Subject: us nationals 9th Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 11:23:13 -0700 From: Brian Selden To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Alan Comer, Adam Vierya, Jason Guillory, and Brian Selden(ME) left to go to the Grand Prix and then continued to go to Origins. I was the only person already qualified for nationals and the others were going into the meat grinder. I won't go into details at the grand prix but Alan comer got 17th place and I got 18th place and both recieved $150. We stayed at a friend of a friend's house during the week which saved us a lot of monry. At nationals, i didn't know what deck I was going to play. I was planing on watching the meat grinder and see what was sucessful. The most interesting decks were Oath of druids decks with 1 spirit of the night and feeders as the only creatures. there were other varients also. Anyway, no one was sucessful in our group at qualifying but oh well. First day at nationals was draft and I sat at a table with Scott Johns and David Bachman as the only players I recognized. I drafted a solid G/U deck with an 8th pick ensnaring bridge. 1 capsize 1 time ebb 1 thalakos scout 1 wind drake 1 gliding licid 1 thalakos mistfolk 2 MERFOLK LOOTERS 1 spike colony 2 spined wurm 1 skyshroud troll 1 spike rogue 1 spike worker 1 lowland basilisk 2 wood elves 1 broken fall 1 canopy spider 1 constant mists 1 heartwood dryad 1 spike breeder 1 ensnaring bridge 9 forests 8 islands Round 1 some guy from alaska this guy didn't get any good draws and i beat him easily 1-0 Round 2 Scott Johns Both games went like this. I had a turn 2 merfork looter, turn 3 wood elve, and 4th turn a 5 casting cost fatty. I then proceded to put down evasion creatures and then dropped the bridge. I couldn't have gotten better draws against him. 2-0 Round 3 David Bachman Game 1: He didn't play a second land for about 4 or 5 turns. I win Game 2: I had a second turn heartwood dryad, 3rd turn, wood elf, and a 4th turn fatty. David had a 4th turn spirir en-kor, and then a 5th turn Magmassaur. I time ebbed and attacks. He re casts it. I capsize it and attack, he rolling thunders and skocks to stay alive, but I eventually kill him. 3-0 My next tabe was rough. David Price, Jason Moungey, Daniell Clegg, Donnie Gallitz, Mark Schick, Jacob Janoska, and some one else. I drafted green/ blue again but the blue totally dryed up. I mean totally. My only blue cards were 2 capsizes, and 2 mana leak. I decided to play mono green, with a sideboard of blue. I wasn't pleased with the deck. 2 spike colony 1 wood elve 1 skyshroud troll 1 skyshroud trooper 2 elvish fury(8th pick or so) 1 rootbreaker wurm 1 rabid wolverines 1 canassid 1 reality anchor 1 pygmy troll 1 rabid wolverines(drafted 3 though) 1 wall of blossoms 1 avenging driud 1 rootwater aligator 2 rootwalla 2 trained armadon 2 elvish rite 2 endangered armadon(damn right) Round 4 Jacob Janoska Game one: he plays a turn 2 advanced scout and a turn 4 reckless ogre. he attacked me for 6 twice and then played the target creature gets +3/+3 and flying. oUch Game 2: blue gets boarded in. I remember top decing the 2 blue to capsize without buyback a blocker one turn and then do the same the next turn. Game 3. Looks bad early with a visionary and the amok. I swear under my breath and pretend like I am in bad shape. when I am at 8 he amoks the visionary and I capsize. He couldn't recover. 4-0 I am in 1st place. Round 5 David price. I didn't stand a chance as a drew way to much land both games and the 2nd game when i boarded in the blue I got all blue lands and one forest with a bunch of double green in my hand. 4-1 Round 6 Jason Moungy the soltari crusader went all the way both games. the fan/thunder anarchist combo=good. 4-2 Not bad for draft. But i had no clue what to play for day 2. Scott Johns and many southern california players, includinf ryan kelly and bryce currence found a rogue deck that qualified Pustillnck in the last meat grinder. The creation was made by Seth Burns from NY but we all started calling it CALIFORNIA GREEN. 4 Vinyards 4wildebeast 4 roots 3 blossoms 1 survival of fittest 4 elf 4 creep 4 cused scroll 3 desert twister(yes desert twister) 4 feeders 4 WEAVERS 2 oarngatangs 4 wastlands 15 forsts SB 4 winters grasp 1 survival 2 null brooch 4 emerald charm 3 scragnoth 1 orangatang I played this deck cold with no playtesting. I wasn't expecting to go 5-1. Round 7 Erik Laurer sligh Game 1: I go bad draw but I destroyed the only mountain so looked good. But he drew another and i got a beating. Game 2: I sideboarded wrong and lost. I think I could have taken this match if I had got more experience with the deck. 4-3 sigh Round 8 Wolfenburger prosbloom G 1: i played a vinyard and put him on a claco. He could't get everything. G 2: I destryoed many lands but he went off G 3: Destroying lands, emerald charm, null brooch = bad for prosbloom 5-3 Round 9 Kyle Rose mono whit weenie I think same as champions g1 : i won with cursed scrolls and vinyards. G2 and 3: I don't remeber clearly but he won 2 and game 3 it came down to if he could get a land to block my feeder. No land. 6-3 Round 10: derek rank prsbloom G1 he went off. g2 i got turn 3 and 4 wildebeasts and forced him to go off early and with a well timed emerald charm i won. g3. he has 2 Gemstones. I think I destroyed them and i think that was enough. I had the brroch on the table also though. 7-3 Round 11: donnie galitz g1: he kept a voralths stronghold draw as only land. I mulligan twice and i go. 1st turn elf, 2nd turn roots , cursed scrool, 3rd turn wasteland and creep his two lands. game over. g2: he had two much lands and i ran over him. his opening draw was 6 lands and a fallen agel 8-3 I think if i win the nextr one i am in top 8 Round 12: Pustillnick same deck as me g1: he gets wildebeast blossom going, and i noice the game is going to deck depletion before he does. So he wastes desert twisters on a curdes scroll and a weaver( i put all counters on another. at the end of this game we had 5 vinyards on table. g2: i get wildebeasts and he doesn't. 9-3 I am, happy and i think i am in. final results. I am fucking 9th place. I am the only person out of 5 with 27 points not to get in. I lost to a friend by .2 %poinrs. I still had hope because Mike long was found with a cadaverous bloom on his chair and could have gotten ejected, but he didn't. I suck Two players in top 8 played CA Green and bryce came in 3rd. You rule bryce. the deck has problems against 5cKAstle. fina; records with the deck Me 5-1 ryan kelly 5-1 bryce 5-1 scott johns 3-2-1 seth burns 2-2 or 3-2 pusttilnick: 5-1 It seems like i always sideboarded out the vinyards for the grasps almost every game. maybe that says something. Brian Selden