(Sorry for the delay, I emailed this to StarCity 5 days ago but they've been inundated with States articles and won't be publishing it. Hope this isn't too long!)
UK Vintage Championships 2004
By Luke Twigger
INTRODUCTION
The UK Vintage Championships 2004 were held on Friday 15th October at Butlins in Minehead, Somerset as part of the GenCon UK event.
In recent years, GenCon has been held in Central London. This year the event was hosted in a holiday camp a long way from anywhere. The remote venue gave a nice community feel, as all the accommodation was on-site, along with bars, cafes, etc. Everywhere you went you were surrounded by other roleplayers, goths, gaming geeks and LARPers. It was a very long journey from most of the UK though (e.g. 200 miles from London) which I think hurt overall attendance, some traders said it was quieter than expected, although I was only there on the Friday and would assume it would become busier over the weekend.
In 2002, there were approximately 27 people entered in the Vintage Championships. In 2003 the tournament was something like 12 people, due mainly to a last minute change from the scheduled 2pm start to a 10am start which meant that many people (myself included) would have played but arrived too late to do so. Given that the remote location appeared to have harmed overall GenCon attendance this year, it was therefore a pleasant surprise to discover that there were 48 people enrolled in the tournament (thankfully the organisers could extend the original 32 person limit).
48 players meant 6 rounds of Swiss followed by a Top 8 playoff. The event was sanctioned so no proxies were permitted.
Top 8 were:
Ian Garnett (FCG) *unpowered*
Gary Campbell (4cc)
Barry Horwood (Storm Tendrils)
Jezz Allen (Mono U)
Richard Clyne (Mono U) #2003 champion#
Jonathan Challis (Hulk Smash)
Dave Fry (Trinistax)
Grant Laing (Suicide Black) *unpowered*
In the quarterfinals:
Ian (FCG) beat Gary (4cc)
Barry (Tendrils) beat Jezz (Mono U)
Jonathan (Hulk) beat Richard (Mono U)
Dave (Stax) beat Grant (Suicide)
In the semifinals:
Ian (FCG) beat Dave (Stax)
Barry (Tendrils) beat Jonathan (Hulk)
In the finals:
Ian (FCG) beat Barry (Tendrils)
Congratulations to Ian, who finished top of the Swiss in a field of 48 players and went on to win the tournament. And he managed all that without a single power card. And he's my team mate :-)
This report contains several sections. First is coverage of the general metagame. After that comes the Top 8 decklists (thanks to the judging staff for letting me have these). After that are Feature Match style notes following Ian’s progress through the Top 8 (originally I only decided to do these for fun as he’s my team mate but as he went on to win the title they’ve gained in significance). Finally there’s my own personal tale of the event (which contains something I’ve never ever witnessed at a Magic tournament before – scroll down if you’re intrigued).
METAGAME
Here was the metagame prediction I posted on The Mana Drain a week before the tournament:
“Based on past experience I expect a fair amount of "bad" budget aggro e.g. Sligh and Suicide. Probably also some Goblin decks from people who dusted off last year's Extended deck. Based on its recent T1 tournament success I expect a fair amount of Fish to be played by the more serious unpowered players. There should also be a reasonable amount of power, most likely played in Keeper/4CC type decks. I also heard Belcher will be there. I'm not expecting many Bazaars or Workshops�
After my first round match was over, I wandered around taking a peek at what decks were being played. I think my prediction was pretty accurate. The metagame was surprisingly diverse with most known archetypes in attendance (Slaver being the most notable exception). There was also a lot more power around than I had expected, though most people I spoke to were only partially powered and/or had borrowed it.
Approximate metagame count (NB I didn’t get to see all 48 decks)
4 Mono U
3 U/R Fish
3 Food Chain Goblins
3 Suicide Black/ Nether Void
3 Ravager Affinity
3 Red Deck Wins/ Goblins/ Sligh
2 Hulk Smash
2 Keeper/ 4cc
2 Mono Red Burn
2 Belcher
1 U/W Control
1 U/W/R Control
1 Army of Squirrels
1 Stacker
1 TNT
1 Trinistax
1 Budget Dragon
1 Storm Tendrils
1 Death Long
1 WTF
1 Oath
1 Stasis
1 Reanimator
1 Discard
1 B/R/W Jank
2 Rogue Mono G
1 Rogue Mono R (contained only 4th Edition cards?)
TOP 8 DECKLISTS
Ian Garnett – 1st place – Food Chain Goblins
4 Food Chain
4 Goblin Lackey
3 Skirk Prospector
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Recruiter
4 Goblin Warchief
2 Goblin Matron
2 Gempalm Incinerator
2 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Ringleader
2 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus Petal
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
2 Ancient Tomb
4 Taiga
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Bloodstained Mire
5 Mountain
1 Forest
3 Null Rod
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Artifact Mutation
4 Blood Moon
Barry Horwood – 2nd Place – Storm Tendrils
4 Force of Will
4 Duress
4 Brainstorm
1 Necropotence
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain
1 Gush
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Frantic Search
1 Timetwister
1 Time Spiral
1 Memory Jar
1 Future Sight
1 Mind’s Desire
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Rebuild
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Time Walk
1 Cunning Wish
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Diamond
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
4 Dark Ritual
4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
4 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Mana Drain
3 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Rushing River
1 Teferi’s Response
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Misdirection
1 Stifle
1 Brain Freeze
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
Dave Fry – Top 4 – Trinistax
4 Smokestack
4 Trinisphere
3 Tangle Wire
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Goblin Welder
1 Sundering Titan
1 Triskelion
1 Karn, Silver Golem
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Tinker
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Memory Jar
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Volcanic Island
2 Island
2 Polluted Delta
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Triskelion
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Pyroclasm
Jonathan Challis – Top 4 – Hulk Smash
3 Psychatog
3 Intuition
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
2 Deep Analysis
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
2 Duress
1 Mind Twist
3 Cunning Wish
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Time Walk
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
4 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
3 Tropical Island
1 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Island
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
(61 cards)
2 Duress
2 Deep Analysis
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Berserk
1 Artifact Mutation
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Naturalise
1 Starstorm
1 Gush
1 Divert
1 Stifle
Gary Campbell – Top 8 – 4cc
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Demonic Tutor
2 Cunning Wish
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Decree of Justice
2 Exalted Angel
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Time Walk
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mind Twist
1 Balance
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fire/ Ice
1 Moat
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Strip Mine
3 Wasteland
1 Library of Alexandria
3 City of Brass
4 Flooded Strand
3 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Gainsay
1 Plagiarize
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Ebony Charm
1 Hydroblast
1 Pyroblast
2 Fire/ Ice
1 Disenchant
1 Stifle
1 Misdirection
1 Dismantling Blow
1 Artifact Mutation
Jeremy Allen – Top 8 – Mono U
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Mana Leak
3 Counterspell
1 Misdirection
4 Impulse
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Ophidian
2 Morphling
3 Powder Keg
3 Back to Basics
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
8 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
3 Propaganda
1 Old Man of the Sea
1 Back to Basics
3 Control Magic
3 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Energy Flux
Grant Laing – Top 8 – Suicide Black
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
1 Mind Twist
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Sarcomancy
4 Carnophage
2 Skittering Skirge
3 Phyrexian Negator
3 Skullclamp
1 Necropotence
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Crucible of Worlds
4 Dark Ritual
1 Chrome Mox
4 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
13 Swamp
4 Diabolic Edict
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Engineered Plague
3 Powder Keg
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Phyrexian Negator
Richard Clyne – Top 8 – Mono U
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Mana Leak
3 Counterspell
1 Misdirection
4 Impulse
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Ophidian
2 Morphling
3 Powder Keg
3 Back to Basics
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
8 Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
4 Old Man of the Sea
1 Back to Basics
3 Control Magic
3 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Energy Flux
IAN’S TOP 8 MATCHES
My team mate Ian had made Top 8 and I hadn’t. This meant I’d be staying awake until he’d finished playing anyway. So I thought it would be fun for me to write Feature Match style notes for his Top 8 matches.
If you spot any errors, either in my notes or in the game play, remember that these matches took place around 2am to 5am and everybody was very tired by this point.
Feature Match – Quarter Final – Ian Garnett (FCG) vs Gary Campbell (4cc)
Game 1 started extremely badly for Ian as he was forced to mulligan to 4 cards before he saw a red mana source. Gary led with a Library of Alexandria while Ian started with a Mountain and Skirk Prospector. Gary laid a Volcanic Island and Gorilla Shaman. Ian dropped a Mana Crypt but then saw his Goblin Warchief meet Force of Will and the Gorilla Shaman ate the Mana Crypt. On Ian’s next turn his Goblin Piledriver met a Mana Drain that Gary used to Tinker out a Darksteel Colossus. Even though Ian managed to play a Goblin Lackey and Goblin Piledriver the following turn, the Darksteel Colossus won the game.
Game 2 was very swift. Ian played first turn Blood Moon thanks to his Mana Crypt and Gary had no Force of Will. Gary got as far as 4 “Mountains� before scooping as Ian steadily played out Goblins.
Game 3 saw Ian attempt another first turn Blood Moon via Mana Crypt, though this time Gary had the Force of Will. Taiga met Strip Mine and Goblin Recruiter met Mana Drain. Ian got out a couple of Goblins and things were looking bad for Gary as he was on a perilous 3 life thanks to City of Brass and fetchlands on top of what Ian’s Goblins had inflicted. But he had just enough life to Vampiric Tutor for the Mox he needed to cast Balance without using his City of Brass, resetting both players to 0 creatures, 0 cards in hand and 2 lands (both had some artifact mana aswell). Ian’s topdecked Goblin Warchief met a topdecked Fire. Then a topdecked Siege-Gang Commander met a topdecked Swords to Plowshares but the Goblin tokens guaranteed the win.
During this match Ian went on an extremely lucky coin flipping spree, winning something like 12 flips in a row between Games 2 and 3, which quite possibly won the match for him.
Feature Match – Semi Final – Ian Garnett (FCG) vs Dave Fry (Trinistax)
Game 1 Ian started with another mulligan. Dave went broken on his first turn – Volcanic Island, Mox Emerald, Time Walk, Wasteland, Trinisphere looking somewhat better than Ian’s Wooded Foothills. Dave played Wheel of Fortune on his second turn, then dropped a Mishra’s Workshop and a second Trinisphere (presumably in case Ian had maindeck artifact removal). At this point Ian scooped.
Game 2 started with a Mountain and Goblin Lackey for Ian. Dave had another good start with a Volcanic Island, Goblin Welder, Mox Sapphire, Black Lotus and Smokestack! However, Ian’s Goblin Lackey dropped a Siege-Gant Commander into play, followed by a Goblin Warchief. Both players proceeded to make mistakes e.g. Dave forgot to add a counter to his Smokestack, Ian forgot to play a Goblin Piledriver before his attack step (he had the Goblin Warchief in play), etc. In any case Dave scooped in the face of Ian’s huge army. It later emerged Ian had forgotten to sideboard before Game 2 but luckily he remembered for Game 3.
Game 3 saw yet another great start from Dave – Mishra’s Workshop, Mox Jet followed by Ancient Tomb and Memory Jar. Meanwhile Ian had simply played a couple of lands. The Memory Jar provided a Trinisphere though Dave was stuck without red mana sources. Then Ian played a Food Chain while Dave played a Tangle Wire. On Ian’s next turn, with the Tangle Wire effect on the stack, he tapped all his land to cast Artifact Mutation (paying 3) on the Trinisphere. The resultant Saprolings were tapped for the Tangle Wire but this didn’t affect Ian sacrificing them to Food Chain to play a Goblin Matron, Goblin Recruiter and Goblin Ringleader which set off the combo chain. Dave scooped.
Feature Match –Final – Ian Garnett (FCG) vs Barry Horwood (Storm Tendrils)
Game 1 saw a first turn Piledriver (off a Chrome Mox) meet Force of Will. Barry then cast Brainstorm, Mox Sapphire, Mox Emerald and Lotus Petal. Ian played a Goblin Warchief and attacked. Barry used Lotus Petal for a Vampiric Tutor. Ian played a Goblin Piledriver and Goblin Sharpshooter and dealt another 8 damage. Barry played Yawgmoth’s Bargain off a Black Lotus, Dark Ritual and Tolarian Academy. Ian’s big attacks severely limited how many cards Barry could draw off Yawgmoth’s Bargain, even going all the way down to 1 life he couldn’t pull off his combo kill.
Game 2 ended controversially in Ian’s favour. He began with a Mountain, Mana Crypt, Piledriver while Barry twice searched out Underground Sea with Polluted Delta. A Goblin Ringleader met a Force of Will and the Goblin Piledriver attacked for a measly 1 point of damage. Barry then used Dark Ritual to power out a Necropotence which drew several cards. Ian played a Goblin Matron and attacked for another 1 with his Goblin Piledriver. Barry cast Tinker for Darksteel Colossus and drew more cards with Necropotence. At this point Ian was stuck with access to just 1 red mana, stopping him playing his Goblin Warchief and making a combo kill impossible. Barry played Mystical Tutor for a Blue Elemental Blast which he then drew with his Necropotence.
Here’s the controversy – Barry drew the top card of his library (the Blue Elemental Blast) using Necropotence, looked at it, then drew a second card using Necropotence, looked at it, then drew a third card using Necropotence and looked at it. At this point the table judge pointed out that this was illegal. By looking at the first card he drew he implicitly announced the end of his turn (as Necropotence makes the cards face down until the end of turn). Hence Barry had technically drawn 2 extra cards plus had been playing Necropotence as though it was a Yawgmoth’s Bargain. He was awarded a Game Loss which as a result of course meant Ian won the title. It wasn’t the most glorious way for the tournament to end.
MY TOURNAMENT REPORT
In 2002 I won the UK Vintage Championships playing an unpowered Suicide Black deck (a report can be found at
http://www.psi-soft.co.uk/nuke/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=485). I missed the 2003 event due to flying home after a friend’s wedding in Ireland, arriving on site at 11.30am in advance of the scheduled 2pm start, only to learn the time had been changed to 10am just that morning (apparently to ensure the event had time to finish before the venue closed, why they hadn’t thought of this when drawing up the original schedule escapes me). I’d never had chance to defend my title and was very keen to play in the 2004 event.
As mentioned above, GenCon had relocated from Central London (an hour on the train for me) to Somerset (5 hours in the car). The only part of GenCon I was really interested in was the Vintage Championships so planned simply to drive down, play the tournament, and then drive home again. I foresaw much abuse of caffeine to get me through. Accompanying me on this daring raid was my team mate Ian. He was in the middle of a stretch of jury service but luckily wasn’t needed on the Friday.
Our third and final team mate, Toby, was down at GenCon for the full 4 days working for House Atreides, who sell all manner of CCG and roleplaying items including plenty of Magic cards.
I planned to play Mono U. Ian was playing Food Chain Goblins, as Goblin decks in general have been very kind to him in the past 2 years. Toby was originally playing Mono U as well, but changed at the last minute to Belcher after House Atreides offered to loan him some power (he made it to 2-1 before being dropped from the tournament after arriving very late for the 4th round).
In recent months I’ve managed to acquire 2 pieces of power (Mox Emerald and Black Lotus) plus a Mana Drain, funded completely by disposing of old roleplay games and miniatures on eBay. I was also able to borrow a Mox Pearl and Mana Drain off Jezz Allen, a Mana Drain off Toby and the final Mana Drain I needed off House Atreides. Many thanks to all who lent me cards.
My decklist:
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Mana Leak
1 Counterspell
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Misdirection
4 Impulse
4 Ophidian
2 Morphling
4 Powder Keg
3 Back to Basics
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Chrome Mox
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
9 Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
4 Propaganda
2 Control Magic
4 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Energy Flux
1 Tundra
2 Decree of Justice
Thanks go to Stephen Menendian for the articles on Mono U upon which I based my deck. I also used sideboard tech which Ben Kowal mentioned on The Mana Drain – Tundra and Decree of Justice for control mirror matchups.
Round 1 – Daniel – Ravager (partially powered)
Daniel was playing a Ravager deck. He’d been lent a piece or two of power to speed things up a bit. Despite not knowing what many of my cards did and being unaware of the Mono U archetype he smashed me quickly (which was good in a way as I got to do the metagame survey mentioned above).
Game 1 I ended up mana light with just 2 Islands, though to be fair I’d also used a Strip Mine and Wasteland. Even after using Powder Keg to remove a couple of artifact lands and Ornithopters he still managed to get more cheap threats onto the board and pecked me to death.
Game 2 I weathered the early assault and stabilised the board, though had depleted my hand of counters in doing so. I had 2 Ophidians and a Morphling to his 2 Ornithopters. But then he played Tinker for Darksteel Colossus. He attacked with his Colossus. Next turn I drew Impulse and went looking for a Powder Keg to win me the game – he was on 7 life and only had Ornithopters as blockers. But I saw 4 lands off the Impulse and next turn he could even attach Cranial Plating to the Darksteel Colossus.
W0 L1
Round 2 – Simon – U/W/R control (unpowered)
Simon’s deck was mainly an Invasion block control deck – Lightning Angels, Goblin Trenches, Prophetic Bolt, etc.
Game 1 Simon stalled on land, not helped by my Wastelands and Back to Basics, while I got out an Ophidian and Morphling to win with.
Game 2 he sneaked a Lightning Angel past my counters and it went all the way. The Vigilance meaning I couldn’t draw using my Ophidian while he could hit for 3 damage a turn.
We were just shuffling up for Game 3 when something happened that I’ve never witnessed in the middle of a Magic tournament before. Simon vomited! And not just a little, I mean he really vomited for a good 5 minutes. Thankfully he directed it onto the carpet next to him rather than onto our decks. Cleaners were summoned and Simon conceded the match to me and dropped from the tournament. He was extremely apologetic though it later emerged he’d drank an unhealthy amount of whisky earlier in the day.
W1 L1
Round 3 – John – Goblin Sligh (unpowered)
We were deck checked and unfortunately John had made an error when recording his deck list so was awarded a Game Loss.
Game 1 he got an early Goblin Lackey and Mogg Fanatic but I answered both with a Powder Keg. He was disappointed to discover Goblin Grenade was a Sorcery not an Instant. I then dropped a Chalice of the Void for 1 which negated a good portion of his hand. An Ophidian filled my hand with counters and then began damaging him, eventually joined by a Morphling who finished it.
W2 L1
Round 4 – Gary– 4cc (fully powered)
These were the best games I played all day, very tight and requiring lots of thought. Gary was an experienced player, fully powered and had driven for 10 (!) hours down from Scotland so was obviously pretty keen. He went on to make Top 8.
In Game 1, Gary got a morphed Exalted Angel out on his third turn but a Powder Keg removed that. There was a large counter war at some point which left Gary tapped out, so next turn I played Back to Basics which destroyed him and he scooped (he admitted he had 0 basic lands). I sided in my Tundra and Decree of Justice tech.
Game 2 started with Gary going for a swift Mind Twist for 4 off a Black Lotus. I had Force of Will, so did he, but I had Impulse to find another Force of Will. Which had the net result of my hand being 4 cards smaller than before he cast the Mind Twist. Back to Basics met Mana Drain but an Ophidian hit the board. Before I could start drawing cards he cast Tinker with Force of Will backup to fetch Darksteel Colossus which won the game. After seeing the Colossus I sided in 2 Control Magic.
Game 3 saw Gary cast Mystical Tutor for Ancestral Recall. I had Misdirection, he had Force of Will but so did I, so I got to draw the 3 cards. Gary went for an end of turn Fact or Fiction which I countered with Mana Drain looking at Ophidian and Back to Basics in my hand. But on his turn he topdecked a Tinker while I was tapped out and grabbed a Darksteel Colossus. He even had the luxury then of casting Yawgmoth’s Will, Brainstorm, Mystical Tutor and Ancestral Recall to ensure he had a counter in case I topdecked a Control Magic (I had been careless when sideboarding after game 2 and he knew I’d brought them in). The Colossus then won.
W2 L2
Round 5 – Jim – Suicide variant (unpowered)
In Game 1 I had to use Powder Keg to remove an early Phyrexian Warbeast and then played Chalice of the Void for 3, which seemed to negate a good proportion of his deck as he drew up to 8 cards and began discarding Phyrexian Warbeast, Plague Spitter, Crucible of Worlds, etc. I couldn’t play my Ophidian but I had plenty of counters and patiently waited for Morphling to win the game.
Game 2 started badly for me as I was hit by Duress and Hymn to Tourach. Jim then dropped a Phyrexian Negator. I played a Powder Keg but he had Null Rod. I then played out a Morphling and had enough mana to make him attack while flying, yet still have enough to potentially untap and boost to block the Negator at 6 toughness. Jim delayed his death a turn or two using Hypnotic Specters but Morphling proved a winner.
W3 L2
Round 6 – Mark – Mono Red Burn (unpowered)
Chalice of the Void for 1 was golden here, negating his Lightning Bolt, Shock, etc.
Game 1 he burned me all the way down to 2 life before I took control with Chalice of the Void and 2 Ophidians first filling my hand with counter magic and then slowly reducing his life total. I even had a Misdirection ready in case he drew Urza’s Rage.
Game 2 started with a first turn Chalice of the Void for 1. Mana Drain accelerated out a Morphling who won in 4 turns, with mana spare to make him untargetable.
W4 L2
In the final analysis I finished 14th which was respectable. Though to be fair I’d not had the toughest wins against 3 budget aggro decks and a concession after my opponent vomited. I lost a close match to a fully powered 4cc and been soundly thrashed by a surprisingly good Ravager deck. But I was pleased to see two Mono U decks in the Top 8 which suggests my metagaming and choice of deck were sound.
So my team has entered two UK Vintage Championships and won both of them. It’s Toby’s turn in 2005!
By the time Ian’s Top 8 matches had finished it was 5am. Graham Pool had stayed up to spectate and had plenty of space in his accommodation so kindly provided beds for us to grab a few hours of sleep before the drive home.
THANK YOU
- Graham Pool for providing beds at 5am for Ian and myself
- Jezz Allen for loan of a Mox Pearl and a Mana Drain
- Toby Wallis for being a great team mate and loan of a Mana Drain
- House Atreides (
http://homepages.tesco.net/~lawrenson/) for loan of a Mana Drain
- Judges & organisers for staying awake till 5am and a well-run tournament, thanks also for providing me with the Top8 decklists
- the other players for being friendly, fun and cool
