Subject: Re: Pro Qualifier,Mainz Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 16:13:13 -0800 From: "Dave Lawson" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com At , you wrote: I am glad I went to this qualifier. There was a small number of people and I got the best sealed deck I have ever had. Here is the deck I ran: the Wretched Necrosavant Ashes to Ashes Iniates of the Ebon Hand Crypt Rats Wake of Vultures Infernal Harvest Nekatraal Teror Funeral Charm Orcish Farmer Orcish Captain Talruum Champion 2 Viashino Sandstalker Stone Giant Disintegrate Dwarven Soldier Dark Maze Binding Grasp Cloud Elemental Undo Battering Ram Ice Floe 7 Swamp 7 Mountain 3 Island Seylunite Temple > Round 1 Jim Upper Game 1 I start off mana hosed. I have lots of black cards and no swamps. Turn 8 or 9 I draw the Orcish Farmer and use his ability to get the Initiates out. Once the initiates are out I was able to get a crypt rat in play and clear away his small critters and leave my big ones Game over. Game 2 I wonder if I lost my swamps once again no swamps. Eventually I get a swamp drop the initiate and then drop the necrosavant. This card is so powerful in sealed deck. Round 2 1-0 I pound him down with the necrosavant 2 in a row. Round 3 2-0 I lose the first game to mana screw. I win the 2nd from him mana screwing. Game 3 I draw both sandstalkers a crypt rat, and a teror I pound him down in short order. We played all 3 games in 8 minutes. Round 4 3-0 I win game 1. Game 2 stalemates as he has a dragon mask and keeps throwing 3/3 in front of my necrosavant. I get him down to 5 and he draws a gosmaer chains. I draw a crypt rat and set him off for 5 thinking the game is over he uses remedy to save a creture and him self.He proceeds to pound me. I get a >creature and sacrifice it to the Necrosavant. He drops a >regenerater. I draw a sandstalker and an Undo. I cast the sandstalker undo it and the regenerater recast the sandstalker and attack. He was tapped out and I thought he was dead. He fireblasted the stalker and used the chains on the savant. He drew a flyer and went on to win. Game 3 ended in a draw. I would have killed him the next turn but we ran out of time. Game5 3-0-1 I play the only other undefeated guy. I waste him the first game. Game 2 is very close but he wins. Game 3 he is forced to muligan and gets only 6 cards. He mana burns with 2 land while I pound him with sandstalkers. Too bad he was a good player. I hate wining or losing an important match due to mana burn. >Finals The finals were booster draft. I drafted a mostly black deck with drainlifes,ashes to ashes,pox, crypt rats and frozen shade. I had white as a splash color with cop in all colors including black standard.My fellow team mates watch the draft and afterwards tell me where they think I should have drafted differently. I conced I made 2 errors 1 drafting a wall of spears over a 3rd drain life, but at that point I was Very light on creatures. The 2nd mistake I made was drafting a cop white over an animate dead. But at that point I wanted to complete the set of cops. I highly recomend having a friend observe how you draft. After the tournament they can point out things you missed and how you could have done things diferently. You may not agree with them but it is one of the few ways I have seen of getting better at drafting once you know which are key power cards to look for. Game 1 Eric Thompson I get "lucky" enough to face the best player to make the finals right off. Game 1 he blows threw me as I get 12 land and 4 other spells. Game 2 he is nailing me with weenies, I finnally get them stalemated with a drain life and some D'avenet Archers. He does a Vampiric >Tutor and draws an Orgg. I drain life it. Both of our hands are empty. He has 1 creatures and I have 2. He pulls 2 more creautres including his own frozen shade. I draw nothing but land until I am out of creatures and at 5 life. I pull an ashes to ashes at that point. Game over. Eric is a really good player and I got to see other finalists decks. He had the best deck by far and I would be surprised if he did not qualify. Oh well at least I made the finals.There is always next time. Dave Lawson Team Los Bastardos