First off, I’d like to say that I had a fabulous experience with my first tournament of any decent proportions ever. This tournament was not only breath of fresh air from the casual metagame on non-tournament play days, but also from Apprentice. I’d like to thank the store for putting it on, DJs Cards and Comics in Meridan, CT, and Dave and Nick from running it.

I had toyed with the idea of running a version of Nameless’ OSC deck, as I had all the necessary cards to add both White and Green to my OSE deck, but I decided last minute that 4 days with a deck is not enough to go into a tournament with. So about a half hour before the tournament begins, I rip out the Cities, Balance, Regrowth and Disenchant, throw back in the Rivers and Merchant Scroll and such, and “register” my deck. Good thing we were only getting the decks checked for illegal cards, as three minutes later I catch a glimpse of a Library of Alexandria (Oh, I know very well what it looks like, I got mine in the mail earlier today!!) and switch out Mishra’s #4 for another Wasteland. Before I discuss my deck anymore, I’ll post the entire list:

4 Counterspell
1 Dissipate
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Teferi’s Response
3 Fact or Fiction
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timetwister
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Morphling

2 Diabolic Edict
1 The Abyss
1 Mind Twist
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dark Ritual

2 Masticore
3 Powder Keg
1 Nev’s Disk
1 Zuran Orb
1 Sol Ring

1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
3 Wasteland
3 Mishra’s Factory
4 Underground Sea
4 Underground River
1 Undiscovered Paradise
7 Island
1 Swamp

SB:
2 Hydroblast
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Wash Out
4 Duress
1 Masticore
1 Nev’s Disk
1 Zuran Orb
3 Dodecapod

The only changes I think I would make to the deck is cutting the Timetwister (I finally believe you Jelal), probably Sideboarding it, as I never cast it once, but often it got discarded or pitched to Force of Will. However, it is defiantly a blue card coming in for it, as having the extra blue to pitch is huge. The Blue Blasts never came in, but I did see 1 SRB deck, I just never faced it. Other favorites in the side were Masticore and Dodecapod. If I had room after switching Twister, I want to add another critter in the SB. The Merchant Scroll was almost fairly weak, and both it and the Dissipate and that are going to become Counterspells, or Counterspell/Misdirection when I finally get my Mana Drains. There were a few times I defiantly was glad I had the regular Counter instead of a Drain, and I always can use more protection in the deck, and I never missed the Merchant Scroll when I was playing 4 colors either. I defiantly am glad I wasn’t playing 4 colors in this tournament, and can only hope to get my Drains soon.

Well, here goes the tournament report:

Round 1. Jared, Playing B/G beats/land destruction

Damnit! Of the 25 people in this tournament, I first play the one person I have played the most before against. He is fairly casual, but is a great kid to be around, both bullshitting with and playing with. Unfortunatly, this doesn’t carry over too successfully to the tournament scene, but if you’re going to play somebody not quite top notch, you might as well have fun!

Game 1: Its all about Wasteland. He drops a Bayou and a Wild Growth, and I kill it. He stalls a little on mana, and a 5th turn, protected Morphling wins the game. Not much too say about it, but Sol Ring (or any acceleration) plus Morphling, plus land screwed opponent is often game.

Game 2: No Sideboard. Jared starts off fantastically by dropping a first turn, Kickered Scuta. I play a land. He untaps, swings, and drops a Juggernaut. I play a land. He attacks for 10, and I Edict, going to 10 life. He casts an Argothian Wurm, and I Force. On his next turn I Edict again, and settle down with a Zuran Orb. The game goes on to him getting a Countered Rhox, which was fairly stupid on my part, as I end up Vamp Tutoring for an Abyss, casting it on my turn. Oh well, I win the game, and the match, and go on to Match 2.

Matches 1-0. Games 2-0.

Round 2. Graham, playing U/G Omivancer/Squirrels/Sheep

Game 1: Another local player, who again is fun to play against, but doesn’t have the best tournament deck. He is 2-0 in games as well, but this game goes simply Library (drawing first), followed by a Masticore, staying at 7 cards, and winning. It really was that simple, as he lacked threats that couldn’t be dealt with by Masticore.

Game 2: SB a Masticore and a Disk. I get a third or fourth turn Core with Sol Ring help, and he Polymorphs it! I look at my hand, see another Masticore and a Morphling, and am about to concede because I think I will be decked, when I remember the sideboarded Masticore! Half a sentence more, and I would have killed myself! I go on to learn that the cards go back into your library anyway, but I feel stupid. Masticore and Keg at zero for Deranged Hermit go all the way.

Matches 2-0. Games 4-0.

Round 3. Dan, playing Jared’s Elf deck.

Game 1: Damnit! The third time! I’ve played Dan before, and again this is the third player from my original table in three rounds! This is silly! Anyway, Game 1 finds tons of Elves smashing down my door. I really can’t get much done, as my only land (after a 7 land first hand) beyond an Island is a UP, my Keg can’t hit both his Priests AND his Sentinels. I lose.

Game 2: Sideboard ‘Core, Disk, maybe Orb. This game he mulligans to 5. I drop an early Keg, after he goes Cradle-Go, followed by a Core, and he concedes when I show him the Disk in my hand and him with 2 mana producing lands and no elves.

Game 3: Same Sideboard. Much like Game 1, except I ALMOST put up a good fight. Well, not really. I have a big choice to make with my Demonic, and mess it up by Vamping for a Core (to Ritual out (which I got with Demonic)) instead of just Ritualling out the Disk in my hand. I lose, but I don’t think just 1 Disk would have made a difference anyway.

Matches 2-1. Games 5-2.

Round 4. Last round of swiss. Lou, playing rainbow Land Destruction.

Lou is a fellow Bdomininite! Whoo! He’s new, and posts under Milkman I believe, but he is a friendly, solid player, and it was good too meet somebody new, and somebody to talk strategy with. He isn’t playing Void in his deck, and is complaining about Wastelands. He’s had the bad luck of running into mono-Blue already, and isn’t too psyched to be playing me. He doesn’t know the exact deck, but through a bit of talking, he knows its U/B control.

Game 1: This is a game of mistakes, all over the place. He is playing Land Destruction, and it takes him about 50 turns to finally kill my Library I dropped turn 1. Though it was only active for like 8 turns, he resolved at least 8 other land destruction cards before I let the Library die to save my last counter (I was low on life). I didn’t gain about 8 life through Zuran when he killed my lands, and I felt very stupid every time, especially since he noticed every time after the first, and I seemed to be on a 30 second delay. We trade some land destruction, me Wasting/Stipping his first two lands, and leaving him with Cities. I get out an Abyss, and luckily find out that the Voids we talked about weren’t in this particular deck! I drop to 2 life before finally remembering to use a Zuran, up to 4, saving me from a Goblin Legionairre, which would live to deal 2 before Abyss did its dirty work. I win with a Masticore late into the game.

Game 2: I sideboard in the other Zuran Orb, hoping NOT to forget this game, as well as Duress and Dodecapod. Capod doesn’t come out until I hard cast it, as his only non-Duress discard is Hyppy, and those aren’t hitting. I do to 11, only to Zorb up to 17, casting an Abyss, and at one point getting 3 Islands Boiled (I Zorbed them!!!). He has a Miner in play, me with 1 Island in play and a Zorb and Sol Ring as we go into final turns. After talking with an experienced player Jason, we decide that I can concede this game and the next, and we both make Top 8. If the game ends as me losing, (which wouldn’t happen thanks to a Force of Will and 2 more lands coming for Zorb) neither of us make it. If I win, he doesn’t make it. We both get the easy way out, and ride some concessions into Top 8.

Matches 2-2. Games 7-3

TOP 8. Joe, playing Underworld Dreams.

Game 1: I thought I had heard about somebody playing Dreams, and this is it. Only I don’t know it for sure this game. I get some very strong Wasteland/Stripage, and countering Impulses and Regrowths (targeting Lands) I ride a Library to victory. He plays a Howling Mine, which I use to draw a few cards until I can Keg it, getting 2 more cards out of it (plus keeping my Library active while playing more cards) than he does, and limiting a deck that needs BBB and Blue for draw-7s to 4 Bayou is good for me. He resolves a Will on me, Regrowthing the Force that pushed it through, nullifying the Will in my hand. I apply beats, and his Will wasn’t spectacular, but more of a saving motion, and I win. Even his Wheel doesn’t help him, as it allows me to draw 2 counters which I could have used earlier.

Game 2: I side in Duress and Dodecapod. I get a fairly weak hand, but keep. I get out 1 Island and a Mishra, after he first turn Dreams me, Forcing my Force. I throw down another Mishra, get the fourth land, and keep swinging for 4. I don’t even pay attention to the Counter in my hand, resting it all on racing the Dreams with 2 Mishras and a Force of Will. He Windfalls, and I Force of Will. He Forces back, but instead of drawing 7, we only draw 5. He realizes he could have floated a Dark Ritual, but with only 2 Cities untapped (and being at 2 life) he can’t do much, even with playing his land for the turn. As he concedes to 2 Mishra’s and a 5/5 Capod from the Windfall, I ask him to show me the next 2 cards to see if I hadn’t Forced whether he would have won or not. There is Dark Ritual #3, providing enough potential mana (had he floated the first Ritual) to Time Spiral me for the win. As it was, I had taken 2 damage of my own, and 12 damage from Dreams.

Matches 3-2. Games 9-3.

Quarterfinals. Fester, playing WW.

Game 1: Unfortunaly, for Fester, I saw his deck earlier, I know WW inside and out, and I have 3 Kegs and 2 Cores maindeck. I go Keg, Core, after Force of Willing his Land Tax (he mulliganed to 5, didn’t play a land, and cast Land Tax his second turn). With such a good draw for me, and a poor one for him, I win easily.

Game 2: I bring in the Core and the Capods (2 of them, as Abyss doesn’t hit his Pumps or White Knights) and the Wash Out. I get 2 early Kegs, and draw into a Capod. I cast the Capod and able to Fact or Fiction into a hand with Wash Out, Dark Ritual, and Abyss. I have enough mana to cast them all as I untap, and I hit 3 critters with Wash Out, and the Abyss eats them 1 by 1 as they come out. A Misdirected Empryial Armor onto my Capod pretty much seals it, as he chumps for a few turns and we race. Unfortunatly for Fester, he cast the Amor with 5 cards in hand, and can’t dump his hand cast enough. I let through a Lion and a Shadow to Counterspell his attempts to Swords my Capod. 2 Turns later, after chumping, he tries again with a Lion and some other critter, and a Disenchant. Counterspell hits it again, and I win this game at 3 life from racing.

After the game he asks me to look at his Sideboard and find he has little to deal with control besides 1 Story Circle (useless against artifacts) a Disenchant, and 1 Geddon (which he didn’t bring in). 4 COP:Red, 1 Karma, 2 COP:Black, 1 Story Circle and 3 Wrath of Gods show he was prepared for aggro. Well, Counterspells and Masticores aren’t exactly the aggro he was expecting.

Finals! Jason (the advisor of the last Swiss round, and a Draw-Go player as I witnessed from a crazy, stack-abusing 3 Morphling vs. hordes of Elves game against Dan, my opponent from round 3.)

Whoo! The finals! After playing in my first “real” tournament ever, with Swiss rounds and a sideboard! I’m feeling good, as I know I will either walk away with a Mox Sapphire or a Guardian Beast after this match. However, this is the matchup I’ve never really played before, as its boring, and not too many people play control in casual games.

Game 1: I let through a Cursed Scroll and a Disk. CURSED SCROLL? In mono-U? You bet. I sit there with Islands and Islands and Islands, and 3 Force of Will and a Fact or Fiction in hand, but can’t find black mana. I discard a Demonic Tutor and Abyss, and don’t Wasteland his Soldevi land as I fear a Library. I was correct, but the Library never got active anyway. I fight a weak counter-war over his Wasteland on my Wasteland, lose, and Waste the Soldevi finally. I eventually deck a UP, but he Strips it (with his turn 3 Strip that sat there, all Black Bordered and whatnot the entire game) In the mean time I have a Keg at 4, he has a Cursed Scroll (I am at about 10 or 12) and he casts Morphling. I Keg at 5, and am not surprised as he Scrolled with the Morph for about 20 turns now. I finally get a River, but still have no real threats after a Mishra has been wiped out. I Fact or Fiction, and untap to cast a Masticore. He scrolls me with both scrolls I let resolves with the 1 card in his hand (a Dissipate) after our Masticore/FoF counterwar, for 4, untaps, and draws a card. I think I am safe from an Upkeep, double Scroll, when he lays a Land and wins. Poor unfortunate me.

Game 2. I bring in 4 Duress. I am not sure whether to bring in a Core and try to go really aggro or not, but the game plays out as such. I actually get Black mana this game, as well as a first turn Sol Ring, a pair of Wastes and on my 5th turn go for a Duress. He Mana Drains, and sitting on a Counterspell, a Dissipate, a Force of Will and a Misdirection, I tap all but 1 Wasteland for a Masticore. He counters (I believe with a hardcast Force of Will), I Force of Will the counter, and he Force of Wills my Force of Will. I remove my Counterspell from the game to Misdirect his Force of Will, almost messing up the targets, when he removes the a Dissipate from his hand to Misdirect my Misdirection to his! AHH! I end up with an empty hand, and a dead Masticore next turn. If that wasn’t bad enough, he untaps and casts a Morphling with U open! I untap, see the U untapped, and not enough mana on my side to deal 3 damage anyway, and watch my Masticore go bye-bye. I topdeck a Keg, but it can’t race up to 5 to kill a Morphling, and it, along with the 2 Wastelands sit back to defend against his 2 Mishras. In the 2 turns I had to draw an answer, I could find neither a Diabolic Edict, nor a Tutor to fetch one. Being as it was about 1am, I don’t know if I even would have made the correct play of Waste a Mishra, Edict, Keg/Waste other Mishra, make sure Edict hits Morphling. As he feared the Edict as well, I’m not sure if he just saw my Wastes, or didn’t realize either. I draw an Island and a River, and concede the game at 4 life. As he de-sideboards, I find out that Gainsay is an Uncommon (not common!) and from Planeshift (not Apocalypse!) and that is why I couldn’t find any in the Apoc common box or uncommon binder, when I was finishing up my Sideboard! 4 Duress it was, and Gainsay wouldn’t have won it for me, but I still feel it was a good match, with an exciting, if disappointing counterwar. I offer to trade duals, painlands, and my newly acquired Guardian Beast for his Mox Sapphire (as he already owned one) but he wanted nothing but a Time Walk and or other Moxen. With a Twister of his own, he wouldn’t even trade for a Twister + Duals. Oh well, for $10 entry and a great time, I can’t complain, even if I am slightly disappointed that I still don’t have a Sapphire for my deck.

Well, its time for some sleep. I had a fun time playing Type 1, and enjoyed my time spent immensely. I can’t wait until they put up a Time Walk in a month, and then a Lotus a month after that. Thanks guys!

-Eric