From: lotus@hopi.dtcc.edu (Bill Bohn) Subject: Tourny Report (NY PTQ; semi-long) Date: 10 Nov 1996 21:38:22 GMT Nothinglike playing the meta-game and getting it done right.. and nothing as bad as losing with three counterspells in your hand and only one blue mana on the table/// but here is my last run doing the Alice thing.. first.. here was was deck.. 4 Sibilant Spirits 4 IA pump knights 4 Blinkys 4 Spectal Shields (THE ticket of the deck) 4 Stp's 3 Disenchants 3 Counterspells 2 Force of Wills 2 Powersinks 2 Helms of O 1 Icy 1 Lodestone B 1 Zuran Orb 3 K. Outposts 2 Thawing Glaciers 4 Adarkar Wastes 10 PLains 8 Islands 62 cards sideboard 2 Cop:black 2 Cop:red 2 Cop:green 1 coldsnap 3 Soul Burns 3 Hydroblast 2 Skull Catapult Ok.. I came up with the deck the night before while staying in a cool hotel in Piscataway, NJ.. damn it worked well round one.. vs.. R/G creatures Early counters and Stp's let me build the mana to get out an icy which stopped the Ants, and then the sibilant spirit w/shield just ate her up. Second I got a helm out and grabbed an ant and through it at her.. her deck was too normal and was no match.. Round two.. vs B/w/r I never figured out what this deck was trying to do, but it seemed to be a combo of a wisp/outpost deck with some burn. He had some answers to my creatures but not after the shield went on the spirit. He even was so confused that he forgot to draw a card for about 5 attacks of my spirit. Anyway, after he got about 20 life from his orb and another from a 6 point soul burn I eventually put him away.. next game, I realized that I only need to put the shield on the pump knight since everyone seemed to have blakc only creatures... so a 2/3 prot. from black first striking pumping non targettable from spells nightmare of a creature, was wrecking havoc on everyone... 2-0 now round three.. vs. speed black necro et all. Another female opponent.. but she had a real deck and had the one of the threats I had problems with.. the black pump knights. first game.. two pump knights and necro ASAP.. and me with just one white pump knight... next turn dystopia.. lights out . No way would I get my deck moving against that.. second game.. I put in the cop's, the catapults and go first for the first time (been loving going second all day) it didn't work.. I was holding a soul burn but she never dropped the darkness.. she didn't need too.. lost in 12 minutes, good thing though, went across to McDonalds and paid the most ever for quarter pounders and filets .. Round 4, vs' wisp deck 2-1 and still in it.. the wisp deck had no answers to the shielded pump knight. second game I disenchanted the dystopia and the laid a cop:black. Next turn he drops the darkness, and the I soul burn his pump knight. He laughs and throws his darkness across the room and acts like adam sandler and sings 'piece of shit deck' and does the goat routine to a tee... 3-1 round 5, vs. land destruction/jokul R/G/w tough match. The one design flaw I made was starting to shoiw a pattern. Originally I went with a 60 card deck but since I was worried about land destruction I added the extra plain and island.. bad move. I should of added one more thawing glaciers and stuck at 61 cards. I would only get my glaciers late in the game and I should of lost the first game.. He starts off destroying my land like crazy.. but like most land destruction decks he didn'tmhave enought creatures. I see a folk of the pines (I guess in to block insects). I was keeping a plains in hand just for my swords and nailed it then he nailed my plains.. this goes on for a while and I start to get a few lands down. I put out a knight with a shield and he can't touch it.. he gets an insect out and his cursing his luck.. so... jokul number one. Now we restart and I get my bauble. He gets going and has another insect out. He hits me once and I get a blinky out.. he trys to sword it and then hits me again. I am at 7 life now and put out blinky again. I and waiting for 6 mana to slam down a spirit (and he knows this since I discarded some many cards earlier). Next turn he gets another insect I am toast.. well I would of been toast but for some reason he doesn't attack with both insects and I live for 5 turns before he realizes his mistake. He overboils and curses but too late I helm him for a folk of the pines and he goes nuclear. So his beloved pines is now his enemy and a few turns later he swords it.. then I get a knight out and he flips out and does jokul number 2. All the while he has been glaciering like crazy and has only about 10 cards left in his library.. two turns later I drop an outpost and he goes in a fit and concedes.. Game two was more the same except that I had a handfull of land and some hydroblasts to stop the early land dest. and have the advantage the whole game. My Cop's stop him cold and we run out of time when hed 3 life and was going to die very soon.. 4-1... and I get paired with a 3-2 player since my match lasted so long. I think cake walk and it was till.. Round 6 vs Horror/Spark/Gargoyle Strange game.. We both were doing the outpost thing but my blinkys and shielded knight was too much. He nailed me with a 15 point lava burst and that got to me. I sideboarded too much anti-red stuff and forget about his black and I die horribly with mana screw the second game.. Now, one game left, I get to go draw first and my sideboard is correct.. I jump all over him with a shielded knight and an outpost. He lays dystopia so I feed it with teh Dudes.. He lets that go for 2 turns and then ditches it. He gets out 2 black creatures and I drop Cop:black.. He is hating life and tries to disenchant the shield. I force of will it and he feels defeat. BUT.. it is about 14 turns in and he is at 3 life and I have 2 counterspells in my hand but only 4 plains, the outpost and an Adarkar waste. Where is an island?? Where have my Thawing Glaciers been? Next run he drops Cop:white and I feel faint. My shot to dallas is going down the tubes only because I don't have another blue mana!!!!!! And 5 turns later I STILL don't have the other blue.. I even Baubled for another card and nothing... except I picked up my third and last counterspell in my hand now.. So he drops a Gargoyle and I know I am dead. I go for it all and helm him.. Guess what.. I get a gargoyle and all the spells in his hand that didn't work on my shielded knight were yelling and screaming to get used now. He incerates it immediately and now I don't draw and he has two gargoyles.. lights out for me../ All in all.. the shield was key. The +0/+2 allowed my knights to aviod pyroclasms and having a shielded sibilant spirit is golden.... later.. good luck to all in Dallas.. wish I had that second blue!! Bill lotus@hopi.dtcc.edu