Subject: Tourney Report, PTQ-Chicagao in Birmingham 7/25 Date: Tue, 28 Jul 98 00:34:15 EDT From: "Adam Fears" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Ok, this was only my second PTQ, the first being in Memphis, so I didn't really expect to do to great. We register decks, and then they are passed back out. I played green/black splashing white. Cartographer Spined Wurm Apes of Rath Seeker of Skybreak Heartwood Dryad Constant Mists Spike Worker Mirri, Cat Warrior Rootwalla Canopy Spider Reclaim Dregs of Sorrow Dauthi Cuthroat Dauthi Mercenary Enfeeblement Pit Imp Knight of Dusk Thrull Surgeon Shackles Standing Troops Hero's Resolve Bottle Gnomes GRINDSTONE 8 Forests 6 Swamps 3 Plains My deck looked real strong, with fat green, and the grindstone plus constant mists to lock up the game and make my opponent run out of cards. There are 51 players with six rounds of swiss. Matches 1-3 I win easily with dregs or by grinding them to death. Match 4 vs. Lance Pittman, the only opponent I remember. He kicks my ass the first game. He gets mana screwed second game. Third game is really close. His dauthi marauder gets me down to 3 before constant mists kicks in. He has a pathwork gnomes in play. I have three creatures, one of them being a rootwalla and another a knight of dusk. I have a hero's resolve, a reclaim, and a constant mists in hand, with four lands on the board. I look at my creatures, and I can attack and put him at one. I draw. No plains. I attack and put him at one. He is dead next turn. Lance says, "I can draw one card and win." He draws. He says, "This won't win, but it will save me." He casts pegasus stampede plus buyback three times. I do the math, he has three lands left, I can kill his pegasus and outrace him with the mists. I draw, attack, kill off all his pegasus and let him go. He draws, plays a land, and lightning blasts me. Game. That sucked. Match 5 I lose to mana screw and Plaguebearer. I go and talk to the organizer, Dr. Bob, and he says one 4-2 might get in, so I play it out. Match 6 First game, he loses to grindstone. Second game he plays a sixth turn booby trap naming grindstone, and six turns later I get blown up. Third game he gets the trap again and names grindstone, but I beat him down before I draw it. It was the 4th card from the bottom. 4-2 Bob says I have a chance. He does the math. Twice. I am ninth. The eight player's opponents winning percentage was 5% better than mine. That sucked cause the top eight got great prizes. 5-8 got 3 tempest starters and 9 packs of stronghold. 3-4 got a box of tempest starters and 1-2 got a box of exodus. Oh well. Life sucks. Props: Grindstone for winning many, many games. Dr. Bob for running a tight tournament. Randy for the ride to Birmingham. The Moaning Spirit for inspiration. I'll see you tonight. Slops: Myself, for getting ninth. Jeff, for taking his shoes off on the way home. Beef, for making us wait an hour before leaving. Adam Fears Team Huntsville Dog Pound