QnD Report (as promised)
Round 1: 3cc
Game 1: I keep a slow hand and my opponent opens with LoA, bad news. On my second turn I try to walk but he forces keeping his LoA online. This would often be a good play, but in this particular game it allowed me to Tinker on turn three for which he lacked the FoW this time. I get Colossus with him having only a Tundra untapped and I fear a Swords when he taps the Tundra, but he plays an Ancestral which is the best thing he could do, since the last business I was holding was a MisD. He dies 2 turns later.
Game 2: Again he plays a first turn LoA, but this time I didn't worry me as much. I set up an uncounterable Mind Twist and resolve it for his full hand on turn 3. Two turns later, after a Gifts, I resolve Will and he never gets another turn.
Round 2: Food Chain
Game 1: His hand didn't even matter 'cause I had almost the best had available, it has artifact mana, Academy, Ancestral and Walk. I won with 15+ life.
Game 2: Again I have a very explosive hand with a first turn Fact that turns up 5 broken cards. On top of this he was manascrewed even after mulling to 5 so we never really got into any of the games.
Round 3: Dragon
Game 1: I win with him having only Mountain + Sol Ring in play, and I have no clue what he is playing, so I board in BEB.
Game 2: He has to tutor for everything combo piece and that takes up a lot of time. I have a very controllish hand and when he tries to go for the animate I have the BEB ready and he loses all his permanents.
Round 4 and 5:
We figure the top 4 players can draw in with a very very small change that one of us might have to play next round
One of us does have to in the end (Babtist) and he loses his match, but still makes top 8.
Meanwhile we play some type 4 outside while enjoying the nice weather.
Somewhere I manage to resolve Blatant Thievery with Babtist having a Door to Nothingness in play, that was pretty neat.
Top 8: FCG
Game 1: He opens with Taiga, Lackey. My first turn is even better, I play a walk on my first turn and resolve a mind twist for 5 on my second. I still have to worry about the lackey though, since a Matron, Recruiter or Ringleader could still spell trouble. He does get a Ringleader revealing 4 goblins 2 turns later, but it is too late to stop my Will, and I Tinker with the ability to triple Walk.
Game 2: I force a second turn Null Rod and resolve a Tinker. I also have the second force for the Food Chain that would have allowed him to combo my out the turn before my Colossus became lethal.
Top 4: Leviat
Game 1: I keep a hand I shouldn't have (2 FoW, 3 Land, 1 Artifact mana and a Mind Twist), he has an early Bazaar with Squee and DA and shortly after he is able to resolve Replenish with double backup.
Game 2: I have a very controllish hand with has some great cards (Pyroblast, Coffin Purge). He lacks a Bazaar this time and slowly his live total goes down due to his mana crypt while I keep him from resolving important spells. At one point he plays a DA to which I respond with a draw spell (Gifts or FoF, not sure), he tries to Drain it and I misdirect it to his DA. The turn after he also forgets about the drain mana, burning down to 1 life. The mana crypt finishes it off 2 turns later.
Game 3: I basically won this game on my first upkeep where I misdirected his Ancestral to me. He is out of gas while I get my own Ancestral and draw mad cards. Some turns later I resolve Gifts and when I counter his last effort bomb and get ready to Will he scoops
Finals: Meandeck Gifts (my friend Arthur, who played the exact same list)
We decide to split the prizes no matter what and play for the first choice and the rating points.
Game 1: The mirror is silly because you rely on Ancestral against a deck with multiple MisD. We both get our Ancestral early on, but hold on to them building up a counterwall. Neither of us want to take the risk of getting his ancestral misdirected. At one point Arthur breaks the stalemate with his Ancestral and a nice counterwar follows. The stack went something like this:
He: Ancestral
Me: Ancestral
He: MisD my Ancestral
Me: Drain MisD
He: FoW
Me: Gifts for 4 blue cards (resolves)
Me: FoW the MisD
My ancestral resolves, and I do not draw a MisDÂ
Me: FoW his Ancestral
I'm ahead in mana and in card advantage, it just takes a little more time to finish it.
Game 2:
I don't recall much about the beginning of this game, but I got the mana and card advantage again. However both my Recoup and Will are in my grave and I have trouble finding enough mana. By the time I do he has drawn some more cards so I first have to make sure that I can win a counterwar. I resolve a little Mind Twist (2 I think) to clear the way and finally (must be turn 10 or something) I get to Will and Resolve Tinker and Walk. His last effort Recoup meets a Coffin Purge and I win the tournament.
Koen
