Subject: T2 Tournament Report Date: 03 Nov 98 13:43:09 -0800 From: Nathan Donovan To: "Frank Kusumot @The Magic Dojo" To: Frank kusumot@The Magic Dojo Re: Type 2 Tournament Report Where: Neutral Ground, Mountain View, CA. Format: 5 Rounds of Swiss, cut to Top 8 single elim. When: 11/1/98 - 5th ed, Tempest Block, and Urza's Saga Well, it's sunday morning, and I almost forget that I am going to this tournament today. My friend calls me around 10 am to remind me, so I quickly start flipping through my binders to figure out what I want to play. As I turn past the page where the impulses and man o wars used to be, I take a moment of silence....... Anyway, I finally decide on White Weenie after several minutes metagame assessment. 1) everyone and their mother is awe-stricken by the new cards in blue, thus many people will be playing it. WW historically does OK against blue, because WW has decent, cheap enchantment and artifact removal. 2) lots of people will be playing suicide black because nothing was really lost from that deck when the mirage block rotated out. WW historically crushes suicide black unless the gloom gets ritualed out first turn. 3) It's usually a 50/50 shot against solid green, and so a couple perishes went into my sideboard just in case. 4) In case anyone decided to play counterphoenix or sligh, I felt confident about facing these decks too. Here is the deck I registered: 13 Plains 2 Scabland (this card just plain sucks) 2 City of Brass 1 Thran Quarry (good land, but has restricted uses) 1 Reflecting Pool 2 Wasteland 3 Mox Diamond 4 Soltari Priest 4 Soltari Monk 4 White Knight 4 Warrior en-Kor 3 Paladin en-Vec 2 Soltari Visionary 1 Soltari Champion 2 Humble 2 Shock 2 Sonic Burst 4 Cursed Scroll 3 Disenchant Sideboard: 1 Disenchant 2 Soltari Visionary 2 C:oP Black (dumb dumb dumb card to SB. This should have been 2 sleights) 2 Perish 4 Pyroblast 3 Warmth 1 Cataclysm Round 1 - Galon, playing MoMA. Game 1 - I lose to the card drawing power of the STROKE.. Game 2 - he loses to two angry white weenies back by disenchant and pyroblast. Game 3 - he loses to cataclysm, his time spiral, and my cataclysm again.. =P 1-0, 2-1 games Round 2 - Brian Husbands, playing Suicide Black. Brian and I play each other every sunday in these tournaments, and we are playing the same decks again this week. Unfortunately for him I have a 3-1 record against him thus far, so when I take my seat and realize who I am matched up against, we start laughing. Game 1 - The judge comes over and absconds with my sideboard. I start shuffling..CRAP, only 59 cards main deck. I must have left my 60th card in the SB still. I call over another judge to let him know this immediately, and I get a warning, and am disallowed to use my sideboard for the remainder of the match, but I get my 60th card back in game 2. Anyway, Brian opens with 3 cursed scrolls, and I open with 2 disenchants. He draws his fourth scroll the second or third turn, and I know I can't deal with it. Game 2 - 1st turn gloom. crap. 1-1, 2-3 games Round 3 - Scott Kennedy, playing U/w fishy tradewinds This guy is another good friend who frequents Neutral Ground and is a great player as well. He had asked me before the tournament began about some last minute decisions for his deck, so I know what he is playing. He knows what I am playing too so I don't feel so bad. He knows I have an advantage tho cause fish don't stand up too well to first strikers and scrolls. Game 1 - He pulls out the win with a well timed geddon. My scrolls are useless and his tradewind/lord of atlantis/angry fish thingy has me runnin'. Game 2 - This time I have angry white weenies backed with pyros for the win. Game 3 - Opening hand, I kid you not...scabland, plains, mox diamond, scroll, pyroblast, pyroblast, white knight. Next cards were plains, soltari priest, scroll, plains. I have the blast to nail his early allure and tradewind, and eventually win with dual weenies and scroll. 2-1, 4-4 games Round 4 - Eric (dont remember last name), playing 4cTradewind deck.. I don't recall this match too well, but I win both 1st and 2nd games with fast weenie rushes. 3-1, 6-4 games Round 5 - Someone playing suicide black. now's my chance for revenge. Game 1 - I hear that a dauthi horror with hatred on turn 3 can be good. Game 2 - 2 paladins, 1 white knight and a monk vs. 2 sarcomancy's and 1 flesh reaver. guess the outcome of this one =P. Game 3 - His gloom comes out way too late, and my scroll comes in perfect time to help seal it up. 4-1, 8-4 games This is good enough for the 7th spot, so I am in the final 8. Quarterfinals - Arman, playing Suicide Black Game 1 - This kid runs me over with flesh reaver and black knight first game, while I am still searching for a non shadow creature to save my ass with. doesn't happen, and my scroll and monk just aren't enough to even things up. Game 2 - I open with a plains, scroll, then a pool on turn two. He wastes the pool, and rituals out a gloom. Didn't see another land for 5 turns, and it wasn't red, either so oh well. I felt good overall. I didn't see *anyone* else playing WW that day, so I was happy making top 8 with a "rogue" deck. I left before the semis were finished, I am I not sure who won, but it was between MoMa, suicide black, and sligh. Final Notes 1 - Not having firestorm sucks.. 2 - Not having tithe sucks even harder.. 3 - The land mix is kind of weird, definitely less stable without Undiscovered Paradise, but I am convinced that for WW to be competitve in T2 it NEEDs red for additional removal and pyroblast. 4 - Humble is an interesting card. It worked great vs. dauthi horror, tradewinds and spikes, but in my opinion more testing is needed with this card to find out if it's too situational vs. the entire field to stay in the main deck. This new blue deck (Mind over Matter, Tolarian Academy, Stroke of Genius) is a strong deck. It is also everywhere so be prepared for it. I saw 3 different versions being tested or played, but I am not going to list them because I do not know their exact contents. I saw this deck go off on turn 2, turn 3 and turn 4 quite frequently, and for a moment I was sent back in time to the days when Type 1 was the format to play... My only concern is that people who have not tested this deck should not play it in a large tournament. It requires lots of practice at knowing which cards to cast when, and has a very low tolerance for mistakes like mistapping mana. Thanks for listening, Nate Donovan nated@cruzio.com "Insert interesting quote or fantasy game related anecdote here"