Subject: Tournament Report Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 04:25:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Griffin Poole To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com "Graveyard Fun" by Griffin Poole This is a report of a Rath cycle tournament (TSE) on July 21. The tournament was held at GameMasters in Memphis, Tennessee. Four rounds of swiss, cut to final four. 13 or so people showed up. My first thought was to play a white shadow deck with a splash of blue for Tradewinds. But that deck lacked versatility. So, my next idea built upon the fact that the Rath cycle has very few remove from the game effects, so graveyard manipulation is strong. The final deck ended up being four colors with a fifth splashed in the sideboard. 2 Living Death 2 Corpse Dance 2 Nausea (for weenies) 1 Stronghold Assassin 1 Recurring Nightmare 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Skyshroud Elf 4 Harrow 2 Spike Weaver 2 Survival of the Fittest 2 Reclaim 3 Spike Feeder 3 Bottle Gnomes 4 Tradewind Rider 2 Intuition 1 Shard Phoenix Land: 2 Reflecting Pool 1 Mogg Hollows 11 Forest 1 Island 3 Rootwater Depths 1 Volrath's Stronghold 2 Swamp Sideboard: 2 Oath of Ghouls 1 Allay 3 Dread of Night 1 Shattering Pulse 2 Choke 1 Survival of the Fittest 2 Light of Day 1 Cloudchaser Eagle 2 Lobotomy The deck usually wins by Tradewind lock, but can act like a dancing Gnome/Feeder deck, or even infinite fog with the Weavers. On playing the deck, always harrow for the island and the swamps, the one Mogg Hollows is plenty for the one red card - Shard Phoenix. Every card in the deck combos well with the others, the Shard Phoenix recursion with the Skyshroud Elf can be a free tutor for a creature with the Survival out. The reclaims are awesome, I was never sorry to draw one. Two Survival is about right, the extra is in the side for a similar deck. The rest of the sideboard should be obvious except the Oath of Ghouls which hoses control, and the white cards that can only be cast with the elves. Onto the tournament. First round Kiel Wilson. Mono blue Draw-Go style deck. His only way to win is Stalking Stones and Silver Wyverns 1st game is quick and painful, I am beat down by two wyverns that I cannot tradewind. 2nd game is long and drawn out with me winning with a 4/6 Bottle Gnome that he cannot capsize. 3rd game with only 10 minutes remaining. Kiel to his credit does not stall. A quick Survival gives me a double tradewind lock and he has no islands in play. He is run over. Match 1-0, Games 2-1 Second round Wes Jones who has only recently begun playing Magic again after quitting to play L5R. A fast red blue damage deck. 1st game he gets his combo third turn -- Oath of Scholars, Propaganda, and Seismic Assault, plus an empty hand. Luckily I pull it out with an eventual tradewind lock with Bottle Gnomes plus Spike Feeders. He concedes having dealt 30 or so damage to me. 2nd game, he gets the Oath and Propaganda, plus Spellshock - nasty, but he has no Seismic Assault, and I can win the damage race with my two tradewinds. He concedes. Match 2-0, Games 4-1 Third round Robert Dunn - W/B Pit /Bridge/ Brooch deck 1st game, he quickly empties his hand to put out Ensnaring Bridge, Scalding Tongs, and Null Brooch, but an early Survival gives me a Tradewind lock, he Winds of Rath only to see me Living Death about 15 creatures into play, he loses. 2nd game, he gets about the same cards but also gets a Bottomless Pit, unfortunately, that combos too well with my Tradewind Rider :) , and he loses. Match 3-0, Games 6-1 Fourth round Seth Jones playing white weenie we ID into the final four. Finals Me - graveyard fun Seth - white weenie Kiel - draw-go Jason? - mono red Semis playing Kiel again 1st game, I get a Survival out and triple Tradewind him, but can't get past his Silver Wyverns and he Whispers his deck into his hand, then casts all four capsize to get my Tradewinds into my hand, and with four medallions out he can capsize buyback for two blue - he wins with about 5 cards in his library and me with almost nothing in play. 2nd game He gets only three islands plus two wastelands - which he uses :( - but I beat him down with spikes. 3rd game, I keep a draw with two Rootwater Depths as my only land because I have the awesome choke. When I topdeck a forest three turns later, he conveniently taps out and I choke him. A couple turns later I have a Tradewind lock and he concedes. Match 4-0-1, Games 8-2 After this Jason? - the other finalist and I draw; we play a fun game and I get to 2 life, but win anyway eventually getting every creature in my deck into play. About the deck, I would have added a third Living Death had I owned one (replacing 1 Nausea), but other than that the deck is perfect, and I cannot imagine another Rath cycle deck that can beat it. If you decide to play it, playtest before you change anything, every card has been given considerable thought. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com