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thorme
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« on: January 03, 2003, 08:52:16 pm » |
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Well folks, unfortunately, Az had some problems getting folks to give reports to him, so I'll share what I sent him awhile back. Here's my version of the VA States Type 1 Tourney:
11/2/2002
The Virginia State Championships Type 1 Side Event had a great turnout this year. There were probably around 30 people, and all manner of decks were represented. We played 5 rounds of Swiss before cutting to the Top 8.
I decided to play the deck that I've been having great success with recently at some local Type 1 tournaments: Mask. Here is the actual decklist which I used for this event:
Mask
========
-- Combo
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Illusionary Mask
-- Other Win Conditions
4 Hypnotic Specter
1 Masticore
4 Mishra's Factory
-- Disruption
4 Duress
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Recoil
-- Search
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Consultation
2 Tainted Pact
-- Assorted Goodies
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Necropotence
1 Yawgmoth's Will
-- Mana
4 Dark Ritual
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Strip Mine
2 Wasteland
4 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Snow-Covered Island
4 Swamp
1 Island
Sideboard
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2 Tormod's Crypt
4 Bottle Gnomes
3 Dodecapod
1 Masticore
1 Recoil
4 Phyrexian Negator
The only change I would like to make is to find 1 more Snow-Covered Swamp so I can even out the ratio. A quick explanation on why I play the blue splash. Recoil is an absolutely amazing answer for so many of this deck's problems. I play regularly at Richmond Comix, and for a time, early Null Rods were not uncommon. The all-black version of this deck basically scopes to early Null Rod. I've also played many games recently against Parfait. Recoil is huge here. Not to mention the little niceties such as Time Walk and Ancestral. The fetchlands make the mana-base feel smooth enough, that I wouldn't even consider the mono-black version anymore.
(Edit: I see now that there has been some discussion around the white splash for Seal of Cleansing. I haven't tried that version, so I won't comment on it other than to say that at first glance, I am not a big fan, and after Recoil has been so good to me, I'm not about to get rid of it)
On to the tournament.
Round 1: Jamin playing Parfait
==============================
Game 1:
I win the roll and play a first turn Dark Ritual - Hypnotic Specter. He lays a land - Land Tax. I begin Hippy beats on Turn 2 without dropping a second land (why would I let him Tax?), but over the next few turns, he lays Ivory Tower and a second Land Tax. He is finally able to Plow my Specter. We each still have only 1 land on the table, as I am not about to let him Tax twice into Ivory Tower range. He Enlightened Tutors into a Lotus, and sacs it to play a Story Circle naming Black. However, with a Mox Sapphire in play and a Dreadnought in hand, I topdeck Demonic Consultation and play it naming Illusionary Mask. I get the big guy out soon after, and the games ends 2 turns later.
Game 2:
I keep a hand with 2 land, Ancestral, Hippy x 2, Dreadnought, Hymn.
He plays first and lays a plains and a Sol Ring. I topdeck a Mox Jet, lay it and Delta for Underground Sea, and Hymn him getting Argivian Find and Aura of Silence. He Wastelands my Underground. Over the next few turns, I play out my Specters, a Mask, and a face-down Dreadnought and disrupt his hand. He has out an Aura of Silence and a Sacred Mesa with 4 plains and a Sol Ring out. I have a Recoil and a Demonic Consultation in hand. I Consult for a second Dreadnought and play it under the Mask. (not sure why he didn't Aura Mask away when I Consulted for Dreadnought, but anyway) The next turn, I recoil Aura (which can't touch 0/1 colorless creatures) then flip the Dreadnoughts over and swing for the win.
Matches: 1-0
Games: 2-0
Round 2: Steven with U/R Ophidian
=================================
Game 1:
I win the roll and play a first turn Swamp, Ritual, Sol Ring, Masticore...he Force of Wills. Oh well, I tried. On his turn, he lays land, Lotus and sacs it to play out an Ophidian. Things aren't looking great at this point. I have a Dreadnought in hand, but no Mask or search. Over the next few turns, he draws a TON of cards, using the Phid and a Library of Alexandria. I get some good draws, and once I have the combo and 2 Duress in hand, I decide to go for it. I Duress and see Force, Mana Leak x 2, Fire/Ice, Powder Keg, and land. I take the Force. I Duress again and take a Mana Leak. Then, I lay Illusionary Mask with 3 mana left open. Whew! He lets it go, and I slide a Dreadnought into play. He lays the Keg on his turn. I swing for 12, and play a face-down Dreadnought. This was a major mistake. I was thinking that I could keep one safely out of reach of the Keg, and get around it that way. However, I forgot about his Fire/Ice. He can Fire the facedown Dreadnought, forcing me to flip it up, and then he can Keg for 1. Luckily for me, he does not see this, and blows the Keg to kill the face-up attacker, and I swing for the win with the other one next turn.
Game 2:
This is not an exciting game. I strip his land on my first turn, and he can't find blue sources for like 4 turns. This gives me ample time to get a Dreadnought out and swing twice.
Matches: 2-0
Games: 4-0
Round 3: Hill playing TnT
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Game 1:
I win the roll and decide to keep a no-land hand. Its nice to play decks that can't counter your stuff, and also has a really tough time killing creatures. I play Lotus, Ritual (5 black), Demonic Tutor for Mask (3 black left), play Mask and use the last mana to slide a turn 1 Dreadnought into play. The 2 turns he gets this game are not enough to find an answer to the big fella.
Game 2:
He gets a turn 1 Juggernaut and turn 2 Su-Chi into play. Meanwhile, all I can do is take out his hand via Duress/Hymn. I do however Recoil his Juggernaut while at 5 life. He swings with Su-Chi, I'm at 1. I tutor for another recoil, and recoil the Su-Chi. Now that he has no threats, I get out a Masticore and a few turns later seal the deal by getting a Dreadnought out. That was close!
Matches: 3-0
Games: 6-0
Round 4: Cullen with Parfait
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Oh boy. Parfait should not be a good matchup with Plows, Wrath, Balance, Seal, Aura, Pariah, Humility, etc. and here I face my second one of the day.
Game 1:
He plays first, but only lays a plains. I get out an early Hippy and tutor for Necropotence which I'll be able to play next turn, and that should be all she wrote. But then he goes and spoils my plans by laying a Zuran Orb and playing balance, sacing all his lands. Now the topdeck wars begin. Luckily, I get some land, and then draw my Lotus, which allows me to play Necro. The 15 or so cards I draw over the next few turns are enough to allow me to decimate him (actually via Hippy and Mishra beats...no Dreadnought)
Game 2:
He plays first and lays Mox Pearl, Land Tax (no land). Doh! Well, I play a land, but use it to Ritual - Duress, Hymn, and all he has left in his hand are lands. He gets all the land in his deck within a few turns, but I am able to get a Dreadnought out. I attack and he plays Swords to Plowshares, but I am able to Recoil my Dreadnought and play it out again the next turn (Did I mention lately how much I love Recoil?), and he was out of answers.
Matches: 4-0
Games: 8-0
Round 5: Vincent Pau with Keeper
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I am the only undefeated player at this point, due to several drawn games last round. I offer Vinny the draw, since he will still make it in, but he wants to play (maybe he was looking for some rating points, who knows).
Game 1:
He plays first, and lays land. I get first turn Ritual - Duress, Hymn. The second perfect disruption opening I've drawn today. I strip a land and lay the Mask. I get a Dreadnought out, but it gets Plowed. I Demonic Tutor for Dreadnought #2, and this one goes all the way.
Game 2:
He plays first. The first few turns, I spend decimating his hand again, but I have nothing to follow up. We start topdecking, and he gets Ancestral. He starts drawing cards and gaining control, and I scoop shortly.
Game 3:
I play first, and lay Swamp, Duress. Turn 2 I lay Mox, land, Phyrexian Negator. He taps his City and Plows it. I play Negator #2, but he plays Balance, man is this guy full of answers! Now that he's spent most of his resources though, I topdeck Necropotence, play it out, and go wild. Necro pretty much spells game against control.
Matches: 5-0
Games: 10-1
I enter the Top 8 as the #1 seed with 15 points. The other 7 players are at 10 points. The Top 8 is as follows:
Keeper (Josh)
Keeper (Darren)
Keeper (Eric)
Keeper (Vincent)
TnT (Hill)
Mask (yours truly)
Suicide Black (Jesse)
BG Suicide/Junk (Jeff)
Quarterfinals: Jesse with Suicide
=================================
Game 1:
I win the roll and lay Swamp, Duress. I take a Dark Ritual, since the rest of his hand looks like Swamp, Hippy x 2, Nantuko Shade, Sarcomancy, Carnophage. He lays a turn 1 zombie. I untap, and Vampiric Tutor for Lotus during my upkeep. I draw the Lotus, sac for 3, play Mask and slide a Dreadnought into play. That's game folks.
Game 2:
In the first few turns, we each Hymn each other twice! Over the next 2 turns, he plays Keg and I get a facedown Dreadnought. Once we draw some junk for a few turns, I topdeck Yawgmoth's Will. I use Lotus to play it, bring back Lotus, sac for black, use 2 Tainted Pacts that had been Hymned away, and am able to get another Dreadnought. He can only Keg the attacker, and I flip over the other one next turn and it takes a few swings for lethal damage.
Matches: 6-0
Games: 12-1
Semifinals: Jeff with PT Junk
=====================================
He is playing Negators, River Boas, and Hypnotic Specters as his creatures; Hymns for more disruption, backed up by Pernicious Deeds and some assorted goodies like Sylvan Library.
Game 1:
He plays first and gets out a first turn Phyrexian Negator via Dark Ritual. I now see how this fella was able to wade through a sea of Keeper to reach the semis. He plays a turn 2 River Boa. I stabilize with a Mishra's Factory to stop his Negator from attacking, and I get a Dreadnought out the next turn. He plays a second Boa, and I get to swing once with the big guy. Then, he plays Deed for 2, regenerating his Boas. My side of the board is wiped clean, and his Boas island-walk over for a few turns to finish me.
Game 2:
I play first, and get a turn 2 Dreadnought out. He plays out some Boas, but has no answer for the 12/12.
Game 3:
My starting hand consists of 5 land and 2 Dodecapod. I decide to keep. He plays turn 1 Ritual - Hypnotic Specter. I lay a land. On turn 2, he Hymns me and attacks with the Specter, missing both of my Pods through all this. I draw, lay Mask, and say go with both Pods still in hand. He gets another Hymn, and this gets one of the Pods, so I get a 5/5. I attack for 5, Time Walk, attack for another 5, and pass the turn. At this point, I have only a Dodecapod in hand. He swings with Hippy, and I get another 5/5! When I attack with both next turn though, he Naturalizes one, and goes to 5. On his turn he lays River Boa which is a really good answer to my Pod. He continues the air assault with Hippy, and I am down to 6. He plays a Pernicious Deed and has 1 mana left open, and things are looking grim. When he gets to untap, he'll attack with both creatures, and then wipe the board and keep his Boa. I topdeck Consultation! Decision time. To bring in the Pods, I had sided out 1 of my 2 recoils. I needed to win now, though, or he was gonna pretty much seal the deal next turn. I consult for the 1 recoil in my deck! As I flip over the 6th card for the Consultation, I see that its NOT a recoil!!! It's about 2/3 of the way down my library, and I get to recoil his Boa and swing for the final 5 damage. That was the most exciting game I've played in awhile.
Matches: 7-0
Games: 14-2
Finals: Hill with TnT
=====================
Game 1:
He gets a turn 1 Welder, and I don't see the combo, or a quick way to get it. I make a really stupid mistake and sac a Lotus for Masticore with only 1 mana left. He Welds the Core away and brings back Lotus, and I didn't have the mana open to ping the Welder in response. It probably would have made little difference, as his quick Juggernaut made short work of me.
Game 2:
I play turn 1 Duress and see 4 land (1 is Mishra's Workshop), Ancestral Recall, Survival of the Fittest, and Jesters Cap. None of these are good! I take the Cap, as I have 2 Dreadnoughts but no Mask in hand, and he can get it out quickly and annihilate my big win conditions. He Ancestrals during his turn, and I play a Hymn on turn 2, but get only 2 land. He gets Survival going with Squee and within 2 turns or so, has a Juggernaut and a Triskellion out against my lone Hypnotic Specter. Not a fair fight. He wins fairly quickly.
Well, after all that playing, I get to walk away with a Mox Emerald for my troubles (not to mention the ratings hike that a 7-1 showing should get me). I am wildly happy with how the deck played. The Polluted Deltas really help smooth things out, and the Recoils proved their worth again and again. The MVP though, was Demonic Consultation. I still hear people say that they would never play Consultation, but the card has done everything I could wish for. An instant tutor for 1 black mana is a godsend in this deck.
Also, special thanks to Shane for letting me borrow a Masticore and the final few fetchlands I needed, and to Darren for really pushing this event. I thought it was a great success, and I hope that we can make this a tradition!
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