Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 01:43:08 -0600
From: Helen Stanton <stanhele@isu.edu>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com
Subject: UT PTQ

Heading South to Utah
By Jack Stanton

     After the series of events that prevented me from qualifying in the 
mighty metropolis of San Jose, I decided to take another shot at 
qualifying for Queen Mary down in my old haunts of Utah.  The PTQ was to 
be held once again in a hotel next to the Morman temple on South Temple 
Street and the Crossroads Mall (which has great eats).  Accompanying me 
on said trip was the one and only, Tony Lau of '96 Origins Team 
Championship fame.  He decided that the Jr. Super Series feeder event 
that was being held was too good to pass up (as well as the $200 dog 
biscuits that went along with the win).  So we loaded up his Jeep and 
headed south down I15.
     Along the way, we cruised past our favorite cow herd, noting that 
our bovine mascots were a little bit staid out there in the field.  
Couldn't decide if this was a good sign or not, as I'm not really the 
greatest at interpreting cow behavior.  All I know is that none of the 
cows were standing on the ten foot high piles of manure that had been 
bulldozed into out of the way places in the pasture (a sure sign of 
success in the past).
     Setting the cruise control after a brief stopover in Pocatello (55 
miles south of Idaho Falls where we're from) for a quick bite of Jack in 
the Box, we listened to the oldies radio station (by far the best music 
to listen to before a major Magic tourney) and talked about which Type 
II deck Tony should play.  As we didn't expect the field to be very 
major (maybe 5-10 people in the 16-18 age group), control seemed to be 
the way to go.  Stompie, Steel Curtain, and R/U were the only decks we 
would try that night.
     After arriving in Salt Lake (215 miles south of Idaho Falls), we 
headed over to Mind Games, the only place worth playing Magic in Salt 
Lake City, in order to obtain cards for our teammate Mike Callahan (of 
last place in Mainz fame) and his girlfriend Julie.  It was decided that 
I was going to play my Tongo Variant, Mike the R/W/u Daniel Clegg deck 
from GP San Jose, and Julie a R/B sligh deck based around Rob 
Swarowski's winning deck from San Jose GP and Ashley Kesterson's deck I 
played against first round in the San Jose PTQ.  Getting the extra cards 
proved to be quite a bitch, as the kids there were into holding onto 
their cards in a major way.  Getting three extra Tithes didn't happen, 
as the only one in the room with them was looking for Iff-Biff Efreet 
action for all three.  As for Cursed Scrolls, don't even bother.  The 
only one in the room was taken by the damned greedy kid for "TWO FUCKING 
KNIGHTS OF DAWN!!!!"  He couldn't find anything in my five-hundred plus 
signed tourney level cards, or my box of another five-hundred tourney 
level cards that weren't signed.  Bummer.;P
     After getting Julie's deck together, she playtested it against the 
store's owner, Matt Freed (top 32 in GP San Jose) and his slightly 
altered copy of Clegg's deck.  After going 2-2 against him, she beat on 
Mike for a while.  Let me tell you folks, she really got the hang of 
burning people.
     After obtaining very few of the cards we needed, we headed off to 
dinner at the Spagetti factory at Trolly Square (highly recommended, as 
the food is cheap and very tasty. I suggest the Mizithra Cheese 
Spagetti).  Then, it was off to Mike's for more playtesting.  In that 
session, Tony pretty much decided to go with Alex Shvartsman's Steel 
Curtain after defeating the R/W/u Extended Clegg deck that Mike was 
playing virtually every game (kinda weird, eh?  Something to think 
about).  Julie, meanwhile, was getting the sideboard lowdown lecture, as 
this was her first tourney (she started playing about a month or two 
ago).
     In the morning, we got over to the tourney center around 9am and 
proceeded to check out the competition.  In Tony's bracket, there were 
only five players competing, so it was decided that they'd play a round 
robin for the title.  For the PTQ, 41 players showed up.  The top 
players at the event were:  Shannon Krumick (sp?) and Deathmetal Steve 
(Las Vegas), Aaron Muranaka (teammate, 3rd Atlanta, John Yoo's long lost 
twin brother-or so Wotc thinks), Mike Callahan (teammate, last in 
Germany, four-time Utah PTQ winner, generally one of the coolest people 
in Utah or any other state), Matt Freed (top 32 GP San Jose), and, 
supposidly, myself.  Pretty much, with all the raw talent in the room or 
those who just don't play enough to really care, a trip to the top eight 
for the above mentioned should have been almost a guarantee.  But then 
again, there is a certain randomness that rears it's ugly head every 
once in a while in this game that keeps the favorites from going all the 
way.
     Anyway, here are the decks that Mike, Julie, and I were playing:

Jack Stanton
Tongo Variant-Jakub Slemr and I have been emailing back and forth for 
the past several months, and during one of our chats, the extended 
format was discussed.  The decks I'd been working on were several 
versions of Prison, Titania's Song/Lock, Necro, and the Tongo deck so 
cunningly created by Brian Schneider and Mike Long.  Slemr sent me a 
deck listing, which Tony Lau and I tweaked over the course of a month of 
coffees.  Though the main deck remained virtually the same (2-4 card 
difference), the sideboard was dramatically altered for the influence of 
Tempest (though only one Tempest card was used in the deck).  Though my 
record hasn't been the greatest in the three tourneys I've played this 
deck (GP San Jose, PTQ San Jose, and PTQ Salt Lake), I still feel it's 
one of the best two decks to play overall in the format.

4 Volcanic Islands
4 Tundras
4 Plateaus
4 Mishra's Factory (Good for decoying the Wastelands away from your main 
color producing lands)
2 Islands
1 Plains
2 Flood Plains

2 Serrated Arrows (Very key in the deck.  With so many Shadow critters 
out there, this card simply rules.  At the very least, you cast it when 
it won't be countered and there's a critter that must be rendered DEAD. 
 When it makes it out, the offending creature is dealt with.  If the 
opponent Disenchants it, that means it's created instant card advantage, 
as you killed the critter AND fetched up the Disenchant as well.  Two 
for one ain't bad)

4 Frenetic Bastards (For some reason, mine didn't come to play for this 
PTQ.  They forgot how to phase, getting stuck in limbo.  Damned 
quitters!!!)  BTW, these are supposed to create more card advantage.  
Didn't happen too often, but I'm sure I'll give them another chance in 
the future.

4 Counterspells
3 Force of Wills
2 Dissipates (the counters listed here have proven time and time again 
in playtesting to be just the right amount.  We tested Dismiss several 
times in the place of the Dissipates, but we'd find ourselves holding 
them with only three mana on the board half the time.  Not good.  
Besides, the Dissipate gets rid of the Hammer my head card).
2 Control Magics (I've yet to cast a Control that netted me a critter 
that could harm my opponent.  The only time I kept a critter very long 
was when I was forced to take a Tradewind Rider's walls away from him at 
the San Jose PTQ.  Though the card is very nice, it shouldn't be in the 
main deck and maybe not even the sideboard.  The format's major deck 
types have rendered it quite useless for the most part.  Bringing in two 
more Swords to Plowshares from the Sideboard-which was done most 
games-in exchange for the Controls to combat the White Weenie Priest 
decks appears to be the way to go.  Maybe even another Serrated, as they 
paid huge dividends during the course of all three tourneys)
4 Ophidibastards (Though not the swiftest of critters, they certainly 
take quite a bit of heat away from me.  Not only that, they tend to 
check out cards from the library from time to time, making them very 
invaluable.  These pretty much replaced the Impulses from the original 
Tongo deck)

4 Lightning Bolts
2 Fireballs
2 Earthquakes
2 Wildfire Emissary

4 Tithes (If you don't know why these are in here, stop reading now and 
quit Magic)
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchants

Sideboard
1 Wasteland (just in case I run into something that really wants to use 
those abusive cards, Lake of the Dead and Kjeldoran Dude Ranch.  For 
those who believe they should be in the main deck of every Extended 
deck, I say "Pssbbttt!!!"  How many decks are going to be using the 
above mentioned lands?  In countless playtesting sessions, we found the 
Wastelands only helpful against those lands.  It just doesn't hold the 
power of Strip mine in this format-mana screw the opponent further when 
he gets a bad draw-because not everyone is using all Duel Lands.  If you 
could guarantee that they were using Duel Lands, then I'd have to change 
my mind.  At the Salt Lake qualifier, it didn't come in once, leading me 
to believe that it's going out very soon)
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Hyrdoblast
1 Hammer of Bogardan (Brought in with great success in every tourney.  I 
generally board it in when I'm playing against a critter deck or against 
a deck type that'll play out for a while, giving me time to set up 
recursion.  Though Winter Orbs shut it down a bit, it still comes in 
against those decks, as I generally am able to overcome the Worbs, 
shutting down that deck type)
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Aura of Silence (Very strong.  The only problem I've had with them is 
their refusal to show up in any game I've sided them in.  Wait, I think 
one of them showed up once.  With all the enchantment/artifact based 
decks out there, they really come in handy.  Even against the Clegg WW 
deck)
1 Disenchant (Must have Instant ways to deal with jankie enchantments 
such as Stasis)
2 Honorable Passage (Every deck in this format incorporating White 
should have these guys in the board.  While sideboarding after being 
toasted by Mr. Red player, it is generally a good idea to mumble just 
loud enough for the opposing player to hear, "We'll see who burns who 
with these four Honorables!"  For some strange reason, most Red players 
become very paranoid about playing things like Ball Lightning, 
Fireblast, etc.)
2 Swords to Plowshares (With the amount of Weenie White Priest decks 
running rampant since Daniel Clegg's impressive showing in San Jose, one 
must protect one's self with the maximum amount of Swords.  Two just 
doesn't cut it any more)

Julie's Burnt Marshmellows Deck

     The deck we chose for Julie was the deck type that most players are 
introduced to for their first tourney, namely, the I'M GONNA BURN YOU SO 
BAD, DENTAL RECORDS AREN'T GOING TO BE ENOUGH TO IDENTIFY YOU FOR YOUR 
NEXT OF KIN!!!  I must say, she really took to the deck quite rapidly, 
making me wonder how long it'll take her to start contending for the 
lone PT spot being given out in Utah.

4 Badlands
13 Mountains
4 Mishra's Factory
2 Wastelands

1 Goblin Bombardment (this card should be in every Sligh deck.  It's 
just ridiculous if you really think about it hard)

DA BURN
4 Lightning Bolts
4 Fireblast
4 Incinerates

INSTANT OFFENSE
4 Ball Lightning (Preferably from The Dark or Korean Sets)
2 Viashino Sandstalkers
4 Mogg Fanatics (Gotta love these little tykes)
4 Suq'Ata Lancers (A great card in a number of Extended decks.  Look at 
Brett Quorn's GP San Jose deck to see what I mean)

ORCS
4 Ironclaw Orcs

CATS
1 Canyon Wildcats

UTILITY PLAYERS
2 Goblin Vandals
1 Fireslinger
2 Dwarven Miners

Sideboard (We didn't want Julie to be too intimidated by the nuances of 
sideboarding, so we built her a gereral board-next time, we'll set her 
up with something better, as she proved a prodigious aptitude for the 
game while keeping her priorities straight)

4 Anarchy
1 Boil (Our words to her, "If you see anything that looks like a one 
color blue deck, side this in and play it at the end of their turn."  I 
don't believe she played it during the PTQ, as there was a general lack 
of Blue decks in the room)
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
2 Blood Moons
4 Pyroblast
2 Dread of Night (the only black cards in the deck)

Looking back upon the deck, the only disappointment we had was the fact 
that we couldn't get one or two Cursed Scrolls for it.

Mike Callahan's Slightly Altered Daniel Clegg deck from Grand Prix San 
Jose

As Mike sold all his cards to me the week before Origins this year, he 
really wasn't in any position to put together a deck for himself, so I 
asked him what he'd like to play.  As he'd been a Weenie White player on 
a number of occasions, it was decided to used Clegg's GP deck, slightly 
modified to the existing conditions-metagame-of this particular event.

4 Plateaus
2 Tundras (a big, fat waste right now.  What blue-Sleight of Mind-is in 
the deck deserves to be taken out due to the quickness of the deck.  
Watching so many people, myself included, play this deck, it has become 
apparent that the Sleights are throwbacks to the old school days and 
should be eliminated, as nobody is siding them in as of late.  Another 
Mountain and Plains should be added to make up for these cards)
8 Plains
2 Mountains
2 Wastelands

2 Scroll Racks (when used with the Land Tax and Tithes, it's worse than 
Ancestral Recall ever was)
2 Phyrexian War Beast

4 Land Tax
2 Tithes
4 Soltari Priests
2 Soltari Monks
3 Savannah Lions
3 White Knights
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Empyrial Armor
3 Disenchants

4 Suq'Ata Lancers
4 Lightning Bolts
2 Land's Edge

Sideboard
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Earthquake (for annoying critter decks)
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Suleiman's Legacy
1 Disenchant
2 Blood Moons
1 Island
2 Sleight of Minds
2 Blue Elemental Blasts

As I've mentioned before, the blue should be taken out and burned, or 
something along those lines.  For the five slots in the sideboard that 
would be available after taking out the Island, 2 Sleights, and 2 BEB, 
I'd suggest 2 Auras of Silence, 2 Serrated Arrows, and maybe another Red 
Elemental Blast.  Also, I'd take a Disenchant out of the main deck and 
add the fourth Swords to Plowshares from the Sideboard.  In place of the 
Sideboard Swords, I'd suggest adding a Pyroblast or Honorable Passage.  
With such changes, the deck will be more able to handle the current deck 
types that are out there.  Playtesting will prove this.;)

 THE KIDDY TOURNAMENT (aka, Junior Super Series Thingy)
     As mentioned earlier, waaaaaay back in the beginning, Tony Lau's 
tourney only had 5 entrants and was to be run as a round robin.  
Shvartsman's Steel Curtain is what he choose to play, as it would give 
him total board control against most decks being played by the generally 
inexperienced juniors.  His toughest match of the day, ironically, was 
his first.  In it, he played against the stingy trader from the night 
before who wanted an Iff-Biff for three Tithes.  The kid was playing a 
Prosbloom deck and took the first game after Tony made one crucial 
mistake, allowing the kid's deck to go off after five or six turns.  The 
second and third, though, proved to be all Tony, as he dominated the kid 
with Winter Orbs, Counters, and Capsize.  After that, it was a 
slaughter.  Two mono Red Goblin decks bowed down to several Propagandas, 
Winter Orbs, Pendrell Mists, and Chills all at the same time.  It's 
pretty sad to see a kid have to pay five mana for a 1/1 Goblin, then pay 
one mana on the upkeep to keep him around, then have to spend another 
four mana to give the little guy a chance to attack.  Tony's last 
opponent was Sammy "The Barbarian" Batarseh, a teammate, who drew with 
Tony to insure Tony's victory (as the tie-breaker system wasn't head to 
head, but by who had the most sweeps).  So now Tony's automatically 
seeded into the top sixty-four at the Super Series on the Queen Mary at 
the LA PT.  Expect a good showing.

THE PTQ AND WHAT TRANSPIRED
     After the customary deck registrations and gabbing with friends not
seen or heard from in several months, the business at hand was about to
begin.  Feeling very confident, I walked over to the computer screen and
glimpsed my first match-up.

Round One
Steve Jarvis (South Jordan, Utah)  Playing R/G Land Destruction 8<O
     If it's the one thing I never want to see in a Magic tourney, it's
a land destruction deck, bent on playing the spoiler.  What's more, I
don't want to see it playing across the table from me.
Game One-My opening hand had a Tundra and a Tithe.  Not knowing what
Steve is playing, I keep the hand, as any sane player would do.  He
played a bird on his opening, then destroyed my Tundra with a Stone Rain
or something, so I Tithed in response.  I do believe I got something
like three mana out at one time, but didn't draw counters to protect
said land.  My only Frenetic failed to phase out in time and died like
the chump he was to a Bolt.  My Ophidian, not very coordinated, did his
best impression of an anvil when the Hammer came down.  I do believe I
had the sum total of one land in play when this game was over.  You
figure out the results.
Game Two-I have three lands on my opening draw, drawing into only two
after that.  With two sources of blue in play, Steve Wastelands my
Tundra, then Stone Rains a Volcanic Island, leaving me with a Plateau.
I get a couple more lands, only to see them destroyed, while Steve has
dropped an Erhnam while maintaining Hammer recursion.  He draws another
Wasteland and takes out the Plateau.  On my turn, I draw a Tithe.;P
Then, on my next turn, I draw a Swords to Plowshares.;P  I have zero
lands in play at the end of this game.;P

Match 0-1

Afterwards, I speak with Steve and find out he's playing sixteen land
destruction cards, four Erhnams, four Birds, one or two Hammers,
Stormbinds, Bolts, and Incinerates.  Didn't see anything else, so I
can't tell you much.  All I know is that I got beat down bad.  Well,
good for Steve.  It's his first PTQ and he took the chance with his
deck.  BTW, one thing that kicks the Tongo deck's ass is land
destruction, especially if it's done with skill.
     Karl announces that the computer is having a little difficulty, so
lunch will be now instead of after round two.  Our little group heads
over to the Crossroads Mall for a little Japanese food and conversation.
 Found out Mike swept his opponent, while Julie drew with hers.  It's
quite strange, as she burned the opponent to death, but he Forked it
back at her for the draw.  I've played in over a thousand tournament
matches and never had a real draw like that, and here she does it in her
first tourney match.  Strange.  At least she didn't lose.;)
     Well, back to the tourney.  Upon checking out the computer to see
where I'll be sitting for the next round, I notice I've picked up the
bye.  This has never happened to me before.  Talk about an impressive
victory!;)

Match 1-1

With the second round victory, I picked up boucoup confidence.  It's not
often you get such an easy sweep to set you up for the rest of the day.
 Callahan picks up his second win, and Julie wins her first match ever,
tanning one of the few players in that area that we're not very fond of.

Round Three
Deathmetal Steve (Las Vegas) Red w/Touch of Green for Cities of Solitude
Burnt Offerings Deck
Game One-Neither of us have quality draws, with Steve taking me down
slowly, forcing me to commit my resources to slow down the burn.  He got
me down to somewhere around three, then drew a Fireblast.  At this
point, I have no Counters (I believe I saw two out of half my deck.
Such is Magic).
Game Two-More burn is what I see, while only two of the seven cards I
sideboarded come to my hands.  After losing, I check out my deck and
find my Honorable Passages and Hydroblasts sitting at the bottom ten
cards of my deck.
Sideboarding note:  2 Hydroblast, 2 Blue Elemental Blasts, 2 Honorable
Passages, and 1 Hammer of Bogardan (once I manage control of the board,
it would be good to have something Steve couldn't deal with.  Also, the
amount of small critters he employed demanded the inclusion of the
Hammer).  Cards that tended to go out for siding purposes were the 2
Earthquakes (why help the burn?), 2 Control Magics (as I expected more
celerity critters or lack of large staying critters such as Shivan,
these were expendable), 1 Ophidian (nice burn taker, but I'd rather have
the extra cards in to get control), 1 Disenchant (kept one in for the
Cursed Scroll I saw, needing a failsafe if the control didn't deal with
it), and 1 Tithe.
After our match (which was over quite rapidly), Steve and I played three
more games.  The sideboard decided to show up, as did my rapidly growing
knowledge of his deck (top level Magic players constantly adapt to the
deck types they see, memorizing more and more of  a deck so as to be
better able to annihilate it).  In those three games, he managed to get
me down to under ten just once, while the other two games had me at 17
life or higher.  Trust me, the deck works against burn.;)

Match 1-2

     At this point in time, I'm mathimatically eliminated as long as the
players above me do the right thing and draw into the top eight.  Julie
was now sitting at 1-1-1, while Mike was at 3-0 with the Clegg deck.
This tourney was beginning to resemble my worst Magic tourney ever (0-4
1996 US Nationals) but I wasn't really bother by this, as I was having
too much fun with my friends at the tourney site.  So I stayed in for
more experience in the format (I'm from the land of no sanctioned or
even non-sanctioned tourneys-Idaho) and the chance to actually win a
game.;)

Round Four
Demian Willett (Salt Lake City, Utah) R/W/U Nearly Straight Tongo
This guy is one of the more entertaining guys in the game of Magic.  I
first got to know him in early 1995 while going back and forth to the
University of Utah to visit friends.  He was one of the University
players who would practice with some of my old store customers and I, as
well as trade for the cards we all needed at the time.  In fact, he was
one of my main scouts when scouting in tourneys wasn't that bad
(referred to as Back in the Day TM by Rudy Edwards).  Anyway, Demian was
playing a Tongo deck, with maybe two Firewalkers instead of one, not as
much control as me, and the Impulses instead of the Ophidibastards.
Pretty much, it was a very close approximation of the Tongo deck from
Chicago.
1st Game-I play like a tool, as I'm more interested at this point in
being very loud and very obnoxious with my old playing partner.  Trash
talking rules the day, as both of us have as yet to win an actual match
(Damien got the first round bye).  We even trash talk with my teammate,
and assistant judge at the event Steve Durtschi, in hopes of getting a
warning.  Steve isn't biting, though he does give Demian a warning for
having one of his Sideboard cards in during the first game.  This, of
course, escalates the general roudyness with me calling for Demian's
expulsion from the tournament, as he's a dirty rotten cheater!!!  This
doesn't fly with Steve, though.;)  To make a long story short, Demian
gets the better of me, as I'm really more into the talking than the
playing at this point of the tourney.  Both games really aren't that
exciting, even the second, where I got to sideboard and Demian didn't
(because of his warning).  About the only thing of note was my being a
little mana screwed at the beginning.  With two land on the board, one
of them being a Flood Plain, I decided not to sac the Flood Plain
because if I did, it would thin out the amount of mana in the deck,
lowering the percentages of my drawing some more.  Thus, when I did
decide it was time (after drawing a Tithe), Demian Interdicted the
activation!!!  ACK!!!  That was kind of the lowlight of my PTQ for the
weekend.
Sideboarding: 1 Hammer of Bogardan (he wasn't playing Dissipates, and as
the game had the potential to go on for a bite, it would become very
strong in the late game.  2 Red Blasts (for just a little more control
of the board when he was casting his Firewalkers and Control Magics.  1
Wastelands (for the Dude Ranch I expected, but hadn't seen during the
first game).  I do believe I took out a Disenchant, one Swords, and the
two Control Magics (too mana intensive in this head to head battle).

Match 1-3 (Thank God for that bye!!!)

Mike has won yet another victory, bringing him to 4-0, while Julie is
starting to struggle at 1-2-1.  Not much is happening in the room, so I
step outside to watch a little bit of football on the bigscreen.  Not
too exciting there either.  Damn.;P

Round Five David Hunting (From Somewhere in Utah) Turbo Stasis (Minus
Squandered Resources)
At this point in time, I'm getting desperate for a win.  I look in the
old pouch of tricks that Andrea Kunst mentioned in her GP San Jose
Judge's report and come up with a godsend.  She's been sitting there all
along, waiting for a chance to come out and play.  Yes folks, it's the
magical pig of love.  Many of you know me as a writer for the Duelist
Sideboard, but what many in the non-Pro Tour community don't know about
me is that I'm the official mascot giver of the Pro Tour.  I am
responsible for Jeff Donais' chickens, as well as other top player's
little plastic mascots (most recently, Alex Shvartsman's pet polar
bear).  The pig that was sitting in my bag was one of the last two farm
animals I had left from the bag O Farm Animals purchased in Utah for the
World Championships this year (the other being a very unlucky cat).
Looking for anything that would get me by, I decided to try the pig out,
putting her in the middle of the playing area, staring down poor David.
 I even used her to nudge cut his deck.  What's more, I snuck the damned
unlucky cat over to his side of the table.  If the pig wasn't to do it
for me, then the cat certainly would (very bad reports of the cat
causing his holder to lose all matches.  A bonfire was almost made).

1st Game-I find out rather quickly that Dave is playing a Turbo Stasis
deck, as he drops a Howling Mine, then a Stasis two turns later.
Luckily, I have Disenchant in hand and take care of the problem.
Meanwhile, I find out that Dave really doesn't like Tithes, choosing to
Arcane Denial them when I cast them.  Okay, I can live with that.
Knowing what he played (he did lay down a Chronatog I Swords just for
the hell of it) as soon as I saw it, I Bolted the hell out of him, while
using my Mishras as well as possible.  With lands untapped for a counter
war, as well as having the second Disenchant, along with Force of Wills
in hand to back it up, I finally win a game.;)

2nd Game-This game sees Dave playing four Howling Mines, while Arcane
Denialing all four of my Tithes (I'm at a lose to figure this one out).
 My Ophidians deal lots of damage after several vain attempts to find me
my Auras of Silence.  When Dave's Stasis come out, I'm more than ready
with Disenchants, Force of Wills, and Red Elemental Blasts.  With five
cards in my library, I Fireball him for his last five life points
(backed up by 1 Red Blast, 3 Counterspells, 1 Dissipate, 2 Force of
Wills).  For some strange reason, I'm finding that the Tongo Variant has
no problem handling Stasis.  I pet the pig for doing such a grand job,
then go in search of my teammates.
Sideboarding: I put in the two Auras of Silence, 1 Disenchant, 2 Red
Elemental Blast, and the 1 Wasteland (in case he needed the land to keep
me locked).  What I took out where the two Wildfires (very slow against
the Stasis-with the burn, control, Mishras, Ophidians, and Frenetics,
there shouldn't be a problem dealing damage), two Control Magics (Um, I
really didn't want that Chronatog, though it would have been fun to
steal him, and use his ability to deck Dave), and the two Earthquakes
(didn't really want to get tapped out in order to used these, knowing
that all my little critters would do the job).  What may surprise you to
know is that I kept in two Swords to Plowshares, as I really didn't get
to see that much of his deck the first game.

Match 2-3

Julie had dropped another one putting her at 1-3-1, while Mike had
decided to draw his way into the top eight after starting out 4-0.  At
least one of our teammates was going to make it into the promised land
rounds.;)

Round Six Christopher Scanlon (Salt Lake City, Utah)
After messing around for a little bit, Christopher came by after
pairings and told me that we were to meet once again in a PTQ
Constructed tourney.  Let me tell you folks, this is something I live
for.  For, you see, as pointed out by Christopher in his tourney report,
I refer to him as my "PTQ Bitch".  This dates waaaay back to last year
when I got to first play him in one of the IA/AL constructed qualifiers
in Salt Lake for the Dallas Pro Tour.  I was down with one match loss,
but not out, so I was fighting mad!  Chris was playing an interesting
land destruction deck (see my first match to find out what I think of
playing against LD in a tourney) while I played a R/W/G Gargoyle/Haups
deck.  The match-up proved to be in my favor, as I top-decked several
key cards necessary for the win.  In the M/V/W constructed for Chicago,
I was again down with one loss, but not out, finding myself seated
across from Chris and his U/W mad Sage Owl beatdown deck.  Having taken
the first, he beat the hell out of me with a Sage Owl (something like 18
damage before I conceeded) while my deck failed to produce the blankity
blank three mana I needed to operate (talk about weird).  But, alas, in
the third game, I slapped him around (and his little owl, too!!!).
So, here we were, once again, battling like Titans (or, as reality might
dictate with our 2-3 records, like mad Iraqis).  I really didn't know
what he was playing, as I didn't do my usually grand job of scouting
(cheating) during the course of the tourney (which means to say, I
didn't ask him).  Before the start of the match, I brought out the mad
pig, while offering the services of the cat to Christopher.
Surprisingly, he took me up on the offer, despite my warning him that
the cat was majorly cursed as all cats are.  Plus, his attention span
wasn't too good, so asking him for advice wasn't a very good idea, as
he'd just say "Stall".  Oh well, you can say I did warn him.
1st Game-The first game has me getting Hymned a little while I try and
figure out what he's playing.  A Cursed Scroll becomes a little
agitating as Chris has nothing but Swamps in play.  However, this
doesn't really bother me, as this means he really can't do anything
about my critters if I cast them (love watching Frenetics phase and
having two Mishras in play to protect one another).  While feeling out
the game plan, I notice that Julie is over on lucky table thirteen,
where I was at during the last round.  I inform her that she must be a
real loser to be at that table, to which she puts the loser symbol on
her head and taunts me back.;)  I do believe that Chris got me down
below ten during the match, but my Wildfire proved to be just too strong
(kept alive when Chris Diabolic Edicted by activating a Mishra.  Do
believe this saved him against a Pox as well).
2nd Game-I start off not too lucky on the land situation, being at two
land for something like ten turns.  However, the sideboard does rear
it's ugly head, unfortunately for Chris.  All three Disenchants come up,
accounting for a Chimeric Sphere, Mishra, and Steel Golem.  When these
become scarce, my Swords take over, Plowing yet another one or two Steel
Golems, and a mad Abyssal Gatekeeper (gotta keep them things from
hitting the graveyard).  Later on in the game, after Chris has done a
job on me getting me down below ten, I've finally drawn some land and
been able to put out enough critters.  While playing this late in the
game against the Pox, I tried to maintain cards in hand, lands, and
critters in multiples of three, so as not to get totally wrecked by the
Pox.  Chris slowly gets me down to two life, then Poxes me down to one.
 Though, in his tourney report, he says that that was a mistake (as he
had to throw his other Pox away, having only one card in hand), he
didn't know that I was holding a Dissipate in hand (with enough mana to
use it) in case of just such a thing.  You see, he Poxed to get me to
one (I kept a couple of Fireballs and the Dissipate, drawing into a
Force of Will).  On my turn, I Fireballed him for one, leaving enough
mana to Dissipate whatever he threw at me.  Then, when he couldn't
topdeck something to take care of my last life, I Fireballed him for
four, ending the game (having the Force of Will and Dissipate in hand to
insure the drawn game).  Thus, I upped my record to 3-0 against a very
talented player that has a standing invitation to borrow cards from me
for the next constructed tourney, so that he can compete to the best of
his abilities.

Highlight of the Match:  My mad Ophidian who went off during one game.
I believe 5-6 cards were "checked out" from the library.  I've started
to keep track of Ophidian drawing with a dice or counters after a
successful run has begun.  Gotta love the little guy.;)

Sideboarding against the Pox deck:  1 Disenchant (as he had a number of
artifact critters and his one Cursed Scroll), 2 Swords to Plowshares (as
I really didn't want his Gatekeepers going off, nor his Steel Golems to
pound me when I'd be low on land due to the Poxes), and 1 Hammer of
Bogardan (just in case I could counter the Poxes and get Hammer
recursion.  Also, another way of dealing easy damage).  Taken out had to
be the 2 Control Magics, an Ophidian, and a Wildfire Emissary.

Final Record 3-3

Though I'm a little disappointed in my showing, I'm not really upset, as
the people at the Utah PTQs have always been some of the coolest I've
met.  It's soooo relaxed there, that losing isn't such a bad thing.;)
As for the rest of the people, Julie won her last match, finishing at
2-3-1, while Mike had drawn again to put him at 4-0-2 and into the top
eight as the second seed.

In the finals were Shannon Krumick and Deathmetal Steve (my third round
opponent) from Las Vegas, Steve Jarvis (my first round opponent, land
destruction guy, very dangerous if it gets this far), Mike Callahan (the
lone teammate to make it, Aaron Muranaka finished 9th), Corbin Fox (one
of the Mind Games owners and cool guy.  This was like his fifth or sixth
top eight finish), and three other guys who's names escape me.  The
finals featured Mike Callahan playing against a person playing a Mono
Green pre-Tempest Type II Stompie deck.  In the first game, Mike raced
and won with an Armored Priest.  In the second, a River Boa (one of only
two critters pulled by the stompie player) managed to go all the way,
thanks to 2 Heart of Yavimaya and Mike's Tundra being in play.  In the
third, Mike had to mulligan with no land in hand (but two Land Taxes).
He managed to get a good draw after the mulligan and laid down a Land
Tax.  The Tax ended up being pretty useless, as Mike wasn't able to take
advantage of it, thanks to the Stompie's only needing one mana to run
on.  Mike could have saved himself if he'd drawn a red land to
Earthquake several of the Stompie's critters away, but it wasn't to be.
 Stompie won.

After that, Tony took Mike and Julie home, while I stayed to finish out
an eight man sealed deck tourney that had formed.  In that side tourney,
I wanted to test out the actual effectiveness of the Pig.  I decided
that the porker was here to stay, and not go off to Jamie Wakefield in
Vermont (who I've promised an unnamed mascot to).  Sorry Jamie, but I'm
keeping the pig.  I'll find you something pretty soon though.  Christmas
has brought a new supply of little dudes to the area, so I'll keep my
eyes open.  In the sealed, I discovered that having a Ray of Command AND
a Helm of Control is really cool.  Ghost Ship and the little skybreak
dude is pretty decent as well.;)

After some hearty vittles at a local Dees Restaurant (kind of like a
Dennys, but the food is actually good. I suggest the Lumberjack
breakfast), Tony and I went back to Mike's, crashed for the night, and
then drove home the following day.

PROPS
To Demian Willett for coming out of Magic retirement to enliven the
tourney.  This guy is so incredibly cool to play against.  Not only
that, he was born on Friday the 13th and his telephone number has three
sixes at the end.  And his parents named him Demian!!!  That's just
messed up.;)

To Christopher Scanlon for being himself.  That is to say, somebody who
doesn't conform to the norms of deck building.  Playing against his Pox
deck was my most interesting and intelligent match of the day.

To the X96 radio chick who, after answering caller number nine's call
(caller number nine is the winner), asked what the lady caller thought
about winning.  The reply was pretty monotoned lame, so the jockey told
her to "get excited" or she wasn't winning anything.  The lady on the
phone remained morose, so the jockey hung up on her and took caller
number ten.  Needless to say, he got excited.  (you had to have heard it
to understand).;)

To Karl Battdorf for being one of the top tourney directors in the
world.  Unfortunately, this was Karl's last Utah PTQ event, as he's
elected to spend more time with his family (something the players can
understand).  Though he wasn't always right on a decision, he went out
of his way to get better each and every time.  The playing sights were
clean, and generally near affordable restaurants.  The tourneys were run
smoothly and professionally, while maintaining one of the most relaxed
atmospheres around.  It's our loss.

Deathmetal Steve and Shannon Krumick for coming up to the PTQ from
Vegas, even though they risked a winter storm that didn't materialize.

Mike Callahan for letting us stay at his place once again as well as
finishing in the top two.

Julie for putting up with our shit all weekend.  She's one hell of a
lady and Mike's a lucky guy, though she keeps dragging him back into
this evil Satan game called Magic.;)  She has a standing invitation to
join the Minions of Atog anytime.;)

The pig, for pulling off several victories for me in the PTQ and Side
Sealed event.

SLOPS
To the kid who sacked his Goblin Recruiter to put eleven Goblins on top
of his deck in a match against Minions of Atog member, Sammy Batarseh.
Sam followed up the kid's effort with a Jokuhaups.  Bummer!

Kids who trade Cursed Scrolls for shitty cards when I'm offering them
quality.

Denver for holding their PTQ on the same day as the Utah PTQ.  I guess
they do this because too many Utah and Wyoming players were going over
there and taking all the spots at one time.  I guess the saying over
there would be, "If you can't beat them, schedule a conflict!"

Sincerely,

Jack Stanton
Minions of Atog Team Member
Contributor to the Duelist Sideboard
Author of Soon to Be Published "The Tournament Guide to Magic"