Soooooooooooooo !
I'm back from Kobe ! Want to hear about it ? Read on !
Friday morning, Horita, 8:00My fiancée innocently asks me if "it wasn't at 8:00 I had to leave ?" while of course still in the bed. Gotta love a long day's bad start. Of course, I went to bed at 4 in the morning the day before. Shower. Kiss Goodbye. Bicycle. Train. Usual Stuff. But in Fast Forward (ok,
not the kiss). Arrived in Kouzouji at 9:00 where my friend Tanaka Yuuichi waits for me with Hayashi Masashi. It's a 4 hours drive from Nagoya to Koube and the event starts at 15:00 so we leave without further ado.
Road Trip. Random useless fun stuff that doesn't belong to a Magic Forum.
Friday Afternoon, Koube, 14:00On site. After 4 hours of Magic talk we definitly wants to play it out. And yes, Yuuichi is not a liar, his deck is a freakin' bomb. Out of 5 maindeck games I still managed to win 3 of them, but I know it's gonna be worse post-sideboard if we ever have to meet in the tournament. Yuuichi is a crazy f_cker, I'll tell you about the deck later, he's all right with me talking about it. I test some random games against some other random friends and I win it all. People still say at this point of the day "Meh. It's like Threshold but without Threshold. Threshold is strong.", kind of. Yuuichi tells me "In the car I thought your deck was weak, but I didn't really understand Jotun Grunt...".
15:00, uketsuke / registrationTime to register, I'm the first on a list that will go up to
39 people. Nice ! I wanted to see at least 32 people participating so that's all I wanted. Now I just wanted to top 8 to prove everyone the deck is good. While I write down my decklist, I remove the single Sensei's Divining Top for a Pithing Needle Maindeck (no change otherwise). I was affraid of Wasteland and SDT was the weak part of the deck anyway, I knew it even if I like the card. They announce the prize : 5 swiss rounds and a Top 8 Single Elimination. 12 japanese Time Spiral booster for all top 8 players and 40 revised dual lands (4 of each) to the winner. Nice !
So here is my final list :
Uwb F!sh Laurent Fleury's version4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
4 Underground Sea
4 Tundra
1 Scrubland
1 Plain
1 Island
4 Meddling Mage
4 Dark Confidant
3 Mother of Runes
3 Jotun Grunt
2 Serendib Efreet
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
4 Serum Visions
3 Stifle
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Pithing Needle
Sideboard4 Engineered Plague
4 Duress
2 Pithing Needle
2 Engineered Explosvies
2 Disenchant
1 Umezawa's Jitte
16:00, PairingTime to rock.
Round I against Wataru Hosaka (Faerie Stompy)Game 1, a very important thing happend to me. You know... I speak japanese. I'm not trying to get me a medal or something, but I also happend to be a nice guy. The normal white guy in a Pro Tour in Koube doesn't speak japanese. So what does the nice guy do ? translate. I play a first turn fecth > tundra > serum visions , pass. Then something happend at the table on my right, and I decide to help the tchek guy explains something to the judge (he didn't have time to write his list or something), because judges doesn't really speak english as well outside of words written on a magic card. My opponent draw, play an ancient tomb, tap, lose 2 life, plays Jitte and say Pass. I untap, upkeep, dra... what ? What is this Daze still doing in my hand ? Yep... I was too busy helping the guy to actualy concentrate on my own game. "
Be nice because it's nice but don't be too nice because it's just plain stupid", that's my advice today if you ever need it. So here I was, 2 spells played in my tournament and I already felt the fear, the lose and everything else. He plays a second turn Chrome Mox, Island, Cloud of Faerie, Equip, Chalice of the Void at 1 (countered). I lost this game. It was very, very, frustrating. I decided from this point on to focus on my games and to help who I can help if I'm asked to (and I was, a lot), but only if I was asked by a judge and I could then pause
my game !
Sideboard
I forgot to write it down... I know what I did side in, 2 Engineered Explosives, 2 Pithing Needle, 2 Disenchant, 1 Umezawa's Jitte. But I'm not sure what I sided out, maybe Mother of Runes or/and Meddling Mage.
Game 2, he plays a turn 2 1/1 pro red flying faerie that I don't even remember the name. I disenchant a Chrome Mox, plays a Serendib Efreet, counter a Jitte, play my own, equip, win.
Game 3 (where I sided out my Daze, useless on the draw in this matchup), same thing but with Jotun Grunt. Refrain creatures from being equiped, play whatever creature you can, Jitte, win.
2-1
(1-0)
phew ! I could stay focus in game 2 and 3 and I was really happy to win this one because if I had lost I would think the whole day that it was because I just wanted to be nice, and it's not something cool to put in correlation (being nice = lose). Now it's just something like, being nice in a tournament = stupid. Which suits to me perfectly.
Yuuichi wins, Hayashi loses. next.
Round II against Yamano Tatsuo (Mono-Red Sligh/Burn)The two games looked the same, I play a Dark Confidant very quick and he doesn't want to kill it, following the Flores Rules (or whatever) that says that a Dark Confidant against you when playing burn is actualy card advantage for YOU. Bullshit, if you want my opinion, but you probably don't as Flores was probably speaking of Standard exclusivly. Of course, after some turn of Confidant, I eventualy draw Jitte and win. Both games. like this. First game I end up with 6 life and second at 1 life. But with a lot of Jitte counters in both games.
Sideboard
-4 StP, -1 Meddling Mage; +4 Duress, +1 Jitte
2-0
(2-0)
Yuuichi wins, Hayashi loses.
Round III against Oonishi Tatsuya (Faerie Stompy)Game 1, I get two Jotun Grunt on the board, he does a "mistake" by attacking when he thought they would die next upkeep and I just double-stifle on upkeep for the win (with a Jitte equiped on one of them).
Side, same as Round I, roughly.
Game 2, I keep a 1 tundra, 1 brainstorm, 2 serum visions hand. I do this a lot on the draw. I would do it again if I could... But maybe not against Faerie Stompy. First turn Chalice of the Void at 1. When I finaly draw a second land, he has a Cloud of Faerie equiped with a Sword of Fire and Ice and a Mask of Memory as well as a second CotV setted at 2. (I lost)
Game 3, After a big counterspell war that he won, he starts punching me with a cloud of faerie + CotV at 1, no cards in hand, Chrome Mox and Ancient Tomb. I disenchant the Chrome Mox but I have no cards in hand as well (or yes, brainstorm and StP, but...CotV stuff). I finaly play a Dark Confidant. reveal FoW. reveal FoW. I lost. I will never say that "sometimes Dark Confidant sucks". But.
FoW sucks maybe ? 
1-2
(2-1)
Yuuichi wins (3-0), Hayashi wins (1-2)
Now I know I have to win the next two games to make Top 8
not easy as there is a lot of good players in here !
Round IV against Saikichi Yousuke (Mono-Black Poxes')Game 1 he does the infamous turn one dark ritual duress hymn to tourach. Second turn Wasteland, the Rack. Smallpox. And eventualy a Mishra's Factory and a second The Rack FTW.
Sideboard involved some kind of MoM out, Duress in and other stuff. I should have write that down but...
Game 2, This was harder, my creatures didn't seem to want to stay into play... It's a very long game and we end up having almost no hand, no board but I slip a Serendib Efreet into play, Daze efficiently saved his ass even in the late game ! and with a Jitte I had in play I could finaly win (playing a Meddling Mage thereafter as a counter-pox), I ended the game at 3 life, still
Game 3 was very interesting as well ! The game 2 was so long a lot of people gathered around us for game 3. The beginning is a basic one, involving some cantrips, fetches, hymn to tourachs etc. But then,
then. I play Dark Confidant. he has only 2 lands (one of those is Mishra's Factory) on the board and a Phyrexian Totem, he passes. I reveal... FoW. I'm at 12, my draw is Dark Confidant. I think for a while... I then think again untill the judge tells me to do something. I cast 2 other Dark Confidant and now there is 30 people watching the game. I say something like "Ne ! Yuuki ga aru furansujin mo iru ndarou na !
" (You see ! There's still some french guys who have guts
) and the guy is laughing. he draw, play The Rack and pass. I reveal... Land, Stifle, FoW ! I'm at 6. I punch for 6, he's at 6 now (he doesn't block so I can kill myself with the Dark Confidants). he untaps, draw and play a Hymn to Tourach... I Force of Will, removing Force of Will. 5 life. he knows I have one Stifle so he attacks with Mishra's Factory. 3 life. I untap, he's holding his breath. Upkeep, stifle on Dark Confidant. Ok. Second Stifle on second Dark Confidant. ok ! now it's a matter of revealing Serendib Efreet/FoW to lose or not to win... or is it ? I tap a third land for... a third Stifle ! The guy take it well and congratulates me for one of the best last turn he has ever seen (it was the first of extra turns).
2-1
(3-1)
Yuuichi wins (4-0), Hayashi loses (1-3)
Round V against Yamada Chiaki (Rw Vial Goblins)For those who knows something about japanese names, you can see this player was a girl. And... she was gorgeous ! Man Japan is a blessed country. My fiancée had started playing the day before and now I saw two very cute girls at a Pro Tour. Those girls rock and it was fun seeing them enjoying the game as much as "we" did. This Chiaki-chan wasn't kidding either as she was 3-0-1 with Rw Vial Goblins... !
She propose me to ID but after a quick check we see that she could probably make the Top 8 at 3-0-2 but not me at 3-1-1. I have to play it out, sorry
Game 1, I have one of nicest draw against Goblin... She starts but I have a first turn FoW (Meddling Mage RFG woo !) for her Lackey. Then I play a random cantrip, pass. She has no turn 2 lands but she played Aether Vial (that's why she kept the hand nonetheless). Turn 2 cantrip, fetch, go. Counter on Vial, no land, pass. land, Serendib Efreet, go, Mogg Fanatic. Counter on Vial, go. untap, Jotun Grunt, Pithing Needle, response Goblin Piledriver in play via Vial, naming Vial with Needle, Land, StP on Piledriver, attack with Efreet. The game last for some turns and I manage to keep the board state and win with those two big guys. She StPed my Grunt and I even finished at 18 life.
Sideboard, quite easy, this one I knew from a looong time.
-4 Daze, -4 Force of Will
+4 Engineered Plague, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Umezawa's Jitte, +1 Engineered Explosives
Game 2, we had some specators and what followed was really sad... I mean, I really enjoy playing with girls. I'm not a pervert or a freakin' stupid nerd, but I just think it makes the game more human. And I would have love the game to be kind of fair, 2-1 for me in the end or something, but she just couldn’t do anything against 3 Engineered Plague and two Meddling Mage (Disenchant and StP)...
2-0
(4-1)
Tanaka ID for 4-0-1, Hayashi loses (1-4)
So I f_ckin’ made it ! Top 8 ! Actualy I finished the swiss round in 3rd place, the guy that beated me in round 3 finished 5-0 in first place and my friend Tanaka is in 6th place,
So yes, for those who know how a Single elimination works, I had to play Tanaka in the Top 8...
We made it all together to Koube, I told him when the pairing for Round I was up “kesshou de aou yo” (Let’s meet in the Finals) and that kind of actualy happend, but a little bit too soon.
Top 8 match against Tanaka Yuuichi (Smallpox/Life from the Loam Control)Before the game, we promise each other to give 20 lands to the other one if one of us wins the whole thing (2 of each lands split). We shake our hands, “Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu” and it’s a go.
Game 1 I had the whole set, he wins the die roll, Land, Mox Diamond, Life from the Loam. Turn 2 Wasteland, Exploration, Life from the Loam. Turn 2 Engineered Explosives at 2, Smallpox. Etc. Untill I lose.
Sideboard was kind of random, I knew his deck card by card but I knew I couldn’t do much as well, I sided in Duress and Pithing Needle, siding out some stuff like Daze.
Game 2 is very close and long, he gets to 2 life, top deck a Loxodon Hierarch that I have to StP to get through him with a Jitte (On Dark Confidant ><, nothing stayed in play long enough...). Engineered Explosives, Stifle, Eternal Witness, -1/-1 counter, lose 5 to FoW (again...), Engineered Explosives for 2, resolve and activate, I gain some life. Volrath's Stronghold on Loxodon Hierarch and he then win with a Eternal Witness + Genesis + Volrath's Stronghold plus the freakin' whole deck in the graveyard and Loxodon Hierarch.loop.
And that's it folks, I lost to my best Magic friend in Nagoya on Pro Tour Koube.In the top 4, Tanaka fight against a UB Reanimator Combo (an interesting one involving a hasted Suttured Ghould and 2 Krosan Cloudscrapper FTW on turn 2-3 reliably)
he wins 2-1 after a very very long and hard match ! The opponent is kind of pissed of because he objectivly had a bad draw on game 3, but that's the game, mostly when you play combo.
In the Final, Tanaka play against Rw Vial Goblin and... wins. The deck is unbeatable anyway.
So for those who read right, that meant I won 20 dual lands as well, even if I refused the present in exchange of him lending me the lands I'd need in future tournaments. He's a friend and he deserved to win those lands, I didn't want the split even after our promise.
So that's it, I finished in 5th place of Pro Tour Kobe with Uwb F!sh guys ! Losing only two games, one from a guy who finished first in the swiss round (and 3rd in the end), and one against the guy who won the whole thing ! That doesn't prove anything about me, but it does prove that "my" deck is superior to Threshold, I think, and that
it is a Tier I contender in Legacy.
The final Top 8 looked like that :
1. Smallpox/Life from the Loam Control (Tanaka)
2. Rw Goblins (Takahashi)
3. Faerie Stompy (Oonishi)
4. UB Reanimator Combo (Han-san)
5. Uwb F!sh (Me)
6. Rw Goblins (Aaron somthing, an american)
7. Rw Goblins (??)
8. Ugw Threshold (not sure on this one) (??)
Thanks for reading. See you soon. This was my first Pro Tour experience and it rocked (even if it just was a Side Event).
I'll talk to Yuuichi-kun about posting his decklist in there in the near future *he told me it was all right to explain the deck for now). Right now I don't want to, you'll understand why. I can tell you it's Gbwr Smallpox/Life from the Loam/Eternal Witness/Engineered Explosive Control.dec though. Then figure it out
If you want to read more about the deck I played, check on the “Uwb Fish” topic in the “Legacy’s Proven” section of The Mana Drain. It is not my deck but the deck of many people that puts a lot of efforts in it, most notably Hanni, 10th at last SCD’s Duel for Duals (thanks to him btw ! Good Job and interesting posts). I personnaly did finish first last week in a 15 person’s tournament in Ariya, south of Aichi-ken, Japan, and now 5th in Pro Tour: Koube. Test against the deck guys, it’s good
