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JEMpointFIVE
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« on: April 27, 2004, 04:54:36 pm » |
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Waterbury TMD Open * Top 4 * or The Story of Sixty-One Card Fish
Or…Some noobs who got lucky at a T1 tournament. Soooo, Saturday morning:
Me, Scott, and Kyle wake up at around 8:30 because I live only 40 minutes from Waterbury (how lucky). Scott is playing JP Meyer’s UG madness with a different sideboard, and I’m going with U/r Fish. Kyle doesn’t even know if he’s playing yet…but if he happens to decide to, he’d play with O-Stompy. We get in my car, stop at Dunkin’ Donuts for some breakfast, and then get on our way. When we get there, I finally start drinking my hot chocolate (that stuff is f***ing HOT! L). We arrive with a little bit of time to spare before registering, and wow I don’t think anyone really cares, so I’ll just post my decklist:
John Moore, U/r Fish
//Creatures
4 Cloud of Faeries
4 Spiketail Hatchling
4 Grim Lavamancer
2 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Gorilla Shaman
//Drawing
4 Standstill
4 Curiosity
1 Ancestral Recall
//Counters
4 Force of Will
2 Daze
1 Misdirection
1 Stifle
//Utility/Hate
3 Null Rod
1 Fire/Ice
1 Time Walk
//Mana
4 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra’s Factory
3 Faerie Conclave
3 Island
3 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mox Sapphire
//Sideboard
3 Tormod’s Crypt
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Fire/Ice
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Stifle
1 Misdirection
Yep that’s 61 cards. I had forgotten Time Walk and didn’t want to take out anything as I thought it was all very necessary, so I proxy’d that bad boy up and wrote down that hotness on a sheet of paper before giving it to a guy sitting at a computer. Now I’ll discuss some peculiar choices I may have made regarding the decklist.
* First, the Voidmage Prodigies sucked. The only thing they do is seal the deal on games you already have the upper-hand in. I’d suggest replacing them with Goblin Vandals.
* Next, the 1 Fire/Ice, 1 Misdirection and 1 Stifle were pretty good. I guess it decreases the consistency factor with the deck, but they performed well when they were drawn. Fire/Ice takes care of Welders handily, Misdirecting Ancestral Recall is my favorite play in Type 1, and Stifle * should have * won me a game (you’ll find out about this in round three). Sideboard Rack and Ruin gets around Chalice for 1 or 2, which is the main reason I think this deck is better than UG Fish. Slaver seemed like the most common deck on Saturday, so I had to be prepared. Now onto the report.
Round 1: ForgotHisName with EBA
Game 1: This was the only good game we had if I recall correctly. He went first. Turn 1 we both played lands and passed. Mine was a Volcanic Island, and judging from this, my opponent went turn 2 Meddling Mage on Goblin Welder (chuckles). Next turn I think I played Cloud of Faeries and maybe Fire/Ice. I don’t remember the rest of this one but I won it.
Game 2: This game I kept a two land hand and drew one more, but it got wasted. He flips up angel on turn five and beats my face without opposition.
Game 3: I don’t know if he got mana-screwed or something, I think he did. All I remember is that this game was totally one-sided.
Games: 2-1, Matches: 1-0
Round 2: “Nasty Nate� with Workshop Slaver
I’d like to start by saying his deck was the most pimped out thing I’ve ever seen. Foil welders, foil Gilded Lotus, foil everything-that-was-printed-foil. Also, he had all black-bordered power and dual lands, wow.
Game 1: This was a good game, I think it got close too, because I had to stifle a Mindslaver activation. Also, he drew three Goblin Welders this game, and as far as I can see from my life totals, beat down with two of them for four turns after I killed the first one. I gained back control and won it at 10 life.
Game 2: This is where I make one of two extremely bad plays today. He has a Viashino Heretic out, untapped, with mana open to activate it. I activate Mishra’s Factory, nuff said. Anyways, he totally demolishes me this game. My notes say it had something to do with early Welder into Gilded Lotus, then a recurring Sundering Titan.
Game 3: This one is pretty terrible, as we are both manascrewed (due to Wastelands + Null Rod on my side). After something like four turns of draw-go, I rip a Volcanic Island and go to town. I think a turn before he dies he draws some colored land. Sorry about this one Nate :[
Games: 4-2, Matches: 2-0
Round 3: Nick Cogley with FCG
I know who Nick is from states and a random NAC qualifier I won.
Game 1: A pretty boring game. Food Chain resolves, but I counter a Ringleader and get control from there.
Game 2: This game contains the worst play ever, so brace yourself. So he’s bashing my face in, and I have a Cloud of Faeries out vs. his piledriver, warchief, and prospector. I’m at six life, and play a Spiketail Hatchling and a Sword of Fire and Ice. He attacks with all his guys, and I have a stifle in hand. I’m a scrub so I call the judge to make sure I can stifle the Piledriver’s +2/+0 ability. I do that and go down to four. I’m thinking, “wow maybe if I don’t suck I can come back and win this.� Obviously not. I equip the cloud with the sword, and attack with cloud. I kill the warchief…think about that for a second. Anyways, I’m feeling good about myself because if he plays a goblin next turn with chief in play he wins. I plan on chumping Piledriver then killing it next turn, but it has protection from blue. I forget this of course and we’re on to the next game.
Game 3: I kept a 2-lander playing first this game, and don’t draw another. I don’t think it would’ve mattered though, as he absolutely runs me over.
Games: 5-4, Matches: 2-1
I definitely contemplated quitting magic/life after that match, but decided against it, and it’s a good thing that I did.
Round 4: My friend Kyle playing O-Stompy
I sat down to play the match, and Kyle comes over and says, “I scoop let’s go get pizza�. I ask him why and he says that I have a better deck/better chances than he does for T8. Later we find out that the cut is to top 16, and we both feel really stupid :[
Games: 7-4, Matches: 3-1
Round 5: Forgetyername with Workshop Slaver
Game 1: He gets a typical draw and plays a welder/slaver/pentavus gg combopackbbq. I don’t have the Force of Will for any of it.
Game 2: I have a pretty bad hand, but it contains turn 2 Null Rod so I keep. I play land go. He plays turn 1 workshop, tap workshop for sol ring, 2 floating, play mox something, use the five mana to play gilded lotus. Then he passes. Prrrrretty good. I play my Null Rod, and he of course Force of Wills it. He has one card in hand, and next turn plays welder and Mindslavers me? I think I messed something up there, but he had the welder and slaver on turn 2 or 3. He takes my turn, and plays my curiosity on his Goblin Welder…His next turn he attacks with the Welder and I say “sure I’ll draw a card�. And he argues that he draws the card. Nice try champ :[. The judge comes over and rules in my favor of course, and allows him to take back the attack. He wins it from there pretty easily anyways though, so I’m sad :[.
Games: 7-6, Matches: 3-2
So it’s win out or die…and guess what I do.
Round 6: John Buda playing Ravager.dec
Game 1: I play first and drop land go. He gets a turn 1 lightning greaves to resolve. Then next turn he plays…Goblin Sharpshooter? I let it resolve and when he tries to equip it I Fire/Ice the Shooter/him. From there he plays a Ravager, but I have Null Rod and win with some guys.
Game 2: There is some complication with the stack and a judge is called over. I forget exactly what happened, but he ends up with a 6/6 Ravager to my nothing. He won that one.
Game 3: He has some moxen, but I have Null Rod. No mana for youuuu. He doesn’t draw real land and loses.
Games: 9-7, Matches: 4-2
Round 7: Forgetname playing Monoblack Nether Void
Game 1: He does some Duress stuff, and then drops a Masticore. The turn after that, I don’t know why, but he goes down to 0 cards in hand and has to sacrifice Masticore. Later he drops Nether Void, but I have lands. I get some guys and a Standstill and win.
Game 2: I don’t know why, but I totally forget this game. All I know is that he Hymn to Tourach’d me, and didn’t deal a single point of damage to me.
Games: 11-7, Matches: 5-2
Round 8: Jacob Orlove with UG “Worse Than Fish�
I’ve heard some stuff about this guy and seen some of his posts on TMD, so I assume he knows what he’s doing.
Game 1: This one is quite close, and fun. I play a turn 1 Lavamancer and a Spiketail Hatchling on turn 2. He runs the turn 3 Suq’ata Firewalker and I’m in trouble. On my turn three I had played Curiosity on my Spiketail Hatchling and attacked. I play another Lavamancer next turn, and we are off to the races. Obviously his Firewalker will wreck my team if I don’t kill him, so I throw everything I’ve got at his face. Eventually, he’s on three life and all I have is a Cloud of Faeries and a Grim Lavamancer out. At the end of his turn, I try to shoot him with mancer. He Stifles the Lavamancer’s ability, and I Misdirection the Stifle to the Firewalker’s ability! Pretty insane, if you ask me.
Game 2: He gets an early River Boa out and starts beating. I Wasteland something and he doesn’t draw more lands. I also had a Volcanic Island wasted, but not before Grim Lavamanacer hit play. He has no green mana and I have no red, but he is forced to trade the Boa with Lavamancer. I draw out of the mana problems first, and win from there.
Yay, T16! How lucky.
T16: Robert with GWB Knights and Boas
Game 1: He gets a turn 1 Duress, then drops a River Boa and puts Rancor on that snake. He beats for four, and end of turn I shoot it with mancer, he regenerates, then I Fire/Ice it/him and he regenerates again. On my turn I shoot it with mancer and it finally goes down. Guess that’s what has to happen to kill a river boa :[. After that he doesn’t have anymore gas and I fly through for the double-j00.
Game 2: He drops a Choke, but it’s not good against me :/. I have all the mana I need, and win without much disruption.
Rob also kept yelling out answers to the trivia questions during the match, he definitely would’ve won a few random foils.
T8: My friend Scott with UG Madness
So I get paired vs. BOTH people I came with, how lucky.
Game 1: I have lots of counters this game. I Daze his turn 2 Wild Mongrel, then cast Cloud + Standstill, the best play ever. He breaks it, and I Force of Will a second Mongrel. I have a creature and ANOTHER Standstill. I don’t think I need to describe the brokenness any further.
Game 2: He smashes me with turn 1 Mongrel, end of turn discard 2 Basking Rootwalla. Ouch. I don’t have any answers and he wins.
Game 3: This one was close at first, but after I take care of some Rootwallas and Mongrels with manland blocks, Fire/Ice, and Grim Lavamancer, I take control and win the prize.
T4: Jason Zheng with FCG
Game 1: I took this game after taking a Warchief/Piledriver attack for five. He doesn’t get any damage through after that, because I kill his chief, and his driver soon after. I go aggro this game and smash face quickly.
Someone steals my pen, which obviously results in my loss. I am forced to use some blue ink stainz instead of the usual black Marriott pen, bad times.
Game 2: Totally one-sided, he plays lots of goblins and I have no answers, I either scoop/die at 13 life.
Game 3: I start out fine, with a cloud/Standstill. He breaks it with Lackey, which resolves. Now I have a choice. I can either play Standstill again, since I have Faerie Conclave out, or I can play Spiketail Hatchling since I’m up in cards anyways. I choose the Standstill. OOPS. End of my turn he Gempalm Incinerators my Cloud, then swings with Lackey putting Siege-Gang into play. I have to break my own Standstill and he smashes me.
Unlimited Mox Pearl, I guess that’s okay for my second T1 tournament ever.
After leaving we go to Wendy’s, where we go through the drive-through three times before they get the order right. Then we go home and sleep.
I would do the whole props/slops thing but I’m too lazy :/
Thoughts are welcome on the deck/anything else.
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