This is my first tournament report and also my first tourney. I spent about a week building and playtesting decks before I finally picked two to take with me. My final decisions were a green/black homebrew dragon build i've been working on, and gay/r. I could only do so much testing because I had no idea what the field was going to be like, so I took a box with me that contained the cores of both decks plus enough alternate cards and sideboard options to complete them in almost any environment and have a chance.
I get there on saturday morning at around 11 and see that trading and casual play has already started. I talk with a few people, trade away some block stuff for a chrome mox, and end up playing a few games before registration starts. I see lots of power floating around and get a little nervous because I am completely unpowered.
Everyone seems pretty cool so I walk up to one guy near the back of the room and ask if he has anything to trade. His reply, with a disgusted look on his face is, "We can trade after the first round. By the way, my name's Damien. I'm ranked 17th in the state." I look at him for a minute while he sneers and I reply, "My name's Fritz. I'm not ranked 17th in the state." Then I walk away. I hear him mumble to someone standing near him as I turn, "Oh great, another smartass."
I'm a smartass? Wow. What an asshole. Anyway, I laugh it off and soon after that, regisration starts. We get our first round pairings and the games start.
My deck looks like this...
4 cloud of faeries
4 spiketail hatchlings
4 goblin vandal
4 grim lavamancer
4 force of will
4 daze
3 stifle
4 standstill
4 curiosity
2 null rod
4 islands
2 volcanic island
2 shivan reef
2 polluted delta
1 flooded strand
4 mishra's factory
3 faerie conclave
4 wasteland
1 strip mine
SB:
4 fire and ice
4 red elemental blast
3 rack and ruin
2 misdirection
2 energy flux
I was expecting lots of artifacts so I brought out the hate. Also I would have been happier with a full set of volcanic islands and an extra null rod in place of the extra fetchland. But what can you do?
--
First Round vs Jamie playing R/G
Game 1 - He plays an urza's land. I waste it away. He lays another urza's land. I strip it. I put out some early faeries and beat him down for a few turns while he puts out alot of land. The only threat I ever see is an urza's rage that takes out a faerie. I easily win.
Game 2 - Repeat of game 1, but this time I win faster.
We finished in 15 minutes. I spend the rest of the time walking around exploring the hotel.
Games: 2-0
Matches: 1-0
--
Second Round vs some guy playing Dryad (no offense, I just don't remember your name).
Game 1 - First turn he lays a polluted delta and grabs a volcanic island. I decide to do the same things and walk right into a stifle. I'm an idiot, folks. Second turn he lays an underground sea and i lay a wasteland, taking the volcanic island right with it to the yard. We play land-go for two turns before he attempts to play ancestral recall. I force. He forces. All I have left is daze. He gets 3 cards and resolves a dryad. I drop a faerie conclave and resolve standstill. He breaks my standstill. I draw into force and counter whatever it was he was playing (can't remember, but I know it was something that would cause me pain). I resolve another standstill and he can't come up with anymore answers so we trade off beatdowns and I end up on top.
Game 2 - I've seen alot of power in his deck by now, and I'm kinda intimidated. I know what his deck can do, and that saved me during the first game, but power cards can spell success.
I draw my hand, take a look, and breathe a sigh of relief. I go first, dropping a land and he does the same on his turn. Second turn I drop mishra's factory, cloud of faeries, cloud of faeries, standstill. He has no answers. I am holding no counters. He breaks my standstill with a timewalk, I don't draw into any counters. He gets another turn to find an answer. He comes up with nothing. On my next turn I drop another standstill and he scoops. He then throws his deck (loaded with alpha and beta power) on the floor and swears alot. I decide its best to leave.
Games: 4-0
Matches: 2-0
--
Third Round vs Alan playing R/B
I played Alan a few times before the tournament started and he seemed like a nice guy. This was going to be a very casual affair, compared to the last match. A relief for me.
Game 1 - We start a wasteland/strip mine figth and 2 turns in neither of us has any land on the board. He comes up with a cursed scroll on his third turn and I spend the rest of the game hoping to draw into null rod. I never find it. He wins.
-3 stifle
-2 grim lavamancer
+3 rack and ruin
+2 energy flux
Game 2 - He plays a first turn duress. I have no answer. He grabs standstill and porceeds to stomp all over me with hand disruption and a hypnotic specter. I was unprepared.
Games: 4-2
Matches: 2-1
--
My round 4 opponent drops. I'm credited with a win. I spend this round watching another match and talking to judges. This is the last round of swiss so I'm definitely making top 8, which isn't much of a big deal in a 15 person tournament. Still, I'm happy.
Games: 6-2 (technically)
Matches: 3-1
--
Quarterfinals. I hear the pairings and I hang my head low. I'm going to have to play Mr. Ranked-17th-In-The-State-Damien. I'm not intimidated by him. I just don't want to have to deal with his attitude. Hopefully it won't be unbearable.
Game 1 - He puts out some artifact lands, a few modular creatures, and a skullclamp. I draw into a null rod on the second turn, resolve it on the 3rd. He swears alot and gets a few threats onto the board before I roll over him with manlands and some faeries.
I realize now that he's playing ravager-affinity. It's the best thing in block right now but I don't know how good it is in vintage. I know it can be very fast so I side.
-3 stifle
-2 Grim Lavamancer
+3 rack and ruin
+2 energy flux
Game 2 - His deck does what it does best, dropping an artifact land, a skullclamp, and 2 welding jars on the first turn. My first turn is land-go. He drops another skullclamp, and an artifact land, then thoughtcasts. I have no answers. My next turn I draw nothing helpful and play a land. He goes, drops a bunch of artifacts. This is pretty much the end of the game. I draw land after land and hold no answers for his artifact army, except chump blockers. He rolls over me in the upcoming turns.
Game 3 - I draw my opening hand: 2 null rods and a rack and ruin... and not a land in sight. I frown and mulligan. Draw my next 6 and find to my surprise: rack and ruin, goblin vandal, standstill, standstill, volcanic island, faerie conclave. I play goblin vandal. He plays a glimmervoid and a welding jar. I draw a force of will and play the faerie conclave, then swing and take out the jar with the vandal. He plays an artifact land, an ornithopter and an arcbound worker. In the following 3 or 4 turns I draw into null rod and strip or waste away alot of his lands. He ends up scooping with a comment about hating my "stupid deck." I laugh.
Games: 8-3
Matches: 4-1
--
Semifinals. I meet everyone else in the semis and we shake hands and wish each other good luck. I see that Alan has made it and we start talking for a while. One of the other guys in the quarterfinals is playing fish. We joke about a fish-mirror in the finals until we finally get the pairings. Alan ends up playing another other guy with a fish deck. Maybe fish in the finals at all is asking too much. Alan's deck is quite good against fish, and I end up against the only guy who is undefeated so far.
I don't remember much about this match except that he was playing suicide black, with a focus on land destruction. He had rain of tears in addition to the requisite sinkholes. As well as 2 demonic hordes, which I thought were just funny. Some of his other additions were panoptic mirror and isochron scepter. I never saw either of those because of early null rods/goblin vandals/standstills in both games.
Games: 10-3
Matches: 5-1
--
The final game is against Alan. I'm glad to be facing someone friendly in the final match, as it makes it alot less stressful, but the fact that we've already played and he won, is a little unnerving. Still, I've seen enough of his deck to know what it's capable of, and now I won't make the same sideboarding mistake.
Game 1 - This is easily the best game either of us played all day. It swings back and forth. Each of us had the upper hand at least 3 times. And we were both holding answers constantly. The tide turned, however, when he tried to activate the mishra's factory pump ability under a null rod and standstill (he had already paid to use the factory as a creature and was trying to block then tap to pump). He forgot to take that into account, thus losing his only blocker. I was able to maximize on his mistake and get out another man-land then roll over him. The first game took over 30 minutes and my final life total was 5.
I take a look at my sideboard and finally go with
-3 stifle
-4 goblin vandal
+3 fire/Ice
+2 misdirection
+2 rack and ruin
Game 2 - His first turn is Dark Ritual, Duress, Hymn To Tourach. I drop a land and cast goblin vandal. His second turn he drops another land and two racks. I drop a man-land. His next turn he gets hypnotic specter on the board. I draw, cycle cloud of faeries, get out some early blockers. His next turn he hymns and swings with the specter. I cry. He beats me down for a few turns and apologizes before bolting me to death for a victory one turn earlier than he could have had it. Hand discruption wins again.
Game 3 - Sadly Alan has a poor draw and mulligans, I keep a dream hand. I get out a first turn faerie conclave. Alan plays land-go. I play cloud of faeries and null rod. Alan attempts to bolt my faeries and I misdirect it to his head. He comes up with no answers. I put the hurt on him and we end up playing out the match, even though he knows he's done when I double curiosity a grim lavamancer.
Games: 12-4
Matches: 6-1
--
This was my first vintage tournament, and even though it wasn't very big, it was still fun. The prizes were a cut of the entrance ($3) fee so I went home with $25. They are planning another one in the fall. Hopefully I'll be able to post it in the tournament forum by then. I'd like to see a good turnout next time because the guy who organized the event was really great.
And, as always, every good report thread needs a Props/Slops section at the end...
Props -
Null Rod, You were always there for me when I needed you most, except for that one game, but I forgive you for that.
Shivan Reef, You're not Volcanic Island, but you try to do it's job. And you did not disappoint me. Thanks for being there when I needed you.
Alan, playing against his deck brought back fond memories of ice age block and my friend Mike's old red/black speed deck. He's a great guy.
Slops-
Damien, for being ranked 17th in the state. I don't know what he's ranked 17th in the state for, but it's obviously not vintage. I don't even know if it's magic he was referring to at all now.
$3, for being such a low entrance fee. Higher entrance fee and I would have walked away with more money.
