From: hastern@ccgate.hac.com (Henry A. Stern) Subject: PT2 Tourney Rept. (Very Long) part 1/2 Date: Fri, 10 May 1996 16:10:28 -0800 Hello All- The following is a very long report of last weekend's Second Pro Tournament. As some of you know, my friends and I decided to form a Team prior to this event. (This was actualy the 3rd big tournament that we have attended as a team). We were able to get t-shirts made before the event. They actualy turned out pretty nice concidering we had them made that same week. They were all black with the team name "Pacific Coast Legends" on the front and "Team PCL" with our names on the back (Scott Burke, Mark Chalice, Frank Gilson, Mark Justice, Preston Poulter, Mario Robaina, Henry Stern). Even though most of us live in LA we decided to get a room for the event. This prooved to be a wise choice as we played many ante games untill late into the night, and the start times for the tournaments was very early. The room was suprisingly large. I had a chance to see what some of the smaller rooms looked like and boy were they small, we're talking sleep away camp small. *Thursday* I was invited to 2 partys that eveing a VIP party at 5:30 and the players welcoming party at 7:30. But we still had about 1 hour till the VIP party started. So... time for some ante games! My friends and I had been working on a deck that can consistantly beat "The Deck" and perform well in a general field. The thing is, most good "The Deck" players feel like they can't be beat and are willing to play for very big ante even if they don't know what your playing. Yes, "The Deck" does perform amazingly well against a general field, and it may still your best bet for winning a type I tournament, but that doesn't mean it can't be beaten and an ante game is just one match, not a whole tournament. Anyways we quickly found ourselves in some big ante matches. I asked if anyone wanted to play type I for ante, a guy (who I later found out was Dennis Lee, a realy nice guy BTW) agreed to play. Feeling cocky I offered up a minty mint Time Walk, he put up a beat up Mox and a beat up Mirror. I spanked him. Interestingly, he didn't wan't to use the play/draw rule. First game I got a god like draw and balanced down to 2 cards with a scepter and rack on the table on turn 2. 2nd game he was mana screwed and had to get 'potent in order to un mana screw himself. Mine is not the deck that you wan't to suck down a lot of potence damage. He eventualy got some mana but he had to take about 10 points of damage, a few bolts later and he was dead. I hoped this was a sign of how the rest of the weekend will go :) The VIP party was cool. Free drinks! and some very decent food. I had some fun introducing Mike Loconto to Scott Burke (Sorry, no blood was spilled) I spent some time with members of WotC's R&D staff discussing drafting strategies and general type II topics. Justice played one of my type II decks (The 'Realy' good stuff) against some kid for ante and lost a Nether Void. D'oh The Players welcoming party was fun. I already stareted to hear some buz about Team PCL. Maybe the t-shirts were working :) The only downside was that the food wasn't as good and the beer wasn't free. Some girl wanted to play me ante for my t-shirt (mine vs hers). As tempting as the offer was, and beleive me there were a couple of *very* tempting reasons, I didn't think my girlfriend would have aproved so I declined. There were a number of more traditional ante games going on. Chalice and Mario were wreaking havok with our type I deck and also playing people with sealed decks. I saw some people playing booster draft (and boy did they make some funky choices). Mario and I were challenged to a team ante game by Leon Lindbak and Neil (sorry I don't remeber Neil's last name, I think Leon is the Sweedish NAtional Champ, he also came in 5-8 at PT1). We decided to play for 50 experimental duelist green points each, so the winning team would get 200. I got alot of game in my ice age starter and two boosters, Mario got crap. I won both of my matches but unfortunately Mario lost both of his. So we had to play off. Each team combined all of there cards and made one deck, unfortunately Leon beat me (after I made a bad judgement call) in deciding which of his creatures too block and kill - a folk o' the pines or an essence flared treefolk. Oh well, it was getting late and we had to be ready to draft tommorrow at 8:00 AM. Unfortunately one of my roomates was a bit stuffed up and snored through much of the night, I didn't get a good nights sleep at all. *Friday* I wolk up, showered and was at the tournament center by 8. The tournamment center was awsome, the first floor had the registration area and and WotC merchandising shop. There was a netrunner demo area and an artists signing area that had many peices of original artwork. They also had a very big screen on which they were showing the video tape of PT1. This was the first chance I had to see the completed video and I was pleasantly suprised by how well it turned out. However, they played the video over and over and over and.... you get the idea, I think everyone was sick of it before the day was through. The middle of the first level was open and you could look down to the levels below. Here's a blueprint of sorts. ________________________________________________________ / Wotc Shop Net runner Artists | Food | / Demos Signing | court | / | |r /--------------------\ \---| | Level 1 |e / << stairs down << \ \ | | |g | | Video \ | game | |i | ( open ) | screen \| tables | |s | | | | |t \ << staris down << / | | |r \--------------------/ | | \ a | | \ tion gunslinger tables | | \------000----------------------------------------------- | | Entrance ________________________________________________________ / | / | / | | Open /--------------------\ Drafting | | / << stairs down << \ | | Tables | | Area | Level 2 | | ( open ) | | | | | | | \ << staris down << / | | \--------------------/ | \ | \ | \-------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________________ / | | | / | Tournament | | / Tables | J | | Open | | u | | >> stairs up >> | | d | | Tables |______________ | g t | Level 3 | open tables | e a | | |-------------- | s b | | >> staris up >> | | l | | | Tournament | e | \ Tables | s | \ | | | \---------------------------------------------------------- There were about 180 people in the open tournament and the drafting was seperated to two waves. Each wave had 12? tables and I was in the 2nd wave of drafts. I didn't know anyone at my table but I tried to hit them up for information. ie "Have you been doing many drafts?, what are your favorite colors? etc. I was trying to get a feel for how experienced the people at my table were but I couldn't get a clear read. with 180 people My Pascal Triangle told me that you would need to go 9-6 to be in the top 64 and that some people at 8-7 might make it. Thus I didn't need to draft an awsome deck, I just needed to draft a deck that would win enough games. I decided in advance to draft almost every flyer I could even if I had to play 3 colors. They seated us at *huge* tables and the cards had already been taken out of packs and put into small plastic boxes. When instructed, I openend my first box of 4th, no fireball, disintegrate or pestilence, damn! The choice was between a carion ant and an assassin. I chose the assassin (possibly a mistake). the second booster gave me another shot at a carion ants, which I took, my next picks were, frozen shade, bog imp, hill giant, war mamoth, a bird maiden and at some point I also started taking some white cards as well including a mesa and a benalish. By the end of the first booster I figured I would be playing Black with splashes of red and white. I opened up my second booster and the very last card in the pack was a fireball, yes!! I proceded to draft more black/white and red creatures including a junun late and another bog imp, the only notable spells I got where a word of binding, a dark ritual and an orcish oriflamme. My first homelands pack yielded a retribution, an ambush party and at one point I drafted three mesa falcons in a row I also drafted a dry spell. My final deck had 19 creatures, 7 of which flew, 6 spells and 18 land (9 swamps, 5 mountains and 4 plains). I felt like I had a real good shot at advancing to the round of 64. I didn't have much in the way of sideboard cards at all. We had about 30 minutes to construct our deck. All of our extra cards were considered our sideboard but we couldn't sideboard before a match, there were 5 rounds of game based swiss with the top 64 advancing to Saturday. *1st round ( 0-0)* Played against Mike Rose of Lincon Nebraska. Mike's deck was Black-Green with lots of weenie creatures and a pestilence. However he had one fatal flaw in his deck design, he only played with 14 land. If you have a single color deck with nothing costing more than 2 or 3 mana you can get away with 14 land, but if you have any crucial spells that cost more than 3, you never want to be in a position where you cant cast it. Anyways in the first game we both came out quick, but my banders,first strikers, flyers combined with the 'flamme were winning the creature battle, he got out pestilence but had to blow it in order to destroy my creatures. I quickly got out a couple more flyers and won the first game. It's always very satisfying to win a sealed game when your oponent gets out pestilence. Game2, he couldn't draw a 2nd swamp and my weeneies combined with a big word of binding won the game (he later told me he had pestilence in his hand). Game3, I open the game by drawing a lot of land, he quickly got out an elvish archer, asp and a willow fairie. I got a bog imp, benalish, and a folk og an-hava, we traded blows for a bit till he feared then feasted his archers. I had nothing that could stop them and he got me down to 8, I then blocked with the imp and cast my royal and he added an Uncle Istvan to his side At this point he attacked with all of his creatures ( the archers, uncle and asp) I blocked the Ucle and Asp with my two creatures (the benalish and a folk of an-hava) letting the archers through for 7 bringing me to 1 and he had three creatures on his side, I draw.... fireball! Oh yeah, baby. I nuke the Uncle and archers and stab the asp with my assasin. The problem is, I'm still at 1 life and all he has to do is draw the pestilence and I lose, but, he doesn't draw it, I get out a hill giant and start to smack him, he gets out small flyers but I get out mesa falcons, I get out the 'flamme and a word of binding attacking for 8 to end the game. He had his stream of life in his hand, but wasn't expecting the word of binding. *2nd round (3-0)* I played John Chinock who also went 3-0 in the first round. John had a blue/red/black deck and his killer card was control magic (which he wound up casting all three games!). Game 1 I got out a 2nd turn Junun and smacked him around a bit untill he had 2 black and 2 blue and could controll it. I soon brought out a clockwork swarm and he had to block with the junun. I had been attacking with a yotian that he let through even though he had an Anaba shaman. Eventualy he blocked with the shaman and I then cast dry spell, wiping out the shaman and two skelletons that had been blocking and regenerating other creatures. I won soon thereafter. Game2, he got out a quick pair of zephyr falcons, and was hitting me four 2 a turn untill I got a second mountain and cast retribution. He was having a bit a mana trouble and decided to ironclaw curse my pikemen, I brought out a carion ants on the next turn, I smacked him for 6 with the ants, and then 6 more (bringing him to 3) before he got his second blue and controlled them. I had the ambush party in my hand and was able to attack with them on the next turn and win. Game 3, we both get out some creatures and go back and forth for a while untill his wall of air sets up a creature stall. I eventualy got out my junun but he controlls it and casts unholy on it soon thereafter :( He hit me for 5 with the junun bringing me down to 13, he hits me again, bringing me down to 8, I had alot of creatures out and he's only got the junun, the wall and a erg raiders that has been bumping into my yotian so I decide to attack with everything, bringing him down to 4 but I lost 1 critter. He cant afford to attack because I could counter and kill him. On my turn I attack anyway, bringing him down to 1 but now I only have 1 more critter than him, if he draws another creature I will probably lose, but he doesn't and I win. He later said that he didn't expect me to counterattck when I was at 8 and he had a word of binding in his hand, but sealed deck is about winning when you can, if you have even a slight advantage you have to press it. *3rd round (6-0)* Sorry, I didn't take very good notes here. I played Shawn Davies of Canada who was also 6-0. I knew that if I swept here I would be 9-0 and gaurunteed of going on to Saturday. Game 1 We trade blows, I get out an ambush party which he backfires, I attack anyway. eventualy I win even though the ambush party brings me down to 1 (if he'd of had a giant growth or howl he could of cast it on the ambush party and we would of tied. In the second game I got out my assasin and stabbed a bunch of his creatures in the back, he was a bit to willing to sacrifice 1 creature to let another go through. Game 3 a key retribution( cast on a phantom monster and another flyer) wins me the game. I had alot of lucky pulls against shawn, but luck is a big part of this game. *4th round (9-0)* Cool, I made it to saturday. I am now paired against my teamate Mark Justice who had an awsome R/U deck, he was 8-1 at this point. He had, among other things, 2 ghost ships, 2 tims, ana anaba shaman, an imolation, bolt and firball and a grapeshot. His deck is increadibly well set up to defeat my weenies and I get swept. The only downside is that theese games count as far as sanctioned sealed deck so I still want to win. *5th round (9-3)* Played Dominic Syemens of Belgium. He was also 9-3. Game 1, I win the coin toss and I get a good draw, 2 swamps a dark ritual and a junun. I play a swamp and say go ahead. He play swamp, ritual, hypnotic spectre. Damn! Oh well at least I can block it with my junun (which I ritualed out). He paralyzes my junun, and hits me for 2, D'oh! I let the junun go and pray to get my fireball but it doesn't come, the hypie destroys my hand and I lose the first game. Game 2 my weenies overran him and he got a bit color screwed. Weenies run him over in game three as well. My final record after the first day is 11-4 with a 4-1 match record, good enough for 10th and an invite to Saturday. I felt good as well because I didn't make any mistakes at all. 4 of my fellow PCL members made it to saturday. Justice was 1st at 13-2 or 14-1, Chalice was 3rd at 12-3. Preston and Frank also made the cut. Burke and Mario were slackers. We have a little saying, 'on our team, either you're En Fuego or youuuu suck' :) Friday Night I played a couple more ante games (won a psi blast) and returned to the room early. My snoring roomates where a problem again and I didn't get a very good nights sleep. We knew it was going to be much more difficult to advance today than Friday. Only the top 8 out of 64 would advance. You would need a record of 11-4 to advqnce for sure and a few people at 10-5 might get in. My main goal was to make the top 32, if I could make this level then I would get an invite to the next Pro Event and wouldn't have to requalify. Since my type II rating currently blows, getting into the top 32 was key. I didn't have as good a draft as the day before. I got no red X spells or any pestilence, the first card I drafted was a prodigal and that was the last decent blue card I saw. I drafted 5 five different colors over the first 7 cards because I still didn't know where I was going. I then relized that I was getting passed some decent white stuff and concentrated on White, got a land Tax (very usefull) and a few small flyers. After the first booster I was still somewhat flexible, it looked like I was going with red / white and green but all my spells cost only 1 of there color so I was still willing to make a jump into whatever good cards the second pack provided. That color turned out to be red. I got a fat boy (earth elemental) a crimson manticore and a miracle dragon whelp as the fourth card! I wound up with 2 lightning bolts but I didn't have as many flyers as yesterday but I did have a few meaty creatures including a mamoth, boars and fat boy. I also had a strong anti-blue sideboard, including 2 REB's and a blue ward *1st Round (0-0)* I am paired with Mike Long. Mike and I have a bit of history together as I beat him in the semifinals at the last years National Championships. Mike's a great player but he does like to talk and put on a show when he plays. At any rate, he had been bragging about how great his deck was as we where all standing arround before they anounced the pairings. When I found out I was playing him I didn't feel great. Game1, I came out fast, he got had 2 prodigals but I had 2 bolts :). I got out a Bird maiden, benalish and a mamoth and banded/trampled him to death. I put in all my anti blue stuff and boy where they handy. Game2 Not much happened, we got into a ground creature stall untill he eventualy used a mana vault to cast a Leviathan. I then cast blue ward on my wall of dust. Hah! He couldn't beleive I had drafted and then played a blue ward. I got to tax in that game and my whelp eventualy finished him off. Game 3 He came out fast with some ironclaw orcs and an anaba bodygaurd, quickly bringing me down to 5 but I got out an anaba shaman which I carapaced to set up a stall. I started poking him and again got out the whelp to end the game. * 2nd Round (3-0) * I forgott to write down the name of the guy I played but he wound up in the final 8, he had 3 howl from beyonds and alot of creatures in a red/black deck. A stupid battering ram rocked my world. Even though he made mistakes I wound up going 1-2 against him. * 3rd Round (4-2) * played david Ditmer, it took a *long* time, but I won the first game. Durring the game I tried to politely point out that if we didn't hurry up we probably wouldn't be able to finish all three games. I was so concerned about not finishing the second game that I forgot to sideboard (and he was playing blue!). Major error. In the second game he whent first and played an island I quickly looked at my hand and noticed I had a scryb and a forest, I plyed them when he pointed out out that I had plyed a plains instead of a forest. He let me take back the plains and put out a forest. I then noticed that I had forgotten to draw my first card! I drew it and got my Tax, I decided not to push his goodwill and just said go ahead. On my second turn I tried to play the Tax but he Spell blasted it! Major, Major screw up for me. He later got out a ghost ship with feast of the unicorn and quickly killed me. I sideboarded in all my anti blue stuff but we didn't finish the 3rd game. He was in a slightly supperior posistion, so I didn't realy mind. * 4th Round (5-3) * I played Sean Fleischman of New York. I was still upset at myself for the mistakes I made in the previous match. Little did I know I would make some much worse ones in this game :( In game one I felt like I had complete controll, I had out my whelp *and* my manticore and was pounding him. He had an onulet and eventualy got out a couple of tims. I didn't realy care because I knew he would soon be dead. In fact I purposefully held back playing a forest and a Durkwood Boars because I didn't want to let him know I plyed green. Somehow the game just started to slip out of my fingers. He cast 2 giant albatross on sucsessive turns and eventualy I had to let the whelp go, the tims eventualy did me in. Somehow I had lost a game I definately should have one :( I shouldn't have been playing cute games and should of just concentrated on winning. I won the second game but made horrible judgement call in the 3rd. He was at 4 life, I was at 8, He had cast hurricane against me earlier and I thought he had it again. He had been smacking me with a sergothian leviathan and when he attacked I bolted it because I didn't want to lower myself into hurricane range and have him tie the game. The thing is, if I'd been thinking, of course he wouldn't of gone for the tie. He would of only used the Hurricane as a last resort. I could of taken the hit and then bolted and timmed *him*. Major D'oH. Oh well, I realy think I could of taken 3 games from Sean but you cant make these idotic mistakes and hope to beat a good oponent. He soon huricaned to tie the game. * 5th Round (6-4-1) * I am paired with Mark Justice, if either of us sweeps the other we will probably advance to the finals. Even though we are team members I want that person to be me! Also, if he sweeps me I will probably not make the top 32 so I'm definately playing to win. He doesn't have as good a deck as yesterday and I take 2 games from him. I wound up at 8-5-1 with a match record of 2-1-2. Good enough for 20th place and $1100. I realy think I could of easily made the top 16 and possibly made the top 8 but oh well. One PCL guy did make the top 8 (preston), Justice and I made the top 32 and Frank just missed at 33, chalice had a bad day and also missed the top 32, but still 5 out of 7 guys finished in the money 4 of which in the top 33 so it was a good tournament for the team. That night, as a plublicity stunt for a book, 10 of us played in a *Beta* starter tournament. Each of payed $100 for a Beta starter. The games where for ante but we could protect one of our cards. The winners of the tournament could pick one unprotected card from each person's deck. There was a *huge* crowd arround us as we opened our decks. I got extremely lucky, getting a chaos orb and a Timetwister! Of course I protected the Twister. There was an amazing number of good OOP cards including my stuff, a mox saphire, a time vault, an illusionary mask, 3 bezerks, an icy and an ice storm, not to mention a bunch of sinkholes and decent rares. Weismann got a serra and an icy (how appropriate) I didn't play the twister because my blue sucked but of course I used the orb, the first time I used it I missed my opponents serra and hit my own land! (its been a while) I did crappy in the little tournament, but was still happy with the twister, it was fun to play in a sealed environment with cards like bezerk and demonic tutor. *Sunday* Not much to tell about Sunday, Many people have written about the Alliances cards (Boy, do they rock!) There was a Japanese grand master and a few other tournaments. Oh yeah, 5 PCL members(Me, mario, frank, chalice, and preston) also played a team tournament on Sunday for 1000 experimental DC green points against teams from Nuetral Ground, South Florida (Adam Maysonet's Team) and a Mid Atlantic Team (lead by Mike Long). Team PCL squeked out a victory. So, all in all it was a good weekend and were all looking foward to Columbus and PT3. ____ Regards, / \ . . x Haster | ++ | .