Subject: LA PTQ 1/24 Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 03:30:16 EST From: SnstvePoet To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com I think the trick to winning Pro-Tour Qualifiers is to know a pro who has already qualified, and play his deck. It worked rather well for me at Costa Mesa last Saturday, allowing me to get through the qualifiers with a 9-0-2 record, and earn a slot at the Pro-Tour Los Angeles in March. Anywayz, the Extended format tends to be currently dominated by Weenie White Good Stuff decks, utilizing Tithe or Land Tax and 3 Color Sligh. Naturally, the best option is to play neither of these considering everyone expects it, and considering I sold all my cards last month due to complete disgust with Type II, (and need of money), I couldn't scrounge up the Dual Lands I needed to play my 5 Color Weenie White deck the morning of the qualifier. Steve Shears was happy to give me his deck that fine morning and I then proceeded to win the whole tournament....I digress.. Beatnick Bop Beatdown 4 Counterspells 4 Force of Will 4 Impulse 4 Control Magic 4 Jolrael's Centaur 4 Picher Beetles "Ladies and Gentlemen...the Beatles" (Insert Groupie Screams) 3 Uktabi Orangutan "The Monkees" 4 Man o' War 2 Serrated Arrows 3 Cursed Scrolls (By the way, very few decks were playing without these) 4 Tropical Islands 2 Reflecting Pools 4 Mishra Factory 3 Wasteland 6 Islands 5 Forest Sideboard 2 Serrated Arrows 3 Chill 3 Hydroblast 3 Disrupt 1 Uktabi Orangutan 3 Emerald Charms Yes, that is correct, it does utlilize Blue and Green in the same deck with no other complementing colors, and yes, it does work...on with the report Match 1 - Jaime - Weenie White with Counters 1) He drops four knights on four consecutive turns and kicks my ass, I'm kinda annoyed, I've been playing for 5 minutes and I've already lost a game 2) The early knight drop was definetely a fluke, I take the few creatures he does play and cursed scroll him to death 3) See round 2 Match 2 - Some dude - Tongo something or other 1) He beats me up with a frenetic, and sits on counterspells, I lose 2) I drop a cursed scroll, do like 14 points of damage to him with it over 16 turns, counter his 12 point fireball, drop a centaur and win 3) Slap him around with a factory, Force of will his attempts to play frenetics, slap him with beetles, win quickly Match 3 - Some blondie - Sligh 1) I got fried so fast I forget 2) In go the Chills, Hydros, and Disrupts from the board. He drops an arsenal of Jackal Pups, Mogg Fanatics, Ironclaw orcs and makes me eat like 3 bolts and an incinerate. I sit there hanging on for dear life. I have one blue mana untapped, he bolts me down to two, and then fireblasts. I Hydro the thing, he now has one mountain, and one Wastland in play as his only permanents. He's at like 14 life, I have a centaur in play and top deck a force of will. Next turn he top decks his 4th bolt, I counter it. Next turn I top deck chill...game over for him. 3) This one was hardly close, he plays a mountain, go, another mountain, go, I play a beetles sit on counters to prevent my life total from dropping below 10, I win. Match 4 - Some European dude with an accent - Tongo Something or other 1) We sit around for a while, he plays a Serra, I kill it, I play Centaurs, he does nothing, I play Cursed scroll, I win. 2) Something similar to round 1 Match 5 - Truc "Hitman" Bui, Weenie White Good Stuff who already qualified btw 1) Oh, that's a Wastland? I though it was a Reflecting Pool, I'll strip your Outpost, my Serry Arrows killed his Army, I win... 2) In go the Arrows, I draw like 3 arrows over three turns and whittle away his army, win again... Match 6 - I forget, I won 2-1 Match 7 and 8 I draw in... Top 8 Match 1 - Truc Bui - Same old Same old 1) Arrows and Cursed Scroll wins it for me, he can't target my neat creatures, so I slap him around 2) I draw 6 land in my opening draw, I opt not to Paris figuring I'll top deck the creatures I need, I don't, He rocks me, I deserved it... 3) Coolest game of the whole day, he opens with a first turn Lion, second turn archer, third turn knight. I'm hanging on for dear life, blocking his lions with my beetles, group blocking his first strikers with my centaurs, he drops a cursed scroll which I have no answer for....kicks my ass some more...I go down to two life, he's still at 20. Here's the cool part, he's got two mana open...a cursed scroll in play. I have 5 land and a centaur, I top deck an Impulse, Impulse for an Orangutan, play the Monkey, kill his scroll...he takes 4 a turn with no answers, time is called, we each get three turns left. I play a cursed scroll and sit on a counterspell, I get him down to 6 life. His final turn I scroll him for 2, and scroll him for 2 on my turn....2 life a piece!!..I win the coin flip...Final Four baby, mad top deck skills Match 2 - Some Nice Guy - Sligh 1) I get fried 2) He wastes away my dual lands, I have reflecting pools in play and nothing else. He gets me down to like 4, I play a chill...somehow manage to hold on and win...Comeback kid and stuff 3) I play a turn two chill, and Wastland three of his lands....he doesn't have a chance I qualify...heh...Beat some dude in the finals playing Buried Alive and got mad money too... Not a bad day.. Major props to Steve Shears for letting me use his deck (Chill was my call though in the board, it saved my ass) Brett Shears for qualifying with me (It's this Whittier I'm Comics thang), Gary Rush for teaching me how to play, John Kriney for teaching me how to Top Deck, and all them folks huddled around my table who cheered when I came back from an 18 point deficit to beat Truc in the Final 8. He cheered too, hell, he's already Qualified dammit... Thaz all she wrote, see ya in Long Beach - Mark Maun