Subject: OH state Championship- David Weitz 1st place Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 02:39:07 -0500 From: "David A. Weitz" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Not having enough money due to being generally poor and without sponsors I couldn't go to Pro Tour Rome so I opted to go to the less intense Ohio state Championship. When I arrived there with my friend Ed Ennett I noticed the average Ohio field was there. About 115 players with the only notable players being Mark Globus, Jess Means and his posse and Mike Flores. I BSed with the Andon people, filled out my deck list form (included on bottom of report) and then preceeded to wait for the tourny to begin. Within that time I happen to get yelled at by Mike Flores why I wasn't in Rome. After explaining that I was poor and had no sponsorship he laughed at how I was still tourless and how I was a chump for not having anyone give me money to play magic. He also playtested his deck against mine. He was running this blue- black Draw-go that just destroyed my Academy deck unmercilessly. After that whipping I figured I would be booster drafting by the end of round two. Flores was there so he could be "one of the fifty best Amateur players in the country." I asked him if I was and he said I wasn't cause I am a pro until the day after Rome and that I am an all around chum. No respect at all. After all I am tourless. Time for tourny to begin. Going into round 1 I wished I would have played sligh. Round 1 Chris White elf burn I asked him if he was running the KY state champions deck but he said he wasn't. It was just a fast green deck with quick mana production. His deck told me I had to kill him on my turn 3 or lose each game so I did. My deck said "Time Spiral is good, yes?" 2-0; 1-0-0 Round 2 Shaun Hurley weenie white Shaun seemed to be a newcomer to the tourny scene but a really nice kid. He seemed absolutely mesmerized as I took my 15 minute turns building up the mana to stroke him to death. I believe he had not been previously introduced to raw Academy gayness. 2-0; 2-0-0 Round 3 Jason Morrow academy I win the dice roll and take a huge gamble. I decided that there was a lot of suicide black and academy in the field. (out of the 115 people I would say that there was 20 academy and 40 suicide black) I decided to go first and gamble that he was also playing academy. I decided to drop first turn academy. It turns out it was wise as he was indeed playing academy as well and he had no answer to me getting out the legendary land first so I win game 1 almost by default. Game 2 I win by him getting a bad land draw and me casting a 6th turn lobotomy, which he conceeded to. 2-0; 3-0-0 Round 4 Jess Means sligh By far my most experienced opponent of the day. Jess is a great guy that definitely knows how to play Magic (having been to numerous pro tours and placing 1st at Pro Tour LA as a Junior). Jess' deck was clicking well as he forced me to go off turn 3 game 1. I pulled the combo and won. Game 2 he has multiple wasteland and a melt down whic wrecks me hard. Game 3 I God draw on him. I drop turn 1 chill, turn 2 chill, turn 4 I go off. It is good to be lucky. He did give me my first loss of the day though. 2-1; 4-0-0 Round 4 Eric Jasorsky suicide black with blue This round should be called how Academy can do 20 points of damage to a player or as Mike Flores put it: Holy Pikula! Game 1 my opponent drops turn 2 black knight. Turn 3 he attacks with knight, hatreds for 17. Yes 17. He thought I somehow took 1 previous point of damage. I explained that I haven't. He then complained about my scoresheet being covered but realized he still probably had me beat. I mutter something to myself about needing my burly protector to spring forth (I guess talking all day with Flores messed with my head) and he did. I went off turn 3 and stroked him out. Game 2 however was amazing. He dropped turn 2 shadow. Turn 3 he hatreds for 18 leaving himself at 2. I powersink so he is at two and I am still alive but barely. He then decides on turn 5 to cast something even though I am dead on turn 7 and I have nothing good in play. I blow my lotus petals and sink him for 4 mana causing him to tap both cities of brass giving me ultimate victory!!!! 20 points of damage with Academy! Holy Pikula! 2-0; 5-0-0 Round 6 Mark Deboard suicide It is much better to take a break and eat overpriced food than play so we take an intentional draw. 0-0-3; 5-0-1 Round 7 Karl Horn academy Head Judge Mike Guptil (who by the way is the finest judge in Magicdom) calls us up and asks what we want to do. I want to play but I figure he can decide. He opts to play as he was in 12th place and I was in 1st so he doesn't know if he can draw in. We goto sit down and I see he is on the side of the table I played from all day! That freaks me out and it shows to be bad Karma. He whips the living snot out of me by dropping first turn academy game 1 and game 2 rebounding my lobotomy. Sigh. 0-2; 5-1-1 Well I should be in anyhow, right? After being 1st place I squeak in at 8th seed. WOW. >From here out I swear that I will sit on my side of the table that I win on so I can hopefully meet Flores in the finals as he is in the opposite bracket. To avoid suspense though, Mike plays round 1 of final 8 like a chump and casts a creature called bottle gnome. Bottle gnome is supposed to be good against hatred. Unless your opponent has much more life than you and casts hatred on that turn. Mike loses and than realizes he is out of contention to be one of the top 50 amateurs ;-) Quarters Damon Swoope suicide I get the distinct honors of playing number one seed. I am very superstitious. I have my lucky chair. I feel like I do well at table 1 ( I never losed all day at table 1) and everyone knows that the number one seed never wins the tourny. Then he beats me down. Game 1 he thrashes me with quick meat and I draw poop. Game 2 I go off on turn 3 becuase I die next turn. Game 3 I mulligan like a chum. He is beating me down with knight and skittering scourge. He drops another knight and I am like "bury the scourge". He gets flustered. Casts duress. He take out sink instead of mind over matter. I top deck time spiral. I win. 2-1; 6-1-1 Semis Karl Horn (again) I tell Karl he cannot win. I have my lucky chair back ;-). He smiles and we play. I go first and get turn 1 academy. He wastes it. I ask Mike Guptil if had main deck wastes and ancient tomb. He tells me yes. I sigh and top deck another Academy and win the game. Game 2 he whips me. Game 3 I squeak out a victory by casting mind over matter and having enough card to tap his mox diamond and two lotus petals before I go for the time spiral. I heard somewhere that mind over matter is good in Academy decks. 2-1; 7-1-1 After this match people started congratulating me about being state champion. I said that I wished I had that much confidence. I soon discovered why. Finals Larry Kuczynski sneak attack/ oath of druids Before the match began we decide that 2nd place will get both boxes of product since first place got an already excellent prize. This match wasn't fair. He drops 3rd turn sneak attack. I go off on my third turn. I sideboard in more capsizes. In the meantime Jess Means is talking about how Paris Mulligan should have been called "LA Mulligan". I make the comment that it is Paris cause it is stinky like the stigma that French people are. Mike Guptil than says "Like Jeff Donais." I then joke about putting it in my tourny report and he says that I have to make sure and spell his name right then. :-) Game 2 isn't any more fair except that he had 1 forest, 1 reflecting pool and 1 mountain in play so I capsized his mountain before I went off on my turn to avoid being pyroblasted. Several minuted later and a stroke for 236 cards I am state champion. First off my deck: Stroke of Witz 1 capsize 4 Voltaic Key 4 mana vault 4 mox diamond 3 scroll rack 4 lotus petal 4 mind over matter 4 time spiral 4 windfall 3 intuition 4 stroke of genius 4 powersink 4 ancient tomb 9 island 4 tolarian academy Sideboard: 4 wasteland 3 pyroblast 2 capsize 2 lobotomy 4 chill Quick take: How does someone win a state championship with a patchwork deck? I was told that the deck that won West Virginia's states had only 2 ironclaw orc and 3 scrolls because that is all the player could gather. Some bad for WV. That is why they should maybe eliminate state championships and just make regional championships and maybe give first place an invite to Nationals. Thank you goes to Andon for giving me not only a plaque, a book-bag that says state champ on it but also free entry to any Main event tourny they run for a whole year!!! That is an awesome prize. Props: Jess Means. He told me the funniest thing at the tourny. He told me that his father, Jeff, before each tourny tells him: "good luck, but most of all, have fun." It sounded so hilarious to me at the time. Mike Flores for being Mike Flores. Always with a story and a funny take, Mike Flores moves up 3 spots on the list of Magic's best story tellers. Mike Guptil and the Andon staff for running another enjoyable tourny. State of Ohio for having 115 people show up this year. Largest attendance for states so far this year and 100 more people than attended last year. Slops: Me for not playing at Pro Tour Rome To all potential sponsors: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME SPONSORSHIP MONEY. I am sort of good and need your help. Thank you. Dave "witz" Weitz Puff Daddy of Standard Magic- all you need is the dojo, a deck, and a friend.