From: Bill Macey Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy Subject: Houston PTQ Report (long) Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 19:40:55 -0500 This past weekend was one of the few qualifiers in Texas for PT-Germany. Excellently run by Tim Weissman, 87 people showed up in Houston to compete for the 2 slots. Friday night: We caravan down to Houston, and spend the night at Bryan Hubble's. I'm driving myself, Lan (the man) Ho, Chris Herdeman and Adam Stayer in my trusy saturn (don't believe the commercials -- it's really a cult). I spend most of the time turning up the volume on the Impossibles so I don't have to listen to Lan and Adam complain in the back seat :) We spend most of the night at Bryan's playtestng extended and watching the southpark marathon. Everybody but Adrian gets to bed by around 4 or so. He plays ff7 until it's time to go to the ptq.... We arrive at the hotel pretty early on Saturday morning. There, we run into Cary Darwin and George Baxter and playtest until they hand out decks. I'm still sorta bummed about extended as I haven't found a deck that can 'run the guantlet' yet. :( The deck I'm given is pretty crappy. It has both pestilance and cop: black as well as puff daddy and the breeze, but not too much else. I'm glad not to get it back. The deck I did get wasn't too much better, though. I'll list what I had to work with first and the deck I played will be listed after a good space to allow everyone who wants to, to see what they would have done. Artifacts: Feldon's Cane, Helm of Chatzuk, Iron heart chimera, magma mine, Phrexian Walker, Sisay's ring Blue: Breezekeeper, Flooded Shoreline, hydroblast, merfolk of the pt, ovinohammer, portent, 2 shreiking drakes, vision charm, zephyr falcon White: d'avenant archer, divine trans, heal, knigt of valor, pearled unicorn, prismatic ward, remedy, resistance fighter, righteous aura, tithe Green: Desert twister, foxfire, ley druid, llanowar elves, mortal wound, river boa, scryb sprites, 2 spider climbs, tarpan, tranquility, wyluli wolf Red: Ambush Party, Dwarven vigil, flare, goblin recruiter, imposing visage, keldon warlord, sabertooth tiger, shatter, shatterstorm, solfatara, song of blood, spitting drake, talruum champion Black: Abyssal Specter, 2 Dark Privledges, death watch, fallen askari, fear, greater werewolf, murk dwellers, necrite, pit scorpion, raise dead, torture, unholy strength multi: scalebane's elite land: Sand Silos, Svyelunite Temple, urza's power plant 4 plains, 4 islands, 4 swamps, 5 mountains, 5 forests the deck I played is below artifacts: helm of chatzuk, magma mine blue: breezekeeper, ovinomancer, white: d'avenant archer, heal, knight of valor, remedy red: ambush party, dwarven vig, flare, warlord, tiger, shatter, spit drake, talruum champ black: absymal specter, askari, werewolf, murk dwellers, necrite, torture, land: 6 mountains, 6 swamps, 4 plains, 1 island, 1 svyelunite temple Sorry for the detour, here's the report. I didn't take notes, blah blah, blah, so if this seems terse, yada yada yada..... Rd 1 Vs Karl Kirchoff I'm not happy to face Karl the first Rd. He finished top 64 at pt-ny, so I know I'm in for a tough match. The first game is pretty even -- we trade a lot of creatures and he's forced to fireball one of mine. Eventually, I win with one of my flyers. Second game starts out bad for me -- one plains in my draw. He plays creatures the first few turns as I clutch land the first 3. :) I'm able to survive the rush with a few blockers and eventually get a flier on the board. But, I'm very low on life and he's near 20. Fortunately, he never draws his fireball and I win the race. 1-0 Rd 2 Vs Cody Glover I'm winning the first game until cody summons a Viashivan! I try to take it down with a banded/attacking murk dweller/necrite. He blocks the necrite within the band, but the judge's ruling is that the dweller is still considered 'blocked', so it doesn't get its bonus. With an amulet, he's then able to save his dragon. Craig Sivils is sitting next to me, and gets a chuckle out of my total lack of understanding of the rules! The second game goes similarily, but when he summons the dragon this time, I have a hydroblast waiting for it, and I'm able to win. The third game is very tight -- I can't find red mana and am barely surviving. I even take 7 point of damage from a pit scorpion! I finally dig out of a hole when I'm at 5 life or so. Cody top decks a fireball and hits me for 9. However, I'd been sitting on a remedy the entire game and prevent enough to leave me at 1. I take control with a breezekeeper/specter and eventually kill him as he draws land after land. 2-0 Rd 3 vs Randy Young Randy puts the quick brakes on my offense in the first game with a 3rd turn d'avenant archer of his own. Just as I achieve parity with an ovinomancer, he draws a fireball and fries my tiger, ovinomancer and warlord for 1 each. He wins soon therafter. Game 2, I draw little land and he crushes me -- but, I think he would have won anyways. He had a very good deck and eventually made top 8. 2-1 Rd 4 Vs Bryan Carter I don't remeber to much about this match. I won the first by a hair, and he got 1 land the next game. *THE OPTIONAL MULLIGAN RULE MUST BE IMPLEMENTED IN ALL SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS* I'm tired of seeing good players discouraged from the game b/c they can't draw land. If this issue isn't addressed soon, I fear magic will lose a lot of it appeal, and never become the *sport* it wants so hard to be. Sorry, rant mode off.... 3-1 Rd 5 vs Blake ? This round is a mirror of the previous. I win the first in a close race. 2nd game, he draws one land. 4-1 Rd 6 vs Ted Dickerson Game one is very close. We battle back and forth, but he does more damage to himself with a wand of denial and an orcish artillary. When he's at one, he peeks at my top card -- flare, and conceeds. Game 2, I get mana stalled and 2 or so and he wins easily. 3rd game, we both struggle for position but I come out ahead -- with a 4/4 warlord on the board. He plays pestilence, but makes a key misplay. He forgets that 2 pt pestilence will not only kill 2 of my creatures on the board as well as the warlord. He doesn't pestilence and I'm able to win. 5-1 Rd 7 vs Michael Vermilion Game one, I get my best draw of the day -- turn 2 askari, 3rd turn knight of valor. He's never able to gain board control and I win easily. I lost game 2 -- forgot how. Game 3, he is winning with a waterspout. I'm holding him off with 2 fliers of my own (blocking the spout), but a big remedy puts him in control. The next turn, activates his island sanctuary, and forgets about his spout upkeep. I'm able to win with my remaining flier soon after. So, I end up 6-1 and the 2nd seed after swiss. Fellow teammates Adrian Sayers and Bryan Hubble also make top 8. I'm especially impressed with Adrian, considering he hasn't slept since Thursday night! The draft is straight 5th which is pretty stupid, imo. 5th just isn't very strong for draft. The draft goes well, I get a very solid b/u deck with 2 frozen shades, carrion ants, ray, phantom monster, abyssal specter. But, I have to play Adrian first round, and he's drafted a similar deck. Long story short, he wins 2 straight -- my deck is solid, but so is his. He had 2 pestilences which really helped :) Oh well, if you have to lose, it may as well be a teammate and friend! Adrian goes on to qualify as does some other fellow from Dallas. I'm sorry to forget his name because he seemed very nice. Congrats to both! Feel free to email me flames/comments/incredible extended decks :) later, Bill Macey AustiKnights ------------------------------------------------------------- | Bill Macey | 'Hope is a letter that never arrives | | macey@eco.utexas.edu | delivered by the postman of my fear' | | macey@bcvms.bc.edu | -- Live | -------------------------------------------------------------