Subject: Local Tourney Report [medium] Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 04:11:43 -0500 From: Alex Marszalowicz Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy This is my first attempt at a Tournament report, but it probably won't be the last (unless I get lot's of requests otherwise). It wasn't a big tournament (apropriately), so this hopefully won't be too long, but you can just skip it if you only read the big reports. I'm writing it more for my own historical and educational benefit more than any other reason, but I thought it would be nice to share. Anyway, with no further ado: My deck: 2 Goblin Vandal 4 Mogg Fanatic 2 Jackal Pup 1 Dwarven Berserker 4 Kindle 2 Thunderbolt 4 Incinerate 2 Viashino Sandstalker 2 Ball Lightning 3 Lightning Elemental 1 Furnace of Rath 4 Fireblast 2 Fireball 1 Earthquake 2 Urza's Bauble 2 Mind Stones 1 Fool's Tome 2 Wasteland 19 Mountain This was a local T2 tourney, held weekly by MC Comics in Old Bridge, New Jersey. This week there were only 17 attendees (aparently many still aren't ready for the inclusion of Tempest), but since these are sanctioned it feels pretty important to me. I didn't really know what to expect, so I decided on the deck above. I figured it would allow me to show without looking too pathetic, and I'd get to see what local players were doing so I could prepare for next week. I'd expected a bit of blue, however, and I knew that sligh decks were popular around here, but I was most afraid of a heavy white deck with Warmth and COP: Red. Hence this sideboard: Sideboard: 2 Havoc 1 Wildfire Emissary 2 Flashfires 3 Nevinyrral's Disk 1 Lightning Cloud. 4 Pyroblast 2 Boil In retrospect, with the abundance of red and minimal show of blue or white, pulling Wildfire, the Flashfires, and the Boils would have been wise, and another Lightning Cloud would have been wise, but hey, that's hindsight. I also should have gone with my gut and put Apocolypse in for the Furnace, but I was hoping that speed would save me from my white enchantment enemies. Also, had I owned a 4th Disk I would have put it in place of the Fool's Tome, although I thought that would be good against a counter-heavy deck. Also, I should mention that a friend later suggested Rolling Thunder for the Fireballs, and he's probably right. Round 1 vs. Brian (I barely have the brain power to remember my own last name, let alone my opponents, so I apologize for the anonymity) Brian is a nice guy, as were all my opponents that evening. Before the match, he warned me that this was his first tournament in many months. I told him that this was basically mine, too, and we spent a few minutes trying to top each other on who was less qualified to be standing there. Ah, modesty. He was playing basically the Pre-constructed deck The Slivers, with a few modifications, and he played it quite well. I hadn't seen anyone or considered playing with the blue or black slivers yet, so I enjoyed seeing him do so. Game 1 I draw a Pup, a Kindle, and LOTS of Mountains while he gets a few slivers out. Metallic and Winged, mostly. I'm able to pick off a few but they keep coming (like they're supposed to). 4th turn he cast Lobotomy. I'm about to turn my hand around when I think "Gee, maybe I should look at it myself, first." 1 Fireblast and 3 mountains in hand, and in what may be my first step out of scrubdom, I have the wisdom to fireblast in response. Enjoyable, but not enough as I die with him still at 8. Game 2 After sideboarding in the Pyroblasts and Boils, it starts a bit like before, only my first creature is a Fanatic. I still draw lot's of mountains, but fortunately I drew 3 P-blasts, while Brian draws a few Hydroblasts of his own. The Earthquake I'm holding would be great against his 4 slivers, except that 2 are winged, so it's useless. He delivers a steady beating, driving me down to 1 while a Vandal hits, hits, hits him down to 11. He's holding 2 cards in hand, one of which I know is a terror thanks to the Bauble, but the other could well be a counter. Hoping for a bit of luck, the turn I get him to 11 I cast a 7 point quake, and blast for 4 more. Whew, a draw. Not sunk yet. Games 3 & 4 Out go the boils, I want my original speed back. That was the idea, after all. The next two games my deck delivers, and I only dip down to 17 in life game 3 and take no damage game 4, and enjoy Pyroblasting 2 Lobotomies in the process. We shake hands and I comment how apparently there are good slivers besides the green ones. After I fill him in on the wonders of Muscles and Barbed slivers, he muses that perhaps next he'll try black and green. Good Luck to him. Match 1-0, games 2-1-1 Round 2 vs. Scott Scott has a true sligh deck, far more creature based than mine. His creature base is Mogg Conscripts and Ironclaws, but he included multilands for sideboard support. Apparently at least 1 other person there did the same, probably more. Game 1 My deck works almost ideally. An early Fanatic apparently discouraged his Ball lightnings and lightning elementals. I get him down to 13, by turn 5, then tap my 4 mountains for Thunderbolt, Incinerate. He says "Do you have the combo?" I turn over the remaining 2 cards in my hand - 2 Fireblasts. Beautiful. Game 2 You would't believe my shock when he cast a 3rd turn Warmth! He spent most of the game over 20 life as I tried to defend against the swarm of 2/2s, and to add insult to injury my Ball Lightning was destroyed by a Hydroblast! I had to shake his hand when I saw that Warmth - completely unexpected. Game 3 I consider siding in the disks to stop such an indignity from repeating, but decide against it. I figure again that my best ally is speed, and if he's lucky enough to draw his hoser and the needed land again, then he deserves the win. Fortunately, this turn it was my sideboard's turn to show up, as my only Lightning cloud pops up 2nd turn. That pretty much sinches the match. Match 2-0 Game 4-2-1 Round 3 vs. Nathan Nathan is playing a Green and Red deck with land destruction and big creatures. He also had Petals which I thought was a waste of a card but hey, who am I to judge? Game 1 My few threats are quickly dealt with, and he get's out a Jungle Wurm, which hit me twice before I get the brains to use an incinerate and fireblast to kill it. Then he finishes me with a 5 point Fireball and a Fireblast. I'm a little scared. Game 2 Look, I like my deck. And this is no time for desparate gambits, so I decide against pulling anything from the sideboard. Nothing there was really set for this type of deck, and why risk diluting my plans on the chance a disk or cloud would help? Good choice, I guess. This game held about as close to a key play as I could expect to get. The big creature he tried to play was a Fungus Elemental. He summons it, then has 1 forest left untapped which he sac's to put a +2/+2 counter on it. I hesitate, read the card, then notice that the counter ability is used AFTER it comes into play. But I have no incinerate? So in response, I cast a kindle at it - my first. Then, in response to that, I cast another Kindle at Nathan. A judge was required to verify that it worked, but it ended up with him taking 2 points and the Elemental dying from my 3. I felt a buzz after that and he was a little dazed, and I cruised to victory with Ball Lightning double fireblast. Game 3 A close game. I don't remember how, but he got me down to 9 life. At the end of his turn, I'm holding a Thunderbolt, an incinerate, an earthquake, and a fireblast in hand with 4 untapped mountains and him at 13. I use the bolt and incin, planning a 3 point quake, blast for the kill. But I'm afraid he might be holding 2 fireblasts in his hand of 4 cards, and he's got the mountains to do it. (Not that I should complain about draws, mind you.) But I have the good fortune to draw another incinerate, so the quake isn't necessary. (He was only holding 1 fireblast, anyway.) Match 3-0 Game 6-3-1 Round 4 vs. Dennis Finals Me in the finals. I was more shocked than anyone. And I've been winning by slim margins and haven't really faced any meta-game focused decks yet. Yet. Dennis had what was probably described as Marogeddon with red, but with all those multilands who knows what other colors he might have been holding? Game 1 I had a good hand. But apparently he had a better one, because my third turn Ball Lightning met his Honorable Passage. Ouch. Then he played a freewind falcon. Then he cast Empyrial armor. Then I lost. Game 2 I'd been expecting something like this. Flashfires stay out - I'd only seen 2 basic lands the first game anyway, and only one had been a plains. Good call, that. Would have liked a blood moon, but they're not in 5th. (Why is that again?) Anyway, I put in 2 havocs, the Wildfire, and the 3 disks. He get's 3rd turn COP red. I hesitate, then play a disk next turn, hoping he didn't have a disenchant yet. (As opposed to waiting for more permanents to kill.) He had a disenchant. I put up a fight, getting him down to 12, with a tad bit of help from a Jackal pup, while killing off his threats. He ended up dropping 2 Walls of Roots and 2 Maros. I kill all but 1 wall, then he armageddons. I don't get back up until he has 2 wildfires on the table, and to add insult, an earthquake hurts double thanks to my pup. I drew a second disk, but never got to play it. Oh, well. Overall I was very happy with my performance. I hadn't expected to last past 2nd round, really. Next time I'll be playing a deck with Propaganda - I didn't see *any* there. (Look for my deck listing begging for help, probably tomorrow.) This was my best finish yet at an MC tournament, but I've been continually getting better, and I love this new environment. Thanks for reading this far, and I welcome all advice/questions/flames/cease and desist orders. Alex