Subject: Re: TSPTQ Report - Midland Date: Sun, 21 Dec 97 14:28:09 PST From: "Scott Gerhardt" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Semi-Pro Tour Qualifier - Midland, TX Okay, this little story starts on Friday night. I've been working all day and decide that I don't want to have to drive in on Saturday morning since it's about a 2 1/2 hour drive and I wanted to get there and have plenty of sleep for the tournament. Anyway, I take off out of my hometown of Abilene about 11:15pm or so and ended up arriving about 1:50 at Aric's place. Exhausted, I almost immediately go to bed. We wake up the next morning about 9:30 or so and head off to the tournament site. It's raining and the weather really sucks and I'm not really feeling that good to begin with. We get there, register our decks, then head off to Schlotzky's for a little lunch before the tournament. Hint - do NOT eat a BBQ chicken pizza right before playing in a tournament - it will come back to haunt you, sometimes several times in a match. Anyway, we eat and head back. There are 20 people there, the winner getting a seat to the $13,000 Texas Semi-Pro Tour in February. I am once again running "This Bitch Ain't Even Nice" (this is a name correction from my last report as I was griped out for getting it wrong). There have been a few changes to the deck and especially the sideboard: 3 Wrath of God 4 Counterspell 3 Gerrard's Wisdom 3 Rainbow Efreet 4 Nevinyrral's Disk 3 Gaea's Blessing 2 Spirit Link 2 Dismiss 2 Dissipate 3 Inspiration 4 Impulse 2 Teferi's Honor Guard 1 Whispers of the Muse 2 Grasslands 3 Flood Plain 2 Undiscovered Paradise 2 Adarkar Waste 2 Reflecting Pool 1 Brushland 2 Gemstone Mine 8 Islands 3 Plains 1 Forest Sideboard: 3 Circle of Protection: Red 2 Disrupt 2 Ertai's Meddling 3 Chill 2 Serenity 2 Reverse Damage 1 Wrath of God Round 1 vs Billy Brumly (Sligh) Game 1: If I don't see my wisdoms early and often against sligh game 1, I lose. I didn't see a single one. Game 2: I haul in the Chills, COPs, WoG, and Reverse Damages. He didn't see enough of my deck game 1 to sideboard. I get down a COP around 4th turn. Despite this, he got me down to 1. I was then able to keep him off of me long enough to wisdom once, then put down a rainbow with a spirit link on it. It got bad for him past that. Game 3: He brings in the disenchants, but it ain't enough. I'm reversing, chilling, and COPing like a madman. A Rainbow/Honor Guard army finish him off. Matches (1-0) Games (2-1) Round 2 vs Brian Subia (Weenie White with some red) Game 1: I don't remember much except that he didn't jump all over me, and that is bad for you. Just a few easily dealt with creatures and no armors. Clear 'em out, and send a Rainbow to town. Game 2: See game 1. Matches (2-0) Games (4-1) Round 3 vs Don Moschkau (Weenie White) Game 1: This deck ran Armors, Crusades, and Howling Mines along with the normal creatures. It was a pretty good deck, but Weenie White has MAJOR problems against my deck. Game 1 he didn't see much. A got down a very fast Honor Guard, and thanks to Wraths and Disks, I successfully raced him. Game 2: Don lost his sideboard in the first round because it was misrecorded as only 14 cards - he miscounted. Thus, he brought nothing in. I brought in only my other Wrath (kinda felt sorry for him, but not totally sorry). This game was quick. Same strategy worked race and win. Matches (3-0) Games (6-1) Match 4 vs James Johnston (5CG) Game 1: I see not one Wrath, and not one disk. I lose. Game 2: I bring in a wrath, and the reverses since he has Maros and Lhurgoys. Reverses are not needed as I disk and wrath away everything. Wisdoms, and a Linked rainbow is bad news for him. He Guildmages never live long enough to hurt my rainbows. Game 3: Two Winter Orbs get countered and he drops creatures. I have an Honor Guard down, making him play at least 2 critters into my disks and wraths. Finally, he kills the Guard, gets down a Lhurgoyf (5/6) and Guildmage. I'm at 11. I take it from both, and go to 5. Incinerate gets me to 2. Another gets me to -1. He seems confused that I don't say I'm dead. He says he's done, and I Reverse on the Lhurgoyf. Next turn I Wisdom back up, then Wrath after that. He never recovers as I wisdom again and double Spirit Link a Rainbow. He died with me at 50 or so life. Matches (4-0) Games (8-2) Match 5 vs James Johnston (5CG) No, this is not a repeat. He fought back to the finals, and our previous match was the winner's bracket finals. Game 1: He's mana screwed, but it doesn't matter as I am too. He gets down critters, and I lose. Again, no disks or Wraths. A second turn WOrb didn't make things any better. Game 2: He starts with a City of Brass and me with 2 Wraths. Oh yeah - it got ugly. Game 3: A good game. I tap out early to Wisdom. He slaps down a WOrb. That was a screw up on my part. Anyway, he doesn't have many creatures down, and I keep drawing Wraths to remove the ones he does. He goes to no cards, and I wrath his critters away. Next draw is Serenity. I pop it down and destroy the Worb. Next turn he plays another. It's short lived, though, as I impulse for a disk and put it down. After putting down a Guildmage, I blow the disk and slap down a Rainbow with a Spirit Link, then Gaea 3 Wraths back into my deck. He draws up and puts down a 15/16 Lhurgoyf. I have a counter and 2 Wraths by now. More important, I have 2 Reverse Damages. I'm at 19 and he can only dish 18. I take it, then at the end reverse the 'goyf. Rainbow is slapping him all the while. Next turn I do it again, then Wrath the creatures away. Rainbow keeps going to town, this time with another Link on him. Final score me: 82, him -2. Matches (5-0) Games (10-3) After all was said and done, I had my seat, plus $60 in store credit. I picked up some cards I needed for my Tempest set and a few other odds and ends. Afterwards, we all went to Jason Bedwell's house for a party. I felt kinda bad because I was totally zoned out and it didn't seem as though I was enjoying myself when I really was. Around 10:30pm I left back for Abilene. Around 1 or so I got in and went to bed, content, but feeling like shit since I knew I was getting sick (which I am as I write this). Props and Slops Props to the Oddland Dragons for making me an honorary member of their team. They're a really kick ass bunch or upcoming players - look out for these guys. Slops to Billy Brumly for trying to sideboard in disenchants game 2 after he saw me shuffling and saw a COP:Red floating around. That shit wasn't happening. Slops to my truck for getting such shitty mileage to Midland. Props to my truck for getting such good mileage back from Midland. Props to Richard and Astral Castle for a well run tournament. Props to Doire for giving me a little pussy TWICE (inside joke). Props to Aric for letting me crash at his place Friday night - it was WAY helpful. Slops to my immune system for making me feel like shit both during and after the tournament. Props to Jason's wife (bad with names.....Becky?) for hooking me up with dishes. I needed them pretty bad and that was way cool of her. Well, that's it. Hopefully I won't be writing anymore reports for a while - M:TGed out for now. I'll see the other 63 in Lubbock in February. If you're still trying to qualify, keep at it - this is a great way to get into a slightly less Pro Tour with guarenteed money. Until next time... Scott Gerhardt Abilene Vatos / Oddland Dragons