Subject: [MAGAUS] PTQ Brisbane Report (long winded) Date: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 07:45:24 +1100 From: David Redfern Reply-To: magaus@magic.net.au To: "magaus@magic.net.au" Well, here it is, my PTQ Brisbane tournament report. I played a dinky creature deck with some impressive fatties in the sealed and a dinky creature deck with some fatties in the finals. This was fine, I prefer dinky creature decks, they give you lots of options on the table, and can cause your opponent headaches (right Early). Apologies to anyone if I've got any details wrong, but it's a couple of days after the event that I am writing this. The Deck: 7 Plains, 6 Forests, 5 Mountains, 1 Abbey Gargoyle, 1 Benalish Hero, 1 Freewind Falcon, 1 Ication Scout, 1 Infantry Veteran, 1 Resistance Fighter, 1 Reverse Damage, 1 Sun Clasp, 1 Bull Elephant, 1 Durkwood Boars, 1 Elder Druid, 1 Elven Cache, 1 Giant Spider, 1 Kyscu Drake, 1 Quirion Ranger, 1 Wall of Brambles, 1 Ambush Party, 1 Flare, 1 Rock Slide, 1 Scalebane's Elite, 1 Viashivan Dragon, 1 Clay Statue. Sideboard: 1 Sand Silos, 1 Glasses of Urza, 1 Iron-heart Chimera, 1 Phyrexian Marauder, 1 Phyrexian Walker, 1 Wooden Sphere, 1 Alabaster Potion, 1 COP:Blue, 1 Death Ward, 1 Hope Charm, 1 Serra's Bestiary, 1 Chub Toad, 1 Emerald Charm, 1 Summer Bloom, 1 Tranquility, 1 Dwarven Vigilantes, 1 Imposing Visage, 1 Orcish Conscripts, 1 Orcish Oriflamme, 1 Panic, 1 Solfatara, 1 Viashino Sandstalker. Black and blue weren't great (there was a Bog Wraith and Necromancy in Black and a Cloud Elemental, Tim and Steal Artifact - the only anti-artifact I had - in Blue). If I had to build the deck again, the Dwarven Vigilantes would be in (they were sided in every game) for the Bull Elephant (not cheap in sealed usually anyway, and I have enough fatties), and I probably would have the potion in for the Reverse Damage (more flexible - can save creatures). I realise that I can consider myself fortunate not to have been severely hurt by having the gargoyles and the dragon in the deck, but they are both game-winning cards and deserve to be played. This is a 5th ed sealed, without the anti-flying cards which now keep rearing their ugly heads - he who rules the air rules the game. Round 1 Will Copeman (WRB, 2 Archangels) Game 1 I get out some critters, he gets a wall of Bone. He casts a turn 6 Archangel (sacking a Ruins of Trokair). I Sun Clasp it and put it back into his hand (I have a drake on the table, gargoyle in hand and hope to kill him first). No luck, Not only does he draw two land in two turns, he also whacks down a Jumaraa Lion, so I can't block and kill it. Game 2 I am being mauled by errant Drudge Skeletons, when I draw my Elder Druid. He keeps me alive for a while, but I can't make any inroads, as I just have my boars and 1/1 creatures and he has a wall of bone. He incinerates my druid, I cache and recast it (I have about 10 mana on the table). We stalemate for a while, then I draw Quirion Ranger (did I say I had a lot of mana :-)). I tap Wall of Bone on my turns, Drudge Skeletons on his and kill him with the boars. Game 3 I get my Viashivan out, he can't deal with it. Round 2 Robert Jackway (WRU - at least) Game 1 I horde him. Game 2 I spend 4 turns on 1 mana and am getting horded. I get a Freewind Falcon out and then Sun Clasp it, but by this time I am at 4 life. He reasons that if he attacks with all 5 of his weenies I'll die, unfortunately for him, one of his weenies is a Goblin Swinerider. I recover, he doesn't. Round 3 Dan Henke (GBR with a Squandered Resources and some X) Game 1 We exchange damage, but he ratbombs my weenies away. I am finished off by a disintegrate. Game 2 His deck doesn't do much. He gets a squandered resources and a lot of mana on the table, but I'm holding a reverse damage and am not too scared. Game 3 I die to creature damage and disintegrate. Round 4 Neville White (UGR) Game 1 He gets out an early Soul Barrier and 2 Cloud Elementals. I am a touch manascrewed, so am taking damage from all of these and die. Game 2 We're trading damage, then I get out a COP:Blue and a Viashivan (which skews the deal in my favour somewhat). Game 3 The first two games were long, so I was trying to play a bit faster. I got a lot of my big creatures down and eventually was able to pound down on him a turn or two before his cloud elemental finished me off. Round 5 Jen Lim (BRG - I think) Game 1 He's playing heavy black and gets some early stuff down. I get a Scalebane's Elite down eventually, which he can't deal with. Game 2 I get an Infantry Veteran, Dwarven Vigilantes and Elder Druid down. This locks him up for too many turns before he draws something to deal with one of my permanents. Round 6 Eric Lawson We ID (we are the only ones who do). The Finalists: Dominic Sawkins (1st in Swiss, you know what's going to happen to him in the finals), Early Nguyen, Chris Hudson, Tim Nissen, Eric Lawson, Me, Peter Blow, Rob Milne. The booster draft format was 2 visions, 1 5th Ed. A little wierd, I think it makes blue and white more competitive, and makes for a higher creature content ratio in decks. Anyhow, that's what DCI (Aust) told Michael to do. My draft: Deck: 10 Forest, 6 Plains, 1 Quicksand, 1 Serpent Generator, 1 Hope Charm, 2 Infantry Veteran, 1 Mesa Pegasus, 1 Parapet, 1 Spirit Link, 1 Sun Clasp, 1 Warrior's Honour, 1 Bull Elephant, 1 Elven Cache, 1 Emerald Charm, 1 Giant Growth, 1 King Cheetah, 1 Llanowar Elves, 1 Quirion Ranger, 1 River Boa, 1 Shanodin Dryads, 2 Stampeding Wildebeests, 1 Thicket Basilisk, 1 Uktabi Orangutan, Warthog. Sideboard: 1 Sands of Time, 1 Equipoise (:-)), 1 Alabaster Potion, 1 COP:Green, 1 Hope Charm, 1 Pearled Unicorn, 1 Prismatic Ward, 1 Repentant Blacksmith, 1 Resistance Fighter, 1 Righteous Aura, 1 Warrior's Honour, 1 Shanodin Dryads, 1 Dark Ritual, 1 Death Watch, 1 Suq'Ata Assassin, 1 Touch of Death, 1 Dream Tides, 1 Shimmering Efreet, 1 Vision Charm, 1 Dwarven Vigilantes, 1 Goblin Swine-Rider. Finals 1 Chris Hudson (WG, 3 Knights of Valor, a bit beefier creatures a few less tricks) Game 1 I get 3rd turn Warthog, 4th turn Stampeding Wildebeest, while Chris is stalled at two mana and a pikeman. He draws a tithe and stabilises the situation, but by this time I've spirit linked my Wildebeest and attacked him twice (29-7 in my favour). He gets out a Freewind Falcon and starts pecking me. I put out a Serpent Generator (and stop bouncing my orangutan). I am on about 14 life when I swarm over with 6 snakes and a sunclasped Wildebeest. He blocks the Wildebeest with enough to kill it, I Giant Growth. He redirects the token damage onto his Kjeldoran Royal Guard, and remedies to prevent most of the trample damage and save his Guard, but he's relying on parapet, which I emerald charm, so the Guard dies. He concedes. After the game he shows me the Dragon Mask in his hand which would have done nasty things to me, but my bouncing baby orangutan prevented him playing it. I side in the other dryad and a COP:Green, Chris sides out 4 artifacts :-) Game 2 I get first turn dryad, second turn dryad, Infantry Veteran. Chris also has a weenie start (a falcon and a Knight of Valour). Since neither of us can block the other I whack a spirit link on a dryad and we axchange weenie damage (the veteran pumping up the spirit-linked dryad). A few turns later, I'm on 15, he's on 10, me with a River Boa, 2 dryads and the veteran, Chris with a Wildebeest (untapped), 2 Knights of Valour and a falcon. I attack with everything except the veteran, he doesn't block, I Warrior's Honour anyway to take him down to 2, he concedes. Finals 2 Early Nguyen (RB Game 1, RU Game 2, medium to large critters plus 2 rockslides) Game 1 I get out an elf first turn, a Quirion Ranger and veteran second turn. Ibeat him about a bit. He plays a chimera, I attack and pump the ranger thathe blocks, then untap the veteran and pump the ranger again. He plays a Talruum Champion, I attack with my elf, he blocks, I pump it twice then use the white charm to give it first strike - both critters die. He gets out another champion, I attack, am blocked, double pump the quirion and cast Warrior's Honour - two dead minotaurs. I drop a river boa, and some other stuff, he resists a bit more but is beaten into submission. I side in Repentant Blacksmith, Alabaster Potion and Righteous Aura (If Early's playing red, odds are he has a fireball/disintegrate - he has that sort of luck). Game 2 He goes first and plays an island and a flood. I get a first turn ranger, second turn veteran and am sitting with an emerald charm in my hand, so I am not too concerned (these are the only creatures I see for a while, however). He gets out a champion and I attack through, Giant Growthing the critter he blocked. I also charm the Flood while he's tapped out, as his mana is just at the stage where it will start to get disconcerting. He whacks down another champion (these minotaurs may be brave warriors but they sure are stupid). I attack with my ranger, he blocks (see what I mean about these minotaurs) double pump it and drop a parapet. I then cast a River Boa, tapping myself out in the process (mistake - I'm too used to boa's in constructed, where regeneration doesn't save them from creature takedowns). His turn he casts Pyrotechnics, killing my creatures. He gets down a champion (I'm doomed - where's my army) and a Hill Giant, I put down a Bull Elephant with Sun Clasp. I also try to cast an Orangutan, which gets remove souled. The only artifact he had on the table was a Sissay's Ring, and pretty much every other creature in my deck is more disturbing than the Orangutang, so I figure I must be right about the X. Fortunately I have Righteous Aura on the table, so I start making sure I have mana for it. I attack with the Bull Elephant, he rockslides for 9, I bounce it into my hand. I recast it, attack with it again (I had alabaster Potion in hand to deal with his blocker's damage) and he rockslides again for 9. We are both low on life by this time, having each taken a few hits, but I have potion in hand, circle on the table, so I Elven Cache for my boa (penetration) and recast it. I get down to 1 life, bounce back up with the potion and finish him off with the boa. I advance to the finals. Eric and I split the prize so everyone can leave early. Don't know whether I'll go or not, if I can make a holiday of it and spend about a month over there I will, otherwise it's just too expensive for a three day sealed. Favourite Card: While I can't go past the Elder Druid for power and versatility, (apart from flood, the only icy-style card in the set) I just can't go past those two minotaur-slaying happy-go-lucky chaps the Quirion Ranger and Infantry Veteran (I think they were both really happy to exist in a world without guildmages for a change...). Thanks to Michael Mason and the other judges (Neil, Michael, Justin and Jason). Thanks to my opponents who were all good sports and good natured (which really makes the game enjoyable). David. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- __ Sponsored by myinternet |\/| _. _ /\ | |(_ http://www.myinternet.net/ | |(_|(_|/--\|_|__) _| Magic: Australia on http://www.magic.net.au/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------