From: tjpitts@txdirect.net
Subject: Tourney Report- Prisonesque Deck (long and rambling)
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:39:44 -0500

Buddy of mine lured me to Houston with promises of a type II Mox 
tourney. Since the tourney scene is so weak in San Antonio I made the 3 
hour trek for the Friday tourney. I actually went out Wednesday morning 
as he said there were tourneys Wed and Thurs as well. I'll add a quick 
report on the Wed tourney.

The Wednesday tourney was Bizarre Sealed Deck. Tourney rules were that 
you could play with 1 Starter and 3 Boosters, with 8 card boosters 
counting as 1/2 a booster. But they didn't have to be inprint. You could 
pony up $400 and play with 6 Arabians boosters and a RV starter if you 
wished! I picked up a 4th Starter, 2 Alliances and 2 Homelands. Opening 
my packs, I find among other things Flood, Island Sanctuary, Storm 
Elemental and CoPs R+B... Halfway through the building process, I notice 
my opponent is writing on his lands... Looking around I see several 
people are. Turns out you can proxy all the land you want. Great... 
Turns out the locals just love playing mono-color sealed deck :) I spend 
enough time confused about the meta-game that I succeed in losing in the 
first round to a B/W deck with 2 Terrors and 2 SpiritLinks. After I lose 
I play my Prison deck against a guy using Baxters PT1 deck. At least 
that part was entertaining...

On to Thursday. Type II with a $7 fee. Playing my version of the Prison 
for which I am still looking for a terrifying nickname. :) My buddy is 
playing a Necrodeck I designed since it was beating his decks at the 
house. Before the tourney, I am talking trade with a kid named Andrew. 
He is trying to explain to my friend that Storm Cauldrons trade at $17 
in Houston. We talk a little deal, then Sol Grails come up for some 
reason. He says they are one of the worst cards in Magic. I offer to 
play him for dual-land ante with my deck which includes Sol Grails (okay 
it's only one but still....) He says he doesn't have any dual with him 
and wants to play 2 out of 3 for a Stormbind. Wimpy odds, but sure why 
not...

First game I lock him down in a hurry. He concedes on about turn 7 when 
I have 2 Icys and an Orb out. I worry a little as only good players know 
enough to concede :) We play again, he gets a Primitive Justice blowing 
up my two Fellwars. I can't draw an Icy to save my life and I lose... 1 
game apiece but the tourney's starting so we'll play afterwards.

First Round: Can't remember the guy's name, maybe Steve. He goes first. 
Swamp. (Oh great, I get to start against Necro :) I play a Plains. He 
Strips it and Rituals out a Hyppie. I play another Plains and start 
humming the tune from Green Acres. He lays another swamp and Hymns away 
an Orb and a Plains. I lay the last Plains in my hand and drop a 
Fellwar. He summons a Nether Shadow (Nether Shadow, what the hell ?). I 
get out an Icy and a Winter Orb. He brings out an Ashen Ghoul. I send it 
farming. His hand is now full and he starts throwing away creatures. No 
Vise in sight and here come these stupid Shadows and Ghouls over and 
over. I get out out my Ivory Tower. I eventually deck him with the 
Millstones, taking damage virtually every turn but staying alive with 
the Tower.

Sideboard in 3 Karma, removing 2 Wraths (not much help here) and a 
Divine Offering.

Game 2: I get a really good draw. Turn 3 Icy and Turn 4 Geddon. The Vise 
comes out quickly and he doesn't get enough land to do anything. I 
breathe a huge sigh of relief. He's mad at his performance, saying he 
usually takes 1st or 2nd there. I can believe it. He lets me look 
through his deck. It's tight with the exception of a Nightmare. No 
Necro, just disruption and recyclers...

I write in big letters on my notepad: Add Tormod's Crypt to sideboard.

Second Round: I wait forever for this match to start as my opponent is 
taking forever. Finally they finish and the judge calls out Andrew and 
T.J. Wonderful. Andrew wanders over and I ask him if he just wants to 
start with game 3. He says no and we both unsideboard. I go first. 
Plains, Land Tax. He plays a Mountain. I play a Strip Mine. He plays a 
Karplusan and a Bird. I Strip during upkeep and tax. I put out a 
Fellwar. He Crumbles it (Crumble?). He gets out another Bird. I wrath. I 
get out an Icy. He Pillages. He drops a pair of Howling Mines, then a 
Stormbind. I start to Disenchant the Howler, then change my mind. I draw 
my vise, disenchant the Bind and play a Winter Orb. He mutters something 
in Yiddish and concedes a couple turns later.

I sideboard in another Titania's Song and an Arrows, removing 2 Wraths 
and an StP. We decide to count this game as game 3 from the ante...

I get out an early Icy. He crumbles it. I get out an Orb. He Primitive 
Justices. I draw two more Icys but am stuck at 3 mana from Strips. He 
bolts me down to 7. I get my tower, then both Icys. He says he'll 
concede when I get an Orb out. I tell him he can keep his Stormbind if 
he concedes now. He thinks about it. I draw the Orb next turn anyway.

SemiFinals: My next opponent is a guy named Dave playing a RGW deck with 
Ernhams Insects Bolts Disenchants etc. He knocked my buddy out the 
previous round so I know his deck must be decent :) We both get good 
draws. He gets out two Elves and an Ernham by turn 3. I Wrath. He has 
already shot his wad. I play an Icy, then geddon. I get out the WOrb. He 
dies to a Vise fairly quickly.

I can't figure out what to sideboard in so I bring in a Titania's and an 
Arrows, dropping a Recall and Glaciers.

I get the lock down quickly and geddon twice. My Tower is out and I am 
up to about 60 life, but no Vise in sight. He has two Karplusans, a 
Mountain and a Plains, Fellwar and ZOrb. I have 4 Land, 3 Fellwar, 
Tower, 2 Icy, WOrb, ZOrb. I have Titania's StP and Geddon in hand. The 
tourney has taken forever and I worry I won't have time to finish the 
finals so.... {BONEHEAD MANEUVER WARNING}... I stare at his mana and see 
that he can't Wrath (not that he would have any after the first game 
anyway). So I start singing. Assuming I'll Geddon next turn. He doesn't 
respond to the Song, so I StP his Fellwar, let the Zorbs go and attack 
for 17. He takes it and Balances. {The grating sound you hear is the 
transmission from TJ's brain scraping the pavement}. Luckily, I geddon 
and draw 2 Fellwar before he can do much of anything. On to the finals 
with a third of my pride intact.

It's now almost 11, the tourney started at 7. I offer to collude with my 
opponent as I really don't want to be there until 12:30. The first prize 
is a Cyclopean Tomb (yeah I know). The store owner says he can make it a 
box of Ice Age instead. We agree to that and decide to play 1 game for 2 
packs. Winner gets 19, Loser 17.

Daniel is playing a LD/BFC deck R/G (what other kind is there?). I 
unsideboard and we start. He gets a turn 3 Shivan which comes to enjoy 
farming. I get 4!! Icys by turn 8. He can't do anything. He is playing 
with Spirit Guides so he casts a couple LD but nothing big. He shatters 
the Vise so I am forced to deck him. I wish he would have just conceded, 
there were no ways out for him anyway. But oh well. Several onlookers 
wanted to throw up when they saw the 4 Icys and 4 Fellwars. I never drew 
the Song and had to wait about 30 turns before I got a Millstone.

I win. Woo-Hoo... I think I lost though as my half of the box had 4 
Depletion Lands in it... :(

Friday tournament: This report is quick and ugly because that's how the 
tourney was. It was pouring down rain and they were short 2 people to 
make it a Mox Tourney. The people didn't want to pony up $2 more, so we 
played for a box of Alliances :(

First (and only) round: Played against Brian Hubble, a junior PT player 
who was playing a new deck he had made the previous night, the 
Hubble-Bauble. The deck was very straightforward. 4 ea of Bolt, Incin, 
DSpark, Aelio, Tactics, BallLightning, HowlingMine, UrzaBaub, LodeBaub, 
Strip, with 3 Fireball, 1 Vise and 16 Mtn.

Game 1: Plains. Mtn. Plains. Bolt. Mtn. Howler. Disenchant the Howler on 
my own turn tapping out. Ball Lightning. Yeah, real smart TJ.... I die 
very quickly just before I had the lock down.
Game 2: I get out Worb and Tower. He has to pick one to destroy and 
takes the WOrb. I get another one and an Icy. He concedes.
Game 3: I get a God-draw. 3 Land, 2 Fellwar, Icy, 2 Winter Orb... But he 
got a God-Draw too... and he was going first.... :( He looks at his 
opening hand and apologizes.... 3 Strips, Mtn, Black Vise, 2 Bolts. He 
draws another Strip on turn 3. There is no way for me to beat that draw. 
Vise, Strip and Bolt, Strip and Bolt, Strip, Strip... game over

Brian was beaten in the next round by a LD deck. If I play intelligently 
in the first game, I think I should win the match. Oh well. I was pissed 
about not playing for a Mox anyway...

I won't bother to post the full deck contents. It's extremely similar to 
the Prison, with 1 Sol Grail, 1 Thawing Glaciers and 1 Titania's Song in 
the main deck as the only real differences. I play without Arrows in the 
maindeck. Sideboard is also quite similar, except 2 Arrows, 1 Song, 1 
Sol Grail, soon to include 1 Tormod's Crypt. And I am kicking around 2 
Kismet in the 'Board for use against Burn and Weenie decks.

As always, commentary and advice appreciate. Flames regarding 
deck-copying and collusion will be ignored.
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