After a several-week absence from competitive Magic, it seemed Jason D'Mellow had returned to form, and sought to chase down yet another victory with his mono-green Elf deck. Sitting across from him was Joe Hammond, who was already in prime form, having taken full advantage of his win last week in the Qualifier to make the elimination rounds of the Invitational. Only one would advance to the finals.
Joe won the roll and both players chose to keep. Jason had a first turn Llanowar Elves, which he followed up with Elvish Archdruid after Joe cast a turn 2 Lotus Cobra. Joe cast Explore into a Viridian Emissary on his third turn, who represented a nice road block for the Elf onslaught.
Jason missed his third land drop, and after some debating chose to tap out for Asceticism, keeping his creatures safe from burn. However, Joe was prepared to attack from a different angle, using a Harrow to ramp big with his Cobra and cast Green Sun's Zenith for 6, finding a prolific turn 4 Primeval Titan. The Titan found a Valakut and a Mountain, dealing 3 to Jason (17-20) before his 2/1's also rolled into the red zone (13-20).
Jason hoped to recover with Joraga Treespeaker and Arbor Elf, and then tapped his Archdruid for 4 mana to cast Nissa Revane. He put her up to 3, searching out a Nissa's Chosen. Joe seemed undeterred, swinging with his Titan and Emissary and finding another Valakut and another Mountain, doming Jason once with a Valakut and sending the other trigger to Nissa (10-20). Jason declined to block (2-20), but then drew his card and scooped, apparently citing made some sort of play mistake along the way.
Joe Hammond 1, Jason D'Mellow 0
Jason chose to play first, and this time both players took a mulligan before keeping on six. Jason again opened on Llanowar Elves, which he followed up with a Nissa's Chosen and an attack for one (20-19).
Joe stymied the assault with an imposing Overgrown Battlement. Jason could only attack through for one again, as Llanowar Elves got through but the Battlement stopped Nissa's Chosen (20-18). Joe had a second Battlement and a Lotus Cobra before passing back.
Jason's pressure was all gone, and he had no way to add to it on his turn. Joe then cast Harrow, cashing a Forest in for two Mountains and then casting a Green Sun's Zenith for 6, finding Primeval Titan, who in turn found 2 Mountains. Using Lotus Cobra mana, Joe cast an Explore, and then played a Terramorphic Expanse, killing Llanowar Elves with a Lightning Bolt off another Cobra mana.
Jason again had no plays, and Joe poured on the burn with another Green Sun's Zenith for Primeval Titan. A Mountain and a Valakut cleared most of Jason's field, and a swing from the original one threatened to do the rest of the damage. Upon realizing that Joe could rack up Valakut triggers faster than Charlie Sheen could rack up disorderly conduct citations, Jason conceded and Joe was on to the finals.
Joe Hammond 2, Jason D'Mellow 0
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