From: kima@bgnet.bgsu.edu (Kim Allen Andrus)
Subject: Necro/Edge wins a type I tourney
Date: 30 Mar 1996 06:26:05 GMT

I apologize for not giving the full tourney report, but my mail editor
has gone haywire and I have had several attempts at the report screwed up
by )*&)*&)(*&&SDJ;ljasdfjasdf.  So I'll try and give a short and sweet
version.

Sat. the 23 in BG Ohio a 40-person type I was held, drawing several out-of-
towners, also out-of-staters with a beta Mox Pearl as 1st prize.
I played the winning deck, a simple type II necro/edge deck with a few
badlands (borrowed, I don't play competitively in type I), a wheel and a
tutor as the type I modification to the deck.  Of course, I wasn't expecting
to win in the slightest, but wanted to play this deck because it is such
a kick in the pants...you never know if you'll get the pop-gun off, and when
you do it is exhilirating.
I played in 5 matches...2 vs white hordes, 2 vs general type I 'bag of 
goodies' decks with the $$ cards and fast creatures, and 1 vs 'the perfect
deck', the land-lock with moxes/stones/worbs/equilibrium.  The tourney was
2/3 single elimination, and at least 3 of the five went into a deciding third
game.  It was odd--I won the first game in every match, I believe, and the
opponent played wiser vs the combo in the second.  In the third, I luckily
pulled the combo quickly or drew gloom, the 1 bloodmoon in my main deck, or
the zorb/tower to give me time to set up the pop-gun.
The decks I faced were well built, on the whole--the fact that necro/edge
won against them was something that puzzled me as well as my opponents.

Only once did demonic consultation hurt me, and that was in a game with 
'the perfect deck' after my opponent had gotten me in the lock.  I had the
tower & necro out, with 1 edge remaining in my deck, and was at 80 some life,
but couldn't cast a thing because of land equilibrium.  When I finally 
pulled the edge I didn't have sufficient cards remaining in the deck to
finish off the opponent.

Two of my opponents made some poor playing decisions, and I may have lost to
the 2nd match big-critter deck if the opponent wouldn't have wheeled at a 
most opportune time for me (not wise when I've got the edge out, cards in 
hand, and they're at 14 life or so!! duh!). However, the other three 
opponents were more careful, and knew enough to diss the edge _after_ I 
necrod, _before_ my discard phase.  It really smarts when they do that!

The final match, against one of the w/u creature decks with speed 
serras/juggs(at least thats all I saw, games were short), was won by 
forfit!  We were 1/1, the judges had told us that the final match was best
3/5, and my opponent had to leave because he had concert tickets and was 
1 hour late, was taking people and had their tickets, etc....  what a 
bummer, having to accept the Mox by forfit :)

This is a cheese deck that does take some skill to play...when to necro,
does the opponent hold counters/disses, what to consult for, which to play
first, how low to necro down to.  Certainly not as much skill to run this 
deck as some, but you can't be braindead and win.  Of course, you have to be
pretty damn lucky to win consistently, but doesn't every one, to some degree
or another.

There was another necro/edge deck, same basic deck as mine w/out wheel and
bloodmoon, it placed at least within the top 10...I'm glad I didn't have to
play it, the games would have been too odd.  It went with a mighty morphin'
critter sideboard, and I think that was why it didn't do as well.  Glooms
and blasts are necessities to keep the combo alive, 

Has anyone else seen this deck get lucky in a type I?  I'm curious to know
if they are popping up in serious tourney play in other areas.

Basic Deck:
4 Lands Edge	4 Necropotence
4 Bolts		3 Dark Ritual
1 Blood Moon	1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Ivory Tower	1 Zuran Orb
4 Demonic Consultation
= 23 Spells
4 Badlands
17 swamps
16 mountains
= 37 Land
60 Cards

Sideboard = glooms, red/pyro blasts, pyroclasms, feldon's cane
(I never used the cane, used few blasts--will replace cane & some
blasts with perhaps terrors or meekstones vs large/fast)

Hey, I ended up getting away with a decent-length post, my mail editor is
behaving itself today :)
-- 
Kim Andrus                                  kima@bgnet.bgsu.edu
MA Student--BGSU TESL Program		    (419) 353-0286