Subject: NYC ST Tourney report Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 22:55:17 -0500 (EST) From: Eddie Liu To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Well, it seems from other tourney reports that things went fairly smoothly at other locations, but lets just say that New York got a little SCREWED. >From what I gathered, the expected tournout was around 250...the actual turnout was over 600! Registration at 9:00?? Well, no one started play before 1:00pm! To "handle" the turnout, people were turned away from the New Yorker Hotel to the NY Neutral Grounds site nearby...I actually felt sorry for the kids who didn't know what to do without a ride and had to hoof it. Well, except for that teenager in front of me in line who kept telling his dad to go away because he was ashamed to be seen with him...what an ungrateful little ____. In any case, I dropped after going 1-2 and 6:00pm rolled around. In obsessing about my deck I think I shoulda played R/G/b instead of the interchangeable R/W/b and R/W/u I did use. It was tough to not use the white when I had the following: 2 Skyshround Falcons (won me a games on thier own) 2 Change of Hearts (worked GREAT) Invulnerability It did keep me close in both losses I had in deciding games...I just didn't have enough ways to win. In one loss I was done in by a sideboarded and early COP:Red. Ce la vie. ----------- In any case here's my thought on some of the Stronghold cards and combinations... OVERALL: Gee, Walls of every flavor...bounce, DD, draw(!), life gain, first strike, and shifting Lots of new enchantments but NO ways to deal with them?? hmmm. Someone REALLY wants you to make a Sliver deck! Crystalline (!) and other gold ones, plus a 7/7 Queen...add in Volrath's Lab!!! ST has new ways to get colors...mox, go green to Burgeon and Mulch A licid in every flavor...yawn... ------------ BLACK: A lotta graveyard recursion Brush with Death - nice buyback MindPeel - buyback discard Revenant - can you say Evicnar's? ----------- BLUE: Some new viable weenies Hesitation - keep your board advantage Mana Leak - what's spike? Mask of the Mimic - an instant?! Rebound - go ahead...burn me. Reins of Power - turnabout for a turn...use Mask to keep one! Tidal Warrior - HUGE in sealed...color denial and assured 2nd blue ----------- GREEN: Lots of enchantments and I guess I should figure out spikes, eh? ----------- RED: More DD - Fanning, Flame Wave, Shock... Flowstone + Fling - How high can you pump a Hellion? Where's that Hero's resolve and other white creature enchantments? Fling + creature recursion? Mogg Flunkies - had two in my sealed...they are fun! Duct Crawler - so...2 to be unblockable for one damage? Hey, where are my flunkies? all that on turn 3 Mogg Infestation + Mob Justice in a Red Sligh/weenie deck?! ----------- WHITE: Bandage - neat little cantrip Change of Heart - control Smite - creature control Temper - forget dying! I'm getting bigger! ----------- ARTIFACTS: BullWhip - lets see...weenie control or you can order a creature suicide at your leisure!? Ensnaring Bridge - control fats in any fast deck Mox Diamond - gee, do I really want to lose a land? HELL YES! Shifting Wall - where's my Def Leppard? I mean, Rolling Stones? ----------- Well, that's my two bits...if you got this far, I'd like to ask for any commentary on the content of the notes above...the Stonghold Pre-release was my FIRST tourney AND I walked out of it with the FIRST cards I've ever bought...yes, that's right...I went in not just a newbie, but a virgin! I figured if I said that up front no one would have read this far! Drop comments to styx_n_stones@hotmail.com Thanks!