Smmenen
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« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2009, 10:50:56 pm » |
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so, i was extremely excited to play TPS I really enjoyed playing in the Legacy tournament, but it's not nearly as heart-pounding or exciting as Vintage.
ROUND ONE: Jerry Yang, teammate
I was disappointed that Jerry shuffled me into a no land hand. Not a good way to start a tournament.
My hand of six cards was: Yawgmoth's Will, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Force of Will, off color Mox, off color Mox, Land.
I didn't want to agonize over whehter to keep this hand or not, but suffice to say, it's not very good, and it's not clear what topdecks would make it good. Certainly a Black Lotus would help, but even Dark Ritual wouldn't get me to play Bargain. It's a functional 3 card hand. I probably should have mulliganed.
But I didn't.
Jerry opened with Mishra's Workshop, Null Rod.
Ouch. I probably wasn't going to win this game, especially with this hand.
As fate would have it, I topdecked Chain of Vapor. It was a mocking gesture, however, since I'd probably need it to pitch to Force of Will.
On his second turn, Jerry played Sphere of Resistance. I debated what to do. Ultimately, I decided that given my current predicament, I could more effectively play under a Sphere than Null Rod. I bounced the Null Rod in response, and he played a land and passed the turn.
I drew something irrelevant and scooped.
Game Two:
My opening hand was: Island, Island, Underground Sea, Tolarian Academy Mana Vault, Tendrils of Agony Yawgmoth's Will
Again, a risky hand. I decided to keep it.
I led with Island, Mana Vault and passed the turn.
Jerry did his best. He played a Mox and a land, and cast Chalice of the Void at zero. It resolved.
Then he tapped the Mox and land and played Chalice of the Void at 1. I hardly cared.
Turn Two:
I untapped, drew Darksteel Colossus and scowled. I played another island and passed the turn.
Then, Jerry played Null Rod and Bazaar of Baghdad on turn two. Wow, it got even worse.
Turn Three:
I drew Fact or Fiction. I played Tolarian Academy and passed the turn.
Jerry then played turn three Pyrostatic Pillar.
Turn Four: I played Underground Sea and passed the turn.
Jerry then played Sphere of Resistance, and I dumbly did not respond with Fact. For some reason, I was thinking that Null Rod was a Sphere. But I had four lands in play, and I could easily just play Fact or Fiction. I did not, and I never was able to again. The fact would have evaded Pyrostatic Pillar, which I was not terribly concerned about since I had Tendrils in hand should I ever get in a position to use it.
Over the course of the next 5-6 turns, we played draw-go. I drew up to 7 cards and then discarded the Darksteel Colossus. This time, he was digging with Bazaar and finally found a Mishra's Factory. Then, I drew a Swamp and cast Demonic Tutor for Tinker. By this point, I actually had Rebuild in hand, so I could just Rebuild and win the game. Instead, I played Tinker for Darksteel Colossus, and that carried the day.
Game Three:
I opened up the most incredible, busted hand ever, but it would have lost to any number of threats, from Chalice to Sphere of Resistance. I mulliganed into:
Black Lotus Mox Ruby Mox Emerald Sol Ring Island Gifts Ungiven
It was practically the same hand as before.
As luck would have it, Jerry just played Mox Emerald, Mountain, Goblin Welder, and passed the turn. I couldn't believe it!
I drew Grim Tutor, which was very exciting for me. I played Black Lotus, Mox, Mox, Sol Ring, and began to calculate.
I played Island and cast Gifts Ungiven, leaving Lotus untouched. After a few calculations, I found:
Lotus Petal Mana Crypt Mana Vault Dark Ritual
No matter which two cards he gives me, I'll have the 6 mana to play Grim Tutor for Yawgmoth's Will. He gave me Lotus Petal and Mana Vault. I played them and sacrificed Black Lotus for BBB. I cast Grim Tutor and found and played Yawgmoth's Will. I replayed the Lotuses, the Ritual, and the Mana Crypt, and cast Grim Tutor for Tendrils for the win.
Turn one kill!
ROUND TWO: Jeremy Richard with UG Madness
I've played Jeremy in tournaments at RIW at least twice before. He is a nice guy.
Once, again, and for the third time, I have to mulligan. My opening hand was:
Force of Will Black Lotus Mana Crypt Dark Ritual Swamp, Underground Sea
I kept it. Not knowing what Jeremy was playing, I led with Black Lotus. I was hoping to bait a Force of Will, which I did not. Then I played Island and passed the turn.
Jeremy played a Mox and a land and cast Looter Il-Kor.
Turn Two:
I untapped and drew Imperial Seal! Yes!, I thought. But what should I get? I decided to get Tinker. I could play Tinker and hardcast Force of Will next turn with Mana Crypt, Dark Ritual, Black Lotus, and my two lands. I made the mistake, though, of playing Underground Sea.
Jeremy Wastelanded my Underground Sea and then attacked me with Looter Il-Kor. He then played a Tarmogoyf.
Turn Three:
I untap, and according to play, play Tinker, but cannot protect it with Force. I sacrifice Mana Crypt and put Darksteel Colossus into play.
Jeremy attacks me with Looter Il-Kor and stacks the draw, playing Mystical Tutor for Chain of Vapor in response. I scoop up my cards and am upset to see that Yawgmoth's Will is the card after next.
This is a consequence of me playing too much Legacy that weekend, not thinking about Vintage outs.
Game Two:
My opening hand is just nutty:
Mox Ruby, Basic Land Fetchland, Dark Ritual Merchant Scroll Demonic Tutor Brainstorm
I botched this hand so badly. One of the key differences between Grim Long and TPS is that one is a speed combo deck, the other is a combo-control deck. TPS's ideal speed is to win the turn before your opponent. I played quite stupidly here and tried to spend all of my resources at once without just playing one.
I played Dark Ritual, Mox Ruby, Demonic Tutor for Black Lotus, Black Lotus, Merchant Scroll, with BUU floating, and cast Ancestral Recall. I am not at all surprised, only saddened, when he plays Misdirection (he only has one in his deck, but frankly, the effect would have been the same if he just has Force of Will).
Jeremy quickly made me pay for it. He played turn two Wild Mongrel, which led an army of creatures in the next two turns to kill me.
The sequence of plays I made with this opening hand is a classic example -- a pedagogical lesson -- on how *not* to play TPS. In retrospect, the correct play is either T1: Mox, Land, Merchant Scroll for Ancestral Recall, or, probably better, Demonic Tutor for Necropotence, aiming for turn two Necro.
Given the fact that i have a three hour drive and that I have been operating on 3 and half hours of sleep for each of the previous nights (thanks to Chapin and company, keeping me up Playing T4 at Demars house until 6am!), I decide that I really just want/need to go home.
I couldn't actually play out the top 8 anyway, and I had already resolved to leave around 7pm. If I left now, at 3pm, I could at least get home, do laundry, clean up and other things that I usually do on the weekends. I couldn't enjoy and play out a top 8, so I felt it was time to leave. I had already been racking up the errors, and juxtaposing Legacy and Vintage I think hurt my Vintage experience, oddly enough. I made it home by 6:15, but about an hour later, when I went to run an errand, my tire had gone flat.
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