The PTQ in Anchorage was won by Gerald Budzinski from Whitehorse, YT, playing a Enduring Bombardment deck.  I was too open about the deck that I was working on and paid for it, losing in 2-1 in the final 8 to an admitted foil deck.  Following are yesterday's Final 8, a = listing of the winning combo deck, my deck listing, and then my cautionary tale of woe.

1-Gerald Budzinski, Whitehorse YT--Gerald played the new combo deck, Enduring Bombardment, and his was the best iteration of the deck that I have seen.  Gerald's version is solid counterspells except for the combo itself.  This is two PTQs in a row for Gerald.

Mana: 4x Lotus Petal, 4x Tundra, 4x Volcanic Island, 4x Plateau, 4x Islands, 2x Plains.
The Combo: 1x Phyrexian Walker, 4x Shield Sphere, 4x Goblin = Bombardment, 4x Enduring Renewal.
Library Manipulation: 4x Impulse, 4x Enlightened Tutor, 1x Recall, 1x Ancestral Knowledge, 3x Tithe.
Counterspells: 3x Counterspell, 4x Force of Will, 4x Arcane Denial.
Other: 2x Disenchant.
Side: 3x Warmth, 4x Pyroblast, 2x Disenchant, 1x Tithe, 3x = Propaganda, 2x Disrupt.

This is one of the fastest combo decks that I have ever seen, and it is not a joke. It is better and more reliable IMO than BloomDrain = because there are fewer parts, only 1 of which needs to come out before the end, and it can afford to carry heavy countermagic as a result.  One = part costs 1r, another costs 0, and the Renewal comes out last.  With a Bombardment on the table and a Walker or Sphere in hand, you either kill him before he gets 4 mana and a Renewal or it's over.  = Counterspells and Forces stop Hymns and Enchantment removal.  Gerald lost in the first round to Mikael's b/r Necro/burn thanks mostly to Hymns that he = couldn't counter, but that was it  Gerald replayed his first round loss in the Finals and this time had counterspells for the Hymns.  Both = games of the finals were 5-6 turn kills, with one Hymn getting = countered/Forced each game.

2-Mikael James--Mikael played a b/r Necro-burn deck that went = undefeated until the Finals when it ran into the combo deck of doom.

3-Rex Plunkett-- This year's Regionals winner and Fellow Team = Dinosaur member played a r/(w) Burn deck with Power Surges.

4-Rob Weimer--this year's Sealed Deck state champion and fellow team member played a version of my deck admittedly tweaked to beat = mine.  Rob ran 8 ProRed creatures and 4 Honorable Passages, but had trouble = with Mikael's black deck on two different occasions.

5-8  Jeff Moeller-- the perennial big tourney bridesmaid, my = deck follows.  I lost to Rob's foil deck in Swiss and 2-1 in the round of 8.

Jeff's Paladin deck, December incarnation:
 
Land (20): 4x Plateau, 4x Savannah, 3x Tundra, 2x Wasteland, 3x = Gemstone Mine, 3x Plains, 1x Mountain.
 
Creatures (16): 3x Savannah Lions, 4x Leitburs, 1x White Shield, 4x Soltari Priest, 3x Scragnoth, 1x Uktabi Orangutan.
 
Board Control (17): 4x Bolt, 4x Incinerate; 3x STP; 2x Aura of = Silence; 1x Stormbind; 3x Armageddon
 
Other Stuff (7): 1x Enlightened Tutor; 4x Tithe; 1x Empyrial = Armor;1x Warmth.
 
Sideboard: 3x Pyroblast; 2x Disenchant; 1x Karma; 3x Quake; 2x = Warmth; 2x Sleight of Mind; 1x Serenity; 1x Control Magic.

Alex Bridenbaker--this year's constructed deck state champ, from FBX, Alex played a b/r 8 Troll/burn deck.

Frank Mollund--also from Whitehorse, YT, Frank played r/u = Counterhammer/Frenetic beatdown variant.

Keenan Casteel--a junior player from Anchorage, Keenan went = undefeated in Swiss with a r/w/u control deck with Fatties at the end of it (Serras and a Shivan).

We played five rounds of Swiss with a single elimination Final = 8.  Unlike previous extended reports, this one will not be about all the = crazy burn decks that I had to play.

Round 1-vs George Lee.  George's crazy burn deck beat me two = tourneys ago, but he's playing w/g land destruction today.  Game 1 I got = reacquainted with Thermokarsts and Winter's Grasp, but my deck is cheap to cast and I am able to eliminate the weenies with bolts.  Game 2, he gets = mana screwed and I romp.  (1-0, 2-0).  My bad luck begins = here.  George was playing a decent, unusual deck but got manascrewed twice in the next round and packed it in after round 2.  My tiebreakers go straight to hell as a result.

Round 2-vs. Rob Weimer.  After this match Rob confesses that = he's been following my tourney reports, didn't think any of the other decks would run with mine, and so made a copy of mine and then tweaked it to beat mine.  Rob subbed Freewinds for the pumpknights, ran Ernies = instead of Scragnoths, ran more Armors, ran 4 Honorable Passages standard, ran Tax instead of Tithe, and started Orim, Samite Healer (very strong card against bolts and weenies).  I put up a good fight but I just don't have enough nonred creature removal.  Down I go to a fellow team = member again.  (1-1, 2-2).

Round 3- vs Ambler Stephenson. I've been playing Ambler a lot in = tourneys lately. Last time his monoblue was the victim of the surprise Scragnoth attack.  He is playing a basically blue/Disk/Rainbow deck again but this time with white for WOGs.  Game 1 an early Knight and Priest serve for a few turns until he decides that he can't wait any longer for his Rainbows to show and WOGs.  Next turn I play the Scragnoth and that's all, folks.  Game 2 I play a first turn Lion and it goes = all...the...way.  He is waiting to WOG a Scragnoth, but I just let the Lion do its thing until he's in bolt range.  Then the bolts start getting countered, leaving not enough mana to WOG.  This by the way is why Simba is so good even if he is boltbait: 1st turn, 2 points of whackage.  (2-1, 4-2).

Round 4-vs John Hendricks from FBX.  This is one of the FBX = players that I've met before; he beat me in the last sealed deck PTQ.  He was playing a deck that I wondered if I would see today: mostly g/(w/r) VineyardGeddon.  His Vineyards didn't show either game, though; = Aura of Silence is so strong.  It's the Soltari Priest show again.  I play my new Type 2 Millstone/PropOrb deck against him while we're = waiting.  (3-1, 6-2).  Meanwhile Rob has lost to Mikael's b/r Necroburn, and rumors are circulating about two people playing a crazy new combo = deck.  I hear someone say "Enduring Renewal--you're dead" from the other side of the room and figure it out.  I need to win to make the final = 8--thanks to my tiebreakers I'm stuck in 9th place.

Round 5-vs. b/r iteration of the Mana Vault/fattie deck.  Orggs and Derelors, Mana Vaults and Burn.  Loses to STP and Geddon and = unboltable Priests.  (4-1, 8-2) and I'm comfortably into the Final 8.  = Unfortunately, my tiebreakers are absolutely atrocious; my round 3 opponent withdrew as well.  I'm seeded 4th and Rob (who took a draw) is seeded = 5th.  !@#$.

Finals vs. Rob.  Game 1 I am actually winning!  I get Rob down to 1 life and 1 card in hand, but he has an Outpost out and I am = getting outnumbered.  Can't find a Geddon to save my life or an Aura.  But I draw a bolt; either that one card is an Honorable Passage or I = win.  Guess what it was.  Game 2 I bring in most of my sideboard and open with 2 swords.  I play it just right, get out a Knight and a = Scragnoth, and Geddon.  I actually win a game against the foil deck!  = Game 3 I draw crap and can't beat the old Erniegeddon play.  I have = about 10 turns of chump blocking to find a STP, but can't.  I'm = out.  He tells me not to feel bad because he built his deck to take me = out.  Sigh.

I spend the rest of  the tourney watching.  Rob gets run = over by ProWhite knights in two straight, and then I catch the very quick = finals.  The Enduring Bombardment deck is sick.  Time to throw it = together.  Good luck to Gerald and check back next week for another Extended = tourney report, when I will be playing a different deck(?)