From: ghaheri.1@osu.edu (Bobby Ghaheri (Bzzatch))
Subject: Tourney Report for Chicago PTQ in Columbus on July 5
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 1997 23:18:33 GMT

This is a general report on the deck trends and what happened in the final 8 
at the Columbus July 5 Chicago PTQ.  

Overall, most of the deck types were lumped into several categories.  By far, 
the most common color combination was r/u/b....a type of good stuff deck.  Red 
for burn, blue for manowar, black for wheenies and nekrataal.  Some of the 
more interesting versions were using heavy discard, with Coercions, Stupors 
and Agonizing Memories while they attacked with typical wheenies.  Honestly, 
these were the best and most versatile decks out there, and mana screw (they 
were running 20-21lands) was the only reason they did not make top 8.  There 
were several Empyrial Armor/Falcon decks, 2 of which made the top 8 (and mine 
which went 0-2...stupid opponents....)  Besides that, Red was easily the most 
popular color out there, but surprisingly, most of the decks were 
wheenie-oriented...the #1 seed knew this, and we built his deck around the 
premise that wheenies would be everywhere.  

Now to the top 8 decks:

Decks A and B: 
There were 2 monowhite Armor/Falcon decks that played each 
other in quarterfinals.  It was the standard 8 Falcons, 4 Armor, 4 Abeyance, 4 
Tithe, with Afterlifes, Pacifisms, and Disenchants.  The game was decided by 
either who drew the Armor or who drew the Disenchants.  As expected, other 
wheenies were in the deck, and Ward of Lights was also used.

Deck C:
There was a MonoBlue deck that was using typical Fatties, with Impulses, 
countering, and Abductions, as well as Snake Baskets.  Unfortunately for him, 
he played deck D.

Deck D:
This was a deck that was basically copied from John Marks's deck in northern 
Ohio.  It was a red/green wheenie deck with 4 Meerkat, 4 Boa, 4 Mtenda Lion, 4 
Centaurs, and then heavy burn...City of Solitude in the sideboard, along with 
a Null Rod.  He said it was for Snake Baskets.  Whatever.

Deck E: 
This was a deck that Kai Martin and I have been working on for the past 2-3 
weeks.  He was the #1 seed, and played a red/white deck with Aether Flash.  He 
was one of the two people playing with Aether Flash all day, and the one loss 
he received was due to mana screw.  Minoaturs, Bogardan Phoenix and Emissaries 
standard, with Abeyances and heavy burn.  A very solid deck.

Deck F:  
This was one of the 2 qualifying decks.  Since I also helped to build this one 
(smart of me to play something else, eh?) I will present the deck list.  The 
Peace Talks are there because we had no extra Abeyances, but they turned out 
to be just as good in this format, where casting Artifacts and Enchantments do 
not exactly happen that often.  The Peace Talks preventing Torch and 
Attacking, which WERE everywhere.
        3 Hazerider Drake
        2 Honorable Passage
        2 Peace Talks
        4 Waterspout Djinn
        4 Cloud Elemental
        4 Man-o'-War
        2 Floodgate
        3 Impulse
        3 Memory Lapse
        3 Dissipate
        2 Boomerang
        2 Abduction
        1 Snake Basket
        4 Quicksand
        4 Flood Plain
        4 Plains
        13 Island
SB:  1 Hazerider Drake
SB:  2 Honorable Passage
SB:  3 Disenchant
SB:  4 Mind Harness
SB:  2 Abduction
SB:  1 Ray of Command
SB:  1 Reality Ripple
SB:  1 Boomerang

The deck is really solid, and versatility proved to allow it to win.  In 
almost every game, Hazerider Drake was the key, crippling the red player with 
2 a turn while a defensive posture was maintained.  No one expected it, and it 
served.

Deck G:
This was the other qualifying deck, played by Dan Silberman from Cincinatti.  
It was a very solid red/blue deck with Minotaurs, Frenetics, Snake Baskets, 
Torches, Abductions, and more burn, with Manowars of course.  

Deck H: 
This was a copy of the deck that won the Norwegian PTQ the week before.  A 
Necratog, Ertai's Familiar, Song of Blood, Tombstone Stairwell deck with cheap 
creatures.


Top 8 matches:
A beats B....they were almost replicas of each other

D beats C...2nd and 3rd turn Meerkats against a MonoBlue deck hurt.

F beats E...Hazerider...Hazerider...Hazerider....Hazerider...

G beats H....Its funny when an Ertai's Familiar gets abducted to put more 
creatures in the graveyard to equal Stairwell tokens.  Burn was just too much 
to handle with Lapsing and manowaring the 'togs.

Semi's:
F beats D....Even with Meerkats, Boas, and City of Solitude...Hazerider served 
once again....dramatic ending in game 3, where Brett Foster (blue/white 
qualifier) was at 10 life, and green/red guy goes Incinerate, Hammer, and then 
Fireblast, where the Fireblast was Dissipated.....Brett then proceeded to 
Disenchant the Null Rod for one of the funniest moves I have ever seen in my 
life.

G beats A:
The burn was too much for a monowhite deck, and once Hammer gets going, even 
Armor won't help when everything is being Manowared.

Finals
Did not happen....split prize money, and we all went home.


Overall, Red and Manowar's were EVERYWHERE....the tourney was run rather 
slowly with the computers going down.  But the decks were expected with no 
huge surprises.....but in the end, Blue/red consistency and Hazerider beatdown 
with Peace Talking turned out to be the qualifying decks.


Bobby Ghaheri
Bzzatch on IRC (EFNET #mtg)
ghaheri.1@osu.edu