Articles

So all in a tizz I grabbed my little scorebook, box of dice and a deck that looked like this;

Any comments on the deck are welcome - plastik in the forums

And so Round 1 began - and I am paired against Jumpin' Jackie who kicked me last time we played with his Food Chain Goblins. Now we have proxies and by the looks of his first turn Mishra's Workshop followed by Metalworker he is using them to the fullest.

I am worried about a second turn Staff of Domination, go infinite you lose - so I play Mox, Island then during your upkeep Hurkyl's Recall you. I am a greedy greedy monkey. In retrospect even if he did try and go infinite, there are few better positions to be in than having a Recall in hand.

My notes on the match have him mana burning three turns in a row, taking a couple of hits from the Mana Crypt and then a big fat tick next to his name. Oh well let's board in some more artifact hate, huh?

Game 2 went a little sweeter; a first turn Juggernaut combined with Jackie's Ancient Tomb sealed the deal pretty quickly. Jackie heads back to the sideboard, and I decided against making any more changes. Why change?

In Game 3 I mulliganed to 6, and took a mediocre hand rather than go to five. I really think (again with 20/20 hindsight) that I should have gone to five. Anyhoo, Jackie got the Metalworker active, landed a couple of Crucible of Worlds followed by Karn, Silver Golem and swung for lethal damage. I think his Mind's Eye even got some beats in. Me sad.

Match score 0 - 1

We had come pretty close to time, so I was de-sideboarding when the next pairings went up. Fortunately the notice board was next to where I was sitting, and it turns out I am paired against Andre. Arguably the best player in our area, and winner of the last three tourneys I have attended, I feel bad when I play Andre. Not because he kicks my proverbial butt because he loves the game so much and I don't feel as though I offer much competition. When we chat I am always asking for his opinion on this and that - really what I would like is for him to offer me advice on what to do during the match, but I resist the temptation to describe the hands I am throwing back.

So Game 1 begins and I am in the game from the start. An early Goblin Welder heads in for some damage, and it seems as though 'Dre is holding back on his artifacts so as I can't play Welder tricks. A Gorilla Shaman arrives, and he's hungry from the trip so my Moxen serve as lunch. I still can't find any artifacts to make ashtrays with, and 'Dre's mid-game Decree of Justice for one soldier joins his second Mox Monkey and beats me down.

So, Game 2 asks me what I'd like to sideboard. Hmm, in with Red Elemental Blasts and out with Crucible of Worlds and something else inconsequential. My first turn Trinisphere resolves and I go to shocked mode. 'Dre doesn't look happy, and my following plays of Wasteland go, Strip Mine go, don't make him any happier. Then my Mishra's Workshop powers out a Sol Ring which allows me to Tinker unmolested for the Darksteel Colossus. With 'Dre sitting on one land he takes about 1.32 seconds to scoop and I have officially won my first game against him.

In Game 3 I wasn't sure if I should change anything, so I just shuffled up and drew a hand. It looked good, so I sat. 4CC said land, go and I went Polluted Delta, fetch, go. Second turn I resolve a Juggernaut, and 'Dre is scrambling for answers. He Skeletal Scrys for two, after Wastelanding to fill up the yard. I manage another Trinisphere and get a Goblin Welder active. Then I try to hard-cast the Memory Jar which meets with our friend Mana Drain. During 'Dre's turn there is a mixup with how much drain mana he has and he realizes he can use it all to go to two cards, then casts Balance. Ouch! He is up one land, but I am up two creatures to none and I have five cards in the grip. Oh well, I guess I discard everything except my Triskelion. How lucky.

The Trike swings twice, and it is all over. I have actually won a match against 'Dre. *cue Top Gun soundtrack*

Match score 1 - 1

Then next round is a self-confessed gimme, as Lee is in his first tourney, and has to ask what his proxy Black Lotus actually does. Juggernaut goes to work, and the round is soon over.

Match score 2 - 1

There were a few people clustered around the table next to us, so I sneaked a quick peek to see what was going on. It was 'Dre (4CC) against Tim (Hulk) and there was a Black Lotus in the redzone with a Mana Drain sitting on top of it. Tim has two blue multi lands in front of him, and no other permanents. He taps out to cast a Mana Drain of his own, which quickly meets a Force of Will. Not often you see a counter-war over a lotus.

I wander off to have some chats, and some time later I head back to see what is going on. The game has progressed so much it could easily be game 2, but I am reliably informed it is still game 1. Tim has advanced his board, and has resolved a Psychatog. Then he plays Yawgmoth's Will and retrieves some Moxen and the Lotus from earlier.

Not as degenerate as I had hoped, but the game was not over yet. 'Dre cycles Decree of Justice for seven soldiers and gang blocks the giant 'Tog - which Tim Berserks, but falls short of lethal damage by three points. Some hairy choices for both players as they continue to tutor through smaller and smaller libraries but 'Dre wins out on the third extra turn after cycling again - this time for nine soldiers. Lucky, because that was all the tokens that he had.

The final round and I am up against Neil with his Dragon deck. Before the match we discuss the fact that our head-to-head score is 1 - 1 and that this match is for the much coveted "Championship of the World". I silently chant my mantra to myself, as game 1 is usually an auto-loss for me.

And it was. So I sideboard in the Stifles and Chalice of the Void (by many) and start the mantra of "mulligan until you have a blue source and a Stifle, mulligan until you have a blue source and a Stifle". So do I? Of course not..

I pull up my second hand and the six cards are Chalice, Chalice, Mox, Sol Ring, Two Other Bad Cards. So I take it, and open with the Mox, the Ring and a Chalice set at one. My 20/20 hindsight tells me I should have stopped right there, but I got greedy again.

I wanted to stop him exploding out to three mana, so I dropped the second Chalice for zero. Naughty monkey! Really should have waited and set it at two. So the short version of the story is - I didn't see the Stifle (not that I could actually cast it now) and I had 'boarded out all my artifact hate, effectively locking myself under my own Chalice.

He won that one. About half way through the game though, I commented on the Worldgorger Dragon being a 7/7 for six mana - and that that was a pretty good power-to-weight ratio. Neil pushes his glasses up his face, and simply says, "Yeah, right. I've never noticed that before." I guess he doesn't attack with it that often. ;)

Match score 2 - 2

Asking around while we wait for the other matches to finish up, and it looks like there are a lot of people on 2 - 2, so the tie-breaks are going to be kinda hairy. With sixteen people we should get prizes down to at least the Top 6 - somewhere I am unlikely to be.

As luck would have it though, I played the guys in 1st, 2nd and 4th so my opp win % was great and I ended up in 5th and get my entry fee back. Kinda lucky considering I hadn't actually paid the guys at Card Heaven yet. Four rounds of Vintage for free, what a great country.

Final standings

1. Jumpin' Jackie (Mono-Brown (or is it Brown/Silver now??))
2. Neil Crompton (Dragon)
3. Tim (Hulk)
4. Andre (4CC)
5. James Mackay (Me! Workshop Aggro)
6. Chris (Unknown - combo I think)

Until next month, shuffle well and play hard.

James Mackay (plastik in the forums)

[ Email the Author | Discuss this Article ]