Subject: tourney report GP Zurich Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 18:38:51 PDT From: "Christian Gregorich" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Greetings everyone! It was about high time that I wrote a tourney report. When I won the Austrian National Championship 1997, I thought it was the right moment to publish something... I was way too lazy. When I went to worlds, finishing 23rd after the second day, having beaten a lot of the Top players (Mark Justice, Jason Zilla, Bob Maher, David Bachmann) and screwing up BADLY on the third day facing my personal "Jeff-Donais-Syndrome" going 1-6, I ended with a 79th place and was again way too lazy (and f.....g pissed, too) for writing a report. After that I didn't have a lot of time to travel anywhere to qualify for the tour again and here in Austria we can be glad, if we get a single PTQ. So it was not to be, until... ... until we heard there would be a Grand Prix in Zürich, Switzerland. That's about only 8 hours by train from Vienna. Here I want to thank Alex Proschofsky who immediately was willing to organise the whole thing. The time before there were a few tournaments in Vienna where you could win your train ticket to Zürich, so I took the chance and got mine from a type II event. Finally we were 24! Austrians travelling together. Not all with the same intention, some wanted to play for fun and prepared for side tourneys others competed for the slots and the cash. Saturday we arrive at the GP location which looked quite nice, but you are not happy if you hear you have to pay 3 bucks for a can of pepsi. The next thing was that we were informed that on the second day it would be sealed deck and not as announced booster draft. So all the drafting we did was useless, i was angry. I got upset when I heard they messed up the bye-lists so I only received a single bye. To explain: the organisation totally forgot about byes through DC-rating and only had a bye-list for PT-points. Half an hour later I had my second bye. I got my deck and built this: 1 Youthful Knight 1 Armored Pegasus 1 Skyshroud Falcon 1 Cloudchaser Eagle 1 Bandage 1 Smite 1 Soltari Priest 1 Rolling Thunder 1 Lightnig Blast 1 Lowland Giant 1 Hero's Resolve 1 Blood Frenzy 1 Renegade warlord 1 Spined Wurm 1 Rootwalla 1 Tempting Licid 1 Heartwood Dryad 1 Rootbreaker Wurm 1 Skyshroud Archer 1 Rampant Growth 1 Canopy Spider 1 Spike Colony 1 Manakin 6 Forest 6 Plains 5 Mountains Other cards of note: NONE, absolutely none. I also hated the land distribution as I couldn't play unbalanced mana, because of the double red. I wasn't content with what I got, the deck was only average and with my two byes I was sure to run into the killer-decks. We handed in our decklists and Alex, Benedikt Klauser and I went to find some lunch as we all had two byes. We played against each other and I lost to Alex who brought out a 10/11 Flowstone Salamander to kill me with ( Spikes and Gravedigger are house ) :) Then Benedikt killed Alex and I beat Benedikt. We had a lot of fun, though we were all shocked after we saw the powerdecks of some of the other players. Finally at 16.30 I get to play my first opponent. 3rd round: Denis Krieg (GE)...the name was intimidating ;) This round was not very spectacular, as I remember he was color-screwed in one game and I beat him down easy. 3-0-0; 2-0 4th round: Janosh Kühn (GE)... World's Finalist 1997 The first game was really thrilling. It about 35 minutes and he killed me when was on 1 life, one turn before I would have got him. He had severe advantage when he dumped his hand with a fool's tome and a hornet cannon in play, every turn drawing two cards and it still was extremely close. Second game was the exact opposite, it was about who could deliver his beatdown fastest. He had the Seeker-Fireslinger Combo and burned down as he shot my creatures additionally I attacked with a hero's resolved rootwalla. He realised I would be faster so he put a Flowstone Blade on some phat he had with only one mountain in play. So he managed to outrace me, again one turn before he would have died. 3-1-0; 2-2 I had to win the next two rounds and wasn't really optimistic, Alex and Benedikt had already dropped, but some other Austrians still had chances for top 64. 5th round: I'm sorry but I didn't take notes, but I remember in spite of being a French he was a real cool guy. ;) Nothing special to report. My deck came out fast (it's only real strength was the mana curve), so I sweep him. 4-1-0; 4-2 there were rumors about making top 64 with a record of 4-1-1, but my tiebreakers were really bad so I decided to play. 6th round: I guess his name was Marc Dictus he wore a shirt which said Team Outpost, so he was Belgian. I really love Blood Frenzy, again fast beatdown in both games. So I finished the first day with a record of 5-1-0; 6-2 and placed 28th quite a good position for aiming at the top 8. Christian Peschta (Austrian National Champion 1996 and on the team 1997), Christoph Derdak, Hannes Kaplan and Markus Jöbstl also qualified for Sunday. That was five Austrians, more than we expected. After the tourney we went to a Hip-Hop party next to the youth hostel where we stayed, I left at around three o'clock to get some sleep as we had to get up at seven. In the morning Felipe who was in our room too suddenly asks: "Christian, are you still here?" This stupid question was so much better than three cups of black coffee. I was still asleep when he started with the question by the time he was finished I was almost dressed and ready to go, it was 8 o'clock. Chris P. and I, we still owe him a beer for waking us up. The whole weekend combined I had ten hours of sleep (in three nights), but that's just usual for a Magic-weekend. So we arrived at the Schützenhaus 5 minutes before they closed registration, puh. We receive our decks: 1 Cloudchaser E. 1 Fanning the Flames 1 Shock 1 Fling 1 Kindle 1 Fireslinger 1 Flowstone Giant 1 Giant Strength 1 muscle sliver 1 Canopy Spider 1 Lowland Basilisk 1 Pincher Beetles 1 Flailing Drake 1 Trained Armodon 1 Spined Wurm 1 Skyshroud Troll 1 Elite Javelineers 1 Provoke 1 Tempting Licid 1 Mogg Raider 1 Galantry 1 Spitting Hydra 1 Wall of Essence 7 Forest 6 Mountain 4 Plain other cards of note: I had an Evincar's J., a Bounty Hunter, a Gravedigger and Rats of Rath, but nothing else that was useful in Black. The Provoke and Gallantry were weak in this type of deck, should have changed them, but I wanted some tricks. All in all this deck on the first look appears to be incredible 'cause of it's removal, but it lacks in offense and doesn't have a nice mana-curve. Two Shadows and this deck would be great without them it's good. 7th round: Richard van Cleave (BE, I guess), this guy was really low. First game he tries to cheat on me. I'm color-screwed the whole game holding four red cards (SHOCK, FAN, Mogg Raider and I think Fling), the turn before I die, I draw Mountain. So he makes an all-out attack and taps all his creatures, giving me no time to respond. So I say: "In response to your attack I'll shock your Mongrel Pack." He buries the card and puts four tokens into play. I correct him and tell him that it was in response to the declaration of his attack. So he goes back, untaps his creatures and again puts four Tokens into play. I inform him that it doesn't receive combat dammage, he goes like:"Oh, mmh." It didn't really matter as by the time he had five creatures and I had none being on three life. Did I mention this game took 35 minutes. Second game I take control and slowly drain his life total waiting desperately for the Fan when the game stalls. His turns start to take forever and when he is on three with a spike feeder in play, I attack he annnounces blockers, taps two mana and says:"I'll take a counter off the spike feeder (taking the die which marks the counters on the spike in his hand) and put it on..." It takes him almost five minutes to choose a target, so I call a judge to check if he's stalling. He then starts to ask the judge stupid rulings and wants to use the mana in his pool for a regeneration effect. I tell him that he took a counter off the spike and explain the problem to the judge (by the way the Head-Judge). The Head-Judge who hasn't been there when the problem occured says with an angry voice that what I said isn't true. I was stunned at first, then politely explained to him that all this happened before he came to our table. It was like talking to a little child, because now he understood. Then he said if we can't agree we both get a warning and had to start a new match, 2 minutes left in the round. I was exploding in my inner-self, but had to give in to have at least a minimum chance. If he had taken off the counter to put it on a creature I could have killed him with the creature dammage and the Kindle in my hand, so he would have survived on one. I was extremely upset because I felt treated so unfair by the judge and my chances for top 8 were almost disappearing. 5-2-0; 6-3 8th round: Demir Sejdiu (GE?) Nothing special I wanted revenge for the last round and sweeped him in about the fastest round I had in the whole tourney. 6-2-0; 8-3 I had a deck check afterwards, no problem. 9th round: Petr Posolda (CZ) I knew Petr from a PTQ in Slovakia where he helped us find the location and wasn't happy to play him. He seemed a little Mana screwed so I sweeped him fast, burning him out with Fan-buyback. 7-2-0; 10-3 I'm in a good mood as I still compete for top8, just need to win the next two. 10th round: André Konstanczer (GE) A good game lasting very long again as we both go in control mode, though his control is stronger and eventually a forestwalking Treefolk goes all the way. Next game I go quick beating him down than he slows me down and it's hard to get a hit through. His turns start to take forever. Mine lasted about three seconds: untap - draw - play creature - done. I knew sooner or later I had to draw the Fan, I KNEW it. He was on four life, 4 minutes to go... Burn him out! We started the last, though we knew we wouldn't finish it, but dude André could play fast. 7-2-1; 11-4 Last round, I was disappointed because I couldn't make top 8 anymore, then a friend told me that probably the invitations would be extended, so I got new hope. 11th round: Dirk Roth (GE) First game Fan with buyback can't be stopped. Interesting was when he tried to Mind games my Armodon, Fling hurt him, so MG fizzled. A few turns later he starts to Fan away my creatures, again a timely kindle in response made his Fan fizzle, so I could start with my own Buyback-action. Second game had one turning point. Him: One card in hand, Trumpeting armodon, Gliding Licid, Wall of Diffusion, Five mana. Me: Three Cards in hand, Cloudchaser, Clergy(sided in), Canopy, G Raider and another creature, enough mana. I attack with Cloudchaser, He moves Gliding on Armodon...blocks, I sacrifice G Raider, Cloudchaser now 3/3. He casts Elvish Fury with Buyback. In response I fling the Canopy at the armodon and shock it, I love fizzling buybacks.:) He wasn't very happy and beatdown was fast. 8-2-1; 13-4 I come in 14th, earning 350 usd (thankx Wotc) and I later find out I am the last one getting an invitation. So see ya in Chicago, at the European Championships and hopefully at Worlds too! Christian Gregorich Austrian National Champion 1997 DC Limited: 1870 DC Standard: 1844 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com