Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2025 18:18:31 +0300
From: Neil <neil@oldschoolsorcery.com>
To: Old School Sorcery <admin@oldschoolsorcery.com>
It's Gr-eat at Fishliver Oil Cup
By: Neil Troy <@bnrrx7 or neil@oldschoolsorcery.com>
This is not much of a deck construction article as this deck is fairly well known and I am
certainly no mastermind of it. This is a heavy base green deck with a bit more than a splash of
red. I originally started with thinking "how much of a deck can I build around Pendelhaven."
Obviously it is informed by DFB and Cam's deck design. But maybe I'm racing ahead a bit.
I had to go to Germany every quarter for work this year. Last quarter it lined up nicely with
Viennageddon so I went with a more honed deck and tried to do Neil things. This quarter I knew
the trip would line up with Fishliver Oil Cup and so I intended to try and go to Genoa to see
Italy and meet some new people. Unfortunately, I had little time to brew anything for this
event as last month was Yeticon which I had put more effort into. I had been thinking "I can
throw together some prison deck and be fine", but that didn't feel right to me. Work and
outside work activities left me with little time to craft something and the more I thought
about it the more I wanted something fast and straight forward to relax a bit on this trip.
With that in mind I ended up thinking big-G small-r would be a fun strategy. I know Cam did
well this year with it and DFB had just recently visited the Bay so it felt like the right time
to try my hand at some little dudes that get BIG. The tournament was effectively gentlemen
Swedish with a good reprint policy which I expected to fill the room with power. I've had a DFB
mono-green built for years as it can use no power and still wreck havoc on opponents with a
swarm of little dudes + Giant Growth + Berserk. What I found appealing about Cam's Gr deck was
that it had reach for those last points of damage that sometimes eludes mono-G...and Berserk is a
scary card to just send it with sometimes.
I started with a dense pile of 1/1's and opted only for Bolt and Wheel out of red. The thought
process being everyone complains about Chain Lightning but I still wanted to be setup for a
Black Vise strategy from the board when on the play. I playtested some and it felt fine but
certainly nothing amazing. Whirling Dervish in the main felt odd as once it is a 2/2 it can't
get pumped with Pendelhaven and also can't get past Factory. I also didn't feel good about
Spitting Slug as it felt overpriced for a weird body size…not that I'm body shaming. Maze? What
am I doing with that thing?
I decided to confer with my elders and hit up DFB in chat to better understand choices. Here
are my takeaways from talking with him and overall play on the weekend:
-Scryb Sprites is a house. People hate Swords'ing or Bolting it and it hits easily 3 times
before the opponent gets the hint that they needed to respect it.
-Emerald Dragonfly and Fire Sprites even a turn later serve a similar purpose and complicate
math with first strike or get you out of a problem by funneling to make red. I don't see a need
for more than maybe 3x total 2-mana 1/1 fliers in the deck, and 2x feels good.
-Pixies are amazing in SWE and complicate many strategies, also against opposing Ernies when
they have forestwalk they are a nice clock.
-Spitting Slug represents a decent body that comes down a turn earlier than Ernie and can't be
bolted. It complicates blocks and hits for double compared to the 1/1 team. 3x felt okay, I had
a stumble with casting cost that I wish I could have avoided so maybe the right number is 2x.
It also doesn't have the drawback of Ernie.
-Maze in SWE is so underplayed it isn't even funny. I feel I would be happy moving up to 3x in
the main. How more people don't play it in higher numbers I don't know. In this deck it serves
triple duty of stopping annoying creatures from your opponent (for zero mana); allows you to do
some tricks with first strike, Factories, Scavenger Folk, and the like by untapping them after
an attack; and allows you to save creatures from dying in combat.
-Dervish is a meta call. How many should be in the sideboard and if any in the main just
depends on the meta of the event. Against any black heavy deck they are amazing. Anything else
though and their lack of evasion shows itself.
After thinking some more about Pez's comments from LobsterCon I tried to implement at Yeticon I
felt the deck needed to lean harder towards red by adding 4x Chain Lightning. The slight issue
is now the manabase felt a little off. This was especially true when thinking about how I
sideboard. I wasn't in love with my sideboard. But here were my thoughts before the event:
-Black Vise is the go to when you are on the play in most match-ups. It makes card advantage
difficult. It punishes a slow draw. It hits for a bolt on T1. It isn't the greatest later in
the game but you will aggressively mulligan to find one and your Wheel turns into a bolt with
Vise in play.
-Artifact Blast is meant specifically for Trike. If Trike lands on the board it is a bad day as
it cleans up many dudes. Artifact Blast is about the only spicy thing happening in this deck as
most people don't expect it. I think other than maybe T1 lotus, it should be reserved for
Trike, or a late game top deck Su-Chi that might mean the game slips away.
-Crumble is my biggest regret of the sideboard. The life gain is just too much working against
your strategy. On paper it seems fine but +4 life on a book or Su-Chi is just too much
additional work for this deck. It should be Shatter and maybe a Mountain to cast it.
-Whirling Dervish are primarily for The Abyss. This may be wrong though. Against mono-black it
is amazing but in gentlemen's rules how common is mono-black?
-REB is trying to cheaply push aside Dibs, Ancestral, and get arund counters. Since red will
likely be seen by the opponent it isn't guaranteed to resolve but Dibs are in that middle
ground of stopping my evasion. So I want an answer, right? But I'm also okay pinging the
opponent so maybe I'm okay with the Dib on board, but need an answer if things get out of hand?
-An extra Maze for moving around pieces and having answers to the bigger threats.
-A Concordant Crossroads for...? Tranquility would have been a better choice I think.
For work I flew into Munich which has a daily direct flight to Genoa to make life easy. The
flight is on Embraer 195's which are 2x2 small jet planes that you get to walk on the tarmac in
Munich and Genoa to get on and off (depending on the gate). The flight is beautiful as it goes
over the Alps and then you get to see the Italian coast line too. Its like seeing the landscape
changes going from Ohio to SF but compressed into a quick 1 hour flight.
Genoa is a city where it looks like all the development stops about a mile from the coastline.
On top of that it is basically the Andes diving into the ocean which create the coastline so
the elevation changes are steep when moving perpendicular to the coast. I saw very little of
the city but what I did see felt like people have lived here for a very long time. I did
randomly get navigated past the ladies of the night street thanks to Google Maps blindly
directing me down the narrowest and darkest alley to cut across the city. Population wise the
city is quite large at ~600k, but if you told me it was 200k I could believe that too. The
architecture looks nice and the ascending buildings away from the coast give an interesting
sight perspective. Genoa is known for a few things: Christopher Columbus's birth place,
perfecting pesto, focaccia, and being a power house for millenia via trade.
The day of the event was a torrential downpour for hours. I borrowed an umbrella and hoofed it
to the venue from where I was staying near the main train station. It was only about a 25 min
walk but with the wind and downpour I was soaked by the time I got to the venue. Andi Rusu was
the guest artist and his first introduction to OS events! We had a casual meet-up the night
before the event for mingling and food so I chatted up Andi and his wife which were using this
as the start to a big Italian vacation. Andi still does sketching and line work everyday, but
it might just be doodles in meetings. I was of course blown away by how skilled artists are.
Just whipping out things I could never dream of in minutes.
The event used Tolaria for pairings and reporting and was fairly painless. The only odd thing
was the table numbering but not a big deal. The event hall was a large space for the mariner's
union if I recall correctly. It easily accommodated the 100 attendees with decent elbow room.
The event started right on Italian time and so...
Round 1 Lasse Happel (Denmark) UGW Ernie/Dib/Serra/Geddon
Lasse and a couple of his friends came from Denmark for Fishliver Oil. The match-up was fun and
we exchanged games, me first on the draw and a mull, then him. The build he was on was heavy
big creatures like Erhnam, Serra, and Dib but what surprised me was the Armageddon to close the
door. I would have sided it out against me but it worked well for him. Game 3 he was never
really in it as I sided in all 3 vises and knew I'd mulligan at least once to find one. Turned
out the starting hand has one and I dropped a T1 vise which dealt 6 damage in the first 3
turns. Some small creatures and burn closed it out without taking a point to myself.
2-1, 1-0
Round 2 Umberto Marchesi (Modena) Mono Black
Game 1 Umberto was on a double mulligan and although we exchanged some, mono-black just didn't
have enough answers to what I was doing. Game 2 was picture worthy. I had an opening hand on
the draw of Lotus, Dervish, Elf, Giant Growth, Dragonfly, Chain Lightning, and Scavenger Folk.
It was an instant keep. Turn 1 Lotus + Dervish + Elf, T2 no land but Elf power out Elf #2 two I
drew. T3 I find a land to help play more spells but it gets stripped, but it doesn't matter. I
now have a second Dervish out and they can't be stopped. I win the match with 6+ permanents,
none of them lands.
2-0, 2-0
Round 3 Cosimo Malvestio (Pistoia) BR Troll/Trike/Animate
Game 1 I only see one color out of Cosimo and he gets run over after not doing much. Game 2 I
see another color and he is on a BR build of Trolls + Trikes + Animate Dead. The Blood Moon
surprisingly pauses me for awhile as I have 2x Giant Growth and a Berserk but only 2 green
mana. When I draw the 3rd green I go for it and take him down from 11 with a 14/7 trampling
Sprite. We play a 3rd game for fun because it was so quick and he takes it down with Trikes
after a big board stall.
2-0, 3-0
Round 4 Federico Malacarne (Tuscany) Shops
I was flying high which obviously means this is the round I lose. In game 1 I apply some early
pressure and get him to 14 but once his Trikes arrive, I think on turn 3 or 4 thanks to the
sandbagged Workshop, my fun is over. He cleans my board with the Trike and then follows it up
with a Copy Artifact the next turn. Game 2 I side in Black Vise + Artifact Blast + Crumble
taking out many of the worst creatures. The T1 Black Vise does 6 and pressures him to unload
his hand. I get him down to 7 before I'm forced to Crumble his Trike which is why I should have
played Shatter (of course I drew the Artifact Blast the turn after he cast Trike). He animates
the dead Trike and takes it home despite me Artifact Blasting a Su-Chi that didn't matter...can't
Artifact Blast the Animate Dead.
0-2, 3-1
Round 5 Massimiliano Della Monaca (Piombino) GR
This is a mirror match of sorts, with Massimiliano taking his time to make the right plays.
I've told a few opponents today that I play fast and say to them "don't feel pressured to match
my speed", it seems the right courtesy to provide as the newbie in the room. In game 1 playing
from the draw with him at 12, I'm attacking with 2x Pixies, a Slug and an Elf. After blocks the
Slug becomes a 10/7 trampler dealing 13 and getting the win. The second game is more of a
struggle as we are matching creatures and trading. It is a long one and he takes the game as we
get the call of 10 mins left in the round. Since I am on the play this time the Vises come in
and the T1 vise deals 6. I know time is short so I am playing quickly to maximize my game
actions. I early Giant Growth a 1/1 to bring him down to 10. A Sprite gets in for another 1 to
put him at 9. Bolt on his end step to go to 6. Sprite connects to put him at 5. On his turn
time is called and we go to turns. I Wheel into Bolt + Chain + Vise and it's over.
2-1, 4-1
Round 6 Tommaso Allegri (Pistoia) Gb
From Tommaso's early plays he appears to be on GB but without Mind Twist I'm not sure what to
expect. I was thinking maybe Nether Void or Juzams. Game 1 we exchange attacks for awhile but I
take it with plenty of life margin left. Game 2 is much closer but a bolt off the top takes it.
It turns out his build was primarily just for Terror + DT + sideboard options.
2-0, 5-1
4th in Swiss out of 99, which I was very happy with. I wish the tournament ended there! But
with a top 16 cut more rounds are to come. We do the raffles and some art is sold off and the
pairings are set.
-------------
Single Elimination
Andrea Bianconi The Deck
I'm told beforehand that I'm playing against the first Italian to win a shark…so my
expectations are low and thinking he is probably on The Deck, which is not something I've
played much against since I normally just scoop when I'm playing something spicy. The Deck does
what The Deck does which is give a false glimmer that I'm actually taking meaningful game
actions. I get him as low as 8 in game 1 before he Divine Offerings his Tome in response to my
Scavenger Folk trigger. Some counters and protecting his Angels and there was nothing I could
do. Game 2 isn't much different. I've boarded in the Vises which dealt 5 by T2. I get
aggressive with an early Factory but The Deck had an early Serra to stop my advance and I end
up in the position of siding in too many cards because I don't know what kind of The Deck he is
on. Is it Abyss? Is it Triskelion in the sideboard? Neither of those so my Dervishes look dumb
and Artifact Blast doesn't do anything against an Angel.
0-2 (9-16th place)
Overall, I was very pleased with the deck. In the room it felt very aggressive and with so many
1/1's it played havoc with a lot of people. It routinely had 5-8 creatures in play and since I
avoided Disks and Wrath all day it just felt a good place to be. Every opponent was very nice
whether they won or lost and the feel of the room was very positive all day. Of my playing I
felt very good about it, a couple weird attacks where I needed to look aggressive and have the
opponent not call my bluff, but in some games you need to make the deck win sometimes with
aggression. When my bluff got called it didn't feel good and revealed my weakness. I was
surprised when I ran into a Blood Moon that really stopped the deck from doing its thing. So
much value is being extracted by the lands in the deck that shutting them off is very annoying.
I was also happy to see the Dib and Ernie really aren't the right calls against this deck. The
ping for 1 and forestwalk are a major deal and allow me to scoot right past my opponents in
most cases. A turn 1 or 2 Erhnam is a different story but that didn't happen often. There were
a few mistakes I saw from my opponents that I didn't call out above, but it is easy to see the
mistakes from your side of the table...and clearly I made no mistakes because I didn't see them!
I think a final note, Fireball should probably be in the board. Maybe a Hurricane. When the
deck stalls, having ways to close it out is important. The mana felt surprisingly good all
weekend. A minor hiccup or two but nothing that stopped me from winning, or contributing to my
losses.
I want to thank a few people specifically. I met Lorenzo Novaro waiting at baggage claim in
Genoa. I was wearing a Magic t-shirt (very American thing to do) and he said "you must be here
for Fishliver Oil" and from that moment we talked a bunch. Lorenzo and Megu Chionetti (who will
end up picking us up from the airport) are two of the veteran tournament organizers for
Fishliver Oil Cup and both have standing invitations to [redacted] that predate my trip to the
event! Which is always a good sign. Both of them were very generous with their time and I'd be
happy to vouch for them for any tournament. Lorenzo was also on my flight back to Munich and we
chatted some more about food and tournament organizing. I hope to see him again at an event
soon, maybe one where he gets to play.
Next up is Thomas Vaucher and his son Tristan who came from Switzerland and not only helped me
mule cards to Weinfest but also were very nice and hung out with me a decent amount. A father
and son combo always makes me feel nice. Since the venue wasn't 21+ his young son (13) could
take in the action. Tristan also won the prize for the youngest player and won a Mana Drain.
Lastly, to Aaron Price who is an American stuck abroad enjoying life. Not only did he win
Spike/Spice prize for his Archielogist build but he was a great person to chat with all
weekend. Currently, he resides with the Brothers of Fire but will be moving to Bologna and is
trying to take in as many old school events as he can.
Props:
-The Fishliver team for putting together a very fun and chill event.
-My opponents for all being very nice throughout the day.
-Black Vise for doing the hard work when it needed to and for showing up in my starting hands.
-Andi Rusu and his wife Jill for being fun to talk with and took my OS education with smiles on.
Slops:
-The gods for calling upon rain for all of my 2 days in Genoa.
-The Deck for having so many ways to slowly sap any lifeforce from my soul.
Next up a quick trip to Vegas for Sorcery, maybe a Toy Drive, and then [redacted].