Death & Taxes vs Merfolk || North 100 Showdown

[@bwheelermtg]

Folks have been asking about my DNT points in this video, so here's a little behind the scenes info. We recorded this on September 24th, and at the time of recording my points were Mana Crypt 4, Sol Ring 4, Mana Vault 1, Umezawa's Jitte 1. On October 17th, less than a month later, the points list updated, increasing the points on both Mana Crypt + Umezawa's Jitte. If folks are looking to play this DNT list, I'd recommend a points spread of either Mana Crypt 5 + Sol Ring 4 +Mana Vault 1 or Mox Pearl 3 + Strip Mine 3 + Umezawa's Jitte 2 + Mana Vault 1 Happy highlandering!

[@adamthorne6136]

Crypt5+Mox3+Jitte2 is also not terrible!

[@MintChocDoublin]

(Viewer Engagement) I've been happy with Mana Crypt 5 + Strip Mine 3 + Jitte 2, but my collection isn't flush with power 9. Then again, maybe vault deserves more credit than I'm giving it.

[@scythmeisteralex]

​@@adamthorne613699⁹

[@Azadiam]

I swear, this is my favorite series on KZbin.

[@PrincePossum]

Same man

[@sleepy_alice]

Big same

[@sartdk9111]

Absolutely same over here as soon as I see it's uploaded I'm here

[@BirdBrotherGames]

Possibly best on the whole internet

[@pat1933]

It is soooo good definitely best magic content.

[@xindlepete8316]

Serge @55:52 : "I could make a food token so I don't die out of nowhere, but I don't think I die out of nowhere." Cut too... Serge @58:01, losing out of nowhere. Brilliant to watch a man challenge the universe and the universe not bat an eye at putting him in his place. Great games guys!

[@jeffreyjohnson3687]

Serge: Can I just win here? Me, checking the time on the video: oh no.

[@bendertusepaki8995]

Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good

[@XavierGrim]

Can't believe these Fish are doing Taxes, what a time to be alive.

[@janmelantu7490]

Hope they don’t forget to report their Fishing Boat Proceeds

[@J4D3R053]

@@janmelantu7490 that's a deep cut no matter how you slice it

[@ILikePi31415926535]

I already thought Jitte was good But EVERY time it shows up in these games it is so oppressive

[@zotha]

It's dumb in creature mirrors, but it's not great if you come up against control or combo

[@filippodardi2180]

I would disagree: it helps you kill them faster. Not as good, but still relevant

[@RhadeBoss]

Serge's reactions are hilarious as always 🤣🤣 Thank you for making this amazing series 😁

[@Masterfrogg]

I feel like the better play for Serge game 1 might have been to use Fading Hope on his own Thieving Skydiver and then recast it to steal Jitte, he even had the protection spell in hand if he needed it.

[@zotha]

Or just waiting to cast it the first time on the Jitte he knew was in hand

[@MrThewooter]

@@zotha na stealing the vial allows him to run over wheeler.

[@Drecon84]

@@MrThewooter Only if he has a way to deal with Jitte, right? I don't think it's reasonable to expect to beat Jitte straight up with his deck.

[@jakobvindelbo8723]

57:37 serge embraces the snerge going full throttle instead of the careful food play and immediately gets punished by the shadow spear

[@martonmihaly568]

Im hooting and hollering like a baboon every time one of these episodes comes out

[@BhbtheRock]

I'm glad Ben pointed out the Vial bluff. Part of why I watch this series is it's focus on education

[@tylerhensel6130]

15:00 I'm curious what Serge had in hand. Containment Priest had also lost all abilities, so he could've activated Aether Vial.

[@chrisjohnson8703]

It looked like he had a Gaea's Skyfolk I believe

[@emieldehouwer4507]

Amazing games. These two people are amazing, so it figures. That said, these were incredibly difficult puzzles of games. I noticed two points in the games where something different could have happened: - Serge could have used his eather vial after tapping the containment priest and making it lose all abilities until end of turn during the first game. - In the second game, the first time Serge stole the innitiative, he could have played his merfolk lord after combat, giving him one more mana from going into the dungeon so he could have payed the extra 1 and making another merfolk token. It would have ment losing 1 point of damage that turn, but giving him another (buffed) merfolk token to end the game later on. I think...

[@MrDeliworker]

I love how incredulous Wheeler was at Serge going through the other side of the Undercity. I can probably count the number of times I've seen someone do that on one hand.

[@HoneyJack07]

always a pleasure to see you guys play powerful magic Would love to see a cut scene of Wheeler and Serge discussing what they kept in their opening hands and why

[@btbwilkinson]

Man, I love Canlander. I am trying to start a Canlander event at the store I work at in Utah. Thanks for posting these!

[@austinminer2244]

Which store? I'm in Utah as well and am definitely interested.

[@btbwilkinson]

@@austinminer2244, it'll be Galaxy of Games in West Jordan! I'll be there all day Saturday if you want to drop by!

[@austinminer2244]

@@btbwilkinson I work this Saturday. I could try to make it up there Jan. 7, though!

[@btbwilkinson]

@@austinminer2244, sounds good. I'm generally there every Saturday.

[@StinkyPete357]

The conversations between games are always so intuitive and interesting. Loving each of the showdowns!

[@samwalter940]

First Friday Night Paper Fight and now North 100? All in the same week? I am beyond pleased.

[@IndreadColde]

In the first game serge went for the steal on Aether vial and couldn't find value because of the containment priest that wheeler had which Serge didn't know about. Without the containment priest complication, I personally still really prefer getting rid of Jitte - the allure of both going much faster and shutting down Wheeler's ability to go fast is very tempting but in merfolk I like waiting the extra turn before playing the thief to try and protect the units. Great game 1 tho.

[@SandsBuisle]

14:20 One thing I noticed was Serge seems to not have realised his Merfolk Trickster turned off Containment Priest's ability. He could have activated the Vial there, and by his admission later he had some two drops for it.

[@mimicranch]

I could feel that turn one Aether Vial in my bones

[@filippodardi2180]

This series is the absolute best. Sidenote: at 52:30, I like putting two counters on the 3/3 legend, which would then be able to eat the attacking 5/5. At that point, Wheeler has one card in hand, and would haev fired off any sort of removal long ago

[@Minijibbleflab]

For elk marking; use a clear toploader with elk and 3/3 in black sharpie written on it

[@ClexYoshi]

I love Serge pogging for Shadow Spear. INSANE Top deck. very much Craig Jones Top Decking Lightning Helix energy.

[@TaruHalt]

I think in the first game there was an opening for Serge to use the Vial after playing the Trickster, as it does not just tap, but also gets rid of all the abilities.

[@GamerdevilPro]

Definitely, don't know his hand at that point tho

[@ErayoTwilight]

I like how Serge +1ed Oko instead of -5ing to use his exchange ability and neither of them noticed because Oko is so busted that it just seems natural to assume that's how it works.

[@Mordalon]

so it's less busted than people think it is.

[@djk89]

That last game was beautiful. Just the pinnacle of Magic.

[@Rycore]

you you Wheeler, me me entertained

[@Guevon_Pajaro]

Best style of magic, can lander is a fantastic format I wish I could play more. It feels competitive like modern but much more old school and classic 'magic' than anything. I ADORE this series. 😍

[@Genderkaiser]

that final turn was a full daylight robbery

[@Dammarc1]

50:02 Wheeler did a really good interpretation of a player in a tense match: Opponent draw a card and start reading it. First thought: "Yikes, thats bad"

[@sandmanlives3]

Excellent as always. Thank you.

[@MasterTrombonePlayer]

Great Series! Can’t get enough!

[@MarkFillmore]

Such a fantastic set of games! Stay to the end folks!!!!!

[@Mordalon]

Containment Priest's ability is a replacement effect that replaces where a creature that would enter the battlefield goes. Since it already has to be on the battlefield to work, it isn't effected by it's own ability.

[@Venoseth]

You both played really well and obviously had a good time. Both a gracious winner and a very gracious loser, well done

[@HighlanderBrasileiroMTG]

Thank you guys great games and game one is the reason why we baned jitte in the Brazilian version of highlander 😂 thank you very much.

[@harrow9389]

More like North 100 Snowdown... love you guys and love the series

[@spaltunes6501]

Y’all are great! Thanks for this content!

[@set-theory]

I would like to reiterate that i love this show and would like you to continue it. All hail algorithm etc etc

[@bendertusepaki8995]

Wake up babe, new highlander gameplay just dropped!

[@foraker6487]

Second game was sick! Thx guys

[@MrMarclax]

God I love watching you 2 banter and play magic

[@Crypt4l]

"I don't think I die out of nowhere"

[@TheLookout27]

Great episode!

[@Weasels42]

What a nail biter - great games!

[@alltheorynopractice5467]

What a sick series!

[@davidsquires1340]

wow insane game! that last top deck…..😮

[@joeferreti9442]

For elk use some sort of marker token like the ones for Morph and Manifest creatures.

[@PrincePossum]

Top tier content right here

[@shawnluehrs2426]

Love the content, just wondering if we’re getting other guests at some point? No problems with Serge and Wheeler, but they have their own styles of deck building and play, and I’d like more variety.

[@broshmosh]

Incredible games of Magic.

[@stevenlongoria9912]

My lord starting at 57:55, I’ve never seen a man eat so many chicken wings😂

[@alphonse2234]

58:40. Such a luck sack. Dodge the mana crypt and drew the card to win the game. Crazy.

[@2MeatyOwlLegs]

those games were amazing!

[@lobotomiseme1653]

the ending was sickeniiiiiiing

[@Gophersaurus]

Oofa Doofa, bad luck Serge. Great games!

[@Balderdashing]

Serge taking several turns to realise he’d countered clamp rather than vial in game two was pretty hilarious.

[@swenerickson1704]

Fantastic!

[@kaitlyndavis6861]

I love your games keep up the amazing work

[@JonathanHecht]

man the last game was holy clutch

[@TheOnlyOrk]

what an ending! don't need the food, serge says...

[@jaelte]

One of these days I may actually build that Merfolk deck (or a similar one)... probably with a few proxies. ;-)

[@EternalRoxas]

What a cool set of games

[@wavesofbabies]

Wonder why Wheeler didn't black out the Giver of Runes art like he has for other PoS artists. Probably just the answer is "he forgot" or "didn't have time" which is legit

[@Veradux96]

Great Gameplay! Wouldn't Kytheon transform and go back to Wheeler at end of combat though?

[@davidrodriguez5721]

What a second game!

[@CynicalScribbles]

Best Possible Ending

[@AzazelBlau]

Brutal. Just Brutal.

[@treyconover4107]

The longer it went on the longer I wondered how they'd fit in the third round.

[@lordmeep5803]

19:59 I do like surges play here. Having the token further stresses wheelers Jitte resources

[@irt3hsaint]

Don't worry Serge, that's also the reaction I get when I rip Shadowspear for lethal

[@nicholasfalasco8539]

The top deck of all ages.

[@jbreau]

"If I live, I have lethal." 😂😂

[@cpeterso]

Needs to be a card kingdom button

[@Sklertic]

Jitte should be considered this shows official mascot

[@flyingtoastr]

Good to see Oko again putting in work ...said no one ever.

[@Mordalon]

Serge didn't minus Oko when he should have.

[@Azalzan]

PPPPPowerful magic!

[@phobos_deimos748]

I want to build Highlander RWD. If you feature it on Showdown i'd love it

[@filippodardi2180]

Classic Red Win Decks :)

[@olafweidner8227]

maybe i'm missing smth but serge attacked 2 times with his token making it unblockable instead of the emperor which is less dmg? and also taps the go-to chump blocker against a board of bigger creatures. still great games

[@jasonmorgan2263]

End of game 2 is prime wheeler skill moment

[@beastzerkerjet]

gotta love a grindy aggro mirror

[@DiabloTommaso]

I was wondering why no game 3. Impressive

[@samspalding6286]

Engagement! Also, couldn’t Serge have killed wheeler at around 57:00 if he attacked with everything, including the Kytheon? It wasn’t summoning sick or anything

[@Trowls]

More engagement! Also, no. It did have summoning sickness because Serge stole it that turn 🤓

[@samspalding6286]

@@Trowls wow, I always assumed Oko gave haste but I guess since it’s not a one-turn thing it makes sense

[@SilverBordered]

I was tabbed out and my video started to buffer at 22:48, so through I silence I just thought Serge was deep in the tank

[@samdunn5846]

Is there anything else you'd run on the points list if you didn't have the moxen for merfolk

[@colaocha1115]

If serge had a 2 drop the turn he bounced the Containment Priest he could've activated Vial in responcse to the Giver of Runes, holding priority bounce the Priest.

[@Robster7]

Ben has 11 points or am i wrong? Manavault 1 point Jitte 2 points Crypt 4 points Soul Ring 4 points Love north100, just curious if im wrong or right

[@moooseman3]

According to the points list in the description, Mana Crypt is 5 points, so 12 total. I'm not sure if that list is up to date or not.

[@moooseman3]

Looks like those changes were both made in October, so presumably this video was recorded a while ago. I didn't notice any BRO cards so that seems possible

[@bwheelermtg]

This was recorded before points changes. At the time, the count was Mana Crypt 4, Sol Ring 4, Mana Vault 1, Umezawa's Jitte 1

[@richardcrafton3711]

Towards the end of the second game, the time code serves as a spoiler :p

[@Jifuryu]

19:32 Skyclave Apparition is has two toughness, so removing one counter from Jitte would not kill it.

[@greatdinn8489]

It was equipped with Skullclamp, reducing its toughness to 1.

[@Jifuryu]

@@greatdinn8489 Ah. True.

[@Thekingsmantm]

Why are Serge & Ben on the opposite sides of the screen to how they are displayed in the thumbnail?

[@tonyferra2134]

33:31 couldn’t serge hit wheelers creature with the councils judgement as well?

[@filippodardi2180]

Nope, Judgement doesn't allow to choose something its caster controls

[@GAMINGWITHCABBAGE]

18:55 if he taps the animated mishras factory to give it +1/+1 wouldnt it make it unable to block even if blocks are already delcared?

[@Mordalon]

A tapped creature can't be declared as a blocker, that's not the same as being tapped while blocking. It's the same how "put onto the battlefield tapped and attacking" isn't the same as being declared as an attacker.

[@GAMINGWITHCABBAGE]

@@Mordalon that makes sense

[@Minijibbleflab]

Serge getting ranched again 💀🤣

[@chadoftoons]

Merfolk trickster makes a creature lose its abillities, it couldve obviously been that serge just didnt have any 2 mana creatures in hand but there was a small poin in the first game where he could've used it once.

[@samdunn5846]

The power of finship if you will

[@jjrosales1996]

I wish I could play canlander with my friends 😢

[@saki7804]

why is the elk at 58:00 a 5/5 ? it's a 3/3 with 2 valor counters on it (from Intrepid Adversary) but since its lost all abilities, the counters do nothing right? in that case Serge should have won

[@jackc9001]

at around 47:40 Wheeler gets the initiative back and goes to the forge, giving the Remorseful Cleric 2 +1/+1 counters, which Serge later makes into an elk, so it lost flying making it blockable

[@saki7804]

@@jackc9001 ahh thanks for the response, watched the video in multiple sittings so i forgot about that detail

[@janmelantu7490]

POWERFUL MAGIC

[@AndrewCreswell]

At 48:25 I'm not sure why castle ardenvale went to the graveyard

[@j27s44]

Wasteland

[@evanperkins3467]

at 56:08 when you activated Oko's minus 5, why did you uptick him one?????????????