Subject: D.C. Regionals report RTJ Vine/bridge Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 12:11:04 -0400 From: Keith Christopher Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy -------------------------------------------------------------------- Well I played in the D.C. Regionals with the Abyss RTJ team developed with a couple of modifications by myself. A deck listing is below. I decided to go with this deck because of the amount of suicide black running around D.C. 4 Vineyards 4 Wall of Roots 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Spike Feeders 3 Bottle Gnomes 1 Uktabi Orangutan 2 Uktabi farie 2 Sylvan Library 3 Geas Blessing 4 Cursed Scroll 4 Ensnaring Bridge 2 scalding tongs 2 Jesters Cap 2 enlightened Tutor 2 Discenchant - 43 10 Forest 1 reflecting pool 3 Gemstone Mine 3 Wasteland 3 Brushland -- 19 62 cards total. The sideboard was modded by me also and goes like this: 3 cursed totems 3 scragnoth 2 pyroblast 2 COP black 2 COP red 1 light of day 1 Warmth 1 Aura of silence --- 15 Totems: tradewind geddon, corpse/gnome recursion. Scrags: U with control , tradewind geddon. pyros: u control, tradewind geddon, bloom. COPs: if I need to explain you're on the wrong WWW page. LOD: see COPs warmth: See LOD Aura: bloom, heavy artifact (hmm scrolls anyone.) Ok so I'm there and refuse to play test afraid it will jinx me and I'll scrub out. here's the matches. My friends call this deck "bloom killer" as you'll see later in the report. I was hoping to run into the vast array of "suicide black" this deck is so efficient in beating. I didn't write the names down, but you all know who you are. round 1: Some guy from N.C. _vs_ tradewind geddon game1: Kinda quick, Me, land birds go. Him, wasteland, go. Me land, tap tap wall of roots. him, draw, go. Me, land,tap tap tap, feeder, tap bird, wall, scroll. him draw wasteland, go. . . so needless to say he's a bit mana screwed. the feeders and scrolls go all the way. All I see from his deck is a volraths stronghold and a disk. I only guess he's playing tradewind/geddon from what discarded. game2: Shuffle, mulligan (me), shuffle mulligan (him). Well we gotta go now. He plays. wasteland. OUCH. me forest, tap birds. long story short, he's mana screwed again but comes out of it but it's a little too late. feeders and scrolls go again. This was a really nice guy and he was in the worst possible situation with mana screws. I never found out how he did but saw him around kinda late. Total: 1-0 round 2: _vs_ ProspBloom game1: Needless to say he goes on turn 3. OUCH f$$$ing OUCH. SIDE: out come the vineyards in goes the aura and pyroblasts. game2: I get a good start with 2 bottle gnomes and 2 feeders on the table, he meditates and doesn't go as I start hitting him with the scroll and feeders, then I cap away 1 drain and 2 prosperity, this hurts him pretty bad as his drawing engine is now contracts and meditates. I will the race with the scroll and feeders. game3: This is going slow and I figure I'm dead. I have 2 feeders out and begin hitting him for 4/turn as he's trying to setup. He drops a city of solitude and on my turn I sac my feeders and gnomes to go to 34 life. There's a mixup on his turn and he backs up and when he starts again I pyroblast a meditate and wait for him to go but he can only drain me for 29. he's at 1 from the contracts and I scroll him down. WHEW ! Again a really nice guy and he played well. I just chanced to have the cards needed to gain life. I was totally afraid of running into bloom and trade/geddon These wins were squeaked out ! Total: 2-0 round 3: _vs_ ProspBloom (suicide bloom) BLOOM again ! arrrgh. just my luck. He also lied to me when I said please say you're not playing bloom. game1: Turn 4. say no more, say no more. SIDE: out come the vineyards in goes the aura and pyroblasts. game2: I have an incredible draw, pyroblast, disenchant, cap, land land land land. Turn one, me-gemstone mine. go, him-swamp, go. me-gemstone, go. him-gemstone tap tap, squandered. end of his turn, me-tap tap disenchant. him-sac'sac power sink. OH YEAH. me-land, go, him swamp-go. OH YEAH. me-land-tapx4 cap. go him- draw-concede. Bad thing about sucide bloom. cap the drain. game3: Things are level for a few turns and I have 2 feeders and 1 scroll out. I'm at 20 and it looks good thus far. then he starts to go with 3 forests and 2 islands on the table, he contracts down to 1 life, He starts to go and I sac and gain life but he throws cards down as he sac's his land for mana pumping black into it. I stop him, and tell him to backup he does and I say show me. He does again and I stop him (he's laying cards down on the table) and he picks up all of them save for the gemstone mine he needs for the xtra 2 b mana. I tell him to pick it up and he does. he can't go so he passes the turn and I attempt to scroll him with 2 gnomes and a cap in my hand he gets a break and picks the cap. I'm thinking I'm dead and I remember the meditate. We argue about the turn and he swears it was two turns ago but I think no. anyway. judge comes over and gives us both warnings, I drop the cap and say go figuring I'm dead and he prosperities but fails. he concedes. WHEW F$$$ing WHEW. This guy was nice, I don't know if he was trying to cheat me or made a mistake but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he didn't seem the type to cheat. total: 3-0 round 4: _vs_ Tradewind/Geddon WHAT the F*** ! I can't get a break ! geddon/bloom/bloom/geddon ! game1: Coming on strong, I'm applying the feeder/scroll beatdown. then he firestorms my stuff away. Then top decks two 'tangs to kill my scrolls. Scrub move on my part cost the game. didn't try to scroll him on his second 'tang. Crap! SIDE: totems, pyroblasts. game2: I'm SO SO SO SO mana screwed. tradwinds abound. I die. This guy was ok he kinda stuck me to the rules on one thing I wanted to do differently in game 1 so I stuck him to the rules on game 1 and 2. Anyway my first loss. Total: 3-1 round 5: _vs_ corpsedance/bottlegnome U stuff. game1: I'm hoping this is fish or blue stompy. But this game goes long as we both have life gainers and he finally beats me down with the gnomes as he's at a zillion life. SIDE: scrags, pyroblasts, totems. game2: Well a 3rd turn scragnoth goes all the way. Very unexpected by him. game3: Turn 4 scragnoth, goes a few rounds he's at 8, when he impulses 3 times to get his only DREAM TIDES and I can't get a disenchant fast enough before he's keeping 7 cards and GOBS of mana. I lose. This guy was really nice and he kept telling me how lucky he was he got the tides. How true next turn it was feeder and two counters on the scrag, he was 2 turns from death. Good games. total: 3-2 OK well 3-2 my best is 7-2 and it might SQUEAK in. (big might I know.) So I play on. round 6: _vs_ suicide black. game1: Well he runs me over and I'm not doing much. SIDE: COP black, light of day. game2: 2nd turn black and lotsa mana holds him at bay until I get the bridge scroll going. he can't attack and I wittle him down. He's not happy happy. game3: 2nd turn has 2 vineyards on the table and I get the lock out on turn 3, and he dies to mana burn and scrolls. Either he was pissed from it being so hot or me beating him I'm not sure. he's not happy. Why couldn't I have faced this deck the 1st 4 rounds ! 8-) TOtal: 4-2 round 7: _vs_ WW game1: My opponet doesn't show so they put a 9 point guy _vs_ me. he comes on strong but I get the lock down and it's over. I scroll away all his stuff and then the vineyards to their duty. game2: It's more of game 1 but faster. I get the lock down and put 2 bridges out to avoid a disenchant lock break. scroll away his creatures and the vineyards take it downtown. This guy was the nicest friendliest of my opponets all day. I hope to play him again some day. Total: 5-2 <--- -Not too shabby round 8: _vs_ WW game1: I see the priests and they're on a double crusade. I die before the lock can go down. game2: I get out 2 vineyards and 3 scrolls and the bridge. It's kill the priest and Kor day as the vineyards and the tongs do their stuff. game3: He's sideboarding like a madman. I wish I'd put 1 gloom in my SB but hey scrolls and tongs draw the disenchants like mad so maybe. Well long story short I have the lock and the scroll is sending his creatures to an early grave. I cap 2 disenchants and 1 aura. I draw a cap. There's only 3 artifact killers left in his deck, he's got 1 turn to do it or I cap the rest away . And he DOES ! ARRRGH, top decking skills, priests and Kor on a triple crusade march over and wipe me out ! WOW ! the only card he could draw and he does. good games ! Total: 5-3. I play the next and win for 6-3 as my final. All around a fun day for me. They (my friends) called me and my (Team RTJ) deck "bloom killer" this was a tough matchup for me. I talked to some friends they all were complaining about sligh and suicide black. Man I woulda loved those matchups. Anyway on the the props and slops: Props: Dream Wizards- nice location but next time more air conditioning. All my opponets except the suicide black player. Team RTJ: AWESOME deck. I love it. The 1st prosbloom I played and the 1st WW I played very nice people. The guy who impulsed 3x for his only dream tides (see slops) The holiday inn: WATER WATER everywhere all to drink. Slops: The unwashed. sheesh. save some tourney money and buy soap. ProsBloom The guy who impulsed 3x for the tides. (awesome luck.) 8-) Keith "Bloom Killer" Christopher ** Be sure and remove the NOSPAM from my email address before replying !