Subject: magic extended qualifier in Lincoln on Jan. 10, 1998 Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 00:57:32 EST From: TGould0701@aol.com To: fkusumot@IX.NETCOM.COM 1-10-98 Extended Qualifier in Lincoln (here's my deck): 4 hymn 2 stupor 1 contagion (could have used more) 1 infernal tribute 4 black knight 4 order of the ebon hand 2 drains 4 diabolic edict 1 sengir 3 taiga 4 scrubland 4 badlands 4 rocky tar pits 4 bayou (yes, I know...I'm just screaming for a blood moon or a primal order) 4 swamps 1 fireball 4 incinerate 4 bolt 4 ernhams 1 cursed scroll side: 2 choke 2 forsaken wastes 1 storm seeker 4 disenchant 2 warmth (not nearly enough) 1 honorable 2 dread of night 1 dystopia ROUND 1: For the first time in my life in a tournament, I am matched up against a woman. She is playing Ernham-stormbind-geddon. Game 1 is close but contagioning two birds gives me enough advantage to win. Game 2 is intense! She stormbinds the heck out of me and my creatures and wins at 1 life. Game 3 is not fair for her. She draws two cities of brass as her only lands and it is a quick victory for me. MATCH RECORD 1-0 ROUND 2: In this round, I play a friendly 15 or 16 year old playing one of the many emperial-priest decks here today. He has a couple variations that I hadn't heard of: 1) he's using firestorm and not land's edge 2) he has gerrard's wisdom as well. Game 1 and game 2 he chooses to go first even though he is playing heavy Land Tax!! Maybe its just me, but it seems so much easier to get the tax rolling when you go last (especially against black where almost nothing happens without two lands). This is, despite this, a good match. Priests tend to cause me problems, that's why I sideboards so heavily against this deck. He sees no Armor or Firestorm game 1 and I win. Game 2 he still sees no Armor or Firestorm but I take a pretty good Phyrexian War Beast beating because I don't want to Edict it so he can tax. He is at 9 with a War Beast and a Priest out and I am at 10 or so with 2 Black Knights out. I draw the key trick card in my sideboard....STORM SEEKER!!! He is at 7 cards thanks to Tax and Tithe so I seeker him to 2 and attack with both knights for the win. (Storm Seeker is acturally a really good sideboard card because it can be sided in against Armor-Priest, Necro, and Wisdom decks!!!) MATCH RECORD 2-0 ROUND 3: This is the only time all day I get a bit frustrated. He is a very strong player using a Necro-fatties deck. Game 1 he gets Hymn-Stupor on me early and I have no options and lose severely. Game 2 I side in 2 forsakens and the Storm Seeker. I get Hymned once or twice again but do manage to get Forsaken Wastes out on turn 3. We neither one do almost anything to each other all game but I am a bit higher on life so the Forsaken kills him first. Game 3 is really ugly! Once again he sees his hand destruction and I do not. He gets out a Sengir and I an Erhnam. He consults for a Contagion and messes my Erny up pretty good with it. I take a Vampire beat down. He tells me later that the Vampire he had out was the last creature in his deck due to the loss of cards from the Consult. (By the way, my own Forsaken Wastes sped up my own demise this game.) MATCH RECORD 2-1 ROUND 4: I play a 13 year old also from my home town of Des Moines named Sam. Sam REALLY knows what he is doing as I have played him in Arena many times. He is playing one of my deck's worst enemies....Buried Alive. I hate playing against this deck with mine because I have sooooo much creature elim and hand destruction in my deck...both of which often help him (this is apparent as I Hymn two Ashens in one of the games!!). I win a less than memorable game 1. Game 2 I side in Warmth (he's got 8 bolts and Lancers) and Honorable; he gets recursion going and I lose a very long game. By the time Game 3 starts, we are pretty low on time. He gets recursion going but luckily I get a couple of first strikers and an Erny out along with both Warmths. I would have taken a total beating if not for the Warmths!! We have a major stalemate going with time running out. I draw my Infernal Tribute with a bunch of excess lands out (the only time it was useful all day...I took it out for my next qualifier) and start sacking the lands. Luckily in a turn or two I draw 2 bolts and kill him....barely!! MATCH RECORD 3-1 ROUND 5: I see the matchup on the board and am totally disheartened! I am playing against common Pro Tour participant and all around Magic god Mike Reinking (sp?). I walk to sit down and immediately tell him (truthfully) that he is the one magic player who truly intimidates me. He gets totally shafted during Game 1 by having to take a double mulligan followed by a turn 2 Hymn by me....game over. Game 2 he gets more going but I draw a ton of creature elim (my deck ADORES creature heavy decks) and take the match. MATCH RECORD 4-1 ROUND 6: The road continues to be really rough as now I have to play Corey from Nebraska...another pro tour palyer and magic expert. Game 1 my very good luck today continues and I Hymn him on turn 3 (I know better than to Hymn on turn two because he was playing Disrupt colors). He has 6 cards in hand. I Hymn away an Enlightened Tutor and an Enduring Renewal and find out later that the other 4 cards in his hand are land!!! Lucky me again! I hymn him again a bit later and win game 1. Game 2 he gets the combo out and crushes me. Game 3 is very close. He has a Phyrexian Walker out, 3 or so cards in hand, and plenty of mana so I am really nervous. Luckily, he never saw a Pyroclasm so I do a good amoung of Knight damage to him. Here's where I make my biggest error of the game. He has Tithed recently and has ( I think) 3 cards in hand and will be dead from my creatures next turn. I Hymn him and he Arcanes as I curse myself for giving him extra cards to try to get the combo. He tells me later that the Arcane card wat the Enduring but his draw was not the Bombardment. My extremely good luck continues!!! MATCH RECORD 5-1 ROUND 7: I draw in to the final 8 with a very nice guy who is undefeated. FINAL 8 QUARTERFINALS: This was the single most intense match of my entire life!!!!!!! He is an outgoing, hilarious individual from North Dakota, I think. He is playing a speedy Sligh. Game 1 I don't see my 4th land (thanks to Wastelands) for a long time. Luckily, I hymn away a Fireblast and a Fork. He has problems with Erny later and I take the game. Game 2 I draw land after land and get beat down. Game 3 was incredible!!! This game took more thinking than any other game I've EVER played. I have trouble getting land #4 for Erny. He gets the deadly Cursed Scroll out on me early but luckily I draw the Warmth to counteract all other damage. He looks surprised when I play the Warmth because he hadn't seen a white card in my deck in the first 2 games. I still take a billion points of damage from his scroll (which he plays perfectly). Decision #1 that save my butt: he had one card in his hand. I debated Hymning it away but decided not to because it could be a tactics (I was already below 10 life). When he scrolls me I find out it WAS a tactics. I do some major math in my head the next few turns as I know I am nearly dead from his Scroll. I am required to drain him for like 2 or 3 just to buy me another turn. I get an Erny out. I hit him knocking us both down to 3!! His turn: he has to do it or he's dead...he lays two mog fanatics putting me up to 7 life (Warmth). I look at my hand I know I have it. My turn: cast Edict twice and hit him with Erny. I'M OFF TO THE SEMIS!!!! SEMIFINALS: Game 1 hand destruction hurts him and I win despite 3 Frenetics on the table. At this point I am so excited thinking how close I am to the pro tour!! Unforturnately, my opponent has something to say about this. Game 2 he plays the most evil magic card ever made (at least to my deck)....Blood Moon! This as good as ends the game on turn 3. Game 3: I take a lot of time agonizing over sideboard choices...I can't let the Blood Moon come out this time!!!! He doesn't play turn 3 Blood Moon so I'm thinking he does not have it this time. I sac my Rocky Tar Pits for 3 scrublands so I can be ready to Disenchant it. However, being the savvy player that he is, he knows what I am thinking. He Wastelands 2 or the 3 scrublands on turn 10 or so, casts Blood Moon. I attempt to Disenchant it already knowing what is to come....he Counters the disenchant. For all intensive purposes, that's game. He wins due to one card and excellent playing!!! Congrats!!!!!! FINISHED : SEMIFINALS