A SECOND TYPE 1.5 TOURNAMENT
- After winning three weeks before, I come back more confident than before. Ari and I had joked the past few weeks that I would beat him in the finals and we would split the prize. We were almost right... This week the competition was tougher, but I still played counterpost, without mishras. This time, our friend Josh came with us.
ROUND 1
GAME 1
- My opponent is, you guessed it, Gus-Gus (what the fu..). First turn he casts a mountain. Oh no, I am very vulnerable first game against red. He gets like 4 creatures out which I wrath away. Unfortunately, I am very low in creature control. He has all there 'tap to deal a damage' creatures. An because of a fluke of not drawing swords to plowshares, I lose to a Banana Shaman.
GAME 2
- This game I am better prepared as I sideboard in CoP Red and Hydroblast. I get the CoP out and he has no defense against it, as he has no sideboard altogether (someone say srub?). It takes forever to get an outpost out and I win eventually. He asks me to hurry up so he and his girlfriend can go smoke a cigarette. I tell him to just concede, but he decides against it.
GAME 3
- This game I get tons of creature control and countermagic. It dosen't take me long to finish him with a Serra Angel.
Games 2-1
Matches 1-0
ROUND 2
GAME 1
- This round I face a very good technical player, no mistakes. He starts out early by beating me up with black Orders and Suq-Ata Lancers. I get a wrath and survive. He hits me with direct damage and gets me to 5. From then on, he continues to draw land and only land. I get and outpost and a Serra out. Game.
GAME 2
- Once again he beats me up early and again I get in control. I get a CoP red out and an outpost out. I win with 4 tokens.
GAME 3
- This game he gets only 2 mana, and I tap one with an Icy. I get a Serra out that he can't Fireball. I take him down, 22...18...14...10...6...2...He draws and groans. He drew a Swords to Plowshares, but he has no white mana. It wouldn't have mattered, I had 4 counterspells in my hand. Thats game and I sweep.
Games 5-1
Matches 2-0
ROUND 3
GAME 1
- What is this, I am playing the same kid from 3 weeks ago with the white weenie deck. He gets many creatures early but I take care of all them with swords and wraths. We both have outposts and I have an Icy while he has a Caribou Range. I overcome him with my horde of tokens. He probably could have won, but he played stupid.
GAME 2
- This game I really mess up. I discard a Disenchant turn 3 and used my only other one on a Crusade. Turn 5, I leave one land untapped and cast an Icy. I figured I knew his deck and all I had to worry about was a creature, for which I had a swords. But he casts a new card - Sacred Mesa. Ahhh! I'm screwed! I lose, and its all my own damn fault.
GAME 3
- If I lose, I'm out of the top 4. Our game is the last to finish, and the remaining people watch from a distance (no scouting). I win this game thanks to a last second insertion from my sideboard, Mana Web. He does one thing per turn and I respond to everything with various control. I win with an outpost. I'm in.
Games 7-2
Matches 3-0
SEMI-FINALS
There was a three-way tie for 3rd, but I didn't have to play a tiebreaker due to luck I guess. Ari is in the Semi's with an 8-1 record.
GAME 1
- Guess who I have to play...Ari! He gets way too much land but is able to cast a Waiting in the Weeds for 5 squirrels. Wait, I tap one of his forests with my Icy and he gets 4 tokens (that move wins me the match). He takes me down, but I get a Serra out. He attacks with his tokens and an Erhnam. I kill one token per turn with the Serra and tap the Erhnam with the Icy. I cast another Icy and he casts a Barishi. I can still kill one token per turn and I keep his fatties tapped with Icys. Then I cast Serra #2 and thats game.
GAME 2
- This game is quick. I get hurt early. I cast an Impulse to get a plains (I only have 2 islands). I then draw another plains and thats game. First, I cast a wrath. Then a CoP: Green. He tries to emerald charm and tranquility my CoP, but both are countered. He knows its over and he concedes.
Games 9-2
Matches 4-0
FINALS
GAME 1
- This guy plays a 5 Color Green Deck (he watched me play earlier against the WW kid). He takes me to 13 early but I wrath 5 creatures away. He casts Winter Orb...disenchant, and another one...disenchant. I have an Icy and an Outpost out. His last hope is an Armageddon...counterspell. He concedes because he is beaten and also to save time.
GAME 2
- The second game starts the same. He gets creatures but I answer with wraths and swords. I disenchant his orbs again. I get the outpost working. I am taking him down with tokens, but I am living on 1 Force of Will, which I dont have enough mana for. Fortunately, he never 'geddons and thats game. I won again! $20 Gift Certificate.
Games 11-2
Matches 5-0