Newsgroups: uk.games.trading-cards.misc,rec.games.trading-cards.games.strategy From: U Stroinski Subject: Thames Valley X - 17 teams compete for the trophy - Power Stasis To: mtg-strategy-l@oracle.wizards.com,assassins@baslg1.enet.dec.com Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 10:13:37 GMT What happens if Power Stasis meets Power Stasis under tournament conditions? Who won UK's first team event? The truth about Power Stasis. This and much more in my report about Thames Valley X. This weekend UK's MtG player celebrated Thames Valley X the 10th of a series of very successful tournaments organised by John Garrett. More than 100 players signed up. 70 for the main event and 30ish for the minor event. This minor event was meant for beginners or not soo experienced players. All the players I met were very positive about it and thought that was a fine thing. It was won by a Goblin deck (the name of the player is somewhere hidden in my notes, but honestly WHO is interested in the name of a Goblin player? I won't bother with searching. I refuse it. ... John! You post the name). As a special idea to celebrate the jubilee John organized a team event. Not less than 17!! teams signed up. Among them the Assassins, Cardiff and Wycombe. Here are the names: Assassins A: Lee Bohan, Robert Bown, Steve Preston, Lucy (our team mascot) Assassins B: Paul Barclay, Jamie Badman, Julian Wiffen, Uwe Stroinski Cardiff: Dave Maher, Mark Jeffries, Sam Roads, sorry it's Monday morning and I do not remember the 4th member. Who can help? Wycombe: Carl Crook, Jason Nicoll, Steve Easton, Dave Irvine Among the other competitors where players like Oliver Schneider, who won the type II event at PT II. He is currently best european player (35th) in the DCI seald deck ranking. (For our american friends: Justice, Poulter 27th, Maysonet 30th, Chalice 31th, Stern 41th, Loconto 50th. You get the idea?) As a member of our national team we will definitely go to the worlds. Another player of international reputation is Steve Easton. He placed 28th at PT3. Congratulations Steve!! Since he really liked to play at PT3 (nice players, good organization ...) he will definitely go to PT4. 'nuff said. Now to the tournament. The Assassins highest priority was to win the team event, if additionally we can get single prices the better. To achieve this goal our captain Jamie formed 2 teams. One of strong players (A team) and the other one of (what seemed) very strong players (B team). Boy was he wrong! Steve placed highest in the single ranking, despite being in team A. Since we Assassins are a very competitive team (internally AND externally) that WILL effect our internal rankings. Master was Jamie himself. (Who beats the Master Assassins get automatic entry to the HALL OF FAME located on our WWW page). This was also the last time Jamie represented the Assassins for quite a while. (He goes to the Netherlands. Together with Jeroen (Charly) van Heck they build the core of what will be our Dutch dependency). We (team B) decided to go with Power Stasis. Power Stasis was around for quite a while and after the good results at the US Nationals Julian and Jamie decided to copy the idea of adding B for Lim Dul's Vault. I played the version I already talked about on mtg-strategy-l. Power Stasis: U/W, Power 5, W spoilers + 1 Kismet, 12 Counterspells. Sideboards were similar. 4-6 BEB's, Lodestone Baubles, Crypts, Cane's. Paul played anchor man. He took a bunch of Alliances commons, snow-covered swamps, Whithering Wisp's, Starfishes, Gangrenous Zombies ... a really unusual U/B deck. 1st round: Richard Peart WW. No, no, no! I design and playtest and copy and ... simply to be beaten up by a WW? Yes! In three very tight games he won 2:1. Overrunning me before I got the lock. Phantastic start :-( 2nd round: Martin Steed W/G. He beat me already at the Nationals. Strong player from Swindon. He knows what he does and he knows my deck. Didn't help much. I got him twice in the lock 2:0 for me. After the match he told that in his test Power Stasis could always win against his deck. So no big surprise for him, but GREAT relief for me. 3rd round: Steve Beer U/G. Erhnams backed up with counter spells. I had to be a bit careful because of his U component, but got him twice. 2:0 for me. After the first round I was on 22 points and as the winner of my table I could proceed (Richard's WW lost to Martin). Next round: Carl Crook, Dave Maher, Ray Preston (brother of our assassin). If I survive this table, I stay with PS for a while. 4th match: Carl Crook W/G Got him twice in the lock. First time I killed him with a Vice, next time I decked him. Kismet + Stasis. 2:0 for me. 5th match: Dave Maher R/W/G BaubleBind. For me Dave's deck has clearly earned the price of best deck design of the tournament. Main feature 8 Baubles + Stormbind. We had 3 tight matches. IN the second I couldn't keed the Stasis alive and died to 2 Erhnams and 2 Mishra's. I won 2:1. 6th match: Ray Preston R Ray is a slow player. A very slow player. He is the slowest player I have ever played against. But ... he was not slow enough. Just in time I got the second lock. 2:0 for me. 5:1 wins was enough for the next round. Since my games were always very tight I had not much time to watch the other games 7th round: Paul ? Necro I like players who still think they can surprise me with a Necro deck. When I told his mate that I played about 100 tournament matches with necro myself he wouldn't believe. For those of you who don't believe, 40-50 of them were in sanctioned events in UK. They must be hidden somewhere in WotC's computers. First game I have only one land in my hand. Soldevi Excavations (Will never happen again!) and can't recover. I loose. Second game I have only one land in my opening hand again, but this time I got him into the lock and killed him with a Vise after Disentchanting (not his Necro) his Ivy. Third game was a tough battle when time was called. Draw. 8th round: MIke Tangy Power Stasis At this point it was already clear who wins the team event and that I can't win the tournament anymore. Draw. 9th round: The inevitable happens Julian Wiffen Power Stasis It was a draw. Here are the results: 1) Jason Nicoll W/G Wycombe 2) Dave Maher BaubleBind Cardiff 3) Nigel Jefferson ? ? 4) Oliver Schneider R/w/g Guild 5) Steve ? Assassins A 6) Uwe Power Stasis Assassins B 7) Julian Power Stasis Assassins B ... (John posts the results) The team event was won: 1) Assassins B 2) Cardiff 3) Wycombe ... (again John posts the rest) So ... the Assassins did their job. We won and we are proud ;-) For one week at least. Until Ealing Master of Magic I. Next Sunday. See you Uwe Stroinski uwst@maths.bath.ac.uk