I'm posting this because alot of Vintage players never played Magic in the previous Vintage eras. A few months ago, a bunch of players asked me to highlight historical Vintage a bit more since many of you (most of you) started playing in the last couple of years.
This tournament report by Ed Patzik is hilarious and relevant today, for reasons that will hopefully be evident by the end of this article. Also, I thought Ed's report really brought Vintage tournament report writing to a new level. Doug Linn's recent report reminded me of great TR from the past, such as this one. Every once in a while, I might post old TR like this for you to enjoy.
Stephen Menendian
http://www.type-one.net/report/011215leg.txt I rarely see any Type I tournament reports on the Internet.
Instead, I am assaulted by an endless stream of tournament reports from an
endless series of "mainstream" tournaments, written by an endless series of
mainstream, brainwashed players. Standard. Extended. Limited.....
Not only is this relentless flow of sewage boring, it is insulting. I am
constantly subjected to mindless tournament reports that appear as if they
were churned out in mere minutes by a Macaque on a typewriter. I am
repeatedly inundated with the numbing reality of the Magic herd. My senses
are overwhelmed by the remarkable propensity of the unwashed hordes to
continually surprise me by writing even more atrocious tournament reports
than I had previously imagined possible. This appalling parade of drivel is
characterized by an insidious reliance on such irritating slang terms as
"mise","tight", "tech", and "props and slops". Some writers have even resorted
to
describing their real-life activities with these nightmarishly juvenile
terms. Recently, I endured the stomach-turning ordeal of reading an article
in which the author saw fit to describe the sauce for his friend's meal of
steak and chicken as "the sauce tech."
But it doesn't end there. One of my personal favorites are those inane
reports in which we are treated to five paragraphs describing a person's
pre-tournament shower, their breakfast, and their boring drive to the
tournament center. Irrelevant detail upon irrelevant detail is piled on
higher and higher, until I become lost in a deep and potentially inescapable
forest of boredom. Why would I possibly care about what somebody did before
or after the tournament? Numerous players seem to be possessed by the
self-important belief that their audience would in fact care about how they
combed their hair before the PTQ, or about how their massive earwax buildup
has caused them to go deaf in addition to being already quite dumb.
Some writers also suffer from a deadly, but thankfully rare condition
that is known as "Neutral Eye." This is the persistent, and sadly, incurable
condition that renders an individual unable to grasp the truth. It starts out
by attacking the nervous system. Initial symptoms include mild stupidity and
nascent dementia. Soon the victim of this savage virus will develop an
irreversible, unwarranted sense of greatness. Do not be surprised if they
begin to write shockingly bad strategy columns on reputable gaming sites, or
if they make claims that they cannot back up. They will also become deeply
paranoid. Do not panic if the stricken individual stands up on a table and
yells, "My shirt, its trying to steal my memory!!!" Victims of this
frightening condition may also begin to take on the physical characteristics
of the common earthworm. I shudder to think of a world in which no cure for
"Neutral Eye" is available.
But enough of this. I am pleased to report that the more mature, refined, and
dignified element that you will find at a typical Type I affair will rarely
subject a country gentleman such as myself to the tortures of such
exclamations as "that was a mad tight mise!."
Instead, a completely unfair and potentially traumatizing topdeck of a
Yawgmoth's Will that turns the game in favor
of the player who had seemingly lost the previous turn when his entire hand
was Mind Twisted away thanks to the other player's completely unfair
topdecking of a Black Lotus, coming on the heels of a surprising and equally
unfair Misdirected Ancestral Recall by that same player who is now playing
the Yawgmoth's Will is typically greeted by restrained applause and hushed
compliments, such as
"Oh degenerate card that is not allowed in any other format except this one,
we welcome thy appearance at this sporting match of Magic! Oh Yawgmoth's Will
well drawn! Oh, entire graveyard of abusive cards that have all been
restricted because of their unbalancing effect on the game! Oh, art thou 2
Morphlings and 3 Moxes returning to play? Oh, a topdeck well done! Well done,
lad, Well done!!!"
You will come to one of two possible conclusions after reading the last few
sentences. Either you will conclude that you are confused, in which case you
will be completely incapable of of making any conclusions, or you may just
conclude that a Type I tournament is as much fun as being bathed in perfumes
and exotic oils in the company of numerous attentive, voluptuous servants who
desire nothing more than to feed you delicious grapes imported from an exotic
island while you exult in the pleasures of eating grapes that are imported
from an exotic island....
Welcome to the pageantry that is Type I.
Now, getting back to the main point of my discussion, which is that I rarely
see any Type I tournament reports on the Internet.
Well, here is a Type I Tournament Report, a Vintage Theater Double Feature.
Every Friday, Neutral Ground holds a Type I tournament at 4 o'clock. These
are typically small, yet sanctioned events, with the turnout ranging anywhere
from 8-20 people. I'll go over the 7 matches I've played during the last 2
Friday tournaments in a moment.
Fact or Fiction will be restricted in Type I as of 1 January, 2002. This will
bring to an end 9 Months of the greatest deck I have ever had the privilege
of playing, Legend Blue, at least in its present incarnation. This is the
right decision by the DCI, though, as this cards resulted in the rise of
completely unfair mono-blue decks such as Legend Blue. Possessing more
countermagic than other control decks, yet packing enough speed to stunt many
aggressive strategies, this deck had many elements of a degenerate deck. You
will typically be able to employ numerous overpowered countermagic spells
such as Mana Drain in the early game, reload with some Fact or Fictions (or
Ancestral Recall), then crush any resistance with a Morphling. Any small
creature threats are typically neutralized with Powder Kegs, while non-basic
lands are shut down by Back to Basics. Its a very simple deck.
I'd like to commemorate a great year of Type I tournaments that this deck
gave me with this report since the deck will no longer exist soon. So....
(Neutral Ground Friday Sanctioned Type I) Friday, December 7
Dec. 7 Legend Blue
4 Morphling
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Mana Leak
4 Misdirection
4 Back to Basics
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Impulse
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
5 Moxes
19 Island
SB:
4 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Powder Keg
4 Gainsay
3 Hibernation
The deck always changes from week to week, but the same core is always there:
4 Morphling, 4 Fact or Fiction, 4 Mana Drain, 4 Force of Will, 4 Back to
Basics, the 26 mana sources, Ancestral, Time Walk, some number of
Misdirections and either maindeck or sideboard Powder Kegs, depending on the
metagame. If the aggro presence is light, you may not need them maindeck.
ROUND 1: JON DELOSANTOS playing AN INVASION BLOCK DRAFT DECK
GAME 1: Yes, my opponent is playing a draft deck. You'll come across one of
these every so often in Type I. It was a bad sign when he sat down across
from me with an unsleeved deck. While he was shuffling, a Bloodfire Dwarf
accidentally slipped loose. The first game sees him attempting to gain
position by casting a Rogue Kavu. A Phyrexian Rager is soon Mana Drained,
though, leading to a Morphling. Another Morphling joins in after another Mana
Drain of some terrible creature that he shouldn't have been playing. However,
my position is precarious. He's been able to force through some suboptimal
burn spells, and I am extremely nervous, with my life total tottering at a
shaky 16. Despite the fact that he has no hand and only a Rogue Kavu to
oppose my 2 Morphlings and my full hand, I am sweating profusely, because it
suddenly dawns on me: If I forget to attack and block for the next 30 turns
and if I ignore my hand full of counterspells, I could lose this game.
Fortunately, I maintain my composure in the face of very difficult
circumstances, and cautiously attack for the win. Whoa, that was a close one.
GAME 2: Any normal, sensible person would be ashamed that they actually
sideboarded in 4 Powder Kegs and 4 Blue Elemental Blasts against a young boy
and his Invasion Block draft deck. Fortunately, I am not one of those people
who is governed by shame. I gleefuly Blast a couple of Bloodfire Dwarves, Keg
away some other stuff, and cast 3 Morphlings. Yet, Jon demonstrates just how
resilient his deck can be. The game was in doubt until the very last moments,
when he challenged me with another Rogue Kavu that would have been menacing
had I not been at 20 with 3 Morphlings on the table. Another close call.
1-0, 2-0
ROUND 2: ADAM WASSERMAN playing ZOO
GAME 1: His deck features 4 Savannah Lions, 4 Kird Apes, 3 Serendib Efreet,
and 2 Gorilla Shamans as the attacking force, supplemented by Mishra's
Factories and copious amounts of burn spells. Then he can refill with the
Draw 7's, Wheel of Fortune and Timetwister. This could be a problem without
maindeck Powder Kegs, but I am able to keep his threats off the table except
for a first turn Lion, which chips away at me for a while until I am able to
find a Morphling. Meanwhile, 2 Mishra's Factories are held down by a Back to
Basics. I counter some more potentially lethal burn spells, then Morphling
closes this one down.
GAME 2: He sideboards in some Pyroblasts but it is not enough since I side in
my Powder Kegs and Blue Blasts. He draws more threats than in game 1, but I
have more removal this time. Again, Back to Basics locks all his lands down,
while I refill my hand with Fact or Fictions. The game ends with the usual
Morphling.
2-0, 4-0
ROUND 3: JOSHUA VEERVORDT playing DRAW-Go
GAME 1: His deck is also mono-blue, but with no Moxes, Nevinyrral's Disks,
Accumulated Knowledges, fewer Morphlings, and some non-basic lands, notably
Faerie Conclaves. I should win this one with mana advantage and Morphling
advantage. The first game sees me lock down a couple of Conclaves with Back
to Basics, then some end of turn Fact or Fictions and an Ancestral Recall
provide an avalanche of counters to support my Morphling plan.
GAME 2: One of my Morphlings is countered, another one is lost when I take
the other pile in a Fact or Fiction, and a third one is eliminated with a
Disk. Since I've drawn more cards than him, I will lose this game if I cannot
find my last Morphling in time. I find it with about 15 cards left in my
library, then I'm able to counter a disk and move in for the win.
3-0, 6-0
ROUND 4: ROBERT WILLIAMS playing KEEPER (Multicolor Control)
GAME 1: He wins the die roll and drops a Library of Alexandria. The game will
quickly get out of hand if I cannot deal with this. I have a Back to Basics
in my hand, but no acceleration. I draw my 8th card, and it is a Black Lotus,
resulting in a first turn Back to Basics, with Force of Will backup that I
didn't even need. All his lands are nonbasic, so this is game. Just to guard
against any potential rebellion, I counter a Sol Ring.
GAME 2: I still can't figure out why I lost this game. Sitting comfortably
with a full hand and plenty of mana, we both played mana for a few turns.
Finally, he Duressed me, I Fact in response, but he Ancestrals in response,
then counters my Fact. Then my hand is somehow Mindtwisted away. However, its
not over yet. I fight back, valiantly playing some Moxes and land. Despite
the fact that he has a full hand and a Sylvan Library, to my lack of hand and
lack of anything of any significance, I have a small chance. If he somehow
Stroke of Geniuses himself for 35 or forgets to cast the Morphling he has
drawn, I could win this game. We are both surprised when in fact neither of
these things happen. Sometimes things just don't go your way.
GAME 3: The early game is a disaster, as he draws all 4 of his Duresses
within the first 10 turns, pulling, among other things, an Ancestral Recall
while I was tapped out. I try to protect it with a Force of Will, pitching
Misdirection, but he counters. It is now the middle of the game, and 2 of my
Morphlings have been eliminated. Now, at 4 life and facing down his
Morphling, I need to cast my 3rd Morphling to block his, so I Fact or Fiction
at the end of his turn, getting just enough mana to cast the Morphling and
make it an 0/6 flyer. Now we spend the next 10 minutes preparing for the
inevitable moment when I will try to force my 4th Morphling through for the
win. However, Rob has other ideas, and with all 5 of his Moxes on the table,
plus a ton of land, he is hardly hindered by my Back to Basics. I can't
pressure his Morphling with mine, either, since he has all of his Moxes,
allowing him to block each turn without tapping any lands. He goes for the
Yawgmoth's Will, and I Mana Leak it 3 Times to make him tap 9 mana. He stops
at 6 mana though, then Regrowths the Will. He just has more counters than me,
and gets it to go through. Fortunately, he had to tap most of his mana to
accomplish this. I had only four mana available at the end of this long
counterwar, so I couldn't Misdirect his last counter that would have won me
the counterwar. This was because I couldn't pay the pitch cost of the
Misdirection, being that my 4th Morphling was the only other remaining card
in my hand. Then I think I have my big chance when he Diabolic Edicts. I
Misdirect it at him, eliminating his Morphling and clearing the path for
mine. But then he Balances, and a few turns later goes for a Stroke of
Genius, directed at me. I Misdirect it at him, but he counters, and that's
the end of that. I have to settle for 2nd Place, which is disappointing since
Keeper is generally a favorable matchup for me because of Back to Basics. His
Duresses do even things out, though,since they allow him to know when it is
safe to cast some of his more abusive cards, most notably Mind Twist and
Yawgmoth's Will.
3-1, 7-2
---------------------------------------------------------
(Neutral Ground Friday Sanctioned Type I) Friday, December 14
Dec. 14 Legend Blue
4 Morphling
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Counterspell
4 Misdirection
4 Back to Basics
4 Powder Keg
4 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
5 Moxes
19 Islands
SB:
4 Ophidian
4 Gainsay
4 Mana Leak
3 Hibernation
This week, I went with Ophidians in the sideboard because they can be a nasty
surprise against Keeper. They'll side out all their creature removal, then I
can exchange the Powder Kegs for the Ophidians. They will give me another
must-counter threat in addition to Back to Basics next time the Keeper match
comes up. They are also fairly decent against certain aggro strategies. For
those Keepers that side in Red Blasts, this will be less of a problem, but
for those whose creature removal is mainly Plow, Abyss, and Edict (although
Edict generally stays in) they will at least be given pause when considering
their sideboard strategy. Maindeck Counterspells were back because I was a
little disappointed in Mana Leak in the late game last week. It still
deserved Blue Elemental Blast's anti-aggro slot, since I haven't seen a Sligh
deck in a long time. Impulse was cut after a few tournaments of use just
because I felt I would have enough search with Fact or Fiction, and because
maindeck Powder Kegs were useful against the decks I expected today.
ROUND 1: NICK TAYLOR playing HYPER AGGRESSIVE B/G/R
GAME 1: If a Powder Keg is not drawn, or Duressed away, this can be a real
problem. His deck has Sarcomancy, Carnophage, Jackal Pup, and River Boa for
early pressure, with Rancor to pump them up. This is backed up by Duress,
with various burn spells to finish the assault. He wins the die roll, and
elects to go first. Bayou, Sarcomancy, Land Grant for Taiga, revealing that
his hand is in fact too fast for me. All I do is play an Island. This is a
very slow hand and I have no chance. On his second turn, he taps the Taiga to
Rancor the Sarcomancy token, taps the Bayou for another Sarcomancy, and
attacks for 4. Soon a Jackal Pup joins in. I fail to draw a Powder Keg, and I
am swarmed by his voracious horde.
GAME 2: I side out the Misdirections and Back to Basics for Mana Leaks and
Ophidians. He has almost all non-basic lands, but all his spells are under 2
mana, so I don't think the Back to Basics strategy will work. Mana Leak is
obviously better than Misdirection against his deck, while Ophidian provides
a body that can block his small creatures, or win the game singlehandedly if
unchecked. At worst, it will absorb a direct damage spell that would
otherwise have been used on me. As for the game itself, there is not much to
say except that I had a couple of Moxes for acceleration, resulting in some
nasty Fact or Fictions. 2 Powder Kegs cleaned up his horde, an Ophidian held
the ground, and finally 2 Morphlings swooped down. Then I dealt with him in
the way I know best.
GAME 3: I am going second, and I keep a one island hand since it also
features an Ancestral Recall that I hope will draw me into my land. A Sol
Ring is also present. He plays Taiga, Jackal Pup. I play the Island, but not
the Sol Ring, as I plan to Ancestral at the end of his turn. He Duresses (I
don't know why he didn't cast it on the first turn, maybe he didn't have the
black mana, or maybe he didn't have the Duress, otherwise, that was a bad,
bad mistake on his part). I Ancestral in response, leading to 2 Moxes and an
Island. He pulls a Fact or Fiction. I develop my mana for a couple of turns.
Soon the situation is me at 14, with him at 15. It is his turn, and he has a
Carnophage, a Sarcomancy, and a Jackal Pup. I have just cast my Morphling,
with one Island open. He has one card in his hand. He attacks with all. I
block the Jackal Pup.
Now I am at 10, and he is at 12. He brings out the River Boa in his hand,
taking one damage from a City of Brass. On my turn, I fly and attack for 5,
reducing him to 6. He then sends in the Boa, Sarco, and Carny. I block the
Carny, and take 4 from the others, reducing me to 6. I then attack him for 5.
Now with him at 1, I play a Powder Keg and detonate it at 0, killing his
Sarcomancy token. During his upkeep, the Sarcomancy deals the final point of
damage to him.
1-0, 2-1
ROUND 2: A RANDOM GUY WHO WASN"T VERY MEMORABLE, SO I FORGOT HIS NAME playing
CONCORDANT CROSSROADS G/R AGGRO
GAME 1: My opponent is a somewhat mentally deficient, surly little man. A
first turn Concordant Crossroads is followed by a Birds of Paradise. I Keg
away a Bird and a Kird Ape after taking some damage since he had the
Concordant Crossroads out. Then with another Bird out, he plays a Skyshroud
Elite, allowing me to get rid of both of those two with another Keg. A third
Keg wipes away some other weenies, while Blastoderm and Shivan Wurm are both
Mana Drained, leading to Morphlings. He seems to have a high opinion of his
deck, and expects to win the match.
GAME 2: At some point, I Hibernate a Bird, a Blastoderm, and a Crossroads.
The Derm is countered, as is a Saproling Burst. He is completely locked down
by a Back to Basics since he has drawn none of his forests. How unfortunate.
I then punish him for his insolence with 2 Morphlings. They're bigger than
anything he's got.
2-0, 4-1
ROUND 3: ADAM WASSERMAN playing CONTROL/PRISON W/ WINTER ORBS, ICIES, BLACK
VISE, ETC.
GAME 1: He mulligans down to 6, so I keep my one land hand that also features
a Mox Pearl. No need to mulligan a mana-light, yet playable hand. He keeps
his second hand though. His first turn play is: Mox Jet, Mox Pearl, Mox
Emerald, Fellwar Stone, and Winter Orb. I don't draw a land, but I do play a
first turn Powder Keg. I need to get rid of the Winter Orb, so I don't
detonate at 0. On his turn, he Strips my Island. Next turn, I set the Keg at
1, but draw no land. Now I have a problem, with a Mox Pearl as my only mana.
He had no land either. This goes on for a few turns. I don't use the Keg, now
set at 2, yet, since I have no land to even be affected by the Winter Orb.
After discarding a couple of counters and Fact or Fictions, I finally draw an
Island. However, he Regrowths his Strip Mine, dealing with that Island.
Amazingly, he still hasn't drawn a land either, and we are probably 15 cards
deep into our libraries. Finally, I draw another Island. plus two moxes,
which I play. He STILL has not drawn a land. He has, however, drawn his other
two moxes. This means that with his full set of Moxes in play, plus mine,
Moxes outnumber lands, 8-1. Still stuck with one Island and two off color
moxes, I finally draw another Island. I blow up his Winter Orb and Fellwar
Stone. Then, when I've built up to 4 Islands, I draw another Powder Keg. At
this point, his only land is a basic Plains. I decide to detonate the Keg at
0, destroying his 5 Moxes, plus my 3 Moxes. This leaves him with nothing
except a basic plains. At this point, he is forced to concede.
GAME 2: I made no sideboard changes, since I already had such an overwhelming
advantage before sideboarding, being that most of his land is nonbasic, and I
can deal with his assortment of artifacts. Again I am mana-light, and a
Winter Orb comes down. He follows with a Black Vise, which I have to Force of
Will. He Forces of Will. I Misdirect his Force of Will. Now we are both left
with 3 cards in hand, but I am once again able to get rid of the Winter Orb
with a Powder Keg, while drawing some much needed Islands. Then I go for
Ancestral Recall, which we have a big war over. He Mana Drains, I Mana Drain,
He Counters, I Counter, He Forces of Will, I Counter. So I get my three
cards. Soon I have destroyed some more of his moxes with another Powder Keg,
and his 4 nonbasic lands are locked down under a Back to Basics. He tries to
Disenchant my Back to Basics, but I Misdirect it at his freshly cast Winter
Orb. Then he tries to Ancestral himself, which also meets with a
Misdirection, turning it to myself. A Morphling arrives. His last efforts
include a Wrath of God and a Balance, which are both met with counters,
forcing another concession.
3-0, 6-1
Meanwhile, the only other 2-0's are Eric Wilkinson and Vincent Pau, both with
Keeper. Their match is still going on. Friday Type I's are 3 rounds, with 1st
Place going to whoever is 3-0 after three rounds, unless there are two 3-0's,
as in last week's case. So the winner of this match will have the opportunity
to play me for the win in a 4th playoff round.
Eric wins the first game, but Vincent takes the second with a Yawgmoth's
Will. The third game has Eric in complete control after surviving Vincent's
early advantage, but time is called, and they go into extra turns. Eric casts
a Morphling and attacks with his Gorilla Shaman, reducing a helpless Vincent
to 14. This is the 3rd turn of extra time, and with Eric's Time Walk removed
from the game, he can't win. He could cast his second Morphling, but with
only one more possible attack (on the 5th and final extra turn), he can't do
better than reducing Vincent to 3 (2 Morphlings plus the Shaman). Vincent
could still win, though, since Eric is at 1 after using his Sylvan Library 4
times and being hit with Vincent's earlier Gorilla Shaman a few times. If
Vincent draws his Fire/Ice, he could Fire Eric for one and Eric's Shaman for
one to guard against a Misdirection. This is irrelevant for two reasons. A,
Vincent doesn't draw the Fire/Ice on the 4th extra turn. B, Eric could just
counter it if he did. So their match ends in a draw.
This results in their both being 2-0-1, good for 7 points each. This leaves
me as the only 3-0, with 9 points, so I take 1st Place right there instead of
needing to win a playoff.
That's all for now.
Edward Paltzik
