Subject: [Report] PTQ Rome with mono-U (2nd attempt) Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 02:18:22 +0100 From: Carl Devos To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hello, Today was the 2nd Belgian qualifier for PT Rome. It was held in Antwerp. I planned to play the same deck as last week with a few changes to fight against Counter-Phoenix. I talked with Jean-Louis D'Hondt (creator of the deck, he qualified in GP Lisboa with it), and since blue was in many decks, we swapped the Wall of Tears for the mighty Hammerhead Shark. It helps also against red decks and white weenie. The Helms were removed to the sideboard. Here is the deck I played: 4 Counterspell 4 Forbid 2 Mana Leak 2 Capsize 4 Tradewind Rider 3 Spindrift Drake 2 Fighting Drake 3 Hammerhead Shark 4 Rootwater Hunter 3 Curiosity 4 Legacy's Allure 3 Manakin 19 Island 3 Stalking Stones Sideboard 4 Helm of Possession 4 Bottle Gnomes 2 Mana Leak 1 Capsize 1 Stalking Stones 1 Hammerhead Shark 2 Thalakos Drifters I came with Nicolas Fournier and Laurent Biernaux. The latter was playing a mono-white Cataclysm while the Nicolas and Gilles (that we met on site with Vincent) chose to play the Mono-U like me, each with his flavour. Vincent brought a deck of his own he played is Lisboa (12th) centered around Ensnaring Bridge and Volrath's Stronghold. The pairings are done for round 1, we are an odd number of players (Gael De Robien gets a bye) until Laurent realizes he's not in! Of course Gael has already left the building... So, Laurent waits for him and we'll have to finish the round a bit later than expected. Round 1 - Jochen Van Cauwenberghe (Leuven) - Coutner-Phoenix I know what he plays but I am not aware of the tweakings team Avalon has made. It turned out to be 2 Legacy's Allure main deck + 1 in the board. Jochen starts with a Mulligan, lays a Mountain and let me go. I have an OK hand, with 2nd turn Shark. Jochen doesn't have a second land and it's soon over. I make a 9 card sideboard (instead of 11 expected, since he's got Allures). I get 5 lands, 2 non-creatures spells in my initial hand. Jochen forgets to lay lands on turn 3 and 4. Meanwhile, I've got a Shark with Curiosity on its back :) Jochen manages to burn the Shark (while I was Capsizing his Island), but concedes when he sees a Curious Gnomes going all the way (yeah, I got the 3 Curiosity). Jochen is unhappy of course, but he's a good sport as usual. 2-0, 3 points. Round 2 Christian (Aachen) - Recurring Death Today we see a lot of foreigners for one of the last qualifiers: Germans from Aachen, Dutchs from Amsterdam and Utrecht, Frenchmen from Paris. Players like Stefan Walkysier, Cyrille de Foucauld or Marc Hernandez have made it here, hoping for an easy qualifier (Cyrille qualified for PT LA 98 in Belgium as well as Frank Adler twice, once for Altanta 97 and once for PT Chicago 98 - nobody from Koeln showed up today though). In the first game against Christian, he gets only Forest and Island, and a Tradewind of mine makes his appearance on turn 3. Christian can't get more than 3 lands in play, but he hopes to win the damage race with a Feeder which is soon Allured away. Once I am starting the beatdown having complete control of the board Christian concedes. I've only seen green and blue spells, so I am thinking Tradewing/Awakening, even though a Wood Elves I countered seems a bit strange. I sideboard 2 Leaks and the 4th Shark (or was it the 3rd Capsize?). His first turn Pine Barrens obviously shows me I sideboarded wrongly :( All he gets out is a lone Stronghold Assassin, while I have a Tradewind Rider and a Manakin. I curiosity the kin, he blocks it but sac his Assassin to kill the Tradewing. Big mistake, as I manage to draw several cards since Christian doesn't draw a single creature. I get more beasts out and apply. Only problem is that the only counter I am holding is a Mana Leak... Christian has 8 lands, meaning I can't do anything about his soon-to-come Living Death. Still I cast 2 more creatures so I can kill him next turn, which happens since Christian pulls a 10th land (out of 16 cards or so). 'Shit happens' is all what he said. Nothing to add to this, he just got unlucky. 2-0, 6 points. Round 3 - Peter Gysemans (Leuven) - Counter-Phoenix Peter has a revenge to take against me from last week, where he was mana screwed in the last game. This time he's got 2 Allures main deck. In the first game, I have to mulligan, get 2 lands, 2 Sharks and 2 other cards. 2nd turn Shark is soon taken by Peter's Allure #1, soon followed by his brother. Peter applies the beatdown with my own Sharks while I am trying to get out of the mana problems. Well, I never did. I sideboard again 9 cards, as against Peter's teammate Jochen from round 1. 17 3+ thoughness creatures is too much for Peter to handle, and I win the next 2 games after a good fight (he had sideboarded an extra Allure and 2 Meddlings). 2-1, 9 points. Round 4 - Bram Snepvangers (Utrecht-NL) - WW He's playing Cataclysm with a touch of blue for Curiosity and Mana Leak. In the first game, he cataclysms when I've got a Tradewind out (he didn't draw blue mana at all). Second game, he didn't draw any shadow... Both games I am quickly in control, he never managed to bring me under 14. 2-0, 12 points. Round 5 - Vincent Gieling (Brussels) - R/B/u Bridge deck There are 3 undefeated players, and I get to play old buddy Vincent, who used to be my bitch, but I've returned the spell against him lately. I don't know his deck, but know he's got at least 7 cards in his sideboard against me (among them 3 Bottomless pit - 4 actually, 2 Boil and 2 Lobotomy). Game 1, I cast a first turn Spindrift, take a gamble turn 2 when I put curiosity on it and attack. He doesn't have a Shock. Yessss! After 6 hits and a few counters, he concedes. I am worried, he's sided 9 cards, I put 2 more Mana Leak and a Capsize in case. He Starts first turn Grindstone, 3rd turn Lobotomy (I cast a 2nd turn Manakin) and gets my Tradewinds. I cast 1-2 more creatures and Vincent gets control: Thrull Surgeon/Volrath Stronghold is a nasty combo. I still manage to counter a Bottomless Pit and suddenly one of my lands starts moving: I got my 6th land to animate a Stalking Stones. Vincent is upset because he hadn't seen it, and the Stones trample over him... 2-0, 15 points. Round 6 - Jos Scheurs (Utrecht-NL) - Awakening I know he's playing that and don't feel comfortable since I didn't playtest against it and I don't know its mechanisms very well. We get our decks checked, then start. Game 1, I have to mulligan, get too few lands and he gets and Awakening and 3 - Three Capsize. I am soon locked, but wait for a few turns before I concede to have a better idea of the deck. I sideboard 2 Mana Leaks and the third Capsize. Game 2 is fast: first turn Spindrift hurts him. He gets a Spike Weaver, I have a Tradewind, but he draws another Weaver (he's at 3 lives now). I Capsize-buyback a Weaver, but he forbids, leaving him with one land untapped. I Tradewind a Weaver back to his hand, untap then realize I should have done it on the land! Fortunately, I topdeck a 2nd Capsize and he can't match it. Phew! Game 3 I have a good hand but he manages a 5th turn Scragnoth. Noooooo! I had forgotten about the ugly and didn't sideboard in the Helm of Possession. My only chance of winning is by outracing him. But I only have a Rootwater in play :( I play Spindrift, then draw a Fighting Drake, then 2 Rootwater. Jos only draws one Tradewind, and I get him to zero life when I would have died next turn. Better lucky than good. 2-1, 18 points. Round 7 - Gael de Robien - U/b I've got rather bad tiebreakers, so I need to win this one as well. Gael has taken Jean-Louis' deck, added a touch of black for two Lobotomy. But he's still playing the old version with Wall of Tears and Helm main deck. His deck has less creatures than mine, and he doesn't have the amazing Hammerhead Sharks. First game, he forgets to play a land on turn 3, stall a bit while I am developping board control. I have Tradewind and Spindrift in play, 3 counters in my hand, so I decide to serve (a big 3 points a turn ;) I get him down to zero before he can gather enough forces to threaten me. I sideboard 1 Helm, 1 Capsize (for his Helms and Allure) and maybe 2 more Leaks. I get 2nd turn Allure, take his Tim, get Allure #2 and #3 and I feel confortable with my Shark against his Gnomes and Wall. I take them when I draw a Curiosity and soon apply for 2 and 1 extra card a turn. After a few turns (I also have drawn my Helm by that time) and creatures countered, he conceedes. YEAAAAAAAAAH! I am going to Rome. 2-0, 21 points. Since it's straight swiss, I am first and win the plane ticket :) Gilles finishes 3rd (too bad) and the second one qualified is Bram from round 4. I hear that there in another qualifier tomorrow in Holland and Vincent, Pierre Giraudroux, Dominic Symens (all from Brussels) decide to join Mark Dictus (from Antwerp) to go to PTQ Amsterdam. Mark and Vincent will play with the deck I used today. 'Hope they'll make it. Thanks to Jean-Louis for the deck, advice and chats we had to improve this blue winning machine (13-1 in matches, 27-6-0 in games for me, 28-5 in matches for the 2 qualifiers - Gilles & Nic & me). Thanks to Laurent for the lift and the Drifters, for everybody for the nice atmosphere in the pitta house and to Philippe for the lift back home. See you in Roma (WoW! it feels good saying it :) Carl