Subject: Utah State Championships Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1998 04:19:28 -0700 From: Jack Lewis Stanton To: Frank Kusumoto Moving is an Adventure As many of you know, I’ve been planning to move back to Salt Lake City for quite a while. Though living in Idaho Falls is comfortable, it cost me too much money when traveling back and forth to cover the Magic events around the country. Each trip I’ve had to make out of Idaho added an additional $100+ to the cost, not to mention the time spent aboard Greyhound busses or airport shuttles (215 mile trip each way). With my covering several Grand Prix events outside the United States, as well as the Junior Super Series and Pro Tour events, now was as perfect a time as any to get moving. After the Pro Tour Qualifier for Rome was held in Salt Lake City earlier last month, it was time for me to begin the tedious process of tracking down all my loose possessions and box them up. This isn’t the most thrilling exercise in the world, so I spent much of that time playing Age of Empires.:D Needing an apartment, my mom drove me down to Salt Lake and I found a place only a couple of blocks from the downtown area (right across the street from a coffee shop and right next door to a 7-11; can’t complain). Eventually, the packing was completed and a 24 foot (approximately 8 meters for the foot impaired) U-Haul was rounded up. On Thursday morning (November 5th), I climbed into the cab after giving mom a farewell hug, and headed down the road. Now, piloting a U-Haul isn’t one of the most exciting experiences one can have during their lifetime, and this trip was no exception. Let’s face it, one of the things I did to pass time was count the number of other vehicles I passed on the road (twenty in all). The highlight of the drive down was when I passed a Rider truck just south of Downey, Idaho. A couple of miles later, I was headed uphill and the Rider could be spotted a mile back, but slowly gaining. Being the competitor that I am, I floored the U-Crawl and reached the amazing speed of 43 miles per hour! Such is the superiority of U-Haul vs. Rider. The van I’d rented was of U-Haul’s ‘Smooth Ride’ variety. Whoever came up with that name should be fired for blatantly lying to the public or given a raise for coming up with a slogan that the public bought. Driving down Interstate 15, various sections of the road have differing surfaces, causing a ‘smooth ride’ or ‘caught in the blender’ effect. The worst were the concrete (non-asphalt) covered roads which resemble large sidewalks. Due to the settling effect of the concrete when it’s drying, it tends to raise towards the lines (spaced every twenty feet, as opposed to the sidewalk’s every three feet) and sink in the middle. When driving the “Smooth Ride”, it’s like skimming across the ocean waves in a high powered speedboat. Up and down, up and down. The “Smooth Ride” shakes as though it’s going to rip itself apart. Big thudding noises reach you from the rear of the truck, telling you it’s too late to rescue those things you believed to be securely packed away. If the shaking wasn’t bad enough, you have mad drivers all around you trying to jockey for position, cutting you off as you’re shaking down the Interstate. As each lane is done separately, you can generally change lanes for a smoother ride. The only drawback to this is that the smoother lane is the passing lane, which makes your commuting buddies rage when they have to pass you on the right. The one good thing about driving a U-Haul (other than having the balls to pass Riders) is the radio system. I have absolutely no complaints here, as I was able to get my favorite radio station from back home all the way just north of Malad, Idaho (100 miles south), at which point I switched to K-Bear coming out of the Salt Lake City valley (an alternative, hard rock station with enough power to nuke a small city). There’s nothing that keeps your nerves settled better than idle chatter from a DJ who’s insulting the callers who are calling in to win a prize. Now, if you’ve been to Salt Lake recently, you’ve noticed the large amount of construction that’s been going on in the area due to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Interstates are being totally redone and driving around is pretty miserable during the rush hours, especially when some idiot gets into an accident and blocks the road (which happens quite often down here). Due to the construction, I had to get off of I15 and onto Beck Street just north of town. The only difficulties I had reaching the site of my new home was when I got caught in some of the downtown construction traffic. The big project down there is a rail system stretching from the airport to the University of Utah (West to East) and it’s sister system stretching from the Utah Capital Rotunda all the way to Provo, Utah (40 miles south). This way, the tourists for the Games will be able to reach their hotels with little or no difficulty, while the rest of the town mutters to themselves, “Four years of traffic hell for this?” After a five enjoyable hours of driving, I finally arrive at my new place and go about unloading. This process is speeded up when teammates Mike Callahan and Sammy Batarseh arrive to help with the heavy stuff. After a quick trip to the grocery store for much needed supplies, it’s off to play some draft. Worlds of Magic: Southeastern Idaho vs. Utah’s Wasatch Valley One of the more pleasant aspects of the game of Magic is getting together with a group of friends and sitting down to some enjoyable games and conversation. Having done this in both Idaho and Utah, I am quite verse at distinguishing between the two types of play. In Idaho, there is a general lack of players, thanks to a poorly run store that scared off a majority of those you could count on for a game or two. The owner, in essence, destroyed the infrastructure of play which the new store Excalibur Games is just now rebuilding to it’s former glory. Actually getting to play Magic became a chore, as the hardest part was finding an adequate player you could playtest with. I was lucky in that I had my friends Jared Vineyard, Patrick Smith, and Wayne Thompson to play against upon occasion, but their jobs and commitments kept them from playing as much as I’d have liked. Thus, maintaining a specific level of play isn’t always the easiest in Southeastern Idaho (for the time being). In Utah, immediately after unpacking my stuff, Mike Callahan is asking me if I want to go over to local player John Carter’s house to test for this weekend’s Utah State Championships and some draft. Hmmmm. Right off the bat, I’m getting the chance to play Magic against three of the top players in the state. This is the way it is in Utah. Not only is it easy to find private games such as we played that night, but one can go over to Mind Games out in West Valley (kind of a suburb of Salt Lake) and find games all day long, six days a week. Not only are there several people ready to play constructed during most times of the day, but they’re not afraid to play draft either. This is something I find very appealing. Though the level of play is quite high in Idaho, the ability to actually play the game is much higher in Utah, which is something I need when writing about the game. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! As I mentioned before, I found out that the State Championships were that weekend instead of the weekend of the 14th. This was a major surprise to me, as I thought it would be the same weekend of the Idaho tourney. During all the packing and Age of Empires over the previous month, I hadn’t played Magic other than a single Urza’s Saga sealed deck tourney. So, with no practice in the new Urza’s Saga type II format, my teammates were telling me I should go and play, as it would be a fun time and I could see all my friends down here and tell them that I’d moved. Listening to John, Sammy, and Mike talk about the format, I had a feeling that it would be dominated by the Academy deck (though the feeling was that only 3-4 people could put the deck together) and varying degrees of control (to counteract those playing the Academy). Sligh was rarely mentioned, though weenie white appeared to be another of the decks of choice. I jokingly mentioned that I should play Sligh (I’ve never played Sligh in a tourney, though I have probably the most experience playing it in the Idaho-Utah area), as it was the only deck I felt I could put together with the new modifications brought about by Urza’s Saga. Also, thanks to a chance meeting on IRC with a fellow by the name of Michael Glow (whom I’d had a long term email Magic discussion over the previous year), I had an up-to-date Sligh deck listing which Michael and Seth Burn had been working on over the previous month. They had been doing the playtesting, and based on the results and the look of the deck, I felt it would be consistent in the environment I’d face. On Friday (Nov. 6th), Sam came over to do some playtesting and the lunch I owed him for helping me unpack. After walking all over the downtown area and eating at the Blue Iguana (a fine Mexican restaurant downtown), we went across the street from my apartment to the Salt Lake Roasting Company (coffee house) and started playtesting (approximately 6:30 or 7pm). David Jolly, a teammate living here in Utah showed up in an effort to find a deck, as well as Mike and his girlfriend Julie. Not really feeling in the mood to play (my body was feeling the effects of dragging hundreds of pounds of household goods up and down ramps over the previous two days), I mainly sat and watched the proceedings, paying much attention to the Academy deck being played by Mike and David. Sam played my Sligh and did quite well against the Academy, though he faired very poorly with his Living Death deck when pitted against my Sligh (the only playtesting I did specifically for the event). After a hearty Lumberjack Breakfast (10:30pm) at the local Dee’s Restaurant, everyone went off on their own in order to do last minute preparations for the following day (sleep). The Big Day-Utah State Championships ’98 Waking up early is something I haven’t been able to do over nearly the previous year. My life had pretty much been regulated to waking up late in the afternoon after spending midnight through 8am getting my work done on the computer (my mom would use the computer during the day, leaving only that time period open to me). Without the use of my alarm clock, I was up and at ‘em just before 8am. It was an amazing day. The air was fresh, there was just a hint that it would snow later that night, and I was feeling fine. Walking next door to the 7-11, I bought myself a nice little French Vanilla Café Cooler (much recommended) and proceeded to call Mike Callahan a million times. Mike was my ride, but he was also the ride for the Muranaka brothers, who hadn’t shown up from Layton as of yet. Eventually, they did make it and we sped on over to the event venue (Mind Games). On the way over, defending state champion Robert Muranaka saw that I was using a Lightning Dragon instead of a Rathi Dragon in my main deck. Feeling that I was to have no original comments in the deck I was playing, I let him overrule my decision and quickly found a Rathi in one of my binders. Upon arriving at the tournament site, the following (with commentary) is the deck I put together: Named: I’M SUCH A GOOD PLAYER because I play SLIGH, so I can BURN, BURN, BURN you to death. (Choose the appropriate capitalized name to suit your purposes) 17 Mountain One of the number one rules of Magic is that you must have a way of casting the spells that eventually find their way into your hand throughout the course of the game. The way of maximizing your spellcasting capabilities when playing a mono-red deck is by playing plenty of Mountains, as Islands produce the wrong color mana. The seventeen Mountains is the appropriate number at this point in time, as they allow you to have four on the board usually by turn five (the turn you’d like to have a dead opponent sitting across from you). 4 Wasteland Every now and then, an opponent tries to play lands that are a little bit more than your average basic. They do bad things to you. In other words, your opponent tries to be a meanie. Facing such dilemmas, it’s nice to have one or two Wastelands in play so as to make your opponent’s bullying threats go away. When the bad things go away, it’s enough to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Too bad your opponent is busy shaking his fist at you from across the table. 4 Cursed Scroll An anti-Weissman theory card, the Cursed Scroll thrives on having only one card in hand, creating a massive card advantage in key circumstances. Contrary to Weissman’s law of “Cards in hand equates into winning positions”, the Scroll is still a force to be reckoned with in today’s standard format. Four is a good number, as five would earn one a quick trip out of the DCI. 4 Mogg Fantastic Much has been said about the Fantastic’s abilities to stop a speeding bullet (Ball Lightning) and fry a chicken (Birdie of Paradise) in a single bound. All you have heard is true, as the Mogg Fantastic lives up to his reputation each and every time he hits the table. Very key in the Sligh vs. Sligh match-up. 4 Jackal Pup One of three first turn creatures featured in the deck, the Pup equals mondo beatdown in several situations demanding his presence. A nice little doggie. 4 Goblin Patrol An Urza’s Saga addition to the new Sligh deck, replacing the Goblin Fanatic in the lineup. With so many one-mana plays in the deck, it’s rare that the Echo cost involved with the Patrol interferes in casting other vital spells. 4 Ironclaw Orc Affectionately referred to as Lumpy in the Idaho region, I feel that he’s still incredibly strong in the Sligh deck, delivering his own brand of justice on an opponent’s aching head. Many are testing the Goblin Lackey in it’s steed, though I’m not as convinced that the Lackey is as good as the Lump. 4 Ball Lightning When thought turns to the Ball Lightning, one must remember the number one golden rule regarding the game of Magic, “Thou shalt not get hit by the Ball Lightning”. Six points of damage against you when facing a burn deck is almost always a sign of a very sort and toasty existence. Another word of advice, you should remember the second most important rule of Magic, “Thou shalt not get hit by the Ball Lightning twice.” 2 Shivan Raptor The mini-Ball Lightning, the Raptor usually takes a big bite of butt, then lets go on the following turn, as his boss hasn’t paid his Echo cost. Personally, one of my favorite pictures in the game, the Raptor has this amazing look of glee on his face as he goes about his business of biting people on the butt to get their attention. A truly one track mind. Still, not as flexible as I would have liked him to be. Two Vug Lizards are much more powerful in the current brand of Sligh, as the lizard is much more likely to have it’s echo costs paid. 1 Rathi Dragon Replacing the Lightning Dragon thanks to a tip from Robert Muranaka, his value was to prove immense as I never lost a game in which he appeared in my hand and on the board (all of two times). Still, by summoning him out only during appropriate circumstances, he left me a minimum of two active mana on the next turn, something the Lightning Dragon couldn’t due to it’s Echo cost. Also, his 5 toughness kept him from being shot down by a Sonic Burst, something the Lightning Dragon is in much envy of. 4 Shock Burn. 4 Incinerate Burn. Great for taking out those pesky Albino Trolls. 4 Kindle And more burn. Kindles are much more useful than the Sonic Burst because most players aren’t playing Tradewinds, the main reason for playing the Bursts. Tradewinds aren’t being played due to their inability to deal with the plethora of Academy decks being played around the world, a deck it can’t beat with consistency. With this outlook, the Kindle will be a very welcome addition to the mix until someone finds an adequate Tradewind design that can beat both the Academy and Sligh decks. With much thought regarding the Sideboard, I asked Sam, “What do you think?” Below is what we came up with: Sideboard 4 Pyroblast Standard equipment for the Sligh sideboard. 3 Meltdown One of Sam’s thoughtful recommendations, I felt three would be the appropriate number, but in hindsight, I’d have to say four would be more of a possibility with all the Academy decks being played. 3 Bottle Gnomes 4 would be a better number, though you can get away with three against other Sligh decks. 3 Spellshock Never played during the tournament due to a lack of meeting control or Living Death decks, it’ll stay in the next version to be played if the metagame dictates it. 2 Disorder I expected to see quite a few weenie white decks and wasn’t disappointed. The only problem was that I never played against any, seeing them next to me or at the next table over throughout the day. They didn’t fare very well, though, losing horribly to the Academy decks in all the key matches. Most received their second loss two or three matches into the day. Only one white weenie deck made it through to the final eight. I’m not too sure how these cards will do in playtesting, but I’m inclined to take them out, replacing them with one Rathi Dragon and one Bottle Gnome, though a four Meltdown is also a possibility. It really depends on how popular various decks are in your area. Sideboard Tips Versus Academy-I had decided that the best thing to do against the Academy was to take out the four Cursed Scrolls, two Shivan Raptors, and one Rathi Dragon and replace them with three Meltdowns and four Pyroblast. This would give you only four cards (Ball Lightning) that cost three mana, with the other 35 in the deck taking only one to two mana, keeping your mana about as active as can be allowed under the circumstances. I was going to approach the match-up by throwing down a couple of creatures on turns one and two, then attempting to use the remaining cards in hand to gain one or two turns through casting a Pyroblast against a blue spell at the appropriate time, playing Wasteland on a Tolarian Academy, or playing Meltdown to disrupt the artifact mana supply of my opponent. At the rate that some Academy decks go off, this seemed to me to be the best approach. That or hoping their deck absolutely choked and failed to take off during the course of each game. Versus Weenie White-Take two Shivan Raptors out for two Disorders. Other than having Disks in the sideboard, this is about all I wanted to do in this potentially bad match-up. Pariah on a Soltari Priest is pretty much game over, especially when they put a Brilliant Halo on the Priest to keep him out of Scroll Range. A very touch and go pairing, most weenie white players are opting for other deck options due to the Academy’s totally destroying the Weenie white deck. Versus Blue Oriented Control-With few opting to play the Winter Orb versions of control, I tend to take out the Rathi Dragon, two Shivan Raptors, and possibly two Ball Lightnings, a Mountain (due to the length of the games, getting mana screwed isn’t something that happens often) and an Ironclaw Orc for four Pyroblast and 3 Spellshock (though the sideboard could always due without the Spellshocks). Even one or two Cursed Scrolls could be taken out instead of the Orc and Mountain, though this really depends on your perspective. All sideboarding depends on the flavor of deck you are pitted against. Versus Black Hatred-Take out the Shivan Raptors and Rathi Dragon for three Bottle Gnomes. As with the Weenie White deck, Black has been abandoned by many of it’s practitioners due to the advent of the Academy deck. Such is life. Versus Living Death-Take out the Rathi and Shivan Raptors for the three Spellshocks. If the Living Death deck is a pretty weak version, forget sideboarding and beat the bejesus out of it. Versus Other Decks-Make something up. I’m tired of talking about it. What’s a Boy from Idaho to Do? After filling out the appropriate deck listing and paying the appropriate fee, it was time to get down to business. I was afraid that some might think me something other than a Utah resident and demand some proof (I brought my rent lease in case there was a problem), but as many in the crowd had known for quite some time that I was moving down, nobody questioned my two days of residency. Checking out my first round opponent, I discovered that I was paired against: Sammy “The Barbarian” Batarseh This was a shocker. Out of the 39 players other than myself entered in this championship, you would think that I had a very good chance at not being paired up against the only person I had practiced with for this tournament. Not only had I been paired against my teammate and playtest partner, I’d been paired against a kid Mark Justice and I had taught how to play Magic. What’s worse, I’d never won a match in sanctioned play against him. In the immortal words of Francis Keys, “WHATEVER!” Pretty much, the story of this match came down to me drawing more burn in the first game than Sam, while he pretty much drew poop. In the second and third, Sam once again proved to be the master over this sorry bitch and beat me down with a variety of Burn, Scrolls, and Goblins. All three games had the winner below 8 life, something that happens very often when both players are playing a nearly identical version of Sligh. 0-1 Matches 1-2 Games 2nd Round Dan Ward (Tiwilla) Weird Black Thing Dan is one of the under 18 players who really wants to do well, but hasn’t had the proper instruction regarding tournament level play. His deck was hastily thrown together at the last second and unfortunately for him, it showed. In the first game, his Lurking Evil took him down to 10 life in sort order, but my mass of creatures held the Evil at bay, eventually overwhelming this very inadequate defense. In game two, Dan’s Dauthi Slayer took me all the way down to 4 life, but burn has a way of dominating the Sligh vs. Weenie Black battle. Though I was able to win 2-0, I expect that Dan will become a stronger player in the Mind Games (local store) community as his attitude regarding learning is one of the better ones in the area. 1-1 Matches 3-2 Games 3rd Round Rob Neel (Salt Lake City) 5CG? My third round opponent was Tourney Organizer Bill Graham’s computer pairings operator, Rob Neel (who does one of the better jobs I’ve seen). I’m not too sure what Rob was playing due to his deck giving him some very weak draws, but I do know it had Acidic Soil in it somewhere. My small army of creatures came over and ended each game in very short order. 2-1 Matches 5-2 Games 4th Round Patrick Madden (Provo) Sligh Finally, another Sligh on Sligh battle. By this time, play was being dominated by 4 of the 6 Sligh decks to play in this 40-man tournament. Unfortunately, so were 3-4 of the 9 Academy decks. Pat’s version was different from my own as if I remember correctly, it contained Sonic Burst instead of Kindles, though I could be wrong. In the first game, I was taken down to 6 life, making sure to never tap out (allowing for a visit from the Ball Lightning). My small creatures dominated the battle, as I managed to find more than Pat and win. In game two, I was hit once by the Ball Lightning, though it was a necessary evil as I had no burn and was able to drop two creatures that turn, who in the long run, dealt more damage than the Ball. Also, I was able to force through a Ball Lightning of my own and the resulting loss of life proved to be more damaging to Pat than myself. Still, Pat did draw more land than me in one or maybe even both of these games, something that is generally the key to defeat for the mana flooded player. Matches 3-1 Games 7-2 5th Round Zachary Kuehnl (Salt Lake City) Sneak Attack A crafty player who doubles as a level one judge in the local seen, Zach is a quality 17-18 year old player from the Mind Games scene who has a tendency to come up with very original and viable deck types. Today, he was playing a R/B Sneak Attack deck that featured some very hefty beatdown. The winner would secure a spot in the Top Eight showdown for the title, the loser would have to wait until next year. Game one was a letdown as Zach’s deck totally failed to show up in any form whatsoever. He was hit by Mogg, he was hit by Ball. In fact, he was pretty much hit by everything while doing nothing. Two to three Wastelands on my part proved to be decisive in keeping him from ever having enough mana to put out a defense. The second game was a complete reversal as Zach found mana, Bottle Gnomes, and his Sneak Attack. After watching two Phyrexian Colossus ‘sneak up’ on me and deliver some beatings, one of them came back for a repeat visit as Zach cast Yawgmoth’s Will on the following turn. 24 points of damage is a pretty hard thing to swallow, especially when your creatures refuse to do any blocking on your behalf (thanks to the fine print on the Colossus). Playing for a continuance of play, the third game began with a tough decision to make on my part. After drawing my hand, I was staring at two Wastelands, no Mountains, and 4 of my 5 other cards requiring but one red mana to cast. Thinking back to game one and how the Wastelands had dominated play, I chose to keep the hand, as the creatures were of quality and I had faith that I could draw the Mountain. Also, I’m not a great fan of calling a Paris and going down to six cards when I’m playing first. The gamble paid off as I drew into a Mountain on turn two and commenced laying out the marauding horde. Burning away Zach’s blockers, though failing to put more than one or two creatures of my own out on the board at any one time. Still, luck was on my side in this ten plus turn game. Zach never managed to find one of his 3-4 Crater Hellions to swing the tide of battle in his favor. Eventually, I was able to finish him off to win a spot in the Quarterfinals. Matches 4-1 Games 9-3 THE TOP EIGHT Though they only represented 6 of the forty decks being played at the tourney, Sligh accounted for half of the top eight spots (that’s 4 for the math deficient). Academy accounted for 2 spots, though 9 players played it. One unique 5CG made it in, while only one of the White Weenie decks out of the horde that played managed to fight it’s way through. Quarterfinals John Carter, Warlord of Mars (Salt Lake City) 5CG Every Thursday night, the group heads over to John’s house and drafts for several hours. Sometimes, a pizza is thrown into the mix and a good time is had by all. In my book, John is one of the most talented player in the state, but he’s always had a bad time when paired up against me. My Wastelands come out early to keep John at a less than optimum amount for his deck to operate, while several creatures make it out onto my side of the board. The only real decisions I had to make during this game was when John cast two Cradle Guards on subsequent turns. Having two Jackal Pups out, I went on the offensive and attacked as John would be forced to block or fall within burn range. After the blocks, I burned the Cradle Guards. Such is life. Though I took 8 points of life to do so, removing the threat ultimately won me the game, as John had no defense against the remaining creatures and Cursed Scroll. In game two, I had all the answers, including Incinerates for the Albino Trolls John played during the duel. I took zero points of damage during this second game and it was over in short order. Matches 5-1 Games 11-3 Semifinals Aron Stein, Sligh There are very few people in this game that I have a true distaste for. Unfortunately, Aron is one of them. I’m not sure what it is that I truly despise about him. It’s either his blatant attempts to play in limited tournaments with cards brought in from outside or his attempts to take out cards inbetween games one and two of his deck to make it 50 or so cards (in order to get better draws). Then again, it could be his preparation skills before each match (putting in extra cards or presideboarding). Who knows, it could be the fact that he’s not only a bad cheater, but one who has gotten away with it on several occasions. He is one of the main reasons in the Utah area that deck checks are becoming more and more prevalent. A deck check had taken place prior to the top eight being played and once again, Aron’s deck proved to be other than that which he had originally submitted. Due to our not playing at the higher 32k rules enforcement, he was given a game loss to start off his Quarterfinals match and managed to defeat defending state champ Robert Muranaka in the next two, leading to our confrontation. Needless to say, I didn’t want to lose this match. Did I mention that Aron likes to stack his deck before each game? After watching him set his deck up and give a bare minimum of shuffles, I chose to shuffle his deck, completely randomizing it. What was interesting was watching him look at the side of his deck after I presented it to him for cut. After finding the spot he wanted it cut at, we began play. Not surprisingly, his draw nets him two Cursed Scrolls by turn three, while mine produces lots of little weenie creatures and burn. The perfect Sligh mana curve happens for me and I draw into a Cursed Scroll of my own. Beatings commence. In this game, I take only two points of damage from two Mogg Fanatics who met their demise when they jumped in the way of two marauding Jackal Pups. In the second, Aron once again found two Cursed Scrolls by turn three, but they were very inefective against my creatures and myself. With a Mogg Fanatic, Bottle Gnome, and an Ironclaw Orc on the table, I was feeling pretty confident against Aron’s Shard Phoenix (yes, that was some of his secret tech) with him at 13 life and myself at 19. Having five cards in hand and five mana on the table, I asked Aron what life he was at despite my having everything written down on my scoresheet. Looking at my hand, I took one card and laid it face down. Counting with fingers, silent lips, and a variety of facial expressions (while pointing at my cards), I turned once again to Aron and asked him what life he was at. After being reassured he was at 13, I looked down at my hand one more time, nodded, and attacked with all three creatures. Now, there are those of you out there who wonder what it was I was trying to pull. The simple point is, I wanted to get Aron thinking that I had four burn cards in my hand and that he had to block my Bottle Gnome and sacrifice his Phoenix during the attack phase, thereby sparing my Bottle Gnome. By subtle hints, I left him with the impression that if he blocked, then sacked AFTER the attack phase (in order to remove the Bottle Gnome threat), he’d end up getting burned out right then and there. He did what I wanted, leaving my Gnome alive and happy. After the attack phase, I played three creatures out of my hand, virtually insuring my victory. On his next turn, Aron’s best possible play was to return the Phoenix from the graveyard. At that point, I knew victory was a foregone conclusion. At the end of his turn, I Scrolled him. On my upkeep, I did the same (as I had only one card in hand and wanted to insure the damage before drawing). With the following attack, Aron was dead and my place in the finals was secure. Matches 6-1 Games 13-3 Finals Eric Fausett (Sandy) Academy In the finals, I was paired against an opponent I would classify as one of the top ten players in the state. Having discussed Magic strategy and how other games can increase a player’s skills (such as blackjack counting methods and chess) with Eric a week or two after the championships, I know he has the potential to go as far with this game as he’d like, depending on his motivation. Such opponents are the ones you should seek out and practice with, as they are very rare and a valuable commodity. Game one is a pretty painful duel to watch. Eric, failing to get a quality hand, takes much punishment from his City of Brass (referred to during the finals as the City of Masochism). In all, Eric took a total of 5 points of City damage, while my Ironclaw Orc and Jackal Pup dealt several more. My Rathi Dragon made an appearance and finished Eric off. The second game was an amazing start for Eric. After two Windfalls and a Brainstorm, he had several artifacts out on the table. On my turn, I played a Mountain, tapped it, and summoned a Jackal Pup! I could see the fear in Eric’s eyes. At the end of his second turn, Eric had 3 Mana Vaults, 3 Mox Diamonds, a Voltaic Key, a Lotus Petal, and an Island. No Academy, though, despite seeing a total of over 20 cards by this time. Being the great and modest player that I am, I laid another Mountain, tapped the two I had out, and announced that I was casting a one point Meltdown. Giving Eric a questionable look, I sputtered, “Hydroblast? Force Spike? Powersink? Mana Leak?” It took Eric around five minutes to respond after his calculations had been taken into consideration. I personally thought he was trying to see which would be the best way to counter my spell, as he had fingered three of his four cards during this time, giving them serious debate. Tapping his Lotus Petal and a Mana Vault, he cast a Stroke of Genius for one, giving the card a disgusted look afterwards. Eight artifacts (if you include the Lotus Petal) were placed into the graveyard, leaving Eric with a solitary Island on the board. On his next turn, he draws…….and lays out the Tolarian Academy which would have given him a second turn kill had it made an appearance during his previous turn. On my third turn, I used a Wasteland on the Academy and summoned up two more Jackal Pups. Mocked by his own deck, Eric once again drew and played an Academy during his fourth, while I used another Wasteland on it during mine. On my sixth turn, Eric was finished by a Ball Lightning and my lone Jackal Pup (the other two had be Hydroblasted over the previous two turns). Matches 7-1 Games 15-3 It’s Good To Be King So I was the Utah State Champion. Tournament organizer Bill Graham (an incredible TO who more TOs should try and emulate) herded me towards an area so that he could take a picture of me as I received my prizes. For my victory, I brought home a box of Urza’s Saga, the Utah State Champion plaque (now hanging on my living room wall), a shirt (which has yet to arrive from Wotc, so I have no clue as to what it looks like), and a Wotc tote bag with ’98 Utah State Champion on it (no Joe, I will not trade it for an English Mana Drain). The only complaint I have is that the bag is kind of flimsy and will be used sparingly (if at all). It’s not of a material that can handle my Magic traveling commitments. My teammates congratulated me after the photo shoot, at which time I started giving them each a pack from my Urza’s Saga box. Two others got packs from me. Rob Neel got a pack because he has the boring task of running the computers for match-ups (an unappreciated job by most, but a major necessity). To Zach Kuehnl, I handed two packs because his deck was the most original I had played against during the tournament and due to some bad luck, he lost. Still, he deserved something for being original in a very unoriginal format (with Academy running rampant). As my first big tournament win in a while (I had only played in a total of three standard sanctioned events in the previous 14 months), I was elated, though I was kind of pissy that it was the one I had least prepared for. Such is life, though in all honesty, I have played an amazing amount of Sligh during playtesting (as it’s the number one enemy of whatever deck you choose to play) and that playtesting gave me the advantage against a variety of decks, as I was always in familiar territory during all situations, though my opponents weren’t. Though it would be nice for states to count for something more than a little local pride (say, a bye at my Regionals), I am happy with the victory and the fact that everyone appeared to enjoy themselves, win or lose. Afterwards, my teammate David Jolly and I went out with several of the Provo players (including Bay area transplant Joe Ellis) and had a great time at dinner. Later, Dave and I tried to see the movie Waterboy, but found it sold out at the two theaters that we tried. After a long day of playing, I came home and placed the plaque upon the wall and went to sleep. PROPS Bill Graham-for running another excellent tournament. For those of you who haven’t heard of Bill, check his tournament site out: www.tournorgltd.com Running events in the three-state area of Idaho, Utah, and Nevada, Bill has brought back PTQs to the Vegas area, as well as increased the total numbers for Salt Lake and Vegas. Check out the site and check the dates. If you come out to Salt Lake or Vegas for a qualifier, you’ll have a great time, appreciate the prize support if you place high enough, and find a timely, well run tournament. For Pro Tour New Jersey, Bill is running three qualifiers in Vegas, as well as three in Salt Lake City. For those serious about qualifying, I suggest you give these events a try. You’ll see quickly why the two areas’ events are becoming the fastest growing in the world. David Jolly-for driving me all over the place to get my household in order, as well as taking me home after the event. Tony Lau-Another great friend who should be thanked profusely for his continued help and goodwill. Other teammates Aaron Muranaka (yeah, I know I played Sligh and you don’t respect me for it. Hell! I don’t respect myself either!), Robert Muranaka (you almost defended your title. Good thing it stayed within the team), Mike Callahan and Julie Paynter (some very cool people who have put me up during my Magic travels and have given me great companionship over the previous year), and Sammy Batarseh (nice showing coming in 3rd. Too bad we couldn’t have met in the finals. Also, thanks for pointing out Meltdown. It was some good). Mike Glow and Seth Burn-for giving me the decklist they had come up with that I used. It’s too bad I couldn’t get the updated version the day before the tournament from them, but my new internet server failed to get me my software in time and I was thus, netless. For just about all my opponents for fun matches. You know who you are. For anyone I may have forgotten, sorry. I’m finishing this three weeks later and my memory is a little sketchy.:D SLOPS Joe Ellis for going 3-0, then ending 0-2 against two Academy decks. For shame! No bag for you! Aron Stein-next time you hand your deck to the judge, make sure it’s the deck you decklisted during registration. Sammy Batarseh-for defeating me once again. Ungrateful student! I hope you all had a great time at your state championships. Hope to see you at a tournament soon. Jack Lewis Stanton Freelance Writer for The Sideboard Magazine and Wotc Web Coverage