Subject: Local tournament report 5cblack Date: 22 Sep 97 10:02:06 -0500 From: jps3419@tntech.edu (John P. Stevens) Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy --White-- --Blue-- 2 Swords to Plowshares (Sideboard) 2 Hydroblast (Sideboard) 1 Disenchant 4 Arcane Denial 1 Disenchant (Sideboard) 4 Man 'o War 2 Circle of Protection: Red (Sideboard) --Red-- --Black-- 2 Pyroblast (Sideboard) 2 Ebony Charm (Sideboard) 4 Incinerate 2 Dystopia (Sideboard) 2 Pyrokensis 1 Kaervek's Spite 1 Pyrokensis (Sideboard) 1 Contaigon 3 Suq'Ata Lancer 1 Stench of Evil (Sideboard) 2 Shadow Guildmage --Land-- 3 Skulking Ghost 3 Island 4 Fallen Askari 8 Swamp 1 Necratog 3 Mountain 3 Nekrataal 4 City of Brass 4 Gemstone Mine --Green-- 2 Quicksand 1 Uktabi Orangutan --Artifact-- 3 Winter Orb The deck is a variation of one that I saw at thedojo.com it is a 5 color black deck using the best of each color. I have found that mana ration to be just right. Thought if I get any Undiscovered Paradise I will change it to 3 City of Brass, 3 Undiscovered Paradise and 2 Gemstone Mine. Also in retrospect I should have had 4 Winter Orbs instead of just 3. Round 1: Newbie, this was his second sanctioned tournament and he had only been playing magic for a few weeks. He had the typical 1/3 mana ratio in the deck with huge casting cost creatures, and also he is playing red and green. Game 1: I am casting a few weenies and pinging him a little at a time until he finally, like turn 6 or 7 casts a huge creature (scaled wurm or something) I Nekrataal it and cast winter orb and thats all she wrote. Game 2: see game 1. Winter Orb does him in. Match 1-0 Game 2-0 Round 2: A guy from another store about 30 minutes away. He said that he is usually a top finisher there (boy do I want to go there now). He is playing a red sligh deck, but doesn't always attack. Definitly a newbie, but wierd if he is usually a top finisher :) Game 1: He gets mana cocked (Only one land in 5 turns and even sligh needs some land to live) and dies to quick early creatures. When he does get mana I arcane denial his spells and Worb him. To quick. Game 2: I sideboard in the CoP: Red and the Hyroblasts and thats is all she wrote, until I get mana cocked. All I draw are Islands and Mountains for the first 10 turns and holding mainly black cards. He gets some beat down on me with goblins and goblin kings. Then I draw a City of Brass and drop down my CoP: Red and he just stares in amazement as I just sit back and plink off his creatures with incinerates and nekrataals and he starts to die. Just my favorite move was he had 2 goblins and 1 goblin king and I attack with a nekrataal. He blocks with both goblins (now 2/2 because of the goblin king) to kill it off. I then incinerate his goblin king and paste both goblins (god I love card advantage) Match 2-0 Game 4-0 Round 3: The guy who pastes me last week. He is playing a new deck and I'm pretty sure this is all of it 8 mana elves 4 birds of paradise 4 pillage 4 stone rain 4 thermokarst 4 incinerate 2 pyrokensis (all i ever saw and i played him again that day) 4 bosium strip (key card) 4 jolrael's centaur 2 sylvan library 4 city of brass 4 karplusian forest 4 gemstone mine various forests and mountains to fill up the rest of the space his sideboard was pyroclasms and balduvian hordes and other weenie killers, because his deck dies to weenie. Game 1: He gets one mana and everytime he drops a bird or elf i paste it. Game is over very quickly. Game 2: I sideboard out the skulking ghosts and nekrataals and in comes the other pyrokensis, the disenchant, the two charms and the hydroblasts this is a tough game we are both exchanging creatures and I get down the Winter Orb which slows him down, but he is still able to kill off any creature I drop. I have pinged him here and there and have out a few creatures, 2 fallen askari and 1 man 'o war and he is at 6 life. He taps the Bosium Strip to recast the pyrokensis that he tried to cast earlier, but forgot to look in his graveyard because I had killed a mana elf earlier and the pyrokensis is buried. I then paste his bird of paradise and attack all out end of game. Match 3-0 Game 6-0 Round 4: I am guarenteed in already and so is this guy, but he wants to play so we do. This guy is playing the same thing as round 2. Only difference is he has no Jorael's Centaurs and instead Autumn Willow. He also runs Balduvian Hordes in standard. Game 1: He gets elves and LD and Bosium strip and more LD and I die horribly :( Game 2: Everytime he drops a elf I pop it with an incinerate or pyrokensis (I know expensive, but that is the best way to destory this deck) and then pop down a Worb and thats all she wrote. I beat him with weenie creatures. Game 3: Me two land vs LD. I die horribly. I am able to kill off creatures for a while and stay alive, arcane denial, incinerate, etc. But by the time I do get land he has an Autumn Willow on the table and beats me to death with her :( Match 3-1 Game 7-2 Finals: I easily make it with my record. Round 1 Finals: Same guy as round 3. Game 1: I get mana dicked again and bam I'm dead (saw three land the entire game, 2 of which were gemstone mines) Game 2: A long drawn out game, but me with no Worbs the entire game, that is why I said I should have put 4 in. I plink off his creatures early, but he gets out a Centaur and I can't touch it. I die horribly :( Matches 3-2 Games 7-4 My deck faired ok. I need to switch out a few things. I definitly think that 4 winter orbs are a must in this tournament area. Usually once I got the Worb down I won the game. Weenie creatures are good around here and the pryokensis just rock. The white from my sideboard shocked a whole lot of people and one trick I pulled on a guy was he had a Nevinyrral's Disk on the table I Uktabi'd it. He cast another one. I Man 'o War my Uktabi and Uktabi'd it again (after attack of course) he was none to happy. welp anyone got a critique of this deck, please either post or email to me. I'm looking for ways to improve this deck and make it a little better. thanx for reading. --John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John P. Stevens Snail Mail: TTU Box 09123 HTTP://WWW.CSC.TNTECH.EDU/~JPSTEVEN Home Ph#: 1-931-528-9184 Try User:[JPS3419.PUBLIC] Try User:[JPS3419.WORK] After finding no qualified candidates for the position of principal, the school board is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of David Steele to the post. -- Philip Streifer, Superintendent of Schools, Barrington, Rhode Island