We had 6 people turn out for our 1.5 tournament last night: a small, but decent number. The $18 pot was to be split as $8, $6, and $4 which let us
continue in the tradition of third place earning back (at least) their entry money.

The threat at this tournament was a local player's (The Artifact Guy) mono brown deck. Everyone was viciously sideboarding for it, so much so that I had 3 Null Rods in the sideboard of *my own* artifact deck. This sort of sideboarding was looking hostile for my Workshop deck. I wanted to re-work the Workshop deck a bit, and I had wanted to shake up the metagame a little, so I decided to play WW.

But then I realized my WW is also subpar.

So I played Trix.

22 Island
3 Sapphire Medallion
4 Counterspell
4 Force of WIll
4 Donate
4 Illusions of Grandeur
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Merchant Scroll
4 Intuition
3 Brainstorm
2 Mana Leak
1 Hoodwink
1 Capsize

SB:
4 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Null Rod
3 Back to Basics
4 Masticore
1 Interdict <-- Teknologie

The field for the evening was:
Me, playing Trix
Evan, playing his still-needs-some-work BGr Nether Void deck
Jeff, playing the Dead Guy Red deck I was playing before the tournament (in hopes of intimidating people)
Josh, playing Stasis (WTF?)
Andy, playing WW after he was expected to bring his Elf deck
John, playing WW after he was expected to bring Taiga.dec

Round 1: vs. Josh w/ Stasis
Game 1:
He screws up by sacrificing the Illusions to his Claws of Gix, instead of sacrificing his Claws to the Claws. We play for a turn or two, before I
point out that "gain 1 life" goes on the stack, and on top of that, "lose 20 life" goes on the stack. He admits to the mistake, and we shuffle for Game 2.

SB: -1 of either Hoodwink or Capsize, - some combination of Merchant Scrolls and Brainstorms, +4 Masticore. I was hoping to race him.

Game 2:
I get out a Masticore and attack for 4. He plays Stasis. I pay the upkeep on Masticore (why?) for a few rounds before I realize I'm an idiot.

SB: + that Hoodwink or Capsize (why did I take that out?), - a Merchant Scroll or a Brainstorm

Game 3:
We play the waiting game, since an early Stasis makes Masticore useless. He has more counters than I do, but I try for the combo late game (without much counter back-up) and he Boomerangs the Illusions in response to "Gain 20 life." *sigh*

Games: 1-2
Matches: 0-1

At this point, I wish I had listened to someone that Stasis is the only true combo in 1.5. ;( Since it was so unexpected, I figured Stasis was going to win on the day, which gives me better tie-breakers.


Round 2: vs. Andy w/ WW
Game 1: 2 Weenies and a Crusade let him go the distance.

SB: -1 Counterspell, +1 Interdict, - Brainstorms and Merchant Scrolls, + 4 Masticore

Game 2:
He gets me down to 16, when I go back to 20 with a Swordsed Masticore. I go down to 14, when I play the first Illusions and Donate it. He can pay it for a while, so I play a second Illusions and Donate that too.

Game 3:
I Force an early Seal of Cleansing. He Seals a Masticore. I lose, though I was only 1 turn from starting to Capsize w/ buyback.

I Forced his early Land Taxes, which may have been a bad call. Thoughts?

Games: 2-4
Rounds: 0-2

The Stasis deck loses. Thus, I've played against the lowest two people, so the shallow pool pairs me up to the #3 player.

Round 3: vs. John w/ WW
ENOUGH WITH THE WEENIES!
Game 1:
This game was ludicrous. I couldn't find a Donate, so my first Illusions was played to stay alive, while he attacked for 5 each turn. After the upkeep gets high, I play a second to negate the impending loss of 20 life. The first Illusions goes away, and I Donate my second. He sends his own creature farming. I'm down to 6, and I play my third Illusions and Donate it. He continues to pay. I *CANNOT* find any bounce or search. I play my *FOURTH* Illusions and Donate that, and he finally loses, with me at 16.

At one point, I interdicted a Port on my upkeep. It didn't help too much, but it was still nice to cycle a card for blue.

SB: At this point, I realize that it's better to take out useless cards rather than taking out the search to find the SB cards. Also, I realize
that Maticore sucks; he's not blue, so I can't Force him. I had that problem at least twice.

Game 2:
He gets mana screwed.

Games: 4-4
Rounds 1-2

Going into the Top 4 are:
1. Evan, BGr Nether Void
2. Andy, WW
3. Me, Trix
4. John, WW

We relocate to Taco Bell (as per usual).

T4, Round 1: vs. Andy, w/ WW

Game 1:
I go down to 12, and up to 32. I'm back down to 10, when he can't pay. He tries to Swords his own creature, but I Force. He tries to drop a ZOrb, but I Force. I win at 10 life.

Game 2:
I draw nothing.

Game 3:
I'm at 3 when I cast Illusions. I Donate. He wins the turn before he can't pay the upkeep.

Games (overall): 5-6
Rounds (overall): 1-3

Playing for 3rd place and $4: vs. John, w/ WW
Game 1:
I win.

SB: -1 Counterspell, +1 Interdict

Game 2:
He plays an early Seal of Cleansing. I Merchant Scroll for Interdict. He's impressed. Eventually, he realizes what a bomb Sapphire Medallion is, and Seals it. I call the bluff and Interdict. He Disenchants it. In a few turns, I Donate him an Illusions. He StPs a creature, I Force. He StPs again, and I'm glad that Interdict draws a card; I Force.

So, I make a dollar on the night. A decent turn of events for a surprisingly unpolished deck.

Changes:
-1 Brainstorm, +1 Sapphire Medallion (which I don't have) or High Tide
-1 Hoodwink, +1 Capsize: sometimes, you need to bounce a creature, such as a Turn 1 Savannah Lions
-1 Counterspell, +1 Mana Leak
-3 Counterspell, +3 Mana Drain (which I don't have)

SB:
-4 Masticore, +4 Morphling (which I don't have)
I'll probably play 3 Powder Keg and a Gainsay (for Stasis).