Subject: Dallas Regionals
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 07:33:09 -0500
From: diabolic@shreve.net
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

I have just gotten home after a long drive from the Dallas Regional
competition and feel thoroughly exhausted. Three of us made the trip in hopes
of breaking into the top eight.

First, let me say that the tournament was well run and that things went pretty
smooth (even when everyone thought the building was on fire). An excellent 266
people in attendance! Compliments to those responsible.
Second, I won't even begin to tell you how I crashed and burned horribly. It's
a tale of DCI-point-demolishing that isn't pretty. Rather I'll let you in on
the basics of the top eight decks.

In the car during the trip, Joshua "Skip" Adkins was debating what to play.
None of us had prepared decks for this more than maybe an hour in total; we
were going to have fun and worry about placing if the opportunity presented
itself. The subject of sligh came up due to it's "accidental kill"
ability...or rather, the ability to just draw so damned good that the defender
can't help but die. Skip thumbed through a prebuilt deck that Nick Vergis (our
pilot for this mission) had won a local tournament with just the past Tuesday.
After a few test draws he said "I'm gonna go with this, dudes. Everybody is
going to expect it but what the hell."
Well, evidently everyone did NOT expect it or they couldn't do very much about
it since he went undefeated right up until the cut...all nine rounds of Swiss.
When the top eight players had been announced and everything was being double
checked, it was discovered that he had forgotten to list three Suq'Ata Lancers
(his deck list only showed 57 cards) and the judges were forced to issue a
disqualification. Serious bummer due to a technicality but he maintained 8th
position and got his invitation to Nationals. Way to go, Skip! And to all
those people on ICQ who told me that the Scalding Tongs weakened the deck, I
politely say kiss my ass.

The other decks in the top 8 were something as follows:
Some janky 5 color that was very cool. Not quite like anything I had seen
before, it included pups, grangers, fanatics, disenchants, growths, barrow
ghouls, river boas, incinerates, etc. Before you say it was just modified 5cG,
let me tell you it wasn't! More like a new-and-improved 5c "good stuff".

A version of Draw-Go, barely modified from the look of it. If it works, play
it!

A mono-white weenie with armors and standard accessories. This deck really
didn't look like top 8 material but I only got a glance, to be fair.

Tai Phu's "this deck really sucks" sleight knight with leaks, geddons and
armors. I was impressed with the deck immediately when I saw it but he
continually insisted that it was terrible. It just needs a little tweaking and
it could be very dominant.

A blue flying beatdown that appeared to be custom big blue. It was by far the
deck that impressed me the most in it's simplicity and extreme tuning. This
deck was squeaky clean and the lad who played it was entering the final round
when we left. I *think* he was about to face off with the jank 5-color but
don't quote me on that.

Overall, the field consisted of:
- Several Necros which faired poorly in the early rounds (including my own
Necro-Splash-Green)
- A few ProsBlooms (give it up, people!)
- I only counted THREE sligh decks, all of which went far!
- Blue, blue, and more blue. Every variety you can imagine.
Only one or two mono black or green (aka stompy or vineyard/scroll/bridge)
decks were to be found.
Alan Tetu played a black weenie that was positively brutal. This deck should
have been at least 7-0 -- as he will humbly tell youl. I think his Paris
mulligan count for the day was around 16.

In the end, it was fun and very enjoyable.  Glad to see so many there.
Tom McClure