Mile High Comics (
www.milehighcomics.com/magic)
Type One Tournament
Thornton, Colorado
November 23, 2002
My son's babysitter (who happens to be my sister) was late, I was going to show up at the tournament around 10:30, but she did not show up at my house until 10:30. So I rushed out the door and decided to call ahead to make sure my spot was still available, it was.
It's a good thing I called ahead because as I walked into Mile High Comics the place was a mad house, we had filled up to the maximum 64 people and people were being turned away, this is good, it shows a lot of interest for Type One in the Denver area. I feel bad though and wish everyone could have played today, it's all about the pre-registration I tell you.
Originally I had my deck list all worked out and typed up ready to turn in. But the day before this tournament I had a revolution: Tempting Wurm was not going to win. So what was I to do? My pet deck I had been playing and play testing for the last two months was not going to make the cut. Time to improvise, see the deck was already control based, and I almost always play control so a few changes here and there, remove green from the mana base, and viola Mishra Factory Keeper was born. Unfortunately I was making changes to the deck up to the moment I walked out the door and my neatly typed deck list was now messier than my homework in the forth grade, you remember, the time my dog ate it…
So I have this scrap of ragged paper, covered with scribbles and card names crossed off, I think about handing it in, but decide its not worth the possible game lose and grab a deck registration sheet. Okay I have about 7 minutes before the tournament starts... They start calling the pairing and I turn my deck list in right at the last possible moment.
For reference I will put the list right here and save you the trouble of scrolling to the bottom.
Mishra Factory Keeper:
4 Mishra's Factory
2 Morphling
4 Mana Drain
4 FoW
1 Misdirection
1 Teferi's Response
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mind Twist
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic tutor
1 Cunning Wish
1 Zuran Orb
1 The Abyss
1 Balance
1 StP
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Fire/Ice
1 Disenchant
4 City of Brass
4 Underground Sea
3 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
1 Polluted Delta
1 Undiscovered Paradise
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Sol Ring
5 Mox
1 Black Lotus
60 Cards
Sideboard:
4 REB
1 Ebony Charm
1 StP
1 Hyrkyle's Recall
1 Misdirection
2 Disenchant
1 Teferi's Response
2 Obstinate Familiar
1 CoP: Red
1 Powder Keg
Okay today has been hectic, but all is well I am about to start playing.
*** Disclaimer: All below events are true to the best of my knowledge, this entire report is based on my memory (scary, huh? ; ) ), life totals and a few cards names taken here and there. ***
Round One: Jeff Urich (R3as0n on themanadrain.com) playing Tools and 'Tubbies (TnT, Fully Powered)
Game One:
I win the roll, yea. I play a random land and pass Jeff drops a 1st turn Su-Chi which I FoW, I drop another land and Jeff busts out a Quirion Ranger and a Sylvan Library, I drop a Mishra's Factory and he answers with Juggernaut. We trade the Jug and the Factory, and another Jug soon comes to play and he brings his friend Mr. Welder and together they roll over me. Okay I was totally overwhelmed I had never played against TnT before, but this (TnT) deck is the Shiz!
Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 11, 6, 1, dead.
Jeff 20, 16, 12
Game Two:
(Sideboard went something like this: +1 StP, + 2 Disenchant, +1 Ebony Charm, +1 Hyrkyle's Recall, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 The Abyss, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Zuran Orb, -1 Misdirection)
Alright I have a little better feel for the deck now and get down to the dirty. We both drop some lands and Jeff plays a Sylvan with a Grim Monolith in play, I decide that it needs to be countered, I FoW he ReBs and that's that. I have a Factory in play, he has a Sylvan Library. He drops a Memory Jar I Mana Drain, he ReBs, I FoW. Haha take that! Jeff follows up with a Jug, which meets StP. I have a Mishra's Factory in play that gets Wasted and a Welder drops on his side. He soon replays the Memory Jar. I fear combo from the Monolith and expect to see a Power Artifact and to die soon. So I cast Hyrkyle's Recall to "hide" the Monolith for another turn and buy time. It turns out Jeff does not have any tricky combo's hidden in his sideboard and I take some honest Juggernaut beats and lose soon after, okay not exactly soon after. At one point Jeff casts a Jesters Cap, Jesters Cap!? No way, I think I am pretty smart and I Mana Drain that bad boy, Jeff is okay with this and welds it back into play, D'oh! He then removes both Morphling's, all Factories and my Yawgmoth's Will, as you can guess I did not deck him. This game Jeff also had a Survival of the Fittest, but from what I remember Jeff did not need to use it.
Jeff and I shake hands and wish each other well, he tells me "Don't worry, I'll keep up your tie breakers." Jeff definitely has the deck to do that!
Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 12, 8, 3, 2, dead.
Jeff 20, 16, 14, 19, 11, 7, 6
Games: 0-2, Matches: 0-1
Round Two: Jeremiah Medina playing: Sligh (Powered? I Never saw Lotus, may have been a Ruby)
Game One:
Ahh, Sligh, red cards I know and love. Much better than TnT (not that this is a better deck, I just understand this match-up. Much better than being raped by TnT again! Note to self: become more familiar w/ TnT).
He drops an early Jackal Pup, I take a hit and then Fire it next turn. I find my Zuran Orb and gain some life from Factories that get bolted. He gets a Mox monkey into play and nukes my Orb, I Mana Drain a Cursed Scroll, play The Abyss which knocks off the Monkey, a Cadets and a Fanatic who pops me for 1. I do get a little low on life but have a Morphling (and Factory) in play and he swings for the win.
Life: Zach 20, 18, 20, 17, 14, 11, 13, 12, 10, 7, 3
Jeremiah 20, 18, 14, 7, dead
Game Two:
(Sideboard: +1 StP, +1 Misdirection, +1 Teferi’s Response, +1 CoP: Red, +1 Powder Keg, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Disenchant, -1 Brainstorm, -1 Strip Mine, -1 Cunning Wish)
First turn Fanatic and second turn Black Vise (perhaps these were both first turn, don't remember) start to beat me down they are followed up with a ton of burn. I was dead by turn five, other cards he played were Chain Lightning, Mox Monkey and Lightning Bolt.
Life: Z 20, 19, 17, 16, 15, 14, 11, 10, 8, 6, 3, 2, 1 dead
J 20
Game Three:
Not good, I am one game away from starting this thing out as a 0-2.
What am I to do? Well I look into my opening hand and see the devil staring back at me, he says for the low, low price of 2 life and one card draw, I can have any one card in my deck. That's fair, I take CoP: Red. The next turn I cast the CoP and take a point from my City of Brass. He bolts me while he can and also has a Fanatic in play. I build up a Zuran Orb and an Abyss on top of my CoP: Red, overkill anyone?
While I am building up control, he casts a Pup and a Goblin Cadets to go with the Fanatic, I am taking one point a turn because all I have is a CoB and 2 other non-pain lands. Soon Morphling drops and finishes things off for me.
Life: Z 20, 18, 17, 14, 13, 12, 11, 15, 12, 9, 11, 13, 12, 11, 7
J 20, 15, 5, Jeremiah wants his mommy.
Games: 2-3 Matches: 1-1
Round Three: Drew Fisher playing White Weenie (No Power)
Drew is a cool guy, he seems to have a pretty good grasp of Type One. At the last tournament there was at leased 5 maybe 10 Sui-Black decks running around, so Drew meta-gamed WW. Good call, but I did not see one Sui-Black deck at all today. I hope he did.
Okay I have been playing Keeper for two rounds now, I should know my deck inside and out by now, right? Heh... On to the report.
Drew opens with a Savannah Lions, right on. I play a Mishra's Factory which Drew takes exception to, it seems double signed Mishra Factory's are a rarity. I take a hit of the Savannah and FoW a pro-black knight. It seems my Factory was enough to distract him as he attacked with his Lion the next turn and I blocked, after making my Factory a 2/2, then tapping him so he becomes a 3/3, long story short the Lion died.
I play an Abyss and his Knight says "nee" or some such, either way it ignores the Abyss. I take some damage from the knight (he was a pump knight, for the record). Then I cast my Morphling and swing for the win. Wait that's not what happened! After hitting him for 10 I cast a Vampiric Tutor for something, to make sure he is dead, at the end of his turn. Then after shuffling and having Drew cut, I do the token jester of putting the card on top of my library and draw it. At this point Drew points out that my Morphling is dead since I never paid his upkeep. I just smile and say fair enough (hey WW needs all the help it can get). So here I am with a Yawgmoth's Will in hand (that's what I tutored for) and a Morphling, Ancestral Recall and Time Walk in the grave. I play the Will using a lotus, return the lotus to play, drop Morphling, cast Time Walk and then get greedy with my last blue and cast Ancestral, Drew responds with a top decked StP, as he was recently Mind Twisted, and removes my Morphling from the game. Ugg. Sloppy, sloppy play! No worries, I disperse of the pump knight via Diabolic Edict, Drew points out "but the knight is pro:black!" as he puts the card to the grave. I then play a Factory and sweep up this mess for the win. Also a Morphling come to town, just in case with him @ 6 life. That was harder than it looked.
Life: Zach 20,18,17,15,14,10,6,4,3,6,5,13,15
Drew: 20,15,10,8,12,10,8,6 dead.
Side note: Keeper really is a complex deck, I'm not making any excuses for my play mistakes, but I would suggest that if you plan to play Keeper (or any other deck for that mater) at any large tournament, play test it first. Although my Keeper trial by fire was easily one of the most fun tournament experiences I have ever had, do not try this at home. I have played lots of other control based decks and had a good feel for the deck.
Game Two:
(Sideboard: +1 StP, +1 Powder Keg, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Strip Mine (I think;))
Okay I made game one look a lot closer than it should have been. Time to play.
I Edict a Monk (Pro: Black, Shadow Guy) who just had Epidermal Armor cast upon him, take some damage from City of Brass, StP another pro: black guy and then Vampiric Tutor for Morphling, Morphling gets lonely so he calls his friend Mishra over and together they do what they do: 20 to 0 in three turns or your money back!
Life: Z 20, 19, 17, 16, 14, 11
D 22, 21, 14, 7 dead
Games: 4-3, Matches: 2-1
Round Four: Karen Maeda (soon to be Jackalope on TMD) playing Keeper (Fully Powered).
Karen works for Marshks (
www.marshaks.com) a store in Ft. Collins that holds monthly Type One tournaments and also spins for some local clubs, she gave me one of her demo's and I dig her music, if you like techno at all check her out at
www.dj-jackalope.com and support our local talent.
The Keeper Mirror, she was even playing Factories, hell yea!
Game One:
My notes for this match stink! This has something to do with paying attention to the game at hand, I apologize for not taking better notes. Here is what I can tell you. Karen plays a first turn Factory, Mox Sapphire, Sol Ring, Merchant Scroll for Ancestral Recall. Burn for one. I draw and play a Mishra's Factory and pass. She plays the Ancestral Recall and I Force of Will, she FoWs. Damn. I am able to destroy her Factory (via Edict, I think) and then proceed to chip her life from 17 to 9, she lays a Factory and I StP, she Mana Drains, I Drain and that's that. Factory rocks.
Life: Zach 20, 19
Karen 20, 19, 18, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 12, 10, 8, 3 dead
Game Two:
(SideBoard: +4 REB, +1 Misdirection, -1 The Abyss, -1 StP, -1 Fire/Ice, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Cunning Wish)
Karen plays first and establishes double blue before I do, she also gets a Factory out, then another. I also have a Factory. We trade beats with our 'trees' for a few turns and then I trade my Factory for hers. She gets a Mox Monkey out and eats my artifacts faster than an Atog! I Vampiric Tutor for something that gets countered (she wins the war). I counter another spell and get taken down by her Monkey and Factory.
Life: Z 20, 18, 16, 14, 13, 11, 9, 7, 4, 3, 2, 1 dead
K 20, 18, 16
Game Three:
I believe this game I have the early Ancestral Recall and the counter back up to support it, I cast the Ancestral she REB, I Drain, she FoW, I FoW. Good deal, I drop a Factory, then another and take her to 11. I believe she gets a Morphling into play and I balance sac'ing a good deal of land to my Zuran Orb. This leaves me with two Factories, 1 blue dual and a Mox Sapphire. I draw another Blue source and start attacking, holding back counter magic just in case. She has no answer to my Factories and I win!
Life: Z 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 22
K 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 7, 3 dead.
Games: 6-4, Matches: 3-1
Round Five: Gary Wolfmeier playing Sligh (Powered?)
This was a battle! It went a little something like this...hit it.
Gary was chillin' with his beanie pulled down to his eyebrows, and ready to do battle. He had a few of his friends hanging around with him for support and they even gave me a nickname, Mr. Smiley, which reminds me of Guy Smiley, hey it could have been worse. For a minute it was like the Muppet show gone wrong : )
Game One:
Gary plays a quick Fanatic and soon found out why I was smiling so much as I dropped a Antiquities double signed Mishra Factory and an Alpha Lotus, I think his jaw dropped to the floor. So the game goes on and Gary and his friends drool over my all black bordered deck, I really think this helps to win matches, as they were enthralled by it! Where were we? Oh yes. He hits me with the Fanatic a few times and until I play a Factory, he then drops a Ball Lightning which I allow. I play another Factory and take some CoB damage to cast The Abyss, I end up with a Zuran Orb soon after and freely attack with my Mishra's because if they draw out burn then there is that much less I am taking and they are also life points now that the Orb is in play.
He casts a Blistering Firecat who gets FoW'd. He then casts Seismic Assault, which I also allow but then disenchant, to which he discards 2 lands to do 4 to me. He tries to bolt me and I Misdirect to him (no creatures, due to The Abyss). He does some other random burn to me. I am still hitting him for 2 a turn with my last Factory and he plays a Battle Wagon to get me to 2 (with about 5 land and a Zuran Orb in play) as I take his last few life points away.
Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 12, 11, 10, 12, 11, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 10, 12, 11, 13, 7, 6, 4, 2
Gary 20, 18, 15, 11, 9, 6, 4, 2 dead
Game Two:
(Sideboard: +1 StP, +1 Misdirection, +1 Teferi's Response, +1CoP: Red, +1 Powder Keg, -1 Disenchant, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Strip Mine, -1 Mystical Tutor)
This game was much quicker than the last one, he got a first turn Jackal Pup, Second Turn Pup/Fanatic. I play a second turn Balance with a Factory in play and Jewelry too boot. He plays another Pup and Bolts me. I untap draw and play a land and pass. Next he casts a Ball Lightning which I Mana Drain, and turn into a protected Morphling the next turn, he holds back and I attack, wipe out his board via Keg and attack a few more times. It's his turn and he has a Buggy and Pup in play (I had been taking 4 a turn for these guys) but I was leaving my Morphling tapped so he would be protected as I had only one spare Blue after each attack, this turn I have like four sources, so he attacks and I untap my Morphling pump him to a 5/1 and block the pup, killing Gary! This game is mine with style points to spare.
Life: Z 20, 18, 16, 15, 12, 8, 4
Gary: 20, 15, 10, 5 dead
Games: 8-4, Matches 4-1
Round Six: Josh Timberman (routedashf on themanadrain.com) playing Paragon Keeper (-Mystical Tutor, +Vampiric tutor), Fully Powered.
Josh is a cool guy, he had been out of magic for awhile, but seemed to have a good grasp of what he was doing. Once again I don't have the best notes, just life totals. So this is mostly from my memory. For more details of this match check out Joshes report (
http://www.themanadrain.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=20;t=2771).
We are both thinking about the Top Eight and we both have 12 points, there are a ton of other people who do as well, if we draw we risk the chance of neither of us making it, so it's game time now more than ever.
Game One:
I open with a quick hand and have no counter magic, I play a Tundra and pass. During Josh's upkeep I cast Ancestral and he answers with FoW pitching Cunning Wish. Josh plays a LoA but can not use it right away because of the FoW he cast earlier, I play an Underground Sea and pass. We draw go for awhile and I play a Strip Mine, since Josh only has 5 cards in hand I think I'm okay and do not use the Strip. On Joshes turn he draws Brainstorm! So this puts him in LoA range and he uses it, I don't delay any longer and Strip the Library of Alexandria right there. I have in hand at this point FoW, FoW, 2 Lands, Demonic Tutor, Misdirection and a Mana Drain. I believe I have a Mishra's Factory in play as well. I feel pretty good about winning a counter war and want to get control in one feel swoop, I am swayed to have a counter battle with Josh, so I go ahead and tutor up a Mind Twist... Foolish? I have the Mana to cast the Mind Twist for 6 and still Mana drain, so I do. I Twist, he Drains, I Drain, he Misdirects the Twist to me, I FoW, he FoWs! I lose my Yawgmoth's Will! He lays a Dust Bowl then plays a Mox monkey, he kills every one of my lands before I agree to concede if he shows a counter (I have a FoW too), he does. Game.
Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 concede
Josh 20, 19, 18, 17, 16
Game Two:
(Sideboard: +4 REB, +1 Misdirection, +1 Teferi's Response, -1 Disenchant, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 The Abyss, -1 Zuran Orb, -1 StP)
This is a long game too, I take a lot of damage from a pair of Cities. I get a Factory into play and cast some REB;s and Mana Drains, play a Morphling then swing a couple times for the win.
Life: Zach 20,19,18,17,16,15,14
J 20, 19, 17, 16, 14, 12, 7, 2 dead
Game Three:
We have 5 minutes left of game play. Five minutes is not enough time for this match up! I have a ton of counters in hand and draw a Tutor, extra rounds is called. What the heck, I decide that I can win a counter war and Mind Twist Keeper, I have something like this in my hand: 1 FoW, 2 REB, Mana Drain, Response, Twist. I cast the Twist for 6 (his hand) he Misdirects, I REB, he FoWs, I REB, he FoWs, I FoW, he REB! This was a blast, what a fun play. Sure I lost my hand or what was left of it, but so did he! Much more fun than just simply Mind Twisting and him saying okay. Karen (DJ-Jackalope) was watching our match and awarded us both with an early Christmas present, some CD's she cut herself, for the play of the day! Thank you Jakalope! So this game is a draw after all is said and done, but it was a beautiful match to play and to watch.
Games: 9-5-1 Matches: 4-1-1
There is a little tension with everyone wondering who is going to make top eight, especially with my draw last round, I decide this is a good time to do some trading and pick up a few odd and ends. It looks like R3as0n is a man of his word as I am the only 13 to make it into the top eight, thanks to his winning record on my tie-breaker. Thanks Jeff!
The Top Eight:
TnT (R3as0n, Jeff Urich) vs. Sligh
Keeper vs. Keeper
Grow vs. Grow
Keeper (Green Knight, Zach Gable) vs. Tinker aka el Artifacto (A.J. Hill)
Quarter Finals:
A.J. is a player, he's a good guy too, he knows what he is doing and is ranked 4th in the state with a 1842 rating. I have played A.J. a few times and know his deck fairly well. I am looking forward to the challenge of facing off against him. This deck runs a ton of Artifacts like Su-Chi, Triskelion, Karn and has some blue based control for back up as well, I do not think he was running FoWs today. It also features 4 Copy Artifact.
Game One:
AJ opens with a first turn fatty, which I FoW, then a second turn Triskelion almost drops, but I FoW this too. Next he plays a Tinker sac'ing Mana Crypt to get a...Yes I FoW this as well, love the force! AJ has a bunch of Workshops (3) and an Island, I strip the Island so he can't Ancestral. By this time I have a Mishra in play that is chipping away at AJ, until he gets a Triskelion into play which hold back my Factory, I drop another Factory to keep the Trike at bay and follow up with a Morphling a few turns later. He finishes this game. As soon as AJ dies he reveals his hand of 4, yes f-o-u-r Copy Artifacts, he could not cast one of them because his lands in play were: 3 Mishra's Workshop, 1 Island and 1 Tapped Mana Vault. Good thing I striped that Island when I did!
Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 16
A.J. 20, 19, 17, 16, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 2, 1 dead
Game Two:
(Sideboard: +3 REB, +1 StP, +1 Misdirection, +2 Disenchant, -1 The Abyss, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Fire/Ice, -1 Teferi's Response, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Zuran Orb)
I believe this game has AJ drop another first turn Su-Chi who resolves and gets sent to the field via a Swords to Plowshares. I have a couple of Factories in play that are providing the entertainment. AJ plays another two Triskelions over the next few turns, I Disenchant one and take three then Edict the other and take three more. I play my third Mishra's and A.J. is not looking good. Until he plays... Back to Basics! And a Fatty. I am hosed, I play no basic land and this could be game...wait a minute! I am playing Keeper! I look into my hand and have a Demonic Tutor, FoW, StP, REB and a Disenchant, but all of my lands are tapped. I do however have a Sol Ring and a Jet. What would you do? I tutor up a Black lotus, play it for white cast the StP first, just in case he has a counter, then disenchant the B2B! I Force his last attempt to survive, and finish him off with my Factories. The match goes to me
). I also recall AJ casting another Back to Basic at one point, which I let resolve and REB before my turn.
Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 10, 9
A.J. 20, 19, 23, 20, 16, 12, 7, 1
Games 11-5-1, Matches: 5-1-1
Semi-Final's:
Keeper (Me, Green Knight)
TnT (R3as0n)
Keeper (???)
Grow (???)
The prize scale is $250.00 for first place, $100.00 for second, $50 for third and $50 store credit for 4th. Or if you play with a bunch of good guys, like I do at Mile High, we split the prize $100.00 cash and $12.50 store credit each for the top four. I try to convince everyone to split the prize money, but play for ranking, but it seems that R3as0n and I are the only ones even slightly interested.
Someone says something about how your Type One rating doesn't matter anyway, but I disagree. Oh well we did not play for ranking, but I scored $100.00 and my second top four finish in a row. Overall it was an excellent tournament and I had a great time. I got to meet a ton of cool people and was very impressed at the amount of power that was in the field today, I'd say at leased 15-20 fully powered decks, maybe more.
Random Thoughts:
Keeper was a blast to play, I really liked it. I wanted more fetch lands but only had one before the tournament and no time to trade before registering my deck. So I would drop one CoB for one Fetch land. I would also consider removing an Underground Sea for an Island, if I were to do it again. Also I would fit a Shattering Pulse, maybe two into the sideboard after being routed by TnT. Overall though this was one of the most rewarding tournament experiences ever.
I absolutely loved the Mishra's Factories in the deck as they were an uncounterable beat stick and traded nicely with juggernauts and all other manner of beasts (not the creature type, just creatures in general). I also loved the Vampiric Tutor main deck, there was never a moment when I regretted drawing this card. Cunning Wish was awesome game one and easily sideboarded out game two to bring my good stuff in. I was glad not to have green and always had the mana to cast what ever I needed.
I know the tournament report does not reflect it but the Teferi's Response was a house with the Factories and the Brainstorm was also amazing in general. My Mox Emerald was a nice boost, and sure made it easy to sideboard, but may very well be leaving the mana deck in favor of a Wasteland. Active Library of Alexandria's and Dust Bowl's are not my friends, at all! Especially the Dust Bowl (see round 6, game 1. Twitch, twitch).
To the Keeper and Grow players in the Semi's I apologize for not getting your names.
