By Milton (Milton) on Monday, August 06, 2001 - 06:37 pm: My friend and I arrive at Gen Con at 10:00 Thursday. We head to the exhibit hall. We see the typical over-priced cards from Troll and Toad, Card Hause and about 6 other dealers. There was a ton of beta stuff in cases. Troll and Toad wanted $900 for a beta lotus. Whatever. I already got one, thank you. The dealers were screwing kids bloody. Kid walks up to dealer. “Can I trade for a dual land?” Dealer says, “sure, let me see your binder”. Dealer looks through the binder and starts pulling. “I’ll give you four in credit for your Rage, five for the Undermine and three for the Absorb. That’s $12. You throw in $3 and I’ll give you this mint Revised Tundra”. The kid is a little intimidated and doesn’t know any better. The dealer’s lackey behind the counter says, “that’s a great deal, kid”. The kid says, “sure, I’ll do it”. The kid walks away with blood dripping down his leg while the dealer puts all three cards in sleeves with $15 written on the front of each. Don’t ever trade with dealers, they’re bad news. I think there was supposed to be a tournament report in here somewhere, right?
Anyway, we head back down to the play area. We find Nether (Ryan) and we wait for Glindon (Marc). I meet Zylynth (Bob) for the first time. A really great guy. Anyway, Nether, Zylynth and I playtest for a while. Nether is a friend of mine from the old days, before I moved to Minneapolis. He is a very good player and a solid deck builder. I convince him to play in the Type I tournament and he settles on Pox. Zylynth also plays Pox. I’m playing Fact o’Phidian and my friend plays Void. Gilindon plays Mono-Blue. We all playtest a little.
What will the Metagame look like? We can’t decide. I figure mono-black discard (in its many forms) will be prevalent, as will Keeper and Mono-Blue. Someone is worried about Stasis. Stasis? Who plays stasis in Type I? How much creature control should I run? Will there be creatures? We find out that the tournament manages to sell out. 64 players. That’s awesome, but that means a lot of rouge decks. Figuring out the sideboard is a tough call. I decide to follow my instincts and stay prepared for Sligh, blue and land kill with my sideboard.
I suppose I should post a decklist:
Mana
4 City of Brass
3 Volcanic Islands
1 Underground Sea
2 Tundra
5 Islands
4 Wastelands
1 Stripmine
1 Library of Alexandria
5 Moxes
1 Sol Ring
1 Lotus
Restricted Stuff
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Balance
1 MindTwist
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Yagmoth’s Will
1 Demonic Tutor
Utility
3 Powder Kegs
1 Dismantling Blow
3 Fact or Fiction
Permission
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Counterspell
Creatures
2 Gorilla Shaman
3 Ophidian
2 Morphling
1 Masticore
Sideboard:
2 Bloodmoon
4 Red Blasts
1 COP Blue
2 COP Red
1 Abyss
1 Disenchant
1 Masticore
1 Misdirection
2 Terifi’s Response
Well, on to the tournament:
Round 1 v. Dan from Missouri playing Parfait
Dan is a nice guy, maybe 18 years old. He tells me that this is his first Type I tournament and he asks me if I think there will be a lot of power nine at this tournament. Yep.
Game 1 – I feel aggressive. I win the role and go first. I play a first turn Gorilla Shaman. He plays Land Tax. Damn, I have no FoW. I follow up with a turn 2 Ophidian. I have Mox Jet, Mox Pearl, Island and Underground in play, plus the two creatures. That’s six of eight cards in play by turn 2. I have a FoF and a land in hand. On his turn 2 he casts Keg and Kegs for 0. Damn. I loose two moxes and my ability to FoF. Oh well, I still have Ophidian. He then manages a turn three Balance. Damn again. I loose both of my creatures. We build for a while. He keeps laying Plains. After six or seven turns I manage a Masticore. I still have no FoW, but I cast it anyway. I have mana to regenerate, just in case. He casts Moat. Damn. Then he casts Tormod’s Crypt. On my turn I don’t pay for Masticore. I use Keg to kill Crypt. He takes my graveyard of useless Ophidians and Masticores. I manage a Library, which he Wastelands. For the next 15 turns he lays land. I am FoF’n and Ancesterling, trying to find something. I cast Yag. Will. He casts Abeyance in response. What a great play. Damn. After a few more turns I end up with Morphling and six counters, but I am running low on cards. Turn 30 (or so) He casts Story Circle, naming Blue. I don’t counter it. Next turn he casts Ivory Mask. No problem. Ivory Mask doesn’t matter. The next two turns he casts Aura of Silence. OK. Then he casts Mesa. I counter. I draw and Dismantling Blow w/kicker his Story Circle on his EOT. I cast Morphling on my turn. I win with three cards remaining in my library.
That game made me a little nervous. Story Circle when I only have one Dismantling Blow. I almost lost that game. I sideboard in Disenchant and Masticore taking out 2 Powder Kegs.
Game 2 - He lays a land. Done. I open with a Mox, Mox, land, Ophidian. Done. He lays a land again. I cast another Ophidian and a Gorilla Shaman. By turn four he tries to Wrath, but I counter. I play turn five Morphling for the win.
Games 2-0 Matches 1-0
Round 2 v. Chris from St. Cloud, MN playing Big Zoo Keeperesque Juzam Deck
Chris is a regular at Dreamer’s. He has felt the pain of Bloodmoon before and his answer to it was to include one of each basic land in his deck. It won’t matter. He runs a deck filled with fat creatures and counterspells, with little removal. I should win this match.
Game 1 – I keep a great draw (Gorilla, Wasteland, Ophidian, Stripmine, Lotus, Volcanic, Fact). I go first and drop a Volcanic, play Gorilla and use Lotus for Ophidian. He draws and plays a dual land. I draw another Wasteland. I waste his dual and attack. He draws, plays another dual. I draw Fact, play Wasteland on his dual and attack again, drawing Morphling off of the Ophidian. He plays another dual. I strip. I attack, drawing Sol Ring, which I cast. He has no land. Next turn I play Morphling and win.
Sideboard out 1 Keg and 1 Ophidian for 2 Bloodmoon
Game 2 – I mentioned that Type I is about comebacks. That is the appeal of the game for me. This game represents how a comeback is possible with a little luck and the right draw. He goes first, playing 2 Moxes and a land. I play Ruby and a Island. I have a hand full of Fact or Fictons and Mana Drains. On his turn he lays Lotus, casting Mind Twist for five. I Force of Will. He also casts Force of Will. I loose my hand. Damn. He has no cards in hand either, but he has two Moxes and two lands to my one Mox and one land. He should win this. On my turn I draw an island and play it. He draws and plays dual land on his turn. I draw an Ophidian. He has no cards in hand, so I play it. He draws another land. OK, time to roll. I swing with Ophidian on my turn. I cast Bloodmoon. I’m starting a comeback! Ophidian swings some more. I still can’t draw counterspells. He is playing land like crazy. He eventually manages a Mox Diamond. WTF, do people play with that card? He also lays an Island and a Saphire after a while. Ophidian is still going to town, but I can’t find a damn Counterspell! He draws and casts Morphling. On my turn I play a Morphling. His Mox Diamond is making my Bloodmoon useless. On his turn he manages to cast Juzam. I have a Morphling in play, so I should be OK for a while. Then I draw Gorilla Shaman and go to town on his artifacts. He casts Cursed Scroll. Who plays Cursed Scroll in a control deck? Scroll and Gorilla manage to kill each other. He attacks, and I kill Juzam with Morphling, but his Morphling gets through. I’m at 10 life. I draw Keg. After five turns I manage to Keg the Morphlings, then I cast another Morphling which goes the distance. Whew. I survived a second turn Mind Twist for five.
Games 4-0 Matches 2-0
Round 3 v. Matt Nelson from Chippewa Falls, WI playing Stasis
Who plays Stasis in Type I? Maybe we all should. Stasis in TI has potential. Anyway, Matt is a regular at Fountain of Youth in Eau Claire. I played there for a while before moving closer to Minneapolis. Matt is a good guy and a great Type II player, but I’m confident.
Game 1- He manages to play an early Stasis, and two Howling Mines. Why do I only have one disenchant effect in my deck again? Oh yeah, no one plays enchantments in Type I. By turn 15 I have about 10 mana untapped and he has two mana untapped. I cast Gorilla. He Forces. I Drain. He tries to cast Daze. OK, I play another mana. I then cast Keg. I’m almost tapped out and he can still pay for Stasis. After two turns I kill the Howling Mines. Two turns later he runs out of land and he can’t pay for Stasis. Untapping after Stasis goes away is like having an orgasm. I untap everyghing! I cast Morphling. He counters with one of those spells that returns Islands to your hand. I then cast Ancesteral. He counters with one of those spells that returns Islands to your hand again. I then cast Yag. Will. He has no counter. I play Lotus, some Moxes, Morphling again, Ancesteral, Time Walk and I win.
Sideboard out 2 Kegs, 1 Masticore, 1 Mind Twist, 1 Balance for 3 REB’s and 1 Disenchant.
Game 2 – I cast an early Gorilla Shaman. I REB Stasis, REB counterspells use Gorilla on Howling Mine and manage a turn five Morphling for the win.
Games 6-0 Matches 3-0
I’m feeling very confident now. My deck is humming. I’m in a Zone.
Round 4 – Jonathan Rink from Illinois playing Neo Academy
Game 1 – I saw his Jonathan playing in round 3 after my match was finished. He killed his opponent very quickly with a Stroke of Genius. He has a bunch of artifacts and all non-basic land. Gorilla Shaman and Bloodmoon should help. I play a first turn Demonic Tutor for Gorilla. I cast a second turn Gorilla. Over the next 10 turns the Gorilla kills a total of 12 artifacts. I manage another Gorilla. The two Shaman go the distance.
Game 2 – I have an amazing draw. On his turn he plays a land and three artifacts. I play a land, mox, mox, Bloodmoon. On his turn he plays some more artifacts. Turn 2 I play a City of Brass (basic Mountain) cast Opidian and Gorilla Shaman. Gorilla eats artifacts, Ophidian draws cards and I win.
Now I’m feeling very confident, almost arrogant. I can’t be defeated. I am GOD!
Games 8-0 Matches 4-0
Round 5 - Mike Smith from Michigan playing Mono Blue
Game 1 - Mike is a teacher too. I have never met him before, but he seems like a nice guy. We talk shop for a while. After shuffling and cutting I draw and have no lands. I Paris. I draw one land and an Emerald, but no Force of Will. I play my land and Mox. He plays a first turn Library. He manages to Wasteland all of my land and play a early Morphling. I Wasteland his Library, but it is too late.
Sideboard in 4 REB’s, 1 Misdirection for 2 Gorilla Shaman, 1 Keg, 1 Mind Twist, 1 Ophidian
Game 2 - Another bad draw. I keep 1 land, two FoW, 1 Ophidian, 1 Fact, 1 Emerald and a Morphling. I lay my land and Emerald. He plays Mox, Land, Lotus, Morphling. I Force. He Forces. I Force. OK. I draw a Mystical and cast it for Ancesteral. He draws Stripmine and plays it on my land. Damn. I have no land. For a few turns he manages to build up land with Impulse. I can’t draw land. He casts Morphling and I scoop. No matter how good your deck is, sometimes it just poops on you.
Mike won the tournament going 7-0. His Blue deck ran 4 Impulse, 4 Fact’s, a bunch of counters, some Kegs and Wastelands, among other stuff. I’ll post the decklist at the end of this report.
Games 8-2 Matches 4-1
Round 6 – Roy from Somewhere playing Zoo
Game 1 – I’m confident in this matchup. Zoo is dead, right? Wrong. I didn’t write down the perticulars of this match, but I remember him playing three moxes, a land and a lotus by turn 2. He casts Wheel of Fortune and manages to kill me with burn and Scrolls very quickly. No matter how good your deck is, sometimes your opponent has a god draw.
I sideboard in 2 COP Red, 1 Masticore, 1 Abyss and 1 Disenchant for 3 Ophidian and 1 Gorilla Shaman.
Game 2 – He plays two cursed scrolls early and burns me before I can establish control. He had another god draw. What can you do?
Games 8-4 Matches 4-2
Round 7 – Jason from Minnesota playing Red White Zoo Burn
If I go 5-2, my tiebreakers will net me T8. There are no finals, but I will get prizes. Jason is a good guy who also plays at Dreamer’s. I have never lost to him. He usually plays quick zoo decks and I am very confident in this match-up.
Game 1 – I keep another mediocre draw. No force of will, but I have three lands and a Mox with an Ophidian. He plays a first turn Savannah Lion. I lay a land. He plays a second turn Jakal Pup and Soltari Priest. I play my Ophidian, but it is Bolted. He casts Cursed Scroll on turn 3 and has me dead very quickly.
Sideboard in 2 COP Red, 1 Misdirection, 1 Disenchant, 1 Masticore for 3 Ophidians, 1 Gorilla, 1 Mindtwist
Game 2 - I loose. He plays three creatures. I manage a Masticore and a COP Red, but I’m at 3 life. He plays Cursed Scroll. Uses Scroll at my EOT and on his upkeep. Damn.
Games 8-6 Matches 4-3
So I finish the day 4-3, 13th overall. Nether and my friend both finish 5-2. Gilindon is also 4-3 with mono-blue. I expected to do better, but sometimes the cards just don’t fall right. I have no complaints about how my deck preformed, but I would have like to have a better draw. Also, Impulse was very popular at the tournament and I am seriously considering it in my deck. I helps avoid the mana screw and can help find an answer.
Oh yeah, here is the winning decklist:
Counters: 14
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Mana Leak
1 Counterspell
2 Misdirection
Card Drawing/Utility: 12
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Impulse
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timewalk
2 Back to Basics
Control: 3
3 Powder Kegs
Kill: 4
3 Morphling
1 Masticore
Mana: 27
1 Lotus
1 Grim Monolith
1 Sol Ring
5 Moxen
2 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
15 Islands
By Zylynth on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 02:14 am: My fave deck is Nether Void, heavy on the landkill please, but in playtesting with Gilindon I noted that it just flat out sucked vs BBS and even to Zoo. Therefore, I decided to toss a changeup to the T1 field for the Classic Tourney. I went Aggro, such as it was, with the ability to turn into the classic Nether Void deck we all know and loathe. A two-edged sword resultant of this is I was able to specify which of my fatties would appear vs certain decks, but at the expense of the sideboard. Go figure...with a pure black attacking deck, the Nether Voids in game 2 actually came as a slight surprise to a couple foes.
deck: BlakAttak
15 swamp
4 Mishras Factory
4 Rishadan Port
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
1 Black Lotus
4 Dark Ritual
1 Necropotence
1 Yawmoth's Win
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Powder Keg
4 Sinkhole
4 Hymn to Card-Loss
4 Duress
4 Hynotic Spectres
3 Phyrexian Scuta
3 Phyrexian Negator
sideboard:
3 Nether Void (switching out either Scutas or Negators)
4 Wasteland (switching out Factories)
3 Engineered Plague (death to sligh)
3 Diabolic Edict (Superman kryptonite)
2 Dystopia (death to white things)
I happily met Gilindon, Milton, and Nether slightly before the tourney, but soon after some initial playtesting and giggles we all got down to business.
Round 1: Ryan piloting XL-U
Game 1: I see an island and immediately am glad that I tossed the changeup...for awhile. An Early Mishra gets some pressure. Ryan desperately seeks Superman as he's countering Hyppies and fatties left and right. Morph finally hits, but is needed to take out a kicked Scuta and then die fitfully due to lack of mana. Mishra swings 'til he's down to 8, but Superman, the Sequel occurs and seals my doom.
Game 2: For giggles I do the Nether switch and add Edicts for a Waste/Hymn/Sol Ring. Way bad idea. It's bad enough that I need to Paris 3 times, but before a Void is even a twinkling in my eye, out comes a 'Core and Superman. My Life was 20-16-7-corpse. But if I have to lose one, it's best in the 1st round so I get into the loser's bracket and start cleaning house.
0-1, 0-2 games 
Round 2: "Doc" piloting, why, mono-U again, counter-heavy even
Game 1: This will be a very long match, only because Doc takes an eon to come to a decision. He also was not fluent in the use of Mishras. This game ensued with the requisite amount of black critters countered and Duress hitting early and often. I get a Keg and Mishra out, which becomes useful as he gets his 2nd Mishra out. The Keg ends up taking a Mishra with it, and my Port seals the other Mishra's fate. I end up Manufacturing a victory.
Game 2: Got a quick Hyppie out, followed by a Keg. Ran the guy out of counters and pulled off a huge Will nabbing my Mishra back, and Duressing, Hymning, tossing 2 Sinkholes and another Hyppie. Only damage was from mana burn.
1-1, 2-2 games
Round 3: Jerry, piloting Stasis - - Yes, there were multiple Stasis decks here. Egads.
Game 1: Islands are played, and I'm thinking more Mono-U action...until the Tundra comes down. ?Classic UW control? Nope. There's a Kismet. Incredible. The first time I've seen Tourney Stasis in all its ugliness since Hovi's Turbo Stasis during Black Summer. A Negator eats him down to 10, devouring a Chronotog in the process (and a couple of my lands to boot). Forsaken City, Stasis. Caught me with a 'Port as the only untapped land, damnit. I count both libraries, a corpse waiting to happen. Scoop - on to the next game quickly please.
Game 2: OK, punk, time for a transformation. Nether Void !Ho! And actually caught *him* a little by surprise. Openers held 3 Sinkholes and mana to power it. I smile. Three Tundras crumble to dust. Tutor for Sol Ring. Void. He plays it out to an agonizing Hyppie-infested death. After the Stasis lock in full function, that felt *very* satisfying.
Game 3: Welcome to the power of revenge, my friend. Nether wasn't even needed here as an opening Duress took a Kismet away and then a Hymn ripped a Stasis and an F-City and we were off to the races. Wastes and Sinkholes reduced him to no land and a Hyppie started chewing his hand up. Then...a Time Vault entered play. That for me was a first. No matter. There was a pair of Howling Mines out, and also I managed to drop a Keg. Matt-D'A...this is for you. Two turns later, the Keg was popped, removing all his non-land permanents, A Waste took out his lone remaining Tundra (yes, even under 2 Howlers, go figure), and the Hyppie took his last life as he expired with absolutely no permanents. The Void in-hand burbled with delight.
2-1, 4-3 games
Round 4: Ron piloting Zoo (Apes/Pups/Serendibs)
Game 1: I see a Taiga and am glad again that I tossed the changeup. Kegs, as expected were huge - arriving early and often both games. I start this one off with a pair of Negators after an Early keg nails a Pup and Ape. They chew him down to 4 until he gets another pup out to block, which made me nuke both Negators as I had a Scuta in-hand. Scuta came down, got to watch a Serendib chump block him, and went all the way.
Game 2: Void sits this one out. Time to kiss my Lotus - instant 1st-turn Kicked Scuta. Followed by a hymned Wheel. After an Ape and Bolt takes out the Scuta, then, then and *only* then does an E-Plague show up - set to Ape. A Hyppie and Mishra do the honors.
3-1, 6-3 games
Round 5: Giorgio piloting, oh heaven's no, !WW with Soltaris and Soul Wardens and Prot-black ickies!
Of course, he gets a 1st-turn Soul Warden each and every game. ?Why not? But one of my cards gets kissed twice in this match...
Game 1: He rises to 22 life and my Scuta surveys a warden, Soltari Monk, 1st-strike-causing Knight and other horrors (like Land-Freakin'-Tax). It's just wrong, and my Scuta can't deal with the Prot Black nasties. I expire inexorably.
Game 2: I side in 2 E-Plagues and 2 Dystopias (out one Negator, one Waste, one Hymn, one Necro) and try my luck. Giorgio is a little cocky now - time for a senile veteran to knock him back down a peg. 2nd-turn Dystopia should do the trick...he needs to read it and during the game he taunts me to pay the cost each upkeep, which I do so gleefully, having much experience with Necro decks of yore. I'll slide down to 6 life with no probs as long as he dumps his lone white casting each upkeep. The Scuta seems to agree, enjoying the clear path to his swelled head. Dystopia gets duly kissed.
Game 3: Giorgio settles in for a hate-filled match, not nearly so hubris-filled. Out comes the obligatory 1st-turn Soul Warden. Like clockwork, I topdeck a 3rd-turn Dystopia. It's Deja Vu all over again, except The Scuta brought his brother and their Negator cousin to witness the carnage. After each white permanent died, the onrushing black horde swept past. Giorgio goes down 20-21-22-8-corpse. Dystopia...I shall kiss yew a seh-cond tyme.
4-1, 8-4 games
Round 6: Jim piloting Keeper, a damned good one too.
Game 1: A real good player, playing a real good deck - it's a recipe for disaster. He counters a quick two fatties, takes a couple hits from a Mishra, gets annoyed at that, drops Moat and then Superman in quick succession. I have no answers and scoop.
Game 2: The Worm Turns...and then Turns Again. Kiss-the-Lotus time: a 1st-turn Negator against Keeper, with no FoW in sight. The game is mine. Ahhhhh...?What? He top-decks his lone Fireball. Taking out my 'gator and swamp. Oh, the humanity. I come back Duressing, watch a Hymn get thrown back in my grille due to a topdecked Mis-D and Superman drops the curtain once again.
We decided to play a quick 3rd game for giggles. I get a Rit'ed Necro out and grab cards before it's Dissie'd. Negator drops next turn and he has no answer this time. Death for Jim in 4 easy steps, but sadly it did not count. ...But I did beat his deck.
4-2, 8-6 games
Round 7: Will piloting Sligh - - Pups and Goblins, ?why did it have to be pups?
Game 1: It's a pup and bolt show. Bolts, Chain-Ls, Incinerates. Very hot time for me and my fatties. A hyppie dies a grisly death. I go down 20-18-15-13-3-corpse. Gruesome.
Game 2: OK, time for Void action, minus the Necro and the Negators, thanks. E-Plagues were added. I catch Will with precious little land onboard and kill it grimly. Void hits and I sit on Sligh for 15 turns, just growing steadily. One Plague pops up, set to Hounds, another pops up, set to gobbies. Hyppie makes it and a Scuta makes it. Will wisely scoops, tiring of the torture. Only he tired of it after that first shellacking.
Game 3: Prizes on the line. Will gets 1st turn Pup, 2nd turn Ball lightning, 5th turn double Bolt, 6th turn kill. There was little defense except fitful land-killing at the end. Grim way to end up, but that's what Sligh does unabated.
4-3, 9-8 games.
Still overall, I gave more than I got, and it's nice to operate Nether Void as a surprise instead of being ambushed with it. Twas a great time - many laughs there, but my fave memory was in one of the last rounds... there on the first bank of tables was Nether at the end, Milton next to him, me next to Milton, and Gilindon next to me on the other side. 4 BDominia grognards slugging it out side-by-side, all with winning records. Rapture.
By Matt D'Avanzo, the Sylvan Librarian (Matt) on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 03:54 pm: Guys---
Congrats on doing well, and consolations for not taking the whole thing. That mono-U deck is only 1 card (the counterspell) away from the mono-U I use as a test deck--nifty. Also nice to see Void played--god I love that deck.
Milton, I'm also coming to the same conclusion (damn do I need Impulses or something to stop getting land screwed). Do you think you'll have to cut a color (white?) to do it?
I'm going, with my friend, to the World Champs to play in their Type I so wish me luck. I'll have a tourney report too. I bet BBS will be rampant.
--Matt
By Gilindon (Gilindon) on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 05:15 pm: Actually I finished 5-2 and 10th playing mono-blue falling to Jonathan's Neo-Acadamy deck (WTF?) and a Keeper-esque deck running 4 Impulses. The Keeper loss was the result of god draws and 1 mistake on my part. The Academy loss is pretty inexplicable since in both games I lost he Prosperitied for over 7 cards. In both cases I never drew one of my 8 free counters (4 FoW or 4 Mis-D). How on earth that can happen is beyond me. Oh well, it was a fun tourney. And it was great playtesting with Milton, Zylynth, and Nether.
By Nameless, the Mysterious Man of Signed Anonymous Posts (Nameless) on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 09:31 pm: HA! That's what you get for playing BBS! Oops, erm, *cough* what I mean was... Tough luck, sorry to hear that. 
*blink*
By Deranged Parrot (Parrot) on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 11:48 pm: Lameness: Now you have to apologise. Can you blame someone for playing the best deck? :-P
By Nameless, the Mysterious Man of Signed Anonymous Posts (Nameless) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 10:21 am: WTF! I just don't happen to think it's the best deck. I think it's a solid deck that takes the least amount of skill possible to play well. I think some of the 8 year olds from one of the stores I go to could learn Magic in a couple days and win a T1 with BBS, it's just that sad. Apologise? Why on earth would I do that?
By Milton (Milton) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 11:32 am: You should appologize because when you make statements like "I think it's a solid deck that takes the least amount of skill possible to play well", you make it sound as if Gilindon doesn't have any skill. The guy who won Gen Con, the ToC #2 and the Neutral Ground match all played mono-blue. If they had won with Keeper or OSE, you would be applauding their deck choice and play skill. Just because you don't like mono-blue doesn't mean that it is a mindless deck. I know that I am bucking the "trendy mill" here, but I have to say that to play mono-blue well is difficult. You don't just splash counterspells with Morphling and win. There is much more to it than that.
By The Maxx,. the Guru of Foolishness (Maxx) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 11:57 am: Lameness...lol
I think the creator of "Az-bats" has a new nickname around here for himself....
The Maxx
By Azhrei (Azhrei) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 12:01 pm: I'll make an addendum to what Milton said:
A TOTAL chump with BBS can beat a decent player with most other decks. However, a decent player with BBS is at the mercy (and draw, of course-- this IS a random game!) of a great player with any top deck. Two things I see a LOT of: people who win with BBS but don't really play it that well, and people who lose to poorly played BBS because they don't see that it's being played poorly. The average player is just that-- average.
By Nameless, the Mysterious Man of Signed Anonymous Posts (Nameless) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 12:27 pm: Well, I guess it's fair that I get a nickname from Azhrei like 'Laneness' since I started the Az-bats thing, so I'll take it in stride. BTW my new name for Azhrei is Ass-rei, so nah nah nah!
And Milton... It has nothing to do with the fact that I don't like BBS, as a matter of fact show me any place anywhere that I've ever publicly stated that I hate the deck. I've just seen too many bad players take the deck to victories they shouldn't have. When it comes right down to it, the only mono-colored deck I've seen in a long long time that I've really liked is K-Run's, but that's not really the point... In general I think that playing more then one color takes skill, as anybody can throw a bunch of cards of the same color together and do resonable with it, it just so happens that Blue makes it easier since it packs the best cards in the game. Also take note that I don't applaud people just for playing and winning with any given deck, I applaud them for using a well-constructed deck with a high level of skill required to pilot it, and acheiving a measurable feat with it.
So until somebody shows me how it actually takes skill to drop B2B, or play counters out the ass, then I'll still hold to the ideal that playing BBS takes the thought process of a monkey. Now none of this is to say that the player behind the deck is no good, I just frown upon such a poor selection of decks. A skilled player should be using something more suitable to thier playing abilities. Gilindon may well be a great player, and if so, since I really have no idea, he should be using a deck that would test the limmits of those skills. BBS is not and never will be that deck. Of course I'm not the only one who feels this way, I'm just one of the more verbal frequenters of BD that's willing to say it out loud. Then again, I'm sure we all know by now I have a big mouth anyway. So again NO I won't apologize for such things, shame on him for trying to take the easy road.
By Rakso, Patriarch & Rules Ayatollah (Rakso) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 12:31 pm:
Quote:people who win with BBS but don't really play it that well
Hey... you talking about me again?
Who the heck is that "Ashtray" by the way.
BTW, I hope all this is taken in the spirit of jest. Nameless won with OSE, but we're still knocking him about his play, so...
By Gilindon (Gilindon) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 12:52 pm: Well Nameless, you should know since we have not only met but played one another in Madison. Shame on you for spouting off about people's deck choices and level of play. I considered using many other deck designs but since I was facing an unknown metagame, I decided to play to my strength, which was blue. By the way, your comments mirror many myths other Magic players give to T1 play. "Anyone with half a brain can play T1, all you need is the P10 and stuff some other restricted cards and you win." Come on Nameless, show a little bit more decency. I met you in person and know you to be a friendly, helpful, and affable individual.
By Azhrei (Azhrei) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 01:06 pm: Rakso, I'm ALWAYS and NEVER talking about you. :P
Ashtray was Shadow playing a joke.
Affable, laughable, whatever. :P
By Rakso, Patriarch & Rules Ayatollah (Rakso) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 01:53 pm: And he deleted the account when I looked.
He's always doing that. ;)
By Nameless, the Mysterious Man of Signed Anonymous Posts (Nameless) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 02:11 pm: Well for one thing Gilindon you know I don't feel that way about T1, and I think your reaching a little too hard there trying to put meaning where it isn't. Second... I happen to know you're a better player then that, and I'm disappointed to say the least. From what I saw you could have kicked ass and taken names, or at least done just as good as you did, with a variety of other decks. When you say you played the metagame, I'd have expected you to do just the opposite, and play against it. I think you would have fared better playing a deck designed to beat the metagame you would have scouted out prior to the tournament honestly. Or even if not designed against it to at least have main deck hate for it. I just really hate seeing players that I know are better then that playing a certain deck. Nobody is impressed when BBS wins, but win with something different and... Well, look how much attention OSE has gotten of late. I mean I just won 1 stupid tournament. It's just 1 for cyin' out loud, hell I've won dozens before now and they never got this much attention. I think had you played a variation on Keeper you would have gained in the process. I'd just like to see different decks being played more often, because if they are played more often they win more often. If they win more often then people will naturally move towards that archtype which serves a great deal more variety then seeing 20 of 64 people playing BBS. If you were offended by what I said then I'm sorry you took it that way, but I'm not sorry for what I said. I still believe it, too. I mean BBS is just as loaded with P10 as any other deck floating around and it just bothers me that a mono-colored deck that's obviously sporting a nice inflated price tag is taking home the gold, even at the hands of average or inexperienced players. When I think of the majority of regulars at BD I think of the best the net has to offer regarding Vintage players. There is no doubt in my mind that I would put a large number of the user names I recognize from here against any of the top 10 supposed best players in the world and easily put my money on the BD clan.
Let me put it another way, when I got to Origins I was nervous a little, especially after playing some games the night before, even though I had done very well on all of those. I was going to run a version of OSE that neither myself or Azhrei had fully tested with some off the wall card selections, and SB'ing. I figured I could have switched back to the version I knew was strong, but at the same time I realized, rating or not, that this would be the best possible place to playtest. Some ideas worked, and some didn't. That's the way it goes, but my biggest advantage was the fact that nobody there was in any way shape or form ready for what I was about to whip out on them. THAT is the kind of tech I expect to see from the regulars here, and THAT is the kind of stuff we all love to read about in reports.
Well, OK, so I spouted on long enough, that's my $0.02 worth and I'm sticking to it... For now.
By Yamo (Yamo) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 02:47 pm: BBS won? Hell yeah! My favorite deck since Millstone circa 1995.
By obithrawn on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 06:16 pm: You live in Minneapolis Milton? I live a bit southwest of that area and am always looking for good T1 play.
Maybe when I'm a little less scrubby/get a car we can do a little playtesting, eh? I need to show a few of my friends what a real T1 deck with power looks like some day :[.
(A completely ABYSMAL "T1" deck won the Type 1 tournament at Wizards in the Mall of America last week - unfortunatly I could not attend though I am posative I would have made at least top 4 with one of my scrub creations)
By Milton (Milton) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 06:55 pm: Yeah, I'll be at the T1 at Dreamer's on Sunday. It starts sometime around noon.
I'd be happy to playtest with you sometime.
By upror on Monday, September 03, 2001 - 05:45 pm: i play a dreamers too....