PTQ Bremen -- Mission Impossible

Hi,

after my dismal finish in L.A. (and yes there will be a report but I
already started it on my mail program and the mail system is down right
now.) I was not just a little depressed. If I had finished in the Top 48
in L.A. I would have finally reached the "Gravy Train" of having 17 or
more Pro Tour Points. 17-18 Points being the current gateway to endless
Pro Tours via the new Top 64 Players with Pro Tour points system...
I was left with only 14 Pro Tour Points and thats 3 short for the
mathematicPoints and thats 3 short for the
mathematically impaired amongst us. Now 14 points is not bad, but points
count only for a year and that means that after PT New York, PT Paris no
longer counts and I revert back to 12 points (No, I did not do well in
Paris...). And qualifying for New York was almost an impossibility for me
after all I have participated in 6 constructed Pro Tours and 0 (thats
zero) limited Pro Tours. Infact I have never been in a Top 8 of a limited
Pro Tour qualifier! To qualify was clearly going to be hard.

So I tried in L.A and came in 9th in a 253 people qualifier with ofcourse
a lot of Pro Tour Players. Close but no banana. To make things worse,
because of my stay in L.A I had missed all german Pro Tour qualifiers
except one and that was only for one slot! When I got home I got some good
news and some bad news. While I was away 2 of my team members had
qualified (hurray!), but the rest was either sick or unwilling to drive to
a one slot qualifier 3 and a half car hours away.

So my mission was clear, if I was to accept it. I would have to drive
alone to the Pro Tour qualifier make my first Top 8 in a limited qualifier
and then win the thing... Piece of cake ;)

So I got up at 4 a.m. filled the car up with 32 Dollars of gas for the
first leg of the trip (Germany has some high gasoline taxes....) and drove
to Bremen. I took along a lot of CDs and listened to some tunes on the
way. Though not Barbie Girl on single repeat. I am overingle repeat. I am over that phase,
eventhough I have to admit I had to buy the single after reading Eric
Taylors report a while back...

I arrived early and helped the organizers to set up. Then we waited for
the Head Judge to show up. He did... about two hours later. By then 33
people had arrived. For the New York Qualifiers Amigo, the local WOTC
representative, had tried to introduce one slot qualifiers to Germany,
lets say they just did not take on. The organizers of the one slot
qualifiers took quite a beating. As usual for such a small field there
were quite a few good players.

The deck I registered was great and I was very happy to get it back!

It contained:

1 Scabland
1 Vec Township
4 Forests
4 Swamps
4 Mountains
5 Islands
5 Plains

1 Cold Storage
1 Squees Toy
1 Phyrexian Hulk
1 Patchwork Gnomes
1 Emessi Tome

1 Carrionette
1 Endless Scream
1 Evincars Justice
2 Disturbed Burial
1 Dauthi Horror
2 Gravedigger
1 Minion of the Wastes
1 Screeching Harpy
1 Rats of Rath
1 Dread of (k)night

2 Muscle Sliver
2 Pincher Beetles
1 Trumpeting Armodon
1 Trained Armodon
1 Tranquility
1 Respite

1 Dream Cache
1 Rootwater Hunter
1 Time Ebb
1 Twitch
1 Giant Crab
1 Wind Drake
1 Stinging Licid
1 Rootwater Diver
1 Thalakos Seer
1 Volraths Curse
1 Shimmering Wings
1 Insight

1 Davids Strength
1 Shadow Storm
2 Lightning Elemental
1 Shatter
1 Mogg Raider
1 Jackal Pup
2 Flowstone Giant
1 Mogg Fanathatter
1 Mogg Raider
1 Jackal Pup
2 Flowstone Giant
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Rolling Thunder
1 Searing Touch
1 Kindle
1 Wall of Diffusion

1 Warmth
2 Cop Shadow
2 Cop Black
1 Cop Red
1 Cop Blue
1 Cop Green
1 Worthy Cause
1 Repentence
1 Disenchant
1 Talon Sliver
1 Advance Scout
1 Elite Javelineer
1 Soltari Footsoldier

Ok, that I was going to play red and black was immediately clear. Both
colors only had 4 lands so I would have to splash with 5 lands, if I
wanted to play 18 lands. With 2 Disturbed Burials I definitely wanted to
play 18 lands...
White was basically a Cop color with 2-3 good creatures, but a great
selection of Cops!
Blue had the Rootwater Hunter, a Drake and the Crab basically. Also not a
lot of creatures.
Green had good creatures and nothing else.
As I already had very good utility in Black and Red, I chose green for
early creatures giving me a better manacurve. Because I also only had 4
Forests I had to utilize the Vec Township though as a fifth source of
green mana.

This is the deck I played:

Non-Creature (8)
--------------------
1 Evincars Justice
2 Disturbed Burial
1 Emmessi Tome
1 Endless Scream
1 Rolling Thunder
1 Searing Touch
1 Kindle

Creatures (15)
-----------------

1 Carrionette
1 Jackal Pup
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Lightning Elemental
2 Flowstone Giants
2 Gravedigger
2 Muscle Sliver
2 Pincher Beetles
1 Trumpeting Armodon
1 Wall of Diffusion
1 Dauthi Horror

Lands (18)
----------------
7 (+3) Mountains
6 (+2) Swamps

Lands (18)
----------------
7 (+3) Mountains
6 (+2) Swamps
4 Forests
1 Vec Township

I played 41 cards. If I would have to change something I would probably
have played the Screeching Harpy instead of the Emmessi Tome. The Tome is
great but too slow in a deck were I prefer to just Burial later on...
I could have also put the Carrionette in the sideboard and played 40
cards...

Cards I did not play which I normally do (when I don't have god decks...)

the second Lightning Elemental
Rats of Rath
Patchwork Gnomes
Trained Armodon (GG Casting cost)
Phyrexian Hulk (another expensive spell)
Squees Toy
Mogg Raider

My sideboard

1 Dread of Knight
1 Tranqulity
1 Shadow Storm
1 Shatter

white

1 Disenchant
enough Cops for NYPD Blue

Needless to say I went 4:0 with this deck and like the callous Pro Tour
player I am, I intentional drew myself in.
The deck lost one game that day.

Part 1 of mission accomplished! I have made my first Top 8 in a limited
Pro Tour qualifier!

The Top 8 were Rochester Draft which was a relief as I prefer Rochester to
Booster Draft (and I have played a lot more Rochester than Booster Draft).

This is the cards I ended up with I was not so happy with myself, but
still hopeful...

Not in the Deck
-----------------
2 Mounted Archer
1 Disenchant
2 Cop Black
1 Cop Red
2 Talon Sliver
1 Armored Pegasus
1 Warmth

2 Crown of Flame
1 Mogg Conscript

1 Muscle Sliver
1 Skyshroud Elf
1 Rampant Growth
1 Choke
1 Respite
1 iver
1 Skyshroud Elf
1 Rampant Growth
1 Choke
1 Respite
1 Tranquility

1 Sadistic Glee

Deck
-------

Non-Creature (8)
------------------

1 Puppet Strings
1 Pacifism
1 Dark Banishing
1 Disturbed Burial
1 Endless Scream
1 Spontaneous Combustion
1 Elvish Fury
1 Harrow

Creatures (15)
----------------

1 Gravedigger
1 Rats of Rath
1 Marsh Lurker
2 Soltari Trooper
2 Servant of Volrath
1 Dauthi Marauder
1 Dauthi Horror
2 Rootwalla
1 Soltari Lancer
1 Angelic Protector
1 Skyshroud Vampire
1 Knight of Dawn

Lands (18)
-------------

1 Pine Barrens
1 Mogg Hollows
2 Forests
1 Mountain
7 Plains
6 Swamps

Yes, I know I should not have played 4 colors. The Spontaneous Combustion
and the Harrow were a mistake. The Combustion was a second pick which
makes things worse I could have probably gotten a sixth shadow instead and
the Harrow was a wasted slot. Also I would probably only play 1 Servant of
Volrath. Otherwise the deck is not bad...

Quarterfinals: Patrick Mello, one of the better Hamburg Players (Limited
Rating 1738)

Game 1: Patrick had drafted a very good almost mono-black deck with a
touch of Red. Game one was a damage Race with a Knight of Dusk, a Clot
Sliver and a Bottle Gnome on his side and a Soltari Trooper a Soltari
Lancer and an Angelic Protector on my side. It looked for a while like I
was winning the damage race with Elvish Fury but then Patrick Endless
Screamed his Knight for three. Now the Bottle Gnome life reared its ugl Knight for three. Now the Bottle Gnome life reared its ugly
head... Than Patrick tapped out to play a Marsh Lurker. I topdeck an
Endless Scream (That card won me sooo many games that day... and I come over
for 13 Points of damge in one round. Patrick dies with Spontaneous
Combustion in his hand, but no mana to cast it...

Game 2: I sideboard in 2 Cop Black and a Disenchant for the Harrow, and 2
Servant of Volrath... I get an early Cop Black and a Soltari Lancer. He
puts out a Coiled Tinviper. I have a Pacifism but hold it back. Next
round he puts an Endless Scream for 5 on the viper. I am glad I kept back
my Pacifism and thats game...

Semi-finals: My opponent is a young player who just kicked out Michael
Nessler in the quarterfinals. Which would be quite an upset, except that
Michael already kind of gave up in the middle of the draft....

Game 1: I have to mulligan, but my six cards are good and I always let
the other player play first im Limited, because of the Paris Mulligan.
I have a Lancer when he puts out a Sandstone Warrior. I have to pacify
it, because he has 3-4 Mountains out. My opponent then puts out a Phyrexian
Splicer and a Coiled Tinviper. I attack. He has no mana for the Splicer
and lets it through. The following round I get my fifth mana and attack.
He takes the shadow from my Soltai Lancer and gives it to his Sandstone
Warrior and blocks the Lancer with his Tinviper. I Elvish Fury with
Buyback the Lancer... Next Round I put out a Rootwalla. He hut out a Rootwalla. He has to Rolling
Thunder before my green mana untaps. After the Thunder, I put down a
Servant of Volrath and beat him down.

Game 2: He lets me play first, but has to mulligan. He gets one land and
keeps it because he has three 2 casting cost spells. He doesn't draw land
for the first two rounds and has to discard once. I stall at two lands but
I have drawn 2 Soltari Troopers (Super Troopers). He gets a second land
and has to Pacify a Trooper. Next round he puts down a Master Decoy. I
draw my third land and put down a Marauder. Then I get a fourth land and
put down an Angelic Protector... He conceeds having drawn no more land...
not a nice way to win, but I'll take it...

I have to wait for an hour for the fourth quarterfinal and then the other
semi-final to finish and I am in the land of the walking dead. It is 10
p.m. now and I could fall asleep at any moment. I try to arrange to stay
over in Bremen, because I am not looking forward to a 4 hour drive home
alone, but the Youth hostel is booked full and the organizers have no
room. Then I get the great idea to ask Gunnar Refsdahl if I can stay at
his place in Hamburg. Hamburg is one hour from Bremen by car, but
in the right direction! He agrees and I am happy that I will only have to
drive one hour after the finals. I just hope my magic skills function on
automatic!

Finals: I have to play against a young but pretty good player from
Darmstadt.

Game 1: Hem
Darmstadt.

Game 1: He wins the dice roll and lets me play first. Drat! I do get the
Shadow beatdown though which is only somewhat stopped by his Master Decoy.
When he is at 9 life he puts out Safeguard. I banish his Master Decoy
before it is my turn and can do 8 damage with the endless scream that I
have in my hand. I topdeck a mountain and suddenly I can do nine! Gotta
love Endless Scream! Whew that was close... He could have safeguarded 2-3
Creatures a round already...

Game 2: This game my tiredness causes my first big mistake. I overlook a
Broken Fall and lose a Rootwalla I have pumped with Pine Barrens! Ouch!
But my opponent also makes some mistakes. Once he tries to Dreg of Sorrow
a Black and a White Creature of mine, but I ofcourse tell him that only
non-black creatures are invited at that banquet. He can utilize the one
remaining mana in his manapool though. He also forgets to attack with his
Selenia Dark Angel twice when it would have been possible. All in all a
very equal game which my Knight of Dawn and an Elvish Fury stem in my
favor....

And I WIN! Yes!

Mission Accompished! I am qualified for my seventh Pro Tour and my first
limited Pro Tour ever! It seems that I am getting better at limited...
Infact my limited ranking should now overtake both my standard and my
extended ranking, atleast till New York ;)

Friendly Greetings

Daniel
Team Highway to Hell, Team Captain
Team Legion, Advisor

"If you can makeon, Advisor

"If you can make it there then you can make it... anywhere. It's up to you
New York, New York!!! dat dat ta da da tat dat da da..."