[Report] Dual Lotus in CT - 3/20/04

Redman's Return - March 20th-21st

Prologue:

Having finished my thesis and set my house somewhat in order, the time had come for me to end my over 6 month
hiatus from Magic. Though my usual playtest partner Dan had since all but left the game, I had kept contact with
Jeff (Samite Healer) who was kind enough to offer me not only a ride, but a deck to play as well, being as my cards
were all in the posession of a friend of mine in another state.

And so it came to pass that Jeff, along with stalwart companions Jeff and Mike, drove me down to Ben Kowal's house,
where I was entertained as much of a celebrity. This did not prevent them from taking my money in a game of hold'em
however. That aside, we began to construct a deck which would fit with my agressive tendencies, and decided upon
Stompy of the Oshawa variety. I played a few test matches against Mike (in which Pentavus owned my sorry ass). I
resolved to follow through on a suggestion had in the car ride down about using an old favorite, Ifh-Biff Efreet as
a sideboard against lots of flyers such as Pentavus or EBA might produce. Some other discussion was had, as I went
to all of the companions in turn to loan cards for the deck. In the end, what was decided upon was the following:

12 Forest
4 ESG
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
2 Treetop Village

4 Survival of the Fittest
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Squee, Goblin Nabob
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Wild Mongrel
2 Troll Ascetic
2 Viridian Zealot
4 Arrogant Wurm

4 Null Rod
3 Root Maze

SB:

4 Ground Seal
3 Tormod's Crypt
2 Viridian Zealot
2 Ifh-Biff Efreet

After a fitful and not at all sufficient night's rest, our party caravaned over to the tournament site, and in
spite of a late start, the cold, and shoddy directions, we arrived only somewhat late. I registered, and walked
around, meeting some folks, including Steve Menendian and Steve O'Connell (though it took a second for Z to
remember me from the last time the two of us were both in attendance at a tournament...something like 2 years ago)

So, with much optimism and enthusiasm, the first round was begun.

Round 1: Eli with UBGR Tog

Game 1:
Still unsure of my deck, and not yet fully returned from the off season, Eli manages to be patient with my bumbling
as I keep a hand with what would turn out to be not enough green mana. I manage to get a Rootwalla and Zealot out,
he answers with a Psychatog and Pernicious Deed. I try to run through the Tog, and get my side of the board blown
to bits. I get another Rootwalla down in the hopes of chumping, but Cunning Wish for Berserk says otherwise.

Eli 20 19 14 13 12 10 9
Me 20 19 0

SB: +3 Crypt +4 Gibbons, -2 Zealot -2 Ascetic -3 Null Rod

Game 2:
I throw away an initial hand with Gibbons, Survival, Bazaar, Wasteland, and no green mana aside from an ESG. Only
to receive another hand lacking a Forest. I decide to keep it though, as it has a Lotus and other good stuff. I go
Lotus-Mongrel-Survival-Wasteland, with no answer from my opponent. I find a Bazaar and a Squee, and start digging
for a green mana source for Survival, while Eli does some funky card maniupulation whil taking a few hits from the
Mongrel and a Rootwalla I manage to cast (but still no green mana). Eli finally finds a Deed, and kils my side. I
keep digging with Bazaar, when I am forced to decide between Crypt and Wasteland. I keep the Crypt, and play it.
Eli Intuitions for 3 Togs, and casts one of them. I don't use my Crypt properly at all (waited until he attacked
with Tog, but he can just respond with more activations) and Cunning Wish for Berserk again renders my Rootwalla
ineffective as a blocker.

Eli 20 17 14 13 8 3
Me 20 0

0-1, 0-2

What was thought to be Round 2: Ron, B/G with Forgotten Ancients and Underworld Dreams (oh no!)

Ron was a nice opponnent, and has been playing for a while, so we got to talk a bit about the old days and the huge
tournaments run by Neutral Ground back in the day, to which he took his young son (who still plays, and is here
today). It's always sort of wierd but nice to meet folks like this, but there of a type I see less and less as the
format becomes more aggressively competitive, which is both a good and bad thing I suppose.

Anyway, the good stuff:

Game 1:
He goes Ritual-Lotus-Hymn-Forgotten Ancient. His Hymn misses the Squee and madness cards in my hand,
instead taking my mana sources. I manage to get a Survival out and throw a bunch of Rootwallas down while we trade
Strip Mines and Wastelands. We're both pretty land screwed (I have a forest though, thank goodness) so his
now fairly huge Ancient swings a few times at me, taking down my Rootwallas while I find an Ascetic to cast with
the Lotus I've drawn. The Troll and Ancient have a standoff on the table for a bit, as I get another Troll, a Wurm,
and a Zealot on the table to face his 10/10 or whatever it is by now. While still massing my forces however, he
finally finds the mana to Will with a couple of Rituals and a Tutor, bringing out a Hyppie or two. He next turn
moves all the counters from the Ancient to the Specters, and I die.

Ron 20 19 18 16 15
Me 20 18 11 0

SB: +2 Zealot +2 Efreet, -4 Null Rod

Game 2:
I mulligan a hand that would be good except for the total lack of green mana. Just when I'm trying to remember if I
put Forests in the deck, I find a 6 card hand with a good bit of land, but keep it, going land-go on the first
turn. He mulligans to 6 and goes Lotus-Ritual-Hymn-Hymn, taking all the useful cards out of my hand. I manage to
cast a Mongrel that I draw, which is forced to chump his Nantuko Shade that has been beating on me. I finally find
a Bazaar and a Squee, but he responds with an Underworld-freaking-Dreams. I dig anyway, but the Dreams+Shade combo
do me in.

Ron 20 19
Me 20 17 12 11 10 8 6 5 2 0

0-2, 0-4

Brief comment (that's already been said before): The mess up in rounds is somewhat understandable, but at the same time really inexcusable, especially for a tournament of
this size. While offerings of soda and refunds were appreciated, if you are going to charge folks money to play in this high profile a
tourney, you had better be fully prepared to run it well. I only hope this does not hurt future turnout in tournaments too badly.

Round 2 (The real round 2): Pete from Hadley, EBA

Game 1:
I resolve Survival Early and start pumping out guys. He first sees my Forest and names Ravenous Baloth with
Meddling Mage, and upon seeing Survival, names Illusionary Mask with a second mage. My Null Rod that follows
further obscures the issue, though the Rootwallas and Mongrels soon clarify. We do some creature fighting, and
fly, until he drops a morph. I try to keep him off double white with Wastelands, but he
eventually draws another Plains to join the one already out and Exalted Angel joins the party. I then proceed to
lose while vainly trying to race the harbinger of death that also happens to have a Sprit Link on its back.

Pete 20 19 18 15 19 18 22 15 19
Me 20 18 14 10 6 8 4 0

SB: +4 Gibbons +2 Efreet, -4 Null Rod -2 Root Maze

Game 2:
I keep a wonderful hand with two Squees and a Mongrel, and (thank goodness) green mana. An early Wasteland mana
screws him but good, and when a third Squee joins the party, I am able to win quickly.

Pete 20 19 15 11 4 0
Me 20

Game 3:
On the second turn he's able to hardcast Exalted Angel off a Lotus, and my Mongrel proves quite ineffective against
it (and a few StPs for good measure). With no Survival, I am unable to dig up an Efreet in time.

Pete 20 18 22 26 19 23 14 18
Me 20 22 16 12 8 4 0

After the match I find out that to supplement the Angel beatz, Pete has sided in 3 Moats against me. I wonder what
I did to deserve this.

0-2, 1-3 (hey, an improvement)

Round 3: Steven, Scepter Keeper?
Steven was a pleasant, if quiet young kid, playing a deck that looked from what I saw to be mostly unpowered. He
made a few errors in play, but nothing worse than what I've done, and I can't just pass it off on being young.
Overall he handled the games pretty well, and as he gets older will probably make an excellent control player. I
talked to him a little after the match about ways that either of us could have played differently and with luck I
didn't come off as too much of a jerk.

Game 1:
His first action upon seeing my Forest played is a Scepter imprinting Diabolic Edict. I respond on my turn with a
Null Rod, and on my next turn a Survival, neither of which is countered. He get out a Shaman, but doesn't have 5
mana before I start churning out Rootwallas. He ends up trading a Shaman for a Rootwalla, still shy of 5 mana. His
Mishra's further stall out until I get a Mongrel and some Squees to end things quickly.

Steve 20 19 18 17 16 13 12 4 0
Me 20

SB: +4 Gibbons +2 Zealot, -3 Maze -2 Ascetic

Game 2:
He gets an early Scepter with Counterspell, I play a Gibbons, and bait out an activation with a Rootwalla. I again
get the Counterspell activation with another Rootwalla, then cast a Zealot. I kill the Scepter, and lay Survival. I
play a Bazaar and fetch some Squees and a Mongrel to go with an Arrogant Wurm. He manages to get out another
Scepter imprinting Counterspell, but it is too late.

Steve 20 19 15 11 0
Me 20 19 18 17 15

1-2, 3-3 (still in it)

Round 4: Ryan, EBA

Game 1:
I get down a turn 1 Survival, courtesy of Elvish Spirit Guide. I pump out a bunch of Rootwallas and cast an Ascetic. My Wastelands and
Null Rod keep him too mana light to to terribly much, and once I get a Bazaar with Squee going, he can't recover in time. I'm still not
sure what his deck is. I've seen only U and W, but the possibility of Exalted Angels lead me to think hard about sideboarding in
Efreets.

Ryan 20 19 16 10 4 3 0
Me 20

SB: +4 Gibbons +1 Efreet, -1 Null Rod -2 Ascetic -2 Zealot

Game 2:
He plays a Lotus that sits on the table, and second turn gets a Meddling Mage down naming Survival. I hard cast a couple of Rootwallas
and follow with a Root Maze to slow him down. On his next turn he plays Disk, and I respond with a Null Rod on my turn, with his Lotus
still lying by unused. My creatures are able to go the rest of the way. After the game Ryan realizes he could have used the Lotus for
mana to counter the Null Rod.

Ryan 20 19 18 14 12 11 7 5 0
Me 20

2-2, 5-3 (clawing my way back)

Round 5: Jason, R/U Stax
Jason was a nice enough opponent, though at times gave side commentary that may have been funny, but I did not find so. Had it been
round one rather than round (effectively) 6, I may have been in a better humor, but as it was, I became mostly just annoyed. Hopefully
future meetings will go more favorably.

Also, a rules clarification for those who might read this: How much will Arrogant Wurm cost to play with madness if a Trinisphere is in
play? It never actually came up in play, but Jason was fairly convinced the Wurm would cost 6, while I was not sure why this would be so
(he said something about alternate play costs not counting towards Trinishpere).

Anyway, enough of my muttering, on to the game.

Game 1:
He plays an early Trinisphere, which is more of a annoyance than anything else, but the Tangle Wire which followed was quite
devastating. I resolve a Survival but by then he has a couple of Welders and a Smokestack I am helpless to do much against. I get in a
few more swings with a Mongrel, and try to play more land to get around the Stack, but with the Tangle Wire added in, I lose too many
permanents before being able to deal a killing blow, and choose a quick end and fresh start.

Jason 20 16 15 14 13 12 10 6 8 4
Me 20

SB: +3 Crypt +2 Zealot +4 Ground Seal, -3 Maze -2 Troll -4 Wurm

Game 2:
He gets out an early Sphere of Resistance, and I get in a few hits with a Rootwalla and lay a Crypt. He however gets out two welders and
a Pentavus, and is able to Weld around my Crypt to start making tokens. I have left out Efreets, unwisely it seems, and though I get
Bazaar, I foolishly use it at end of turn, and am forced to throw away a Ground Seal that at that point was my only hope. My few
creatures are no match for the Pentavite hordes, and I die quickly afterward.

Jason 20 19 18 17
Me 20 18 17 15 9 0

2-3, 5-5

Round 6: Charles, U/W/R Landstill
Charles, like myself, was in the tournament now mostly ofr fun and extra playtime, so the match had a bit mroe relaxed atmosphere. IT
was however, as well fought a battle as any I had faced yet.

Game 1:
He gets turn 1 and turn 2 Standstills, each of which I am forced to break. My Survival is countered, as is my Rootwalla. He then
Ancestrals, and what creatures I have managed to get out he Disks or StPs away, and from there many Mishras serve as beats.

Charles 20 19 16 15
Me 20 17 20 18 16 15 13 10 6 2 0

SB: +4 Gibbons, -1 Rod -1 Maze -2 Zealot

Game 2:
I'm forced to throw away two consecutive no land hand, and he answers my five card land-go with a first turn Library. Fourtunately in my
four remaing cards was a Wasteland. Also in these cards was a Treetop Village, which proves useful when he lays a Standstill the
following turn. The is eventually forced to StP the Treetop, breaking the Standstill, off which I get another Treetop and a Survival
(that ends up countered). I eventually get a Bazaar that leads into multiple Squees. I find a Mongrel, Wurm, and Rootwalla, and quickly
beat before he can recover.

Charles 20 17 14 12 9 6 3 2 0
Me 20

Game 3:
I'm forced to mulligan once again to 5, this time a 5 with two Treetops. The Villages beat for a while, soon joined by a Rootwalla.
Charles, after a few inital defensive moves, unforunately gets mana flooded, and I go on to victory through no fault of my own.

3-3, 7-6

Round 7: Matt, with Sligh
Ah, the matchup I expect every tournament has finally arrived. However, at this point both he and I are exhausted, and after losing game
one quickly and not showing much intrest in the second, he concedes that match to me, at which point he pulls out his other deck to play
for fun.

So finish up on the day effectively 4-3, good enough for 45th place when all is said and done. After that, I hung around to watch the
Top 8 while Jeff finished his card dealing duties, Which proved to last until the finals were just underway. Bidding our farewells, we
embarked for home, a trip of which in my near comatose state I remember little aside froma stop at a very strange rest stop which had a
Country Kitchen at which we had a glorious meal of bacon, cheese, and chili Fries with greasy burgers. Thus laden, Jeff still managed to
get me and the others back just as the sun was rising. After all this, there was absolutely no difficulty in falling quickly asleep in
the pile of laundry I had not had time to fold in my haste to leave on Friday.

Overall, a less than triumphant return to the game, but not an entirely bad point from which to begin. I thouroughly enjoyed playing
the deck, and with some modification, I think I will be able to do well with it (assuming I soon get my cards back). There is an obvious
weakness to other creatures, especially flyers and Welders, and Chalice for 2 is deadly (Oxidize?). Green is notorious for lack of ways
to deal with creatures. Masticore is too slow here, and Powder Keg is both slow and hurts yourself. There are of course things like Pit Trap,
Maze of Ith and Quicksand (espeically nifty against Togs), but I don't know how effective they will be. Jacob Orlove has seemed to have
some success with Drop of Honey, though I think he runs more manlands to take advantage. THere is the obvious suggestion to add red, but
I have not heard of much success with that strategy, and that becomes essentially Madness anyway. Jeff Green had suggested splashing
white for Swords, and it might be worth a shot. Black also seems like a useful addition, and might even be tried with funny stuff like
Chains of Mephistopholes. However, I think more likely that the consitency bought by playing nearly all basic Forests is worth this
weakness that otherwise requires a fairly large workaround.

Also I wonder about Root Maze...I rarely saw them, but tended to be reluctant to cast them when I did, usually becasue I was behind to start. I'm thinking I just don't know how to use the card properly, and ended up siding it out more often than not. Any suggestions on this?