Subject: UK Champs Qualifier report Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 11:24:07 +0100 From: "A.A.Coggins" To: "'fkusumot@ix.netcom.com'" ----------------------------------------------- Birmingham -English Championships Qualifier - Type II 26 April 1998 Won 5, Drew 1, Lost 3 Well, I'll start from the beginning ... After my poor result at the Maidenhead Qualifier (1 and 3) I'm really looking forward to the Birmingham one. I made a blue/white Tradewind/Orb/En-Kor/Knight deck, and played it a few times before deciding that although it won games, it wasn't really my style. I kidnap my boyfriend Scott's monoblack suicide weenie deck instead, pack a suitcase full of decks, and head off to Italy for a long weekend with my brother Simon. He's never played Magic before, and isn't really interested, but I con him into helping me playtest anyway. We stay in a little town 30 miles north of Milan, where there's nothing to do but drink, sleep and play Magic. I play dozens and dozens of games with the black deck. My brother is a complete star, staying up until 2am, complaining that Sligh is rubbish, and telling me that Darkling Stalker is the best card in the game. It's a lot of fun, and on the way back to the airport I pick up fifty quid's worth of Italian 5th Edition/Tempest. I get home, and Scott tells me that Birmingham is fully booked. I'm gutted. I insist we put our names on the reserve list anyway, and we're 13th and 14th. I ring Tim Hall and ask to do admin at the Nationals. I email Simeon and beg him to increase the size of the venue (he can't - it's already far too late). I email him again to get his mobile number so I can ring him on Sunday morning. Sunday morning, I ring Simeon and we're 6th and 7th on the reserve list. Scott and I decide to risk it, and we pile into my gorgeous gold Mini and head off up the motorway. I've never driven on the motorway in it before (I've only had it a few weeks) and today was *not* the day to start. It absolutely pours with rain, the car starts to shudder, I can hardly see out the windscreen, passing lorries scares the holy shit out of me and water is pissing into the passenger footwell. It's going to be a long day... When we arrive, I rush around frantically looking for Terrors. I left all mine at home accidentally, and I've GOT to replace Paralyse, which I now realise is a terrible card. I find some in Simeon's commons box, silently thank the gods, pay 10p for them and finish my decklisting. A few minutes later we're told that we're in. I'm delighted (not least because I don't fancy driving back just yet!) and prepare for round 1. In the first match I'm playing Paul Parker. He's young, but seems like a nice enough bloke. He's playing a green/red beatdown deck. In the first game I beat him up madly with a load of creatures - he's a bit mana screwed I think. When he dies, I'm still on twenty life. The second game isn't much different. I get a sideboarded Perish and kill a mana bird and two Centaurs, and that seals things up for me. Scott tells me later that this guy nearly knocked him out of the Nationals Qualifier last year - spookily, Scott qualified in this very building for last year's Nationals. Match: 2-0 Total Games: 2-0 Total Matches: 1-0 Second round, and I'm playing Richard Edbury. Richard is playing white weenie, with En-Kors, Crusades, White Knights and some shadow guys. In the first game I have a bad draw, he gets a lot of prot black creatures out and beats me down hard with them. I die. Second game, I side in the Spinal Grafts. Oh, how lovely it is to play decks which can't target your creatures! I beat him up with a Spinal Grafted Black Knight which he can't block. He recovers, and gets out the Priests and Pump Knights. I'm dead next go when I topdeck a Kaervek's Spite for the kill. "Spring forth, my burly protector, and save me!" Don't you just LOVE Kaervek's Spite? Final match, and this time I see an early Gloom. I cast it on turn three, when he's only got two land. I think I'm safe, but at four land he tithes and then Disenchants it. I topdeck another one, and play it the following turn, but it's too late. The prot-black guys are on the table, and with the help of Crusade, beat me up fast. When I die, he's got four prot-black fat monsters out - the deck has 12 in it. Match: 1-2 Total Games: 3-2 Total Matches: 1-1 At this point, Scott is on 1-1 as well. I hope we don't have to play each other. We playtested a little, and his green/blue Awakening Deck (sweetly called Wakey Wakey!) beat me up very harshly indeed. We don't have to, thankfully, and I go off to play Paul Willis instead. I played him at Polycon a couple of weeks back, and he's a really nice guy. He asks if I'm still playing Sligh, and I laugh and say "No, I've decided I hate it now".. I play a Swamp, Sarcomancy and he says "I'm going to lose. I just played against this deck, against the only member of Team Skillz who hasn't qualified, with the whole team standing around us, and I lost." I beat him up quickly, and he dies with me still on twenty life. In the second game I have a slower start, and his discard starts showing up. He gets out a Megrim, and Bottomless Pit, and some awful artifact thing, and soon I'm losing life all over the shop. My creatures can't keep up, and I die fairly quickly. In the final game, I have a handful of enchantments (*Three* Spinal Grafts at one point) but few creatures. He's got Ensnaring Bridge and Wall of Souls, so it doesn't matter much anyway. Towards the end of this match I get annoyed, and see no way to win, and make hideous errors which I won't catalogue here. Suffice to say, I might've been able to pull myself out of the mess I was in, but instead I made it worse, and I lost because of it. Match: 1-2 Total Games: 4-4 Total Matches: 1-2 Scott saw the end of the last game, and tells me that there were half a dozen things I could've done, and points out that I didn't even think about some of the moves I made. I get upset and annoyed with myself, but we go outside and he calms me down and reminds me that I'm perfectly capable of avoiding these errors if I simply focus on the game. By the beginning of the next round I'm still feeling pretty negative about my chances, but I force myself to concentrate. I'm playing Pete Powell. He's playing white weenie, and in playtesting, my deck stomped all over white weenie. As long as it hasn't got TWELVE prot-black creatures like the first one, I'm okay. It turns out I'm very definitely okay. I win both games within 15 minutes. It was a classic case of Dark Ritual, Black Knight, Unholy Strength. In the second game I have a Gloom in hand, and top deck a Ritual second turn and drop it, which absolutely destroys him. Afterwards he asks if I have any trades, and I'm absolutely stunned by his folder - this guy must've been playing for *years*. Match: 2-0 Total Games: 6-4 Total Matches: 2-2 Scott has lost, so now we're both on 2-2. I still hope we don't have to play, but then the next round is called. I'm playing Mark Wraith, which is a bit worrying, but Scott says "Go and crush him, girl" and I smile and go off to play him. Mark's playing Donais, very similar to the one I played yesterday. It has Walls of Blossom, Gaea's, Wisdoms, and a single Rolling Thunder. The first game takes a while, and I'm being slowly beaten up by my own Sarcomancy whilst he merrily Whispers and Blessings and Wisdoms. Eventually he Thunders me for 11, and there's nothing I can do. Mark said in his report that this was a mistake, and I think he's right, because if he'd left me to it I doubt I would've conceded for a good while. In any case, we sideboard and move on to the second match. I side in my Forsaken Wastes and Spinal Grafts. I cast early creatures, and try not to overextend myself now I know he's got Wraths. I keep an eye on his mana, and maybe use my Wastelands, I can't remember. He Wisdoms a couple of times but can't stop the onslaught. He casts a Wall of Blossoms (and cries "Best card in Stronghold!", a sentiment I completely agree with) but I terror it and get him down to 4 life. It's my turn, and I have two Scrolls out and some creatures. He looks at the table and goes "You've got six mana haven't you? That's it I'm dead." I suddenly remember I've got TWO Scrolls and quickly activate them. If he hadn't've mentioned it, he would've got another turn and maybe topdecked something to save him. The final game is much the same, and although he Wisdoms two or three times I beat him down with Ritualed out creatures. At the end I ask him what his ranking is, and he replies "1800 and something". I try not to look too pleased. He's on 2-3 now, which is a nasty place to be at this time of day, but later goes on to qualify very impressively. Match: 2-1 Total Games: 8-5 Total Matches: 3-2 Next I'm playing Alistair Parr. Scott's playing on the next table, which is nice, so we get to sit next to each other. Alistair's playing a white weenie deck which has me on the ropes on several occasions. In the first game he has Shaman En-Kor, Prot Black, Flyers, Shadow, the whole lot. I'm being beaten up one point at a time by my own Sarcomancy. Somehow I draw ALL FOUR of my Terrors and gradually kill his crucial blockers, including the Spirit Linked En-Kor. When he's on 4 life I topdeck a Kaervek's Spite for the kill. I'm on six life and very scared, but it pays off and I win. In the second game I get a Gloom in play early on, and beat him up quite badly with creatures and a lucky late-game Scroll. I'm not worried until after we finish and he shows me his hand - he's holding *two* Karmas. These are the only ones I see all day, and I'm massively relieved they're in his hand and not on the table. I didn't see a single Light of Day either, so I guess people just weren't expecting mono-black. I enjoyed these two games a lot, even though it was nerve-wracking at times. Match: 2-0 Total Games: 10-5 Total Matches: 4-2 Scott has lost, and is on 3-3. He's not very happy about it, but still manages to be enthusiastic and supportive on my behalf. He calms me down a bit and tells me to take it easy and concentrate. I'm playing Stewart Walker, who is the only-member-of-Team-Skillz-not-to-have-qualified-bloke. He's really smiley and nice, and has the membership cards from pretty much every member of Team Skillz, plus a furry haggis, as mascots. It's somewhat unnerving looking at Ellis and Ben and Warren and the guys sitting on the other side of the table, but I stay calm. I get a perfect draw, and play it out quickly. I beat him up in half a dozen turns, I don't even remember what with, first turn Ritual for sure though. The second game I go Ritual, Sarcomancy, Unholy Strength, then Sarcomancy, Sarcomancy, Spinal Graft I think. Both games I got fantastic draws, and I think my deck was a little faster than his. He has main deck Bad Moons, which he has to side out, and not as many 2 casting cost creatures. I feel a bit bad as I've just effectively knocked him out, but... I'M FIVE AND TWO!!! Match: 2-0 Total Games: 12-5 Total Matches: 5-2 Scott points out that I've only got to win one more match and I'm definitely qualified. If I win the next one, I can draw in, or lose in for that matter. Scott's on 4-3, so he needs to win the next two. I'm pretty sure I can manage 1-1 from here, and go off to meet my round 8 opponent - Andre Towers. He is playing 5CB, with Bottle Gnomes, Man O'War, Sex Monkey, Shadow Guildmage and Necratog. The first game I have a less-than-perfect hand but I keep it, and shortly afterwards regret it as he beats me down with loads of big hard creatures. Second game I think we both mulliganed, but I got a first turn Ritual-Erg Raider-Unholy Strength, and then another creature, and killed him in five turns. It's the last game, and there's everything to play for. I'm Scrolling away his creatures one at a time, and I make a mistake and go for the Guildmage instead of the Dauthi Slayer, and the next turn his Sex Monkey eats my Scroll. The Slayer kills me in the end. Match: 1-2 Total Games: 13-7 Total Matches: 5-3 I really, really, really didn't want to be in this position. It's too easy to see myself going 5-4 and missing out in the last round. Scott has won again and is on 5-3 as well. I'm 15th in the standings, top 18 go through but there's two qualified players fairly sure, so two places drop down. I don't know if I can afford to ID or not. I'm nervous now, and desperate to win my last match. After about a hundred years, the pairings go up. And I'm playing... Scott. No, no, no, noooooo.... We go and have another look at the standings. I'm currently 15th, and near the top of the people on 15 points. Scott is 19th, and near the bottom of the people on 15 points. If we ID, I'll probably quite likely get through. He might get through, depending what other people do, but it'd be very, very close. If we play, I'm probably going to lose - his deck beats mine maybe eight or nine times out of ten. I think conceding to someone just because they're on your team and they need the win is cheating, so that's out. So, do we play or do we draw? If we draw there's a risk that *neither* of us will get through, but then again *both* of us might. If we play, one of us (probably me) definitely won't. Scott says he thinks we should draw, and I agree. We ID. Julia comes over a little while later, and tells us that I've got through, but Scott hasn't. In the end, it turned out he missed qualifying by 0.41%. Zero point four one! I feel bad about it, even though I'm absolutely ecstatically thrilled that I scraped through in 19th place out of 20 on tiebreakers. Later, when we talk about it, Scott points out that if we'd come up against each other when we were on 2-2, we would've drawn then, and the result would've been the same, which makes me feel a bit better. Scott will probably judge at the Nationals, and he'll be damn good at it like he always is. And I'll be there, in one of my now-famous dresses, and having the time of my life, probably. Alice http://freespace.virgin.net/black.star/