Subject: PTQ Mainz Germany / Edmonton Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 00:02:42 -0600 From: Faron Mardell To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hi All, This is my first ever report and first ever PTQ. So bare with me as I chatter about the whole event. My girlfriend (who taught me the game of magic 2 years ago) and I head to Edmonton, 4 1/2 hours away, and Beyond Fantasy on Saturday night. From Ft. McMurray we managed to send down a group of 7 to represent our local store, The Comic Connection. Tourney is to start tomorrow. On the way down things were going great untill I hit and killed a Wolf! This happened about 2 and half hours outside Edmonton. Needless to say the rest of the trip in was very quite. My girlfriend is so loving of animals. Sunday morning Lorna and I get up and meet her parents before the tourney for a hardy breakfast. I did this thinking that I might not get the chance to eat during the day, I am glad I did because I was right! Ok. Enough pre-ramble. I was there at door opening at 10 am. We started the pack opening and registering it at 11 am. We then got the decks back that we would finally construct our play decks out of at 12 noon. I can see this day is going to be long. I get my deck together and then talk to some great people from around Edmonton. The first round started at about 12:45 pm. Swiss style, 8 rounds, 1 hour matches. OUCH! Were here now for the long haul. At the end of this report are the cards I had and the deck I used for the Swiss. I am open to what ever suggestions you would offer in a different deck or what you would have played. Always want to better myself and knowing from the reports I have read and visiting the #MTG channel there are some great players out there. Round #1 Opponent: Dave Brown My first match in a high pressure situation. I am nervous as hell! Dave is playing a 4 color deck with Red as his main color. I remember that he has great drawing ability in the likes of a Vampiric Tutor and Impulses which I think he lucked out and got 2 of. He always managed to get these cards at crucial times in the matches. First game I played a little dumb. He manages to take out 3 of my creatures and deal damage to me with a Pyrotechnics. Ouch. I then was able to get some creatures back out. Boomeranged one of his creatures, the only one out, hit him for 6. Next turn he lays down a Meekstone. That does it for me. All my creatures are big faties. He then beats me down. Second game he gets mana screwed. I beat him down in like 8 turns. Third game, I get mana screwed he beats me down usining all his drawing power and red. Well now I am getting over being nervous. Kewl! 0-1 Round #2 Opponent: Kieth Heydon Dang. Have to play one of the 7 that came down from McMurray. Good friend of mine too. That bites. One of us is going to go down 0-2 since he also lost his first match. In short I win 2 games straight. Very short in length. First game was maybe 10 rounds. Second game even shorter. I hate when match ups are against your own team members or friends. 1-1 Round #3 Opponent: Brendon Cole Brendon is playing G/W. Can't remember what his 3rd color was. First game close one but I win. Second game he gets out some creatures which I am able to crypt rats. I can't find my creatures in time. I did manage to slow him down with one combo. He has out on the table a Parapet, With a Armour of Faithed, Pumped by Infantry Veteran, Teferi's Honor Gaurd he attacks. I boomerang it up. He does not look inpressed. My turn I lay down a Aether Storm. He pays the 4 life and gets more creatures out and its over fairly short and sweet. Third game I get royaly mana screwed. Its over in 10 turns. Ouch. This is the one Match that could have ended in a draw. We were running out of time, which I was aware of. He has 2 creatures out that in the very next turn will kill me off. All I have to draw is one creature control card or better yet a sacrificial lamb. He gives me the turn, I look over the situation to make sure that I have not missed something. I then look at the library, say my prayer and draw a......LAND!!! Woo hoo. Ok now what do I do. 3 cards in hand and all land. Time is definately just about over. Hmmm. Well I cannot do anything and say done, really meaning that I am Toasted now. Well no sooner that I say done that the judge says thats time and the player who is active can finish his turn, and finish me. Dang. 1-2 Round #4 Opponent: Wade Rollings Well this is the match that could have got me into at least a tie-break to make the top 8. He was an excesively slow, slow, too slow a player. He would look at everything once twice reread etc, etc. First game I get really mana screwed. He beats me down in about 7 turns. Game 2. I get 2 flyers out and procede to beat him down in 4 turns after there appearance. Game 3 we never finish but I have the advantage. As you can see the other games were short in turns but because he was a slow player we are short on time for the 3rd game. I have him down to 12 life, I have 3 flyers out Wake Of Vultures, Rainbow Efreet, Cloud Elemental. He only has land creatures out at this time. So I figure that in possibly 2 turns I could win. With some luck of course. But of course time gets called. That bites! 1-2-1 Round #5 Opponent: Craig Dean Well now that really bites. Another good friend who travelled down for this tourney. Dang. So now I am considering conceding this game since his win loss record is better than mine at this point. We both know that to get into the top 8 the most we could ever have was about 2 losses. He is at 2-2 at this point. But we decide to play it out. Especially when he taunts me on. He should not have done that, ;-) First game is a good match. We both beat on each other a bit. He bloodlusts some creature to hurt me for 9 one turn. But I am able to deal 10pts damage in turn 11 to finish him. Second game. I get mana screwed big time and he beats on me hard and fast. 6 turns I think. OUCH! Game 3 is close. We beat on each other he does manage to get me to 7 life before I finish him with a 9 pt hit. I hate winning or loosing to a friend or team member in this type of competition. But I guess there is no way around it. 2-2-1 Round #6 Opponent: Nicholas Danalyshyn Nick is playing R/B. Can't remember his 3rd color. First game is a walk away for Nick. He beats me hard with Red. I only inflict 2 pts damage to him. So now I am thinking if I loose I may as well kiss this tourney goodbye for sure. Second game is a long drawn out beat down on each other type of game. Probably one of the best games I had. He manages to get me down to 5 life before I finish him with 6 pts of flying creatures. Third game, in all fairness to him and everyone else who has been mana screwed, I win easily. He concedes with 9 life and after turn 6. In frustration he throws back my Vanishing that was controling his only creature. When he checks his library to see what is coming up next, he finds 7 land in a row. I think if he held on a turn or two more he might have been able to hang on. He did have 2 lands in play but could not cast anything since he needed 3 or more. 3-2-1 Round #7 Opponent: David Roland This guy scares me. He is wearing Purple nail polish and pale as a ghost! He is playing B/G/W. First game we both get creatures out. I am able to control him and win. Not a bad game. Second game I don't get mana quick enough and he is able to beat me down fairly quick. Third game I get major control and creatures out quick and beat on him fast. He was able to prolong it a turn with a Stream Of Life. But to no avail. 4-2-1 Round #8 Opponent: John Keef I enjoyed playing this gentleman. An older guy that was here with his son. Very kewl. His deck was fairly week. I manage to beat on him pretty bad. First game I ended with a 10 pt hit that finished him. Second game was real quick. Enjoyed playing him though. 5-2-1 I am sure at this point by seeing the amount of 6-2 records that I am officially out of the running. But at least I was in the running, if 2 matches were just a tad different. One of our guys, Todd Dean, made it to the final 8. He even won his first match but lost the next to the eventual winner of the tourney JP Sohi. One of the best plays I saw was with another one of our players Chris. His opponent checks to see what life Chris is at. His response was 7. His opponent then in response taps all of his mana, just enough to deal a 7 pt disintegrate. Ouch. Chris in response activates his Nev disk which clears the board and Kills his own Tarpan. Which now gives him one life. Kewl move. The turn comes over to Chris. He top decks a Fireball and hits his opponent with 10 pts to kill him and win the match 2/3. Wow. Timely or what. So all in all we had a good showing and tons of fun. Here are the cards I had to work with and the Deck I assembled. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated: STARTING CARDS ARTIFACT Crown Of The Ages Soul Net GOLD Simoon BLACK Broken Visage BLUE Phantasmal Terrain GREEN Carapace Cat Warriors Elephant Grass Emerald Charm Fog Mortal Wound Pradesh Gypies Quirion Ranger River Boa Tarpan Untamed Wilds Warthog Wind Shear RED Blood Lust Giant Strength Goblin Digging Team Goblin Hero 2-Hearth Charm Keldon Warlord LightningCloud Rock Slide Shatter Stone Rain Stone Spirit Suq'Ata Lancer WHITE Armor Of Faith Abbey Gargoyles Benalish Hero Blinking Spirit Healing Salve Infantry Veteran Ivory Guardians Parapet Peace Talks Prismatic Ward Resistance Fighter Righteous Aura Shield Bearer Warriors Honor LAND 4-Swamp 5-Island 4-Forest 4-Mountain 5-Plains My Deck ARTIFACT Ashnod's Transmogrant Battering Ram Iron-Heart Chimera Magma Mine BLACK Abyssal Specter Carrion Ants Crypt Rats Death Watch Howl From Beyond Infernal Harvest Pestilence Unholy Strength Wake Of Vultures BLUE Aether Storm Boomerang Breezekeeper Cloud Elemental Krovikan Sorcerer Rainbow Efreet Sea Serpent Undo Unstable Mutation Vanishing LAND 7-Swamp 7-Island 3-Mountain I was able to draft 3-Swmap and 2-Island which made up my land total. In retrospect I see that since I only used Death Watch once, gained only 2 life out of it, I should have used Rockslide. I think that I could have used it more readily. I think my deck worked fairly well. I was able to go 2 colors which I think helped immensely. In final, I would like to give credit to Beyond Fantasy - Katherine Denis / Co-ordinator Phillip Denis / Level III Judge, first one in Western Canada Robert Denis / Major Helper! for a very well run PTQ. We all hope that they will be able to run this type of tourney again! Faron Mardell aka EldrDruid Be free like the dolphins in the sea.