My day at Regionals, (or how I missed the top 8 by .416%) I will try to make this short and sweet for those of you looking for the top 8 people. I put a deck together with some friends, namely Sean Welge and Todd Moon, for regionals, which was loosely based on a counterspell deck I had seen on the Dojo (sorry if I stole someone’s idea). I figured at best the field would comprise of many weenie decks (I wasn’t disappointed) with the occasional oddball thrown in. I was focusing mainly on 5cU and that crazy TurboZvi deck and I figured either speed or control would be the way to go. Before I begin the round matchup reports and such I would like to say this is my first report for the Dojo, in fact this was my first tournament attended. I have only been playing since Tempest arrived and consider myself a scrub in many ways (I make mad mistakes many times when it counts). Anyway here is the deck I took: 4 counterspells 4 dissipate (I figured on living death decks being prominent) 4 dismiss 2 power sink 2 mana leak 2 force spike 2 steel golem 1 rainbow efreet 2 intruder alarm (you’d be surprised how much this can slow down weenie when You have a hand full of counterspells to back it up) 1 capsize 2 legacy’s allure 3 whispers of the muse 3 impulse 1 feldon’s cane 3 Disks 19 islands 4 quicksands 2 stalking stones sideboard: 3 chill (never used) 4 hydroblast (should’ve sided in more against the many pyroblasts I encountered) 1 steal artifact 2 jester’s cap 3 dream tides 2 disrupt (I had run out of ideas) A quick note: if I misspell names I apologize in advance Round One: Peter McKenna 5cB?? I won two quick games I think maybe because I had so many counters.. I remember seeing a fallen askari and a black knight but I don’t remember much else… Match: 1-0 Games:2-0 Round Two: Rob Hahn (Mr. War College himself) Two Pints with diamonds for speed Game one I established control and I think her was just throwing creatures out to see how I won and get the feel for my deck as he absolutely handed me my ass in games 2 and 3. Game 3 I would like to say that playing in the presence of one so great (in my mind at least) was a little unsettling and I wanted to show him up (male machismo or something like that) and I tapped out for a disk hoping to clear the board and I received a huge geddon next turn…I deserved it that’s for sure. Although I lost this round it was a pleasure playing and talking with him after the match…. Match: 1-1 Games: 3-2 Round Three: David Conroy Cursed Revolt I must say I was amused and amazed at how much mana I let this guy have in game one. I couldn’t understand why so many harrows and rampant growths but my wonderment disappeared when he dropped a revolt that I chose not to counter. I was assuming he was playing a trap deck and the mists were to follow but I was met with a Winter’s grasp followed by a cursed scroll…Rainbow efreet flies over 2/2 land creatures though.. Game two was over as I drew one counter and 3 land were gone before I said, “I concede” Game three was long and drawn out with me power sinking his third Revolt attempt for 16. He mana leaked me in response and I was stunned. I do remember the smile inside my head when I saw he had three untapped lands and suddenly it was my turn and I gleefully attacked with all 19 land I had on the table. Match: 2-1 Games:5-3 Round Four: Eric Arezzo White Weenie(life gaining with humility for control) Games one and two I quickly countered most of his threats and finished both games with over ten life….my rainbow efreet is still the best card in the deck. Match: 3-1 Games: 7-3 Round Five: Sam Ward ProsBloom This I truly wasn’t expecting and wasn’t prepared for. Game one I countered the abeyance but was power sunk for 3 in return and combo goes off without a hitch. Game Two same thing happened except he didn’t draw the Bloom. He had meditated once so I had two turns in which to take control. I topdecked my sided Cap and used it removing the blooms. He conceded. Game Three was my luck game of the day. Mr. Ward is down to maybe 20 cards in deck and he still hasn’t drawn the bloom. He vampiric tutors for the bloom…sets it aside and shuffles…sets the bloom on top and prosperity’s for 4. He draws all 3 blooms and one land….nothing to draw with so he conceded….Karma is with me all the way… Match: 4-1 Games: 9-4 Round Six: Eric Smith White Weenie (again) Game One I win but I can’t remember how. Game Two he beat me down like a rented mule. Game Three highlight of my day, I topdecked both my allures and took both soltari priests which took him from 20 to dead in five quick turns. I’m feeling good at this point because I was one win away from top eight (or so I believed) Match: 5-1 Games: 11-5 Round Seven: Peter Leggieri White Weenie (for crying out loud) Game One I lost to his speed which was considerable. Game Two my capsize completely controls the game along with a couple timely quicksands and the efreet flies for the win. Game Three I was nervous as hell and sweating all my fluids away. John Chinnock is watching either my game or the game next to me and there are two guys behind me watching. I do remember having an Alarm on the table with a Golem and the Efreet out. He has two creatures tapped and keep trying to cast creatures…The efreet ends up winning because I can capsize my own golem to cast it to untap my efreet to attack and do it again next turn, all the while countering his creatures…It was thrilling to say the least. Match: 6-1 Games:13-6 So that’s it, I’m in… I walk over to my buddies and tell them the good news and we wait for almost an hour for the final Tally. Well to my dismay head judge Tony comes over and informs me he is sorry but I missed the top eight. I am apalled but still in euphoria over my record and I choose not to complain (I feel it wouldn’t have done anything at all anyway) I looked at the final percentages and I was behind eighth barely half a percentage point. Imagine my frustration. I accepted the free admission to the Exodus pre-release and the 12 packs of random stuff they gave me but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I still had an incredible time and was impressed by how smooth it went. Props: To all my opponents for shaking my hand and wishing me luck before every game To Mike for the fun ride home To Rob Hahn for talking to me…I was assuming all good players were snobs To Neutral Ground for making my first tournament experience pretty nice Slops: To Neutral Ground for making my first tournament experience a disappointment with their modified swiss or however they figured the top 8 out. I should’ve been in. But I hold no anger and I wish no ill will. I’d also like to say I saw no cheating and no foul play all day, even though it seems to be rampant everywhere else. Thanks for posting this report Frank David Wade (at least my ranking is better now) Dwade@sescva.esc.edu