[Report] Smashing through Waterbury with Knights and Boas

Well, I don't really know where to begin.

I'll start off by thanking Ray for an awesome tournament. It was just... just fantastic. Best tournament I've ever been to. Excellent job.

Second, I'd like to apologize to TMD. I am allowed to post in this forum because I am ranked as a "TO" on this website, but I am abusing my privilege by using my ability to post in the Tournament Forum to post a report and not an announcement. If you feel that this abuse is worth punishment, then I completely understand and I will face the repercussions and it can be moved or deleted.

There were no pre-tourney antics. I slept at Mike Small's (Firefall26) house and we left at roughly 7:30 in the morning. Got some Dunkin' Donuts. That was cool. Since we were going almost ninety the whole way, we get there at just after ten o'clock.

I registered this deck:

Note: As requested by Aaron Kerzner, I'll label the pimpness as well. Please, don't deem me arrogant; Kerz made me do it. Very Happy

For the Glory

Creatures:
4 Black Knight (3 DCI Foil, 1 Beta)
4 White Knight (3 DCI Foil, 1 Alpha
4 River Boa (3 Promo Foil, 1 Korean)

Disruption:
4 Duress (4 Promo Foil)
4 Wasteland (1 Korean)
1 Strip Mine (French BB)
3 Null Rod
3 Sphere of Resistance (1 Korean)

Removal:
3 Vindicate (1 Japanese, 1 Chinese, 1 Simplified Chinese)
2 Swords to Plowshares (2 signed Ice Age)

Draw / Search:
2 Sylvan Library (1 Legends, 1 Japanese BB)
1 Demonic Tutor (Beta)
1 Regrowth (German BB)
1 Necropotence

Other:
3 Rancor (2 Foil, 1 Spanish Foil)

Mana:
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald (signed)
1 Black Lotus
4 Bayou (3 Italian BB, 1 Beta)
4 Scrubland (3 Italian BB, 1 Alpha)
4 Savannah (1 French BB, 1 signed Italian BB)
4 Windswept Heath

Sideboard:
3 Choke (2 8th Foil)
3 Planar Void (3 Proxy)
3 Perish
2 Rule of Law
2 Swords to Plowshares (1 DCI Foil)
2 Diabolic Edict

Yes. This is what I played. Why is this significant?

Because, after eight rounds of swiss with roughly 150 people, I was in third place.

I also believe I can honestly say that I did not play a single scrub deck throughout the whole thing. Not one.

So, on to the actual report. (Forgive me, I got home at 4:10 in the morning and I may have forgot something significant that happened. If you notice anything, please, feel free to let me know.)

Round 1 versus Kyle with Control Slaver

Game 1: I really don't remember what happened, except for the fact that none of these games were like "real" games. They weren't games of "Land, something, go, land, something, go" etc. He casts Ancestral with no cards in hand, I Duress next turn to see two Drains and a Force. I remember I eventually swung with some stuff for the win.

Game 2: First turn Lotus + Blood Moon sends me scooping in seconds.

Game 3: I Duress his Lotus, leaving him with zero mana sources in hand. I'm able to disrupt him long enough to swing for the win.

1-0 in matches, 2-1 in games.

Round 2 versus Steve Houdlette (Grand Inquisitor) with GroStill

Game 1: I start off with Bayou, Mox Pearl, River Boa. He plays a Tropical Island and passes the turn. I topdeck a Rancor, send the Boa in for four, play a Scrubland and a White Knight. He plays an Island and passes the turn. I Wasteland his Tropical, Vindicate his Island and swing for six twice to win the game. That was a wicked cool game. Well, for me, anyway.

Game 2: I Duress at one point to find a Blue Elemental Blast (I'll explain in a bit). I question it in my head, but then just assume that he didn't see enough of the deck and came to the conclusion that it might've had red in it. I Swords an early Plaguebearer and an early Dryad and drop a Boa, which gets Gilded Draked. He is at roughly 13 when I swing a couple of times with his Drake. He plays a second Drake and trades it for my Drake. I swing into it and they both go back to his graveyard. He's got the Boa and a couple of Factories in play and I play a White Knight. He plays a Dryad. I play a Black Knight. He plays a Psychatog. I play a Black Knight. He passes, and I play a third Black Knight. Eventually, I am able to topdeck a River Boa and islandwalk for the win while White Knight valiantly blocks a lethal Psychatog.

After the round, I find out that Steve accidentally sided in the WRONG pile of sideboard cards, which included Blue Elemental Blasts, Null Rods, and Ground Seals. He even told me about it right after the match but I misunderstood him; I thought that, when he said that, he'd meant that he'd been choosing between two possibly sideboarding options and chose the wrong one because of what he thought I was playing. I felt terrible and eventually found him and apologized. That's not how a match should be won. I felt even worse because, if I hadn't misunderstood him the first time, I definitely would have given him another game.

Sorry, Steve. My sincerest apologies.

2-0 in matches, 4-1 in games.

Round 3 versus Dan Petrelli (Pernicious Dude) with U/R Fish

Game 1: This is a very tough matchup because, although he isn't playing with Lavamancers, he IS playing Suq' Ata Firewalkers AND Razorfin Hunters. Oi. Well, anyway, I get out a Bayou and a Savannah and throw down a River Boa. Boa soon becomes Rancored and islandwalks for a few turns. With him at 4, he drops a Firewalker. I have the Boa and two green mana sources. Now, my instinct was "Alright, well, I'll just keep swinging and regenerating until I find an answer," however, I had a Boa in hand. I played Boa number two and passed the turn. He was now free to ping the Rancored Boa, but if he did, Rancor would come back to my hand and find its way to the one that was still on the table for the win. I eventually get through and take the game, and I was pretty proud of myself for thinking outside the box... well, thinking outside MY box, anyway.

Game 2: I just lose. Plain and simple. I get stomped hard.

Game 3: We go back and forth for a while with Choke slowing him down pretty significantly. He soon has a full hand via Library and I Duress, which he Forces. He then Echoing Truths the Choke at the end of my turn, forcing me to discard due to my full hand, and I discard Choke. Next turn, though, I drop another one and a Rancored Boa gets through for the win.

This was an excellent match and Dan was a great guy. Thanks for some good games.

3-0 in matches, 6-2 in games... omg omg 3-0? wtf?!!1!

Round 4 versus Eli Kassis with teched out Dragon

Game 1: I knew this was going too good to be true. I mulled down to six and kept a hand with one Savannah and nothing else. I lose pretty quickly.

Game 2: He Duresses on his first turn to see a Swords and an Edict. He pulls the Swords, and two turns later, plays Squee off a Mox Ruby, nullifying my Edict. That was a cool play. I drop a Null Rod, taking out his three moxen and a Sol Ring and leaving him with an Island and an Underground Sea. I have a Boa in play and play another one. In response, he uses Rushing River with kicker to send back the first Boa and the Null Rod, so I was pretty happy when I dropped down the Lotus right after the kicked River resolved, re-casting the Null Rod and the Boa. As wicked cool as that was, I just cannot find enough disruption and Dragon goes nuts on me.

3-1 in matches, 6-4 in games.

Round 5 versus Matt Littleton with 7/10 Split

Game 1: (This is my "play of the day" game.) I play a land and pass the turn. He plays Shivan Reef, Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Time Walk. Savage. On his Time Walk turn, he drops a Mox and plays Triskelion. I Strip Mine his Shivan Reef and pass. He swings for a while, but every turn except for one, his Crypt kicks him in the face. So, here is where my play-of-the-day begins: he is at nine and I'm at ten. I topdeck Demonic Tutor and cast it, digging up a Null Rod. His Crypt hits him, he swings, and I'm at six. I cast a Null Rod and say go. He goes, takes three from Crypt (putting him at three), and swings again. I'm now at two. This is where is gets cool... I topdeck a third land, play Black Knight and toss a Rancor on him. First striking 4/2 > 4/4 artifact creatures who can't use their activated abilities, and his Mana Crypt finishes the job for me.

Game 2: I get down an early Planar Void. He gets down a Titan when I have a Mox and two lands in play. I float a white and Swords him. Eventually, I have a River Boa and (the legendary) Rancored White Knight in play. He is at four life and casts Timetwister with two Gilded Lotus in play, and on one turn he Brainstorms twice, casts another Titan, and casts FOUR Goblin Welders. On my turn, I play a land and a second Mox and Vindicate the Titan. He scoops because he knew he was gonna' draw lands for the next three turns.

4-1 in matches, 8-4 in games. Wow.

Round 6 versus Pete Flourkourski (sorry for the brutal misspelling) with EBA

Game 1: A couple turns pass, I play a Boa, he Drains it, casts a Meddling Mage naming "River Boa" (I have another one in my hand Sad

) and eventually swings with an Exalted Angel for the win.

Game 2: He mulls down to six and keeps a hand with a Plains and a Mox Pearl. With only two mana sources, he can't keep up and I eventually draw a Strip Mine and send in Black Knights for the win.

Game 3: This was a close game. I don't remember much, but I think what eventually happened was that he had a Morph in play, only one white mana source, and two cards in hand. He had a bunch of lands and he dropped a Meddling Mage (naming "River Boa" again, I think) and a Damping Matrix. I was extremely relieved that he emptied his hand. I had two Knights and a Boa on the table and, over time, just pushed through for the win.

Pete was very cool. Awesome games, man.

5-1 in matches, 10-5 in games. I'm astonished, as are many other people. One more win and I can draw into the Top 16. Soooo good.

Round 7 versus Jacob Orlove with Worse than Fish.dec (or WTF.dec)

Game 1: I was extremely nervous for this matchup. Jacob is an excellent player and I didn't expect to pull this one out. He was at 11 and has a Curiousitied Firewalker in play among other things. I have a Boa in play. Jacob makes a misplay and cycles Cloud of Faeries on his turn so he cannot hardcast a Force of Will. I have Swords to Plowshares in hand and green mana to regenerate the Boa, and have been waiting for a Duress. Two turns later, I topdeck and cast Duress and it gets Forced, him pitching Stifle, if I recall. I blindly throw a Swords at the Firewalker... and it resolves. He is at twelve and I toss two Rancors on the Boa, swinging for the win. Whew.

Game 2: I sided in the Chokes and saw all three in my opening hand. I keep anyway because I have two lands, but one gets blown to hell, and anyway, he only plays one Island the entire game. I get smoked and decide that Choke was not a good idea.

Game 3: He mulls to six. I open with a first turn Duress and see Maze of Ith, Strip Mine, Mishra's Factory, Curiosity, Force of Will, and River Boa. I take the Force of Will, play a Lotus, drop a Black Knight and burn for one. He plays a Maze of Ith and passes the turn. I play a land and another Knight and pass. He plays a Mishra's Factory and passes. I play a third Knight and swing for four. One gets Mazed. He plays a Strip Mine and passes. He can now activate the Factory. Now, if I'm not mistaken, I have a Null Rod in play, but I TOTALLY forget that that'd make it so that Factory can NOT pump itself up and I hold off for several turns. However, he sees zero colored mana sources, and two Wastelands and two Vindicates blow up Factories and Mazes and I am able to swing through for the win.

6-1 in matches, 12-6 in games. This is ridiculous. I simply cannot believe it.

Round 8 versus Tim Harding with Oshawa Stompy

We ID. I'm still shocked an amazed. I look at the standings at the end of the round and find that I am in third place. THIRD BLOODY PLACE. I just can't believe it.

Well, on to the Top Sixteen.

Top 16 match versus John Moore with Gay/r

Game 1: I keep a hand with Bayou, Mox Emerald, and Boa. He plays first. I play Boa first turn and it doesn't even occur to me that, when he plays Null Rod next turn, I only have one mana source. I attack. He plays a Factory and passes. I play Rancor targeting Boa. He Fires the Boa (I absolutely didn't see this coming and I don't know why) and me and eventually just overruns me for the win.

Game 2: I keep a hand with lands, a Mox Pearl, and a Black Knight. He kills the Knight early and I draw a Swords and an Edict, but nothing else to stop the onslaught. This was a long and painful game.

So, I was knocked out first thing in the top sixteen. Naturally, I was extremely disappointed, but later on that night, I didn't care at all. The whole thing was a pretty surreal experience and it was such a blast that losing didn't bother me at all, in the end.

For my troubles, I was given a $20 gift certificate to the dealers with which I purchased a Beta Regrowth (which, incidentally, I had seriously been eyeing all day long but had had no money) which is now in the deck.

Now, for the obligatory...

Props:
-All of my opponents for being awesome. Seriously, every one of you was cool.
-My deck for winning a lot.
-Jeff Anand for buying my Abyss and giving me some desperately needed cash, and for being very cool in general.
-Ray for holding such a ridiculously awesome tournament.
-Rancored White Knight for being my favorite creature in Magic (it can block 'Tog and live! Who does that?!)
-Chris Ahern for driving us up there and putting up with us until 3 AM.
-Dyannah for being awesome.
-First Strike for obviously being the best ability any creature has ever had.
-The other two CCers for also making Top 16.
-Everyone who came and everything I forgot.

Slops:
-Fate for pairing the other two CCers who made it (Mike Small and Chris Hufnagel) against eachother first thing in the top sixteen.
-Me for obviously forgetting something very important in the "Props" section.
-Me again for forgetting like nine times that Null Rod makes it so Factory can't pump itself up.
-Mishra's Factory. Dude, stop being a 3/3. It's so annoying.

Everyone, thank you very much.