Subject: Yet another stupid combo (PTQ report)
Date: 19 Jan 1998 20:00:43 GMT
From: "Hannibal Hansen" <hannibal_nospam_@post7.tele.dk>
Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy

This is a report from the 2 slots P.T.Q in Aarhus, Denmark jan 18th. It is
not an ordinary report, although I will include the two winning decks. It
is my thoughts and concerns about a certain deck that showed up at the
tourney. A guy named Peter Myrvig played this combo deck, which was built
around Stasis, Wall of Root and Magna Mine. The idea is to play all three
cards, then just before your opponents turn there appears to be some sort
of vacuum phase in which you activate your Wall. Since this phase is
between the turns you are not limited by the "use only this ability once
each turn" restriction on the wall. So you just use it a zillion times to
generate a zillion mana. This mana is transferred into the next phase which
is your opponent's upkeep phase (no untap phase due to Stasis). Now do the
overkill with the Mine...
This is about THE lousiest combo I've ever seen. I got so upset when I
heard that the judge had allowed it, that I considered dropping out (I
didn't play against Peter, but if I had I think I would have left).
I usually like magic combos. I've played Prosbloom, Atomic Bomberman and
Pendrell Revolt decks and find it funny to see peoples reaction when I pull
it off. But this one is different. This combo only exist because of some
rule about Time Vault that have created this extra zone between turns.
There is no way the average Magic player can come up with this idea.
Nobody, except rule freaks, knows of this rule. How am I  supposed to
prepare for a tournament when this can happen? I know the above mentioned
combo decks came as surprises too, but at least I had a chance of thinking
of them and be ready to meet them.
But what really pisses off is the fact that the rule team knows about this
combo and don't do anything (peter had a copy of d'Angelo's rulings). What
I am asking for here is immediate response to these kind of problems. Don't
they realize how damaging for the tournament environment this is? I talked
to several people yesterday who all felt really bad about this. Many of
them said that this was the last time they would travel across the country
to play in a PTQ, just to find that some rule change had made an insane
combo legal.
Fortunately, Peter lost the semifinal (nothing personal Peter, I just don't
like your deck).
Enough said, here are the decks from the final (I don't know who won):
Niels S. Jensen:
4 Savannah Lions
4 White Knight
4 Soltari Priest
4 Man-o-war
4 LightningBolt
3 Frenetic Efreet
3 Disrupt
4 Tithe
2 Armageddon
2 S.t.P.
2 Disenchant
1 Control Magic
3 Mishras Factory
3 Wasteland
2 Undiscovered Paradise
1 City of Brass
4 Tundra
4 Plateau
2 Volcanic Island
1 Adarkar Wastes
3 Plains

Sideboard:
3 Pyroblast
2 Serrated Arrows
2 Disenchant
3 Aura of Silence
3 Freewind Falcon
2 Honorable Passage

Klaus T. Andersen:
3 Soltari Monk
4 Soltari Priest
3 White Knight
4 Suq'Ata Lancer
3 Tithe
3 Savannah Lions
2 Land's Edge
1 Honorable Passage
3 S.t.P.
3 Freewind Falcon
1 Disenchant
3 Land Tax
3 Empyrial Armour
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Scroll Rack
2 Aura of Silence
4 Plateau
2 Tundra
2 Wasteland
8 Plains
2 Mountain
looks pretty close to ALATAR

Though I have Peters deck list I wont post it. I dont want to encourage
people to play this crap.
--
Hannibal Hansen
One pissed off Magic player signing off...