Subject: MA State Championships (Top 8) Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 15:34:09 -0500 From: Chad Ellis To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hi Everyone, Well, Type II isn't my format, but with a few of the best players off having fun in Rome I managed to make top 8 at the Massachusetts State Championships. Your Move Games somehow hosted nearly 100 players on-site, for seven rounds of Swiss ending with Top 8 elimination. Regular readers may recall that I played at Your Move Games' first Urza's Type II tournament with a Tradewind/Orb control deck, beating Land Destruction/Argothian Wurm in round one, Academy (barely) in round two, SuiBlack in round three and then lost to Counter-Phoenix in round four, which turned out to be the finals as the third undefeated player at that point was paired down and lost. One thing that came out of that tournament was that the Phoenix matchup was just awful (as ever I hadn't had much chance to test or play Type II before the tourney itself), and that Disks in general were a real problem. (Where, or where, has my Monkey gone?) In my report of that tournament I mentioned some ways to improve the deck's odds in those matchups, and my modifications (finalized on the morning of the tournament) went roughly along the lines I discussed there. First, the Worbs came out in favor of Armageddon. If you're already vulnerable to Disks (and given that Disks are popular now), it makes much more sense in general not to rely on an artifact for mana control. Armageddon costs two more, but it is also very often a must-counter spell for control decks and can't be retro-countered with a Disk. It is also objectively stronger in most cases (even though Orb/Cradle can be lots of fun), since under the Orb your opponent can untap a land and play one, so a single Tradewind can't keep them locked at one mana. (Instead you usually bounce permanents typically, which is good but not quite the same, especially if your opponent would like to Sonic Burst your Tradewind.) I also put three Disenchants in the main deck, replacing the Lobotomies and Stroke of Genius (less likely to be good w/Armageddon and just not that good in the deck anyway). This combination makes the deck much more resiliant vs. Disks. A turn four disk may get Disenchanted followed by a Geddon, which is probably game, and it takes a lot of mana to cast and protect a disk considering I have counters of my own. With Geddon replacing Worb, I also reconsidered the Fellwar Stones. I like Fellwar Stone, but as a penta-mana source it's not so good in the current environment (no Gemstone Mines, Undiscovered Paradise, etc. on the opponent's side, plus Death is less common), and it doesn't exactly combo with Geddon. My original thought was simply to swap them for Mox Diamonds, but either way I'm still playing more mana that can be Disked away. In the end I just took them out altogether and put back the Lobotomies. They are good against a lot of the field and particularly good with Tradewinds, and looking back on past games and goldfish tests I didn't find getting the mana to be such a big problem, especially since the main deck is basically U/G with just a touch of White. Finally, reflecting the shift from zero main-deck White spells to six (three of each), I added two Brushlands and an Adarkar Waste (replacing two Forests and an Island) to boost my odds of White mana. That leaves me with seven lands (not including Pools) and four birds producing White mana. Here is the deck I played: 4 Force Spike 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Legacy's Allure 2 Mana Leak 3 Disenchant 3 Spike Feeder 1 Mirri, Cat Warrior Angel of Beatings Counts as a Cat Warrior (apologies to Michelle for misnaming this card in my last report) 2 Spike Weaver 4 Tradewind Rider 2 Lobotomy 3 Armageddon 2 City of Brass 2 Thran Quarry 2 Brushland 1 Adarkar Waste 1 Wasteland (I forgot to replace it) 2 Reflecting Pool 2 Gaea's Cradle 6 Forests 6 Islands Sideboard: 4 Propaganda 4 Pyroblast 2 Lobotomy 1 Disenchant 2 Gilded Drake 1 Congregate 1 Interdict Some observations: No Wurms. I don't think the Argothian Wurm really fits this deck, although it's probably worth testing. I think ultimately it's the type of card that only wins you games you're already winning. There are very few decks out there that are likely to recover faster than I do from Armageddon, so trying to lock it up with a 6/6 Trampler is likely to be overkill. Against Sligh I'd love to cast one on turn 3, but unless he's mana-screwed I'd probably rather cast a Spike or Wall of Blossoms. Most Sligh decks started off with a couple of 2/1 guys and went beatdown...I would rather cast Wall of Blossoms than Stone Rain in that case, since I don't want to give Sligh another chance to hit me and get me close to burn range. Against the control decks I don't really want to cast any 4cc spells early on, but try to get through some small threats so they can't just say "Land, go," so that I can force something through later. Thran Quarry. I agree with those who say this is not a great land in most decks...you certainly don't want to use it to cast turn-one Birds, or anything early for that matter. In the first tournament, however, it did what it was supposed to -- get me penta-mana when I really needed it (like for Lobotomy). Since I only really needed it for big spells and sideboard stuff, it wasn't fatal if it got Disked away. (Against a disk player I would often hold it until I used it to cast a game-ending spell.) At States, even though it should be better (e.g. I use it to get the W I need to Geddon), it was more of a pain. More testing is needed. Gilded Drake. This is such a good sideboard card vs. Tradewinds...but I have yet to play against another Tradewind deck and there weren't too many at the tournament. With 4 Pyros in the board anyway, this may have to come out in favor of something more appropriate for the current metagame. I guess at least I don't have to worry too much that they'll get used against me. Legacy's Allure. Good against SuiBlack, but not as good as in Rath, since we're back to Unholy Strengthed guys who take much longer to steal. Also made a bit less good by the general lack of Tradewinds/Birds in the field. OK vs. Sligh, but a bit slow. Useless vs. Academy and almost useless vs. Phoenix (basically "Kill target Phoenix", which isn't so bad if you Geddon.) Sideboard: I'm a big fan of having flexible sideboard cards, and unless I'm very weak against a particular deck or it is super popular I prefer to use sideboard slots for cards that can be used vs. a lot of decks. Hence no Annul or Meltdown (even though they're both good) since I would only want them vs. Academy. Pyroblasts and Lobotomies are good vs. Academy and Phoenix and any other deck with Blue (well, I wouldn't bring Lobotomies in vs. Fish, but...). Gemstone Mine and Undiscovered Paradise. I miss you. Come back...and bring the Urangutan and Man-o'-War with you. And now, on to the tournament: I'm just using first names since I don't know everyone's last name. Round 1: Rich playing Suicide Black Rich and I have met a few times before, and neither of us was psyched to be the other's first-round pairing. We first met when we both made top 8 in a Rath constructed PTQ, me with my Necrologia deck and him with WW. We then played in round one of the next PTQ (same decks, both tweaked slightly) and I just barely won game 3. He had been forced to Cataclysm to stop my Corpse Dancing, but I had a Diamond in play and was able to get the final two points in by laying a land, Dancing a Fanatic without buyback, attacking and then shooting him. Rich was feeling particularly bad, however, as he was playing a version of a deck he'd seen me beat at the Mox tournament and felt he'd gotten a bad matchup. (I agree, Suiblack is one of my best matchups.) Game 1 (i.e. before sideboarding) is probably the most "honest" of the games...he doesn't have Perish or too much removal, but I don't have Propaganda, which can single-handedly wreck him. We have to play an actual game of Magic. I start to get control and he Hatreds away a Tradewind, but he's low on cards and particularly Shadow creatures. He beats me down to six, but I establish control and (I think) Geddon with an active Tradewind. Game 2 he gets out two Slayers and they start pounding. I Congregate from 4 to 14, but then go right back down again. I do manage to Force Spike his Hatred, but it's not enough. No Propagandas show up. Game 3 I think he got a bad draw and I got a great start. I took one point of damage (from my own pain-land) and locked him up. I think I countered a Terror. Round 2: Breston playing Sligh Breston had bad luck in our match, drawing too much land in game one and too little in game 2. Game one he plays first and second turn Pups, but no second turn land. I play a Bird and then Mirri, Cat Warrior (who, by the way, counts as a Cat Warrior). Mirri is a pretty complete answer to Jackal Pups as long as you don't let your opponent lay a second land and Incinerate her. Turn three I played a third land and Geddoned, and soon after dropped a Wall and something else. Mirri kept deserting her post to hit for 2, but since she was somehow always back in time to block, I forgave her. Game 2 he plays a bunch of land and not as many creatures as I'm sure he would have liked. I don't remember too many details, but I never went below 12 life. I think this is the game where he drew all four Pyroblasts and I drew all four Tradewinds. Fortunately, I also drew Spikes and stuff, while he didn't draw enough burn or creatures. Round 3: Phil playing Sligh I apologize if I mix up some of the Sligh action from these matches...it was a VERY long tournament. Game 1 I just got beaten down, although I did manage to draw it out quite a while with Spikes and Geddons. Game 2 I made a very bad auto-pilot sideboard decision. Normally against Sligh I was taking out my Disenchants because the Geddons are a solid answer for Scrolls and I can't afford to have reactive cards when I'm getting beaten down. Phil, however, played a Disk in game 1, which means the Disenchants needed to stay in. Anyway, he starts with a bit of damage, but nothing too serious. I stabilize, and get Allure on the table, and he plays a Disk. I then draw almost every good card in my deck that isn't a threat...Walls, Allures, you name it. I need to make him blow the disk while keeping enough threats in my hand. Finally I'm able to do it (it's quite possible that he could have continued waiting, but of course he couldn't do anything either), and we race for control. Fortunately for me, we're racing with fairly full hands and with neither of us too low on life and with plenty of mana. Under those circumstances, Weavers and Tradewinds and Walls are better than Jackal Pups. Game 3 I bring out good stuff, he brings out a Disk, I feel happy about bringing back my Disenchants. He threw a few things at me and a Spiked up Mirri paid him a visit, the way that only a Cat Warrior can. Round 4: Matt playing Counter-Phoenix Matt and I have known each other for quite a while, and he's always a dangerous opponent. We engage in some mild trash talk, with him telling me that he read my last Dojo report so he knows my whole deck, me telling him that he's playing Counter-Phoenix so we all know his whole deck, and I even know his secret sideboard tech. ("Rocks friends," for those who know the joke.) This is a tough matchup for me, and I consider offering to ID, but I doubt he would have taken it. Time to find out if the changes improved the matchup. They did. (It's still tough, but they definitely did.) Game 1 I lay some early stuff and Matt lays a Disk. Unfortunately for him, I have Lobotomy and Force Spike in my hand and he has Phoenix in his. This isn't quite as bad in Type II as in Rath, because he can still burn me out (he was main-decking one Earthquake), but it's pretty bad. I force him to blow the Disk, and start trying to put on pressure. Later on I cast a second Lobotomy and rather than fight over it he Incinerated me twice in response, knocking me down to 11. I don't remember what I took but in any case he wasn't able to counter the Armageddon that followed and he conceded. I don't remember game 2 too well, but I drew more land than Matt did (even though he's playing at least four more than I am), so I was able to force through the spells that mattered, including at least one each of Lobotomy and Armageddon. Round 5: Joseph playing Counter-Phoenix Joseph and I first played (I think) at the Exodus pre-release in round 5 or 6 when we were both undefeated. I lost the third game in one of my worst mistakes ever, and Joseph went on to win the tournament. At this point (of States) we are two of four undefeated players, along with two Sligh players. Joseph would later make top 8 as first seed and win his quarter-final match. I don't know how he did after that. Game 1 I had all my good anti-Phoenix stuff. I don't remember quite how, but I forced through a Lobotomy and he conceded in response. I assume he had a Phoenix in hand. Games 2 and 3 didn't go my way. In one game I just couldn't get the off-color mana for my spells, partly due to his sideboarded Wastelands, and in the other I didn't really draw any of them. Joseph played tight and established control in both games, making a nice comeback. It's not easy to win two games with a control deck whose main removal spells cost four and five mana when your opponent has 4 Pyros, 3 Geddons and 4 Lobotomies. Round 6: Adam, playing Draw-Go with creatures Adam and I first met when he was judging a side Type II event which happened to be the first one in which I played 5C Donais. He wanted to draw, since that way we could both make top 8 if we won next round, whereas if we played whoever lost would be out. Despite that, and knowing that it was possible I'd get paired against someone who felt they had to play (or just "came to play") next round, I felt the matchup was very favorable, especially after sideboarding. Unfortunately, I'm a bit glazed on the games. I think in game one he tried to cast something big on his turn, lost the counter war (Force Spikes treated him very badly in this match) and I Geddoned and Lobotomied in some order. Game 2 was more of a Draw-Go affair, but he didn't draw enough land. I eventually got an active Tradewind which kept him at 8 mana including two Stalking Stones. He then made what I think was a very bad play. With me at double-digit life, he attacked with both Stones (I could only block one), which meant when he tried to Whisper I could Spike him. Later he cast Zephid, but a three-power flier doesn't mean much to a Tradewind, even if he can't be targeted. He later cast Ephemeron, which I bounced. I Lobotomied him the next turn, grabbed his Force Spikes, which meant he couldn't stop me from casting Armageddon. He had out two Propagandas, and my Tradewinds were keeping him from keeping land in play, but eventually I would be able to cast more creatures, bounce the Gandas, Spike something up so it could beat up Zephid and win. He asked for permission to concede, and the judges said OK. The ironic thing was that all through that game I had only drawn one source of penta-magic (which got destroyed). The turn he conceded I had finally played City of Brass (also my fourth land so I could now cast creatures), and helped convince the judges by showing them I had all four Pyroblasts in my hand, "just in case." Round 7: Mike, playing Sligh Well, so much for having to be ready for Academy! (There were quite a few Academy decks in the field, I just didn't play any of them.) We ID, since it looks like 5-1-1 is almost guaranteed top 8. Quarter-finals: Mike, playing Sligh Wow, guess they want us to play! Mike wasn't too happy about the pairing, and I agree with him that it's a favorable match-up, but it's not THAT favorable. With Sligh, too much comes down to the draw. Games one and two weren't that interesting. In game one I Paris and then draw too much land, but so does he and we have a lot of turns where the only permanent in play is a Flunky. I make a narrow comeback when (at two life) I cast a Spike Feeder. At the end of his turn I gain two life from it and bounce it, and he concedes as he has no real threats. In that game I did what you almost never do against Sligh...used City of Brass to cast Lobotomy! It was worth it when he double-shocked me in response and I still got his Sonic Bursts! Game two he beat me down the way Sligh likes to do. Game three was all about pain...specifically, my pain from my pain-lands and the added pain of his creatures. I Force Spike an early creature with an Adarkar, then have to use Brushland to cast Mirri. Mirri not only counts as a Cat Warrior, she also counts as a pretty good answer to Ball Lightning (fortunately he didn't have any Incinerates or Sonic Bursts). When I got out a Feeder I was starting to feel good, as he had out three weenies and (apparently) no removal and next turn I'd be able to protect myself with Mana Leak. He then Sonic Bursted Mirri, who does count as a Car Warrior but has only one life. I had to block a 2/1 with my Feeder, taking four and gaining two life. I cast a Tradewind, took some more damage and then cast Propaganda. At this point I'm at two life, my opponent has four mana and two creatures...a 2/1 and a Fantatic. All he has to do it attack and it's game, since he can shoot the Fanatic at me after it deals its point of damage. He misses this and casts a creature. I'd thought I was dead for sure, and I'd been thinking how it was too bad that I couldn't even cast Armageddon since I'd be dead. When he didn't kill me, I forgot that the reason I'd be dead is that casting it would do a point of damage (putting me in Fanatic range) rather than that I wouldn't be able to Mana Leak the first burn spell he drew. Anyway, in something of a state of shock, I drew (hoping for a creature) and figured Geddon was my only chance and with two land in hand (including an Island) I might get to two mana before he drew land and burn. So, I Geddon, and scoop up my lands, with neither of us remembering that I had to take a point to do so. Fortunately (and yes, I'm glad...don't be cynical), another YMG regular was watching the game and pointed out the error. Mike looked like he was in a daze as he asked me what life that put me at, looked back at his Fanatic and said something like, "Oh, I guess I shoot you." Like I said, it was a long day for all of us. At that point it was already in the wee hours of the morning and I wanted to get some sleep so I congratulated the people I knew who were still in and said good night to all who weren't. Some funny moments from the tournament: Adam, my round six opponent, was asking some of us how mono-blue could better prepare to deal with Armageddon. I said I though it was going to be tough to do if the Geddon deck had counters and sideboarded Pyroblasts. Then Jeff Magid, who believes quite reasonably that Counter-Phoenix is one of the best decks in the current Type II, said, "Draw-Go just isn't a good deck right now. It would be better if it had Shard Phoenix in it, and some Mountains." He then went on to rhapsodise about Shard Phoenix. "Not only is it a 2/2 Flying Earthquake, but it's also a Whispers of the Muse for three mana that guarantees you will draw a 2/2 Flying Earthquake!" The judge announcing the top 8 stops at seven. Matt Rossio (the Phoenix player I beat in round 4) is also 5-1-1 and we know that one 5-1-1 didn't make it. When Mike, the judge, didn't want to read off the eighth slot we knew it was Matt and that Mike (who is a YMG regular, too) was trying to make him nervous. I could see on his face that he was tempted to start jumping up and down cheering during the pause, just to turn the joke back on Mike. In game 1 of the quarter-finals, Mike must have cast the same Ball Lightning ten times. I could never let it do its damage and needed to hold my counters for burn, so I just kept bouncing it during combat. Props: Whoever won the damn thing, both for winning and for staying awake so late. At least it wasn't held on a Sunday. Rob, for somehow managing to fit nearly 100 people in his store's playing area. (Some might give Rob slops for not having the tournament off-site, but last year there were less than 50 people and most of the demand came right at the last minute.) Mirri, for kicking butt like a Cat Warrior, for attacking like a Cat Warrior, and for not tapping. Keep your Jackal Pups and Ball Lightnings at home, Sligh-boy. Gilded Drake, for making everyone else too afraid to play Tradewinds. Yeah, that's the ticket. Mike, for not thinking I was trying to cheat him by not taking pain when I cast Armageddon. I guess sometimes it's nice to have a reputation for honesty. Slops: Me, for almost screwing Mike out of game three in the quarter-finals. (I'd have probably lost anyway, but a single Spike Feeder draw could have turned it around, and I'd hate to realize later on that I'd "won" like that.) That's it...remember, this is me -- I love everyone. Hugs, Chad Candidate for Advancement from Strong Among the Weak to Weak Among the Strong (I think the final hurdle is getting past the quarter-finals in one of these major tournaments!)