From: Selwyn Clyde M. Alojipan[SMTP:selwyn@MOZCOM.COM] Sent: October 22 1997, 07:51 Subject: Ali Mall T2 Tourney Report I'm posting this two-part report for a friend of mine who's a member of Virtual Team Rogue (we all met on the Internet and as the name says, like to develop rogue concepts). As Erwin proves, as long as you know and follow the rules, you can skirt on the borderline and push people of the edge when they try to do what you're doing. Then you can bluff and bluster on the right side of the law while the other guy gets court-martialed. Oh yeah, Erwin and the other finalist decided to split their prizes: a box of Tempest starters and another box of Tempest boosters. Lucky stiffs! -------------------------------------------------- Every generalization is false, including this one. ================================================== /) /) Selwyn Clyde M. Alojipan TIP#2704 /______/ E-mail: selwyn@mozcom.com DCI#207605 \_/^\_/ Quezon City, Philippines UIN 2324719 Hi Team Rogue, Its been quite a while since I wrote so I'll reintroduce myself. I'm Erwin Ortuoste, 32, a lawyer (University of the Philippines Law class '91) working in the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Quezon City. My wife Nenette and I (veteran role playing gamers) have been into Magic only recently. Selwyn, Emil, Nenette and I go back a long way since college. My Squandered Stasis deck recently won in the Type II tournament held last October 12, 1997 in Ali Mall (a shopping complex) in Quezon City. My deck lost terribly in a tournament 3 months ago so I decided to try Tommi Hovi's version - thanks to the dojo page. The deck: 2 sheltered valley, 8 island, 4 gemstone mines, 2 city of brass, 4 u. paradise, 4 adarkar waste, 4 stasis, 4 howling mine, 4 squandered resources, 1 equipoise, 1 kismet, 1 feldons cane, 2 counterspells, 4 arcane denial, 4 force of will, 2 boomerang, 4 enlightened tutor,1 disenchant, 1 despotic scepter, and 3 pyroclasm. Sideboard - 4 pyroblast, 2 COP: red, 2 COP: black, 3 hydroblast, 1 feldons cane, 2 counterspell, and 1 disenchant. Hovi had 2 jokulhaups but I wasn't sure about its proper use so I left it out. My brother Sean (5 CG) and I joined with about 75 others. This would only be my second tourney and was happy just to break even. 1. Rohjet Lim - R/G A young and inexperienced teen. Opening jitters and his balduvian horde and lancers get me. I side in hydroblasts plus 2 COP and locks him early. He's shocked. Game 3 - I countered tons of stuff like creeping mold on SR but he knocks me to 3 life before a full lock. COP and hydroblast helps a lot. Wins just before time runs out- whew. 1-0. 2. Ace Tria - Monogreen A friendly working guy who didn't use the quirion rangers well. Pyroclasm works well. He's bewildered by equipoise lock as I explain that his creatures will phase out and won't come back. Bystanders tell him to concede and he does. Game 2 sees dervishes. I boomerang to survive and drops stasis and equipoise later. He gives up very early. Later, he complains and the judges call me to explain. It turns out that they thought I was using sand of time so I'm clear. Ace politely accepts it. 2-0. 3. Niņo - White weenie/armor Another youngster whose weenies fell to 2 early pyroclasm. I waited for about 2 critters and blew them up. He confidently casts armor on a falcon. He's crestfallen as I boomerang and slam the lock. Game 2 - he puts in more freewind falcons (huh?) and disenchants. I replace pyroclasms for more counters plus extra feldons. I draw 3 stasis early. He disenchants a turn 2 howler but I FOW. I cast SR plus stasis - but he disenchants on his turn --duh. I already foresaw this and used extra stasis in hand for a re-lock. 3-0. 4. Bong Santos - R/U Counter burn Bong is experienced but very hot headed and boisterous. His girlfriend even sat beside him. I accidentally mixed a COP:Red while I was fixing my sideboard (scepter got left out) and was surprised (relieved?) when it showed up. I took early damage to allow early casting of a howler and s.resources. Later he countered my bait - COP:Red. I dropped stasis immediately with FOW as backup. Hah! Equipoise drops in and I phase out his untapped lands. All howlers come out and he concedes when feldons is played. Game 2 - I side out pyroclasms, disenchant, and boomerangs, for 4 pyroblasts, 2 COP:Red , and 3 hyrdoblasts. He allows howlers but dissipates my resources - but I had one extra in hand and recasts. He would pay for that dissipate later. I hydroblast to stop his incinerate. Cast stasis and pyroblasts his arcane. My COP gets out and we keep on laying down land as I wait to draw tutors for equipoise/kismet. Soon he casts a surprise - anarchy! I FOW and he also FOW. I pyroblast and he dissipates. I arcane and he arcanes. I counterspell -he's tapped out and in shock. I still got a FOW and arcane extra - and even show it to him to break his morale. More howlers and equipoise come out but he's a broken man. He gives up with a cry as feldons come out. Pyroblast rocks! 4-0. 5. James Kim - Monogreen weenie James is OK and friendly - and he's perfect at 4-0 too. He supposedly won last month at my alma mater - UP. His elves, spectral bears, and quirion rangers overrun me quickly as I don't get land for 4 turns. Game 2 is same - no lands too.Too bad but I already expected this. It looks like James will win it all. He later went 5-0 plus one agreed draw . 4-1. 6. Pajarillo - R/U I had to win to get into the final 8. This guy seemed more experienced but stasis surprised him and he didn't counter wisely while my timely counters did OK. His frenetic efreet phased out and got stuck in limbo. Game 2 - same sideboarding as Bong Santos. He counters my early howler and I have to tutor for another. I cast it but he counters my COP:red. Nice bait there! I have more counters now! Resources and stasis come out I simply used pyroblast, hydroblast and FOW as insurance. Simply outcountered! Full lock set. 5-1. I'm in the top 8. 7. Neil Young (Was his dad a rocker?) - Buried alive deck I went out to buy snacks and he was waiting impatiently when I got back. I tried to be friendly with him but he was kinda tight lipped and negative. His score sheet bore a lot of 3rd game wins. I shuffled a long time to get on his nerves and to also avoid a bad draw. Game 1 - 2 ashen ghouls beat me up. Turn 4 I cast SR but stupidly didn't see a half-hidden stasis on my hand. I also misread ashen ghoul as 2/4 and did not count my damage properly. (that's what I get for shunning black decks.) Dead! Lost this one to overconfidence. Game 2 - I add another disenchant, 2 counterspells for pyroclasm, and 2 COP: black for the boomerangs - thanks to a friend who warned me that black packs a nevs disk. I countered an early bad moon to survive. But all the right cards came out and I lock him down quickly. Game 3 - he lays turn 4 Nevs disk while I had no FOW and only 1 island free since I casted a COP. Bad news! I cast a howler and hope to draw the 2 disenchants. Meanwhile COP keeps me alive but I can't stop all his 5 creatures. For 2 turns I don't draw disenchant but get equipoise to cast as bait. He had asked what it was and got shocked when his creatures and artifacts (he had 2, me 1) would phase out! Disk blows up and he reanimates creatures. I cast stasis with no howler or SR. He attacks to bring me down to 9. We keep on drawing and laying land for 4 turns. I pray for multicolor lands for SR and I drew 3 lands straight. SR is cast and I wonder what he's waiting for. Suddenly he taps out to cast a massive drain life for 14. Huh? I arcaned and he's crushed. Next turn I cast kismet with feldons at hand but still no howler. But he concedes and that really surprises me. 6-1. 8. Lester ("burn baby burn") - Mono red This young guy had a good record of sweeps and seemed experienced. He was a bit nervous about me so I showed a confident but reserved attitude. If I win I'd be a finalist. Heck I didn't even know what the prize was. I just wanted stasis decks to gain recognition (and before loss of FOW cripples it.) Game 1 - I lose as no stasis show up while fireblasts and incinerates get me. Pyroclasms don't work with his wildfires and balduvian hordes. Game 2 - I side in 3 hydroblasts, 2 COP, and 2 counterspells. I got COP out early and that gave time for all the elements to fall. I bluff a lot - always asking if he's casting anything. It works. He tries to lay feldons but I FOW to crush his hopes. Full lock - but he doesn't give up until his deck is down to 12 cards. All the other games are finished - white weenie was a finalist. Monogreen lost. People were now crowding around us. I didn't sideboard anything but pretended to do so anyway. He seemed worried and pressured. Game 3 - a howler is out but he fireblasts at turn 3. I absorb it to save counters and onlookers are surprised A howler follows. 2 iroclaw orc are beating me up. He adds a ball lightning which I hydroblast. I cast stasis with no Resources because I made a mistake in casting it - sheez. SR fizzles. I boomerang later and recast. He fireblasts and I counter. Suddenly he pyroblasts my stasis! I can counter but will lose upkeep mana. I'm worried now. However I have extra stasis plus tutor in hand but down to 5 life. He's overjoyed but makes a mistake - draws before he untaps. So attack is forfeited. He casts Nevs disk and says done. Duh! I cast resources and stasis plus COP. He later incinerates -huh? - but I use COP . I lay equipoise and then a howler. He fireblasts and I FOW . I'm saving lands to cast kismet. He pyroblasts stasis again but I FOW. I cast kismet at 3 life with 1 only mana left. He fireblasts but I FOW again - down to 2. He still doesn't give up. Finally I lay feldons and count aloud both our libraries - 2 turns left for him. I have 2 mana free for COP. He gives up with a disappointed sigh. Its now 9:30 PM and we finalists agree call it a draw and divide the prizes. I finally get to say "Squandered Stasis Rules". Notes: 1. My good sideboard was a key factor and I never lost a third game. 2. The despotic didn't really work that great. I left it out in later games. I always kept an extra stasis in hand - just in case. Perhaps I missed something ... 3. Many don't know equipoise (even stasis in general) and it screwed up their thinking. The frustration stressed them out - to make errors. 4. The mental aspect is very important. I bluffed a lot and pressured them whenever possible. Heck - I even wore a blood red shirt. Get their hopes up and crush them. Be polite and confident - but also ruthless. 5. I finally got to use my degree in Psychology. 6. One each of feldons, kismet, and equipoise is enough in the deck. 7. Play neatly and very orderly - it helps you see the board clearly and gives the impression that you're a real pro! I even drew, arranged and looked at my cards in a very systematic and orderly (and artsy too) fashion. 8. Thanks to Team Rogue for the ideas. Any ideas for stasis deck under tempest and without FOW? Erwin