Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 00:37:42 +0100 To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com From: Eric Hanuise Subject: PTQ chicago in brussels 30.08.97 PTQ chicago comes to Belgium, and I've read so many reports on US PTQ's to prepare for it that I just had to write one to thanks the authors of the other reports I read. Last week, I ran a tournament in brussels, named 'PTW chicago warm-ups'. It used the same format as this week's PTQ, so people could playtest their deck the week before it. The event was announced last minute (wednesday, and it was saturday) but we had 20 players nonetheless :) I expected many 187 and ertai/necratog decks, so I tried an aether flash/counters Ru deck but it proved ineffective to say the least(I ended up last of the event :-) So this week, I met Jean-Louis d'hondt, carl Devos, Vincent Gieling, and Nicolas Fournier in Wizard's Arena shop in brussels and we playtested somewhat. I slept at jean-louis' house once again, and we all headed to the PTQ together saturday morning. The event was run by Wizard's arena brussels and was in the Heyzel village. There were about 100 persons, just enough to fill the room without making it overcrowded. The event was swiss 6 rounds, then the 16 first headed to finals. This time, i had opted for a blue deck, with a touch of white (list at end of report). I had read the U beatdown deck list from the Magic Dojo, and the Uw control deck that weismann did in that format too. I tried to make some crossover between the two, using memory lapse, boomerang, abeyance and man o war in the beginning of the game to install myself, then using waterspout djinn and hazerider drake to deliver beatdown. The deck proved effective in playtesting, excepted against ertai/necratog. The inclusion of floodgates made it a less weak spot, but it remained a weak spot nonetheless and I knew it. I however expected to see more U , Uw and R decks than UB so i went for it. Round 1 - Sven Vandeperre playing U beatdown Game 1 is quite drawn out, as he eventually wins the stall war, and kills me with a mist dragon. He uses vodalian illusionists, mist dragon and the U classics (man o war, breezekeeper, floodgate). I just hates this U versus U games, especially as we didn't outplay each other but rather were dependant of drawn cards... Game 2 Is a repeat of Game 1 but this time I do win thanks to my skillful use of the amber prison as he has a mist dragon and two breezekeepers, and I one lone waterspout. Game 3 The amber prison strikes again. He draws more board control this time, but the rainbow efreet just ignores it and happily phases out at every attempt. Sven knows his stuff, and we had quite a good time trying to outplay each other. We eventually agreed that these U/U matches are just a matter of luck :-) results : LWW , 3 points. Round 2 - Tom Tondeleir playing Ertai/Necratog I had it coming ... Game 1 I quickly realise what he's playing, then die as quickly. Too many of these damn criters ... I side in the furnaces and afterlifes, and out the abeyances. The furnaces are more in the side for hammers, since I know I won't be able to depletion his graveyard, even with the 2 furnaces out, but it's always nice to counter a necromancy or shallow grave by removing it's target from the game, and that effect is a cantrip anyway. Game 2 He opens with sewer rats, then an ertai familiar. I make the dumb mistake of afterlifing both (should have left him the rats.) He then lays a barrow ghoul which merrily overruns me, with the help of these two 1/1 flying tokens ... :-( Results : LL , 3 points. Round 3 - Laurent Degryse playing a GU deck. Laurent is a young player, but not a 'Kid'. Game 1 He lays two river boas, one wall of roots, shimmering efreet and three elves while I lay my shimmering efreet, one amber prison, and one waterspout. Once his river boas get quicksanded, I quickly gain control and kill him. Game 2 An early floodgate which I man o wared drowns his elves and jolreal centaur. I then quicksand his Boa and play a cerulean wyvern which he counters. I then play a waterspout and administer beatdown. His deck definitely lacked flyers, which proved fatal. Results : WW , 6 points. Round 4 - Mark Wallemans playing U beatdown Mhhh ... U versus U ... That coin toss thing again. Don't like that, neither does he :) Game 1 I lay a waterspout. On the next turn, I draw my card, and he reminds me of the upkeep ... by having me bury the 'spout. I explain him with a smile that while I understand he'll play strictly and enfore the rules that I do not approve that kind of gameplay. (Gosh am I pissed of ... The three opponents I just met were so nice to play with, that I just forgot that race of players. In such a case, I usually remind the opponent of his upkeep cost the first time, and warn him that if he forgets again, he'll have to bury it. It just sounds like fair play to me. Anyway, I keep smiling and silently wish him a painful, horrible, slow death :-) The game then stalls for a looong while, lasting about 35 minutes in all, with him eventually killing me with a mist dragon and breezekeeper. Game 2 The stall game happens again, and he eventually gets a mist dragon, breezekeeper, and azimaet drake. I lay a hazerider drake, which gets desertioned. I die shortly after. I'm even more pissed of as those games were not a luck affair as I expected, he just outplayed me. How frustrating ... I go out and eat some burger, thinking 'Zen...' Results : LL , 6 points Round 5 - Icham Vanborn playing guess what ? U beatdown, of course! Icham's a cool guy, we just played a few games together yesterday evening at wizard's arena shop and know each other's deck. We alkready know it'll be a luck affair more than anything else. (err, or is it ?) Game 1 He plays waterspout djinn, and fog elemental/dragon mask combo. I aslo see a shrieking drake, before he ray of commands my hazerider drake for the final kill. It was quite fast, he had a very good start. Game 2 I draw 9 islands, and no plain. My starting hand has 2 abeyances and 2 tariffs, plus the hazerider drake. He plays teferi's veil, fog elemental, waterspout djinn, dragon mask and two straw golems. ouch ... Results : LL , 6 points. Round 6 - Johan Dewez playing BR his deck has reanimation (necromancy, shallow grave), and thundermare, barrow ghoul, and weenies such as skulking ghosts. Game 1 He just starts very fast, and I can't even begin the stall game. I die quickly. Game 2 This time I can stall at the beginning of the game, and eventually gain control thanks to an amber prison and floodgates. I eventually kill with the 'spout and hazerider. Game 3 I have 4 lands in my starting hand, but the draw only lands. He quickly gains control and kills me, not realising I'm manaflooded. Gee, I just hate this. Results : LWL end the event at 6 points. I then waited for my friends, since I drove them here. Jean-louis, Nicolas, and Vincent didn't do it to the finals 16 either, but Carl Devos was in, so we waited for him and watched the single elimination rounds. Carl eventually finished second (cheers !!! :-), after losing the final to Ben Possemiers. Both played BU, with ertai's familiar. Well, I'll try to qualify in Liege next week, and will make sure I'll post a report of it too, so stay tuned ... Here's my deck list. I think the deck needs some tuning to be more efficient against other U decks and BU decks too. But I still dunno if I'll modify it and keep it for next week or if I'll do something else entierely. (It would be sooooooo simple to get a decklist on the Dojo or elsewhere ... Why do I want always to build my own deck ? ;-))) Decklist : -------- 3 Quicksands 7 plains 14 islands 1 rainbow efreet - only have one... 4 man o war 4 memory lapse - proved nice against counter decks 4 dissipate 4 floodgate 3 waterspout djinn 4 boomerang 4 abeyance 3 tariff 2 amber prison - proved very effective, 3 next time. 4 hazerider drake Sideboard : ---------- 2 cerulean wyvern 2 afterlife 3 disenchant 2 phyrexian furnace 3 mind harness 3 honorable passage ------------------------------------------------------------ Eric Hanuise - ehanuise@hebel.net - Fax (32)67 340 351 Check my magic page http://www.hebel.net/~ehanuise/mtgbel Check my company page http://www.hebel.net/~ehanuise/touchy ------------------------------------------------------------