From: c-schwope@ti.com (Charles T. Schwope)
Subject: T2 Dallas Area Tourney Report (Necro)
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 15:01:57 GMT

	After not playing much MtG for the past month, I finally got the time
and desire to start preping for regionals this weekend and went to the
Game Chest's weekey T2 tourney on Sat.  When I last went there, ~50
people were showing up... this week there were only 24 (but one of
them was George Baxter, of book and PT fame).
	I decided Friday night to revive the necro deck I was using after the
PT (which was similar to the one George had lost to in NY).  After
reading the article about the  PT and looking at the junior champion's
deck, I noticed the differences in the deck.  The one I had been
playing was the 4 Drain Life version, without extra land destruction
(and I hadn't been using consultations).  The junior's had 2 more land
destruction spells (4 icequake+2 strips vs 4 strips), no drain lifes
and 3 consultations.  In the seach for the "perfect deck" (yeah right)
I decided to go with the land destruction version to see how it
played, and thew it together Friday night, then play tested it
slightly to pick the exact cards.  I ended up with:

Land: 3 Ebon Stronghold, 15 Swamp, 4 strip, 4 mishra
Artifacts: 1 Zuran Orb, 1 Ivory Tower, 1 Aeoliphile, 3 Disks
Critters:  4 Hyp Spec, 4 Pump knights, 3 Vamps
Spells: 4 Dark Rit, 4 Hymn, 3 Necro, 3 Dem Consult, 2 Icequake, 1 Dark
Banishing

Sideboard:  2 Serrated Arrows, 2 Walking Walls, 2 Gloom, 2 Stench of
Evil, 1 Ishan Shade, 2 Dark Banishing, 4 Drainlife

	I thinks its damn near standard Necro.  I compared it last night to a
couple I saw posted, and there's about 8 cards that change among all
of them.  I chose the Aeoliphile to help vs the WW decks I expected to
see, and the Banishing to deal with the Ernham decks I _knew_ I would
see.  The heavy drainlifes in the SB were for burn decks... planning
to take out the necros and put them in.

	I've realized that I took pretty bad notes during the tourney, so my
play by play isn't very good, but I'll hit the high lights.
	The tourney was 5 round Swiss, with the top 4 proceeding to the semis.
Scores were by match, with games being the tiebreaker.  Also, we were
using the optional draw rule (a good thing IMHO).

	1st round:  Vs. Andrew, a young kid who's been a regular.  He was
playing straight black, with Royal assasins, icys, mana vaults, and
_big_ critters (saw vamps, baron sengir, and nightmare).  2 of the
three gams were close, with the disks being the key because he didn't
hold back critters, and I did.  The aeoliphile was good also, killing
a royal, and helping to kill a wil'o'wisp.  I swept... 1-0 (3-0 games)

	2nd round:  vs Jason, a pretty good player, but a had a fatal flaw in
his deck's design.  It was R/G weenie/ernham/blood lusts.  I won the
1st by very little.  The second game he drew 3 bloodlust in opening
hand (the problem with his deck), and gave up (lusting my knight 3
times at one point).  The 3rd game was close again, with disks killing
ernhams once or twice.  He mad a sideboard error of not putting in
anti artifact stuff.  I swept.. 2-0 (6-0 games)

	3rd round: vs Brodi the 1st person I hadn't played before.  He was
playing Land Tax/Edge with winter orb/icy in it.  I thought it was a
really good deck, and all 3 games were close.  I had seen him playing
at tables near me, and had decided to be _very_ careful about using
necro.  The 1st game was close, but I was able to disk away his
tax/edge before it became vital.  He also didn't get a winter orb.  I
sideboarded out my necros from drain lifes, going on the principle
that I wanted to minimize the damage I was taking, in case he ever got
the Tax/Edge combo going.  I consulted for a hymn early, saw one as
the 6th card... then about the 30th card.  Was not a good thing.  I
hymned him 3 times that game, and was able to disk away a winter orb
and Edge then lay a knight.  It hit for a couple, he got an icy.  I
had about 3 cards left in my library, 4 lands in play, a knight,
drainlife, 2 rituals in hand.  I draw a drain life and play the
knight.  Next turn I drain life for a little.  As I draw my last card
he's at 11 life.  I hit him for 2 with the knight, then drain life for
10.  Too close of a game.  3rd game goes about the same as the others,
but when he had the Orb and an edge out, he disenchnats my disk, then
lays a tax and zuran orb.  I lose pretty hideously despite having the
orb in play myself.  3-0 matches (8-1 games)

	4th round: vs Tom a good young player.  He was playing R/W/G
stormbind/erhnam/land destruction/geddon.  All the games were close,
but I seemed to get the disks at the right time (once by consulting)
to get either his stormbind, or his ernhams, or both.  I swept... 4-0
matchs (11-1 games)

	5th round:  vs Bryan (aka Red, ak "Da Fish") Sammon, young player who
won last weeks pro tourney qualifier.  He's been playing the deck he
used for a while.  Very strong deck, and Red's one of the best players
in Dallas (IMHO).  We were both guaranteed into the semi's at this
point, and were playing for pride.  I was worried about his deck b/c
it has a _lot_ of anti critter stuff, some regeneraters, and burn.
It's a R/W critter/burn disk deck.  He uses white vises (lions),
blinkers, uthdens, and mishra's, plus 6 or so bolts, 2 fireballs, some
stp, disenchants, and a Wrath or 2.  He won the 1st game, then I won
the next 2.  All the games were close, and the disks were again key.
5-0 matchs and 13-2 games.

	Couple of notes on the swiss part.  George Baxter (playing "The
Engine" not the House of Pain 2) was swept in the 2nd round by Joshua
(who made the semi's), but won the rest of his matches.  The people in
the semis were myself, Red, George, and Joshua.  

	Semis: vs Joshua, a young player (less then 15) who was playing a deck
I believe was _very_ similar to George's House of Pian 2 (the deck he
used in NY).  Its B/R/g, with 8 pump knights, 4 ernhams, and heat.  Of
note, Red and some other players had informed me that the kid was
stacking his deck (consistently getting 3 to 4 strips in his opening
hand).  I watched him, and he seemed to do a good job against me so
while I did some strange cuts, I didn't go crazy.  
	1st game... he's going 1st, and my opening hand is dark ritual,
consulations, 2 swamps, strip, mishra, 1 knight.  He plays a city of
brass, I play a swamp and have decided that I'll DC for a hymn at the
end of his turn.  He strips my land, I decided the DC for a swamp.
After that I put a land in play, he strips it,  then its off to the
races. I end up winning b/c he gets 2 cities and a swamp as mana after
that, and end up taking about 8 points of city damage to put knights
into play.  I continue playing critters, then disk away an ernham, and
beat on him with a hyppi.
	2nd game... he ends up with a slight mana screw (2 lands for about 5
turns) and I get Necro/Tower.  I end up with about a 15 card advantage
by the time I finish him off.  I believe I disked away an enham again.

	In the other semi, Red and George are in the middle of the 2nd game,
with George having ~40 life, 2 blinkers, while Red has a Sceptre out.
Red eventually gets the blinkers with the sceptre, then disks away an
Icy, and plays an Erron, which beats George down to ~15 life.  It goes
farming, then George plays a Wierding.  To make a long story short,
Red is reducesd to1 life, but George's last card is a Recall, which he
uses to get a fireball.  I was waiting at least a 1/2 hour, if not an
hour.  George wins 2-0.

	Finals:  vs George Baxter, playing "The Engine."  The Engine has been
in the works since about november.  Its a W/R/U control/tome deck,
that tends to be too slow in swiss tourneys b/c of the lack of
"finisher" cards.  I know the deck, and know to only play 1 critter...
but he has 4 Icys in it... which is a bad thing.  He also has to be
"very" alert when playing it, b/c one mistake and it may not have what
it need to finish its opponent off.  So.. me being the great games man
I am, have George sit down right away and start playing, b/c he's
obviously tired.  George is a good friend, but we're in a tourney...
so... any advantage is a good thing.  
	1st game: He goes 1st... I dark ritual, hymn, dc for a hymn... go
about 60% through my deck before I find one.  I hymn him 2nd turn, and
hymn him 3rd turn.  I kill 2 or 3 land.  I play critters.  He kills
the critter.  Repeat until he runs me out of cards.  I had bad luck
with what I pulled on the hymns, he had good luck pulling the right
critter killer at the right time. 
	Sideboard is fun... as we both play some psych games... I put in a
drain life, ishan, 2 stench of evil.  He faked me out of putting in
glooms by flashing me a sleight.  
	2nd and 3rd game are about the same.  I disk at the right times to get
icys, get a solid card advantage, and George makes tiny mistakes in
both games (once attacking with a mishra when he shouldn't have, once
forgetting to gain life with a fountain of youth).  His blinkers are
nothing to me (pro white and flying), so part of his defense is no
good.  And I win both.  But all 3 games were nail biters. 

	Sum total I won a poor shape mox, which I sell to the store for $70.
I also learned a _lot_ about what makes the necro deck hum.  
	The keys are the hymns, the disks, and possibly the consultations.  I
could easily run without the necros and do well, but those cards make
it as good as it is.  

	-CT
	
--
    Charles T. Schwope      | Every man is a spark in the darkness.  By the 
         aka CT             |   time he is noticed, he is gone forever, a 
schwope@infrared.csc.ti.com | retinal afterimage that fades, and is obscured 
     c-schwope@ti.com       |          by newer, brighter lights.