Subject: Report PTQ Boston for Rome Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 03:42:40 -0400 From: "Stella A. Lynch" To: Fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hiya all, This is a report for the PTQ in Boston on the 10th of October, and this was an interesting event to say the least. We had a premiere level event, a shouting match and controversy. I will deal w/ all of this though out this report but I think the beginning will be the best place to start, and it's been a few days since the PTQ and some of the matches I don`t fully remember so I`ll just try to give ya the jest of it. Friday Night, I got off work and came back to my house where my friends have already arrived for some play testing for the next day, William Morgan, Jared Fernandes, Billy Jensen, and Jono. After a long night and no sleep, I still like the deck I played at the PTQ in Boston last time, but i didn't like it's venerability to scragnoths (which Hammer used to crush me in the quarter finals) in which The Pork wasn`t good enough. But still liked the deck against everything else in the field. So we all decided that we won`t sleep and go to Denies for HuMM FOOD! After that we left for another "battle in boston". Now the funniest thing happened( and wouldn`t of happened if Billy and I got sleep) we were having a brainstorm cession on what cards I could sideboard against death that I could use to beat scrag in death, aftershock( have to tap out)NO, Lightning blast (what about spikes)NO, Kindle w/ Intuition( same problem w/ spikes)NO wall of defussion (DAMN SPIKES!)NO Furnace of Rath( the card sucks hard)NO- HEY WAIT a minute that card isn`t thAt bad, with 2 Phenoix`s on the board can kill a V Force!!!!!!, and also can wait in order cast it. They now can`t death with it out, and most likely they will board out the cloudchasers 2nd game. Well, I pulled over the car and got out and told Jared and Will about it and Jared laughed it off. During the course of the day many people would laugh and embrace the idea of the Furnace Tech( the FT). Well after Jared and I both getting tickets on I-90 we finally arrived at the PTQ. You don`t know how hard it is to get 3 Furnaces, damn people just don`t want to give em up(if they had em =) ) So while I was searching for the FT, my friend Jono wrote down my deck list (side note: I would rather of had anyone else in the room write it out, cause after my DQ from Boston if the list was wrong in could stand any more crap) While this was going on Michelle Bush who I believe just had a confrontation w/ Hammer(I`m just reporting the stuff I saw and will make further references later in this article to the Hammer/Rob thing but I don`t know what the truth is, just observations) and she was pretty upset. And at the time we had no clue what was going on? Well back to the report. 1st round vs Will Morgan Great in a field of 66, I have to play one of the 2 people I came w/ who are playing "Damn Pairing Gods" With all the playtesting we did the night before I wasn`t feeling really confident w/ playing against him Game 1 This was a close game w/ Will trying to get board control w/ a tradewind and me topdecking counter magic (w/ the scroll rack) to stop BAD things like death and lobo`s, finally real late in the game I got the capsize working and beat him. Game 2 All I have to say about this game would be it's all about the FT!! During the beginning of the game I played the deck w/ a permission attitude, but when the time was right (about turn 8 or so and since I have the FT, I could care less about a death going through and was able to play w/ a beat down attitude. I played the furnace and then another furnace and did 16 points in 2 turns to finish him off. Sorry Will I win =) 1-0 2nd round vs David Webster Game1 This was not a good pairing for me, he was playing Oath of ghouls main deck, in a death style deck(I`m not sure if he was playing the actual death card in it) and he got one through and after a 35+ minute game I finally conceded to him knowing that with the #`s in my hand and on the board I was just going to lose this game and not have time to finish the match. All I remember is that the game was very close until Oath came out and we both played the game very slowly. Between the match I sided very quickly, and tried to talk my opponent to do the same by watching the clock so he wouldn`t go over the 5 minute max. He went about 3+, and we began the next game and the pace of the match increased as I pressed him when he took a while on certain plays. Game 2 Well this again was all about the furnace tech(FT) and I w/ my new found aggressive playing style due to the time, I was able to over come the Oath of ghouls and play beat down w/ the phoenix's and shock his tradewinds. This game was over pretty quickly and as soon as he acknowledge that the game was over I hurried to the board and started to watch the clock. Game 3 It took him no time to board and we were off again, and with only about 10 minutes or less, the game thank god for me went just as the 2nd did. The furnace allowed me to take control w/ the Fat bird and end the match before the time was to run out. I don`t believe that David was trying to stall me out but he did play slow and if he really wanted to he could of done it. I played w/ intensity and pushed him to play faster, and I told him after the match was over that if I seemed like a jerk that I was sorry I win =) 2-0 3rd round vs Jason Lanzillotta Game1 Jason was playing a red LD deck w/ some direct damage and my deck plays way to much land and counter to be stopped that way I just got to the point of having the forbid lock w/ the fat birds and the game was over. Game2 Was just more of the same, I sided in 2 more lands(S. Stones) and out 2 scroll racks and just did the same thing as before I Win =) 3-0 (doing a little dance inside) 4th Round vs Kevin McLaughlin Game1 Turn 2 I knew I was in trouble he already had a manta rider on the table and he dropped a hammerhead shark after he played 1st (bad stuff). If you haven`t done any playtesting against counterp the thing that hurts it the most is a damn hammerhead, cause it takes so much time and resources to get rid of the damn thing. So to make a long story short, i tried to get to Phenoix`s on the table but it never happened in time and i lost the 1st. In come the Kitchen sink, 2 bottle gnomes, 3 drifters also 2 stones out goes 2 racks ,1 mogg fan 1 intuition, 2 dismiss, 1 forbid (anything to be able to stop curiosity and hammer heads) Game 2 This was a wild one I never saw an early counter spell but do see some early creatures, and he was winning the battle and got me already down to 1 before I ever gained some ground in the game and was able to recur 2 Fat birds every turn and play one. Even with that going on I again got some help from my deck which drew well for me, also have some counter magic in my hand, a very close game that I pulled out of my ass. Game 3 Damn he plays 1st and cast a 1st turn Manta rider and I play a mountain and say go. He casts a curiosity on his rider and then attacks, well I have the shock!! After that play he didn`t play a land for a few turns. He took and chance but I had the answer, the game went on and since his deck doesn`t need much mana to run he could mount some offense but not enough to stop the Fat Birds in the late game and I WIN =) 4-0 (wow I think with just one draw i`m in!) Now between rounds the hype has been growing w/ my friends with the anticipation of my final 8 birth, also Will has gone undefeated since our first round match up and looking well, while Jared had already dropped w/ one win. Now when the pairing came up for this round Will had to play one of our good friends Mark White, w/ the loser most likely out, and also I got matched up w/ Hammer(not Good) 5th round vs Hammer There wasn`t a game here I got deck checked as always and this time unlike GP Boston my deck came out O.K. (thanks to my friend Jono) and then Hammer and I decided to split (I think out of pity =) since he has owned me in the past) But I`ll take a definite final 8 anyway I can. A notable sidenote Hammer wouldn`t of split w/ me if I had something wrong w/ my decklist and it had resulted in a game lose, which I can understand and agree w/. 4-0-1 Well Will won in a good match between Mark, and I figure I`ll just draw w/ my next opponent and watch and cheer Will on. That wasn`t the case today. 6th and final round of swiss vs Joe Ohrt Game 1 Well before the round I did the #`s and figured we are both in no matter what happens anywhere else, and figured he would draw, but in response to my offer he say no, I want the points, and I reply K, we`ll play for em. He was playing a sligh deck and it was typical and i didn`t like the 1st game match up, he goes 1st and plays a pup, I look at my hand and see a shock but no mountains, but I had mana leaks,counterspells, some islands and a pools I kept it. Well that mountain and pup were the only things he played for the first 4 turns or so and I was able to finally get the mountain game over. Game 2 I make a sideboard mistake and side out the caps in my deck and he plays and drops a first turn fanatic, and then 2nd turn M rage, well I never recovered. Well I`m thinking maybe he will get his points if he gets a good draw next game. Game 3 The caps come in this game, but I wouldn`t need em, I got enough early counter magic and then I started dropping the Fat birds and the game was over by that point. There was still a threat of being burned out but when I drew the forbid my friends standing behind me left to go watch Will`s match and I would soon join them, with a few more points =) I WIN =) and know I`m the top seed at 16 points. 5-0-1 Before the final 8 they had a deck check on all the top decks and as an interesting note Hammer had to change a few lands( this is what I was told) because they were noticeable through his clear sleeves. Also Will won his match GO WILL!! The final 8 looked like this (anyone w/ 13 points or better made it in) 1 Brian Lynch (me =) 16 2 Joe Ohrt (my 6th round playing sligh) 15 3 Kevin McLaughlin (my 4th round playing straight blue quick creature) 15 4 Will `the king of the 1700`s` Morgan (my 1st round w/ death) 15 5 Kevin Fuller 15 6 Hammer (my 5th round w/ death) 14 7 Alan Webster 14 8 Mike Gilmore (kool guy) 13 Do you see a theme here I beat the "The Pairing Gods" Hahaahaha!! Well on to the final 8 Quarter final vs Mike Gilmore Game 1 This is a mirror match and I knew how this would go the person who plays the most land will have a great advantage and the end of the game and should win, also in this type of mirror match out of all the others I think takes the most skill. On to the game, unbelievable he didn`t play a red land until turn 10 or so and I just played the Fat bird and exhausted his counter magic and won. ( He kept making a reference that I was a good playa since I got the birds working and I hate when something like this happens to me and sometimes you just need the luck on your side) Game 2 Well this game was different he got great amounts of mana mostly red, also I wasn`t to far behind him, so at the end of his 4th turn I intuitioned and in response so did he, damn fat birds everywhere!!. Well it all came down to him getting an early lead and then me countering his forbid w/ but back for some card advantage, and then me turning the Fat bird advantage around to my side and then forcing to block instead of attack the game was over. I win =) on to the Semi-finals This is where the controversy begins, Will also won his match and we were paired to play in the semi`s but I knew that Will wouldn`t be able to go to Rome since we are good friends he`d rather see me have a chance to go then none of us. It took almost no words said to both of us to come up w/ this conclusion, and we both were standing across the table and I said are we going to play or just do it now and we agreed that instead of playing and Will just letting me win the match (and this is the type of guy Will is) we just decided to go get FOOD! Now I know all of you consider this collusion and there has already been an article posted on this (even though I was just mentioned) I feel that I had to respond, for the record me and Will decided to do this before Hammer did and as I walked by their match (Hammer`s and Joe`s) Hammer asked what just happened I told him and I left to go to the pizza place across the street w/ Will. About 5 minutes later in the rain one of the judges came running over to tell me that Hammer`s match also ended in a concession and I had to play now, I smoke a Cig on the way back and looked forward to playing for the invite. Now I just don`t understand why this is such a big deal and why Hammer is getting all the shit for doing the same thing I did? Maybe he had to do more convincing? Or maybe because of his post against Rob D?? I don`t know and don`t care, all I do care about is that people in the Boston area hear my side of what happened. If some of you still feel that we cheapened the PTQ system, that is hard to do!!! Since most 15 year old kids can`t go to a pro-tour in Europe, and since the prize support in so shitty, and this is a game about having fun and friendship(ya right $) well if you disagree w/ these 4 points, I guess we did cheapen it! THE FINAL vs Hammer (don`t tell him but i did get a hold of a rat out back and performed a sacrifice =) Game 1 Well this game all him and I did put up a good fight, w/ him having scrag on the board and me not being able to get 2 fat birds in play, it didn`t look good for me but I did get rid of it but eventually he wore me down. this may of been a short entry but all of our games took about 2 1/2 hours or something close to that. By this point I`ve been w/o sleep for about 40+ hours, and still doing OK, I don`t believe I made any mistakes 1st game. Well now I have to turn to the FT to help me win the match and by this point I`m sure the tech isn`t a secret anymore and Hammer has heard about it but hey I still have to play. Game 2 This is a very different game and he just can`t handle the FT and I force a game 3. Well at this point in the match we`ve been playing for a good hour and a half and really feeling worn down by the whole day and last night but again I`m still going strong and really want this (and it will be even sweeter to get an invite by beating Hammer) Going toward the 3rd game I didn`t see and reason to ratically change the sideboard. Game 3 the whole tourney! He had some early control on my but I noticed his hand was weak, also i had the FT in my had w/ only 2 red mana on the table and a Fat bird out. The significance of this would be my ability to be able to turn the game around instantly to my favor and win w/ in 3 or 4 turns. But when the 3rd red came I was hurting but was still able to get him down to 2. When this happened he recurred a revenant and was able to stop my Fat bird. His hand was still pretty weak and I was still have the counterspells when I needed them. Now i had about 30 cards left and 13 of them would have won me an invite 3 shocks 3 mogg fanatics 3 intuitions 3 capsize or a scroll rack, but none of them came by the time he R.N. his clouldchaser and got rid of the FT (damn!!) well ok I could still draw a few cards to same me none came K!! Well now he drops a feeder (my hopes drop) only a few turns ago he said in 2 turns this place will erupt when you win and I have to say that was a great feeling at that point but I just couldn`t topdeck an invite!! With the feeder on the table I draw a god damn Mogg fanatic and make the comment "where the hell where u a few turns ago!!" Well here were I make the mistake that I will never forget he now has a R.N and takes a counter off it ( and yes i still have a mogg in play) and I don`t sac it, I DON`T SAC IT!! and let him recur and then he does it next turn and I realize that there nothing now i can do to win this match and sac my Fat bird which now is just blocking the Rev and mogg and just get it over w/! He played like a pro and me I played like a PTQ hero, maybe it would have been different if i sac the mogg, but now i`ll never know and another invite slips bye me =( Side note these game where really long and seemed to switch momentuim back and forth all the time, it was a great finals and I learned a few things about how to play at a Pro like level, I hope it helps me w/ the next time I`m lucky enough to make it there. O.K. now I have to address the whole Rob and Hammer thing, people are talking around the Boston area and out in the boondocks where I live and it isn`t good for this area, players are getting turned off since they feel it's hard enough winning a fair event but when they feel it's shady forget it. People even if you disagree or agree w/ Hammer, he won the damn Q, and even if they were against him it didn`t matter! I have my opinions and I`m sure everyone else who plays at the Your Move tourneys does also, We all know the head judge is bad (he always seems to get agrivated to easy and i don`t think he really wants t be there and be a head judge, but he`s the level 3 they have) and all the judges are players which makes for some weirdness( most of them are really good) , but they are still good tourneys and since Gray Matter hasn`t been here in a while, they are all that we have and they are good, come out to them, have fun and Gather =) And since I have everyone attention, hold some cool unsactioned side events =) Well after maybe angering some people I`ll now go to the Props and Slops Props: All my fiends for being there when I played in the finals and helping me playtest Tom Shea for supporting one of his Team TJ`s members out One of the dealers tables for selling my LOTS of caffine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Billy Jensen (the chump that he is) for coming up w/ the FT oh ya and the Furnace tech =) Jono for getting my decklist right Will Morgan for being Will Morgan!!! All the people in the top 8 Mark White for letting us crash at his house later in the weekend My car for not breaking down on the way up or back for the PTQ( it's happened) The government for letting Beer be legal Rococo`s for Letting us Draft when we got there late Hammer for being a good guy(good luck in Rome you better do well =) Slops The asshole at the toll booth who gave me and Jared a ticket!!! ME for not knowing what a Mogg Fanatic does!!!!!! The way the controversy is affecting the area Well until next time The New England Pro tour hero and wanta be Pro Tour Scrub Brian `whatever` Lynch