Subject: PQ Report-Reflections From OH Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 23:49:01 -0500 From: "Theron L. Martin" To: The Dojo First, a note: IF YOU ARE ONLY LOOKING FOR THE TOP EIGHT DECKS, GO TO ANOTHER REPORT! I had such a bad day that I left promptly after the fourth round, so I do not have any details on the elimination rounds. I am only filing this report at all because I felt a need to say something about the tournament organizers. Columbus, OH saw a PQ on Sunday the 14th at the downtown Hyatt Regency (the same place as Origins). Despite needing to be up early the next morning for work, I decided to drive the 170 miles for this PQ because I figured attendance would be low due to 1) the holiday shopping season, 2) PQs on Sundays usually have lower attendance, and 3) it's only a one-slot event. Also, I wanted to get in another shot for qualifying before the end of the year. Unfortunately, I was dead wrong; actual attendance was around 150. I've always said that the turnout for a MTG tournament often depends on the extent of its advertising. Clearly, that was the case here. I was leery about this event for another reason: it was being run by Andon Unlimited, organizers of (among other major events) Origins and Andcon. Although Andon runs a good convention, they've been far less successful in the past running major MTG tournaments properly, even bordering on incompetence at times. Their fiascos at Origins were fresh in my mind (anyone remember the supposed 1a.m. U.S. Open Qualifier?), as was a less-than-stellar performance at a Cincinnati-area PQ a month later. I made casual comment to this effect when I registered, and apparently they took those comments very seriously. because the tournament organizer and head judge Jeff Donais (yes, THAT one, who's apparently a Level 4 judge) both spoke to me on a couple of later occasions about it. They were aware of the past problems, but assured me that there had been a complete staff turn-over in Andon's tournament-running division since the summer, and that, with Jeff Donais now their head judge for all Andon events, things would be vastly improved and more efficient from now on. Since they were doing all the scoring on paper, I was still skeptical, but I also knew that Jeff had been at the top on the other side of the fence and knew as well as anyone what *shouldn't* be done, so I did have some hope. When I left at the end of the fourth round, the organization WAS running amazingly smoothly and in an impressively-timely fashion for being done entirely on paper. In fact, things were operating nearly as smoothly as the Todd Hansen-run tournaments in Chicago before GLG computerized, which is saying a lot. If they kept that level of efficiency throughout the rest of the tournament, then Jeff and company are to be commended for turning around Andon's shaky MTG tourney machine. The field seemed as mixed as it was at Indianapolis the week before, with most popular deck designs represented but none dominating that I could tell. Nor, beyond some serious attempts at Humility- centered decks, did I see anything excitingly new. The way things are going, I will be very surprised to see any deck type(s) dominating; if any do, I suspect it will be something R/U/W, but time will tell. Yours truly was playing a slightly updated version of the Police State deck listed in my 12/6 posting; I will not go into the details of the changes here, since they either didn't work or I was having such a bad day that they didn't matter. I still think the concept is solid - it has qualified elsewhere and I am now more convinced than ever that Lobotomy is a highly-overlooked card - but it just wasn't working today. ROUND 1 - vs. Mark with Counterpost The first duel I keep bouncing his early Outpost until I can Lobotomy it (and its brothers) out of his hand and deck. A well-protected big blue fattie secures his fate. The second duel he has three 'dudes before I see a second land. 'Nuff said, as Stan Lee would say. The third duel the ultimate anti-card for his deck - Dread of Night - comes out early. With that protecting me and seven countering spells in my hand, I dropped a Grindstone. Game Over. Although it was good enough to win, my deck didn't work the way it's supposed to. An ominous sign. 1-0, 2-1 ROUND 2 - vs. Greg with Sligh This was a well-constructed Sligh deck which won the match by being just fast enough in the first and third duel, although a critical mana-tapping mistake may have cost me the first duel. The second duel my defenses set up quickly, and he never had a chance. In all three duels I was hampered by poor opening land draws; my first three lands in each game were an Undiscovered and two of my four colorless-producing lands. A lack of colored mana until my third turn cost me the third duel, as it caused the Chill to come down one turn later than optimal, thus allowing at least four points of damage I wouldn't have otherwise had. That four points would have bought me the one turn I needed to finish the Orb lock. 1-1, 3-3 ROUND 3 - vs. Randy Buehler with LakeDrain Yes, THAT Randy Buehler. Not the person I want to be facing when I'm having a bad day already! This was the first time I've ever played one of the top pro peformers in a tournament, so I spent a lot of time studying Randy carefully. Folks, there's a distinct difference between the top players and scrubs. Partly it's better-tuned decks, but the top players also have a focus and concentration on the game - even when apparently taking it lightly - that most other players do not have. Randy also has the intensity, too, which I can see bothering or even intimidating some people. I'm experienced and used to dealing with much worse at my job, though (I teach inner-city high school kids), so it doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that my draws were not good enough to prevent him from spending most of both duels playing his game - in the first duel he Hymned my first counter and I didn't see a second one until after he'd fired off three Drains! I finally got a counter for the fourth Drain, then top-decked a Lobotomy to remove all his Sengirs. This left me at a single-digit life total and him with no way left to kill me except for the lone Mishra's Factory he had in play. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a solution for the Mishra's quickly enough (where was my Serrated, Icy, or Quicksands!), and he escaped with the win. The second duel came down to me not being able to counter his Disk, which stopped me one turn short of killing him with his own Sengir, or being able to get a black mana to cast Lobotomy (partly his fault). After that, his deck finished out better than mine. He will say that the deciding play was me not Forcing his Necro early when I could have, but if I had done so I wouldn't have had the Control Magic when his Sengir came out. Ah, well. At least I lost to someone good. 1-2, 3-5. ROUND 4: vs. Burke wih near-mono-red Scroll Rack deck Short and simple: I beat him quickly with a big blue fattie in the first duel but couldn't get him under control in the second and third (no Chills came up in either duel). Now I drop. My confidence in my deck is waning, although it should be noted that the deck was rarely functioning to design specifications today, not at all like it did last week or in play-testing. Also, everyone keeps telling me that they like the design and think it's a strong one. The holiday break will give me 3-4 weeks to play-test further and decide if they're right or not. - The "Big T"