Subject: PTQ-Rome: Birmingham, AL *Top 4* Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 15:45:33 -0500 From: "David Jafari" To: Intro: I woke up about 30 minutes before registration ended and freaked out. I live about 30 minutes away from where the tourney was held, or so I thought. We did the flight of the bumble bee and made it there in about 20 minutes and got on board. I thought I would be playing more control than speed so I made sure my TradeAwakening deck had a good anticontrol sideboard although I still left too much in for speed. To my surprise, I played control all day which is not good for TradeAwake and made me wish I had devoted even more to my sideboard. The Rounds: First Round: Jeff Butz (US National Team 97) Red-Green -nifty burn My team members laughed at me when I was paired up agaisnt this guy and being the scrub that I am, I asked who he was. I found out more about him after we sat down to play and told him good luck. Game 1 was a sweep for me as I got him Caplocked quickly with an Awakening. Game 2 he pulled in like half his sideboard and burnt me senseless, Scraggie went all the way as I couldn't find an Awesome Blossom. Game 3 was a repeat of Game 1 adding a Tradelock also. I liked his deck alright and had played a LandDistruction version of it at a PTQ in Huntsville about a month ago. I think his was probabaly a little better but they both had there pros and cons. This deck had a very good disposition vs. me. 1-0 2-1 Note: Team member Dusty Updike got a match loss cause his decklist was messed up. I felt sorry for him and happy that our judges weren't evil enough DQ him. Second Round: (sorry about name, wasn't taking notes) TradeASomething Game 1 was a quick lock as was Game 2, Ertai went all the way in both games, he rules against control. 2-0 4-1 Third Round: Bill Ericson (sorry about misspelling) CounterPhoenix Game 1 his draw was SO BAD that I thought he was playing the same green red land distruction deck that he played me in Huntsville a few weeks ago when we drew the match because of time. Game 2 I go oh shit as he Intuitions because I know that I have left in my Awakenings. He was manashort for a while and I had already had Awakening out. I needed to draw a capsize for something like 7 turns and couldn't get is so he wreaked me by using my Awakening to get alot of Phoenix action. Game 3 he got four red mana in four turns and I had a bad draw so he ran over me. 2-1 5-3 Note: I have the worst third rounds as anyone and it usually isn't the competition's harder or anything. Like this time my opponent got so screwed in game one that it hurt me, can you believe it? We laughed about it for the rest of the day. Fourth Round: (sorry forgot name but he was friends with some other real good players, didn't take notes) CounterHELL This deck was actually pretty rougey. It followed mindless blue pretty well but then drew in aspects of WW such as helm of possession and disenchants (as I remember). Game one was very interesting and he had gotten in a good position, pretty much controlling the game. I made some key powerplays though, the best I made all day, and took control of the game and CapLocked him. Game two was a quick Caplock. 3-1 7-3 Fifth Round: (really sorry about names) Black Discard Other than playing straight control, this deck has a weakness to good discard. This guy had a pretty nasty discard deck and threatened my chances at top 8 a great deal. Game one we fought a while after he Lobotomized my Awakenings. My creatures finally came out in number this game and got him TradeMassacred. Game two Portcullis with counter backups end his hopes of beating me. 4-1 9-3 Sixth Round: Bruce Cowley MonoBlue ( I don't like this ) I am happy that I don't get paired down so I can just draw in. Bruce wants to draw too but he finds out that the match results of the people that got paired down could leave more than 8 fighting for top 8 over tiebreakers. Believing I have better tiebreakers than him, I am easyminded about drawing. He decides to take his chances and draw on in. 4-1-1 9-3 Top 8: I was surprised I was 8th seed and Bruce was like 4th or 5th seed, but I was glad to make it in and awestruck that each of the top8 besides number 1 ( who gets $250 and an invite) got a box of Urza's Saga. Quarterfinals: Bill Ericson Game one I got three capsizes so I felt secure. We fought over an Awakening for a while until I got it down secure and Caplocked him, he conceded and said he only got 4 nonland things that game. That sucked but playing alot of land can give you that sometimes. Second game I got a giant creature drop with my sideboard and raped him. 5-1-1 11-3 Semifinals: Bruce Cowley What? Agh? I didn't want to play Bruce this round. I wanted to play Tod Parker w/ sligh so I could get more DCI points before the blue beast killed me, like I knew it would. No offense to Tod, but my SB just would have been too much for any sligh deck. Bruce and I have fun over voodoo shuffling each other. Game 1 I Caplock him easily. Game 2 I decide that the only real way to victory vs his deck would probabaly be to keep Awakening no matter how self-distructive. I lose Game 2 and Game 3 and realize that I severely misinterpretted his deck. I thought he would have Dominating Licids and more Legacy's, I would have sideboarded in more creatures if I knew this was false and tried to beat him down and give cover with counters. Oh well, he is a good player and I don't mind losing to him. 5-2-1 12-5 Note: I play a second Ertai in third game and put it directly into the graveyard, then procede to burn myself for 5. I'm not a sore loser, just a loser. I thought I might entertain the people while I got beat horribly in game 3. Bruce loses to Tod in finals and I realize how much I had underestimated Tod's deck. He was using colorless damage like Scalding Tongs and I think he had Torture Chambers. The tongs acted like scrolls against Bruce and even with SB, Bruce couldn't stop him. I didn't see the whole thing as I had to go but I heard through the grapevine that Tod had gotten it. Maybe he will just take his deck apart now and let me go ahead and think that I could have beaten him. It probabaly would have been a hard matchup as he had trampled over the same good WW deck in the Swiss and Top8 and beat Living Death in Semifinals. The Deck: Since I can't make anymore PTQs for Rome I figure this will be the last Rath Contructed for me. So my deck is below. I didn't comment it because I am tired of typing right now and there are good reasons for everything in it. If you want me to discuss some of the aspects of the deck with you just email me (address at bottom) 4 Wall of Blossoms 4 Tradewind Rider 2 Spike Weaver 1 Mawcor 1 Ertai, Wizard Adept 4 Counterspell 4 Forbid 3 Whispers of the Muse 4 Capsize 3 Legacy's Allure 2 Propaganda 4 Awakening 11 Island 4 Reflecting Pool 1 Skyshroud Forest 8 Forest Sideboard: 1 Ertai, Wizman 1 Dominating Licid 1 Spike Weaver 2 Spike Feeder 2 Portcullis 3 Oath of Druids 2 Tranquility 3 Hammerhead Sharks Props: Tod Parker: don't underestimate the force of red, Tod put some thought into it obviously and made some great decisions about the metagame Bruce Cowley and Bill Ericson: for being cool while I whined to them, hehe, and not whining back Team Redneck: for making top 8 ( Bill Foxworthy) and other members doing well but just missing it Dusty Updike: for not dropping out even though he lost first round because of the messed up deck list. The Judges: for being cool with Dusty, and being cool with me and not getting too pissed because of all my ranting and stuff (theres nothing on my nose Colin :) Slops: I can't think of them really. I guess the team Tennessee beat gets slops for only getting 3 points. Me: for making alot of noise and making a stupid mistake in Quaterfinals and still winning the game.