 1st and 2nd shared a lot of the same cards. Soc won most of his games through tempo or card inundation after scaring his opponent into over boarding against the Thoracle. With only 20 lands, a Delver of Secrets and a Dreadhorde Arcanist; I would call it Grixis Tempo with a twist.

3rd/4th – Shane’s UR wheels deck stomped me in the swiss and looks like it could be a real contender for tier 1 if you can get access to Ruby and Sapphire. I believe his list was originally designed by Wan Chin and had a recent top finish from Towoomba piloted by Nick Chmielewski. Looks like a blast to play with.

3rd/4th I was on a classic Junk list. I’m about to write up a detailed primer for this list so if you would like to learn more about it then watch this space! Once again, despite convention , I was dominant vs combo decks and weak to Aggro/Tempo. In the Swiss I was able to completely ignore my R1 Opponents Moon plan, Race a resolved T3 Griselbrand against my R2 Reanimator Opponent, clinch the win against the mirror, and then get crushed vs Shanes aggro wheels deck.

5th-8th – Russell Cutting was on Sprowess. I watched his match vs Socrates in the final round. Russell exhibited the decks dual nature as both an aggro list as well as a borderline combo list. Soc appeared to have stabilized after answering all of Russell’s threats, pushing it to the late game and having 12 life. A lone Monastery Swiftspear, entering, triggering 4 times and then being berserked won him the game. Not something a traditional aggro deck can do. This win propelled Russell to join his brother at the top of the Swiss. Going into the finals and seeing 1st – Cutting, 2nd – Cutting was daunting.

5th-8th – Zachary McDonnell was on Mardu midrange. Zach’s list actually goes a lot bigger and grinder than what it first appears. His use of Recurring Nightmare lets him really inundate his opponents in a grind. I watched him effectively win races with Shadowspear equipping and then re-equipping for the blocker to get lifelink and stabilize. He said his best card for the day was Sol Ring which won him free games when played early.

5th-8th – Steve Lowe. I didn’t get to see Steves matches. Steve’s always such a great opponent to play against and a familiar face at the top tables. He is usually on Jund and this event was no different. His list looks well tuned and up to date with Ragavan, Grist, Dauthi Voidwalker and Tourach, Dread Cantor among other new printings.

5th-8th – James Arthur. Well it wouldn’t be an Adelaide Event without James in the top 8. This guy is on a steamroll right now so Top 8ing is his absolute minimum. He just produced a primer on his 4c Aggro/Tempo list which can be found in the articles section of this website. He also has a youtube channel “JamesA-MTG” which exhibits James’ decision making process. The videos have helped me become a better player. Too bad I beat him in the QF.