From: "Daniel Gray" Subject: Costa Mesa, CA QT: Report/Results Date: 28 Jul 1997 22:51:17 GMT The second SCGA-run Qualifier Tournament for Chicago was held on Saturday at the Women's Club in Costa Mesa, California. This tournament drew 128 players, and on behalf of SCGA, organizer Scott Larabee, and myself, I'd like to thank everyone who came out to play. The tournament was run with myself as Head Judge, and ably assisted by Scott Larabee, Andrea Kunstt, Bob Blackman, and a large group of volunteer judges seeking certification (all in all, Andrea tested and interviewed 17 people for Judge Certification-- a new personal record for her). Unlike our first QT (held three weeks ago in San Diego), where red and burn in general dominated, this time blue and control swept through the tournament. Thanks, in part, to Shawn "Hammer" Regnier qualifying for Chicago at Origins using a U/W deck including Ophidian as a central card, the snakes invaded the Women's Club in a major way. At the request of a number of players, we determined that the number of Ophidian cards in the room exceeded the sum total of the number of players _and_ staff. Also present in significant numbers were clones and variants of the B/U/R Necratog deck that won one QT in Norway and dominated the QT held in Northern California the weekend before Origins. Plenty of other decks were represented by a significant number of players-- monored burn, various AEther Flash decks, some Sands of Time decks, even a couple of white weenie decks were all played. Once again my two picks for most interesting decks go to Ray Powers from Phoenix, who hauled out a G/W "fatter than anything" creature deck featuring virtually every good 4- and 5-cost green critter in the format (Jungle Wurm, Stampeding Wildebeests, Scalebane's Elite, and friends), and Ernest Alexander, who, for the third QT in a row demonstrated his less-than-typical deckbuilding skills, playing a Sands of Time/Equipoise deck that killed with only a pair of Chimeric Spheres (Ernest previously made the semifinals in San Diego with an Ancestral Knowledge/Call of the Wild deck, and then went 5-2-1 in Northern California with a monowhite Griffin deck). As usual, bios and decklists for the Top 8 players follow the results below. Congratulations not only to the players who qualified in Costa Mesa, but thanks and congrats to the 22 people who came down to San Diego on Sunday to play in the InQuest $1,000 Classic Open tournament. Truc Bui (playing a monoblack Necro deck) eventually emerged as champion. Gabe Higa (monoblack Necro) was the finalist, and Brian Hacker (B/U Necro) and Igor Frayman (R/G/U Zoo with Thunderbolts replacing the Vises) shared semifinalist honors. The decklists for this Classic tournament will be forthcoming in a future issue of InQuest, and will not be produced here. Without further ado, the results from the Qualifier. Results after 8 Swiss Rounds for players scoring 15 or more match points (Equivalent to a 5-3 match record): Name Points 1. Gabe Higa 21 2. Tim Rivera 20 3. Andrew Corley 20 4. Jason Zila 19 5. Colin Mayfield 19 6. Jeff Broido 19 7. Erik Landriz 19 8. Adam Vieyra 19 9. Matt Cass 18 10. Riad Mourssali 18 11. Gary Rush 18 12. Elliot Fung 18 13. Chris Pantages 18 14. Mark Arce 18 15. Josh Eustace 18 16. Mike Immordino 16 17. Jacob Stiler 15 18. Steven Shears 15 19. Charles Kornblith 15 20. Jeremy Brower 15 21. Donald Beard 15 22. Andy Nguyen 15 23. Greg Dube 15 24. Truc Bui 15 25. David Frayer 15 26. Shannon Krumick 15 27. Jason Serrato 15 28. Salvatore Tomazzoli 15 Quartfinals: Adam Vieyra defeated Gabe Higa 2-1 Erik Landriz defeated Tim Rivera 2-1 Andrew Corley defeated Jeff Broido 2-0 Colin Mayfield defeated Jason Zila 2-1 Semifinals: Colin Mayfield defeated Adam Vieyra 2-1 Andrew Corley defeated Erik Landriz 2-1 Finals: Andrew Corley defeated Colin Mayfield 2-0 Top 8: Decks and Player Bios Once again, these decks are reprinted with the permission of the their designers and players. Quarterfinalists: Jeff Broido San Diego, CA Jeff is longtime regular of the Saturday Gathering and other Southern California tournaments. He has played in a number of Pro Tournaments, and was a top 64 finisher at Los Angeles last February. Jeff has two principle claims to fame in Southern California-- his innovative deck designs, and for, virtually every tournament, bringing food to the judging staff. We've eaten Jeff's donuts and chips and salsa and been gifted with coffee, smoothies, and several other things. Jeff played a U/W deck that combines the best aspects of blue control (countermagic, Man-o'-War, and big flyers) with white's weenies, with Abeyance and a couple of other tricks thrown in. The sideboard is an eclectic mix designed to stop burn (life gaining), AEther Flash (Bubble Matrix and Mind Harness), and the Necratog deck (Knights, Falcon, Ray of Command). Jeff's deck: 4 Abeyance 4 Benalish Knight 2 Flood Plain 1 Gemstone Mine 2 Honorable Passage 2 Impulse 8 Island 3 Longbow Archer 4 Man-O'-War 4 Memory Lapse 2 Pacifism 9 Plains 4 Power Sink 2 Quicksand 4 Serrated Biskelion 2 Snake Basket 2 Waterspout Djinn 2 Zhalfirin Crusader Sideboard: 1 Bubble Matrix 2 Disenchant 1 Duskrider Falcon 2 Gerrard's Wisdom 3 Knight of the Mists 3 Mind Harness 1 Parapet 1 Reparations 1 Ray of Command Gabe Higa Los Angeles, CA Gabe is another longtime Saturday Gathering regular, and he has participated in every Pro Tournament since Dallas. Reowned for his direct approach to deck design and his superior in-game play skills, Gabe is one of the best-respected players in Southern California, even if few outside the region have ever heard of him. Gabe played a monored burn deck, and he was the only the only top 8 player not using blue in any way. Gabe's sideboard is designed to combat other burn decks and the Necratog deck and AEther Flash decks. Gabe's deck: 4 Fireblast 4 Goblin Elite Infantry 4 Hammer of Bogardan 4 Incinerate 3 Kaervek's Torch 21 Mountain 3 Orcish Settlers 3 Quicksand 4 Suq'Ata Lancer 3 Talruum Minotaur 4 Thunderbolt 3 Viashino Sandstalker Sideboard: 2 Builder's Bane 2 Chaos Charm 3 Phyrexian Furnace 2 Sand Golem 2 Sirocco 1 Torrent of Lava 3 Wildfire Emissary Tim Rivera Unfortunately, I have no information on Tim (I don't even know where he's from), and I have never seen him before at one of SCGA's Qualifiers, which leads me to believe he may be a player from Northern California. Tim played a version of the B/U/R Necratog deck which won an early QT in Norway, and was given by Olle Rade to Brian Weissman and Michael Nickoloff, who then showed it to most of the players in Northern and Southern California (respectively). Tim's version closely resembles the original (subsequent versions have replaced the Fledgling Djinns, Fog Elementals, and Sage Owls with a variety of cards). The sideboard is designed against burn, AEther Flash, and the various forms of U/W life-gaining decks. Tim's deck 4 Ertai's Familiar 3 Fallen Askari 3 Fledgling Djinn 3 Fog Elemental 3 Gemstone Mine 6 Island 4 Man-O'-War 1 Mountain 4 Necratog 4 Nekrataal 2 Quicksand 3 Sage Owl 4 Shadow Guildmage 2 Song of Blood 9 Swamp 3 Tombstone Stairwell 2 Undiscovered Paradise Sideboard: 2 Bubble Matrix 2 Disenchant 1 Elkin Lair 2 Ebony Charm 2 Forsaken Wastes 2 Mind Harness 1 Plains 1 Serenity 2 Sand Golem Jason Zila Huntington Beach, CA Jason is a longtime Saturday Gathering and Pro Tour player. He was the Finalist at PT-- Dallas, a quarterfinalist at PT-- Paris, and has competed in virtually every Pro Tour and the 1996 World Championships. Jason is best known for his love of the U/W control deck (he even plays it in sealed deck events), and therefore the Mirvlight format has brought him excellent luck so far (Jason is 12-1-2 in Swiss play in two QT's so far). Despite his love of U/W, Jason went against form and played a B/U deck that was a variant on the three-color deck he used in Paris. The deck relies on discard, control, and small creatures, with Drain Life and Snake Basket for the killing blow. The sideboard is designed against no strategy in particular, and, instead, contains a number of cards that would prove generally useful against a variety of other decks. Jason's deck 4 Bad River 4 Cloud Elemental 4 Crypt Rats 2 Dissipate 4 Drain Life 3 Impulse 6 Island 4 Man-O'-War 2 Necromancy 4 Nekrataal 4 Power Sink 2 Quicksand 1 Snake Basket 4 Stupor 12 Swamp Sideboard: 2 Abduction 4 Boomerang 3 Coercion 2 Dark Banishing 2 Phyrexian Furnace 2 Tidal Wave Semifinalists: Erik Landriz Santa Barbara, CA Erik is a student at the Univeristy of California, Berkeley, and thus, does not often make it down to Southern California to compete. Nevertheless, Erik has qualified for three Pro Tours now (two as a Junior, and now he is qualified for Chicago since Finalist Colin Mayfield had already qualified), all of them at Qualifiers in Southern California. Erik played a U/W deck based on an original model designed and played by Binh Pham of Santa Barbara (Binh's own design was based on an earlier deck of Brian Weissman's). The deck controls the game, eventually killing with one of its several creatures. Erik's sideboard is setup principly to counteract burn and other control decks. Erik's deck 4 Abeyance 2 Ancestral Knowledge 3 Boomerang 4 Cloud Elemental 4 Flood Plain 2 Floodgate 3 Hazerider Drake 2 Impulse 13 Island 4 Man-O'-War 4 Memory Lapse 3 Ophidian 3 Plains 4 Power Sink 4 Quicksand 2 Waterspout Djinn Sideboard: 1 Boomerang 2 Disenchant 1 Hazerider Drake 4 Honorable Passage 2 Mangara's Blessing 1 Ophidian 1 Serenity 3 Serrated Biskelion Adam Vieyra San Diego, CA Adam is another one of the many San Diego regulars at the Saturday Gathering, although he has never qualified for the Pro Tour before. Adam's U/W deck was based heavily on the U/W deck "Hammer" Regnier used at the QT at Origins (less the Sacred Mesas) and on the deck Jason Zila used the San Diego QT in early July. It is designed to control and eventually kill with either Snake Basket or Rainbow Efreet. The sideboard is used mostly to combat burn decks. Adam's deck 4 Abeyance 3 Boomerang 4 Dissipate 4 Flood Plain 2 Floodgate 3 Impulse 11 Island 4 Man-O'-War 4 Memory Lapse 2 Mind Stone 4 Ophidian 3 Plains 4 Power Sink 4 Quicksand 2 Rainbow Efreet 2 Snake Basket Sideboard: 2 Abduction 2 Disenchant 2 Floodgate 2 Hazerider Drake 4 Honorable Passage 3 Mind Harness Finalist: Colin Mayfield Sacramento, CA Colin is a close friend of several Northern California Pro Tour players, including Brian Weissman and John Immordino, although he has never qualified for the Pro Tour before. He only rarely ventures into the Los Angeles area, but he came along, despite having already qualified, to support Chris Pantages and Mike Immordino in their quest to qualify. Colin's U/W deck is based on a deck designed by Brian Weissman, and it operates along the same principles as Adam Vieyra's deck-- control, card advantage, and finally, a kill with one of the few damage sources in the deck. The sideboard is, once again, designed to counteract burn, with a special touch, Bazaar of Wonders, thrown in to combat the Necratog deck. For those who are curious as to why Colin only has a single Abeyance in his deck, the reason, he told me, was because he loaned the remainder of his Abeyances to Chris Pantages, and that was the last one he had left. Colin's deck 4 Dissipate 4 Flood Plain 4 Foreshadow 4 Impulse 3 Inspiration 12 Island 4 Mangara's Blessing 4 Man-O'-War 4 Memory Lapse 4 Ophidian 4 Plains 3 Power Sink 4 Quicksand 2 Rainbow Efreet 1 Snake Basket Sideboard: 1 Abeyance 3 Bazaar of Wonders 3 Disenchant 4 Hazerider Drake 4 Honorable Passage Champion: Andrew Corley Los Angeles, CA Andrew is a recent "import" from New York (he is a student at USC), who first began playing competitive Magic in Southern California only last February (his first major victory was 2nd place at a $1,000 Standard tournament with a metagame deck featuring two colors of COP's and Sirocco standard). He previously qualified for PT-- New York, but did poorly there. Andrew's B/U/R deck is a variant of the Necratog deck and was designed by Andrew, Michael Nickoloff, and Greg Dube (Greg was playing a similar deck in the QT, while Nickoloff went with Kai Martin's version of Francis Keys's monoblue beatdown deck). Like the standard Necratog deck, the objective is to beat the opponent down with fast creatures, and use already dead, discarded, or milled creatures in the graveyard as a resource (either to feed the Necratog, or Andrew's secret weapon-- Circling "Black Vise" Vultues). The sideboard combats no strategy in particular, and seems to be made up of random creatures. I'm not sure, what, if anything, Andrew used his sideboard against. Andrew's deck 2 Azimaet Drake 3 Bad River 2 Boomerang 3 Circling Vultures 2 Cloud Elemental 4 Ertai's Familiar 3 Gemstone Mine 4 Man-O'-War 2 Fallen Askari 8 Island 3 Necratog 4 Nekrataal 2 Shadow Guildmage 2 Skulking Ghost 2 Song of Blood 9 Swamp 2 Tombstone Stairwell 1 Undiscovered Paradise 2 Waterspout Djinn Sideboard: 2 Azimaet Drake 2 Boomerang 1 Bubble Matrix 1 Hidden Horror 3 Knight of the Mists 1 Manta Ray 2 Mind Harness 1 Odylic Wraith 2 Tar Pit Warrior Congratulations to Andrew and Erik for qualifying, and to all of the other Top 8 players. I hope everyone out there in Internet-land finds this post useful. The final SCGA-run QT for Chicago will be on Saturday, September 6 at the Women's Club in Costa Mesa. For information on this and other upcoming SCGA run events, call (714) 444-4601. Dan Gray