============= PARADISE POST ============= Issue 1. Sept. 2003 This newsletter is sent to all MTGParadise.com Forum Members. To unsubscribe email contact@mtgparadise.com with your forum username and your account will be deleted. FEATURE SPONSOR ---------------------------- GAMES PARADISE - www.gamesparadise.com.au Order Online or 1300 139 202 SPECIAL: 8th Ed Boosters Boxes $155 AUD free delivery + an additional $4.00 off if you mention "mtgparadise forums" in the special comments section of your order. (Note: amount will be deducted when the order is put through the terminals manually). ---------------------------- Hello all and welcome to the inaugural edition of the Paradise Post, a newsletter that is going to be running bi-weekly here on MTGParadise.com. My name is Craig Hong and I will be bringing you one of the 2 monthly instalments of this wrap-up of the world of Magic the Gathering, with a distinctive Australian and New Zealand flavour. To give you a brief insight into what I do, I am a 4th year Law Student at the University of Queensland, I also have a business management degree. In terms of Magic, I have represented Australia at the 2000 World Championships and I have also been qualified for PT Tokyo. I have attended Australian Nationals in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with mixed results and I can generally be found at any Brisbane PTQ or Pre-Release. I would also like to take this opportunity to admit that I do have a severe Magic Online addiction. My co-writer in this project will be Dan Turner whom you either know well or soon will, as I've included an interview with him at the end of this article by way of introduction. So what can you, the reader, expect from these articles? First of all, you can expect all the biggest and most relevant happenings from the world of Magic: the Gathering. From Pro-Tours to set releases, and from Magic Online right down to You Make the Card, we will endeavour to bring you an up-to-date and insightful look at whatever has been going on during the fortnight concerning the slinging of Magical Cards. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, this column will also have a keen local flavour. Through this column we hope to bring you such things as great local performances and results, coverage of Australians and New Zealanders at the Pro Tour, upcoming events and information about great places to play, interviews with some down-under magic celebrities and much more! So without further ado, let's take a look at the happenings of the past few weeks in Magic the Gathering. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BERLIN The World Championships have come and gone again for another year. A new champion has been crowned and an old champion confirmed his status as the best of all time. In a tournament that gave the world the first look at a post-8th Edition Standard, German Daniel Zink piloted his Wake deck through a Top 8 dominated by the deck sporting the Judgment enchantment to take the title. Kai Budde, who was also running Wake, managed to finish 17th which was more than enough to secure yet another Player of the Year title. Similarly none of the chasing pack could come close to Masashi Ooiso who secured the Rookie of the Year title comfortably. The tournament has well and truly established Wake as the dominant archetype in standard with Decree of Justice doing the job in most situations as the kill card of choice. Players are now striving to ramp up to a fast Wake off Krosan Verges and cycling a large decree to either bring an attacking team to their knees or to strike for lethal damage against other controlling strategies. Despite the prevalence of Wake decks the Top 8 a number of decks showed that they still have what it takes to be competitive in this new standard environment- Slide, Goblin Bidding, Blue-Green and Reanimator all put players into the Top8 while Red-Green and Goblins also had strong numbers playing them. The decklists for the top 8 decks can be found at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/worlds03/t8decks. Perhaps even more important to some people was the fact that this World Championships spelt the end of the dominance of Psychatog in Standard- on news of the demise of Dr Teeth Magic players from all corners of the globe were heard to be loudly rejoicing. The other format that Worlds went a long way towards defining was Extended. While many were branding decks based around Mind's Desire as the beginning of another period of broken combo decks harkening back to the days of Tolarian Academy, these predictions didn't really pan out, as Desire decks failed to put up the sort of numbers that would indicate doomsday for a balanced extended environment. What we did see was a number of decks being viable with Goblins leading the way, including the amazing Japanese Gob-Vantage deck which is described at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/worlds03/extgob. Also prevalent were the Reanimator variants including Angry Hermit, which used Dragon Breath to beef up the consistency and speed of its already lightning fast kills off a Hermit Druid activation. Tog, White Weenie with a splash for blue, Tinker and even Blue-Green posted good results and some old extended standbys in the Rock and Enchantress made their presence felt too, resulting in what appears to be a very healthy extended environment with plenty of room for innovation. A sampling of the decks that posted impressive records can be found at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=sideboard/worlds03/extdecks. HOME-TOWN HEROES Of the Australian and New Zealand contingent that made the trip for the World Championships New Zealand National Champion Richard Grace got it done at the big show to post the highest finish from the region with a busty 39th netting himself a cool $900US in individual winnings for his trouble. Aussie Chris Allen was the next highest and also managed to finish in the individual money at 53rd nabbing $615US for the effort. In the teams event New Zealand again came out on top with a 22nd place finish while Australia came home in 26th. No doubt this will inspire many Australian players out there to redouble their efforts in the lead-up to GP Sydney in order to ensure a Green and Gold domination of the standings. When one considers the competition that these guys were up against and the effort required to post a money finish in a Pro-Tour event, the fact that the Australian and New Zealand guys managed to put two people into money finishes is a monumental achievement. Make no mistake about it either, everything that happens in those 4 days is a team effort, so kudos should go out to each and every person that made the trip over, including the guys that aren't there competing on teams day- good job boys! For those of you into the statistics here are the final standings of all of our local players 39 Grace, Richard [NZL] 34 48.0541% 5-1 53 Allen, Chris [AUS] 33 54.2580% 4-2 99 Brumby, Gene [NZL] 30 50.2995% 3-3 130 Seck, Ben [AUS] 27 54.8354% 2-4 131 Chang, Enchante Shawn [NZL] 27 54.0623% 2-4 193 Varga, Andrew [AUS] 24 47.5955% 3-3 199 Trevilyan, Bryce [AUS] 24 45.9200% 3-3 206 Swannack, Cole [NZL] 24 43.3707% 3-3 246 West, Justin [AUS] 20 48.4074% 0-3-1 (Justin dropped after Round 16) SPONSOR -------------- THE SYDNEY GAMES CENTRE - www.sydneygamescentre.com We have the best range of single cards in Sydney, weekly Magic tournaments and drafts as well as other CCG and gaming events. Drop in for a browse! LEVEL 1, 195A BURWOOD RD, BURWOOD 2134 PHONE: (02) 9715 3229 Web: www.sydneygamescentre.com Email: mtg@sydneygamescentre.com -------------- ONSLAUGHT BLOCK CONSTRUCTED While the Australian and New Zealand representatives were off duking it out with the Worlds finest, many PT hopefuls were back in the PTQ trenches slogging it out in local ONBC qualifiers for a chance to play in Pro Tour- New Orleans. While the environment has been described as wide open it appeared that Mountains and Plains were definitely the dominant forces as decks featuring these land types fought it out for the money in many regions. Here are some of the results from the finals of local PTQs Sydney- Mark Leyba (R/W Control) def. Dan Turner (Goblins) Brisbane- Jan Reuss (Goblins) def Sven Restel (Mono White Control) (these two split in the finals Jan is in the winners' column as he took the slot.) Canberra- Jason Scott (Mono White Control) def Jeremy Neeman (R/W Control) Here are some representative decklists- Dan Turner- Goblins 4 Goblin Sledder 4 Skirk Prospector 4 Goblin Piledriver 4 Goblin Warchief 4 Siege Gang Commander 4 Clickslither 4 Gempalm Incinerator 3 Shock 2 Sparksmith 2 Goblin Sharpshooter 1 Rorix 2 Goblin Burrows 22 Mountain Sideboard 1 Goblin Sharpshooter 4 Threaten 4 Sulfuric Vortex 3 Stabilizer 2 Rorix 1 Mountain Jason Scott- Mono White Control 4 Eternal Dragon 4 Exalted Angel 4 Dawn Elemental 4 Renewed Faith 4 Wing Shards 4 Akroma's Vengeance 2 Akroma Angel of Wrath 1 Jareth Leonine Titan 4 Silver Knight 2 White Knight 1 Decree of Justice 4 Temple of the False God 4 Secluded Steppe 18 Plains Sideboard: 4 Wipe Clean 2 White Knight 3 Dragon Scales 2 Decree of Justice 4 Rain of Blades Jeremy Neeman- R/W Control 4 Lightning Rift 2 Astral Slide 4 Akroma's Vengeance 4 Starstorm 4 Spark Spray 4 Exalted Angel 3 Eternal Dragon 2 Akroma Angel of Wrath 2 Decree of Justice 2 Renewed Faith 2 Wing Shards 4 Forgotten Cave 4 Secluded Steppe 2 Temple of the False God 9 Plains 8 Mountain Sideboard 3 Wipe Clean 2 Gilded Light 2 Form of the Dragon 2 Decree of Annihilation 2 Wing Shards 4 Silver Knight As can be seen, most players went with pretty standard listings; perhaps the most varied deck to make it to the finals of a PTQ from the events above was Sven Restel's take on Mono White Control. Sven eschewed the traditional approach of most Mono White decks removing some of the slower cycling cards with huge late game impact such as Eternal Dragon and Decree of Justice and instead filled his deck with ultra efficient creatures and shiny dragon pants for them to wear. This obviously made his deck a terror against goblins and the sheer number of creatures meant that his deck was punishing on any mana-light draws for competing control decks. Here's the listing Sven Restel- Mono White Control 4 Windborn Muse 4 White Knight 4 Whipcorder 4 Silver Knight 3 Exalted Angel 4 Dawn Elemental 2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 3 Dragon Scales 4 Akroma's Vengeance 2 Wing Shards 19 Plains 3 Temple of the False God 4 Secluded Steppe Sideboard: 3 Wipe Clean 2 Oblation 2 Pacifism 3 Renewed Faith 2 Circle of Solace 2 Jareth, Leonine Titan 1 Stabilizer You can also read about Sven's tournament and his thoughts on the deck right here on MTGParadise: http://www.mtgparadise.com/reports/august2003/0808restel_obc.shtml Congratulations to all PTQ winners in Australia and New Zealand and hopefully we can see some of you going to the big show in New Orleans! MAGIC ONLINE 2.0 AND THE GOOS OLD DAYS As you probably already know Magic Online v2.0 was released on the 28th of July to coincide with the release of 8th Edition and the Magic Online 10th Anniversary celebration. Despite the griping about the loss of 8-4 payout drafting for the common man, Magic Online 2.0 promised amazing new features and users eagerly downloaded their update waiting in anticipation for what was set to be a huge leap forward for Magic Online. As players finished their update and went to sign in they realized that something was wrong…. very wrong as crashes and bugs seemed to be the order of the day, that is, for those that were able to connect to the server at all. Within the rooms icons could be seen floating randomly next to players frantically trying to squeeze in a game or a trade before the server inevitably came crashing down again. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the Magic Online 2.0 fiasco was a renaissance of sorts as #Mtgwacky on EfNet once again became the centre of the online Magic world. For a few shining days pros and the garden variety Magic player became perhaps as close as they have ever been, united in their desire for something to do and the need to bitch about the shambles that Modo 2.0 had become. Since the very early days of v2.0 there has been a major improvement, as there appears to be some semblance of stability returning to the system. However, the end of the tunnel is still naught but a mere glimmer, as many features of 2.0 are nowhere to be seen or are horribly inadequate (I have yet to see an actual trophy in anybody's trophy room) and server stability is a far from assured. That being said, there still appears to be the basis for a very good game and if the improvements promised do arrive, Modo has the potential to become even bigger and better than it was before. Let's all hope that Wizards can get their act together and fix this program up before more loyal players get discouraged and quit. DAN THE MAN As promised I'd like to use this first article as an opportunity to introduce my co-columnist Dan Turner. Some of you may recognize Dan's writing already from his excellent limited reviews here on MTGParadise, but I thought I'd give you a bit more of an insight into what makes him tick with a short interview. What is your current involvement with magic in Australia? I have been a writer/editor for MTG Paradise for the last 18 months or so and have also written for some evil American sites as well. I don't play casually anymore but I do go down to the Sydney Games Centre each Thursday night to share my points around. How and when did you start playing Magic? It was back in 1994 and I had just finished university and I was in a games shop in a sleepy country town and my brother and I bought some starter decks. Legends had only just been released and I can remember 1 person in the town had a whole box and was selling them for something like $8 or $9 each! - we were all suckers though and bought as much as our government payouts would allow us. I had my first taste of tournament magic in 1995 (I think) at the Victorian regionals where I lost to Steven Campbell in the first round. Since then I have moved to Sydney and have terrorised the local magic ever since. What is your biggest achievement in Magic? From a tournament point of view I would have to say making the Top 8 of GP Melbourne in 1998. This enabled me to go to Pro Tour New York where I was beaten like a red headed stepchild. It didn't stop me from having a great time though. I have also qualified for 8 Australian Nationals (I played in 6 of them) and finished in the top 20 on 5 of those times, without a single Top 8! Cut the blaring of trumpets now please. What is your most memorable moment? There are too many to remember but I have made some very good friends through this game and for that I am very grateful. Nats are always fun because you can meet up with old interstate friends and catch up - even if I wasn't qualified I would probably still go down there, and its in Canberra for gods sake - what more could you want!! Have you ever been to a Pro Tour and if so how did you fare? Pro Tour New York was my first and the only tour I have played on. I was qualified for Chicago this year but the distinct lack of a job put me off of going. I think I finished around 200ish which wasn't too bad but Andrew Corney made 2nd day at that Pro Tour and we were all cheering him on from the sidelines. It is too expensive for Australians to go to European/American Pro Tours but every player should go at least once (or to worlds) to get a taste of the competition at that level, and have some fun while you are at it too! Who is your favourite Magic player a) in Australia and b) worldwide and why? That is a tough one. At the moment I socialise a fair bit with Andrew Corney and Chris Foggin (runs the Sydney Games Centre) but I enjoy the company of most of the players who draft on Thursday nights. Call me a fence sitter but I don't really have a favourite, I could say Ben Seck - actually I will say Ben as he has one of the more prominent Australian players and he is a lot of fun to be around (especially when he is drunk - that's when to money draft against him kids!). Internationally, I don't really know. From a writing point of view I think Geordie Tait is the best out there at the moment and Nick Eisel's strategy articles are always interesting. So I would probably say one of those two, but I don't have any idols or anything like that. Who has helped you the most in your Magic career (be it playing or otherwise)? This is easy. Kim Brebach and Nik Smith are a key part of why I play magic (even though they live in different countries now) as I shared a house with them a couple of years ago and we got on like a house on fire - a very, very bad pun I know. Seriously these were my playtesting partners and they each had a great sense of humour which I really related to. Andrew Corney is one of the few remaining "old guard" in Sydney and I always like hanging out with him and Chris Foggin was friends with all of us, so I would have to say those guys! Also Yaro Starak, I really enjoy writing/editing for MTG and if he didn't give me the benefit of the doubt I probably wouldn't have as much enthusiasm for the game as I do now (that really sounds sucky doesn't it?). It sure does! What was your favourite expansion/block and why? From a limited point of view I like the current block (OLS) but I have fond memories of Tempest block too with all those sliver shenanigans and crazy Tradewind Riders. There was something about Tempest which I really enjoyed and I think it set the benchmark for the rest of the expansions when it came to booster draft/sealed deck. I distinctly remember hating Odyssey block, especially Torment as you could get screwed over quite easily in draft by the player on your left picking all of the decent black cards when the second booster came around! Are you happy with the direction that Magic is going at the moment? Do you like the 8th Ed card faces and the Mirrodin art? I couldn't really understand why everyone was up in arms over the change in the layout. It is not like they are replacing the artwork with stick men or cartoon characters. The new foils look great and it is a sign that magic is moving forwards, but hey you can't please everyone. I had a sneak peek at Mirrodin on Star City Games and liked what I saw. The whole sci-fi/fantasy crossover is a great concept and I especially like the cybernetic vampire looking thing. Do you play Magic Online and what are your general thoughts on it? Yes I play whenever I can (usually 2 to 4 drafts a week) and I think it is a great tool for improving your level of playskill. If you were bad with the timing rules then MODO is an unforgiving mistress - the same goes for slow players. There have been some technical difficulties with version 2 (like crashing in the middle of drafts, etc) and that can be annoying but I'm generally happy with it as long as my credit card doesn't get too much use! The other good thing about MODO is that you can playtest constructed (something I don't do) with players from all over the world and will eventually replace a lot of the strategy magic sites as an information resource. There ain't no stopping technology. Here's your chance- what's your greatest play ever? There is one match that I can still remember which was a lot of fun, although it was more of a play on my opponent's behalf rather than mine. It was Nats 2000 day 1, Mercadian block booster draft. I was 4-0 and playing against Glen Shanley with a U/G deck (I think), he was B/G. In the third game Glen had played a Scandalmonger and wiped out my entire hand. I untapped drew Avatar of Will, paid 4 mana to remove the last 2 cards from Glen's hand and played the Avatar for 2 blue. I didn't have enough mana to hard cast the Avatar and Glen's Scandalmonger single-handedly won me the match. Worst play ever? Oh dear. There have been lots of those but the most notable one was this year at Nats. It was the first round and I was playing against Anatoli Lightfoot. I had a rather tricky U/R deck and Anatoli had a speed R/W deck with my nemesis...Unstable Hulk. I gave this card a real sledging in my review as so many things can go wrong with it and no-one wants to give their opponent a free Time Walk if they can help it. It was the deciding game and we were beating each other down like madmen with a variety of assorted morphs, flyers and other random creatures. We were both on around the same life and I had 3 blue mana in play and a Lonely Sandbar, Callous Oppressor, Backslide and some other irrelevant cards in hand. He had a couple of morphs in play and I completely forgot about Unstable Hulk which he had played in the previous game. I was convinced the play was to cycle the Sandbar in my mainphase and play the Oppressor then attack with everybody. I worked out if he retaliated he could only get me down to 5 life or so. So on the next turn he attacked flipped the hulk and took the match.....I didn't even want to show him the Backslide in my hand. What advice do you have for everybody reading this article in terms of Magic, life or both? I knew sooner or later that this was going to get philosophical. I play Magic to have fun (although I do have a lot more fun when I am winning) and as long as I am enjoying the game I will keep playing it. But like everything in life it is important to have a balance in your life so I think anyone who plays magic 24/7 is going to reach a point where they have had enough of it and move on. The people that stay with the game generally have other interests and are more fun to be around. In other words enjoy the game but also go out and do other stuff - film, music, girls/boys, drink or whatever gets your rocks off. Does that answer the question? Sounds like reasonable advice to me. Who is going to win GP Sydney and which State and Country will contribute the most players to the Top 8? There are so many good players around at the moment I think the field is wide open. No doubt Victoria will place the most players in the top 8 but it is hard to say who is going to win, I don't know maybe Cole Swannack - probably the only person in the tournament that is smaller than the trophy. Who would I like to win? I would like to see my fellow writer Scott Hunstad lift the trophy as he is an amazing draft player and missed out on GP Melbourne last year when he really wanted to go. Maybe we should have a poll or a fantasy top 8 for this? Sounds like a great idea Dan we'll have to get onto Yaro about that one! Thanks for your time. No Problems. THE WASH-UP So there you have it folks! The first edition of the Paradise Post has come and gone. Hopefully you liked this edition and whether you did or you didn't we'd love to hear about it. Keep in mind that this newsletter is for you- the players, so drop us a line and tell us exactly what you want to see. With your input we can work together to make this newsletter into a must-read addition to your surfing regime. Please send all questions, comments and requests to newsletter@mtgparadise.com Thanks for reading, until next time, Craig Hong -- This newsletter is sent to all MTGParadise.com Forum Members. To unsubscribe email contact@mtgparadise.com with your forum username and your account will be deleted.