I decided to go to both tourneys this week and get in some networking with the group. It looks like our area is ramping up on the T1 scene, and I hope these reports will draw a few more in. So, if you're in the area, come join us!
I've put both reports here, but I'll post twice to get both events on the calendar. (Can events be added to the calendar without posting?)
Saturday:
Sports Cards Unlimited
Durham, NC (Northgate Mall)
Weekly T1 - Saturday @ 1:00p, $10
#919-286-5585
Sunday:
DJ's Cards & Stuff
High Point, NC
Weekly T1 - Sunday @ 2:00p, $3, 3 proxies allowed
#336-883-9900
djscards@aol.comwww.djscards.com-----------------------
Saturday's event had 15 show, many kids. The store is trying to attract more players with the Arena league as well as a handicap structure to give the kids an advantage over the seasoned players (the handicap is extra life).
Round 1: Noah - B/G Fatties
Game 1: Noah is one of the kids that regularly plays in the store. He sighed at the pairing, and started adding up the cost of my duals, power, and enchantments as I laid them out: "fifty, hundred, two hundred.. that's two hundred fifty on his side, and I have five basic forests!". It was amusing.
He played fatties, I played swords. Morphling came early and took the game.
Game 2: Drained into an early Abyss. He anounced a fatty, I explained why playing a single fatty would not be a good idea. Morphling arrived later and finished the job. He did quite a bit of re-animating this game too, a bit more optimization and he'll have a solid deck (he had entombs & animate dead, and some mana accelerators to hardcast the fat too).
Round 2: Jamie - B/Discard, Rack, Hippie..
Game 1: I believe this was his first tournament, he was not happy at this pairing either, something about hating "those morphling decks". He was mana screwed (later learned that he kept a hand of 1 land). I was unmolested for at least 5 turns, and that was plenty of time to setup. Once the discard started to flow, I was plenty ready. Morphling for the win.
Game 2: He again kept a hand of one land (after missing his second land drop two turns in a row, I queried his status.. clearly two games of this seems odd to me). We discussed the relative merrits of keeping vs mulligan with a hand of 1 land. Abyss came out, then morphling.
Round 3: Phillip G!77!$ - W/u WW with tech. (last name concealed to protect the innocent)
Phillip plays a strong game, and today he pulled out his old-skool deck to smack us around with. Basic WW (lions, knight, serra, crusade) along with some tech (Preacher!, blue for power and sideboard).
Game 1: Don't remember much, but the defining question was Preacher vs Morphling. We checked the latest rulings (Preacher does target) and that was game.
Game 2: He sides out his anti-creature tech and sides in a bunch of stuff - including some "super secret tech". We draw our hands, he plays first and I get the Library in hand. I'm thinking, "Active Library vs WW.. this game's in the bag!" He wins this game on TURN 2! Check out this play:
Him: Land, Pearl, go
Me: Library of Alexandria, go
Him: "Hmm...", play Stripmine->Library, tap Pearl->Sol Ring, tap Land+Sol->Balance!!!
Me: (no counters) "Shit."
I'm left with no land, and no hand (2 cards from 8). He does the WW thing and I'm out pretty quick. I'm not sure if it was my mistake was keeping a no-FoW hand, or if this is one of those lucky draws. Either way it was a fabulous play.
Game 3: This game was tougher, he plays a knight and starts the beatdown, I draw into a swords and cast it eot. His super-secret-tech hits the table: Slight of Mind! The knight is now pro-white. I debate countering it and let it go. He proceeds to beat me down to 8 with this damn pro-white fiend.. and I draw nothing but swords. Eventually he plays another creature and I draw into Pyroclasm. He twisters, I get a morphling and go the distance.
Round 4: Brandon - TnT with Mask combo
Brandon was bored of mask, and wanted to play TnT so he borrowed my build for the tourney. On a whim, he removed the bloodmoons and less important utility (shield sphere, ranger, etc.) to add the MaskNought combo. Wierd deck, but he was 3/0. Can't argue with results!
Game 1: Wow, this was the tightest play of the day.. I'm facing down a nought at 10 life. I resolve a will with lotus leaving me with the lotus and 3 land. I have to deal with the nought on the board (and the one I know he has in hand too) or lose. It's gotta be Moat.. but how to get it? Mystical & Ancestral were in the grave. I mysticaled for Demonic tutor, but that doesn't leave me with the mana to get Moat and cast it. So I go for broke and Ancestral. Sweet, third card down! Pop the lotus and my last land for the Moat. Morphling flies for the finish.
Game 2: He was mana flooded this game, my counters held off the hoard while morphling beat.
Round 5: David
David and I have yet to play a match together since I first started attending the games. Seems we're always paired on opposite branches. As fate would have it, he had to leave early and offered a concession. I accepted and we split the pot, I took $45 in credit, he took $35.
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Sunday
I make the drive out to Highpoint uneventfully, and arrive with plenty of time to hang out with the crew. DJ's is a great shop with a lot of play space and excellent inventory. They're recently revamping the website (it may be down until further notice).
With pre-release the previous day, and Superbowl that evening, I wasn't expecting many to show. We coddled seven players together and paired up.
Round 1: Heather - Black Discard + Beef
Game 1: Heather is a fun character, she has only recently gotten out to play competitive magic and isn't quite prepared against my deck (she packs a lot of old skool cards, may be a returning player). I play second and decide to make a ballsy move by dropping a first turn morphling unprotected (land, sol, lotus, morph). Since I know she's playing black, it's a gamble.. But it paid off. A minor roadbump along the way (abyssal spectre) and it was over in five turns (that may be my fastest game ever with Keeper).
Game 2: I recall this game starting with a strip of her land followed by draining into a morphling around turn six. I forgot to ask if she was playing the full complement of black disruption (sink, strip, waste, hymn, duress) but from my end it felt light. Morphling beats for a few turns, then I drain a roadbump into a fireball for the win.
Round 2: Van - U/B Counters, Finkel, Morphling, Masticore
Game 1: I keep a solid but slow hand. I know he runs more counters (counter, drain, & force) while I pack a lot of creature hate (for the Sports Cards Unlimited meta). My pre-boarding against aggro hurts my game badly. Dead cards everywhere, ugh.
He drops an agressive Masticore, I respond with Moat, he lets the 'core sac and plays Morphling instead. I think we exchanged counters in there... I Wish->Edict in response to his Fact. On my turn I edict (I'm at 5, he's low on mana), we exchange counters again, Morphling is sacked.. I pass the turn, he peels the second Morphling and that's game.
Game 2: I mulligan a no-counter hand. I cringe over my 6-draw, something like: volcanic, red mox, drain, balance, + stuff. Being a sick **** I mulligan again, knowing that's game over.
Round 3: Bull - Mono-U/Faerie Conclave + Morphling
What's up with this? Two months of weekly tournaments with NOT A SINGLE MORPHLING against me, and then TWO in one day? *sigh* I'm really starting to dislike my anti-aggro pre-boarding now... might be time to revise that plan (at least for the Highpoint meta).
Game 1: I pull some early counters over my ancestral (I let it go after he forced+countered). We draw-go for awhile and I'm light on mana. He drops a morphling and I don't have the hand to stop it. I wish->edict for Plan B, which is met with capsize, we exchange counters, but he keeps it. He made a mistake on this play: with the Faerie Conclave out, he could have activated and sac'd the faerie instead of dumping his hand to save the morphling. Still, it re-appears next turn and runs me through for the win.
Game 2: He's mana screwed, I help him along with strip, then waste. I deplete the counters and play a broken will. Morphling drops next turn and goes all the way.
Game 3: I pull the strip and waste early, keeping his mana low. We draw-go for awhile, but I fish for counters with cheap threats: shaman, Ancestral, FoF. When his hand is low, I force through a Morphling. He digs for a solution but it doesn't arrive in time.
I place 2nd, and take home $6. Even though the field was light, I had some really good matches and the crew was fun to hang out with. See you all next time!
--Bryan
bryan.turner@pobox.com
