fk02-15-98 Subject: 2/15/98 T1 Tournament Report
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 06:57:03 -0600
From: [email protected] (Francis Keys)
To: [email protected] (Frank Kusumoto)
________
My first tournament was on June 14, 1996, not long before Alliances came out. That means I had already missed most of the true madness of Type 1. Mind Twist and Chaos Orb were banned, Balance and all the power cards restricted. The broken fun had happened without me.

As a new player with an extremely limited collection, I stuck to sealed deck and booster draft, slowly building my card collection. I learned what the power nine were on IRC and started to understand card advantage. The first full set I actually saw belonged to David Goodnuff, who showed me a Type 1 deck that I had absolutely no comprehension of some time in late summer of 1996. What I was completely aware of was how bad I wanted some myself.

My first big card came that fall. I bought a Library of Alexandria from an IRC friend for $70. It was perfect. Unplayed. I looked at the art over and over and marveled at a free card every turn. I imagined the deck I'd have when I had more of the big cards.

Next came a weird trade. I had two old Dungeons and Dragons books, "Fiend Folio" and "Deities and Demigods," which had apparently risen quite a bit in value since I bought them for $12. I traded them for an Unlimited Ancestral Recall in very good condition. I was determined to draw a lot of cards.

Other cards came slowly. A Mox Pearl purchased with store credit Melissa Lang and I had won and a little cash, a Time Twister for $100 at a qualifier in Grand Forks, North Dakota. A full set of black-bordered Serendib Efreets. By the end of 1997, we had collected everything but a Mox Ruby, a Time Walk and a Black Lotus. It was time to jump in.

I played in a Type 1 tournament in Rochester, Minnesota. James Ludlow and I stayed up all night trying to guess at what we'd play against. James loves to play wild combos and we rebuilt my Type 2 Cadaverous Bloom deck with moxen, big blue and Fastbond. It was entertaining to watch--James likes to draw his entire library before going for the big drain. My deck was a red, white and blue gun deck with utility elements and fast creatures. I had a great time, despite no sleep, and finished second, eventually losing to a Hacker style Necro deck in the finals. My first taste of Type 1 had been great fun.

I longed for mox tournaments, but there were none to be found in Minneapolis. I always intended to play Type 1 side tournaments at Pro Tours and Origins, but always found myself too caught up in booster drafts as the weekends flew by. Finally, my opportunity arrived. Dreamers, where I play on a weekly basis, announced a Type 1 tournament for the first time in over a year--with a Juzam Djinn as a prize!

Melissa and I spent some time testing and tuning. She settled on a classic Necro deck with a Mox Jet and a Mirror Universe. I refined my red, white and blue deck to include some of the things I'd learned from playing extended. We tested until almost 8:00am the day of the tournament, rose groggy from a short sleep and had a big fight before heading to the tournament.

The turnout was better than expected, with 41 competitors and at least two dozen spectators coming and going over the day. Unfortunately, I don't recognize everyone and don't take notes, so I'm missing a few of my opponents' names. We register our decks and I try to compose myself for play. I've been struggling for several weeks, trying to get past some recurring mana trouble and frequently making foolish plays after losing my patience. I know that if I play well and stay focused, my turn to win will come. Sometimes it just seems so infrequent.

Here's my deck. I realize it Would benefit greatly from the ruby, walk and lotus I still lack and that my sideboard is a little bit silly.

"Cursed Zoo" by Francis Keys

 
4 Tundra
4 Plateau
4 Volcanic Island
2 City of Brass
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Cursed Scroll
4 Frenetic Efreet
4 Serendib Efreet
1 Ancestral Recall

1 Timetwister
1 Mystical Tutor
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Gorilla Shaman
2 Dwarven Miner
1 Wheel of Fortune
        
Sideboard:
1 Zuran Orb
2 Hydroblast
1 Knight of the Mists
1 Dwarven Miner
1 Gorilla Shaman

4 Savannah Lions
4 Tithe
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
1 Balance
        
Sideboard:
2 Pyrokinesis
3 Pyroblast
1 Cloudchaser Eagle
2 Disenchant
1 Swords to Plowshares

The first round begins. My opponent is David Hayes, a local player I've met and played many times. David beats me in the first minute by convincing me his poor deck has no chance against all these power cards. He starts the first game with a Quirion Ranger and a Wall of Roots. I have a fast start and beat him down to ten with a couple Serendibs. When he casts his Tradewind Rider and Stasis, it's over before I realize what he's playing. I sideboard for blasts, Disenchants and Swords to Plowshares. In the second game, he has the fast start, quickly beating me up with Maro and Maro's Clone. I make a serious mistake in this game, trying to Pyroblast a Clone during David's discard phase, but he draws two Maros and the clone in the first few turns and I probably couldn't have won. I'm furious with myself for being too confident and not playing my best game. I have to go outside to cool off. 0-1 matches, 0-2 games. Melissa pulls out a victory playing against Dale Taylor with Forsaken Sligh in close games decided by Mirror Universe, Spinning Darkness, and Contagion.

Unfortunately, the second round finds me paired up with my friend James Ludlow. I know he's playing recursion based on artifact mana, Hurky's Recall, and Recycle. I also know this is a terrible matchup for my deck after playtesting with Sam Heckman two weekends earlier. Why didn't I sideboard Aura of Silence, or play it main deck? I'll never know. In the first game, James just can't get his combo going as I make quick work of him with lions and Mishra's. I sideboard for blasts, Disenchant, Gorilla Shaman. In a long second game, James eventually hits me with the big torch just before time is called. 0-1-1 matches, 1-3 games. I've had better starts. Melissa wins again, this time against a green and black deck with weenies and Dark Heart of the Wood.

My third opponent is young and he's playing mono-black. I'm guessing from his deck that he's a fairly new player with a limited collection. In our first game, I bolt his Knights of Dusk and beat him up with efreets. In the second, I never see colored mana and he pounds me with a second turn Ihsan's Shade. What's up with this tournament? I win the third game and breath a sigh of relief. Finally, a match win! 1-1-1 matches, 3-4 games. Melissa draws with Pat St. John, running out of time against his blue and white control deck with Ophidians.

In the fourth round, I face a deck that reminds me of a T1.5 deck that Matt Place played, with all the best creatures from red, green and blue. Somehow, I always have a swords or a bolt and a scroll for his Kird Apes, Erhnams and Serendibs, and I win both games fairly easily. I'm beginning to feel back on track. 2-1-1 matches, 5-4 games. Melissa beats down on Matt Rude and his blue/black control deck thanks to Hypnotic Specters and Ihsan's Shade. She's upset because she's in the zone, but has to drop and go to work with a 3-0-1 record.

It's the final round of Swiss and time to put up or shut up. I'm playing against Donald Grunbeck, who is always very vocal about his expertise in Type 1. I'm expecting his trademark land destruction deck with Juzam Djinns and Nether Voids, but instead he's running another Hurkyl's Recall deck. In our first game, he's fooling around with his recycling, but just can't get the big torch down. My fast creatures punish him. Our second game is bizarre. He draws little in the way of manipulation and I Pyroblast his Ancestral Recall. Unfortunately, what he does draw is a ton of artifact mana and two torches. He torches me for 8 and then twelve with a Hurkyl's Recall the turn before he'll take lethal damage, with a Force of Will to stop the Swords to Plowshares that would keep me alive.

The winner of the third game will make final eight. I play a first turn Lion and start the clock ticking for him. He has a good start and sets his deck in motion. I play land, staying untapped so I can cast the blasts I draw off his Wheel of Fortune, Timewister and Prosperity. On his fourth turn, he twists. I draw a Pyroblast and a Hydroblast. He torches for 20. I Hydroblast, paying two more mana, and Pyroblast the Force of Will. He dies on my fifth turn. I squeak into the final eight at eighth seed, 3-1-1 matches, 7-5 games.

Which means I have to play the number one seed, undefeated in the Swiss. He appears to be playing an old-style Weissman deck. In our first game, he draws and recyles Swords to Plowshares like crazy, removing my creatures from the game, but he never gets into motion, takes too much damage, and dies to a pair of bolts. He has mana problems in the second, gets victimized by Dwarven Miner, and dies quietly. 4-1-1 matches, 9-5 games, and headed for the semifinals.

Two of the quarterfinal rounds are still underway, but my opponent has finished his match, so we begin. His deck appears to be about big creatures, but it just never gets in gear. I plow a couple of Ernies and make short work of him with three Frenetics on the table at one point. Why are my rounds getting easier at the end of the tournament? 5-1-1 matches, 11-5 games and I'm a finalist.

One of the quarterfinal rounds between a keeper deck and an LD deck takes forever. I spend the next hour and more watching Cory Ferguson play my deck against Dale Taylor. I even order a pizza with my first round opponent, David Hayes. Damn, are these guys ever going to get done?

I've almost forgotten I'm still in a tournament when the final round begins. My opponent is quiet and contemplative and plays very deliberately. I start with a good hand, which turns into junk on me as he begins to steadily Wasteland, Dwarven Miner, Creeping Mold, Pillage and Ice Storm my land. At one point I have just a Cursed Scroll in play. However!

My deck has Tithe. Eventually, I draw some, and some land. He gets out Autumn Willow when I Mystical Tutor for my Balance! I play Dwarven Miner, and begin beating him down for one! Dwarven Miner goes... all... the... way! I never do get the three mana I need to scroll. I sideboard Zuran Orb and Pyrokinesis for his mana creatures. Pyrokinesis takes out two of his birds and it's his turn to look for mana as Frenetics fly at him and proud lions roar. 6-1-1 matches, 13-5 games and a nearly perfect Juzam Djinn joins our collection. My opponent takes home The Abyss.

Besides my deck and the LD, big creature and Weissman decks that I played, other decks in the final eight were keepers played by Tom Dahl and Pat St. John, more big creatures played by Josh Schmidt, and David Hayes with his blue and green Tradewind Rider Stasis deck. David's deck is probably the most interesting, despite being a Type 2 deck with a Mana Drain, a Clone, a few Force of Will and Tropical Islands. His strong finish in this Type 1 event is indicative of his deck's strength, which I believe is an original design. I was amazed by the sheer quantity of power in the decks at this event. I'm sure there were at least $25,000 worth of cards being played at a little local tournament.

I owe this one all to my second round match against James. There's something about when we play. It isn't important to win against each other. It's important to play well. Whenever I play James, I lose my ego and focus on our decks and the game.

I'm also learning something about bad starts. 0-1 doesn't mean I go home in disgrace. It means I have to concentrate and play my best game if I want to make the cut. My goals in Magic tend to vary from most--I want to play on the Pro Tour and do well as much as anyone, but that's not what I'm really after. I want to play good games against good opponents, even if I lose. When my opponent says, "Good game," I want it to be true, and not his way of sympathizing for bad plays or mana trouble. My greatest challenges at this point are using everything I know in every game and losing better. I've always handled myself well when I win, but I don't always lose as gracefully. Hopefully, everything will come together with time.

Thanks, James. See you all in Los Angeles. Don't forget to play your best game.

Francis
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