Subject: [G-TECH-L] DDT tourney report (long) Date: 13 Aug 98 03:49:33 GMT From: "Bennie" Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy GUERILLA TECH POSTING Another Tournament Report starring "Dancing Dead Things" ...the continuing saga of a man, his mission, and his deck... Okay. I feel pretty good about DDT; it's something I've been working on pretty consistantly for almost a month now. My usual pattern is to play with a deck a week or two, tweak it some, then ditch it for a new idea. And even though I have plenty of other deck ideas that I've been wanting to try out, I decided that if I was ever going to get anywhere in Magic, I need to take a good deck idea and *play*it*to*death* so I know it inside and out, how it draws, how it wins, loses, all that good stuff. I think DDT has the potential to be a solid Tier 1 deck. It's just not quite there yet... So, anyway, I took my baby to Total Access Games in Richmond, V-A this past Saturday, looking for some good playtesting, and hopefully a prize. I played DDT's earlier incarnation last tournament two weeks ago and won the whole thing, so I was a little apprehensive as I figured everybody would be gunning for the deck. I was also a little worried about the growing popularity of Oath of Druids decks, which seems to beat DDT mercilessly. Remember my idea of a "transformational" sideboard, to turn my deck into an Oath of Druids deck after sideboarding, I would just use my opponant's Oath? I chickened out and didn't end up going that route. Good thing, too. Not a single, solitary person played an Oath of Druids deck. Whew! So, anyway, here's the version of DDT I took with me: 4 Oath of Ghouls 3 Survival of the Fittest 3 Recurring Nightmare 2 Living Death 2 Firestorm 3 Ebony Charm 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Wall of Blossoms 3 Spike Feeder 3 Mindless Automaton 1 Spike Weaver 1 Fallen Angel 1 Nekrataal 1 Cloudchaser Eagle 2 Uktabi Orangutan 1 Spirit of the Night 3 City of Brass 2 Pine Barrens 1 Reflecting Pool 3 Swamp 13 Forest Sideboard: 4 Emerald Charm, 1 Nekrataal, 1 Scragnoth, 2 Thrull Surgeon, 1 Cloudchaser Eagle, 1 Uktabi Orangutan, 1 Ebony Charm, 4 Diabolic Edict This sideboard is pretty weak, though the Thrull Surgeons are golden against control! On to the tournament... 20 people showed up for the tournament, and along with some of the regulars I noticed a name on the sign up sheet that looked familiar. "Matt Linde... Linde... why does that name sound familiar? Oh, yeah, U.S. Nationals Champ... here, in my house?" So with Linde, Pro-Tour regular Kyle Rose, and three other guys that have qualified at least once for the pro-tour (unfortunately, not me!), the caliber of competition is pretty solid. Ought to be a good test of DDT... [Quick note: I did not take real good notes... DDT is kinda slow to win, and that did not leave me much time between matches, so the details aren't as thorough as I'd like] Match 1 - U Forbidian (?) Unfortunately for my opponant, he was horrifically mana-screwed the first game, and mildly mana-screwed the second game. I believe a really large Mindless A-ton beat him down both games. 2-0, Wins 1 Match 2 - B Weenie/Zombie deck A so-called "fun" deck sporting the many really nasty zombies available now, he gave me a run for it. Ritual-boosted Plaguebearers took down my walls while his Bonedancers snatched my graveyard. It was actually a pretty nasty matchup for me! After losing the first game, I was looking down the wrong end of alot of zombies held back by Spike Weaver's Endless Fog trick, when I topped-decked a Firestorm, zapped all his critters and quickly beat him down. Neither he nor I remembered until after the game that his Zombie Master would have allowed him to regenerate a couple of his zombies. Doh! When's the last time you stared face to face at a zombie deck? The last game was called on time before I could muster up enough beatdown... 1-1-1 Wins 1-0-1 Match 3 vs. White Weenie w/Armor Unfortunately for my opponant, he did not see any armor both of our games, so the matches lasted a while, allowing me to get my deck setup. That was bad. After charming the creatures in his graveyard away, a Living Death turned my Survival-primed graveyard into a nasty little army. Second game, had a backup Oath to the one he disenchanted early, got some recursion going but he put a slow down on it with a Cataclysm with a Soltari Visionary left on his side. I sacced everything but a beefed up Mindless A-ton (forgotting, of course, that I could have kept the A-ton as my artifact, *and* another creature). I also had an Edict in hand, so his remaining creature was soon gone and A-ton began his rampage, pumping +1/+1 each turn. I feel fortunate to escape with a relatively easy victory as he didn't draw anything to help stop me. 2-0 Wins 2-0-1 Match 4 vs Kyle Rose, Pro Tour Playa sporting Red Burn Kyle's deck was light on the creatures, I guess to combat Oath of Druids decks that did not show up. No main deck enchantment removal meant his DD was temporary at best vs. my creatures, and once I survivaled for my first Spike Feeder, it was all over with. Game 2 wasn't much different once I climbed back out of Fireblast range (those Peaches are so refreshing!). 2-0 Wins 3-0-1 So the Swiss rounds were over, I was seeded at number one, and the shop was buzzing about my deck. I felt pretty good about that, and felt pretty confident about the deck. I really like Oath of Ghouls, and am pleased that no one else seems to be playing it, but everyone is impressed by how strong it is in my deck. If you like creatures, this is the Oath for you; one for one creature removal is useless; mass removal is just a temporary set back. *This* should have been the green Oath! Onto the round of 8, single elimination... Match 5 vs. Alex playing Steel Blue Alright, I knew this was going to be tough. Alex is a solid player, went to PT LA, and playing permission. Gotta hope for some luck... and it comes! After Force Spiking my turn 2 Oath (Spike!! No one plays Force Spike but me!!!), I manage to push another one through; he's a bit mana screwed, so he discards creatures to his graveyard, counting on the Oath of Ghouls to help him get them back when he can cast them... I respond to an Impulse with an Ebony Charm, remove them from the game, heh heh heh! I soon get some creatures through and start pecking at him, he drops a Legacy's Allure, I Survival for a Cloudchaser, he drops Steel Golem, I Survival for a Sex Monkey... I think the game ends on a uncountered Living Death, he gets out 3 Steel Golems and a Rainbow Efreet, whereas I have something like 12 creatures on the board, including a Spirit of the Night. Seeya! Game two was beautiful. I get out an early Oath of Ghouls, and then cast Thrull Surgeon. Gotta be a control player's worst nightmare. I check out his hand, ditch a disk, check it out again, ditch another disk, check it out again, bye bye Steel Golem... Meanwhile, I get a few players on the board and when I Survival for a Scragnoth it's over. 2-0 Wins 4-0-1 Alex gives me some good natured grief for beating him, and says he really likes my deck. He later asks to lay it out on the table and takes a look; he tells me he's going to build it and run it some. Cool! Match 6 vs Suicide Black Played by Ben Early, who's been to the Show also. Man, I'm running the gauntlet! Anyway, it's typical nasty, running Scrolls, assorted weenies, and Bad Moons. I don't see any kind of creature control but he doesn't need it. I scramble for my fifth mana to be able to cast the Living Death I've had in my hand the whole game but die to screaming undead. Game two isn't even funny; I draw the only Reflecting Pool in my deck... and it's the only land I draw. Four turns later I'm dead. Ouch! I am running lean on land, so I know it can happen; I just wish it had occurred against a slower deck. SB is more unforgiving a mana-screwed opponant than Sligh. 0-2 Loses 4-1-1 So now I play for 3rd place against the final gauntlet... Match 7 vs. Matt Linde's WW Championship deck Losing so badly against SB last game shook me up, and facing against the U.S. Champ I played very poorly. I forgot to untap things; I forgot to take City of Brass damage. The whole time Matt was very polite about it all, but did not miss a thing. He is a very careful player, alright, and I can see why he did so well at Nationals. I played like a complete scrub, but luckily my deck was solid enough to keep me in the game for a little while. Still, he swept me and I dropped to 4th place (ie. one place shy of actually winning anything). 0-2 Loses 4-2-1 Overall, not a bad showing considering the gauntlet I ran. Matt also said he liked my deck, so I was pleased at the feedback from guys who've played *many* decks. I asked for some advice on adjusting the deck... adding Scroll Racks and Hermit Druids was suggested, and I did some playtesting with them, and I like those two cards... but they don't belong in DDT. I've made some adjustments to the deck already... but that's a story for a different post. Hope you enjoyed it! Bennie Smith Guerilla Tech Mage