This is the tournament report for the Collector’s Corner Unl. Timetwister tournament on 07-25-02.
As I have posted on another thread, there has been a resurgence in mono blue in my area. I was mulling over what I wanted to run in the SB to contemplate this metagame shift, when I remembered a few email conversations with Legend. Legend Black has such flavor and automatically stood out in my mind as a strong possibility for this Power card tourney.
I decided to play the deck cad for card as the wise Legend designed, but to change the SB (see Decklist @ bottom).
Of course I was late getting out of the shower, thus out of the house, so I speed all the way to Chipotle (if you don’t have this restaurant in your area, I am so sorry for you, you should go to
www.chipotle.com and suggest that they make one in your area, they have the best food ever, and are my favorite restaurant ever, I eat there 2-3 times a week). As usual Chipotle is busy, but briskly move the customers, I get PLC: (Title Page) the tournament in just enough time to sign up, and pay, then eat about 2/3 or my burrito, and it is on to round 1.
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Round 1 Ben Parrott, Mono Blue
Ben is a prodigy of mine, not to say that he wouldn’t have been a great player if I had not taken him under my wing,… but I think he has greatly benefited from my affinity for letting him borrow power cards, and duals, plus I designed the mono Blue deck he is playing, based off Legend Blue 2002.
Ben’s deck is really strong against keeper from the 4 maindeck B2B, but I was hoping to get the drop on him, since everyone there was expecting me to play keeper, and I had the feeling that they would overly SB against that match-up, neglecting Sui, since no one has played it in quite a while.
Game 1: I play first, and I lay swamp, Ben’s face changes… and as I duress him, he says "you tricky bastard" as I see he has 2 B2b in opening hand, I take a mana drain, and pass the turn.
I get a shade on the 2nd turn, but he top decks an ancestral into a time walk, and on to a morphling, I get him to 4, but the game is over, I play it out, but the turn before he kills me he casts superman #2… DOH!
The entire time I am SB’ing I start getting nervous that maybe I’ll chogg out in the 1st round, not something I want to do, but IO know he has no less then 3 control magic’s in the SB, and I designed the deck to have 4… Get a bad feeling.
SB: -4 Sinkhole, -2 Wasteland, +3 Defense Grids, +1 Null Rod, +2 Diabolic Edict
I would have rather kept the Sink holes in but I needed the slots, and I think that sink holes are best against keeper, to selectively choke out certain mana colors, and that is by far a lesser consideration against mono blue, plus this deck should be called "IhateMisdirection.dec".
Game 2: Ben looks at his opening hand and then picks up his SB, and exclaims openly, I am such a bad player, I don’t know how I ever win at this game. Apparently he accidentally left in his B2B and although had set aside the control magic’s, had not put them into the deck… although I felt bad, we both knew it was his mistake, and there was no back tracking in tournament play… so he praised to 6, and had a land, mox= powder keg opening.
I go 1st turn, land ritual, dark ritual, and duress (taking Timetwister), then rull rod.
He sinks, next turn I lay a shade, it is countered by his topdeck, but the next turn I lay Negator, and after that Reaver, and its game over.
Game 3 I keep a 1 land hand, since Ben is playing first and I will get a draw, plus I had a duress, and a ritual, and a demonic.
I duress a mana drain, but see he has a control magic, but I assume that I will draw another disruption spell, and get it out, plus he is mana light, so I am hoping things go my way, next turn I ritual, and try to demonic, and he forces, pitching a morpling, so I burn, and he doesn’t draw a land, I do on the next turn, and lay a reaver.
Ben draws a keg, and 8pts of life later kills the reaver, but cannot see mana, finally I draw a duress, but there is 2 freaking control magic’s in his hand!! AHHH, I take 1, and then drop hyppie, keeping 2 negators in hand, thinking I can at least race if the magic steals the hyppie.
Finally he draws a land, takes the hyppie, I drop the negator, and then he attacks with hyppie, getting a reaver, and taps almost all the way out to cast morphling… I sink, I top deck an edict, I cast it, and no misdirection WOO HOO!!, I cast a 2nd negator, and then attack he blocks with superman, but with as little mana as he had, he could only pump to 4, and make me sack 4 perms, and go to 2… he doesn’t topdeck a control magic, and I win.
Ben is a super sport as usual, and congrats me, wishing me luck in the following rounds.
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Round 2 Nate Lumpkin, RG Beats.
Nate has 4 bolt, and 4 incinerates, plus river boas, and rancor, I am not looking forward to this. Also Nate had a bye the 1st round, and knew he was playing the winner of Ben and I, so he scouted our decks the entire match we were playing… although not against any rules any more, it is really annoying.
Game 1: I put up a good fight with a hyppie, put draw 2 reavers, and he draws 2 boas… I loose to the creature rush.
Sideboard: -4 Negator, -4 Reaver, -2 Null Rod, +2 Masticore, +3 Keg, +2 Edict, +2 Perish, +1 Dystopia
I have 2 wastelands, 2 sinkhole, a lotus, a swamp, and a demonic tutor in opening hand, and keep, I am homing that he doesn’t do anything crazy ist turn, and I am pleasantly surprised, as he doesn’t, I waste his 1st land, his 2nd land, I draw a mox Jet, and sink his 3rd and 4th lands… damn I love Land Destruction!
The game is over, as I lay a Shade. And then a hyppie.
Game 2: He gets a better start with 1st turn land bird, I waste the 1st land, but he topdecks another and drops a boa.
I get out a masticore, and start killing all his bitches, I get him to 2 and he is able to bolt and incenerate the masticore… that's cool, I Yawgwill, and get jiggy on his mana base, and then DT for another masticore to finish the job.
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Round 3: Erik Knight, Dreadnaught/ Mask with 0 basic lands.
Erik is a cool guy, and I love the decks he builds, they are usually rogue-esque, at least for our area, and is a super good sport, I am fearing the 1st or 2nd turn 12/12 bitches!!!!
I win the roll, and go turn 1 ritual, null rod, burn for 1… the look on Knights face is priceless.
He rituals out a hyppie, but the next turn I am able to lay a land, a lotus (not that could use it) ritual out 2 Shades, leaving a duress in hand, he trade for a while, cause I mana stall and I keep drawing 3cc spells, and cannot cast them.
He trys to use a lotus to cast a Yawg Will, and I am like whoa whoa… I let him backup, but that could have been messy.
Finally, after he draws 3 hyppies in a row, to chump the shades, I kill him.
Sideboard: -3 Reaver, +1 Null Rod, +2 Edict
I bring in the Edicts just in cast I cannot see a Rod early enough, and he gets out a fatty.
He is unable to do anything with 1 mana for the 1st 2 turns, so I waste the 1st 2 lands, and then duress the edict in his hand, seeing 2 illusionary masks in hand,, but no creatures.
He topdecks a hyppie, drops a lotus, a mask, and the hyppie, I am able to stop the crazyness with a nullrod, and then edict the hyppie.
I kill him in short order, with 2 negators, with ease.
Knight is a good sport as always, and wishes m luck.
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Round 4 (Finals) Dave Orlaman, Zoo.
Dave usually plays a U/G Oath deck, so that was what I was expecting, I was actually pleasantly surprised, although his deck runs 4 Bolts and 4 Incinerates, It has no basic land, we all know what that means… he goona be finding a bunch or parched dried-up wasted striped lands with sinkholes in them.
Game 1: apparently Dave didn’t know what I was playing either, and went for land, scroll, and asks "is that ok?" the crowd of the shop looking at my mono black hand start laughing, and I say "ummmmm….. oh, ok" he then cast a lotus and river boa, burns for 1.
I drop a swamp and duress out his Timetwister, that he should have probably cast, and he mana stalls, that’s to bad, since I waste his land, then lay a Shade, then strip his next land, then drop a hyppie.
This hyppie goes the whole way for me, he did bolt it once, then I yawg willed, and got it back, the same hyppie… sweet!
Sideboard: -4 Reaver, -1 Negator, +2 Perish, +1 Null Rod, +2 Masticore.
Although Masticore and Null Rod have a negative synergy with each other, I figured that I needed them both, Rods to slow down, shut down the moxen, and scrolls, and the masticore to have a 4/4 body against his creatures, plus If I see the Masticore before the Rod, it would demolish his board.
He has 1st turn taiga, 2xmox, timewalk, but doesn’t draw a mana, he casts a powder keg, and passes the turn.
I ritual a null rod and burn, and he sinks… he still doesn’t draw mana, and I waste his only mana, then drop a Shade, he is so mana hosed that although I have no idea what is in his hand, I cast a negator, hoping to just kill him in 2 turns, with shade and negator.
He draws a city, and I think NO BOLT, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt, please no bolt.
He makes the mistake of waiting until I attack before bolting the negator, so I take mana from the 3 lands I have in play and pump the shade and hit him for 10… he is at 6, so if he has no other DD I win… he gets a land, and has a freaking incinerate!, I sac all perms besides the Null rod,.
Believe it or not I win this game. I topdeck 2 lad in a row, and cast a shade, he wheel of fortunes me into a bunch more mana, and a hymn, 2 rituals, a hyppie, and a hymn.
I try to hymn him on my next turn, and he taps 2 count them 2 city of brass, and mana leaks the hymn, I dark ritual on the stack to pay for it, and so I hymn a bolt and a land from his hand… so actually I got 3 of his cards and 2 life… That mana leak came outa no were, but I think he thought it was going to do better then it did.
The hyppie goes the distance, and I win the unlimited Timetwister.
The funny thing is, that the only power cards that I have ever actually won, have been Timetwisters, and it is the only of the P10 I don’t use… haha.
I am forever destined to have timetwisters flying from every orafice.
Here is the Decklist:
Legend Black: (aka "IhateMisdirection.dec")
4 Duress
2 Null Rod
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Sinkhole
4 Flesh Reaver
4 Nantuko Shade
1 Yawgmoth's Will
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Phyrexian Negator
4 Dark Ritual
1 Mox Jet
1 Black Lotus
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
17 Swamp
Freddie SB:
2 Masticore
2 Dystopia
3 Powder Keg
3 Defense Grid
2 Diabolic Edict
1 Null Rod
2 Diabolic Edict
Props:
Null rod: for the shutting down of many moxen and mask’s
Legend: for the sweet ass decklist
Phyrexian Negator: for being a 5/5 Trampler for 3 mana
Land Destruction: It feels so good!
Chipotle: for the best burrito’s ever
Slops:
Phyrexian Negator: for having any drawbacks
Mana Leak: It just isn’t that good.
Thanks for reading.
-Freddie
