Subject: PTQ-chicago Richmond VA *top 8* Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:21:01 -0400 From: justin neil turner-miller To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com hiya, this is my first report so bare with me.. i have a pretty good memory but i cant remember all the details.. i am writing this because the other 2 reports i read for this qualifier didnt exactly talk much about their matches and stuff.. so anyways its 10 o'clock friday night and i just got home from work.. (not knowing if i am allowed to go to the tourney tommorrow)... i finally talk mom into saying yes and i am set! i havent been to a qualitfier in months and i am very excited.. finally get to bed around 3ish.. ugh... had to meet carpool friends at 6... :( but thatt aiight! im running high on adreniline the whole day and it doesnt even phase me.. so me and my buddies (Glenn Shell, Nik Ketteman, Ben Murray, and 2 other guys i didnt really know) arrive at the hotel about an hour before starting.. the deck a registered was pretty lame.. couple of game winners, no real removal, and no brokenness.. not that it matters, cause i didnt get it back (i think 15% of the tournament players got their decks back).. so i open up my new deck and it really doesnt impress me at first glance.. no REAL broken cards, but a lot of very nice cards and a few game winners.. after about 30 minutes of contemplation i build a pretty defensive minded B/R/W deck.. here it is.. transmogrifying licid (incredible all day long) squee's toy (i have never played the card before, but it seemed like a good idea for this deck, and it was) soul warden (bet i gained 100 life off of her that day) zealots en-dal nomads en-kor venerable monk knight of dawn pegasus refuge (i saw it 3 times total, all three times i win soley because of it) mounted archers gallentry clergy en-vec (a pleasant surprise, and an abnormal judgement call for me.. dont think i have ever played him before) reconassaince skyshroud vampire (uhhhhhhhh.. awesome! game winner) corrupting licid disturbed burial (great all day for me) gravedigger naseu (my MVP!!! it was all over me that day, and it was incredible.. almost didnt play it too) marsh lurker foul imp rats of rath canyon wildcats sonic burst kindle mogg FANTASTIC! 4 mountain 7 plains 6 swamp okay.. i wasnt overly excited about this deck.. but i knew it was decent. round 1 (i dont know anyones names.. sorry) hes playing green black blue i think.. game 1: i gain a ton of life, i play big fat skyshroud vampire, i block his stuff, i kill him with vampire.. go team! game 2: a lil harder.. i get the vampire again.. but he gets a capsize.. bleh! fortunatly i get many more creatures than he gets and i use my corrupting licid to evade his blockers and keep his mana tied up with capsize on my vampire.. matches:1-0 games:2-0 match 2 i have to play my friend(Glenn Shell) that i rode down with! weak! he is playing a pretty sweet deck with green beef and white and black with shadow and some removal.. ugh game 1: his deck stalls on him a lil and i am able to get out a soul warden, some licids and some other blockers.. then i play pegasus stampede! yahoo! i make about 6 lil flyiers(gaining life for them) and proceed to peck away at him until hes dead.. game 2: ugh! i get a royal but whoopin! i played cop:shadow on like turn two to hold off his dauthi maruader.. then he plays a bunch of bid fatties! (plated rootwalla and spike colony come to mind) but i have a licid or 2 and i am holding him off.. but my mana is seriously being restrained.. so he plays quite a few more creatures.. then he casts overrun and i go SPLAT! game 3: he mana stalls for green and i play soul warden.. he plays a ton of wall type creatues and so do I.. i did 2 early damage with an attackind mogg fanatic and a soul warden.. then i proceeded to disturb burial my mogg 10 times (gaining a ton of life as well) and eventually killing him with sonic burst and a marsh lurker with his evasion ability.. (glenn proceeded to go 6-1 and make to eight with me) matches 2-0 games 4-1 match 3: i play another eventual top 8 player.. ugh no scrubs for me :Þ he playing a pretty defensive U/B/W deck game 1: he mana stalls at 2 THANK GOD! i slowly beat him with wussy 2/2 creatures.. whew! game 2: i play some stuff, he playes some stuff, he can hold off my attackers and hit me with a shodow dude a cant deal with.. so he eventually wins game 3: i play first turn soul warden.. go me! then i get stuck at 3 land for life forver and a day :( and he plays a friggin tradewind! bleh! he nullifies my attackers and bouces my land :( a few turns later he gets a capsize! ugh.. i sense a lock comming on :( but fortunatly i finally draw a mountain and he blocks with his tradwind on my 2/2 and i kindle it.. he capsizes it... but that saved me from getting locked down.. i manage to draw some more land and get a few attacks in ( i cast the vampire too) then he regains control and starts beating me down with shadow.. i gain enough life off the soul warden to stay alive until time is called.. we were both at 14 when time was called.. but he was going to win (eventually) matches: 2-0-1 games:5-2-1 match four hes playing black with a ton of shadows and some white and green game 1: i play some critters, he plays a wall of essence and a 3/1 shadow guy.. i manage to do 3 points to the wall (via transmog licid) and i naseu.. he cant recover.. i have 3 critters to his zero and he doesnt draw many more game 2: i eventually get out zealots en dal, soul warden, pegasus stampede and 5 lil flyiers.. i win and stuff (i remeber killing 4 of his critters with naseu that game) matches 3-0-1 games 7-2-1 match 5 i play a red black deck with white i think (he was color screwed out of one of his colors) game 1: reconassaince!!! i get out more critters than him and peck away at him.. reconassiance was incredible that game! game 2: very bizarre game.. i think i hit him with a 1/1 once and my knight of dawn bout 6 times.. then i kindled him, sonic bursted him and mogged him.. *shrug* whatever works i guess.. :) matches 4-0-1 games 9-2-1 match 5: i get pair up with a 5-0.. he wants to draw in.. i obviously dont.. he isnt very happy and tries to convince me by saying "man, my deck is so broken, you have no chance, you should take your chances next round.. i will whoop you".and if going to the pro tour wasnt enough motivation to do well this tourny.. then THAT statement was! i am very quiet throughout the match, he tries to talk a lil trash, but i keep my cool.. game one: i have the answer for everything.. he played flowstone hellion, i have zealots, he plays shadow dude and rootwater hunter.. i naseu :Þ he gravediggers tim.. i kindle.. hehe then i beat him down his a ton of pegasus tokens.. game two: he gets mana stalled at 3 and has nothing to cast.. i have 3 mana as well, but i cast 2 or 3 2/2's to beat him down.. he eventually draws more mana.. but i can still get around his stuff.. game for me.. :) i slowly pack my cards up, he seems very humbled and tries to take back some of his trash talking.. i stay rather quiet and just walk away with a smile on my face matches 5-0-1 games 11-2-1 match 7 we draw top 8: i am the number 1 seed.. *shrug* still not sure how.. but oh well.. now.. booster drafting is not my specialty.. i have had some very good drafts.. and i have had some horrendous drafts.. i open the tempest pack and find a puppet strings and a rootwater hunter.. hmm.. i think for a bit and take the puppet strings (i wish i had taken the tim looking back) i see quite a few cool white cards, i take them.. then i decide to take a capsize, wind drake, counterspell and some other stuff.. so im thinkin.. white blue is pretty cool.. but i dont get very aggressive creatures the first pack which makes me a lil worried.. stonghold pack.. i see a volraths stronghold.. hmm.. is it too late to bail on a color? nah.. i take it.. (cause i hear it is some good) :Þ i also get a canabilize and a lab rats and some cool w/b creatures.. but still not a single shadow creature.. ugh! things are not going well.. i look to be playing 3 colors, and not a very aggressive deck.. ugh.. maybe exodus will be cool i dont get a single friggin shadow creature in exodus either!! what the hell?!?!? im playing U/B/W!! ugh.. i draft some more control type cards and an ephemeron.. okay.. draft done.. no shadow.. a couple flyiers.. some creature control.. 2 creature removal spells.. and a few really powerfull cards.. but i am not very happy.. that was not the plan! ugh i dont have an exact list of what i played but here is sumthing close.. Ephemeron, capsize, counterspell, wind drake, school of pirhanas, hammerhead shark, merfolk looter, mind games, dream prowler, spell blast,spirit en kor, sheild mate, kor chant, mounted archers,disenchant, standing troops, charging paladin, mirozel, warrior enkor, leap, naseu, canabilize, volraths stronghold, 3 swamps, 6plains, 7 islands.. tah dah! oh yeah, flickering ward too.. :) i play the guy in the 6th round that i crushed after he was taking crap to me.. ugh.. he drafted what i wanted to draft!! dangit! he had like 5 shadows, and a bunch of cool flyiers.. ugh.. i still beat his the first game.. with flyers and puppet strings and capsize for his crittes.. second game he crushes me with shadow :( third game i get mana flooded.. ugh.. i think it was like 11 lands and 7 spells.. :Þ and he had a very good deck.. oh well.. i lose and stuff.. i remember him drawing bout 20 cards with his looter.. (never saw mine) slops to the guy who talked crap to me, drafted my cards and beat me! grrrrrrr.. Glenn lost in the top 4.. so me and him went and got 2 pizzas to make us feel better :) then we watched stupid movies on TnT all night.. oh well, a good day, better luck next time.. later.. Justin Turner cjoyjustin@mindspring.com (ugh, that was kinda long, wasnt it?) :Þ