Subject: PTQ LA Columbus Ohio, 11/28/98 Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 10:22:29 -0500 From: Sam Stoddard To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com [Tournament] LA PTQ 11/28/98 Columbus, Oh 160 people entered. Well, I wasn’t going to write a tourney report, but I did pretty well, so I figured, hey, why not. I just wish I had taken notes now :( Basically, all of the major Columbusites are going to this tourney, which I know, and as the usual andon event, I am expecting the usual 60-80 person turn out....boy was I wrong. Myself, Randy Wright, Jason Means, Jess Means, and Ed Porter meet at Bob Evans, where I end up just having basically nothing. After that, we go to the tourney, and get ready to begin. As we get there about 9:00 we see that about 60 people are there already....and we watch as in the next hour about another 100 show up, including Hunka, the Marks brothers, Opalka, Taylor, Lenord Richardson, and numerous other ProTour or players. hmm...maybe this WONT be so easy to Q at :) My deck: Instead of listing everything I got, I will just list what I played Land (16) 8 Swamp 7 Plains 1 Smoldering Crater Creatures (11) 1 Ravenous Scurge 1 Sanctum Custodian 1 Serra Zealot 1 Opal Caryatid 1 Cathodian 1 Cackling Fiend 1 Sanctum Guardian 1 Serra Avatar 2 Monk Realist 1 Intrepid Hero Removal/nullification: (9) 1 Humble 1 Path of Peace 1 Pit Trap 1 Befoul 2 Corrupt 1 Pestilence 2 Despondency Discard (2) 1 Diress 1 Persecute Damage Prevention: (3) 1 Redeem 1 ROP: Blue 1 ROP: White Misc.: (1) 1 Serra's Embrace Total cards: 42 Total land: 16 Well, the last minute addition of the 2 RoPs was because of poor math...unfortunately, it made me have 42 cards and 16 land...not good. Oh well, I can always SB 2 cards out down to 40 game 2. I notice that there is a * by my name. It turns out that all players under 1700 got them, which I feel is very stupid, as people make it synonymous with scrub. The problem being that all my points for PTQs for Chicago (around 100-150, maybe more) was not entered, making me very pissed off. Mike Guptil said he would make sure they got entered and I got them by next month. Mike is the man. Round 1: Someone whose name I don’t remember (you wont be the only one today :) These games involve me thoroughly trouncing him, not much else to say. He didn’t get much but mana, I got a LOT of good stuff. 1-0 game 2-0 match Round 2; Someone whose name I don’t remember 2-0 game 4-0 match He should of one this one, but his lack of knowledge killed him. First, he played a Crater Hellion when I had (among things), a Sanctum Guardian and a Intrepid Hero. I save my Hero (which he didn’t think I could do, but the judge confirmed it) and I went on to win it. Second match, he could of won with Crater Hellion, but he thought that his Retromancer would do 3 to him when he cast it, killing him. Oh well. A nice guy though. Round 3 Someone whose name I don’t remember (seeing a pattern?) This was a fairly good game, the tables kept going back and forth, but I managed to pull it out in the end. 3-0 game 6-0 match Round 4: Scott McMullen Scott is one of my magic buddies, so I have beating him, but what can you do? First game: I beat him down, he has little land, and no chance. Second game: I get beat down. He has the right cards, I Don’t third game: I topdeck like the badass I am, and I managed to pull it out with pure luck. He could have drawn the game at 2 life each because of his pestilence and 3 black mana, but decides as he as a confiscate in hand, and only 1 blue mana, to try and draw it next turn. I top deck...path of peace on my Sanctum Guardian and my 4/4 Serra's Embraced Serra's Avatar ( I know..huge...) is chump blocked by his only flyer. Next turn it gets through becoming 8/8. A VERY close match. One of those matches you really enjoy playing. 4-0 game 8-1 match Round 5: Someone else whose name I cant remember This guy is pretty nice, but I could tell that he was looking for the easy win (after I play a good card, he checks the back to see if it is marked, EVERY TIME) Game 1: We get into a stall, until I draw Pestilence, but he has 2 regenerators out. I try and kill them all. but I mess up the pestilence (forgetting to kill one with Hero in response to Pestilence) and I have to draw the game (Pestilence is amazing, no?) Games 2, 3: I don’t remember much, besides winning. Game 3 I got a turn 4 Pestilence/Despondency combo going (effectively limiting him to 1 creature with no power) until the turn 7 Avatar. 5-0 game 10-1-1 match Round 6: Don’t remember his name, but a very nice kid. I could tell he wasn’t that experienced, but he played very well Game 1: I beat him, basically by using utility cards to the most card advantage possible. Game 2: He beats me, don’t remember much Game 3: Don’t remember much, VERY close match, but I win in the end. I am now 6-0, and can draw into final 8, which is good. He is 5-1, which can still make it in as long as he wins, which he does, but then he gets rounded down to the only 16pter and has to play and lose. I really felt sorry for him, but so is life. Round 7: Randy Wright Draw Round 8: Jacob..somthing (sorry) Draw So now I am in top 8 (4th seed) with such people (as I can remember) as Me, Denver, Randy Wright, Hunka, John Marks, and a lot of other good players I sit next to Marks and someone I don’t know. I draft this: 7 Forest 7 Plains 1 Cradle (!) 1 Drifting Meadows Creature Beatdown 1 Disciple of Law 1 Disciple of Grace 1 Elvish Lyricist 1 Cave Tiger 1 Argothian Elder 1 Wild Dogs 1 Songsticher 1 Hopping Automaton 2 Sanctum Custodian 2 Opal Caryatid 1 Treetop Rangers 1 Argothian Swine 1 Winding Wurm 2 Angelic Page (!) 1 Shimmering Barrier Utility 2 Dragon Blood (!) 2 Redeem (!) 1 WORSHIP (!) Total: 40 cards this time :) Side (relevant stuff) 1 ROP: Black 2 Absolute Law Round 1: Jacob He is playing G/R Beatdown. Game 1: I get out a worship...and not one creature. game Game 2: I get out a 2nd turn Absolute Law and beat him down like nothing you have ever seen. Game 3: see game 2, with Worship Round 2: Denver Denver is a nice guy that I have seen around, and a really good player, this is his first top 8 victory, however. He is playing B/R Beatdown. game 1: turn 4 Worship, lots of creatures, Dragon Blood game 2: He concedes after the turn 2 Law and turn 5 Worship. woohoo...im in finals vs.. Hunka (who I had knocked out of contention for top8 twice..so he wants some revenge :) Round 3: Hunka (playing U/B amazing deck) This is where the lack of sleep hits my like a ton of bricks. I am REALLY not that bad of a player, but I make about a million stupid mistakes due to the fact I really cant think straight. This is what 10 rounds of a tourney does to you...and why SLigh always seems to beat such great decks as CounterPost, Big Blue, etc). We split the money 150/100 (for tax reasons, as the person who gets the 150 will pay about $36 in tax) Game 1: I get my god draw. 4th turn Winding Wurm with all kinds of amazing stuff on table, then a Boon. I make about 10 mistakes, but win. Game 2: I get a good start, but the weenies stop. I lose big time (after Rescind on Worship) (about 10 mistakes) Game 3: Good start, weenies continue. win ( 20 mistakes) Game 4: Good start, no weenies, and he Confiscates my Worship...crap. Game 5: Good start, but again, I cant draw the weenies I Need to save my life. His Endoskeleton Coral Merfolk with a Pestilence out means game for him. So Hunka qualified for LA, and it couldn’t happen to a better guy. We joked around and stuff during the finals, since I knew that his deck would beat mine without a steady draw of weenies. I have played it out a few hundred times in my head, and I am confidant that there was no way I could have won the games I lost, even with all my errors. Ofcorse, I don’t remember much of them anymore. So after 1 day of work I am up: 1 Box a LOT of good cards in my sealed a LOT of DCI points and $75. Not bad for a days work. Props: Mike Guptil for running the usually great tournament John Marks for making me laugh, as well as being a cool guy John Hunka for Qualifying for the Pro Tour, and being a good winner. All my opponents for not being sore losers, or the like. Adam Huges for giving me a ride home. Slops me: For losing in finals (oh well :) Jess Means for leaving with my coat in his car :(