Subject: TE Constructed Tournament Report Date: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 21:17:52 -0600 From: Tom Dahl To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com I attended a Tempest constructed tournament about a week and a half ago. I would've posted the report sooner but didn't have net access. Anyway, the tournament was small (approx. 16 players) but I thought since this is such a new environment any report might be useful. The tournament was located at Paradox Comics and Cards, in Fargo, ND. My deck: 2 Reflecting Pool 4 Thalakos Lowlands 8 Plains 12 Islands 2 Grindstone 2 Puppet Strings 2 Emmessi Tome 2 Scroll Rack 4 Counterspell 3 Powersink 2 Dismiss 4 Dream Cache 4 Soltari Emissary 3 Repentance 3 Winds of Rath 2 Disenchant 1 Invulnerability SB: 2 Disenchant 2 COP: Shadow 2 Light of Day 2 COP: Red 2 COP: Green 1 Essence Bottle 3 Chill 1 Ertai's Meddling First, a few notes on the deck. The Soltari Emissaries were designed to trade 1 for 1 with another quick creature early in the game, before my defenses were set up. They are a versatile blocker, and provide a crucial speed bump to a quick deck. Yes, Repentance is bad, but I didn't see much else. A creature enchanted with Pacifism or Gaseous Form can still function outside of combat, and isn't destroyed by a Winds so could return later in the game. The key to the deck, however, is the library manipulation. I like the tome more than Whispers because it gets you what you need quicker, and makes the scroll more useful in the late game. If I play the deck again, I'd play with 3 disenchants at least because Cursed Scroll was underrepresented in the tournament I played in and thus didn't pay for my low artifact removal. The deck's biggest strength is in its sideboard. With a lack of quality enchantment removal in the format, a W/U sideboard can be devastating, while simultaneiously protecting itself from being hosed. Round 1: W/R/G This player was basically a scrub and I cruised through both games. His deck was very unfocused. There's really not much to describe. Games: 2-0 Match: 1-0 Round 2: U/B Ben Stecher A usually good player from Fargo playing Capsize, counters, whispers, and black for edict and lobotomy. First game I dropped both the grindstones quickly. Then I sat back, and when he first attempted to capsize one, I countered it. Since he had no permanent artifact destruction and was playing a similarly slow deck, he conceded the first game. The second game went similar, but I only had one quick grindstone. We pretty much sat back and played land, until my grinding made him too desperate. I managed to stop his offensive, and proceeded to win easily again. Games: 4-0 Match: 2-0 Round 3: Mono Green Vineyard Josh Larson Josh was playing a green, quick creature deck utilizing Elvish furies and the tome to make use of late game vineyard mana. Usually, though, his games didn't go late. He won the coin toss. Josh: forest. Me: Island. Josh: forest, muscle sliver. Me: Plains, Soltari Emissary. Josh: forest, muscle sliver. At this point, it pretty much went downhill. He continued to play creatures larger than my Emissary, and finally killed me one turn before I would've drawn the Winds. I wasn't fazed, though, because I knew he had gotten a damn good draw. I brought in my 2 COP:Green, 1 Essence Bottle (for Vineyard mana), and 1 Disenchant. On the third turn, I tapped out for Dream Cache. I had no counter magic, and a poor hand, so I decided to do it. On his turn, he capitalized by playing a choke. He continued with fast creatues, I didn't draw the disenchant, and to make a long story short, died horribly. Games: 4-2. Match: 2-1 Round 4: R/W Danny Zimmerman Danny was playing a quick creature deck with burn. First game I think he got a poor draw, but I don't remember exactly what the details were, and I won. Second game was very close, but I narrowly pulled out the win from a very small amount of life. I got a quadruple-grind during that game, which was the most I got during the tournament. Games: 6-2. Match: 3-1 Round 5: Green Vineyard again This was the final four, and I of course got paired against the only person to give me a game loss during the tournament. Fortunately, this time luck was with me. First game, he played a first turn vineyard, after winning the toss. My first turn: Island, cast puppet strings. Josh: Forest, cast Apes of Rath. Me: Land, cast scroll rack. On his turn, tap Apes. The game pretty much stayed in my favor from there. Fourth turn a Winds showed up and cleared away 4-5 creatures. I never took a single point of burn, while he took about 8. Emmessi tome came early on to secure the win. To my sideboard I went, this time bringing in the additional disenchant. My memory is vague on the second game, but I remember him playing his Choke twice thinking he had me only to have it disenchanted, and that he never came close to squashing me with creatures. Games: 8-2 Match: 4-1 Round 6: Finals Red Sligh-style Mike Osbourne (sp?) First game Mike tapped all his mana for a creature first turn, second turn, third turn, and I pretty much got buried beneath an onslaught of fire. Second game, a miracle must've happened because Mike didn't play a creature on about his first four turns. I couldn't believe my dumb luck, but I rode it to a fairly easy victory. Along the way, I saw his Jinxed Idols sideboard addition, which was fortunate for me. I brought in the fourth disenchant for the third game. The third game was a real nail-biter. I got out a Chill and a COP:Red, but he still kept fighting and I still kept taking it. Along the way I was reduced to about 10, and disenchanted at least 1 idol, maybe two. Then he got out another damn idol and I couldn't deal with it immediately. That idol reduced me to about four, even though I kept sac'ing my Emissaries to it. Finally I drew my Invulnerability, and was able to repeatedly prevent the damage from it to me. (It is damage by the way, Kevin--read the card) Soon after I decked him and captured the first place prize. Hopefully this report will be of some use to anyone looking for preliminary views on TE constructed. Tom Dahl