By Wagz
Hi all and welcome to the live coverage of the Team Leeds Prerelease. We will be giving reports on the Feature match on a game-by-game basis, starting here:
Match 1: Colin Ward vs. Rob Catton
Colin wins the die roll and declares he will "live the dream". A plains each with a kitesail apprentice for Rob. Colin makes a 2nd plains and a cliff threader, while Rob makes the mountain and marsh threader. No 3rd land for colin but a kicked skitter of lizards for rob brings the beats and the life totals are 18-14.
Finally a swamp for Colin, both players landwalkers are turned on. In Rob's attack just the marsh threader comes in but it is killed off and a shatterskull giant takes it's place. 3rd plains for colin and an apex hawks comes down. Rob sends his 4/3 and 2/2 in and the 2/1 sits in front of the lizard, before Rob makes a razor boomerang. Sejiri refuge brings it back to 18-11 but the giant bashes for 4. A kicked apex hawks comes down for colin and rob makes 2 1/1 allies end of turn.
No attacks from Rob but a shepherd of the lost leads to a blood seeker for Colin which gets killed by the boomerang. The angel gets into the roiled when it tries to attack but comes straight back down again. Winning the angel wars, Colin makes admonition angel, a 6/6 monstrosity which has landfall - oblivion ring. a kicked ruinblaster takes out colin's blue mana and rob replays the boomerang. A land exiles the Shepherd of the Lost but Eldrazi Monument makes an epic team on Rob's side of the battlefield. The Ruinblaster got blocked, taking Colin to 1 and the draw step yielded no more blockers
Rob 1 - 0 Colin
Colin will play first again for game 2 and Rob mulls to 6. Sejiri Refuge gives Colin the early lead and his Marsh Threader is the first threat of the game. Rob matches it with Fledgling Griffin. Threader attacks and is joined by Apex Hawks. Griffin beats to 18-18 and a Hellfire Mongrel comes in for Rob. Rob takes 4 and Colin Wind Zendikon's up a plains before making a Perimeter Captain. Landfalled Griffin attacks and is reinforced by Marsh Threader for Rob. Colin makes a Dread Sanctuary and swings in for 4 in the air. Landfall Calrisian flies in again (this guy seems good) and Hada Freeblade stands lone.
Colin flies in for another 4 and Rob makes Stoneforge Mystic, fetching up his Boomerang. Colin makes a plains but is lacking Black mana. Another 4 in the air of course brings it to 15-2 but Rob has the Eldrazi Monument for some big army. Only the Mystic comes in for 2, Rob keeping his blocks back for the moment. Another Plains for Colin but shows his annoyance at the number of Black spells in hand. Except, of course, the Admonition Angel which threatens to wreck Rob's team any time soon.
Umara Raptor for Colin makes it 6 guys to 4 but he is obviously happy to let Rob wreck his own team with the Monument (you have to sac a guy if you have one, it's not optional). Rob EOTs a Stone Idol Trap in an attempt to have a big enough team and sacs the Griffin in his upkeep. Rob has 3 cards in hand, one of which includes the Boomerang. Stone Idol gets in for 7 and Rob makes an Aeronaut and Boomerang. Colin swings in with the team of 6 guys and Rob can't block enough to stay alive.
Rob 1 - 1 Colin
Game 3 sees Colin wishing to live the dream once more. Turn 2 Griffin for Rob is better than Sejiri Refuge and Quicksand. Still no black mana for Colin but it turns off the Marsh Threader. Voyager Drake is Colin's first creature and it's just bigger than anything Rob's made so far. Rob turns a previously laid land into a 4/2 trampler via the Red Zendikon but a Battle Hurda threatens to stop that. Stoneforger Mystic comes down and finds nothing. Colin dances at the sight of a Swamp, makes Wind Zendiplains and swings in for 5, 11-15 in Rob's favour.
Marsh Threader sinks in Quicksand when it tries to Swampwalk over - that's no real Swamp evidently. Kor Aeronaut was removed as a threat to Colin's blockers and a Khalni Gem for Colin resets his Sejiri Refuge before he swung in over the air for another 5. Ruthless Cullblade for Colin enters the battlefield as a 4/2 and Rob makes two allies EOT. Ruinblaster comes down and kills the Refuge and a 1/1 Skitter of Lizards bulks up Rob's team, clearly looking for the Monument again. Colin swings in once more, putting Rob to 2 and Rob scooped it up when he couldn't deal with the flying team.
Colin 2 - 1 Rob Catton
Match 2: Greg Engiert vs. Paul Wray
Paul starts us off with a mulligan but Greg has one of his own. Paul's second hand is keepable but Greg doesn't like his. Kraken Hatchling is Paul's immediate threat (the 1 drops are really good nowadays) but Greg has a Pulse Tracker who ain't afraid of no Kraken. Surrakar Marauder from Greg looks to be a beatstick but with a starting hand of 5 it might not be enough. It is immediately Disfigured anyway and Paul curves nicely into a Windrider Eel, leaving Greg languishing on 2 lands. 1 of them cast the Burst Lightning to kill the flier and an attack from the Tracker makes it 20-17.
Calcite Snapper is the next card on Paul's side, a new Blue card which looks to have constructed playability written all over it. It certainly stops the beats from Greg's guy but he finds his third land to make a Cunning Sparkmage. Adventuring Gear gets equipped by the Kraken Hatchling and a land beefs him up but there is no swing. Sparkmage deals his one EOT and a 4th land makes a Bladetusk Boar for the Pole. Landfall makes the Kraken a beater for 2 and a ping makes it 18-15. Boar swings his 3 and a 4th swamp enters Gregs manabase. Tomb Hex stops the Board before it becomes a problem but the Pulse Tracker has become Kitesailed and swings for 2+1. Dead Reckoning gets back the Eel for Paul and kills the Tracker. Sparkmage takes Paul to 7 while Greg still sits comfortably at 18. Paul replays his Eel, leaving him with 1 card in hand to Greg's 2 but bigger creatures than a 1/1 flying Sparkmage. The Eel picks up the Adventuring Gear and Paul takes 1 EOT. Lacerator comes in for Greg and Disfigure kills the Eel, putting him in a good position with that inevitable Sparkmage. Paul never finds the land to kick his Mosquito and the players move to game 2.
Paul 0 - 1 Greg
Paul plays first but Greg has the first play with a turn 2 Kitesail, a card which is better than I first thought (and I first thought it was an answer to Nighthawk). Greg spends his turn 3 making a Hammer of Ruin, but has no-one to get dressed up for the ball. Paul is making a land a turn but has no plays as yet. 3/2 flier for Greg opposes a 4/2 Swampwalking Tog Batters from Paul but the Jagwasp Swarm picks up the Hammer and threatens the bigger beats. That Sparkmage comes along for another ride. 4 from Batters and a 2/1 Cullblade, which Greg ignores to deal Paul another 1, 16-14 to Greg. Tomb Hex deals with the 5/2 flier but he is replaced by Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs, a massive Rare creature with a Ghostly Prison style ability. Toggy B deals his 4. Kazuul gets an Ogre and Burst Lightning deals with Toggy. Nighthawk for Greg and Crypt Ripper for Paul but it gets Punishing Fired. Greg puts all the equipment on his Nighthawk and Paul cannot do much but concede.
Paul 0 - 2 Greg
Match 3: Mick Edwards vs. John Ingham.
After giving your Head Judge abuse about not getting a Kor Duelist each, both players keep their hand. Mick's Adventuring Gear is met with Explore into Black-Red Manland. Teetering Peaks pumps up a 1/1 Skitter to drop Mick by 3 of his life total. The lizard gets in again and is joined by a 0/1 Plant and a 1/4 Vigilance, proving that John's team really can get there. Mick makes a 2/4 Flier, pretty much negating John's entire attack. A once-kicked Wolfbriar Elemental brings a 2/2 friend and it looks like Mick 'the Pro' Edwards is in trouble. Equipped Gear, landfall and Basilisk Collar played + equipped is a 4 point swing with a 4 point life increase. The swing back sees Veteran's reflexes from Mick to untap his 2/4, making it a 3/5 Lifelink Deathtouch to kill the Wolfbriar. Snapping Creeper comes in for John but it doesn't look like it can face the Geared Lightkeeper of Emeria. A second Lightkeeper
comes down while gaining Mick 4 life. John finds a Mold Shambler to off the Basilisk Collar but Mick has the flying beats and the life totals are 27-10. Mick gets a Toggy B but John has a Kicked Oran-Rief Recluse to deal with one Flier. 2/3 and Wolf swing, dropping Mick's buffed life total slightly. The non-dead Angel gets Geared up and beats for 4 with a landfall pump.
Nighthawk joins the squad and Mick's in some good shape. Likes his fiers and lifelink does this pro. Shambler, Vigilanced 2/3 and 2/2 Wolf swing in and Mick pauses for a think. Nighthawk blocks the 2/3 and a Murasa Pyromancer finishes it off after combat. Crypt Ripper for Mick and another land for John and it looks like a bit of a stalemate until Mick can find a land to pump his angel to get past the Recluse. Urge to Feed for John gets rid of Tog Batters and Mick can only summon a Nimana Sell-Sword.
Mold Shambler deals 3sies in an attempt to get Mick's life down but Mick finds a land to pump is angel. The Recluse is pumped by Groundswell, however and we are at a stalemate once more. Mick finds a kicked 2/2 Swampwalker to get over for the last 2 to take the game.
Mick 1 - 0 John
0/1 Token and a tapped green mana land faces off a Basilisk Collar in an unlikely duel. Mick brings the death with a kicked Quahog Vampires but it meets its own death to Tomb Hex. Unkicked Wolfbriar Elemental after a potential hesitant Mold Shambler but he keeps it up, presumably for that Collar. Mick makes his own unkicked Lightkeeper of Emeria but takes 4 for the first real blood. John makes the Mold Shambler, trying to represent a team big enough to get the job done. Mick equips the collar and swings for 2, gaining 2. John's swing back (with the 0/1 inclusive every time) and Veteran's Reflexes is a second surprise factor. Tomb Hex makes the Angel smaller but the deathtouch still deals with the Elemental. Life totals are 16 to Mick and 18 to John. Toggy B from Mick and Oran-Rief Survivalist from John makes for not quite a fair fight. Basilisk Collar leaps onto the Togs and a 4 point unblockable lifelinker does a job. Apex Hawks is made for Mick but it is clearly there for the ride as Togs will surely deal the full amount. Cute Mob are belong to John but he's been stuck on 4 lands for a long time. In the face of Gear on the Togs John scoops it up.
Mick 2 - 0 John
Round 4: Mick Edwards vs Jon Slack
Your reporter missed the first game due to setting up a draft but Mick Edwards is 1 up.
Mick 1 - 0 Jon
Mick makes a turn 2 Hexmage but Jon makes a Giant Scorpion to hold it off. An Adventuring Gear helps the Hexmage get through and a Basilisk Collar comes into play to make combat even more one-sided. The Scorpion tries getting in for a cheeky one but is tricked by the Hexmage's Veteran Reflexes. Jon makes a Ruthless Cullblade to get something on the battlefield and Mick equips the Hexmage and swings, missing on his land drop. 2nd Swamp from Jon allows a kicked Bloodhusk Ritualist to knock a Lightkeeper of Emeria from Mick's hand and after swinging he makes a kicked Quahog Vampire.
Swampwalk is looking very good in the BW on BU matchup. Jon makes a third swamp and passes the turn. Mick attacks with both his guys and Jon blocks the Hexmage with his Ritualist. Jon uses Urge to Feed to pump his team and kill the Swampwalker but First Strike and Deathtouch deals with the Ritualist. Mick finally finds a fourth land to pump his Hexmage. Post-combat an attempted Angel is Canceled. Toggy B comes to Jon's aid but the Lifelink, Deathtouch and First Strike makes for a formidable Warrior in the Vampire Shaman. Dead Reckoning for Mick gets the Angel back onto his library and kills off Togs. Tomb Hex finally spells doom for the Hexmage and Hideous End deals with the Angel, clearing the board and making it 29-6 in Mick's favour. An Apex Hawks picks up the Adventuring Gear and Jon can only draw his card and say go. Jon counters an attempted EOT Join the Ranks but he is close to death. Unkicked Kor Sanctifiers gets played after the Hawks drop Jon to 2 and Wind Zendikon turns and Island into a blocker. It's not enough, however, as Mick overkills with Skyfisher and Hookmaster to take out the blocker.
Mick 2 - 0 Jon
Round 5: Andy Bodle vs Dan Hiscutt
Battle for the Boosters (coverage by Ben Heath)
Dan opens with plains. Andy replies with Swamp and 'terrible card' (he said so), Pulse tracker.
Dan plays mountain, passes turn. Andy attacks with terrible card, plays Cliff Threader, which Dan dismisses with Burst Lightning.
Dan 18 Andy 20
Dan reveals a third colour, Forest found through Misty Rainforest, and plays Apex hawks with no kicker.
Dan 17 Andy 20
Andy plays and equips Adventuring Gear to Pulse tracker and swings.
Dan 13 Andy 20
dan draws, swings with hawks and then plays marsh flats and makes it a chrusher zendikon.
Dan 13 Andy 18
Andy swings with Pulse tracker, dan blocks with zendikon, returning flats to hand
Dan 12 Andy 18
Dan swings with Apex hawks, then magma rifts tracker, sacking a forest.
Dan 12 Andy 16
Andy draws, plays a land and passes
Dan swings with apex hawks and passes
D 12 A 14
Andy draws and plays marsh threader
Dan draws, swings with hawks then searches for plains with marsh flats. he then plays rolling terrains, deealing 1 damage.
D 11 A 11
Andy puts gear on threader and then swings for 4 and then passes
D 7 A 11
dan plays sejiri steppe, naming black for apex hawks. turns out to be a misplay as he then plays zekar shrine expedition. then swings for 2.
D 7 A 9
Andy plays trusty machete, equips onto threader then swings for 6, putting dan on 1
D 1 A 9
Dan plays a land (zSE 1) and then plays his bomb, hellkite charger.after much thought he passes
Andy swings with threader, dan blocks with hawks. Andy plays walking atlas post combat and sticks the machete onto it.
dan swings with hellkite chrager, andy uses hex to give it -2/-2, with dan paying 7 he got to swing again, but that left andy on 3 with a free board to swing at, and it was onto game 2.
Dan 0 Andy 1
Dan on the play in game 2.
Dan bins opening hand, Andy chooses to keep.
Dan plays sejeri steppe, Andy plays swamp then pulse tracker (again)
Dan plays forest through misty rainforest, plays kor skyfisher returning forest
D 19 A 20
Andy plays swamp and passes
dan plays smouldering spires, skyfisher goes through for 2
D 19 A 18
andy hexes skyfisher with landfall (swamp), and swings through with tracker
D 17 A 18
dan plays mountain and passes
andy attacks with tracker, misses landdrop and passes
D 15 A 18
dan plays mountain and burst lightnings tracker and passes
andy plays a plains and then a kor cartographer and finds a plains
dan plays forest and passes
andy swings and then dan responds with stone idol trap. the token is quickly smothered. cliff thresher hits the board on andy's side
D 13 A 18
dan plays a stonework puma and then passes
andy plays lodestone golem and then swings with thresher and cartographer. dan let's them through to take 4, this is deliberate though as he inferno traps the lodestone golem.
D 9 A 18
dan magma rifts threader sacing the mountain, then swings with stonework puma, swinging for 2.
D 9 A 16
andy attacks for 2, then plays apex hawks with 1 kicker.
D 7 A 16
dan makes a forest a guardian zendikon, and then passes.
andy swings through the air for 3 with hawks and then kicks heartstabber mosquito to destroy the zendikon.
D 4 A 16
dan plays kor sanctifiers without kicker.
andy plays dead reckoning, sticking lodestone golem back onto the top of his deck and destroying the sanctifiers.
dan shakes hands and concedes the match
dan 0 andy 2
Match 6: Chris Vincent vs. Valentin Mahrwald
2 of the York players make our final match of the afternoon. A mulligan for Valentin starts things off, but Chris claims he "never mulligans, just keeps bad hands". Hexmage faces off a Goblin Shortcutter and is joined by a Steppe Lynx after taking the first chunk of damage. Molten Ravager looks like the blocker of choice but is offed in combat with the help of Tomb Hex. A second Shortcutter evens up the dude field and the first one swings in for Valentin. The counterattack makes it Chris 14, Valentin 10. An end of turn Aeronaut for Chris is killed off by a 'trapped' Inferno Trap and an untap sees Iona judging the Hexmage ill-fit to stay on the battlefield. Chris has the Steppe Lynx and a 2/2 Ally but without his land drops he is not winning the race against the Shortcutter twins when his Halo Hunter is sent on a Journey to Nowhere. 6 life apiece and 2 small dudes on either side, it looks like he who pulls the trigger will win. A Steppe Lynx suicides to one Shortcutter but the other meets a Hideous End. Kor Hookmaster taps down the ally and Iona judges the Journey to Nowhere, she gets everywhere. The two dudes can't deal Chris enough damage and he can't block the Halo Hunter so Chris takes the game.
Chris 1 - 0 Valentin
Steppe Lynx for Chris starts things off and a Kor Firewalker starts Valentin's offence. Valentin's Goblin Roughrider is Disfigured but is soon joined by a Pillarfield Ox and a second Firewalker. A Hookmaster really puts the boot in and a Fledgling Griffin creates an unassailable army for Valentin. Chris doesn't have what it takes and scoops it up to the exceedingly quick offence.
Chris 1 - 1 Valentin
2nd turn Griffin is the first creature for Chris, which is immediately unable to block due to Shortcutter. A 3rd turn Steppe Lynx for Chris is never as good as a 1st turn one but he has the Disfigure for the potential trader in Goblin Roughrider. A 2/2 Ally helps the weenie team but an opposing Quicksand, Firewalker and Roughrider look to take care of those shenanigans. Valentin's Lightkeeper is sent to Nowhere and a Hexmage beings what looks like a Ground stall until Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs gives Valentin the fatty advantage, seeing off a Steppe Lynx on his first rampage.
Valentin's other Kor Firewalker enters the fray, which isn't the strongest against a BW deck but gets him incremental life off his own Red spells. A 3/2 flier on the other side gives Chris enough blockers but Inferno Trap sees off the Hexmage, leaving a 3/2 flier and a 2/2 which cannot block for Chris. The whole team rocks in and the 3/2 flier trades with the Roughrider. Kortographer takes care of what looks like mana issues for Chris. "Are you tapped out?" asks Valentin before kicking a Bushwhacker and swinging for the win.
Chris 1 - 2 Valentin
Thanks very much to all the players, the full result breakdown is (edit it yourself but the numbers are correct):
Tie 1 Tie 2 Tie 3 Matches
Rank No. Name Points OMW% PGW% OGW% P/W/D/B
1 36 Engiert, Grzegorz 16 64.8148 83.3333 59.2796 6/5/1/0
2 11 Ward, Colin 16 64.8148 66.6667 63.3333 6/5/1/0
3 20 Mahrwald, Valentin 15 55.5556 78.5714 54.5177 6/5/0/0
4 28 Bodle, Andy 15 53.7037 71.4286 54.9471 6/5/0/0
5 19 Day, Joshua 15 47.2222 71.4286 48.2479 6/5/0/0
6 18 Edwards, Nathan 12 67.5926 60.0000 60.2320 6/4/0/0
7 21 vincent, chris 12 59.2593 71.4286 56.2576 6/4/0/0
8 1 Devine, Andrew 12 56.4815 66.6667 56.7262 6/4/0/0
9 24 Edwards, Mick 12 55.5556 71.4286 49.5116 6/4/0/0
10 37 Kitchen, Matthew 12 55.5556 66.6667 54.6825 6/4/0/0
11 29 hiscutt, dan 12 52.7778 57.1429 52.0045 6/4/0/0
12 3 Wilson, Adam 9 63.8889 46.1538 63.2479 6/3/0/0
13 34 Grzesik, Dawid 9 58.3333 50.0000 55.5693 6/3/0/0
14 16 Stevenson, Craig 9 56.4815 53.3333 52.0635 6/3/0/0
15 41 Edwards, Andrew 9 55.5556 50.0000 52.6984 6/3/0/0
16 8 ingham, john a 9 55.5556 46.1538 57.6190 6/3/0/0
17 38 Sloss, Coran 9 55.0000 50.0000 50.4762 5/2/0/1
18 2 Hall, Kenneth Martin 9 44.4444 50.0000 45.9463 6/3/0/0
19 25 Tea, David 9 44.4444 42.8571 46.9658 6/3/0/0
20 27 Smith, Lucas 9 38.8889 40.0000 42.0635 6/3/0/0
21 30 Jaskulowski, Marcin 9 37.5000 60.0000 40.0000 4/3/0/0
22 33 Slack, Jonathan 8 49.0741 46.1538 50.0534 6/2/2/0
23 9 Teasdale, Keir 8 37.9630 46.1538 41.0460 6/2/2/0
24 26 Tulloch, Craig 6 55.5556 42.8571 53.9499 6/2/0/0
25 14 Pemberton, Andrew J 6 55.5556 40.0000 51.4881 6/2/0/0
26 22 Tyson, Steve 6 53.2407 42.8571 49.2735 6/2/0/0
27 5 Whittaker, Danny 6 44.4444 62.5000 43.0556 3/2/0/0
28 40 Reeve, Kathryn 6 43.3333 38.4615 45.1984 5/1/0/1
29 32 Majkowski, Krzysztof 4 54.1667 44.4444 51.0417 4/1/1/0
30 15 Wong, Fu-Sheng 3 66.6667 50.0000 57.7381 3/1/0/0
31 31 Osuchowski, Bartosz 3 66.6667 33.3333 66.6667 2/0/0/1
32 35 Stowinski, Lukasz 3 66.6667 33.3333 63.4921 3/1/0/0
33 42 Hammond, Mark I 3 66.6667 28.5714 68.0556 3/1/0/0
34 17 Wray, Paul 3 58.7963 28.5714 54.2735 6/1/0/0
35 7 Gunnell, Kevin 3 55.5556 33.3333 55.7540 3/1/0/0
36 12 Malone, Paul 3 33.3333 37.5000 38.8889 3/1/0/0
37 23 Coltman, Ben 1 70.3704 37.5000 63.6905 3/0/1/0
38 10 Boniface, Aaron 1 37.5000 14.8148 39.9306 4/0/1/0
39 6 Brocklehurst, John 1 33.3333 29.1667 33.3333 3/0/1/0
40 4 Catton, Rob 0 83.3333 33.3333 63.3333 2/0/0/0
41 39 Leung, Jonathan 0 55.5556 33.3333 50.0000 3/0/0/0
42 13 Taylor, Daniel 0 55.5556 14.2857 49.2063 3/0/0/0
Saturday 30 January 2010
Pre-release anticipation
By Jim Marlow
Hey everyone,
I really hope that very few of you are faced with the cool hard fate that is not being able to participate in a pre-release this morning, because they really are something to look forward to. The great thing about pre-releases is that its ridiculously relaxed, and everyone, from pro-tour participants to totally new gamers are there for the same reason, with the same motivation.
Luckily for me, however, i get to judge the aforementioned experiance, and fingers crossed will be able to play in York on Sunday, for d....d...double excitement, squelch!!?!. Anyway, for those keen chaps who like me have definately woken up because they literally couldnt bear the excitement any longer, i have had a good gander at the spoilers and made a couple of lists of cards i will be looking to get my filthy mits on at some point over the weekend, and others i will be glad to see the back of.....only for the price to rocket, no doubt!
Me Likey
1 - Jace, the mind sculpter
lots of people, mostly correctly, assume the price of a magic card is relative to its quality as a card. The plainswalkers and then mythic rares really messed this system up, and this is awesome. Jace has already been valued at the top end price of mythic rares, but no-one really seems to know whether this relates to him being any good or huge hype paid for by an orange symbol. Personally, i think he is really awesome. Obviously he doesnt fall directly into any of the tier 1 decks right now, but i really hope there is a deck that can abuse him, because he has 3 very useful and powerful abilities, and if the ultimate goes off who the hell knows what will happen, im fairly sure few will find out.
2 - explore
I love this card, it lets me do lots of things that i want to do when playing magic, and it lets me do them for 2 mana and a card. Sign me up for 4 please.
3 - Halimar Depths
This is 100% my favourite card in worldwake, and probably my favourite land ever. Ridiculous.
4 - Terastodon
Please can i cast this once in my life. Terastodon is massive and blows up 3 lands, all for a healthy 8 mana...thats like turn 3 right? imagine how much people would hate me if i resolved this guy against them, and that sir, is why i play the game.
5 - Scrib Nibblers
To be honest, im not all that excited about anything else, obviously the man lands are cool but this guy has a hilarious name, and thats all i ask of a good card really.
I have no idea why i forgot this guy, but obviously abyssal persecutor is the absolute nonsence as well, have fun losing to this guy for the next 12 months. Also, kor firewalker, standard playable if stupid WW shows its hideously ugly face again, but really is it worth talking about, its a bear.
Me no Likey
1 - mysteries of the deep
This card does not excite me. I know i havent played standard in a while but what is this? I dont think you can count on this being 3 cards, and so its just not there is it? This card should go in a toilet/bin/skip (circle as appropriate)
2 - Amulet of vigor
I dont even know why i mention this card, to be honest the cards i dont like could probably be summed up by 'the rest of worldwake', but having just watched this weeks magic show it had to get a mention. Im used to Even Irwin going nuts over every card in a set and saying how it will be the best card ever yeah with some lolcat backgroud, but this time, he went too far! If i ever find myself playing extended, then play a karoo land with 3 amulets of vigor on the pitch - there will be only 1 trigger im afraid - that of the gun pointed directly at the side of my temple.
3 - treasure hunt
I actually like this card, its clearly pretty good. I just dont like how wet certain people have been getting over it. Its clearly 1.75 times better than i give a shit about, but it didnt take a moron to see that this was a good card right? I just hope someone finds a way to combo with this card or draw their entire deck or something. I want to get excited about the possibilities of this card, not at the captain obvious comments about it being a spell that draws cards.
4 - Spell contortion
When you were spoiled, you were playable, shame on you.
5 - khalni garden
this card does not get me excited. Again, its clearly pretty good, but some people are going mad for this, and im just not really.
O well, i really need to be getting ready now or Rob will be angry at me being late. I hope everyone has a nice pre-release if you are going to one, maybe i will see you tomorrow in York. Apologies for this coffee fueled rant, but so many pros have done similar articles saying more acurately and for better reasons why cards are good or bad, that i just thought i would be hugely opinionated and generally a bit of a cock, i hope this came through, if not let me know.
See you all soon.
Until then,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
I really hope that very few of you are faced with the cool hard fate that is not being able to participate in a pre-release this morning, because they really are something to look forward to. The great thing about pre-releases is that its ridiculously relaxed, and everyone, from pro-tour participants to totally new gamers are there for the same reason, with the same motivation.
Luckily for me, however, i get to judge the aforementioned experiance, and fingers crossed will be able to play in York on Sunday, for d....d...double excitement, squelch!!?!. Anyway, for those keen chaps who like me have definately woken up because they literally couldnt bear the excitement any longer, i have had a good gander at the spoilers and made a couple of lists of cards i will be looking to get my filthy mits on at some point over the weekend, and others i will be glad to see the back of.....only for the price to rocket, no doubt!
Me Likey
1 - Jace, the mind sculpter
lots of people, mostly correctly, assume the price of a magic card is relative to its quality as a card. The plainswalkers and then mythic rares really messed this system up, and this is awesome. Jace has already been valued at the top end price of mythic rares, but no-one really seems to know whether this relates to him being any good or huge hype paid for by an orange symbol. Personally, i think he is really awesome. Obviously he doesnt fall directly into any of the tier 1 decks right now, but i really hope there is a deck that can abuse him, because he has 3 very useful and powerful abilities, and if the ultimate goes off who the hell knows what will happen, im fairly sure few will find out.
2 - explore
I love this card, it lets me do lots of things that i want to do when playing magic, and it lets me do them for 2 mana and a card. Sign me up for 4 please.
3 - Halimar Depths
This is 100% my favourite card in worldwake, and probably my favourite land ever. Ridiculous.
4 - Terastodon
Please can i cast this once in my life. Terastodon is massive and blows up 3 lands, all for a healthy 8 mana...thats like turn 3 right? imagine how much people would hate me if i resolved this guy against them, and that sir, is why i play the game.
5 - Scrib Nibblers
To be honest, im not all that excited about anything else, obviously the man lands are cool but this guy has a hilarious name, and thats all i ask of a good card really.
I have no idea why i forgot this guy, but obviously abyssal persecutor is the absolute nonsence as well, have fun losing to this guy for the next 12 months. Also, kor firewalker, standard playable if stupid WW shows its hideously ugly face again, but really is it worth talking about, its a bear.
Me no Likey
1 - mysteries of the deep
This card does not excite me. I know i havent played standard in a while but what is this? I dont think you can count on this being 3 cards, and so its just not there is it? This card should go in a toilet/bin/skip (circle as appropriate)
2 - Amulet of vigor
I dont even know why i mention this card, to be honest the cards i dont like could probably be summed up by 'the rest of worldwake', but having just watched this weeks magic show it had to get a mention. Im used to Even Irwin going nuts over every card in a set and saying how it will be the best card ever yeah with some lolcat backgroud, but this time, he went too far! If i ever find myself playing extended, then play a karoo land with 3 amulets of vigor on the pitch - there will be only 1 trigger im afraid - that of the gun pointed directly at the side of my temple.
3 - treasure hunt
I actually like this card, its clearly pretty good. I just dont like how wet certain people have been getting over it. Its clearly 1.75 times better than i give a shit about, but it didnt take a moron to see that this was a good card right? I just hope someone finds a way to combo with this card or draw their entire deck or something. I want to get excited about the possibilities of this card, not at the captain obvious comments about it being a spell that draws cards.
4 - Spell contortion
When you were spoiled, you were playable, shame on you.
5 - khalni garden
this card does not get me excited. Again, its clearly pretty good, but some people are going mad for this, and im just not really.
O well, i really need to be getting ready now or Rob will be angry at me being late. I hope everyone has a nice pre-release if you are going to one, maybe i will see you tomorrow in York. Apologies for this coffee fueled rant, but so many pros have done similar articles saying more acurately and for better reasons why cards are good or bad, that i just thought i would be hugely opinionated and generally a bit of a cock, i hope this came through, if not let me know.
See you all soon.
Until then,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Scapeshift in Extended
By Jim Marlow
Hey everyone,
So Worldwake is pretty much known to the masses, i havent really had time to take in all the cards, as there have been a load spoiled recently, but after a few reads i will compile a list of my favourite ones, and those that i think are not that hot, for constructed or otherwise.
For now i thought i would let everyone know just where i am up to in Extended right now, before it gets overshadowed by the child-like excitement of a prerelease.
Scapeshift was the deck i took to the Nottingham PTQ, where the power of zero hours sleep allowed me the grace of a 1-3 record - (1-3 because i forgot to drop after round 3, so conceeded my 4th round to Kenny so i could cube). After the little of the PTQ i played in i had very few, but some thoughts on the performance of the deck and some changes i wanted to make before i next played it.
The Bad News -
If you the article(s) i did going into the PTQ i thought about taking out the oracle, because i had been finding him a bit underwhelming. He is actually not the easiest chap to cast on turn 2, and although he can lead to some busted games, i am actually not that hot for him. He is best in the mirror where its a race to go off, but then again, he can still be underwhelming here. Against zoo there are far better bodies, and against control decks you dont need the body. I think the majority of lists still playing him are playing him because he was being played before.
I wasnt convinced by the electrolyze either - i know exactly why it is in there, and i understand that its massively risky being cold to certain hate. Everyone seems to be mixing it up with magma jet, into the roil, echoing truth, repeal and infi variants of combinations of them all to basically hose teeg and meddling mage. To be honest, I will almost certainly be cutting my magma jet/electrolyze slot for something else, because i think the implications of using them are quite slim and even then there are other outs that i either have in my deck or can/will have brought in for these matchups.
Repeal was also a pretty bad call - i think i got a bit too focussed on t1 repeal a chrome mox or something, or being able to bounce chalice (which doesnt really hurt me anyway). Basically, echoing truth does everything repeal does except draw a card, most of the time for cheaper - and it also hoses dredge, which is randomly awesome.
Ancient grudge was pretty bad in the sideboard - i dont really know if i should be finding room to bring this in against thopter foundry, and still i dont really know how the match should work ( i think generally badly for me). I think that scapeshift should be pressuring tezz to assemble the combo or disrupt enough to stop yours, but there is very little room for you to do both. I think i may have come up with an idea to solve this but im not sure.
I think i should have also played the second breeding pool. I was worried about blood moon effects and only played 1, but on 2 separate occasions across 3 rounds found myself searching out basic forest and sat with cryptic command in hand doing nothing, sigh.
The Good News -
Gigadrowse was definately the truth - it provides a one shot window to go off, and is very good against any of the blue decks, although weakest against faeries - which is probably true of the deck in general.
Not playing ponder made me realise how awesome it was. Being tired made me assert how bad ponder was in the deck fairly strongly, but in both my lossesw there were at least 1-2 turn windows where scapeshift in hand or drawn was a won match. Ponder is the extra bit of manipulation the deck needs to be reliable, and you can control your draws more with the shuffle effects of the ramp spells, it was certainly missed in Nottingham.
Vendilion Clique may the droid i am looking for. Coiling oracle proved to be anywhere from meh to ok, but a friend offered me clique instead, which i needed little convincing to throw in other the snake. The ability to apply pressure is pretty crucial, and he is better in the mirror match than coiling oracle, the matchup where he was best.
The List
Please dont take this as the 75 i will play for the remainder by any means, but consider this the working list.
4 x vendilion clique
4 x wood elves
4 x sakura tribe eldar
4 x scapeshift
4 x peer through depths
3 x ponder
4 x search for tomorrow
4 x remand
3 x cryptic command
2 x echoing truth
1 x gigadrowse
4 x steam vents
4 x stomping ground
2 x breeding pool
2 x valakut the molten pinnacle
2 x mountain
2 x flooded grove
3 x forest
4 x island
S/B
4 x Firespout
3 x ravenous trap
2 x relic of progenitus
2 x gigadrowse
Sorry for the 11 card sideboard, trying to keep some of the other cards secret in case it turns out to be good tech, although this probably wont turn out to be the case.
Hopefully this will be good for a ticket to San Juan, but more importantly hopefully I will be good enough for a ticket to San Juan.
Until then,
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
So Worldwake is pretty much known to the masses, i havent really had time to take in all the cards, as there have been a load spoiled recently, but after a few reads i will compile a list of my favourite ones, and those that i think are not that hot, for constructed or otherwise.
For now i thought i would let everyone know just where i am up to in Extended right now, before it gets overshadowed by the child-like excitement of a prerelease.
Scapeshift was the deck i took to the Nottingham PTQ, where the power of zero hours sleep allowed me the grace of a 1-3 record - (1-3 because i forgot to drop after round 3, so conceeded my 4th round to Kenny so i could cube). After the little of the PTQ i played in i had very few, but some thoughts on the performance of the deck and some changes i wanted to make before i next played it.
The Bad News -
If you the article(s) i did going into the PTQ i thought about taking out the oracle, because i had been finding him a bit underwhelming. He is actually not the easiest chap to cast on turn 2, and although he can lead to some busted games, i am actually not that hot for him. He is best in the mirror where its a race to go off, but then again, he can still be underwhelming here. Against zoo there are far better bodies, and against control decks you dont need the body. I think the majority of lists still playing him are playing him because he was being played before.
I wasnt convinced by the electrolyze either - i know exactly why it is in there, and i understand that its massively risky being cold to certain hate. Everyone seems to be mixing it up with magma jet, into the roil, echoing truth, repeal and infi variants of combinations of them all to basically hose teeg and meddling mage. To be honest, I will almost certainly be cutting my magma jet/electrolyze slot for something else, because i think the implications of using them are quite slim and even then there are other outs that i either have in my deck or can/will have brought in for these matchups.
Repeal was also a pretty bad call - i think i got a bit too focussed on t1 repeal a chrome mox or something, or being able to bounce chalice (which doesnt really hurt me anyway). Basically, echoing truth does everything repeal does except draw a card, most of the time for cheaper - and it also hoses dredge, which is randomly awesome.
Ancient grudge was pretty bad in the sideboard - i dont really know if i should be finding room to bring this in against thopter foundry, and still i dont really know how the match should work ( i think generally badly for me). I think that scapeshift should be pressuring tezz to assemble the combo or disrupt enough to stop yours, but there is very little room for you to do both. I think i may have come up with an idea to solve this but im not sure.
I think i should have also played the second breeding pool. I was worried about blood moon effects and only played 1, but on 2 separate occasions across 3 rounds found myself searching out basic forest and sat with cryptic command in hand doing nothing, sigh.
The Good News -
Gigadrowse was definately the truth - it provides a one shot window to go off, and is very good against any of the blue decks, although weakest against faeries - which is probably true of the deck in general.
Not playing ponder made me realise how awesome it was. Being tired made me assert how bad ponder was in the deck fairly strongly, but in both my lossesw there were at least 1-2 turn windows where scapeshift in hand or drawn was a won match. Ponder is the extra bit of manipulation the deck needs to be reliable, and you can control your draws more with the shuffle effects of the ramp spells, it was certainly missed in Nottingham.
Vendilion Clique may the droid i am looking for. Coiling oracle proved to be anywhere from meh to ok, but a friend offered me clique instead, which i needed little convincing to throw in other the snake. The ability to apply pressure is pretty crucial, and he is better in the mirror match than coiling oracle, the matchup where he was best.
The List
Please dont take this as the 75 i will play for the remainder by any means, but consider this the working list.
4 x vendilion clique
4 x wood elves
4 x sakura tribe eldar
4 x scapeshift
4 x peer through depths
3 x ponder
4 x search for tomorrow
4 x remand
3 x cryptic command
2 x echoing truth
1 x gigadrowse
4 x steam vents
4 x stomping ground
2 x breeding pool
2 x valakut the molten pinnacle
2 x mountain
2 x flooded grove
3 x forest
4 x island
S/B
4 x Firespout
3 x ravenous trap
2 x relic of progenitus
2 x gigadrowse
Sorry for the 11 card sideboard, trying to keep some of the other cards secret in case it turns out to be good tech, although this probably wont turn out to be the case.
Hopefully this will be good for a ticket to San Juan, but more importantly hopefully I will be good enough for a ticket to San Juan.
Until then,
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
Monday 25 January 2010
January Update
By Jim Marlow
Hey everyone,
If anyone has been locked in a cupboard, Team Leeds has once again proved that it can supply some of the best magic in England, this time in the form of Rob Wagner winning a PTQ for San Juan. Obviously congratulations to Rob on this amazing indiviual achievement, who no doubt credits his victory to the depth and volume of his preperation for tournament magic.
It seems that magic is getting far more exciting again, not only is Extended a pretty hot topic, but obviously Worldwake is coming out shortly, and there seem to be a few gems that look to shake up standard and hopefully the format will become somewhat playable. As if any more excitement was necessary, its time again to qualify (or not) for GB Nationals, which for me is very exciting, because this means i get to tour round the country doing the thing i love with some awesome friends, hopefully i will see everyone along the way!
I think the thing i am most excited about is the possibility of shaking up standard. There is a lot of talk about new blue based control decks with jace, treasure hunt and halimar depths giving blue the boost it desperately needed.
Obviously there is still some of worldwake to be spoiled, and it still remains to see whether the potential decks that worldwake threatens to offer - probably some incarnation of white weenie/allies beatdown along with this blue based 5cc or whatever, will shake the format up or not.
At the moment i think i would like to play a version of Conley Woods' Worlds deck, using lotus cobra along with fetchlands and harrow and a bucketload of land destruction and some boom-booms.
Over the next few days and weeks i will hopefully have another draft to go up, a closer look at some of my favourite cards from worldwake, and some that i dont like so much, and i will be posting the extended deck i will hopefully following Rob to San Juan with. Keep an eye out for all these and possibly more.
Until then,
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
If anyone has been locked in a cupboard, Team Leeds has once again proved that it can supply some of the best magic in England, this time in the form of Rob Wagner winning a PTQ for San Juan. Obviously congratulations to Rob on this amazing indiviual achievement, who no doubt credits his victory to the depth and volume of his preperation for tournament magic.
It seems that magic is getting far more exciting again, not only is Extended a pretty hot topic, but obviously Worldwake is coming out shortly, and there seem to be a few gems that look to shake up standard and hopefully the format will become somewhat playable. As if any more excitement was necessary, its time again to qualify (or not) for GB Nationals, which for me is very exciting, because this means i get to tour round the country doing the thing i love with some awesome friends, hopefully i will see everyone along the way!
I think the thing i am most excited about is the possibility of shaking up standard. There is a lot of talk about new blue based control decks with jace, treasure hunt and halimar depths giving blue the boost it desperately needed.
Obviously there is still some of worldwake to be spoiled, and it still remains to see whether the potential decks that worldwake threatens to offer - probably some incarnation of white weenie/allies beatdown along with this blue based 5cc or whatever, will shake the format up or not.
At the moment i think i would like to play a version of Conley Woods' Worlds deck, using lotus cobra along with fetchlands and harrow and a bucketload of land destruction and some boom-booms.
Over the next few days and weeks i will hopefully have another draft to go up, a closer look at some of my favourite cards from worldwake, and some that i dont like so much, and i will be posting the extended deck i will hopefully following Rob to San Juan with. Keep an eye out for all these and possibly more.
Until then,
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
Monday 18 January 2010
Tournament Report - PTQ Nottingham *Winner winner chicken dinner*
By Wagz
Hi all, I have just had an excellent weekend and wish to shout about it. This Saturday was a PTQ in Nottingham to qualify for Pro Tour: San Juan, which is in Puerto Rico to save you googling it. I had resolved to make much more of an effort with PTQs and suchlike this year because last year I kept having things planned and managed to attend a grand total of 2 I think. This is obviously not giving myself the best chance at getting there so I decided to a) attend more and b) play good decks. By good decks I am most likely netdecking (unless I can think of a tremendous reason to not do so) with minor tweaks, but also trying to pick a deck which would be good or at least give me chances against a large proportion of the field (the expected opposition).
This qualifying season is Extended format and it looks like the big three decks are Zoo, Thopter Foundry and Scapeshift. I felt like Zoo and Scapeshift would be picked up by a lot of the better players and I should also be prepared for random matchups because there is nothing worse than losing to something terrible round 1 and then never getting anywhere. I picked Thopter Foundry because it is good against Zoo and random jank, has decent chances against Scapeshift (but likes the opponent to make mistakes) and if I picked it up early enough then I can get a good feel for the mirror. Control decks usually have godawful mirrors but I play pretty quickly and love casting blue cards - every spell should draw cards in my opinion.
I spent December on ebay slowly getting good deals for the cards in the deck LSV and Ochoa played at Worlds, figuring that while the deck might not end up like that it was a good place to start. After testing with others and a couple of practice tournaments I got comfortable with the flow of the deck and started to sleeve up when two things happened on Thursday: 1) LSV had a more up-to-date version in mtg.com's decks to beat section with (most importantly) an up-to-date sideboard, featuring many of the cards I was considering; and 2) I found out that I had broken a bone in my right (my good) hand. The first point meant I could have a great deck and had only to figure out sideboarding, which was easy because I had practiced the matchups already. The second point meant I couldn't shuffle well at all and had trouble keeping readable life totals. I decided that I had prepared so much that I wouldn't just duck out and everyone I know would be fine to shuffle their opponent's deck for them if they had a broken hand. I also decided to play in a GPT in Manchester on Sunday, because why not (more on this later)?
The 75 I sleeved up is the following:
Maindeck (60):
1 Academy Ruins
1 Ancient Den
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
3 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Mystic Gate
1 Plains
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Seat of the Synod
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Plains
1Tolaria West
1 Watery Grave
2 Trinket Mage
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Chrome Mox
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
2 Sword of the Meek
3 Thopter Foundry
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Vedalken Shackles
2 Cryptic Command
1 Day of Judgment
2 Gifts Ungiven
3 Mana Leak
1 Muddle the Mixture
3 Path to Exile
4 Spell Snare
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Wrath of God
Sideboard (15):
1 Chalice of the Void
3 Cranial Extraction
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Negate
2 Pulse of the Fields
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Vendilion Clique
A pretty wonderful 75 with a bit more mana, counters and combo than the original with a bit of a dudes sideboard switch (definitely important to get the pressure on in some matchups).
Team Leeds managed to get 3 carfulls of players down, comprising 14 of the 78 competitors. There were also lots of people from other places I've got to know through playing Magic at various events - it's a good game for meeting people across the country if you want to. After registering and making sure my arm was alright for the judges (I'd messaged the head judge, David Lyford-Smith, in advance) the pairings were given out for round 1.
Round 1 vs Seb Parker (Zoo)
An annoying pairing, to be sure, because Seb is a friend who plays in Cambridge and we're going to Grand Prix: Madrid together at the end of February (with another couple of friends). I know he's playing Zoo, which is a good matchup, but he is also a good player. Game 1 he makes a Wild Nacatl straight away and with another quick guy and some burn back-up I was dead before I could get going. I sideboard:
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -2 Cryptic Command, -1 Pithing Needle, -2 Gifts Ungiven
+2 Vendilion Clique, +1 Engineered Explosives, +3 Kitchen Finks
He doesn't draw as well game 2 and after I deal with some guys he tries to burn me out. I land a Kitchen Finks to go to 12 against his basically empty hand and he concedes to go to game 3. We each keep dodgy hands - he has a lot of land and I have 1 with 4 1 mana spells on the draw. I get to spell snare a few key cards (Teeg, Goyf) and when I finally get to 3 mana to start casting Kitchen Finks he has drawn a lot of land. After drawing all those lands he drew his Steppe Lynxes but I had a recurring Engineered Explosives lock with 3 different colours so it was simply a matter of time before I got there.
1-0 matches, 2-1 games
Round 2 vs Dom ? (Thopter Foundry)
I didn't know at the time but this guy had just beaten Fu in a mirror match. Fu was running the old version of the deck so I couldn't take the results to heart if I did know what was going on. I played a Misty Rainforest on turn 1 and he played a tapped Hallowed Fountain. This told me two things: we were mirror matching and he didn't have a Spell Snare in hand. The mirror is often about comboing quicker, or lockinh the combo with Pithing Needle and winning with a slow Trinket Mage or Tezzeret Ultimate. Thusly I made turn 2 Thopter Foundry and was not surprised when he did the same. I hadn't drawn a Sword by now so I played Trinket Mage and fetched up the Needle. I landed it after a brief counter war and was getting in happily for 2 a turn. He conceded on 8 because I had outmana'd him so dealing with the needle wouldn't matter. He was playing a version of the deck with Life from the Loam, which seems pretty good as it is tutorable with Muddle, helps get Swords in the bin and keeps getting your Academy Ruins back, an important card to be sure. With this in mind I didn't take out the usual Tormod's Crypt and elected for
-1 Wrath of God, -1 Day of Judgment, -3 Path to Exile, -1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Negate, + 2 Vendilion Clique, +2 Cranial Extraction
Game 2 is another non-starter really as I have a hand with half the combo, Tezzeret, some card draw and some counters and land, whereas he had no land to speak of. He managed to EOT discard a Sword but I got in a counter war over a Chrome Mox, leaving me free to resolve Tezz and just win with my huge mana advantage. I felt a bit lucky this round because he seems better prepared for the mirror but didn't draw lands. Still, there's a good prize on the line so it's not a good idea to feel guilty - if they stumble then you kick them while they're down.
2-0, 4-1
Round 3 vs Bruno Panara (Scapeshift)
Looks like my read on the format was a good one then. Bruno is a very good player from Edinburgh but I believe he originates in Italy. Scapeshift combo is not a great matchup for me as game 1 I have 10 dead cards and I have to pick my moment for counter wars over relevant spells. Game 1 is quite a long one. He doesn't draw too many lands if I remember correctly, while I manage to assemble my combo. He plays a Valakut which I am able to Ghost Quarter and I hope he is only playing 2 when he combos off because I am able to get out of range with the Foundry.
-3 Path to Exile, -1 Pithing Needle, -1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Day of Judgment, -1 Wrath of God, -1 Vedalken Shackles, -2 Engineered Explosives
+3 Cranial Extraction, +2 Vendilion Clique, +2 Negate, +3 Kitchen Finks
Game 2 I get my combo going pretty quickly and get out of range while he never draws a Scapeshift. The thing about Scapeshift is that if you can reach a certain life total then they can't harm you. They need 7 lands to deal you 18, 8 lands to deal you 36, and each subsequent land adds 6 to that total. This means you can just stay ahead of them as the game progresses if you have some life gain in the deck, such as Foundry or Martyr. I contemplated playing Martyr myself but it doesn't seem to have the raw power of Thopter Control and can have difficulties closing games.
3-0, 6-1
Round 4 vs Craig Stevenson (Zoo)
Another friend, teh sux. I hate playing friends because it's always a bit awkward when someone wins and you go back to your other friends for them to ask you how it went. It's still fun to whine about how lucky they got: I feel like I am deservedly on the bad end of a bad beat story. I win the very large dice roll and fan out Misty Rainforest, Mystic Gate, Scalding Tarn, Chrome Mox, Cryptic Command, Thopter Foundry, Sword of the Meek. Time to be the aggro player then :D. I fetch an Island and Mox-Cryptic for a turn 1 Sword of the Meek. Craig takes 3 making a Wild Nacatl. I play Mystic Gate and Thopter Foundry and wish him luck as I have drawn Day of Judgment. He plays a Qasali Pridemage and bashes in for 3 so I make a thopter end of turn (it feels better to race than stop some damage when I can gain so much life). I drew and fetched another Island, briefly considered my options and decided that if he had another Pridemage then I wasn't going to win the race with 4 guys so I got in for 2 and cleared the board. 1 card in hand, combo on board, end my turn 3. He doesn't draw a good answer and scooped them up - sorry Craig.
I board the same as round 1 and Craig has to mull to 5. I don't remember much of this game but the +2's on my life total pad indicate that I got a couple of Kitchen Finks down and I remember ending up with a couple of thopters from a Foundry with no Sword.
4-0, 8-1
Round 5 vs Tom Harle (Dredge)
Round 5 is the awkward one where you can win then ID in or lose and have to win the next one. I'm not sure I'm well-equipped to fight Dredge as I have little graveyard removal and no kind of quick clock. Sure enough he starts going off quite fast and although I have an explosives to deal with some tokens I can't stop the Narcomoeba beatdown without giving him lots of 2/2 Zombies. I did manage to Path him into his third land when it became apparent he was about to Dread Return Iona but a Mana Leak saw that off.
-3 Mana Leak, -1 Vedalken Shackles, -1 Spell Snare, -2 Cryptic Command
+2 Negate, +1 Tormod's Crypt, +3 Cranial Extraction, +1 Engineered Explosives
I substitute some dead cards for some less dead cards but am unable to stop the Zombie horde. I am probably sideboarding this wrongly but it doesn't look like I have a tremendous angle of attack to the game regardless. Tom's always a good player to play against because win or lose he's happy and friendly.
4-1, 8-3
Round 6 vs Matt Light (Rubin Zoo)
This was now the crucial round as it was likely the top 8 after this round would be able to ID in. Matt's a local player but I've seen him around at a bunch of events; he's the guy from the trade a One with Nothing for an entire deck at Nats story. I knew he was playing Rubin Zoo from scouting around (it's easy at events like this to figure out what a lot of people are playing after a few rounds) which is my best match-up, so I'd better not blow it. I counter a few threats because his are more expensive than normal Zoo and I get a Tezzeret down. I think about getting my combo but figure he's bound to have a Bolt sandbagged and my best action is to fetch out Vedalken Shackles. Sure enough he has a Lightning Helix to finish off my Planeswalker but is basically kold to Shackles as I can steal all his guys and make them fight each other for my pleasure. I use an otherwise-useless Tormod's Crypt to make a 7/7 Knight of the Reliquary stealable, counter his Bolt on it but can't stop him Pathing his own guy. When I reach enough Islands to steal Baneslayers he scoops them up.
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Pithing Needle, -1 Spell Snare
+2 Vendilion Clique, +1 Engineered Explosives
He comes out fast with some Noble Hierarchs and a Kataki but I get another quick Vedalken Shackles and slowly control the game. I spend a lot of time sitting behind a stolen Goyf and have counters when attempts to Bant Charm the Shackles with his own Counter back-up. He lands a Gaddock Teeg when I tap out to fetch an Engineered Explosives but when I Path Teeglesworth he concedes to the inevitable.
5-1, 10-3
Round 7 vs Stephen McIntosh (Dark Depths)
Another Cambridge player and one I knew from when I used to play there (when I was even more terrible).
-1 Hunger, -1 Hour
+1 Chilli Beef with Rice, +1 Nachos
The whole top 8 could safely ID in so we used this opportunity to get some dinner and relax before the top 8 started.
5-1-1, 10-3
Quarter Finals vs Jim (Thopter Foundry)
Not my Jim, although my Jim did know him, do they have a club? Maybe it has a gym. Anyway, the top 8 was 2 Zoo, 2 Scapeshift, 2 Thopter Foundry, Dredge and Dark Depths. I finished 4th in the swiss and faced the 5th placed Mirror match, yay. Game 1 took a very long time with some Trinket Mage beats and a small amount of comboing on both sides before the board was wiped, I stuck a Pithing Needle on his Academy Ruins and we were both in topdeck mode. I made the mistake of playing out all my lands (mana advantage is usually good in control mirrors) before I drew Thirst for Knowledge and worked out why I might want extra cards in hand. I was able to filter through my deck first and found the combo again. He got a Gifts and received a Tezzeret in the deal but I had a counter for the sword of the Meek and he had no Artifact to keep comboing with when I went off.
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Wrath of God, -1 Day of Judgment, -3 Path to Exile
+2 Negate, +2 Vendilion Clique, +2 Cranial Extraction
With not long left my best chances were locking up the game for us both. I had an early combo but only got 1 guy out of my Sword before it was Extirpated, drat. He lands a Trinket Mage and I a Vendilion Clique followed by a second Thopter. I kill his Tezzeret, losing my Clique to his Thopter and trade my two tokens for his Trinket Mage, leaving the board clear. I resolve a Tezzeret and fetch up Pithing Needle naming Thopter Foundry to stop any more comboing and he scoops rather than wait out the few minutes we had remaining.
6-1-1, 12-3
Semi Finals vs Bruno Panara (Again)
He assures me he won't be so unlucky this time and he's figured out how to sideboard. By this point we had been moved into the bar area and there was a more jovial atmosphere to proceedings. I mull g1 and keep an okay but probably too slow hand. I get my combo going but am only able to reach 25 when he 36's me - told you one had to get out of range!
Same sideboarding as before, 10 dead cards out for 10 live ones. I get my combo (important, since I am actually the aggressor in this matchup) and am able to gain enough life to be out of range before he finds a Scapeshift he can adequately defend. Game 3 for the marbles then. This is a very interesting game as I manage to defend a cranial Extraction to strip away his Scapeshifts. An early Vendilion Clique stripped him of a Cloudthresher but the Cranial revealed a Rude Awakening in his hand. At the end of my turn he tapped out to Cryptic Bounce a land and draw a card and I seized the opportunity to Clique away the Awakening, legend ruling that creature to just leave me with a Kitchen Finks. He goes for a Peer through Depths which I Negate and I Negate his Negate, leaving me handless with my Finks and Thopter Combo to his 1 life and land in hand. I wish him luck and he slams Vendilion Clique down, believing it to be not enough to save him. He forgot to try Cliquing away his land but I think the top of his library was blanks when he looked afterwards. As I write this I realise I might be confusing the games with one another, but Rich Hagon was on hand to take a good match report so hopefully he'll write it up himself at some point and I can see all my mistakes again.
7-1-1, 14-4
Finals vs Richard Bland (Scapeshift)
Scapeshift again?!? At least my read on the format was accurate enough, having played 3 Zoo, 3 Scapeshift, 2 Thopter Foundry and 1 Dredge deck. My memories of this match are a bit hazy, but in game 1 he made an early Kitchen Finks, an unusual maindeck choice for Scapeshift. I got my combo and was soon able to block and kill the Finks and attack for some. He had a Firespout but I just made more guys and gained more life and I was able to attack him for lethals. This was it, 1 game win away from the Pro Tour!
Same old trusty sideboarding, didn't even need the reminder sheet for this one ;). Game 2 I kept a slow one with too many expensive spells. He Vendilion Cliques me and lets me keep, bashes in for 3 a few times but combos the win before I can recover, Sad Face.
We shuffle up for game 3. I say we; due to my broken hand I had had Andy Edwards, Jim Marlow and Neil Rigby offering to shuffle for me throughout the top 8 - stirling work guys, very appreciated. My 7 has a guy, some land and some counters so I keep it. Richard doesn't like his 7 so goes to 6. He looks long and hard about this and when I ask if it's Valakut and 5 mountains, he says that it's close but only 4. His next 5 are no good either but he keeps the 4. I know the game is mine for the taking now but my guy is a Trinket Mage and I don't want to get beat by a Vendilion Clique when my back is turned so I take it slowly and play my Mage when I have counter mana up. He only gets me an Artifact Land but I'm able to land a Kitchen Finks. A Vendilion Clique in his draw step gets countered but I have too much pressure on now and he can't get there in time.
8-1-1 16-5-1
There it was, I'd done it! My first PTQ win, and I was very happy. I think everyone around could see that it was special to me because they were all congratulating me. The judges had made a special Blue envelope with a note of congratulations and a foil lucky charm to take with me, which was lovely. Guess I'm off to Puerto Rico then :D
Hi all, I have just had an excellent weekend and wish to shout about it. This Saturday was a PTQ in Nottingham to qualify for Pro Tour: San Juan, which is in Puerto Rico to save you googling it. I had resolved to make much more of an effort with PTQs and suchlike this year because last year I kept having things planned and managed to attend a grand total of 2 I think. This is obviously not giving myself the best chance at getting there so I decided to a) attend more and b) play good decks. By good decks I am most likely netdecking (unless I can think of a tremendous reason to not do so) with minor tweaks, but also trying to pick a deck which would be good or at least give me chances against a large proportion of the field (the expected opposition).
This qualifying season is Extended format and it looks like the big three decks are Zoo, Thopter Foundry and Scapeshift. I felt like Zoo and Scapeshift would be picked up by a lot of the better players and I should also be prepared for random matchups because there is nothing worse than losing to something terrible round 1 and then never getting anywhere. I picked Thopter Foundry because it is good against Zoo and random jank, has decent chances against Scapeshift (but likes the opponent to make mistakes) and if I picked it up early enough then I can get a good feel for the mirror. Control decks usually have godawful mirrors but I play pretty quickly and love casting blue cards - every spell should draw cards in my opinion.
I spent December on ebay slowly getting good deals for the cards in the deck LSV and Ochoa played at Worlds, figuring that while the deck might not end up like that it was a good place to start. After testing with others and a couple of practice tournaments I got comfortable with the flow of the deck and started to sleeve up when two things happened on Thursday: 1) LSV had a more up-to-date version in mtg.com's decks to beat section with (most importantly) an up-to-date sideboard, featuring many of the cards I was considering; and 2) I found out that I had broken a bone in my right (my good) hand. The first point meant I could have a great deck and had only to figure out sideboarding, which was easy because I had practiced the matchups already. The second point meant I couldn't shuffle well at all and had trouble keeping readable life totals. I decided that I had prepared so much that I wouldn't just duck out and everyone I know would be fine to shuffle their opponent's deck for them if they had a broken hand. I also decided to play in a GPT in Manchester on Sunday, because why not (more on this later)?
The 75 I sleeved up is the following:
Maindeck (60):
1 Academy Ruins
1 Ancient Den
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
3 Marsh Flats
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Mystic Gate
1 Plains
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Seat of the Synod
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Plains
1Tolaria West
1 Watery Grave
2 Trinket Mage
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Chrome Mox
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
2 Sword of the Meek
3 Thopter Foundry
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Vedalken Shackles
2 Cryptic Command
1 Day of Judgment
2 Gifts Ungiven
3 Mana Leak
1 Muddle the Mixture
3 Path to Exile
4 Spell Snare
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Wrath of God
Sideboard (15):
1 Chalice of the Void
3 Cranial Extraction
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Negate
2 Pulse of the Fields
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Vendilion Clique
A pretty wonderful 75 with a bit more mana, counters and combo than the original with a bit of a dudes sideboard switch (definitely important to get the pressure on in some matchups).
Team Leeds managed to get 3 carfulls of players down, comprising 14 of the 78 competitors. There were also lots of people from other places I've got to know through playing Magic at various events - it's a good game for meeting people across the country if you want to. After registering and making sure my arm was alright for the judges (I'd messaged the head judge, David Lyford-Smith, in advance) the pairings were given out for round 1.
Round 1 vs Seb Parker (Zoo)
An annoying pairing, to be sure, because Seb is a friend who plays in Cambridge and we're going to Grand Prix: Madrid together at the end of February (with another couple of friends). I know he's playing Zoo, which is a good matchup, but he is also a good player. Game 1 he makes a Wild Nacatl straight away and with another quick guy and some burn back-up I was dead before I could get going. I sideboard:
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -2 Cryptic Command, -1 Pithing Needle, -2 Gifts Ungiven
+2 Vendilion Clique, +1 Engineered Explosives, +3 Kitchen Finks
He doesn't draw as well game 2 and after I deal with some guys he tries to burn me out. I land a Kitchen Finks to go to 12 against his basically empty hand and he concedes to go to game 3. We each keep dodgy hands - he has a lot of land and I have 1 with 4 1 mana spells on the draw. I get to spell snare a few key cards (Teeg, Goyf) and when I finally get to 3 mana to start casting Kitchen Finks he has drawn a lot of land. After drawing all those lands he drew his Steppe Lynxes but I had a recurring Engineered Explosives lock with 3 different colours so it was simply a matter of time before I got there.
1-0 matches, 2-1 games
Round 2 vs Dom ? (Thopter Foundry)
I didn't know at the time but this guy had just beaten Fu in a mirror match. Fu was running the old version of the deck so I couldn't take the results to heart if I did know what was going on. I played a Misty Rainforest on turn 1 and he played a tapped Hallowed Fountain. This told me two things: we were mirror matching and he didn't have a Spell Snare in hand. The mirror is often about comboing quicker, or lockinh the combo with Pithing Needle and winning with a slow Trinket Mage or Tezzeret Ultimate. Thusly I made turn 2 Thopter Foundry and was not surprised when he did the same. I hadn't drawn a Sword by now so I played Trinket Mage and fetched up the Needle. I landed it after a brief counter war and was getting in happily for 2 a turn. He conceded on 8 because I had outmana'd him so dealing with the needle wouldn't matter. He was playing a version of the deck with Life from the Loam, which seems pretty good as it is tutorable with Muddle, helps get Swords in the bin and keeps getting your Academy Ruins back, an important card to be sure. With this in mind I didn't take out the usual Tormod's Crypt and elected for
-1 Wrath of God, -1 Day of Judgment, -3 Path to Exile, -1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Negate, + 2 Vendilion Clique, +2 Cranial Extraction
Game 2 is another non-starter really as I have a hand with half the combo, Tezzeret, some card draw and some counters and land, whereas he had no land to speak of. He managed to EOT discard a Sword but I got in a counter war over a Chrome Mox, leaving me free to resolve Tezz and just win with my huge mana advantage. I felt a bit lucky this round because he seems better prepared for the mirror but didn't draw lands. Still, there's a good prize on the line so it's not a good idea to feel guilty - if they stumble then you kick them while they're down.
2-0, 4-1
Round 3 vs Bruno Panara (Scapeshift)
Looks like my read on the format was a good one then. Bruno is a very good player from Edinburgh but I believe he originates in Italy. Scapeshift combo is not a great matchup for me as game 1 I have 10 dead cards and I have to pick my moment for counter wars over relevant spells. Game 1 is quite a long one. He doesn't draw too many lands if I remember correctly, while I manage to assemble my combo. He plays a Valakut which I am able to Ghost Quarter and I hope he is only playing 2 when he combos off because I am able to get out of range with the Foundry.
-3 Path to Exile, -1 Pithing Needle, -1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Day of Judgment, -1 Wrath of God, -1 Vedalken Shackles, -2 Engineered Explosives
+3 Cranial Extraction, +2 Vendilion Clique, +2 Negate, +3 Kitchen Finks
Game 2 I get my combo going pretty quickly and get out of range while he never draws a Scapeshift. The thing about Scapeshift is that if you can reach a certain life total then they can't harm you. They need 7 lands to deal you 18, 8 lands to deal you 36, and each subsequent land adds 6 to that total. This means you can just stay ahead of them as the game progresses if you have some life gain in the deck, such as Foundry or Martyr. I contemplated playing Martyr myself but it doesn't seem to have the raw power of Thopter Control and can have difficulties closing games.
3-0, 6-1
Round 4 vs Craig Stevenson (Zoo)
Another friend, teh sux. I hate playing friends because it's always a bit awkward when someone wins and you go back to your other friends for them to ask you how it went. It's still fun to whine about how lucky they got: I feel like I am deservedly on the bad end of a bad beat story. I win the very large dice roll and fan out Misty Rainforest, Mystic Gate, Scalding Tarn, Chrome Mox, Cryptic Command, Thopter Foundry, Sword of the Meek. Time to be the aggro player then :D. I fetch an Island and Mox-Cryptic for a turn 1 Sword of the Meek. Craig takes 3 making a Wild Nacatl. I play Mystic Gate and Thopter Foundry and wish him luck as I have drawn Day of Judgment. He plays a Qasali Pridemage and bashes in for 3 so I make a thopter end of turn (it feels better to race than stop some damage when I can gain so much life). I drew and fetched another Island, briefly considered my options and decided that if he had another Pridemage then I wasn't going to win the race with 4 guys so I got in for 2 and cleared the board. 1 card in hand, combo on board, end my turn 3. He doesn't draw a good answer and scooped them up - sorry Craig.
I board the same as round 1 and Craig has to mull to 5. I don't remember much of this game but the +2's on my life total pad indicate that I got a couple of Kitchen Finks down and I remember ending up with a couple of thopters from a Foundry with no Sword.
4-0, 8-1
Round 5 vs Tom Harle (Dredge)
Round 5 is the awkward one where you can win then ID in or lose and have to win the next one. I'm not sure I'm well-equipped to fight Dredge as I have little graveyard removal and no kind of quick clock. Sure enough he starts going off quite fast and although I have an explosives to deal with some tokens I can't stop the Narcomoeba beatdown without giving him lots of 2/2 Zombies. I did manage to Path him into his third land when it became apparent he was about to Dread Return Iona but a Mana Leak saw that off.
-3 Mana Leak, -1 Vedalken Shackles, -1 Spell Snare, -2 Cryptic Command
+2 Negate, +1 Tormod's Crypt, +3 Cranial Extraction, +1 Engineered Explosives
I substitute some dead cards for some less dead cards but am unable to stop the Zombie horde. I am probably sideboarding this wrongly but it doesn't look like I have a tremendous angle of attack to the game regardless. Tom's always a good player to play against because win or lose he's happy and friendly.
4-1, 8-3
Round 6 vs Matt Light (Rubin Zoo)
This was now the crucial round as it was likely the top 8 after this round would be able to ID in. Matt's a local player but I've seen him around at a bunch of events; he's the guy from the trade a One with Nothing for an entire deck at Nats story. I knew he was playing Rubin Zoo from scouting around (it's easy at events like this to figure out what a lot of people are playing after a few rounds) which is my best match-up, so I'd better not blow it. I counter a few threats because his are more expensive than normal Zoo and I get a Tezzeret down. I think about getting my combo but figure he's bound to have a Bolt sandbagged and my best action is to fetch out Vedalken Shackles. Sure enough he has a Lightning Helix to finish off my Planeswalker but is basically kold to Shackles as I can steal all his guys and make them fight each other for my pleasure. I use an otherwise-useless Tormod's Crypt to make a 7/7 Knight of the Reliquary stealable, counter his Bolt on it but can't stop him Pathing his own guy. When I reach enough Islands to steal Baneslayers he scoops them up.
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Pithing Needle, -1 Spell Snare
+2 Vendilion Clique, +1 Engineered Explosives
He comes out fast with some Noble Hierarchs and a Kataki but I get another quick Vedalken Shackles and slowly control the game. I spend a lot of time sitting behind a stolen Goyf and have counters when attempts to Bant Charm the Shackles with his own Counter back-up. He lands a Gaddock Teeg when I tap out to fetch an Engineered Explosives but when I Path Teeglesworth he concedes to the inevitable.
5-1, 10-3
Round 7 vs Stephen McIntosh (Dark Depths)
Another Cambridge player and one I knew from when I used to play there (when I was even more terrible).
-1 Hunger, -1 Hour
+1 Chilli Beef with Rice, +1 Nachos
The whole top 8 could safely ID in so we used this opportunity to get some dinner and relax before the top 8 started.
5-1-1, 10-3
Quarter Finals vs Jim (Thopter Foundry)
Not my Jim, although my Jim did know him, do they have a club? Maybe it has a gym. Anyway, the top 8 was 2 Zoo, 2 Scapeshift, 2 Thopter Foundry, Dredge and Dark Depths. I finished 4th in the swiss and faced the 5th placed Mirror match, yay. Game 1 took a very long time with some Trinket Mage beats and a small amount of comboing on both sides before the board was wiped, I stuck a Pithing Needle on his Academy Ruins and we were both in topdeck mode. I made the mistake of playing out all my lands (mana advantage is usually good in control mirrors) before I drew Thirst for Knowledge and worked out why I might want extra cards in hand. I was able to filter through my deck first and found the combo again. He got a Gifts and received a Tezzeret in the deal but I had a counter for the sword of the Meek and he had no Artifact to keep comboing with when I went off.
-1 Tormod's Crypt, -1 Wrath of God, -1 Day of Judgment, -3 Path to Exile
+2 Negate, +2 Vendilion Clique, +2 Cranial Extraction
With not long left my best chances were locking up the game for us both. I had an early combo but only got 1 guy out of my Sword before it was Extirpated, drat. He lands a Trinket Mage and I a Vendilion Clique followed by a second Thopter. I kill his Tezzeret, losing my Clique to his Thopter and trade my two tokens for his Trinket Mage, leaving the board clear. I resolve a Tezzeret and fetch up Pithing Needle naming Thopter Foundry to stop any more comboing and he scoops rather than wait out the few minutes we had remaining.
6-1-1, 12-3
Semi Finals vs Bruno Panara (Again)
He assures me he won't be so unlucky this time and he's figured out how to sideboard. By this point we had been moved into the bar area and there was a more jovial atmosphere to proceedings. I mull g1 and keep an okay but probably too slow hand. I get my combo going but am only able to reach 25 when he 36's me - told you one had to get out of range!
Same sideboarding as before, 10 dead cards out for 10 live ones. I get my combo (important, since I am actually the aggressor in this matchup) and am able to gain enough life to be out of range before he finds a Scapeshift he can adequately defend. Game 3 for the marbles then. This is a very interesting game as I manage to defend a cranial Extraction to strip away his Scapeshifts. An early Vendilion Clique stripped him of a Cloudthresher but the Cranial revealed a Rude Awakening in his hand. At the end of my turn he tapped out to Cryptic Bounce a land and draw a card and I seized the opportunity to Clique away the Awakening, legend ruling that creature to just leave me with a Kitchen Finks. He goes for a Peer through Depths which I Negate and I Negate his Negate, leaving me handless with my Finks and Thopter Combo to his 1 life and land in hand. I wish him luck and he slams Vendilion Clique down, believing it to be not enough to save him. He forgot to try Cliquing away his land but I think the top of his library was blanks when he looked afterwards. As I write this I realise I might be confusing the games with one another, but Rich Hagon was on hand to take a good match report so hopefully he'll write it up himself at some point and I can see all my mistakes again.
7-1-1, 14-4
Finals vs Richard Bland (Scapeshift)
Scapeshift again?!? At least my read on the format was accurate enough, having played 3 Zoo, 3 Scapeshift, 2 Thopter Foundry and 1 Dredge deck. My memories of this match are a bit hazy, but in game 1 he made an early Kitchen Finks, an unusual maindeck choice for Scapeshift. I got my combo and was soon able to block and kill the Finks and attack for some. He had a Firespout but I just made more guys and gained more life and I was able to attack him for lethals. This was it, 1 game win away from the Pro Tour!
Same old trusty sideboarding, didn't even need the reminder sheet for this one ;). Game 2 I kept a slow one with too many expensive spells. He Vendilion Cliques me and lets me keep, bashes in for 3 a few times but combos the win before I can recover, Sad Face.
We shuffle up for game 3. I say we; due to my broken hand I had had Andy Edwards, Jim Marlow and Neil Rigby offering to shuffle for me throughout the top 8 - stirling work guys, very appreciated. My 7 has a guy, some land and some counters so I keep it. Richard doesn't like his 7 so goes to 6. He looks long and hard about this and when I ask if it's Valakut and 5 mountains, he says that it's close but only 4. His next 5 are no good either but he keeps the 4. I know the game is mine for the taking now but my guy is a Trinket Mage and I don't want to get beat by a Vendilion Clique when my back is turned so I take it slowly and play my Mage when I have counter mana up. He only gets me an Artifact Land but I'm able to land a Kitchen Finks. A Vendilion Clique in his draw step gets countered but I have too much pressure on now and he can't get there in time.
8-1-1 16-5-1
There it was, I'd done it! My first PTQ win, and I was very happy. I think everyone around could see that it was special to me because they were all congratulating me. The judges had made a special Blue envelope with a note of congratulations and a foil lucky charm to take with me, which was lovely. Guess I'm off to Puerto Rico then :D
Thursday 14 January 2010
Guest Article: A Standard Tournament Report
By Andy Pemberton
Well, I played my first FNM with the deck (Finally) last night, after getting everything together the week before. I played the following list;
Keeping in mind this was my first Standard tournament since Mirrodin / Kamigawa / 8th Standard, I was looking forward to a change and see how Standard has evolved since I was last involved. I went with a deck that I thought would have a good shot at the field, with the tried and true method of dropping huge threats and beating face.
R1: Vs. Mirror Match. This was against a guy I discussed the deck with before Christmas, and we realised we were both aiming to build the same deck . He plays a slightly different variation to me, with no leeches, but main boarded Stags, Garruk and an extra Sledge or two.
G1: I kept a decent hand with a Cobra and Hierarch as well as a Leech and Elspeth, but a turn 3 Garruk followed by turn 4 Stag and Cobra with a double Oran-Rief the Vastwood pump and me not able to keep a threat on the table meant we were on to game 2.
Sideboard: -1 PtE; -1 Cobra; +2 Deathmark
G2: He kept a dicey hand, and I kept a hand with 5 lands, a Pulse and a Leech. He was able to take away 2 of my Pulses (1 drawn) with 2 Tidehollow Sculler that he boarded in. He was mana screwed for the longest time, but a Path on his Sculler after I blocked it meant he was able to get green mana for his own three Pulses. Unfortunately, I couldn't race his top decked threats with mine.
0-2; 0-1
Round 2: I played against a hybrid GWrb Cascade deck that did silly things with Enlisted Wurm and Bloodbraid Elf.
G1: I kept a nice hand of ramp and threats, but his 4th turn Ajani Vengeant kept my Forest tapped, and as I was trying to get rid of it, he was busy playing Enlisted Wurm into Bloodbraid Elf into Lightning Bolt, then the same into Harrow. He kept gaining life through Ajani and Sledged threats, and I couldn't race him.
Sideboard: -2 PtE; -1 Cobra; -1 Leech; +2 Deathmark; +2 Acidic Slime
G2: I went in hoping I could deny him off mana with the Slimes, though I didn't draw any this game. It came down to a race of his two Knights against Mine, and we ended up going into a war of attrition until I could finally sit a Baneslayer down without it being tapped down or Pathed. Same old Wurm-Elf antics, but luckily he hit Harrow and not removal, and we were onto game 3.
G3: He kept a dicey hand, and didn't a land drop after 3. An Acidic Slime on his lone Swamp left him with 2 mountains, and he promptly conceded.
2-3; 1-1
R3: I played yet again against a GW deck, but this time it was a Bant variant of the Junk deck, running Rhox War Monk.
G1: I kept down a Sledge and Baneslayer, and from the life gain from it and the loss from my opponent, we were onto Game 2. I got a lot of removal for his threats, though a late Conquerer's Pledge tried to keep my Elspeth from going Ultimate with success. Luckily she was still alive to pump BSA for the win.
Sideboard: -1 PtE; -1 Cobra; +2 Deathmark
G2: We raced for a lot of the game, trading threats with Paths. Eventually, I got him to 6, but couldn't draw a big enough threat to finish him off, and we went to Game 3.
G3: Baneslayer absolutely rocked in this game. By mid-game, I was top decking BSA, and with Sledge and Elspeth pumps I was doing 10 damage a turn. He was keeping afloat with a Sledged Elspeth, and falling for a Brave the Elements, he was able to gain more life off of my blocked Baneslayer. Eventually, the onslaught was too much, and Baneslayer took the game. I ended at 69 life.
4-4; 2-1
R4: I played against my first round opponent's friend, playing Bushwhacker. Unfortunately, we got kicked out of the venue at 10, so we were only able to have 1 game.
G1: He kept a 1-landed with four 1-drops, whereas I tried to build a board ready to block against his alpha strike. I managed to dig a Marsh Flats off of the top each time his Goblin Guide swung in, and as he swung in with a Skyfisher, Guide and Lynx, I blocked and double-Pathed his creatures to stay safe. This gave him the mana for Ranger of Eos, and some careful blocks left me at 4, with him having another Bushwhacker in hand. I managed to clear his doubly Lynx with a Pulse, then drop a Baneslayer. I was able to drop an Elspeth and make some Soldiers to hold the ground, and I promptly took him down a few turns later from 19-10-4-0 after a couple of Elspeth pumps and Exalted
I ended 2-1, since they didn't count the last match results due to the time constraints. Still, I felt the deck performed very well. Some changes I'm contemplating:
-1 Less Path to Exile: I found I was siding one or two out most of the time for the Sideboard removal specific for the decks I faced (Usually Deathmark). It's good removal, in that it trades threats for land, but it sometimes has the ill effect of getting your opponent out of mana screw. In it's place, I'd probably put in an extra 4-drop. I found my deck was a little convoluted at 3, and an extra Elspeth / Garruk / Emeria Angel would probably even the curve a little, and at 7 removal slots main deck, you should in theory have enough for Game 1, and board in Purge / Deathmark / Persecution from the board to up the count if need be.
-Behemoth Sledge: It's nice when it happens early or late, making it invaluable when you're trying to stay in the game against aggro opponents. I'm running one at the moment, but I may find space for a second if I can find the room.
-I love the Toolbox idea of the Sideboard. It helped to just extend my removal range in case I needed it. With 4 Maelstrom Pulse and 3 / 4 Paths, you should have enough Game 1, and be able to synch your removal for games 2/3. It also allows for removal of your creature removal in the face of USA / Grixis control in favour of Stags to up the threat count.
-I'm contemplating an Oran-Rief, the Vastwood as a target for Knight, just as a one-of. When I played against it in the Mirror match, it ended up making very powerful Stags, and even something like a Cobra becomes a threat, especially with a Garruk Wildspeaker out. Certainly worth testing, I feel.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed playing and writing up. We'll see if Draft brings me anything good next week :)
Andy P.
| Deck | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Lands: 5 Forest 4 Plains 2 Swamp 4 Verdant Catacombs 4 Marsh Flats 3 Sunpetal Grove 1 Gargoyle Castle | 26 Creatures: 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Lotus Cobra 3 Putrid Leech 4 Knight of the Reliquary 2 Borderland Ranger 3 Emeria Angel 4 Baneslayer Angel 2 Thornling | 11 Other Spells: 4 Path to Exile 4 Maelstrom Pulse 1 Behemoth Sledge 2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant | 15 Sideboard: 2 Acidic Slime 2 Celestial Purge 2 Deathmark 2 Duress 3 Great Sable Stag 2 Qasali Pridemage 2 Zealous Persecution |
Keeping in mind this was my first Standard tournament since Mirrodin / Kamigawa / 8th Standard, I was looking forward to a change and see how Standard has evolved since I was last involved. I went with a deck that I thought would have a good shot at the field, with the tried and true method of dropping huge threats and beating face.
R1: Vs. Mirror Match. This was against a guy I discussed the deck with before Christmas, and we realised we were both aiming to build the same deck . He plays a slightly different variation to me, with no leeches, but main boarded Stags, Garruk and an extra Sledge or two.
G1: I kept a decent hand with a Cobra and Hierarch as well as a Leech and Elspeth, but a turn 3 Garruk followed by turn 4 Stag and Cobra with a double Oran-Rief the Vastwood pump and me not able to keep a threat on the table meant we were on to game 2.
Sideboard: -1 PtE; -1 Cobra; +2 Deathmark
G2: He kept a dicey hand, and I kept a hand with 5 lands, a Pulse and a Leech. He was able to take away 2 of my Pulses (1 drawn) with 2 Tidehollow Sculler that he boarded in. He was mana screwed for the longest time, but a Path on his Sculler after I blocked it meant he was able to get green mana for his own three Pulses. Unfortunately, I couldn't race his top decked threats with mine.
0-2; 0-1
Round 2: I played against a hybrid GWrb Cascade deck that did silly things with Enlisted Wurm and Bloodbraid Elf.
G1: I kept a nice hand of ramp and threats, but his 4th turn Ajani Vengeant kept my Forest tapped, and as I was trying to get rid of it, he was busy playing Enlisted Wurm into Bloodbraid Elf into Lightning Bolt, then the same into Harrow. He kept gaining life through Ajani and Sledged threats, and I couldn't race him.
Sideboard: -2 PtE; -1 Cobra; -1 Leech; +2 Deathmark; +2 Acidic Slime
G2: I went in hoping I could deny him off mana with the Slimes, though I didn't draw any this game. It came down to a race of his two Knights against Mine, and we ended up going into a war of attrition until I could finally sit a Baneslayer down without it being tapped down or Pathed. Same old Wurm-Elf antics, but luckily he hit Harrow and not removal, and we were onto game 3.
G3: He kept a dicey hand, and didn't a land drop after 3. An Acidic Slime on his lone Swamp left him with 2 mountains, and he promptly conceded.
2-3; 1-1
R3: I played yet again against a GW deck, but this time it was a Bant variant of the Junk deck, running Rhox War Monk.
G1: I kept down a Sledge and Baneslayer, and from the life gain from it and the loss from my opponent, we were onto Game 2. I got a lot of removal for his threats, though a late Conquerer's Pledge tried to keep my Elspeth from going Ultimate with success. Luckily she was still alive to pump BSA for the win.
Sideboard: -1 PtE; -1 Cobra; +2 Deathmark
G2: We raced for a lot of the game, trading threats with Paths. Eventually, I got him to 6, but couldn't draw a big enough threat to finish him off, and we went to Game 3.
G3: Baneslayer absolutely rocked in this game. By mid-game, I was top decking BSA, and with Sledge and Elspeth pumps I was doing 10 damage a turn. He was keeping afloat with a Sledged Elspeth, and falling for a Brave the Elements, he was able to gain more life off of my blocked Baneslayer. Eventually, the onslaught was too much, and Baneslayer took the game. I ended at 69 life.
4-4; 2-1
R4: I played against my first round opponent's friend, playing Bushwhacker. Unfortunately, we got kicked out of the venue at 10, so we were only able to have 1 game.
G1: He kept a 1-landed with four 1-drops, whereas I tried to build a board ready to block against his alpha strike. I managed to dig a Marsh Flats off of the top each time his Goblin Guide swung in, and as he swung in with a Skyfisher, Guide and Lynx, I blocked and double-Pathed his creatures to stay safe. This gave him the mana for Ranger of Eos, and some careful blocks left me at 4, with him having another Bushwhacker in hand. I managed to clear his doubly Lynx with a Pulse, then drop a Baneslayer. I was able to drop an Elspeth and make some Soldiers to hold the ground, and I promptly took him down a few turns later from 19-10-4-0 after a couple of Elspeth pumps and Exalted
I ended 2-1, since they didn't count the last match results due to the time constraints. Still, I felt the deck performed very well. Some changes I'm contemplating:
-1 Less Path to Exile: I found I was siding one or two out most of the time for the Sideboard removal specific for the decks I faced (Usually Deathmark). It's good removal, in that it trades threats for land, but it sometimes has the ill effect of getting your opponent out of mana screw. In it's place, I'd probably put in an extra 4-drop. I found my deck was a little convoluted at 3, and an extra Elspeth / Garruk / Emeria Angel would probably even the curve a little, and at 7 removal slots main deck, you should in theory have enough for Game 1, and board in Purge / Deathmark / Persecution from the board to up the count if need be.
-Behemoth Sledge: It's nice when it happens early or late, making it invaluable when you're trying to stay in the game against aggro opponents. I'm running one at the moment, but I may find space for a second if I can find the room.
-I love the Toolbox idea of the Sideboard. It helped to just extend my removal range in case I needed it. With 4 Maelstrom Pulse and 3 / 4 Paths, you should have enough Game 1, and be able to synch your removal for games 2/3. It also allows for removal of your creature removal in the face of USA / Grixis control in favour of Stags to up the threat count.
-I'm contemplating an Oran-Rief, the Vastwood as a target for Knight, just as a one-of. When I played against it in the Mirror match, it ended up making very powerful Stags, and even something like a Cobra becomes a threat, especially with a Garruk Wildspeaker out. Certainly worth testing, I feel.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed playing and writing up. We'll see if Draft brings me anything good next week :)
Andy P.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Extendedable Youth - a Tournament Report
By Wagz
With the PTQ season coming up a few of us got together last weekend for a proxies-allowed Extended tournament to aid our preparation and help filter out the good decks. I brought LSV’s Tezzeret deck to battle and the mix of players would hopefully ensure we had a lot of variety but not too much Rogue (because playtesting against these decks is basically useless).
Round 1 I faced Martin, who was playing Dredge. Not sure how good a matchup this is because Dredge has the nuts most game 1s and then games 2 and 3 depend on the opponent’s hate. I lost game 1 after a couple of misplays but that’s why we’re here - to practice. Game 2 I kept a hand with Meddling Mage, Spell Snare, Path to Exile, Thirst for Knowledge and Engineered Explosives in but only 1 land – Mystic Gate. I kept it because any 1 coloured mana source and I’ve won already with Mage naming Dread Return and Protection to go the distance. Predictably I drew all spells but it was an interesting keep. I dread the return of this matchup because it’s not really like playing Magic™.
Round 2 was against Danny with Affinity, also known as “a real deck”. Game 1 I stabilized on 3 life before Thoptering off but game 2 I couldn’t get there in time and his little robots beat mine. He did draw all 4 Master of Etheriums though, tough breaks. This is the one matchup where you’d want more Wraths over Engineered Explosives, but you have lots of card draw to fetch them up and EE for 2 kills Ravager and Plating, two very key cards. Game 3 I kept a 2 land and mox hand but didn’t draw a third land. I used my 3 mana to make Vedalken Shackles and stole his Blinkmoth Nexus when he activated it to swing the next turn, upping my mana count to Blue Mox, Hallowed Fountain, Island and Nexus. This gave me enough mana to chain Cryptic Commands while at 4 life, hoping to find a White mana source to cast the Wrath in hand. I saw a Hallowed Fountain and wasted his team before getting a Baneslayer to smash in for 4 turns with all the skill required to do that.
Round 3 was a relatively bad match-up, Scapeshift (piloted by Andy Edwards). Game 1 I got my combo going but 23 life isn’t enough when they just 36 you in one turn, thanks for playing. Luckily games 2 and 3 I was able to counter the right spells at the right time and pulled it through to win. Sorry for not discussing this matchup more but it is one I prepared specific sideboard tech for and don’t wanna splash it all across the internets.
Round 4 I sat opposite Kier, with Deathcloud Rock, aka Tarmogoyf and cards. I think this is a good matchup for me but don’t know for sure. Game 1 I took a small amount of damage but got the Roflthopters going and protected the combo. Game 2 he landed a couple of guys and although I was battling to begin with, tapping out for my last card – Baneslayer Angel – and having it Putrefied put me on topdeck mode. My subsequent lands didn’t get anywhere against a creature on board. I’m pretty sure he still had all those though ;). Game 3 was a bit more back and forth but he didn’t have an answer for Vedalken Shackles and then he really didn’t have one for Baneslayer until it was too late.
3-1 felt pretty good for the deck, including that loss to manascrew against Dredge (which still could have gone either way if I could have cast my spells and there was always game 3 to lose). I’m tweaking it slightly for the PTQs but it’s nice to feel comfortable piloting a good deck rather than some homebrew again (loved my Realm Razer Zoo deck for Nats Qualifiers last year). I’m going to take PTQing more seriously this year, but as a result I might play even more random decks at WNM to make up for it (I’ve played combo since Zendikar came out, can’t stand swinging with dudes until necessary). For those into results and statistics, here’s the full breakdown of the results:
Round 1 I faced Martin, who was playing Dredge. Not sure how good a matchup this is because Dredge has the nuts most game 1s and then games 2 and 3 depend on the opponent’s hate. I lost game 1 after a couple of misplays but that’s why we’re here - to practice. Game 2 I kept a hand with Meddling Mage, Spell Snare, Path to Exile, Thirst for Knowledge and Engineered Explosives in but only 1 land – Mystic Gate. I kept it because any 1 coloured mana source and I’ve won already with Mage naming Dread Return and Protection to go the distance. Predictably I drew all spells but it was an interesting keep. I dread the return of this matchup because it’s not really like playing Magic™.
Round 2 was against Danny with Affinity, also known as “a real deck”. Game 1 I stabilized on 3 life before Thoptering off but game 2 I couldn’t get there in time and his little robots beat mine. He did draw all 4 Master of Etheriums though, tough breaks. This is the one matchup where you’d want more Wraths over Engineered Explosives, but you have lots of card draw to fetch them up and EE for 2 kills Ravager and Plating, two very key cards. Game 3 I kept a 2 land and mox hand but didn’t draw a third land. I used my 3 mana to make Vedalken Shackles and stole his Blinkmoth Nexus when he activated it to swing the next turn, upping my mana count to Blue Mox, Hallowed Fountain, Island and Nexus. This gave me enough mana to chain Cryptic Commands while at 4 life, hoping to find a White mana source to cast the Wrath in hand. I saw a Hallowed Fountain and wasted his team before getting a Baneslayer to smash in for 4 turns with all the skill required to do that.
Round 3 was a relatively bad match-up, Scapeshift (piloted by Andy Edwards). Game 1 I got my combo going but 23 life isn’t enough when they just 36 you in one turn, thanks for playing. Luckily games 2 and 3 I was able to counter the right spells at the right time and pulled it through to win. Sorry for not discussing this matchup more but it is one I prepared specific sideboard tech for and don’t wanna splash it all across the internets.
Round 4 I sat opposite Kier, with Deathcloud Rock, aka Tarmogoyf and cards. I think this is a good matchup for me but don’t know for sure. Game 1 I took a small amount of damage but got the Roflthopters going and protected the combo. Game 2 he landed a couple of guys and although I was battling to begin with, tapping out for my last card – Baneslayer Angel – and having it Putrefied put me on topdeck mode. My subsequent lands didn’t get anywhere against a creature on board. I’m pretty sure he still had all those though ;). Game 3 was a bit more back and forth but he didn’t have an answer for Vedalken Shackles and then he really didn’t have one for Baneslayer until it was too late.
3-1 felt pretty good for the deck, including that loss to manascrew against Dredge (which still could have gone either way if I could have cast my spells and there was always game 3 to lose). I’m tweaking it slightly for the PTQs but it’s nice to feel comfortable piloting a good deck rather than some homebrew again (loved my Realm Razer Zoo deck for Nats Qualifiers last year). I’m going to take PTQing more seriously this year, but as a result I might play even more random decks at WNM to make up for it (I’ve played combo since Zendikar came out, can’t stand swinging with dudes until necessary). For those into results and statistics, here’s the full breakdown of the results:
| Round 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playa | Deck | Score | Playa | “Deck” |
| John | (Sullivan Burn) | 2-0 | Rob C | (Living End) |
| Steve | (Landfall Zoo) | 1-2 | Kenny | (Kiki-Jiki) |
| Andy E | (Scapeshift) | 2-0 | Kier | (Deathcloud) |
| Paul | (All-in Red) | 2-1 | Danny | (Affinity) |
| Craig | (Domain Zoo) | 2-1 | Andy D | (Living End) |
| Rob W | (Tezzeret) | 0-2 | Martin | (Dredge) |
| Round 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| John | 2-1 | Martin |
| Paul | 0-2 | Craig |
| Kenny | 0-2 | Andy E |
| Rob W | 2-1 | Danny |
| Steve | 0-2 | Andy D |
| Rob C | 2-1 | Kier |
| Round 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| John | 1-2 | Craig |
| Andy E | 1-2 | Rob W |
| Martin | 0-2 | Kenny |
| Paul | 2-0 | Andy D |
| Rob C | 2-0 | Danny |
| Steve | 0-2 | Kier |
| Round 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Craig | 2-1 | Rob C |
| John | 2-1 | Andy E |
| Kenny | 2-0 | Paul |
| Rob W | 2-1 | Kier |
| Steve | 1-2 | Danny |
| Andy D | 0-2 | Martin |
| Final Standings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Name | Deck | Pts | OMW% | GW% (calculated manually, good times) |
| 1 | Craig | Domain Zoo | 12 | ||
| 2 | John | Sullivan Burn | 9 | 0.625 | |
| 3 | Kenny | Kik-Jiki Combo | 9 | 0.458 | |
| 4 | Rob W | Tezzeret | 9 | 0.417 | |
| 5 | Andy E | Scapeshift | 6 | 0.646 | 0.75 |
| 6 | Martin | Dredge | 6 | 0.646 | 0.556 |
| 7 | Rob C | Living End | 6 | 0.604 | 0.5 |
| 8 | Paul | All-in Red | 6 | 0.604 | 0.444 |
| 9 | Andy D | Living End | 3 | 0.583 | |
| 10 | Kier | Deathcloud | 3 | 0.4 | |
| 11 | Danny | Affinity | 3 | 0.333 | |
| 12 | Steve | Landfall Zoo | 0 |
Sunday 10 January 2010
Drafting with Jim #15
By Jim Marlow
Hey everyone,
Against all odds i won a couple of drafts recently, meaning i could draft a few times as a bit of downtime after revision, and i will be posting all of them up here over the next few days and weeks.
This draft i did on wednesday night, after magic, accompanied by Andy and Martin, and various delicious foods.
Also of note, i was lucky enough to draft with Darren Grafham of both Cambridge and generally a bloody good guy fame, how nice.
Event #: 848474
Time: 1/6/2010 10:09:19 PM
Players:
djseb
syska
SOLTYS
darrengrafham
--> wiggi1
timcampbell
rapdjdragon
just_add_water
------ ZEN ------
Pack 1 pick 1:
Desecrated Earth
Seascape Aerialist
Paralyzing Grasp
Plains
Turntimber Grove
Disfigure
Mind Sludge
--> Burst Lightning
Eternity Vessel
Kraken Hatchling
Island (FOIL)
Timbermaw Larva
Seismic Shudder
Bladetusk Boar
Khalni Gem
Burst lightning is quite a lot better than anything else in the pack, which is nice
Pack 1 pick 2:
Explorer's Scope
Tempest Owl
--> Trusty Machete
Kazandu Blademaster
Zektar Shrine Expedition
Noble Vestige
Sky Ruin Drake
Plains
Pillarfield Ox
Hedron Scrabbler
Quest for the Gemblades
Disfigure
Grappling Hook
Scythe Tiger
Machete is the nuts, i hate passing blademaster because i love w/r and im pretty sure i have won games single handedly with this guy.
Pack 1 pick 3:
Cliff Threader
Savage Silhouette
Surrakar Marauder
Giant Scorpion
Greenweaver Druid
Oran-Rief Recluse
--> Torch Slinger
Reckless Scholar
Carnage Altar
Plains
Umara Raptor
Geyser Glider
Blood Tribute
This was a really good pack, and was the source of the first of many lovers tiffs between the 3 bears huddled round my computer (mostly ending in me just making the incorrect pick). Its pretty tough, but i though staying on colour here was best, and i prefer torch slinger to geyser glider, especially if we end up going into a second/different colour.
Pack 1 pick 4:
Goblin Bushwhacker
Spreading Seas
Ondu Cleric
Hedron Scrabbler
Tajuru Archer
--> Nissa's Chosen
Quest for Pure Flame
Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Oran-Rief Survivalist
Goblin Ruinblaster
Forest
Steppe Lynx
Im still not sure this is the pick over survivalist, but apparently getting on the pro tour means something.
Pack 1 pick 5:
Tempest Owl
Cancel
Whiplash Trap
--> Teetering Peaks
Swamp
Mindless Null
Sunspring Expedition
Runeflare Trap
Feast of Blood
Joraga Bard
Noble Vestige
Pack 1 pick 6:
--> Grazing Gladehart
Bog Tatters
Slaughter Cry
Kor Outfitter
Shieldmate's Blessing
Needlebite Trap
Beast Hunt
Summoner's Bane
Cancel
Swamp
Dabbling with green looks to be possibly the correct choice, i absolutely love gladeheart.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Soaring Seacliff
Seascape Aerialist
Caravan Hurda
Seismic Shudder
Plains
--> Greenweaver Druid
Spreading Seas
Kraken Hatchling
Turntimber Grove
this guy is pretty good, lots of blue stuff going round, someone may have some blue based ally deck to worry about.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Nimbus Wings
Sejiri Refuge
Swamp
--> Vastwood Gorger
Zendikar Farguide
Khalni Heart Expedition
Trapfinder's Trick
Teetering Peaks
fat.
Pack 1 pick 9:
Desecrated Earth
Seascape Aerialist
Paralyzing Grasp
Plains
Turntimber Grove
Island (FOIL)
--> Seismic Shudder
I think i preferred hating the aerialist, but shudder is a pretty key sideboard card so our combined decision was that. pretty sure island is the irl pick right?
Pack 1 pick 10:
Tempest Owl
Noble Vestige
Plains
Hedron Scrabbler
--> Grappling Hook
Scythe Tiger
this can be annoying so take it out, scrabbles is a house, but we can pick some up later if needed
Pack 1 pick 11:
Savage Silhouette
--> Greenweaver Druid
Carnage Altar
Plains
Blood Tribute
Pack 1 pick 12:
Spreading Seas
--> Hedron Scrabbler
Quest for Pure Flame
Forest
DING!
Pack 1 pick 13:
Swamp
Sunspring Expedition
--> Noble Vestige
Pack 1 pick 14:
Shieldmate's Blessing
--> Beast Hunt
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Turntimber Grove
------ ZEN ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Highland Berserker
Windborne Charge
Soul Stair Expedition
Quest for the Holy Relic
--> Oracle of Mul Daya
Joraga Bard
Turntimber Basilisk
Kabira Crossroads
Molten Ravager
Mold Shambler
Disfigure
Tempest Owl
Island
Mindless Null
Sunspring Expedition
There seems to be lots of mixed opinion about this guy, i like him a lot.
Pack 2 pick 2:
Grazing Gladehart
Gomazoa
Mountain
Vampire Hexmage
Bold Defense
Shatterskull Giant
Tanglesap
--> Kazuul Warlord
Vines of Vastwood
Lethargy Trap
Jwar Isle Refuge
Goblin War Paint
Into the Roil
Blood Seeker
This guy is pretty big, if we can get any allies he will get pretty saucy. Gladeheart would have been nice esp with oracle, but can you pass this guy?
Pack 2 pick 3:
--> Timbermaw Larva
Mark of Mutiny
Zektar Shrine Expedition
Quest for Ancient Secrets
Bladetusk Boar
Piranha Marsh
Scythe Tiger
Forest
Archive Trap
Slaughter Cry
Hedron Scrabbler
Mire Blight
Tempest Owl
Clearly commiting to heavy green, all our red cards are splashable,
Pack 2 pick 4:
Beastmaster Ascension
Stonework Puma
--> Baloth Woodcrasher
Tuktuk Grunts
Island
Paralyzing Grasp
Oran-Rief Survivalist
Frontier Guide
Vines of Vastwood
Ruinous Minotaur
Trapmaker's Snare
Pillarfield Ox
annoyingly this guy is pretty saucy, becuase it means passing a survivalist, again.
Pack 2 pick 5:
Highland Berserker
Slaughter Cry
Mire Blight
Sunspring Expedition
Inferno Trap
Swamp
Shoal Serpent
--> Baloth Woodcrasher
Kor Duelist
Grim Discovery
Joraga Bard
not really sure why we didnt take the inferno trap. I think we were at the time thinking we could splash only for the burst lightning, and 2 woodcrashers plus oracle, and double greenweaver druid makes for a nice deck.
Pack 2 pick 6:
Mire Blight
Zendikar Farguide
Merfolk Wayfinder
Cancel
--> Magma Rift
Trapmaker's Snare
Spire Barrage
Swamp
Khalni Heart Expedition
Kazandu Refuge
Pack 2 pick 7:
--> Kazandu Refuge
Lethargy Trap
Savage Silhouette
Goblin Bushwhacker
Forest
Primal Bellow
Shatterskull Giant
Tanglesap
Cosi's Trickster
Pack 2 pick 8:
Akoum Refuge
Caller of Gales
Teetering Peaks
Mountain
--> Nissa's Chosen
Quest for the Gemblades
Narrow Escape
Kabira Crossroads
Pack 2 pick 9:
Quest for the Holy Relic
Joraga Bard
--> Turntimber Basilisk
Tempest Owl
Island
Mindless Null
Sunspring Expedition
Pack 2 pick 10:
Mountain
Bold Defense
Tanglesap
Lethargy Trap
--> Goblin War Paint
Blood Seeker
Pack 2 pick 11:
Quest for Ancient Secrets
Scythe Tiger
--> Forest
Mire Blight
Tempest Owl
Pack 2 pick 12:
Island
--> Ruinous Minotaur
Trapmaker's Snare
Pillarfield Ox
Pack 2 pick 13:
Mire Blight
Sunspring Expedition
--> Swamp
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Mire Blight
Trapmaker's Snare
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Tanglesap
------ ZEN ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Bog Tatters
Demolish
Mountain
Heartstabber Mosquito
Soaring Seacliff
Vampire's Bite
Oran-Rief Recluse
Spell Pierce
Sadistic Sacrament (FOIL)
Pitfall Trap
--> Terra Stomper
Merfolk Wayfinder
Kor Outfitter
Graypelt Refuge
Relic Crush
stomp!
Pack 3 pick 2:
Khalni Heart Expedition
Mountain
Ior Ruin Expedition
Molten Ravager
Kor Hookmaster
Territorial Baloth
--> Blazing Torch
Conqueror's Pledge
Mire Blight
Zendikar Farguide
Heartstabber Mosquito (FOIL)
Arrow Volley Trap
Soul Stair Expedition
Landbind Ritual
Blazing torch is pretty good, green tends to lack removal, and we are not sure how much of our red removal, if any we will be playing, so a decent pick i think.
Pack 3 pick 3:
Magosi, the Waterveil
Molten Ravager
Cancel
Heartstabber Mosquito
--> Blazing Torch
Swamp
Demolish
Spidersilk Net
Noble Vestige
Relic Crush (FOIL)
Beast Hunt
Hedron Crab
Kor Sanctifiers
dubs.
Pack 3 pick 4:
Blood Seeker
Tanglesap
Needlebite Trap
Luminarch Ascension
Mountain
Teetering Peaks
Savage Silhouette
Hagra Crocodile
Caller of Gales
Mark of Mutiny
Whiplash Trap
--> Goblin Shortcutter
not a great pack for us, could have hated the luminarch or considered splashing white, but its not that busted in draft, so hopefully it wont come back to haunt us.
Pack 3 pick 5:
Kor Skyfisher
Plains
Bold Defense
Piranha Marsh
Living Tsunami
Into the Roil
Kor Hookmaster
Territorial Baloth
--> Timbermaw Larva
Jwar Isle Refuge
Welkin Tern
Pack 3 pick 6:
Forest
Cliff Threader
Narrow Escape
--> Mold Shambler
Windrider Eel
Cobra Trap
Quest for Pure Flame
Magosi, the Waterveil
Hagra Crocodile
Goblin Shortcutter
Pack 3 pick 7:
Sejiri Refuge
--> Steppe Lynx
Hagra Diabolist
Caravan Hurda
Ior Ruin Expedition
Kraken Hatchling
Turntimber Grove
Swamp
Desecrated Earth
Pack 3 pick 8:
Mindless Null
Swamp
Spell Pierce
--> Baloth Cage Trap
Nimbus Wings
Relic Crush
Archmage Ascension
Vampire's Bite
this is nice, people seem to walk into it all the time, despite there being so few tricks to think about, which is pretty awesome.
Pack 3 pick 9:
Mountain
Soaring Seacliff
Vampire's Bite
Spell Pierce
Merfolk Wayfinder
Graypelt Refuge
--> Relic Crush
Pack 3 pick 10:
Mountain
Ior Ruin Expedition
Territorial Baloth
Mire Blight
--> Zendikar Farguide
Landbind Ritual
Pack 3 pick 11:
Magosi, the Waterveil
Swamp
--> Demolish
Noble Vestige
Beast Hunt
Pack 3 pick 12:
Needlebite Trap
--> Mountain
Hagra Crocodile
Caller of Gales
Pack 3 pick 13:
Bold Defense
Piranha Marsh
--> Jwar Isle Refuge
Pack 3 pick 14:
Forest
--> Cobra Trap
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Turntimber Grove
This was the deck we made
1 x burst lightning
1 x trusty machete
2 x blazing torch
1 x torch slinger
1 x goblin shortcutter
1 x magma rift
1 x kazuul warlord
2 x nissa's chosen
1 x grazing gladeheart
2 x greenweaver druid
2 x baloth woodcrasher
2 x timbermaw larva
1 x baloth cage trap
1 x mold shambler
1 x oracle of mul daya
1 x turntimber basalisk
1 x terra stomper
1 x kazandu refuge
5 x mountain
12 x forest
So we ended up winning the draft with this deck - the deck was ok, there was plenty of fat, and ways to get to the fat really quickly, which made for some blowouts. We ended up playing more red that we imagined due to a pretty dry pack 3, but this was fine. Kazuul warlord was fine as a 4/4 for 5, although looking back double survivalist would have been nice. There were some pretty contentious picks in the draft, but i think there weren't any glaring errors on reading it back quickly.
Hopefully see you all this wednesday.
The deck im hoping to play at the nottingham PTQ will be going up here in a couple days, along with some more drafts and some other fun.
Until then,
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
Against all odds i won a couple of drafts recently, meaning i could draft a few times as a bit of downtime after revision, and i will be posting all of them up here over the next few days and weeks.
This draft i did on wednesday night, after magic, accompanied by Andy and Martin, and various delicious foods.
Also of note, i was lucky enough to draft with Darren Grafham of both Cambridge and generally a bloody good guy fame, how nice.
Event #: 848474
Time: 1/6/2010 10:09:19 PM
Players:
djseb
syska
SOLTYS
darrengrafham
--> wiggi1
timcampbell
rapdjdragon
just_add_water
------ ZEN ------
Pack 1 pick 1:
Desecrated Earth
Seascape Aerialist
Paralyzing Grasp
Plains
Turntimber Grove
Disfigure
Mind Sludge
--> Burst Lightning
Eternity Vessel
Kraken Hatchling
Island (FOIL)
Timbermaw Larva
Seismic Shudder
Bladetusk Boar
Khalni Gem
Burst lightning is quite a lot better than anything else in the pack, which is nice
Pack 1 pick 2:
Explorer's Scope
Tempest Owl
--> Trusty Machete
Kazandu Blademaster
Zektar Shrine Expedition
Noble Vestige
Sky Ruin Drake
Plains
Pillarfield Ox
Hedron Scrabbler
Quest for the Gemblades
Disfigure
Grappling Hook
Scythe Tiger
Machete is the nuts, i hate passing blademaster because i love w/r and im pretty sure i have won games single handedly with this guy.
Pack 1 pick 3:
Cliff Threader
Savage Silhouette
Surrakar Marauder
Giant Scorpion
Greenweaver Druid
Oran-Rief Recluse
--> Torch Slinger
Reckless Scholar
Carnage Altar
Plains
Umara Raptor
Geyser Glider
Blood Tribute
This was a really good pack, and was the source of the first of many lovers tiffs between the 3 bears huddled round my computer (mostly ending in me just making the incorrect pick). Its pretty tough, but i though staying on colour here was best, and i prefer torch slinger to geyser glider, especially if we end up going into a second/different colour.
Pack 1 pick 4:
Goblin Bushwhacker
Spreading Seas
Ondu Cleric
Hedron Scrabbler
Tajuru Archer
--> Nissa's Chosen
Quest for Pure Flame
Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Oran-Rief Survivalist
Goblin Ruinblaster
Forest
Steppe Lynx
Im still not sure this is the pick over survivalist, but apparently getting on the pro tour means something.
Pack 1 pick 5:
Tempest Owl
Cancel
Whiplash Trap
--> Teetering Peaks
Swamp
Mindless Null
Sunspring Expedition
Runeflare Trap
Feast of Blood
Joraga Bard
Noble Vestige
Pack 1 pick 6:
--> Grazing Gladehart
Bog Tatters
Slaughter Cry
Kor Outfitter
Shieldmate's Blessing
Needlebite Trap
Beast Hunt
Summoner's Bane
Cancel
Swamp
Dabbling with green looks to be possibly the correct choice, i absolutely love gladeheart.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Soaring Seacliff
Seascape Aerialist
Caravan Hurda
Seismic Shudder
Plains
--> Greenweaver Druid
Spreading Seas
Kraken Hatchling
Turntimber Grove
this guy is pretty good, lots of blue stuff going round, someone may have some blue based ally deck to worry about.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Nimbus Wings
Sejiri Refuge
Swamp
--> Vastwood Gorger
Zendikar Farguide
Khalni Heart Expedition
Trapfinder's Trick
Teetering Peaks
fat.
Pack 1 pick 9:
Desecrated Earth
Seascape Aerialist
Paralyzing Grasp
Plains
Turntimber Grove
Island (FOIL)
--> Seismic Shudder
I think i preferred hating the aerialist, but shudder is a pretty key sideboard card so our combined decision was that. pretty sure island is the irl pick right?
Pack 1 pick 10:
Tempest Owl
Noble Vestige
Plains
Hedron Scrabbler
--> Grappling Hook
Scythe Tiger
this can be annoying so take it out, scrabbles is a house, but we can pick some up later if needed
Pack 1 pick 11:
Savage Silhouette
--> Greenweaver Druid
Carnage Altar
Plains
Blood Tribute
Pack 1 pick 12:
Spreading Seas
--> Hedron Scrabbler
Quest for Pure Flame
Forest
DING!
Pack 1 pick 13:
Swamp
Sunspring Expedition
--> Noble Vestige
Pack 1 pick 14:
Shieldmate's Blessing
--> Beast Hunt
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Turntimber Grove
------ ZEN ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Highland Berserker
Windborne Charge
Soul Stair Expedition
Quest for the Holy Relic
--> Oracle of Mul Daya
Joraga Bard
Turntimber Basilisk
Kabira Crossroads
Molten Ravager
Mold Shambler
Disfigure
Tempest Owl
Island
Mindless Null
Sunspring Expedition
There seems to be lots of mixed opinion about this guy, i like him a lot.
Pack 2 pick 2:
Grazing Gladehart
Gomazoa
Mountain
Vampire Hexmage
Bold Defense
Shatterskull Giant
Tanglesap
--> Kazuul Warlord
Vines of Vastwood
Lethargy Trap
Jwar Isle Refuge
Goblin War Paint
Into the Roil
Blood Seeker
This guy is pretty big, if we can get any allies he will get pretty saucy. Gladeheart would have been nice esp with oracle, but can you pass this guy?
Pack 2 pick 3:
--> Timbermaw Larva
Mark of Mutiny
Zektar Shrine Expedition
Quest for Ancient Secrets
Bladetusk Boar
Piranha Marsh
Scythe Tiger
Forest
Archive Trap
Slaughter Cry
Hedron Scrabbler
Mire Blight
Tempest Owl
Clearly commiting to heavy green, all our red cards are splashable,
Pack 2 pick 4:
Beastmaster Ascension
Stonework Puma
--> Baloth Woodcrasher
Tuktuk Grunts
Island
Paralyzing Grasp
Oran-Rief Survivalist
Frontier Guide
Vines of Vastwood
Ruinous Minotaur
Trapmaker's Snare
Pillarfield Ox
annoyingly this guy is pretty saucy, becuase it means passing a survivalist, again.
Pack 2 pick 5:
Highland Berserker
Slaughter Cry
Mire Blight
Sunspring Expedition
Inferno Trap
Swamp
Shoal Serpent
--> Baloth Woodcrasher
Kor Duelist
Grim Discovery
Joraga Bard
not really sure why we didnt take the inferno trap. I think we were at the time thinking we could splash only for the burst lightning, and 2 woodcrashers plus oracle, and double greenweaver druid makes for a nice deck.
Pack 2 pick 6:
Mire Blight
Zendikar Farguide
Merfolk Wayfinder
Cancel
--> Magma Rift
Trapmaker's Snare
Spire Barrage
Swamp
Khalni Heart Expedition
Kazandu Refuge
Pack 2 pick 7:
--> Kazandu Refuge
Lethargy Trap
Savage Silhouette
Goblin Bushwhacker
Forest
Primal Bellow
Shatterskull Giant
Tanglesap
Cosi's Trickster
Pack 2 pick 8:
Akoum Refuge
Caller of Gales
Teetering Peaks
Mountain
--> Nissa's Chosen
Quest for the Gemblades
Narrow Escape
Kabira Crossroads
Pack 2 pick 9:
Quest for the Holy Relic
Joraga Bard
--> Turntimber Basilisk
Tempest Owl
Island
Mindless Null
Sunspring Expedition
Pack 2 pick 10:
Mountain
Bold Defense
Tanglesap
Lethargy Trap
--> Goblin War Paint
Blood Seeker
Pack 2 pick 11:
Quest for Ancient Secrets
Scythe Tiger
--> Forest
Mire Blight
Tempest Owl
Pack 2 pick 12:
Island
--> Ruinous Minotaur
Trapmaker's Snare
Pillarfield Ox
Pack 2 pick 13:
Mire Blight
Sunspring Expedition
--> Swamp
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Mire Blight
Trapmaker's Snare
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Tanglesap
------ ZEN ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Bog Tatters
Demolish
Mountain
Heartstabber Mosquito
Soaring Seacliff
Vampire's Bite
Oran-Rief Recluse
Spell Pierce
Sadistic Sacrament (FOIL)
Pitfall Trap
--> Terra Stomper
Merfolk Wayfinder
Kor Outfitter
Graypelt Refuge
Relic Crush
stomp!
Pack 3 pick 2:
Khalni Heart Expedition
Mountain
Ior Ruin Expedition
Molten Ravager
Kor Hookmaster
Territorial Baloth
--> Blazing Torch
Conqueror's Pledge
Mire Blight
Zendikar Farguide
Heartstabber Mosquito (FOIL)
Arrow Volley Trap
Soul Stair Expedition
Landbind Ritual
Blazing torch is pretty good, green tends to lack removal, and we are not sure how much of our red removal, if any we will be playing, so a decent pick i think.
Pack 3 pick 3:
Magosi, the Waterveil
Molten Ravager
Cancel
Heartstabber Mosquito
--> Blazing Torch
Swamp
Demolish
Spidersilk Net
Noble Vestige
Relic Crush (FOIL)
Beast Hunt
Hedron Crab
Kor Sanctifiers
dubs.
Pack 3 pick 4:
Blood Seeker
Tanglesap
Needlebite Trap
Luminarch Ascension
Mountain
Teetering Peaks
Savage Silhouette
Hagra Crocodile
Caller of Gales
Mark of Mutiny
Whiplash Trap
--> Goblin Shortcutter
not a great pack for us, could have hated the luminarch or considered splashing white, but its not that busted in draft, so hopefully it wont come back to haunt us.
Pack 3 pick 5:
Kor Skyfisher
Plains
Bold Defense
Piranha Marsh
Living Tsunami
Into the Roil
Kor Hookmaster
Territorial Baloth
--> Timbermaw Larva
Jwar Isle Refuge
Welkin Tern
Pack 3 pick 6:
Forest
Cliff Threader
Narrow Escape
--> Mold Shambler
Windrider Eel
Cobra Trap
Quest for Pure Flame
Magosi, the Waterveil
Hagra Crocodile
Goblin Shortcutter
Pack 3 pick 7:
Sejiri Refuge
--> Steppe Lynx
Hagra Diabolist
Caravan Hurda
Ior Ruin Expedition
Kraken Hatchling
Turntimber Grove
Swamp
Desecrated Earth
Pack 3 pick 8:
Mindless Null
Swamp
Spell Pierce
--> Baloth Cage Trap
Nimbus Wings
Relic Crush
Archmage Ascension
Vampire's Bite
this is nice, people seem to walk into it all the time, despite there being so few tricks to think about, which is pretty awesome.
Pack 3 pick 9:
Mountain
Soaring Seacliff
Vampire's Bite
Spell Pierce
Merfolk Wayfinder
Graypelt Refuge
--> Relic Crush
Pack 3 pick 10:
Mountain
Ior Ruin Expedition
Territorial Baloth
Mire Blight
--> Zendikar Farguide
Landbind Ritual
Pack 3 pick 11:
Magosi, the Waterveil
Swamp
--> Demolish
Noble Vestige
Beast Hunt
Pack 3 pick 12:
Needlebite Trap
--> Mountain
Hagra Crocodile
Caller of Gales
Pack 3 pick 13:
Bold Defense
Piranha Marsh
--> Jwar Isle Refuge
Pack 3 pick 14:
Forest
--> Cobra Trap
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Turntimber Grove
This was the deck we made
1 x burst lightning
1 x trusty machete
2 x blazing torch
1 x torch slinger
1 x goblin shortcutter
1 x magma rift
1 x kazuul warlord
2 x nissa's chosen
1 x grazing gladeheart
2 x greenweaver druid
2 x baloth woodcrasher
2 x timbermaw larva
1 x baloth cage trap
1 x mold shambler
1 x oracle of mul daya
1 x turntimber basalisk
1 x terra stomper
1 x kazandu refuge
5 x mountain
12 x forest
So we ended up winning the draft with this deck - the deck was ok, there was plenty of fat, and ways to get to the fat really quickly, which made for some blowouts. We ended up playing more red that we imagined due to a pretty dry pack 3, but this was fine. Kazuul warlord was fine as a 4/4 for 5, although looking back double survivalist would have been nice. There were some pretty contentious picks in the draft, but i think there weren't any glaring errors on reading it back quickly.
Hopefully see you all this wednesday.
The deck im hoping to play at the nottingham PTQ will be going up here in a couple days, along with some more drafts and some other fun.
Until then,
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
Thursday 7 January 2010
The Trading Card Game
By Jim Marlow
Hey everyone,
I hope the festive period has been awesome for all, and that the snow has not caused too much disruption. Turns out when you leave school, snow is not what it once was (although i have still used it as an excuse not to go to uni!)
Before we get started, i just wanted to let everyone know that i am pricing up my entire collection to sell. I am basically pricing at the buy prices of the major uk traders. I will then offer everything at these cheaper than Ebay prices to all the guys in Leeds, and whatever is left i will sell off to a UK trader. I will have the lot on here in a couple days, and wil have my folders priced up and with me over the next couple of wednesdays as well.
Anyways, so i havent had much to write about over the last couple weeks, being pretty busy over christmas and all that. Now that im back in Leeds...i still dont really have much to say. The season is at a pretty quiet point, with no tournaments too close to the horizon, although mercifully it is getting to the point where extended will be the hot topic for a couple months.
With this in mind i decided to write an article about trading, because i few recent experiances made me realise both how fundamental trading is to a person's experiance playing magic the gathering, and also how much of a moral issue it is (at least for me), and after all, magic is a trading card game i guess.
So what's the big issue with trading?
Trading magic cards is pretty simple on the surface, you swap folders, point at a card then go away happy right?
i have until pretty recently felt pretty awkwark about trading because the above scenario almost never happens. What actually happens is there is scuffling over the supposed value of certain cards, when both players are using different sources for the secondary market (a completely fluid and dynamic entity) for there values etc etc...it all gets very boring and then you both walk away from a deal.
The result of my finding trading awkward is that basically i let people get good trades with me because i would get cards i want out of it. Im not saying i got absolutely ripped off, but i would get something for my standard deck and they would get something more valuable. Ill still happily give good trades to people i know and like, because i respect them enough to return the favour, but the sad thing is that im sure others will have felt the same; and its sad that less experianced players may be put off trading, particularly when it can be one of the most fun and sociable things about the game.
not really sure where this is going, looks like this had just turned into some sort of rant about how much i hate 90% of magic players, so i guess thats where we'll leave it.
Anyway, the main point of this article is people getting ripped off in trades.
From personal experiance, i know that there are certain people that will trade their misty rainforest for my shivan dragon (p.s. there's no fucking way i would trade my 11p shivan dragon for a misty rainforest), and obviously you walk away feeling pretty damn good. However, this is pretty bad right, i mean is it really worth the misty rainforest to do this to someone?
I think there a lot of factors which come into apparently simple world of trading which guide my consistantly faulty moral compass as to how hard i can push a trade
this is my normal trading process, which i think is the best way to ensure i get decent trades and the person im leaving with goes away happy, without a massive hassle and borrowing the TO's computer to check how much X and Y are on starcitygames or something (this has happened to me)
Maybe i just wanted to write this to make myself out as a robin hood type character, the allure of pantaloons is once again my downfall.
Anyway, next time you are trading your one with nothing for a Garruk, in a vain attempt to make coverage, consider the above.
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
I hope the festive period has been awesome for all, and that the snow has not caused too much disruption. Turns out when you leave school, snow is not what it once was (although i have still used it as an excuse not to go to uni!)
Before we get started, i just wanted to let everyone know that i am pricing up my entire collection to sell. I am basically pricing at the buy prices of the major uk traders. I will then offer everything at these cheaper than Ebay prices to all the guys in Leeds, and whatever is left i will sell off to a UK trader. I will have the lot on here in a couple days, and wil have my folders priced up and with me over the next couple of wednesdays as well.
Anyways, so i havent had much to write about over the last couple weeks, being pretty busy over christmas and all that. Now that im back in Leeds...i still dont really have much to say. The season is at a pretty quiet point, with no tournaments too close to the horizon, although mercifully it is getting to the point where extended will be the hot topic for a couple months.
With this in mind i decided to write an article about trading, because i few recent experiances made me realise both how fundamental trading is to a person's experiance playing magic the gathering, and also how much of a moral issue it is (at least for me), and after all, magic is a trading card game i guess.
So what's the big issue with trading?
Trading magic cards is pretty simple on the surface, you swap folders, point at a card then go away happy right?
i have until pretty recently felt pretty awkwark about trading because the above scenario almost never happens. What actually happens is there is scuffling over the supposed value of certain cards, when both players are using different sources for the secondary market (a completely fluid and dynamic entity) for there values etc etc...it all gets very boring and then you both walk away from a deal.
The result of my finding trading awkward is that basically i let people get good trades with me because i would get cards i want out of it. Im not saying i got absolutely ripped off, but i would get something for my standard deck and they would get something more valuable. Ill still happily give good trades to people i know and like, because i respect them enough to return the favour, but the sad thing is that im sure others will have felt the same; and its sad that less experianced players may be put off trading, particularly when it can be one of the most fun and sociable things about the game.
not really sure where this is going, looks like this had just turned into some sort of rant about how much i hate 90% of magic players, so i guess thats where we'll leave it.
Anyway, the main point of this article is people getting ripped off in trades.
From personal experiance, i know that there are certain people that will trade their misty rainforest for my shivan dragon (p.s. there's no fucking way i would trade my 11p shivan dragon for a misty rainforest), and obviously you walk away feeling pretty damn good. However, this is pretty bad right, i mean is it really worth the misty rainforest to do this to someone?
I think there a lot of factors which come into apparently simple world of trading which guide my consistantly faulty moral compass as to how hard i can push a trade
this is my normal trading process, which i think is the best way to ensure i get decent trades and the person im leaving with goes away happy, without a massive hassle and borrowing the TO's computer to check how much X and Y are on starcitygames or something (this has happened to me)
- look experiance of a player
The experiance of a player is for me the biggest factor in rinsing someone. If im trading with johnny 10 years old, then im not going to rip him off, but a seasoned veteran should know the score, and i will happily go for a busted trade - the main problem here is that the best trades come from the less experianced player.
- let them know the value of the cards
This is a pretty grey area, because iv already said that card value is fairly subjective. By this i mainly mean that when im about to get a trade that i think is ridiculous i say that i think the stuff i want is worth more than the stuff they want.
- Ask them to take more
this is normally the follow up for the above point. When the guy your trading with adds a devout lightcaster to the shivan dragon he wants, you sigh and say thats ok
- Ask them if they are happy
I find this is the best way to avoid bullying, not that i would intentionally do it in any form. I think, especially when dealing with younger or less experianced players, asking them if they are ok with a trade adds the final nail to the moral coffin, and ill happily walk away with the misty rainforest at this point
- At a later date, give away a good trade
as iv already said, for a long time i gave away good trades just because trading is pretty awkward, and still now i will trade away stuff of mine which i know to be more valuable. Why? well most of the time im happy to get cards i want to play with, which is far more important than nonsence dragon being worth 50p more. Also, it may make me feel better about a criminal trade i may have done before.
Im not really sure if any of this article is of any use to anyone, but its something for me to write and you to read i guess. I think the point is that there are ways to get hugely profitable deals without either being a bully or a massive twat; and more importantly both parties can leave happy and informed. The horrible temptation with trading is of course that the less informed someone is then the better trade you can get, so i think it's a massive moral issue. I think the way people trade magic cards is a massive indication of people's character, and i find it really interesting watching people trade.
O well hope you enjoyed this, and im really interested in hearing other people's views on trading, paeticularly if they differ from mine. Im fully aware that there are people that are of the view that the players have a responsibility to know the value of their cards etc and this means that you can rip people at will, but i dont know.Maybe i just wanted to write this to make myself out as a robin hood type character, the allure of pantaloons is once again my downfall.
Anyway, next time you are trading your one with nothing for a Garruk, in a vain attempt to make coverage, consider the above.
See you all soon,
Jim
As always, feel free to post comments underneath. If you would like to contribute anything to the blog, email anything you want published to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk (for severe editing!)
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