Subject: GP Birmingham 1998 report
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 19:52:23 -0000
From: "David Maher" D.Maher@btinternet.com
To: webmaster@classicdojo.org

Grand Prix Birmingham 1998

This Rath Cycle Constructed event was held
at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK,
on the 17th to 18th October 1998. As a “super PTQ”
for Pro Tour Rome 1998, the top 8 unqualified players
would get invites.

I travelled with Clint Oldridge, Roy Williams,
Madog Williams and Steve Evans, and we slightly tuned
our decks the night before. My deck ended up like this…

Main deck:


4 Counterspell


4 Legacy`s Allure


4 Whispers of the Muse


4 Tradewind Rider


4 Wall of Blossoms


3 Hammerhead Shark


3 Forbid


3 Capsize


3 Awakening


2 Mana Leak


2 Spike Weaver


10 Island


6 Forest


4 Skyshroud Forest


4 Reflecting Pool

Sideboard:


4 Oath of Druids


3 Scragnoth


3 Dominating Licid


2 Spike Feeder


1 Hammerhead Shark


1 Mana Leak


1 Portcullis

So I am now a net deck copying servant
of The Dojo, like mostly everyone else. I have no mind.

Round 1: Bye due to rating (surprising
considering the beatings my rating has taken over the
last year). Roy Williams and I looked about a bit,
and saw Living Death, MonoR, Trade Awakening, and more
White Weenie and less CounterPhoenix than expected.


A 2-0 win.


1-0-0

Round 2: Colin Smith playing HorseCraft
(UK, finished 280)


The round started around 13:20 so it felt
like I`d been waiting around forever. The game proceeded
slowly as he tried to get his unbounded loop going,
and I tried to prevent it. Meanwhile he simply beat
me with Spike Feeder, Spike Weaver and later a Workhorse.
I Capsize with buyback his Workhorse in his discard
phase and he fizzles the Capsize, which suits me, less
beatings. I cast a Rider and he attacked with a 2/2
Feeder and a 3/3 Weaver, I am on 5 life and have one
blocker so I am dead. However, I blocked the Weaver
and he moved a counter onto to it to kill the Rider!
I live! I took 1 damage, then 1 more during his next
attack phase. Time is called.


A 0-0 draw (despite the 70 minute rounds!)


1-1-0

Round 3: Chris Stanton? playing White Weenie
(US, finished 261)


Both games went in the same way, I took
early Shadow damage down to about 4 life, do some Allure
tricks, and start to lock him until I have control.
Duel 1 he called over a Judge to ask to concede, he
is allowed J. This deck is so much fun! Duel 2 he was
locked when time was called.


A 1-0 win.


2-1-0

Round 4: ?? playing BU CounterShadow (FR,
finished ??)


Before Duel 1 he shuffled my deck and a
Hammerhead Shark fell out face up. I called a Judge
over and tell him what happened, and as it was Level
5 rules enforcement he was given a duel loss. One of
the French judges translates to my opponent what has
happened, I did feel quite bad but it is nothing compared
to the petty strikes I saw later in other matches.


Duel 2, as it were, I took many hits from
a 1/1 Dauthi Ghoul, then a Darkling Stalker came out.
I eventually got a Allure, and tried to take his Stalker
but he cast Dark Ritual to stop the Allure. My next
Allure got the Stalker tho, and I started hitting him
with it then put a Spike counter on it. It was pretty
much going my way now (if the Ghoul was a Horror it`d
have been a very different story!), I was on 4 life,
and in his discard phase I tapped 6 lands and cast
Capsize on something (a Dauthi Trapper maybe). He then
calls the judge and made me take 3 mana burn because
I didn`t say “with Buyback”. Fair enough. I don`t make
that mistake again. I killed him with his Darkling
Stalker with a Spike on it.


A 2-0 win.


3-1-0

Round 5: Ruel Antoine / Antoine Ruel playing
French Living Death (FR, finished 42)


I sat down and he seemed friendly, as did
his pink dog toy which said “hello”.


Duel 1 he was slightly mana screwed after
I took both his Hermit Druid and Merfolk Looter (I
think). Both creatures are great for my deck and I
locked him up, he concedes.


Duel 2 he Lobotomies my 3 Capsizes away
(I was tapped out…), then later a Scragnoth showed
up for him, and went all the way L.


Duel 3 I think I took his Looter early
but a Survival got out. However, he had no creatures
to discard to it, and I slowly tuned my hand with the
Looter. I started to lock him and around 5 minutes
before time he concedes, obviously he was annoyed by
his draws. It was very good of him to concede I think,
the game could have easily dragged on to give me another
draw.


A 2-1 win.


4-1-0

It was now past 20:00, and due to the organisational
skills of the DCI UK, we had to play Round 6 of Day
1 Sunday morning at 08:30.


Sunday morning there was a delay in starting
(surprise) so I used the time to put all this Magical
cards business into context by listening to DJ Zinc
at Slammin Vinyl, September 1998. I`m pretty sure it
helped me anyway.

Round 6: David Stevens playing Living Death
(UK, finished 12)


The round started at about 09:15, I wasn`t
feeling particularly well rested.


Duel 1 I started locking him up, but I
tapped out to make a second Rider (who would be active
next turn I think). I was holding no counterspell and
whatever threat cards he was holding he would have
to cast before it was too late; it`s clear he`ll be
locked next turn even with one Rider and one Awakening.
Unfortuneately for me he drew a land which is his second
black mana, and cast Living Death. I lost about 6 creatures
and he got enough into play, I didn`t need to concede
as the beatings were swift.


Duel 2 I took some Scragnoth hits but got
my Walls out to block. In the end I had him locked
with Awakening (he had 2 Scraggies in play and that`s
it) and started attacking with Riders, casting more
Riders, until I had 4 Riders flying in for 4 damage
for a few turns! Time was called a little after I win.


A 1-1 draw.


4-2-0

I can`t recall where I finished Day 1 but
was in the Top 64, with 14 points, and hadn`t lost
a match yet…

Round 7: David Stevens playing Living Death
(UK, finished 12)


I`d already expected we`d play again as
we were the only two players on 14 points. The judges
said it`s okay because it`s Day 2. Fine.


Duel 1 I think I got a quick Awakening
lock on him and he concedes.


Duel 2 I had good control over the game,
he gets a Cloudchaser Eagle into play and destroys
my Awakening, I Allure his Eagle in his discard phase
and start beating him with his own bird. I think a
Spike counter gets on it at some point too.


A 2-0 win.


5-2-0

Round 8: Kai Budde playing Tradewind Awakening
(GE, finished 2)


Duel 1 he started and played a land, I
matched him, he played a land and a Wall, I matched
him. Oh great, my first mirror match. He got a quick
Awakening lock on me that I would`ve been proud of
J.


Duel 2 ended with what has to be Kai`s
unluckiest game ever. There were 4 Scragnoths facing
each other off, Walls, Licids, and so on. I decided
to start attacking with my Rider. Kai started to Whisper
like mad, drawing about 4 cards for every 1 card I
draw. With a few life left, he cast a Grindstone, a
Grindstone and a Grindstone; all three came up in one
burst of Whispers, clumped at the bottom of his deck.
He carried on Whispering, and I knew he was looking
for his last Capsize to stop my Rider (I knew he had
Forbid, I`m holding no counters and he must have had
a hand full of them now). I kept nipping in for 1 damage,
and topdecking land after land. He “grinded” (ground?)
me, only one grind went off more than once. It came
down to about 8 cards in my library, 2 in his and Kai
on 1 life. He drew his card and I can tell it itsn`t
Capsize. He had to grind to win… this left me with
1 card… phew! I drew it (a land I think) and nipped
in for the last point.


There was about 5 minutes left, we started
to sideboard and neither of us wanted to commit to
say "“Make it a draw”. In go all my Sharkies. But as
more time passed, we agreed to leave it.


A 1-1 draw.


5-3-0

Round 9: Daniel Nuttal playing Tradewind
Awakening (UK, finished 18)


One of the London group of players I think,
or at least affiliated. He has the same manner anyway.
I am sharing a table with Jon Finkle in Round 9. Cool.


Game 1 although it is a mirror match I
go for the lock, and he concedes, “I`ve had enough
of this”.


Game 2 Dan came out with 3 Sharkies hitting
me, but I got em under control. He later showed me
his mirror match tech… Equilibrium. That put a spin
on the game that I had to think through. In this game,
I slightly misplayed Whispers, in his discard phase
I Rider a land, it sort of resolves and I try to Whispers
in response… or something mental like that. He calls
the judge but nothing comes of it. We are granted 3
extra turns even though neither if us were playing
slowly or requested for them… odd. I eventually won
with a spiked Scraggeroonie.


A 2-0 win.


6-3-0

Round 10: Joackin Falk playing MonoU (SW,
finished 21)


I sit down and Jon Finkle sits… next to
me. He says to me “Hi” and “Your last opponent was
an asshole” or something similar. Something was different,
I felt The Force had left me…


Duel 1 I paris mulligan`d away 1 Reflecting
Pool, 1 Forest and 1 Wall, maybe I shoulda kept that.
I drew 3 Pools and a Skyshroud Forest, sadly the Skyshroud
got the ol Wasteland treatment and I didn`t draw any
more land for a while, and even then it was a Forest.
By then Joackin has 3 Allures out and then two Silver
Wyverns joined the party, it didn`t take long to die.


Duel 2 I started with a turn 2 Sharky,
turn 5 Scraggy. I wondered what his anti Scrag tech
is… ah, a Silver Wyvern, nuts. I tapped out for a Tradewind
(I had no counters but still…) and he made another
Wyvern… uh oh. Like some kind of mentalist I Rider`d
his Wyvern… without taking my hands off the cards I
realised what I`d done. Guess who won.


This match was over in minutes, all my
other rounds had gone close to the 70 minutes.


A 0-2 loss.


6-3-1

Round 11: Giovanni Ognibene playing White
Weenie with Red Burn (IT, finished 24)


Both duels were similar, with worrying
about Shadow, Visionary eating my Allure, Cataclysm
and red burn killing my Weavers and Rider… I lost the
will to win really. It was now 19:30 and the weekend
was creeping up on me.


Duel 1 a Cataclysm sealed it for him. Duel
2 I made several decisions which mostly turned against
me. Oh well!


A 0-2 loss.


6-3-2

I finished 38th out of the 344 players
there, which is pretty satisfactory, just a shame I
lost my last two matches.

Any deck or play analysis is pretty pointless
now, as Rath Cycle Constructed, after being *the* thing
for weeks, is quickly forgotten about in favour of
scouring Urza`s Saga for abusable cards in Standard
(without Mirage, Visions or Weatherlight) and Extended
(for PT Rome). My eye is on Tolarian Academy…


The Bauble will return…

props:


Magic:The Gathering for keeping me interested
for almost 5 years now


Rath Cycle for being cool


Swansea players Ioan Llywd and Mark Burgess
for lending my mates and I stacks of rare cards, we
couldn`t have done it without you


Clint Oldridge for playing his own deck,
a weenie deck… with a twist


Pro Tour players at our Grand Prix… cheers
lads


MummRa, The Ever Living, for getting me
up on all those early tournament mornings

slops:


Roy Williams for getting his Bye then losing
his first two proper matches