Subject: My moment of Glory Date: 18 May 1998 09:37:05 -0500 From: David T Hanna To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hello all This report probably is better for the new player. I had just started playing competitive Type 2 Magic in the last 4 weeks. Going to the Netural Ground events on Saturday's and Monday's. I had started with a Red/White deck, which was a real bad version of those Firestorm decks you see now. Then I put togther a Sliver deck.....ahhhh Slivers. I love Slivers. Why? Because they are fun! When I first played Magic, it was the creatures I liked to use. Not any of these combos. Sliver allow you to play like you did when you nothing about card advantage or card economy. My first Sliver decks were 5 colors. Running 24 Slivers and some Queens. I went a few times, going 5-5 with this deck. Not a top 8 deck. After looking on the Dojo for some ideas, I see the Andy McNish deck, and decide to try that. I tinkered it a bit, putting in some Talon Sliver (for sliegh) and 3 geddons in the SB. On Monday before the Regionals, I go 4-0 with this deck. I was pretty happy as you could imagine. And was feeling confident as I prepared. Geddon proved to be very useful, so I decided to go with 3 main deck. Here was what I brought Satuday. 4 Muscle Sliver 4 Winged Sliver 4 Crystalline Sliver (any suprises here?) 2 Talon Slivers (say what you will, I like them) 2 Hiebernation Slivers (not to bad, but not a big fan) 3 Man'O War (great creature) 2 Wall of Blossoms (any green deck should use them) 21 Creatures 4 Protent (really, it works!) 3 Geddons (I love'em!) 2 Disenchants 2 Legacy Allures (rather have had 2 terrors) 4 Counterspells 3 Mana Leaks 18 spells 4 Gems stone mines 3 city of brass 2 Reflecting Pools 2 undiscovereds 2 Adarkar Wastes 1 Brushland 1 Volrath Stronghold (never got a chance to use it) 1 Plain (should have been an island) 5 islands 21 Land SB 1 Geddon 2 Disenchants 3 Hydroblasts 3 Pyrobasts 3 Chills (I feared Sliegh, never faced any) 2 Phyerxian Furnaces (didn't need) 1 Sliver Queen (in case I saw a Sliver deck) Before I went, I considered some mass creature removal or maybe a Perish. On Monday, I almost lost the 1st round to a Green/Red stompy deck. I had trouble with stompy, and should have boarded against it. But I feared Red more. (sigh) Had I only taken my own advise! SATURDAY I was pretty impressed with how Netural Ground ran everything. We started late, but after that it ran on time. Scores and standings were posted after all the rounds, I liked that a lot. This was my first "top 8" tourny. The other ones NG runs are just Swiss. So this was all new and exciting to me. I get placed at table 25(i think) and my day starts ROUND ONE I am playing a nice guy named Eric, who has a Green/Red stompy deck! Game One: I win the first game, just getting a good creature rush out. When you get the right Slivers, it works great. Game Two: I sidebroad nothing....like I said, I was weak here. He wins game 2, with lot's of nasty green guys, river boa is nice to have too. Game Three: Getting that cyrstalline out is key. A muscle joins him, it is then he tries to incinearate the muscle, but it fizzles due to the crystalline. I felt bad, I am more used to firendly play and take backs. He put the spell in his graveyard with out any hesitation. I know most players don't allow a take back, but does it feel good to win based on a mistake? Anyway, I win this match. Matches 1-0 Games: 2-1 Points: 3 ROUND TWO, table 33 Jim is playing a Blue control deck with tradewinds...good, I know I can beat blue. Game One: I have all the answers....the Crystalline is so key. His Man'O war's and Tradewinds are useless now. I get him down to 1 life when he plays a stasis. He prolongs the game, but gives up. Game Two: I side in another geddon and my 3 pryo's. I geddon early on, which may have been a mistake.....I had 2 creatures out, and he had a Tradewind and something else, both big enough to block me. Luckily I got land before he did, and got the beatdown started. Matches 2-0 Games: 4-1 Points: 6 Whew! 2-0...wow, that is 7 games in a row now (4 from monday, my last game from last saturday). Could this streak go on? They post the standings and I am ranked 8 on the list!!! WOW! Now that was cool. Visions of a long drive to Ohio start to form.... I also notice how the tie breakers work (I think) First your match record, then your game record, then your ranked by how good the people you beat are. One player who had a poor tie breaker, commented that it is not his fault that his opponents are not good.......I thought that was a good point. Well, this was my high point.....It would all soon end. ROUND THREE: table 10 Table 10! I was moving up. I really liked how this works. Chris is playing a Green/Blue/Tradewind deck with Orcish settlers (oh oh) Game one: Those settlers are a suprise. I have no direct removal. He wastes my land, Tradewind comes out, my few Slivers are not enough to carry the day..... Game two: Okay, I side in some blue removal and one hydoblast. I start out good, getting 3 slivers down, but then he plays 2 dread of nights. the 2 crystalline slivers are now -2,-2, but the muscle sliver keeps them alive. I add another sliver when he suddenly clears the broad with a living death.......oh oh. He destroyes some of my land with a settler, and start to recurse him with a Stronghold. He is at 4 life, but I can't finish him.......I die. I think I made a mistake here, I was holding a lot of blue cards, with 2 land. During the game, I thought I had no blue mana, but as I think about it, I think one land was an undiscovered, the other was know was a brushland....man, i should have won this one...darn!! Matches: 2-1 Games: 4-3 Points: 6 What I would have given for some mass removal! ROUND FOUR: table 12 Okay, I can still salvage this! Cory is playing a Stompy deck with Tradewinds...sigh Game One: To much stompy not enough Sliver Game Two: I get 4 slivers out, I am doing great, this game is mine I think. But he slowly builds up his creature base, and I need to hold some blockers back. I have like 2 or 3 chances to draw one of the 4 muscle slivers to win the game. Sigh, they never showed. I chump block and hold out...my road trip disapperaing....and it was gone. Matches: 2-2 Games: 4-5 Points: 6 I decide to have another go at it. ROUND FIVE: table 33...i am ranked 54th now. bummer. Al is playing...you guessed it, Green/Red stompy. I lose both games. My first real land screws of the day. In the 2nd game, I draw 17 cards and see only 2 land. Stompy is a bad match up anyway for me. Matches: 2-3 Games: 4-7 Points: 6 Oh what a dive I took!! 0-3, 0-6!!! What happened? I should have beaten those tradewind decks with the crystalline. But, the one guy had the settlers, which worked real well. And the other dude had green stompy. to many big creatures for me to handle. The allures are nice, but take to long to build up, and are expoused to counter measures. Some terrors would have really helped I think. A lot of what ifs play in my mind. What if I had some perishes in the broad? If I had found the muscle sliver in round 4. If I had not played like a dolt in round 3.....my sidebroad had 6 anti red cards, but I never faced a red deck. I still had fun though!!! I enjoyed it a lot. Koodus to Netural Ground and to the winners!!! Dave e-mail me at DHanna@Dttus.Com