Subject: Zur's Zoo Tourney Report Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 17:22:30 -0500 From: Jon Yurek Ok, well... I was in a tournament this weekend, as every weekend, and I thought that I should finally give a report, so that everyone in Netland can know how much I suck. :) Seriously though, I had gone 5-1 and taken 2nd the tournament before this one with almost the exact deck, so I was feeling good. I had let one of my friends from IRC take a look at it, and he made a few modifications... I thought they looked good.... I was wrong. :) Anyway, I'll list the deck first. Zur's Zoo 1.2 4 Air Elementals 2 Azure Drake 1 Tradewind Rider (aih :P) 2 Sage Owl 4 Man O War 3 Counterspell 2 Memory Lapse 3 Zur's Weirding 4 River Boa 4 Jolreal's Centaur 2 Birds of Paradise 2 Quirion Elves (I only have 2 Birds. :P) 2 Llanowar Elves 2 Elven Warhound 3 Walls of Roots 2 Scroll Rack 2 Quicksand 2 Skyshroud Forest 8 Island 8 Forest Sideboard 3 Propaganda 2 Winter Orb 1 Chill 3 Hydroblast 2 Tranquility 2 Hall of Gemstones 2 Scragnoth Ok, those of you who don't think the deck sucks can stay. :) Now on to something before the tournament... One of my other friends from IRC, Rich, came from somewhere around Springfield so he could actually play in sanctioned tourneys... I guess they don't have many out there... and he showed me the land for the deck he was going to use (which he made in the car, btw)... Salt Flats, Undiscovered, CoB... nothing too wierd until he came to the end... *No basic land*... I laughed, of course. :) A(nother) side note... everyone and their brother was looking for Tradewind Riders... had I been quicker, I probably could have had a few more.... I don't know how the others did, though. Anyway... on to the report. 1st round. Matt, R/G Goyf/Burn 1st game, he gets out 2 land and plays a river boa. I MoW. He casts it again, I MoW again, he casts it again, I cast Tradewind (The only time it was useful all day, mind you) and keep him at 2 land. Game. 2nd game took almost forever because he was a very animated person, acting surprised and excited and whatnot... it got really annoying by the end. :) I got a semi-early Propaganda and held off some Goyfs with a Bunch of River Boas by feeding off a pair of Walls of Roots... had to cast those Elementals somehow. I cruise in after he has no blast for the 2nd Elemental. Note: He told me he should have blasted the Prop instead of the 1st Elemantal and he would have won... I'm not quite sure, but I think he might have been able to. 1-0 matches, 2-0 games. 2nd round Jason: Burn. :P 1st game, he got to 4 land and I decided to Zur's, figuring I could deny all his burn. Well, it turns out he had a nice fat Shivvie in his hand, and I had no removal, so I had to deny almost everything he drew... that cast me that game. :P 2nd game I SB'd in the Blasts, the Chill and the worb... Didn't see *one* the whole game... I would have been happy with a Blast for the shivan that was beating the pulp out of me... no luck. :P 1-1 matches, 2-2 games 3rd round Rane: WW. This guy is good. I've seen him play but never played him before. I knew that at least 2 or 3 people were playing WW/Armor and I guess I found one of them. 1st game I get a quick Scroll Rack and he is amazed at how well it works... I love the scrolls. :) I avoid a little manacsrew, but the geddons are too much and he gets my with an Armored Knight. 2nd game I put in the Tranqilities that were meant for Bloom (Blah, btw... there were none) and Propagandas. I got both Tranqs, but no Props, which would have been better. I can't even hold this one out very long as geddons and Wrathes rip me to shreds. 1-2 matches, 2-4 games 4th round Jason: Green Weenie/Fire Whip 1st game I got a very quick Zur's and manascrewed him. He quickly realized he was screwed and conceded. 2nd game he got a quick Worb and had Rangers and elves... I realized very quickly I was screwed and conceded. 3rd game was kind of intereting... I had an Elemental, and was looking to win, when he puts a fire whip on his dervish, pings the Air, untaps it with a ranger, pings again, untaps with an emerald charm, pings again, and sacs the whip to kill it... am I pissed! :) But I still think i can pull something out... until I forget to deny him a card which makes his Maro able to kill my wall... downhill fast from there. 1-3 matches, 3-6 games 5th round Arthur: Black Weenie Now normally I love to beat the snot out of Black weenie, but you just can't when you don't have the right mana... Usually I can topdeck the 1st turn forest and get the Wall of Roots out. 1st game: No forest.. I sit there with nothing but a turn 4 wall and a turn 5 wall that just comes too late. 2nd game, I figure law of averages sais I should topdeck the forest... well, i fail to remeber that the law had been helping me for a long time, and had just remebered that I had a tab to pay. Not happy was I as a Fallen Angel came in as I sit with 3 Air Elementals in my hand and unable to cast them because of a lack of an island. Needless to say, I was not happy. Side note: After the match he says "Good Game"... I wait a minute and mumble under my breath, 'No it wasn't'... i hate when people congratulate you for losing on manascrew. 1-4 matches, 3-8 games 6th round Mike: Blue something... really bad. Now finally I'm at the bottom of everything and I tell myself, "If I can't beat him, I quit." Well, I'm still playing... 1st game I get out a boa and go to town... I did forget I had an island out and when he started attacking with a Sea Serpent, I became upset for a second, until I realized that I would easly win the race. 2nd game I never got my 2 sb'd Scraggies, but the 3 centaurs kicked his little falcons off pretty well.... easy game. 2-4 matches, 5-8 games Well, that was enough to put me somewhere between Hell and Cincinatti, so I just wanted to get out of there... Nick, by buddy with the Sligh he put together the night before, went 3-3, and so did Rich and the 5-color ass.... Fun to be me, huh? :) Look forward to next week, when I either play this again (with modifications obviously), or something Reeeealy annoying. :) -- Jonathan Yurek The Happy Blues Man "Lovely weather today, don't you think?"