Tournoment Report -- Cary Cup 2

Hey everybody, I did not run the tourney but i still took enough notes and want to do a report on it, so here goes...

The day started early for some, around 11AM for others (like me) but hey, it was for a vintage tourney for an Ancestral Recall, so it was worth it. We played with the pre-restriction format so i was expecting heavy GAT and Gush Tendrils and the like, so of course i brought my Oath deck. We had 15 people, so there was a bye and 4 rounds of swiss followed by cut to top 4. It was a short day, and i relaxed knowing that... but then realized i had to win 3 rounds to top 4. Scary proposition!

Round 1: I sit down across the bottom table from Chris, a Team Arsenal player and known good player. I had no idea what he was running, so of course i win the dice roll and draw the nuts hand. Turn 1 i play Mox Jet and Forbidden Orchard into Oath with Force backup and another mox in hand. He manages to stave me off for a while with draw and stuff, but eventually i get the better of him with 2 cards left in my library. close call!
Game 2 was all him. I had a decent hand to start off, and had realized by now that he was playing Long Combo. I got run all over this game because i forced the wrong target and then proceeded to take a tendrils for a lot in my dome. on to game 3.
Game 3... for all the marbles. We go to time, both stalling around for a while. I get an oath in play and get a tyrant on the table, but then he gets a turn. He attempts to go nuts and combo out on me right there, but he Time Twisters and draws absolutely nothing good for him. Cody came up behind Chris when the timetwister hit and said "so, what does your mouth taste like right now?" and an answer of "o man so many different things, but its good..." He ended up whiffing and i sent him down the next turn with a luck sack topdeck of brainstorm into mox/force/brain freeze and go to town on him.

1-0

Round 2: Table 1. I sit down and see my friend Darian there ready to slay. I had seen him testing it earlier, and knew that he was running GAT so it made my strategic life easier. I drew the nuts and went to town and oathed up both Tyrants but he managed to grab an Echoing Truth and send em back to my hand. I topdecked a brainstorm at some point and put one of em topdeck (the other got Thoughtseized) and proceeded to oath him out and combo that turn.
Game 2 i didnt draw the nuts, i drew both tyrants over the course of the game. go figure. i guess it balances out with the nuts draw last game, so whatever. an 8/8 Dryad makes short work of me.
Game 3 i drew the nuts again, but one tyrant was in my hand. i topdecked a brainstorm and put it on top and oathed into it, won on turn 4. Kudos to Darian for taking my two nuts draws in stride and not getting upset, calling me a cheater and stuff.

2-0

Round 3: table 1 against the TO, Cody. I knew he was playin combo of some sort because he always plays the same deck. We played a very quick two games and i got destroyed, but it was a heck of a fun game 1. I combod out with my Oath and brain freezed his deck away, but darksteel colossus get back in that deck every time. i had already burned my recall for some dumb reason so he had a turn left. he draws the colossus and goes "mox, mox, Yawg Will." All i can say is "shit game 2," but that has to be the play of the day. Game 2 i put up little fight, keeping a 1 land and lotus hand, but drawing absolutely nothing on my brainstorm, ponder, and ponder. i then procede to draw no more lands and lose it fairly quickly.

2-1

Round 4: Table 4 against a person i had never played before, but i knew from scouting that he was playing Shop Aggro. this is a terrible matchup for me (some oath players may disagree, but i think its not a great one). Game 1 he got double Magus of the Moon out by turn 2 or 3 and a sphere of resistance. i oathed once off a mox, but he drew a mox monkey and made life harder. i got a tyrant in play and fought back for quite a while, but was at 1 life when i stabalized. he played 3 critters when i had 1 blocker, and not enough spells to take care of them. on to game 2.
Game 2 he drew a good hand, but i was first and had an oath out and running on turn 3. He drew 1 mountain this game, and sphere of resistance made my life difficult, but i got it.
Game 3 he was on the play and mulled to 5, only to see another 1 mountain hand. I managed to win through sphere of resistance and thorn of amethyst by turn 4. sorry dude, mana screwedness sucks.

3-1

It was a tossup as to if i would top 4 or not, because there were 4 people with 9 points (i think, correct me if i'm wrong cody) but i managed to get in with great tiebreaks, as my only loss was to cody (4-0). That recall looked so close, but the top 4 was Oath (myself), Ichorid, Cody's Combo deck, and another player playing Gush Tendrils. I had two decent matchups and one terrible one. i'm stuck against the terrible one, Ichorid. He gets a quick game 1 because dread return on Sundering Titan takes out my lands and i cant topdeck the second mox to win the game.
Game 2 i put up a good fight, starting with a Leyline in play and a land + a mox and try to cast oath. He reminds me that the land i played is an underground sea. oops. Shouldnt have kept, but anyway... i procede to draw nothing of interest until he can blow up my leyline and go autopilot for the victory.

This tourney was the first time i had ever made a top X cut, so i was quite proud of myself. The prize was mediocre at best, an 8th edition foil City of Brass. The ichorid player won the ancestral, so i didnt feel too bad about myself.

More to come from me, as i hope to be hosting these Cary tourneys once Cody leaves for NY. Thanks everybody!

--Geoff