From: randall@morpheus.cis.yale.edu (Joshua E Randall) Subject: NYC PT Qualifier 4/20 - REPORT - long! Date: 22 Apr 1996 07:59:49 GMT 22 April 1996 A Report on a Pro Tour Qualifier by Joshua 'Enjolras' Randall The story begins about a week ago, when I realized I'd better build a deck if I actually wanted to compete in this qualifier. Disliking NecroDisk, and not wanting to play yet another ErhnamGeddon, I decided to go with something vaguely similar to what Mark Justice used at the first Pro Tournanment: a R/w/g (but mostly colorless) deck with Stormbinds, and the deadly Howling Mine/Winter Orb/Icy Manipulator/ optional Black Vise. In playtesting against myself, this deck consistenly crushed Necropotence. However, on Friday, against some of the better players at Neutral Ground (a popular NYC gaming hangout, and the people who organize the Gray Matter, nee New York Magic, tournaments), I could not, as Rob Hahn said in his post, buy a win. (Does this remind anyone else of NBA Jam?) Disgusted, frustrated, and a bit scared, I stripped out the White component of my deck and built a fairly standard ErhnamGeddon, deciding that if I couldn't be original, I could at least be successful. I also decided I would not lose to any deck with Black in it, and started Whirling Dervishes and Orders of Leitbur in the main deck. Deathgrip, Stormseeker, and Reclamation (my secret weapon) were in the sideboard. Meanwhile, Rob borrowed my Stormbind and friends, and went on to win airfare to LA. D'oh. . . . Now for the tournament proper. ROUND ONE Much to my dismay, I faced off against another deck just like mine. The first game was extremely long and drawn out, with both of us dealing damage to each other entirely with creatures. I had to plow his early Erhnam, which put him ahead in the life total, but later on I got out my own Djinn and started pounding away. His Elf kept forest- walking for 1, which started to take its toll on me, but I was going to win the exchange. I eventually knocked him down to 3 lives, but then he got out an Ivory Tower and held on long enough to overwhelm me. This loss was doubly bad, because I would have won if not for the Tower, and because it took so long that not enough time was left for two more games. We agreed to flip a coin for the third game, something which I, in retrospect, regret agreeing to. The tournament was being run Swiss style, and for players to concede games which were actually never played seriously messes up the point totals. The second game I played too fast, making quite a few mistakes. He also had out a second turn Sylvan Library, which allowed him to get to his key cards. I smacked him around a bit with an Order, pumping it with a Plains and a Brushland (ouch!), on the theory that a 3 for 1 exchange of life points was a winning proposition. But he finally brought out an Icy, kept my defenseless, and beat me to death with various creatures. As predicted, we didn't have enough time for the third game, so we flipped for it and he won. Record so far: Games 0-3, Matches 0-1, Points 0. ROUND TWO I moved way down to the very last table, where I didn't win many friends by saying "well, here I am with the rest of the losers". I was paired against a younger player who, when I asked him to count out his sideboard, informed me that he didn't have one. I thought this was a bit odd, and should have asked a judge to check his deck for legality, as I seriously doubted he could possibly fit 5 CH, 5 HL, *and* 5 FE cards in his main deck. But I decided not to, so we began. It transpired that he was playing B/U, and as I drew my Strip Mines early, I Stripped Black on general principle. I put out an early Dervish, which hit him once before he took it with a Control Magic, dropping a Vampire the same turn via Rituals. I Plowed the Vampire and let the Dervish hit me once before I decided to Disenchant the Control after all. I also put out a Serra Angel, which I felt safe in doing after he had already used one Control. He did nothing, and my next turn I Armageddoned and beat him in short order. Game two I had a nighmarish draw: Strip Mine as my only land, and all expensive spells. I played the Strip, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I drew an Ivory Tower the next turn. Knowing that B/U has no cheap way to get rid of artifacts, I felt fairly confident that I could build up a massive enough life advantage to offset my land- screw. I also secretly hoped he would play a Zur's Weirding, so that I could deny him all further cards. So my life points started accumulating, and he wasn't doing much of anything. I discarded Autumn and Armageddon, then finally drew a forest, brought out an Elf, and was actually functional. He had brought out a Vampire, which I ignored, as it was only costing me one life per turn. Eventually I plowed it. He countered some of my key spells, like Armageddon and Lifeforce, but I had too many creatures for him to deal with, and he finally bowed to the onslaught. The third game my deck worked perfectly, and I brought out Autumn on around turn four, and Armageddoned thereafter. He died five turns later. I felt a little better about my deck, and realized that I still had an outside chance at making the final 16. Record so far: Games 3-3, Matches 1-1, Points 9. ROUND THREE I moved back to one of the middle-of-the-pack tables, where I faced a R/W "destroy everything" deck. Unfortunately for him, I had a first turn Ivory Tower in the first game, which pushed me up to some ridiculously high life total. I also had a second turn Land Tax, which he wisely decided to try and play around. The game was prolonged when I drew nothing useful, and he nicked me here and there with Bolts and creatures. Eventually I broke my own Land Tax stalemate so that I could Armageddon and start over. This time he played land, allowing me to Tax, thin out my deck, and draw my creatures. I don't remember what I killed him with, but judging by the life totals it was probably an Order, then Autumn. The second game was another perfect victory for me. Autumn + Armageddon spells death in five turns. The third game was almost perfect, but he had a Zuran Orb and actually gained some life before I Divine Offered it, just to be mean. I then dropped an Erhnam, for variety, and Armageddoned, gaining 10 life with my own ZOrb. He didn't draw a Plow, so he died quickly. Now I was feeling a lot more confident: two clean sweeps, and in my last three games I had never been below 20 life. Record so far: Games 6-3, Matches 2-1, Points 18. ROUND FOUR I was originally paired up with the first person I played, but I asked the judge for a re-assignment, which he granted. It didn't make any difference, as I still played a copy of my deck. The first game he had a first turn Tax, second turn Sylvan, so I absolutely positively could not afford to play more than two land. When he drew his ZOrb, things got ugly. A few turns later, I drew Disenchant, and agonized for a long while over what to destroy. Eventually I decided on the Tax, though I'm not sure that was the right move. He had already Taxed once or twice, and the Sylvan was letting him get at all his good cards. Meanwhile, we had exchanged hits: my Order, his Spectral Bears. I got out my own Tax, which he didn't even deign to play around, and Taxed out three lands. I then drew another land. The next turn I Taxed again, and still drew land. Unbelievable! His Bears had me dangerously low on life, and when he put out an Erhnam, it was quickly over. The second game was a drawn out struggle. I didn't know exactly what to sideboard, so I took out Armageddons and put in some extra anti- creature, plus Tormod's Crypt in case it came down to that. I should have put in Stormseekers, but forgot. This time my opponent was the one with a first turn Ivory Tower, which I reluctantly Disenchanted, only to see him play a Tax thereafter. I settled down for the stalemate, discarding expensive stuff, until he finally broke out with another land and a Fellwar. This allowed me to gather up enough mana to actually play some cards. Creatures died on both sides. Life totals went up and down. Somewhere in there I must have drawn my Tower, because my life total kept going up. And somehwere in there I started hitting him for different amounts, so I probably had out a few creatures. Eventually he reached 0 life, and the game was over. I asked him if, in the event that time was called, we could flip a coin for the third game victory. He agreed. But a judge came over to observe our match, and time was indeed called. He was ahead on life and thought he should win, but thankfully, this being Swiss style, there would be none of that bullshit. I then pulled out a coin, but the judge said there would be none of *that* bullshit, either. I attempted to argue my opponent into concession. He refused. A tie was as bad as a loss, and I was out of contention. Record so far: Game 7-4-X, Matches 2-1-1, Points 21. ROUND FIVE I decided to play on, hoping to ruin someone's day by beating him and keeping him from making the cut. But I was paired against another R/W deck who also had 21 points. Oh well. We both played somewhat sloppily; for example, at one point I Armageddoned with an Angel out, but forgot to draw the extra mana into my pool and put out the Tax. He also wasted Bolts on me, instead of saving them for my creatures. The first game was somewhat long, as he double-Bolted my Angel, and I had to put out Autumn and Armageddon again before he succumbed. The second game was yet another near-perfect one for me, as I brought out an Erhnam and followed it with Armageddon. He had out an Uthden Troll, which could no longer regenerate, so he hit me with it. Four life for two ended in my favor. My opponent conceded the third game before we even played it, which, while not exactly legal, was very gracious of him. By far, he was the nicest person I played all day. Final Record: 10-4-X Games, 3-1-1 Matches, 30 Points. * * * * * At least 33 points were needed to squeak into the finals, so I was out. I attempted to stay and observe which decks were being played, but the judges wouldn't let me get close enough to any of the tables to see clearly. From what I could make out, I saw at least seven NecroDisk decks (out of the final 16), and, surprisingly, no ErhnamGeddon decks. Probably, all the G/W players killed each other off in the Swiss rounds, while the B players got lucky pairings and didn't have to play each other. I have no idea what happened in the round of 8, other than that Rob Hahn won his match, as he reported in another thread. Overall, I was pleased with my deck's performance *except* against its mirror image. G/W needs a way to sideboard against itself, because without some way to hose your opponent, you rely on luck of the draw to win. Some sort of transformative sideboard might work, but then you'd be helpless against everyone else. Until next time, may your mana be plentiful and right. -- -- Joshua E Randall "Do not mistake composure for ease." - Tuvok, ST: VOY