FNM Feature Match – Vampires vs. Goblins Part 2

The Vampires won the first game, but the goblins were not down and out yet. The decks were shuffled and cut, and the battle for tribal supremacy raged on...

Patrick was on the play and kept his hand while Sharfman took his mulligan. He played a mountain and a Goblin Bushwhacker and passed. Sharfman played a marsh flats. Teetering peaks came down on Jarrett's side, giving his Bushwhacker +2/+0. Sharfman popped his Flats for a swamp, taking him down to 16, then played another swamp and a Black Knight on his turn. Jarrett laid a mountain and brought out the Goblin Chieftain to give his Bushwhacker enough to survive the first-striking Knight.

Sharfman attacked the next turn but Jarrett decided not to block, going down to 18. Sharfman then played a Vampire Hexmage, swamp and a Vampire Lacerator before ending his turn. Jarrett then goes on the attack with both of his goblins. When Sharfman declares both vamps as blockers, Jarrett bolts them both to ensure his goblins live. The Black Knight attacks again the next turn, while the Goblin Chieftan dies to Consume Spirit, bringing Sharfman up to 18. Jarrett attacks with his goblin and passes.

Sharfman continues to thin his deck with Marsh Flats, attacks with the Knight and casts Malakir Bloodwitch, bringing Jarret down to 14, who had a plan of his own. He played another mountain and attacked with the Bushwhacker, which was blocked by the Bloodwitch. A timely Lightning Bolt ensured that it receive lethal damage. The Knight attacked again the next turn and was joined by a second Bloodwitch. Jarret drew and passed. Sharfman attacked with both the Knight and the Bloodwitch, but Jarrett responded with double Volcanic Fallout, a risky but necessary move by this point in the game. He laid down Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle with four other mountains on the board, hoping gain control of the board with each other land he played. all hope were dashed, however, when a third Malakir Bloodwitch came down on the other side, finally bringing Jarrett down to 0.

Overall the goblins were fast but the vampires simply had more tricks at their disposal throughout the game. Being able to do damage just by entering the field is a nice bonus from the Bloodwitch, while the life-gain from the black Air Elemental gains its controller a good buffer against attacking goblins. And Black Knight, while not a vampire himself, offers a great first-striker in the early game and disables almost every goblin. On the other hand both Valakut and Teetering Peaks offer good bonuses on their own, but come with their own limitations. Valakut in particular came too late in the game to be of any use, though it had the potential to swing the game.

All in all the goblins were strong against other decks that night, but the vampires simply helped each other more effectively. Already goblins are splashing white for some back up, while vampires continue to stay strong on their own. It'll be fun to see where these two go moving forward into the season.