Subject: PTQ-ROME REPORT: Columbus OH Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 00:35:23 -0400 From: Andy Hicks To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hello everyone this is my first attempt at a report so it probably won't be very good. Oh well here it goes anyway. As usual I wake up very early and drive several hours to a PTQ while my teammate Leonard Richardson sleeps in the car. He never understands why I am always tired and he always feels good. Who cares he has a hat and that is all that counts. We arrive about an hour early and make small talk with everyone who shows up. By the way it was one of the smallest PTQ's I have ever been to, it also had a very high number of pro players for the amount of people. This made for a very tough and competitive day. Leonard and myself had play tested very hard for this format and feel we have a deck that will go all the way. We were both very confident. Are sideboard has the answer for everything. We spent most of our time on the sideboard and it certainly paid off. Now on to the report. Round 1 Sligh vs. white weenie(Anthony Justice) Typically this is a easy matchup for sligh first game and much harder second game. First game was pretty easy I rolled right over him just way to fast for him to handle. Second game I'm prepared for a battle but it doesn't pan out that way. He gets land hosed and never recovers. He doesn't draw second plains for 5 or 6 turns and that was his doom. He does manage to finally get out a cop red(ooh bad for me!!!!) but he had to tap out to do it and I just burned him dead that turn instead of waiting any longer. Yeah I win!!!! Round 2 Sligh(1-0) black weenie(I think? can't remember his name) Once again based on our playtesting I win this match-up pretty easy however he surprised me and played a combo oriented type of black weenie. He played Vampire hounds with deaths duet and Oath of Ghouls He actually wins first game even though it was very close. Wow I should win this match-up now I'm worried. However countless hours of playtesting and I know exactly what to sideboard in. Second game he doesn't mount much of an offense and I go right past him. easy win(as it should be) and we are off to the third game. Third game is a little more interesting. He plays a very big creature almost immediatly and puts me on the defense. I manage to get out a second turn fireslinger and he pretty much goes the distance. I lay a bunch of people to chump block and with my burn and sideboard spells it was never really close. I had total control almost from the start. Yeah I win!!!!!! now I'm really excited because it looks like are play testing is paying off. Round 3 Sligh(2-0) vs. WW(J. Means) Once again I normally expect to win first game however He had other plans. In an amazing show of metagaming he plays Torture Chamber standard which really gives me trouble. I get early beatdown and manage to get him to 3 life before he cataclysms. I dont really care though I am holding a sonic burst and all I need is one mountain and I win. I have six turns to draw my mountain and amazingly enough I dont. Oh no I lose first game this should'nt happen. Second game should be alot harder to win but with my sideboard I am very confident. However once again my deck lets me down. He had a amazing draw and made the most of it. He made no mistakes and with 2 palladins and a kor and a priest out he won easy. This was the best white weenie I had seen in a while. Nice going guys good deck.. Round 4 Sligh (2-1) vs. blue bouncy deck As I have said before this is just easy. I win first game no problem. He never really had a chance. Second game post sideboard it is a even better matchup for me and he just looks silly I win even easier. Yeah I win.!!!!!!!!!!!! At this point I am 3-1 and my teammate Leonard Richardson(he has a hat) is 4-0 a really good day for us so far. We did the math and if I can win this match I can draw into the finals. Leonard just draws now and he is in.(one more match and I'm top eight Yeah) Round 5 Sligh(3-1) vs.WW(J. Means "yes I played both") When I find out who my opponent is I am a little concerned. Pre-sideboard this is a hard game but post sideboard with a little luck I can win. Howver it was not to be today. First game was silly. He drew every pro red creature in his deck and two torture chambers. Boo Hoo I lose. I am still not out yet our sideboard is amazing. I can still win both games. Nope. He gets another amazing draw and doesn't make any mistakes. Sends me home packing. Congrats to both brothers they played amazing and both were very polite and courteous. A real pleasure to play against. However next time maybe I get a little luck. I'm really out of the hunt right now but I play to see if I can see some deck that I haven't seen yet, who knows? Leonard(he has a hat) draws again and is top seed for final eight. Round 6 Sligh(3-2) vs.Yeah WW Does anyone play anything besides plains. I am so frustrated at this point because my deck has failed me several times I just play dumb( I dont really care though) he wins yeah you know the story. Now we go to the top eight. Leoanard(he has a hat) looks to be the favorite. However he has a problem with basic math and can't record his deck corrctly(I think he took his hat off during registration). Major props to Mike Guptil for not kicking him out of the tourny!!!!!!!! He does have to accept first game loss so our sideboard doesn't come into play at all unless he wins the first game. Not a problem usually however because it is so fast. He still has a good chance. AS luck would have it. He draws the CMU combo deck played at Worlds. The guy is able to go off(just barely) before Leonard can kill him and he just loses. This guy doesn't play this deck very well and it is rather humerous watching him work the combo. It surprizes me he made it this far. Oh well we are off to next week and ready to do battle. Andy Hicks