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Eric Dupuis
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« on: April 16, 2007, 01:31:07 pm » |
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I was really looking forward to this Myriad Event. 45 of New Englands best Vintage players showed, with many people who had been out of the game returning for the first time. There were many notably absent players, which gives me hope for some massive events this summer. I was determined to play my best and not have any excuses when I left the event. Making Top 8 in a field of 45 is much harder than your average 30 man event. I brought plenty of Food bars and Water to keep my energy up. I didn't want to eat any pizza, but once it showed up, I still ended up eating half a box. It was the best pizza I've had at Myriad since the slices that were supposed to go to Feinstein. Those ones tasted extra special because they were taken from someone else. Crushed feelings are the spice of life. I set out to crush some dreams of Top 8ing.
In honor of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, I named my Deck - I'm Sofa King, Wee Todd Did. My only complain on the day is Dan didn't read my decklist aloud for people to vote on. I've played the same list I've been playing since last year. I figure if it's isn't broken, I'm not going to spend the time to fix it.
Gifts
// Lands
3 Flooded Strand
3 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
2 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Tolarian Academy
// Creatures
1 Darksteel Colossus
// Spells
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Dark Ritual
4 Force of Will
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rebuild
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Merchant Scroll
1 Recoup
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth's Will
// Sideboard
SB: 2 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Lava Dart
SB: 3 Empty the Warrens
SB: 2 Massacre
SB: 3 Duress
SB: 1 Tendrils of Agony
SB: 1 Hurkyl's Recall
Round 1 Charles Scourbys w/Tog
Game 1 I am surprised to be killed by a Psychatog backed up by a Dark Confidant. Gush provides the extra damage and it's on to Game 2. I feel confident that he cannot outrace me, and may not have answers to my threats.
Game 2 He is forced to use Gush early to draw some extra cards. He is behind in mana when I let a Tog resolve. I don't believe Tog could have been lethal anyways, as I had more than enough counters to stop any kind of shenanigans. On my turn I'm able to combo out with Tendrils.
Game 3 He drops a Tormod's Crypt, so I feel like I am up one card already. I go for an early Empty the Warrens (10+) thinking he cannot remove the tokens against my larger hand of counters. He takes his next turn to cast Merchant Scroll for Echoing Truth. I swing for over half his life. He casts Echoing Truth, I drain, he forces, I force and it's over.
1-0
Round 2 Home BReWed deck
Game 1 I won the roll and play several spells including Ancestral and Brainstorm. Joten Grunt hits the board on his turn off Lotus. He uses the other white mana to Enlightened Tutor for Mox Ruby. On my turn I play a land an pass. He attacks on his turn, and during his endstep I Gifts to set up a Lethal Yawgmoth's Will.
Game 2 He gets out a Tormod's Crypt but it doesn't enter into it. I Lava Dart his Confidant, Tinker for Colossus and then Empty for 12. It is an uphill battle to play with dedicated answers in Type 1. If you don't draw the answer when you need it, you lose. If you draw the answer when you don't need it, you can lose because of dead cards. If you draw the answer and it works, you're very often just in a new ball game. I find that the best answer in Type 1 right now is winning the game before their threat matters.
2-0
Round 3 Kyle Leith w/ Pitch Long
Game 1 I brainstorm on my turn, putting back Tendrils of Agony and Rebuild, in the wrong order. On his first turn, He goes Land, Ritual, Mana Crypt Memory Jar. I am looking forward to bouncing the Jar on my turn, and probably keeping him off any meaningful play for quite a while. Instead I look at Tendrils and shake my head in disbelief. On his turn he Jars and is able to win.
Game 2 is more of what I'd expect from Gifts VS Pitch Long. I am able to out-counter him and I draw 3 off my Ancestral, as well as his. I eventually win with Tendrils.
Game 3 He gets down an early Necropotence. I get Ancestral, Duress and Crypt early. Duress keeps his hand from being insane, and he is unable to kill me for a couple turns in a row. He eventually casts Cabal Ritual, and I crypt in response, severely cutting down his options. He is forced to mini Tendrils just to be able to draw some cards for the next turn. His next turn involved a lot of scrambling, as he is forced to Frantic Search with no mana floating. He draws what he needs, untaps Academy and Desires for 11. Very close match.
2-1
Round 4 Steve Padena w/ Brassman Gifts
Game 1 It's a blow out, with me being out pitch-countered. Ancestral, Skeletal Scrying for 3, it was all bomb after bomb. His hand was amazing, but that wouldn't hold up in games 2/3. He eventually wins with a huge Yawgmoth's Will.
Game 2 He is mana light this game, and I win easily. Mulling to 5 killed his chances this game.
Game 3 I win a counter war early my Ancestral, leaving him crippled. I Duress taking Gifts, then drop Mox, Mana Vault and Empty the Warrens. I left him with just Ancestral in hand, and my hand was Misdirection and a blue card. He casts it on his next turn, and I proceed to draw 3. He casts Time Walk, and I do not force, which was horrible. He was tapped out, so if Force resolved, I would have won. Since he had 2 cards in hand, If I had forced, and he forces back, he gets one card to work with on his next turn. He doesn't draw anything useful and I win on my turn with goblin beats.
3-1
Round 5 Ryan Marek w/ Trinket Mage Gifts
Game 1 Things are ugly with Ryan resolving both Ancestral and Yawgmoth's Will. Staring down a lethal Trinket Mage, I have a hand with Tendrils, Dark Ritual and a Mox. I'm pretty close to a lethal tendrils, as he is at 12. I draw brainstorm which is exactly what I was hoping for. I brainstorm into another brainstorm. I crack a fetch and brainstorm again. I hit Chain of Vapor. Play the Mox from my hand, Chain both back, Dark Ritual Tendrils FTW.
Game 2 Was not as close as Game 1. I drew very well, and pile on with an eventual lethal storm. I shoudl be able to draw in at this point being 4-1.
4-1
Round 6 ID with Oliver playing Control Slaver
I took this time to hit the trades. I was actually late to my Top 8 match, as there was quite a bit to take care of.
5-1-1
Top 8
Ray w/Staxless Stax
Game 1 Ray Leads with Workshop Crucible. I have mystical in hand, and drop a land/mox. Stripmine hits turn 2, so the Mystical for Tinker plan is out. I grab Ancestral with Mystical and draw into artifact mana. Ray resolves a Chalice for 2. I resolve a Gifts EOT with and get brainstorm and rebuild out of it. If I hit an artifact off Brainstorm, I have a lethal Tendrils. I find neither a shuffle effect or an artifact, so I'll have to wait two turns to try and do anything useful. Ray drops a Sundering Titan, but I don't have any lands anyways. Ray drops a Mox Monkey on his next turn, so I had to cast Rebuild to save my entire mana base. He replays the Titan, and then Chalice at zero. I'm pretty much out of the game at that point.
Game 2 Ray Leads with City of Brass Go. REB warning!!! I love it when decks w/o a strong draw engine try and play control. I find that it destroys their tempo, and I can ultimately outdraw them and win. In my experience, the control deck that draws more cards usually wins. I was very comfortable with this game plan. I drop some artifact mana and pass. His second turn he drops another City of Brass. After a turn or two he goes for an In The Eye of Chaos with City open. I respond with Gifts and get the Force ready. He tries to REB, I force. Gifts finds artifact mana. I let In The Eye Resolve. On my turn I Demonic Tutor for Yawgmoth's Will, replay all the artifacts and Demonic for Tendrils.
Game 3 Turn 1 I Force of Will (Pitching Drain) a first turn Trinisphere. On my turn I drop Delta->Volcanic Island, Mox Emerald, Mana Vault, Empty the Warrens. Ray drops a couple of Goblin Welders, but is unable to do anything relevant. My 6 goblins swing for a few turns and it's over. My ending hand was Drain, Chain of Vapor and Hurkyl's Recall, so I was pretty much all set no matter what Ray drew.
After the win, I went back to trading. After a while, Oliver came over and said that a split was not possible, and we were going to have to play. I didn't even think to negotiate some kind of split. There were plenty of possibilities for splits, but I didn't think about it so I just went ahead and played it out.
Top 4
Game 1 Oliver leads with Library go. I reply with Stripmine. Islands drop for 2 turns, and I go for Merchant Scroll. Oliver Drains and tries to resolve Ancestral on his turn. I force, he responds with Fact or Fiction using the Drain Mana. From there Oliver out draws me. A couple turns later he casts Demonic Tutor, and I assume he's going to get Yawgmoth's Will and win the game with the EtW in the graveyard. He instead grabbed either Goblin Welder or Time Walk, and passed back to me with only one card in hand. I had several chances to draw something good, but drew nothing. Eventually, Oliver got Mindslaver online with Academy Ruins recursion. It was an ugly game, and I was very optimistic about Game 2 and 3 as Oliver had given me several chances to get back into a game that should have been over.
Game 2 I lead with Library. Oliver leads with Island, Ancestral into Library. He is able to stay ahead and eventually gets Slaver online. He slaves me several times, but is unable to win. I cast both Will and Gifts, but he has a counter for both lethal spells. I eventually scoop when Oliver can see how to remove all of my win conditions with the Jester's Caps in his hand and Slaver activations. I cannot complain about losing that one. Oliver is both classy and humble in victory and defeat. I was truly happy for him.
Props:
Oliver for getting one against me when it counts
Dan for running another great event
New England Vintage players, for keeping New England the best place for Vintage in the world
The pizza, for being delicious
The Top 8 for making it in such a tough field
Slops:
Dan for not reading my deck name aloud for voting
Brassman for playing Fish
Myself for not thinking to coordinate some kind of split in the Top 4
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