[Report] PT Dallas Type I Tournament
do...@netcom.com
Here's a very long report of the tourney.
I was playing a B/u/r Necro deck with Hymns, Stupors, Sinkholes, Juzam
Djinn, and Juggernauts. Here's the deck list:
BLACK (25)
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Stupor
4 Dark Ritual
4 Sinkhole
3 Juzam Djinn
3 Necropotence
2 Nether Void
1 Demonic Tutor
BLUE (2)
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
RED (2)
2 Gorilla Shaman
ARTIFACT (8)
4 Juggernaut
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Grinning Totem
1 Zuran Orb
MANA (25)
1 Black Lotus
3 Moxes (Jet, Sapphire, Ruby)
1 Sol Ring
1 Library of Alexandria
2 City of Brass
4 Strip Mine
4 Underground Sea
4 Badlands
2 Sulphurous Springs
3 Swamps
SIDEBOARD
2 Dystopia
2 Dark Banishing
2 Contagion
2 Shatter
2 Gorilla Shaman
2 Guerilla Tactics
2 Sand Golem
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
Let's get to the Matches!
Round 1 -- Biren Amin playing U/W Control a la Weissman
Game 1
I got out an early big nasty, which was promptly plowed. Shortly
thereafter, I put down a Juzam. It smacked Biren for about 15 points, then
he was able to finally plow it. But by that time, I had a Necro on the
table and was drawing like mad. Hymns, Stupo rs and Sinkholes flew
furiously, then I finally finished him off with a second Juzam.
Game 2
Out went three Stupors and the Time Walk and in went the Dystopias (he had
Moat) and the Guerilla Tactics. I never really got much offense going
early on. I did the Hymn/Sinkhole thing for a while, but never got a meaty
creature to slay him with. After a while, I finally dropped my first
Juggernaut. Moat. Sigh. Fortunately for me, I had a Dystopia in hand so I
just had to bide my time for one more Hymn. Even with my Necro out, I
couldn't seem to draw anything. I dropped my second Juggernaut behind the
Moa t so they were poised to attack. He Disenchanted it. Finally, I threw
a Hymn, drew a counter and dropped the Dystopia. His Moat went away so I
smacked him with the Juggernaut, once. Sure enough, it was Plowed the next
turn. To make a long story short, he dropped another Moat. I dropped a
Disk to get rid of it, but it was Disenchanted. I dropped a second Disk
which hit the table. Next turn I blew it and my last Necro up. I never had
another creature last a turn. Fireballs and Plows killed them all. Biren d
ecked me.
Game 3
Basically, I didn't get any offense and he had just enough defense. Game 2
had taken too long. We drew as time expired.
RESULTS: 1 Match point, 3 Game points
Round 2 - Johan Disenborg playing R/U/b Vise/Direct Damage
Game 1
I was looking forward to facing some opponents from other countries and
Johan was the only one I came up against. He was here from Sweden playing
in the Type I and reporting for a Swedish card gaming magazine. We had
several opportunities to chat during Saturday's Type II while I was
helping judge.
The first game we pretty quick. Johan didn't get much mana to speak of. I
dropped a pair of Juzams on around turn 5 and that was all she wrote.
Game 2
Out went 3 Necro and the Time Walk and in went two Mox Monkeys and two
Shatter. He went first and played a first turn Vise. It took me forever to
get completely out from under it. By that time he had dropped another one.
I worked my Monkeys really hard an d they almost got me back into the
game, but Johan Wheeled when I was down to 4 life and finished me off.
Game 3
Out went 1 Juzam and 1 Disk and in went two Guerilla Tactics. This turned
out to be a good move since I was able to blast his Mox Monkeys with the
Tactics. Things traded back and forth for a while. I finally got a Juzam
down and he was unable to deal with it.
RESULTS: 2 Match points, 4 Game points
TOTAL: 3 Match, 7 Game
ROUND 3: Ryan Eaton playing U/W control
Game 1: Ryan had terrible luck for mana, while I had a near god-draw. I
Hymned, Stupored and Sunk for a while then dropped my Necro and Zuran Orb.
After drawing like crazy, I dropped a Juzam then a Juggernaut and Nether
Void. Game over.
Game 2: More back luck for mana for Ryan. He was able to get a Jayemdae
Tome rolling for a while, but it wasn't as fast as my Necro was (he had to
blow a Disenchant on a fast Juggernaut). I eventually Disked then dropped
a Juzam which finished him off.
RESULTS: 2 Match points, 4 Game points
TOTAL: 5 Match, 11 Game
ROUND 4: Paul Ferker playing R/U/g Djinn and Juice
Game 1: I dropped a turn 3 Necro with no life gain or Disk in hand. BAD
MOVE. Even though I was able to stay alive with Paul fending off my
critters, he finally killed them all and left me with no life. I died to a
bolt when I had to Necro down to 3.
Game 2: Out went Necro and in went the Dark Banishings and Contagions. I
smacked Paul with a Juzam for a couple turns till he blocked with a
Serendib and bolted it. In short order, he dropped two more Serendibs and
I didn't see a single card of creature c ontrol. That was very fast.
RESULTS: 0 Match point, 0 Game points
TOTAL: 5 Match, 11 Game
ROUND 5: Peter Guevin playing Necro (very like a modified Type II)
Game 1: I went first and got my Hymns and Sinkholes moving. I dropped a
Juzam and Necro and finished him off. Peter couldn't get any land for the
life of him, not even for a pump knight.
Game 2: He went first, but it didn't help him. I drew first blood with a
Hymn and Stupor on turn two. Peter kept drawing land and more land and
nothing to deal with my Juggernaut. Another fast game from a mana screw.
RESULTS: Match 2 points, Game 4 points
TOTAL: Match 7 points, Game 15 points
ROUND 6: Patrick Albro playing G/W Ernhamgeddon
Game 1: I got an early Juzam and Necro. He got no land.
Game 2: In went my Dystopias and out went some Stupors. I got plenty of
Mox mana early on though I saw no creatures. Patrick saw nothing
significant. I went Necropowerful and finally saw a couple, including a
Dystopia. I dropped a Juzam to block his Ernha m. Next turn I dropped the
Dystopia. He fought to the end but there was nothing he could do. I kind
of felt bad for this one since it knocked him out of contention for a
place, but Type I is just a strange environment and mana screws do happen.
RESULTS: Match 2 points, Game 4 points
TOTAL: Match 9 points, Game 19 points
ROUND 7: Mark Justice playing Classic Necropotence
Game 1: I must admit I was a bit nervous going into this round since we
both needed a win to have a chance at making the Top 8. We discussed
taking a draw early on, but Scott Johns did the math and figured Justice
(his teammate) needed a win to advance. I wasn't about to take a draw
either if it wasn't a guaranteed in so we played. I won the die roll which
turned out to be all important. Necro did as Necro does. I Hymned turn 1
and Sinkholed turn 2. Stupor turn 3 and Necro turn 4. Juzam Turn 5.
Juggernaut turn 6. Justice was dead turn 7.
Game 2: Sideboarding turned out to be pretty irrelevant. Justice went
first and got control of the board. I did manage to hit him a few times
with a Juzam but we ended up trading Djinns. His pumpers finished me off.
Game 3: Even though Justice got a Turn 1 Ivory Tower, I quickly destroyed
all his mana sources. I eventually dropped a Juggernaut, Djinn, then
Nether Void and he was unable to block with creatures for long.
RESULTS: Match 2 points, Game 4 points
TOTAL: Match 11 points (5-1-1), Game 23 points
And then we had to wait. Scott Johns and his zoo deck finished early so he
had advance time to figure out everyone's odds of making it into the final
eight. The top 6 players all took draws so they knew they were in. That
left Scott and I at 11 points, wi th Mike Dove and Darwin Kastle still
battling for a slot. Darwin had 9 points going into the round and needed a
win to make it in. Mike was playing to make Top 16 and be in the money.
They were both playing very cautiously since everything was on the line.
Scott and I were fret ting out in the hallway since we no finished players
were allowed to view other matches in progress.
Just an aside, Mike Dove probably had the two best stories of the tourney.
He was playing a R/U/g Djinn and Juice type deck with Unstable Mutations,
Final Fortune, Berserk and Fork. Lots of very fun cards. During one game
late in a match, Mike dropped a t urn one Erhnam with a Forest and Lotus.
His opponent ritualed out a Stupor, forcing Mike to drop a Sand Golem!
Mike then chose to drop... another Sand Golem! Turn two Mutant Golem,
Berserk it and attack! Game over turn 2 with 22 points of damage. Another
time, late in a game, Mike was sitting on a Mox Monkey. His opponent
tapped out to cast someting large (Mirror?). Next turn, Unstable Muta te,
Berserk, Fork, Regrow, Berserk!! 32/4 Mox Monkey wins the game!
Back to the match at hand... Well, I don't know how it happened, but
Darwin and Mike ran out of time during game three. That draw officially
put myself and Scott into the number 7 and 8 seeds for the finals!
I WAS IN!! I was so totally excited at this point. This was the first Pro
Tour I had attended, even though I hadn't earned an invite to the feature
event. That win over a strong player like Mark Justice guaranteed me a
$2,250 payoff which more than paid f or my trip from Oakland, CA! :)
THE FINAL EIGHT
Guevin(1) vs Johns(8) - Johns won, 2-1
Fleischman(2) vs Kuta(7) - Results below. ;)
Ferker(3) vs Shwe(6) - Shwe won, 2-0
O'Mahoney-Schwartz(4) vs Cargilo(5) - O'Mahoney-Schwartz won, 2-0
I should point out where everyone on this list hails from. Guevin,
Fleischman, Ferker and O'Mahoney-Schwartz are from the Northeast (NH, PA,
and NY) and Johns, Shwe, Cargilo and I are all from California.
Hmmm...Trend or coincidence?
I'm pretty sure Tom Guevin played a Djinn and Juice deck much like the
other Northeastern players. Scott Johns just beat him to the punch with
his Zoo deck.
Paul Ferker played a Djinn and Juice while Huei-Saint Shwe played a Zoo
deck similar to Scott Johns'.
Steven OM-S played Djinn and Juice. I have no idea what Cargilo was
playing. Anyone?
Back to the matches!
ROUND OF EIGHT
Sean Fleischman playing R/U/g Djinn and Juice with Black Vise
Game 1: Necro is as Necro does. Hymns and Sinkholes fly. I drop a quick
Juzam and Juggernaut and Sean goes down in relatively short order.
Game 2: This is the most intense game of the tournament. Sean knows he is
up against a wall here. He MUST win to stay alive. I know he has an
extremely potent deck against mine if I don't get a quick jump. The only
thing I am really worried about is his s ideboard. Does he have Sand
Golems? I put in my Dark Banishings just in case as well as more Mox
Monkeys and the Shatters pulling out all three of my Necros and some
Stupors. Things are pretty slow early on. I drop a Juggernaut, he bolts
it. He drops a Dw arven Miner, I tactics it. He smacks me a couple times
with bolts until he drops a Monkey. I drop a Juzam. I attack, he blocks.
I'm at 7. I attack, he takes it 7-15. I attack, he takes it 6-10. I cast
my Grinning Totem! HAHA! His Zuran Orb is mine next tu rn! I attack, he
takes it 5-5. I activate the Totem with a Jet and two Badlands untapped.
WHERE IS HIS ZURAN ORB!!?? I totem'ed for his Ancestral Recall the
previous game and had seen it so it had to be there somewhere. It was
nowhere to be found. A bit f lustered, I tried to decide on an alternate
card to pick. Sean said, "Don't change the order of the cards unless
you're going to take it." Must have been some old Jedi Mind Trick he used
on me. I looked at my hand and saw I had a Tactics and a City of Bra ss. I
couldn't find any Lightning Bolts in his deck either, so I assumed he had
them in hand, so I knew I had to kill him now or he might kill me next
turn or on my upkeep. I chose - Psionic Blast. I guess I was thinking that
he wouldn't be able to draw o ne on his turn, so my Juzam would attack and
kill him on the next. I ended my turn. Sean drew his card. He played a
land and Stripped my City of Brass. I let it go not casting the Psi Blast
fearing he had a Bolt in hand. My turn, I take 1 point from the J uzam.
4-5. He Bolts me -- 1-5. He Incinerates me. I'm dead! AARGGHH!!! Onto game
three!
GAME THREE Turn One - Swamp, Lotus, Ritual, Ritual, TWO JUGGERNAUTS! Even
though Sean is playing a Bolt deck, I gamble that he won't be able to deal
with them that fast. Sean's Turn one: Volcanic Island, Bolt. My hopes
wilt. I smack him with the remaining Juggernaut . His next turn, Mox,
land, Serendib. I attack with the Jugg and he trades creatures. Next he
lays a Black Vise and strips my remaining land. He gets a pair of Mox
Monkeys out. I draw a Dark Banishing. I start to internally curse myself
for not siding in the Contagions instead. I get plinked to death by Mox
Monkeys and finished off by a Vise and Bolt. Thankyouforplaying.
Turns out in game two I made what I now call my "$1600 Mistake." Like I
said, Sean is a master of Jedi Mind Tricks. All I needed to do was Totem
for an Incinerate. Then I could have cast both the Tactics and Incinerate
with the four mana I had available, ending the game before he had another
turn and before I had another upkeep for the Juzam. *SIGH* There went my
guaranteed Top 4 Finish.
Oh well. I guess it was just my time to choke at the elite levels of Magic
in the skill-intensive realm of Type Fun.
In the semi-finals:
Johns vs O'Mahoney-Schwartz - Johns won, 2-1
The key here was Scott's sideboard, which contained at least three
Meekstones. Scott locked down one of OM-S's Serendibs for at least 5 turns
under a Meekstone, without drawing any anti-artifact measures, like a Mox
Monkey. Five life means a lot when two blast decks face off.
Fleischman vs Shwe - Shwe won, 2-0
Shwe just got the faster draws. That's about all there is to say.
I should note though that ALL FOUR SEMI-FINALISTS played a speed
creature/burn deck. The only difference is that the East Coast players
used Serendibs and the West Coast players used more Red Blasts. There may
be other differences, but I'm not acutely aware of them.
In the final match:
Johns vs Shwe - Johns won, 2-1
Not much to say. Speed vs Speed is pretty much a toss-up.
PHEW. That's the whole tourney report. I would like to add a couple words
about playing this deck. It's very much an 'Old School' deck. Big
Creatures with hand/land destruction. Apparently there was much scoffing
at my decision to use Juggernauts and even some question about why the
Grinning Totem is in there instead of a Jester's Cap. Please allow me to
explain:
JUGGERNAUTS. They're huge, fast, and not reliant on color. They're also
one of the most fragile creatures in the game. Disenchant, Lightning
Bolt, Crumble, and a host of smaller creatures can easily destroy them.
People usually think, Hypnotic Spectre is a much sounder choice and in
general I would agree with them. But, there were several reasons I didn't
pack Spectres. First, I expected to face off against other Necro decks.
My Juggernauts can kill their Juzams and Spectres. Their Spectres are
just weak blockers compared to my Juggernauts. Second, I expected to see
several Abyss decks there. I only faced one player who packed the Abyss
(Ryan Eaton) and I got rid of it with my Nether Void after he buried one
of my Monkeys. Thirdly and most importantly -- SAND GOLEMS. I knew there
would be tons of them in sideboards and I didn't want to be reliant on
Spectres for damage if I'd be taking 4 points the next turn and every
turn thereafter. If people put the Golems in against me, they wouldn't be
nearly as effective since I usually pulled out my Stupors in favor of
better cards. Lastly, Juggernauts are still creatures if hit by a
Contagion. True, 1/1 isn't a whole lot, but they're still on the table.
As for the Grinning Totem, there were two cards that I expected to be the
most important in the tournament. Balance and Zuran Orb. Even though I was
playing Necro, I didn't want to pack Ivory Tower since I knew there'd be
at least 4 Vises for me to compete with. It was in my sideboard until
about 30 minutes before the tourney however. I figured if nothing else I
could take my opponent's Zorb. After seeing some wild Balance decks in the
previous couple weeks, especially with Mystical Tutor in force, I knew
that this card could knock me flat. It really sucks losing two big
creatures and your entire hand with a Necro on the table and no way to
easily replace it. So, I figured if nothing else, I could put a Balance
into my opponent's graveyard. Also, it's such an advantage to have a peak
at your opponent's deck, no matter what the situation. Some cards that I
actually Totem'd for were: Demonic Tutor, Ancestral Recall, Juzam Djinn
and Recall. It depended highly on my mana situation, and my opponent's
deck as to what I selected. I took the Recall against Biren's control
deck which had a bit of recursion in it. I took a Juzam against Peter
Guevin in Game 1. He never saw ANY of my creatures so he didn't know
what to defend against in Game 2.
All in all it's a pretty sound deck. I think I would make two
modifications to it after chatting with Zak Dolan that night. He also
asked about the Juggernauts and came up with what I think is a good
solution for them -- Balduvian Hordes. Now before you naysayers start
saying nay again, listen to strategy. Not only are they bolt-proof, but
against Black Vise, they may actually help! Plus, since I'm not packing
Ivory Tower, it really doesn't matter how many cards I want to hold in
hand. Necropotence will fill my hand right back up. I would probably opt
for two Hordes in place of two Stupors, and I'd also tweak the mana ratio
for the extra Red (there was considerable red in my sideboard so that's
why the Sulphur Springs were in there). The only drawback to Hordes is
that they can't be Ritualed out and they're affected by The Abyss.
Perhaps they'd make a better sideboard creature.
I hope you all enjoyed this tourney report. It's by far the most detailed
I've attempted to put together. See ya!
--
Jeffrey Kuta (http://www.best.com/~jezebel)
do...@netcom.com
SF Bay DC Sanctioned Booster Draft and Type II tournaments are held
bi-weekly at Who's on First? Friday at 7:00pm (Draft) and Sunday at 1:00pm
(Type II). Next events are Fri 29 November and Sun 01 December. Arena days
are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Call Jeff Ferreira at 510-582-1893 for
info. DIRS: Take 880 to Industrial (S of 92); Industrial east to Mission.
Weekly sanctioned tourneys start December 6th!
Chris Otwell
Jeff's deck was very effective overall. It also taught me that my type 1 deck
(Autumn Willow/Insects/Abyss/DropHoney) deck may very well be obsolete
becuase of the blazing speed that won this event. I got to play against it and
well got my ass kicked badly. In hind sight, your were right, Hymns and Stupors
would of done me better than some of the blue cards.
After my expeierence in the Type 1, I feel fairly humbled by the whole event, even
though i placed 33rd overall (Best of everyone in Colorado).
Now, if we can only convince Andrew Finch to reverse his discission to not have
any more type 1 pro tour events.....
As I remember, it was also the Only Necro deck to finish in the top 8.
Chris Otwell
---
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Christopher E. Otwell otw...@rmtc.central.sun.com
I will be playing in the Type 1 @ in Dallas.
hnt...@aol.com
Jeffery Kuta (do...@netcom.com) writes:
:Turns out in game two I made what I now call my "$1600 Mistake." Like I
:said, Sean is a master of Jedi Mind Tricks. All I needed to do was Totem
:for an Incinerate. Then I could have cast both the Tactics and Incinerate
:with the four mana I had available, ending the game before he had another
:turn and before I had another upkeep for the Juzam. *SIGH* There went my
:guaranteed Top 4 Finish.
:I guess it was just my time to choke at the elite levels of Magic
:in the skill-intensive realm of Type Fun.
As the losers always seem to say- the game is 99% luck. : )
(Oddly enough, however, I saw few pure BFC, Weenie, or Necropotence
designs triumphing in the t1 environ, despite their domination of
the "real" tourney scene. : ) Really now- a Lake of the Dead/Sengir
Vampire scheme with any hope of winning, much less unerringly?
Moreover, note how all the T2 ProTour Finals matches were decided
on little more than luck (lucky Swords to Plowshares,
unlucky Consultations, lucky Balance)- if anything, luck plays far less
a role in t1, certainly, barring some rare freak occurrences. Why has
no t2 player won more than one of the "major" tournaments if skill
truly plays a part? Why has Johns, for instance, been so successful,
time and time again? It would seem to countermand your belittlement,
to a degree.)
:Johns vs Shwe - Johns won, 2-1
:Not much to say. Speed vs Speed is pretty much a toss-up.
Hardly- Johns' deck contained a number of Mystical Tutors,
which allowed for swift and expedient card cycling and Vise-pumping
via the Twister and Wheel. His sideboard and strategy, again, were simply
superior...
Regarding your deck:
:3 Juzam Djinn
:4 Juggernaut
As i'm sure you realise, these are extremely vulnerable to Meekstone
and Moat (and therefore Enlightened Tutor), especially given your dearth
of Disks (in the main deck and the sideboard). Your Shamans may exorcise
them eventually, but three turns can make quite a deal of difference,
as you say.
ml...@aol.com
More type 1! it sounds interesting.
do...@netcom.com
hnt...@aol.com wrote:
: Jeffery Kuta (do...@netcom.com) writes:
: :Turns out in game two I made what I now call my "$1600 Mistake." Like I
: :said, Sean is a master of Jedi Mind Tricks. All I needed to do was Totem
: :for an Incinerate. Then I could have cast both the Tactics and Incinerate
: :with the four mana I had available, ending the game before he had another
: :turn and before I had another upkeep for the Juzam. *SIGH* There went my
: :guaranteed Top 4 Finish.
: :I guess it was just my time to choke at the elite levels of Magic
: :in the skill-intensive realm of Type Fun.
: As the losers always seem to say- the game is 99% luck. : )
Well, I'll also explained in my report that I was the benificiary of a
bit of luck as well. One of my opponent's (Patrick Albro) was double mana
screwed. When I faced Mark Justice, it was Necro for me, Necro for him,
Necro for me. I won the coin toss before game one and that made all the
difference.
: (Oddly enough, however, I saw few pure BFC, Weenie, or Necropotence
: designs triumphing in the t1 environ, despite their domination of
: the "real" tourney scene. : ) Really now- a Lake of the Dead/Sengir
: Vampire scheme with any hope of winning, much less unerringly?
: Moreover, note how all the T2 ProTour Finals matches were decided
: on little more than luck (lucky Swords to Plowshares,
: unlucky Consultations, lucky Balance)- if anything, luck plays far less
: a role in t1, certainly, barring some rare freak occurrences. Why has
: no t2 player won more than one of the "major" tournaments if skill
: truly plays a part? Why has Johns, for instance, been so successful,
: time and time again? It would seem to countermand your belittlement,
: to a degree.)
No belittlement at all. Scott's deck was very well built -- he probably
would have thrashed me, but then, I had plenty of anti-artifact measures
which would have gone in as soon as I saw Black Vise. Who's to say? So was
Huei's was also fast and efficient. They were both very similar. It just
so happens that when similar decks go up against each other, the luck
factor (of which order cards are drawn) increases.
: :Johns vs Shwe - Johns won, 2-1
: :Not much to say. Speed vs Speed is pretty much a toss-up.
: Hardly- Johns' deck contained a number of Mystical Tutors,
: which allowed for swift and expedient card cycling and Vise-pumping
: via the Twister and Wheel. His sideboard and strategy, again, were simply
: superior...
Mystical Tutors are excellent cards and Scott knew how to use them to
their fullest impact. I thought Huei had some as well? If not, then it's
no surprise they meant the difference in the match (I was starving so I
got some food and didn't see the finals -- I figured the match would
simply be lots of "What life are you at?")
: Regarding your deck:
: :3 Juzam Djinn
: :4 Juggernaut
: As i'm sure you realise, these are extremely vulnerable to Meekstone
: and Moat (and therefore Enlightened Tutor), especially given your dearth
: of Disks (in the main deck and the sideboard). Your Shamans may exorcise
: them eventually, but three turns can make quite a deal of difference,
: as you say.
Of course, but with considerable Hand Destruction at my disposal, I still
could afford to hold back my creatures until I didn't expect a threat to
hit the table. When I played Biren, I was careful not to put Juzams on
the table until I was prepared for his Moats (with Dystopia or Disks).
It's a very situational thing and I felt my deck was prepared for any
that might arise. When it came down to it, Sean's DD was faster than my
big creatures. That's how it goes.
Jeff
Mario Robaina
In article <dolorE1...@netcom.com> do...@netcom.com writes:
>
>: :Johns vs Shwe - Johns won, 2-1
>
>: :Not much to say. Speed vs Speed is pretty much a toss-up.
>
>: which allowed for swift and expedient card cycling and Vise-pumping
>: via the Twister and Wheel. His sideboard and strategy, again, were simply
>: superior...
>
>Mystical Tutors are excellent cards and Scott knew how to use them to
>their fullest impact. I thought Huei had some as well?
He did and the helped him win game one when Scott accidentally Wheeled
instead of twistering. Hwei put an Ancestral on the top of the library
for the WHeel.
If not, then it's
>no surprise they meant the difference in the match (I was starving so I
>got some food and didn't see the finals -- I figured the match would
>simply be lots of "What life are you at?")\
Interestingly enough... this appeared to be the phrase of the
tournament. With all the bolts flying around you could be toast at any
moment.
Later,
Mario.
Chris Otwell
Here is a brief story of my time in Dallas.
Chris
----- Begin Included Message -----
Report of my trip to Dallas:
Arrived Thursday, played a lot, traded a lot, went to an all-you-can-eat,
had fun. Tested my deck out against some European People and was getting my
but kicked by creature decks (mainly). Paniced, and changed my deck by 4
cards. Tried it again and it worked better. Played against a Recursion
deck that was attempting to remove every source of mana from the game. Very
effective and effcient. Twice he grinning totemed me for my Library of
Alexandria. Lost both 45 minute games to him. Decide to begin work on
making a Nether Void/Land Destruction deck for Friday, but stopped after
Russ talked some sence into me about my deck. Went to sleep about 2am.
=-=-=-=-=
Friday: Woke up at 6am. Ate breakfast. registered decks and self.
Prepared to play. Finished work on sideboard. Started.
Scott decided to play his deck without Sleves and make EVERY opponent
De-Sleeve. A lot of people were cursing loadly @ him, to say the least.
His reasoning: To be a dick and get the Psycological advantage. Not for
any other reason. One guy even asked him if he plays with sleeves:
Scott said: "Always, just not today." Which of course pissed the other
guy off even more.
1st round: I end up getting the only BYE at the event. Figures.
Scott Shiltz, Eric Kirkman, and Russel Smith all lose badly. Team Colorado
starts on a bad foot for what seemed like a very unlucky day overall.
2nd Round: I play against Turbo-Statis. Rather boring match. Good thing
I put Strip Mines into my deck before hand.
3rd Round: Played vs. an Erhamn-Burnem deck w/ Mox Monkeys. beat the deck
quickly and effectively.
4th Round: Played vs. a Necro Deck. Got ass kicked in short order. Never
had more than 2 lands in play at any time in either game. Had a total of
7 lands striped during the match.
5th Round: Played vs. a Erhamn and Burnem/Mox Monkey deck. Beat in short
order.
6th Round: Played vs. a 3rd Erhanem and Burnem deck, but with enough Blue for
the Power Blue and Arcane Denails as well as powersinks. Was unable to
keep any Abysses or Drops on the board. 8 entered play and 0 creatures were
removed becuase of them. Ended up lossing in the end.
7th Round: Played against Michael Loconto. He was also playing an Erhan and
Burnem Deck w/Mox Monkeys/Dwqarven Miners. I intentionally prolonged the game
just to be annoying and make Loco have to deal with the pain of my deck. I
killed him in the 2nd game, after 6 timetwisters w/3 Insects and 4 Mishras in
play. He was making all kinds of comments on how me never wants to play
against me again. 8^) Enjoyed every minute of it.
Cut off takes place here. I finish 33rd overall.. Best of everyone from
Colorado though.
Watched the finals. Saw what beat up the 35 necro decks: 12 Bolts, Tactics,
Psi-Blasts, Kirdapes, Mox Monkeys, Savana Lions, etc.... Basically, a
Modified version of "The Gun". 3 of these made the final 4. Eventually,
Scott Johns won it all.
I used the following deck:
3 Abysses
3 Drops of Honey
4 Mana Drains
4 Arcane Denials
4 Deadly Insects
1 Zuran orb
1 regrowth
1 Maze of Ith
1 TimeTwister
4 Disenchants
1 Autumn Willow
5 Moxen/SRing/BLotus
1 Time Walk
1 Ancetral Recall
1 Balance
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Library of Alexendria
4 Mishras
3 Strip mines
4 Cities of Brass
2 Tundras
2 undergrounds Seas
4 tropical Islands
2 plains
2 Forests
2 Islands
Basically... my deck was too slow against what was winning. And i should of
played with the Sword to Plows in the main deck... Oh well. Next Time I will do
better.
Afterwards. Went to the BBQ. Had a drink with BethMo (Beth Moursond) and
Watched the Game Show with her. I tried to take the qualifing test for the
Game Show and basically game up after only knowing 15 answers
of the 150 questions.
=-=-=-=
Saturday:
Played a lot of booster draft events till 4:30am. Found my self locked out
of the room. Napped infront of the door till about 6:30, then slept till
about 9am. Got up, went to the Mirage Sealed deck and the Type 1.5 events.
Finished in teh top 8 of the Mirage Sealed out of 64 people, but only went
1 - 5 matches in the 1.5 (W/Pox deck), including loosing to a Shivan Deck..
Watch some of the type 2 event, and played in 6 or 7 more drafts of Foriegn
cards (Including German Ice Age, Japancese Mirage, and Spanish Homelands).
Went ot bed about 5am (again), taking note that I didn't eat at all during
the day.
=-=-=-=-=
Sunday: Got up at 8am. Went to the Type 1 and went 2-4 overall with
my type 1 deck. Played in a type 2, watched some of the finals, played in
drafts. Played against Olle Rade, Dennis Bently, Scott Johns, Tom Champeng,
and others, in various events. Ate 1/2 a 10 inch Pizza that cost $18.50 total,
from Pizza Hut. Raided the WotC lounge w/Eric Kirkam for about 4 cups of
"Gold Fish Crackers" which we ate. Played some more events and watched the
awards cerimony (15 minutes long). Talk to a lot of people. Purchased some
memorbia, and picked up my Contender Shirt. Left to see my relatives about
10pm Sunday. Flew back the next day thinking about the weekend and that I
will do everything I can to return to the Pro Tour in Los Angeles, End of
February.
=-=-=-=-
Interesting Notes:
All type 1 decks w/the power blue in them, also supported the Mystic Tutor,
to get a 2nd turn Ancestral Recall or to fetch what ever....
The 2 most dominate type 2 Decks were the Necro deck and the u/w
Winter Orb/Armegeddon/Millstone/Outpost decks.
of the final 8 in both the Masters and the Juniors, 5 were the u/w decks.
of the masters: the remaining 3 were 2 Necros and 1 All-white creatureless
deck (Baxter's deck). Of the remaining 3 in the Juniors, all were Necro.
All these u/w decks had Mystic Tutors in them.
Talked to Skaff Elais and according to him, Mystic Tutor has now become the
mostly likely card to become restricted next in both type 1 and type 2.
Other things: Type 2 deck that had a nearly 1st turn kill, involving
POX, Nicol Bolas, Shallow Grave, Racks and Dark rituals.... Opponent's hand
was empty on the first turn w/a rack in play, before he ever played a card.
Most interesting Type 1 deck: A full recursion deck of Marc Hernadezes,
using Lion's Eye Diamonds as a key cards. On many 3rd turns, he
Korvek's Torched an opponent for 50+ damage. But with a bad draw, it'd lose.
=-=-=-=-=
I was unable to accomplish either goal I set for myself: 1) Win Money and
2) Earn the right of Continual Invitation.
Yet, I will return and this time, I will accomplish my goals.
My experience @ the Pro Tour.
Christopher E. Otwell
----- End Included Message -----
Daniel M Gray
otw...@Eng.Sun.COM (Chris Otwell) writes:
>Jeff's deck was very effective overall. It also taught me that my type 1 deck
>(Autumn Willow/Insects/Abyss/DropHoney) deck may very well be obsolete
>becuase of the blazing speed that won this event. I got to play against it and
>well got my ass kicked badly. In hind sight, your were right, Hymns and Stupors
>would of done me better than some of the blue cards.
>After my expeierence in the Type 1, I feel fairly humbled by the whole event, even
>though i placed 33rd overall (Best of everyone in Colorado).
>Now, if we can only convince Andrew Finch to reverse his discission to not have
>any more type 1 pro tour events.....
This isn't 100% correct. As I understand it(from talking to Andrew),
in the future there will be Type I and Type 1.5 events in addition to the
PT's main event. Like the Type I at Dallas, they will not have the same
restrictions on who can play, nor will they count for PT points. Three major
things will be different, however 1) The tournaments will be open, much like
the event at AndCon-- if you show up and want to play, you can, 2) The
prizes will be slightly smaller($2,000-$5,000, on average, for first place,
as opposed to the $11,200 Scott Johns won at Dallas), and 3) These events
will no longer be scheduled in such a way that all the people qualified for
the main PT can be assured of being able to play in the major side event as
well. This is to eliminate the 9-round Swiss main event marathons that have
happened at both Atlanta and Dallas now(and which are hard on both the
judges and the players). Andrew was also talking about having side teams
events similar to the one at Atlanta, but structured like what I outlined
above at each PT stop. As far I as know, they haven't fully dismissed the
possibility of having a full-blown Type I or Type 1.5 PT event sometime in
the future. The Type 1.5 event will remain a part of the World
Championships, and one is going to be added to next year's U.S.
Nationals(since the Nationals this year will be more like Worlds-- a
three-day affair-- rather than the one-day Type II they were this year).
Dan Gray