[Tournament Report] Hengelo 12-13-2009 (top 4 with TPS)

After I missed the last two events because of various reasons such as drinking, partying and public transport I was eager to play the Hengelo event. I've been testing TPS extensively past week because I wanted to perform the best I could. I got op at 7 in the morning and made sure I would have enough food for the day. Enough bread, fruit and enough to drink. Usually I tend to make the mistake of not eating/drinking enough during events and end up with a headache after 5 rounds, especially when you play The Perfect Headach.. err.. Storm.
I agreed to meet Duncan, his brother Kevin and Guus in Diemen where they would pick me up with the car. We discussed all sorts of crazy stuff in the car. The thing I remember best is when we were discussing what metagame we would be expecting and that the REAL tournament starts at top 8 for us. Duncan was playing GWSx with Sacraments, Guus was playing Red Workshop Aggro and Kevin was playing 9sphere MUD. We figured there would be a lot of combo showing up, seeing that combodecks (especially ANT) dominated the last two events, in fact ANT is our National champion!

The Perfect Storm

Black Lotus
Mox Jet
Mox Sapphire
Mox Pearl
Mox Emerald
Mox Ruby
Lotus Petal
Sol Ring
Mana Crypt
Mana Vault
Memory Jar
Ancestral Recall
Time Walk
Timetwister
Necropotence
Yawgmoth’s Bargain
Tinker
Gifts Ungiven
Fact or Fiction
Mind’s Desire
Yawgmoth’s Will
Tendrils of Agony
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Mystical Tutor
Grim Tutor
Imperial Seal
Brainstorm
Ponder
Merchant Scroll
Chain of Vapor
Hurkyl’s Recall
Rebuild
4 Dark Ritual
4 Force of Will
4 Duress
2 Cabal Ritual
Darksteel Colossus
4 Polluted Delta
Bloodstained Mire
2 Underground Sea
2 Island
2 Swamp
Tolarian Academy

SB:

Swamp
Island
Hurkyl’s Recall
Rebuild
Pithing Needle
Infest
2 Sadistic Sacrament
3 Dark Confidant
4 Leyline of the Void

When we arrived at the location we started off by greeting everyone. I quickly bought 3 Confidants from Rudy, sleeved up the cards Marius offered me to lend and quickly wrote down my list. I had a quick chat with Martin as I was curious what he would be playing. He piloted practically the same deck I am playing today to a top 4 finish at Nationals but today he was playing Sadistic Suicide. I was hoping not to face him during the event as FOUR main board Sacraments absolutely devastate me.
Well, let’s cut the chitchat for now and move on to the action:

Round 1 vs. Jean-Paul Pover with U/R Dreadstill

I keep a decent hand but without FoW. He opens with 2 moxen, Dreadnought < Stifle, Strip Mine, go. I play out my Island and pass, he responds by Stripping it, I cast Mystical for Chain of Vapor. He untaps, beats down with Dreadnought, plays a Tormod’s Crypt and passes. I start the turn without a board, fetch out Sea (taking the risk of Wasteland as it’s my last land at the moment and have blue and black cards I want to cast), Chain his Dreadnought which resolves and pass the turn. He Wastes my Sea. I eventually get a Swamp, Island and Tolarian in play, but he has the Magus which is killing me rapidly. I topdeck Necro, useless. He beats me for two and passes. I topdeck Cabal Ritual and cast it, trying to follow up with Fact or Fiction. I make a huge error by tapping my lands in reverse order, wanting to use blue from Academy as I declare FoF, so my nerves are already starting to catch up with me and it’s only round 1. I scoop and it’s time for game 2. I was on a one turn clock so FoF couldn’t save me but I still felt bad for making such a misplay.

Game 2 is explosive on my part although he has the Crypt again which annoys me. I manage to resolve a Jar and pass. He does nothing of importance and passes. I untap, upkeep crack my Jar and take some time to figure out the right play. I have enough Mana to cast Bargain but if I walk into a FoW I’m toast. I end up playing out my Moxen and Petal, Duress him, refuse to play land and cast Timetwister, hoping to draw into Tolarian Academy or Ritual>Tendrils. I’m already at storm 7 or 8 after Twistering. I can’t go off this turn unless I take a huge risk in Tinkering for Jar and cracking it with the lone Petal, this is not an option as my facedown cards include a FoW and a blue card. I Tinker up DSC and pass the turn.
Jean-Paul tries to Stifle a Dreadnought into play which I FoW. I smash face for 11, pass. He Time Walks and Ponders but can’t find his out.

Game 3 Jean-Paul opens with a crazy hand. He goes Lotus, Magus, Mox, Ancestral, Land, Top and pass. I have a good hand but I don’t have a Fow to stop his Ancestral. The judge declares we only have 5 turns left and he has Magus and Trinket Mage into play. My initial plan of Tinkering up DSC with FoW back-up and Time Walk needs one more turn to work and the game ends up in a draw. Jean-Paul shows me a Fow and a Misdirection with two blue cards so I’m lucky the game ended in a draw.

Round 2 vs. Martijn van der Vaart with DrainTendrils

I win the die roll and start off with Duress, he has a pretty strong hand with Confidant, Mana Drain, Lotus, Thirst for Knowledge, Land, FoF and Top. I take his Lotus and pass. He plays a land and I believe he plays his Top. We go back and forth for a while I make sure I can play a threat with FoW back-up. I have a Brainstorm, he Seizes me which I have to Fow. I draw into another Fow later. Eventually I try Necro. He gets a good read on me that I have the FoW so instead of Draining the Necro, he tries to TFK into better but Necro resolves.
I draw a lot of cards and pass the turn. When it’s my turn again I still have the FoW for back-up but he has a lot of cards in hand and mana open so I need to play cautious. I cast Grim Tutor first which resolves, then I play a bunch of accelerants, then I desire for 6. I flip bombs and mana. I manage to resolve Gifts for the win.

Game 2 I keep a powerful hand with Merchant Scroll, Mox, Sol Ring, Gifts, FoF, land and Bargain. After Martijn plays a land and passes the turn I lead with my Mox, Sol Ring and Merchant Scroll for FoW after topdecking the Ritual. He plays a land and passes. I think I draw land and pass the turn quickly, he does nothing of importance and plays the waiting game. I EOT Gifts which he Drains. I untap and try for Bargain, he forces, I force back and I win. I think it should be mentioned that after starting the day with a draw and a loss, Martijn managed to win 4 straight matches, earning himself a place in the top 8.

Round 3 vs. Linda Klepper with Elves

Linda is on a roll with her Elf deck and I’m looking forward to playing against her because I’ve never played against Elves. I win the die roll and fan open a sick hand with Lotus, Mox, Sol Ring, Chain of Vapor, Land, Vamp and Desire. I play out the hand and Desire for 7, I flip rituals and Ancestral among other things but with Vamp in hand I can easily tutor up Will, Recall into it and win.

Game 2 is more of the same. This time I manage to Desire for 5 on turn 1 after she resolved an Elf and passed the turn, I can’t go lethal the same turn but pass the turn with Necro in play. I take the match home in game 2. Linda and I joke a lot during the match. She says she’s enjoying the solitaire show, we talk some more after the match and I browse through her deck, curious what cards she’s playing. She has an odd build but it proved to be effective as she had a good record through the event.

I’m checking how the rest of the guys are doing I travelled to Hengelo with. Kevin is 3-0, so is Guus, and Duncan is 2-1. So by the looks of things we can all make top 8.

Round 4 vs. Guus de Waard with Red Shop Aggro

Guus and I have played this match-up to death at his home and although I have experience against him. In testing the results were in his favor so I’m going into this match as an underdog, especially since Guus is an experienced player who knows his deck by heart.
I win the die roll and game 1 I open with land Sol Ring, Guus proceeds with a Thorn and a Chalice for 1, this hurts my hand and my next topdeck: Ancestral Recall. Guus also manages to resolve a Welder to make sure he can tie me down with Tangle Wire. He resolves a Karn and the clock starts ticking fast. I can’t get wriggle out and die to Tangle Wire, Karn and Welder teaming up and killing me dead for 9.

Game 2 I have a strong start with Land, Ancestral, Mox, Brainstorm, Mox, pass. He answers with Thorn and Shaman, eating up my moxen. I manage to get Necro out, but Guus has pressure so my life is depleting fast. He wastes a Sea and later strips an Island to keep me off bouncing his board. Then when I’m set to bounce and go off next turn he rips another Thorn sealing the game.

I feel bad for being blown out and now having to win two straight matches but I’m happy for Guus as he can draw into top 8 now. Kevin sat next to us and he won against Dredge so he’s 4-0 as well. Duncan is making a nice comeback from 0-1 to 3-1.

Round 5 vs. Arjan Kuijper with Tezzeret

I win the die roll and start off with Lotus, Mox and Timetwister which resolves. Seeing as I also had FoF and Ritual I wouldn’t mind if he were to FoW my Twister but Twistering turn 1 is pretty good I hear. Arjen says something about resetting the game with a Sapphire in play and I remind him that I also have my land drop. Arjen declares he keeps his hand (classic joke) and I pretend I want to play a land (actually I don’t have any lands). I then pull my card back and tap my Sapphire for Ponder, it resolves. I then Play Jet (off Ponder) and Duress his hand removing Force of Will (he has lands, Time Vault, FoF and another FoW left in hand). I pass the turn, he plays a land and passes. I then bait Ancestral which he obviously counters. I then go nuts with Rit>Demonic into Lotus having Will in hand.

Game 2 is all Arjan as he starts off with turn 1 Thoughtseize removing my Lotus and A-Calling himself. I play land>Duress and see the following hand: Brainstorm, TFK, Gifts, Trinisphere, FoF and Tinker. I’m stunned and have to take his 3sphere, leaving him with a collection of broken restricted cards in hand. He plays a land and passes. I put out a Mana Vault and pass the turn, he plays Thirst for Knowledge end of turn. He untaps, Tinkers for Time Vault with 2 mana left to spend. I ask him if he has key, he smiles diabolically and reveals Key.

Game 3 I start off with Ancestral which I play in his upkeep, Arjan sighs. I think his hand isn’t so hot as he plays a land and passes with a long face. I proceed to Desire for 12 on turn two. Needless to say I won that game. He reveals a hand with a quick Tezzeret via Pearl and Mana Vault. Unfortunately for him he didn’t have enough time to Mystical up protection as planned.

Round 6 vs. Marius van Zundert with TPS

With the both of us having a 3-1-1 record it was all or nothing. We both kind of hoped we would both make top 8 rather than having to play each other but we both agreed on the fact that if we were to lose and miss out on top 8, it would be best to lose to each other.

I win the die roll and open with Duress which gets forced. I’m already sweating because this means his hand is probably bonkers. He plays a Duress of his own and takes my Will, leaving me with Tinker, FoF and Force. Marius smiles as my hand is strong as well. We wait a bit and I play a FoF at end of turn which resolves. It shows Timetwister, Grim Tutor, Chain of Vapor, Hurkyl’s Recall and Mystical Tutor. He piles Twister/Grim together and the bouncers and tutor. Still stuck on 1 land I take the big pile and pass the turn. Marius passes quickly and I Mystical up Ancestral. I try Ancestral which resolves. I then finally make a land drop and Duress him, he tries Ancestral Recall in response but I Force it. He reveals Tinker, Desire, Chain of Vapor and Dark Ritual (with Swamp and Sapphire in play). I take his Ritual as this poses the most threats, Sapphire, Ritual, Chain and Desire spells trouble if he makes a land drop, Casting Tinker with B floating and a land drop to spare sounds scary too and seeing as I have the Chain myself I’m not too worried for Tinker>Jar/DSC and pass as I can easily bounce it. I pass and Marius rips Academy and immediately plays Tinker. I’m not sure if he remembered the Chain but he did. He looks at me and says ‘’No guts..’’ he lets me finish the sentence ‘’No glory’’ and there we go. He cracks the Jar and finds the Lotus, some Moxen and Twisters. I thanks the Magic Gods as I drew into Tendrils with Jar (Will and Twister in yard). Marius draws junk, we discard our hands and I win after some turns with Ritual, Cabal Ritual into Demonic Tutor. Marius takes a quick look at my yard and scoops ‘em up quickly.

Game 2 Marius has a great start with a turn 1 Necropotence, he draws 9 cards and passes the turn comfortably. I’m facing a tough decision after playing Sapphire>Ponder. I found a Duress but I also have the possibility of Ritual>Necro. I decide to go for the latter hoping to get lucky and draw 2 Forces or something. I draw 7 cards (should’ve been 8 because I fetched) drawing Force. I pass the turn and Marius starts building up storm with Moxen and Crypt. He taps his Sapphire for Ancestral. I think for a while but what the hell, sure. He draws his cards and tries for a Ritual. My gut is telling me this is the one I need to counter. I force, Marius forces back and Tendrils me for exactly the right amount, Ouch, selfownage.
Thankfully Marius reveals the Rebuild as he could’ve killed me no matter what.

Game 3 and the tension is building up. We both mull to 6 and I keep a questionable hand. Still I manage to resolve a turn 2 FoF at end of turn, I’m surprised it didn’t get Duressed on turn 1 or countered seeing as this was the only business spell I had. FoF reveals Time Walk, Merchant Scroll, 2 Rituals and a Sol Ring. Marius wisely splits mana and business. I take the business and untap, I draw… Sacrament (with Cabal Ritual on hand). I casually Merchant Scroll, Marius is fine with it as he expect the Recall. I tutor up the Force and he slowly starts to worry. I cast Cabal Ritual, Marius is a good player, he knows what’s coming.. Sacrament. He forces, I force, he scoops.

He extends his hand and is a great sport about the whole thing. It could’ve gone either way and playing the TPS mirror is difficult as all hell. I promise to take home the Workshop although I’m bluffing because two shops are in the top 8. Kevin and Guus! Guus, who beat me soundly in the Swiss, and Kevin who has 9 Sphere MUD. Duncan also made top 8 so the chances of us taking home the Workshop is pretty big.

Quarterfinals: Gerwin Ruiterkamp with Ghast Dredge

Gerwin wins the die roll and mulls to 6. He then opens with Bazaar and dumps a Gravetroll. He passes the turn and I open explosively with Emerald, Sol Ring, Lotus. I sac my Lotus for blue and Mystical up Ancestral I then Ponder into it and use my last blue remaining to cast the Recall. I draw into Vamp tutor which is just awesome against Dredge. I drop land and pass the turn with land, Ritual and Cabal in hand. I’m feeling great at this point because if Gerwin doesn’t kill me right now, I can Vamp into Will and win easily. He dredges a lot and attacks my hand with Cabal Therapies but he knows what’s coming as I’ve Vamped in response to the first Therapy. I untap, cast Will and win easily be replaying Lotus, all the rituals, Pondering, more acceleration, Vamping up Tendrils and Ancestral into it for the win.

Game 2 Gerwin mulls and I keep a sick hand with 2 Leylines, Ruby, Sapphire, Lands and a Merchant Scroll. He mulligans to three, then Serum Powders but finds the Bazaar. Once he declares he’s keeping I lay out the leylines. Gerwin is stunned and scoops.

Me and Duncan (def. his brother Kevin) won our matches pretty quickly so we could enjoy the spectacle of the other quarterfinal matches between Arjan (Almost Blue) and Frank (ANT) and Guus vs. Martijn (Drain Tendrils).

Semifinals: Guus de Waard with Red Shop Aggro

I win the die roll and keep but take a long time thinking through lines of play. I can storm for 9 on turn 1. I’m one B short for Duressing after Will so I have to take a different route. I decide to tutor up Necro. I can resolve it next turn through one sphere so I think I can handle what Guus is going to play. Guus starts off with Thorn and Trinisphere. From that moment on I can’t keep up and the WS aggro deck turns into a deck with hardlocks all over as he has Trinisphere, 2 Thorns, Chalice @ 2, Chalice @ 3, two Welders, a Tangle Wire and a Shaman. Needless to say he defeats me. In hindsight I should’ve cast Ritual, Demonic into Recall, Duress and then cast Recall via Sapphire but I’ve won a lot of games vs. Shop off the back of Necropotence and I thought that would be a good bet.

Game 2 I mulligan but I open with Island into Ancestral, it looks like I will be making my land drops. He plays pieces while I make land drops. On turn 4 I cast Necro. Juggernaut is staring me down but I have 4 lands with Guus having Trinisphere and Thorn out. He wastes my Sea, I draw some cards. I have another turn so I set up the turn for bounce. He crashes into the red zone with Juggernaut and I go down to 2. He then plays Workshop and casts Triskelion. I’m dead with the win in hands.
Here I could’ve drawn a little less cards but I wanted to make sure I would make the land drops and took the gamble of Triskelion killing me (Guus didn’t have access to 6 mana on board before ripping the Shop) and he did.

I made mistakes throughout the day but I’m happy with my performance. There is still a lot to be learned, TPS is such a difficult and unforgiving deck. I will have to practice the Workshop match-up some more but I’ve been happy with my performance against Tezzeret, Drain Tendrils, Oath, Fish and Dredge in this tournament and/or in my testing.

Arjan, Duncan, Guus, Kevin and I congratulated each other with our performance and prizes. The four of us took home about $700 in cards. Guus and Duncan split the 4 Tropicals and the Workshop while I took home the 2 Badlands, the Mana Crypt and a Windswept Heath.
Kevin won a Delta and a Volcanic Island.

We went to a nearby snack bar and ate a lot! I ate the most which is kind of funny because the other guys are much bigger than me, Guus is like 6’5, Kevin is about 6’4 and Duncan is pretty big too with 6’2. So my 6’0 is not really that impressive next to these guys. And the first thing I did when I got home was.. eat.. I’ve read the tournament report from Smmenen earlier about the huge hamburger with the egg and I dare you guys I can eat two easily. Anyone wants to make a bet for a Lotus?

The ride back was fun, we talked about what a great day it has been and talked about the event and some random stuff like women, warcraft, chessboxing, punching someone in the Adam’s apple and more. Can’t really remember.. What we did remember is saying something about: the real tournament starts in the top 8. How often does it happen that everyone you make the trip with makes top 8? Well, every time if you’re us.

Props:

Marius: for being a great sport, rooting for us in the top 8 and being the biggest Vintage enthusiast you’ll ever meet. And oh yeah, thanks for lending me the cards.
Guus and Duncan: For plowing through the field and taking first and second place.
Rudy: Because he has all the cards, this time I bought Confidants from him.
Gerwin: For the great prize support and excellent organization.
Kevin: For winning four straight matches and drawing into top 8 like it’s nothing while he’s not a vintage regular by far. The Keijzer family is blessed with talent that’s for sure…
Arjan: For taking 3rd place with a Drain Tendrils deck without Drains or Tendrils

Slops:

Me: For tapping Tolarian Academy for Blue with Magus out.
Snack bar: For the hamburger sauce, it was meh at best.
Guus: for beating me twice (but this doesn’t really count =P)

I only took track of life totals and Duress hands so if any information is off feel free to correct me.

I’m looking forward to Breda and hope to have an equally good result, especially cause there will be a Lotus on the line!

See all of you there hopefully!