Subject: AR State Championships Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 17:05:30 -0600 (CST) From: Me To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Well, we held the Arkansas State Championships yesterday in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I decided, as usual, to play on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Well, that would catch up to me in the finalsI started getting sloppy, but the judge was "kind" enough to correct me. Anyways, weenie was everywhere, but I was confident I could outrace it. First, the deck I played: 4 Time Spiral 4 Windfall 3 Stroke of Genius(probably 1 too many) 3 Mind over Matter 3 Powersink 1 Capsize 3 Intuition 4 Brainstorm 3 Scroll Rack 4 Mox Diamond 4 Lotus Petal 4 Mana Vault 3 Voltaic Key 4 Island 3 City of Brass 3 Wasteland 4 Tolarian Academy 4 Remote Isle Sideboard: 2 Capsize 4 Chill 2 Counterspell 3 Propaganda(Suicide Black) 4 Pyroblast(3 Academy players came down from Fayetteville, plus a couple of CounterPhoenix/DrawGo decks were there) Yes, I played Academy Madness. Anyways, we registered, listened to people hunt for Arcane Labs and Pyroblasts, and waited. 50 total people entered, the event was put on by Dr. Bob games. No computer was used, hence no pairings or standings were posted, causing much confusion later on. Round 1: CounterPhoenix A nice guy from Russelville playing Counter Phoenix, just put together today after playtesting for weeks online. He was the one hunting for Labs earlier. Game 1: Counter protected kill was too fast for him. Game 2: Turn 3 Lab. Me: no pyroblast, no capsize. Game to him. He commented on me not capsizing his lab. I pulled the counterspells back out for Capsizes. Duh. Game 3: Early Lab. I kill it, work my way out, go off. 1-0 Matches 2-1 Games Round 2:White Weenie Before this round starts, someone goes up to my opponent and mentions that I'm playing the same deck my opponent played against last round. This same person ends up watching the last game of my match. I report him after the round, a move my friends are against. I don't care if someone watches, but to tell my opponent before we've started? Come on! Game 1: My deck goes off early on, because WW can't really handle Academy. Game 2: My deck goes off again; he kills my MoM, I play another, on to Round 3. 2-0 Matches 4-1 Games Round 3: Suicide Black Not much to say; 2 good decks and a heaping handful of luck. Game 1: Him: Mox, Land, Erg Raider. Me: Petal, Petal, Land, Mox, Key, Windfall. Him: Land, Ritual, Hatred. Game 2: Me: Land. Him: Mox, Land, Erg. Me: Mox, Land, Propaganda. Next turn, too. Capsizes lock up his mana from the moxes, and he dies to the Erg Raiders(he had 2 each of moxes and Ergs) Game 3: My deck goes off fairly quickly. 3-0 Matches 6-2 Games Round 4: Sligh My opponent is Jackie Steel, a great player from the area. Game 1: Turn 2 kill. All I see is a Mountain and a Mogg Fanatic. Game 2: Takes a little longer. He sided in Annuls and Disenchants off Petals(main deck) and cities(side). I pull it off after a Spiral. 4-0 Matches 8-2 Games Round 5: Academy Mr. Steven Williams came down with me, and thus we know each others' decks fairly well. I still say Twiddles are bad, though he believes in them. We think of drawing, but can't do the math due to lack of standings. Game 1: He wins the roll. He wins the game. Game 2: I see 4 Spirals, 3 Pyroblastsand nothing else. 4-1 Matches 6-4 Games Round 6: Sligh We draw. 4-1-1 Matches 6-4 Games Final 8: I'm seeded 4th place. Mr. Williams is 1st place. Good! Quarterfinals: Sligh Ephraim Baumann(hope I spelled that right) also came down with me. He's using a good Lackey Sligh. Game 1: I go off far too quick. Game 2: All about Capsize. Him: Lackey. Me: Chill. Him: add a Flunky. Me: Capsize the Lackey(he was land shy). Wasteland almost disrupted me, but I caught another Academy after a Spiral. 5-1-1 Matches 8-4 Games Semifinals: Academy Mr. Williams again. Game 1: I win the roll, so I win the game. Game 2: Him: Island. Me: Academy. Him:Petal, Scroll rack. Me: Wasteland. He pulls it off with an Academy mana boost, a MoM, and a Mana Vault. Game 3: I get great draws. Sidenote: Playing him was the best matches I had all day; I love control/combo mirror matches. 6-1-1 Matches 10-5 Games Finals: Sneak Attack This local kid(can't remember his name) wove through Sligh and Suicide Black all day with his deck. It's fast Game 1: Him: Petal, Vineyard. Me: Go off turn 1(I already had it in hand, the mana just helped) Game 2: I capsize lock him when he's mana screwed until I can win. 7-1-1 Matches 12-5 Games So I'm Arkansas State champ. That gets me.a bag, a plaque, and half a box of US. But hey, I'm one of the 50 best Amateur players in the country, right? Props: Steven Williams: I can't stress how much fun our games were. My opponents: Great matches, all. Jennifer Micik: My fiance, for driving down with me so I could sleep. Slops: That guy in Round 2. Come on, whether or not you were kidding, they stressed how illegal it was to scout, and you seemed to know what L4 rules enforcement meant. Four Points Hotel: didn't want me to get a room b/c I'm only 20. Hey, couldn't you guess that, with all the younger players, some might not want to drive back that night. The tourney organizers: No computer, no lunch hour, decided # of rounds on the draw, didn't walk the floor until round 2 or 3, plus wanted way too much for Academy components. Luckily I had them all, plus 2 spirals from my packs(and 2 bulwarksoh, well) Good luck, all! Brent Simon Email at bsimon@csci.uark.edu