Introduction
We traveled to
This being the end of the season,
notable players from all over the midwest
were there. Perhaps the most known
quantity was Michael Jacob, a current member of the
The room was buzzing with
excitement as the clock counted down to the scheduled start time, and not even
seasoned players were immune. Gerry Thompson, already qualified but in attendance to provide
moral support to friends from
Deck Construction with Nick Eisel
Immediately after deck construction, we spent a few minutes talking with notable limited writer Nick Eisel. He looked almost exhausted after deck construction. “This was a tough one- I could have easily built two full decks.”
Nick ended up with a base-blue deck
touching white and black, but the path he took to get to his final list was
convoluted. His pool offered him a
possible treefolk theme that topped off at Thorntooth Witch and Doran, the
Nick's first attempt was to build a straight black-blue deck, but he once again ran into mana curve problems in the three slot and he wanted the tribe-fixing that his two Avian Changelings would give him. Some cards that ended up on the bench in the end were Wings of Velis Vel, a Peppersmoke, and two Faerie Trickeries. Nick didn't want to play more than one counterspell, and he gave Broken Ambitions the nod.
The last tweak Nick made was to cut Neck Snap for Wispmare. He told me that he thought he had enough removal with two Eyeblight's Endings and Crib Swap, and Neck Snap is clunky in comparison to those. Also, based on the high quality of the players in the room he thought that it was unlikely that the Neck Snap would be very good for him, but he “might board it in against bad players.” The Wispmare was the right call to replace it because he was light on three casting cost creatures. However, he told me that he actually likes Wispmare in sealed deck, because everyone usually has at least one enchantment that is worth killing, so he wasn't actively unhappy to be playing it.
Before Nick went off to his first round, we had a brief discussion about Wanderer's Twig. Some players count it as a full land in deck construction, others as half a land, and still others not as a land a all. Nick told me that he prefers not to think of it in any simple terms, but that he only likes to play it if his deck needs the mana fixing. This deck was a solid three colors, so he was happy to play one.
Stonybrook Angler
Shapesharer
Silvergill Douser
Judge of Currents
2 Avian Changeling
Wispmare
Turtleshell Changeling
Sentinels of Glen Elendra
Wydwen, the Biting Gale
Dreamspoiler Witches
Faerie Harbinger
Ethereal Whisgergill
Glen Elendra Pranskters
Inkfathom Divers
Wanderer's Twig
Crib Swap
2 Eyeblight's Ending
Fathom Trawl
Broken Ambitions
8
5 Plains
4 Swamp
Notable Sideboard
2 Faerie Trickery
Wings of Velis Vel
Peppersmoke
I caught up with Nick after the first round. His opinion of his deck has gone up a lot after playing a round in which his nine flying creatures made winning elementary. He did tell us that there was some contention between him and his friends about whether the green deck he could have built was actually better, and that he may board into a green-black treefolk deck splashing white depending on the matchup.
Quick Interviews: Play or Draw in sealed deck?
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Gerry Thompson |
Adam Yurchick |
Nick Eisel |
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Almost always draw, but not if they have Pestermites and your curve starts at three. |
Draw |
Draw |
Round 3 – Matthew Leclaire vs. Nick Eisel
Matthew Leclaire was the 2006 Ohio State Champion, and made a valiant run this year, nearly defending his title and ending up in 2nd place. Nick Eisel is a well known Magic writer who has top8’d several limited Grand Prixs.
Matt wins the roll and decides to draw. Both players keep.
Nick made the first play of the
game – a turn 2 Judge of Currents off of an
Nick’s Avian Changling again attacked, bringing Nick back up to 11 and Matt to 12, and an Eyeblight’s Ending killed the Hearthcage Giant. Nick played a Wispmare with no targets to try and stem the bleeding. Matt casts a Squeaking Pie-sneak to try and keep up in the race, and Nick played a Silvergill Douser to match. Matt then trumped it with a Mournwhelk for 7 and removed the last card – a plains – from Nick’s hand. The Sneak came in for two, and it was Nick’s turn again. Nick swung with the Avian Changling, but the Lowland Oaf showed off his geometry skills and catapulted the Stinkdrinker Daredevil, who had more than done his job, in front of it. Nick allowed the Avian to die. Matt drew a Consuming Bonfire and the Douser died a fiery death, but not before giving the Mournwhelk -4/0. Still, the elemental tokens and the Oaf come in to play, and Nick lost both his Wispmare and his Judge killing off the tokens, and used his turtle to block the Oaf, going to 3 from the Pie-sneak. Nick played a Shapesharer on his turn and tapped out in the ensuing attack to kill off all of Matt’s board, but Matt showed why he allowed that play to happen – an Ashling the Pilgrim and 6 additional mana blew up the world, removing the remaining 3 life points from Nick in a fiery blast.
After game 1, Nick went with his green sideboard plan, calling a judge over to bring him a fistful of basic lands, and chose to draw.
Both players kept their hands, and
Matt led off with a Thoughtseize, revealing Dreamspoiler
Witches, Crib Swap, Springleaf Drum, Thorntooth Witch, Gilt-Leaf Ambush, a Plains and a Swamp,
taking the Springleaf Drum. The game then slowed
down, with Nick missing his 3rd land drop, and Matt making 4 without another
play. Another non-land draw and a discarded Thorntooth
Witch followed on turn 4 for Nick. Matt threw a Hunter of Eyeblights
out, who had nothing to hunt. Nick followed up with a land and a Doran, the
Matthew Leclaire wins 2-0
Quick Interviews: What is the best card you’ve beaten today?
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Gerry Thompson |
Justin George |
Mike Patnik |
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Rorix Bladewing |
Dread? No… Ajani? |
Profane Command returning Shriekmaw. |
Round Four: Michael Jacob vs. Josh Wludyka
Michael Jacob is a member of the
2007 US National Team. Josh Wludyka is an up-and coming player who also traveled here
from
Mike started with a Vivid land and Kithkin Greatheart while Josh had no plays until a third turn Avian Changeling. Mike had suspiciously played a Wanderwine Hub untapped revealing a Changeling Hero, however, and end stepped a Scion of Oona. Josh's Avian Changeling got in for two, and it was joined by a Goldmeadow Harrier.
The Changeling Hero made its promised arrival on Mike's fifth turn, but Josh with a Lash Out at the Scion of Oona, which resulted in the Changeling being alone on board after championing the Greatheart. This looked bad for Mike since the Harrier would keep the lonely Hero tapped down, but he had more up his sleeve: a sixth land and Purity.
Josh settled in for a think, and then played a Balloonist and a Plains to leave up Harrier mana. He tapped down the Hero instead of Purity, however, indicating that he wanted to race. Mike agreed, and hit Josh down to seven life with his Incarnation before returning the dead Scion of Oona with Warren Pilferers. Josh's newly cast Kithkin Harbinger threatened to find some kind of answer, but Mike already knew that there was nothing to be afraid of in his teammate’s deck. Indeed, Josh had to settle for Wings of Velis Vel.
Josh paused on his attack step, and offered to scoop if Mike could show him his Ajani Goldmane, but Mike didn’t have it. Josh then attacked with the flying part of his team, leaving back the Harbinger to chump block and Goldmeadow Harrier with a Plains to tap something. However, he had forgotten about the Scion of Oona that the Pilferers had returned, which showed up in his end step and combined with the Purity, Hero, and Pilferers to make seven damage no matter where the Harrier tapped and Harbinger blocked. Josh was still only at seven, so that was that.
Mike 1-0 Josh
Josh once again chose to draw. Mike made the first play of the game with a third turn Avian Changeling only to have it die to Lash Out before Josh played his own copy of the white flier off of three plains. Both players missed their fourth land drop, but Mike found his fourth land and third color in a Swamp on turn five. This allowed Mike to continue to play creatures while Josh sat helplessly; Steambed Aquitects, Ethereal Whiskergill, and Deeptread Merrow all joined Mike's team.
Josh drew his first
On Josh's next turn he played a Drowner of Secrets, but this was hit with a Faerie Trickery. Josh followed that with Ponder, but was visibly disappointed that he would not be able to use the Drowner to filter the cards he kept. Mike made all that moot by ripping an Eyeblight's Ending for the Glen Elendra Pranksters and Islandwalking over for the win in two turns. He ended the game with Ajani Goldmane, Plover Knights, and an unblockable Hillcomber Giant in his hand, but still no second Plains.
With 139 players in the tournament, two more wins will put Mike into the top eight. Josh will need to win at least his next three, but would likely be able to draw in if he does.
Mike wins 2-0.
Quick Interviews: Where is
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Aaron Cutler |
Justin George |
Nick Eisel |
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The north-east end of the |
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I have no idea. |
Round Five: Elsewhere in the Hall
As the rounds wore on, players out
of contention started dropping, but the fun was just beginning for many of
them. Professional Events Services ran
several side drafts, great opportunities to play more Magic
for people whose days were cut short by a bad sealed deck or a little bit of
bad luck. Furthermore, the people who travel far to PTQs tend to build
friendships with players from other places, and weekend Magic events are often
the only opportunities to interact with those friends in real life. These veteran PTQ players were working
together to make the most of their trips to
The contingent from
Another group of players could be
found cube drafting; this included Gerry Thompson representing
I didn’t stick around to see the end of this game, but it probably wasn’t pretty.
Round Six: Mike Krumb vs. Alex Borteh
Mike Krumb
traveled from
Borteh won the flip and chose to play, going against popular consensus. The match was stalled by two mulligans from Borteh; Mike attempted to console his opponent with a story about how he had lost to a double mulligan on the play last round, but Borteh remained silent and did not appear comforted.
Borteh
began the game with Mountain,
Mike finally tried to make some headway by attacking with his Deeptread Merrow, but found an unpleasant surprise in the form of a Briarhorn off of Smokebraider and two lands from Borteh, who followed that up on his turn with a Flamekin Bladewhirl but appeared to feeling his two mulligans. Krumb found an Inkfathom Divers waiting for him in his draw step, and dug for the cards he needed to take advantage of Borteh's situation. Skeletal Changeling and Silvergill Douser were exactly what Mike was looking for, and that Changeling and the Inkfathom Divers started to take out chunks of Borteh's life total. Battlewand Oak for Borteh and Quill-Slinger Boggart from Krumb further clogged the board. Borteh, found a Masked Admirers that might help him pull ahead in the stalemate.
Just then, Mike sprung into action by attacking with his Quill-Slinger, Divers, and Skeletal Changeling. Borteh was only at ten, so he mounted a defense. Masked Admirers attempted to take out the Quill-Slinger Boggart with the help of a Fistful of Force, but Whirlpool Whelm foiled that plan and the Silvergill Douser caused Borteh's other blocks to go badly. Combat left him with only a Battlewand Oak and Smokebraider. The next draw step was kind to him, however, and gave him a Cloudcrown Oak that also returned the Masked Admirers. For his part, Krumb had found a Boggart Loggers and hoped to forestwalk his way to victory before the card advantage provided by Masked Admirers gave Borteh's red-green army too much force for his black-blue defenses to stop. Borteh forced the issue further by summoning an Imperious Perfect from the top of his deck.
Mike got in for two with the Loggers, putting Borteh to six life, then played a Changeling Hero. Borteh answered with a Goldmeadow Harrier that would stop the Loggers, but Krumb had a Fodder Launch to end the game immediately after the Boggart Loggers took his opponent to four.
Mike 1-0 Borteh
That marathon game had taken half the time off the clock. Borteh again chose to play, and started with a second turn Smokebraider. Borteh went right for the throat with an Imperious Perfect next turn, but Krumb had the Broken Ambitions. Mike indicated that he needed land by sending a Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile to the bottom of his deck with the Broken Ambitions, but he ripped a third land for a Moonglove Extract that took out the Smokebraider. Unhindered by mulligans, this game Borteh had some more action in Cloudcrown Oak and Moonglove Extract. Krumb Whirlpool Whelmed the Oak on his turn and won the clash, but untapped and still had to evoke a Mulldrifter to find a fourth land.
Bigger guns started to come out. Borteh replayed his Cloudcrown Oak, Mike found a Fallowsage, and Borteh played a Thundercloud Shaman that failed to kill anything but was still the largest creature on board. Moonglove Extract took care of the Fallowsage before Krumb could draw any extra cards, but an Oblivion Ring from Mike removed the Thundercloud Shaman and Krumb's Lignify off of a Vivid Creek made the Cloudcrown Oak into a significantly less impressive treefolk. The last gas in Borteh's tank was a Mudbutton Torchrunner that he killed a freshly cast Wellgabber Apothecary with after chump blocking the Inkfathom Divers.
Mike once again decided to call Jace in for backup, and he drew a card for himself. Borteh's Nath's Elite next turn showed a Briarhorn on top, but a second Lignify from Krumb turned the Elite into just another 0/4. Krumb also found a Kinsbaile Balloonist and hoped to use it to exploit Borteh’s lack of air defense. Borteh used his team of walls along with the Briarhorn to convince Jace to leave, but had to way to deal with a Changeling Hero that Krumb found on the top of his deck and sent to the skies with Balloonist. The Balloonist-Hero team attacked twice, and that was the match.
Mike Krumb defeats Alex Borteh 2-0.
Quick Interviews: How many lands do you play in sealed?
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Gerry Thompson |
DJ Kastner |
Mike Patnik |
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Seventeen.
There are enough cantrips and other fixers,
and clash means you can control your late game draws some. |
Seventeen at most, but I try for sixteen. |
Seventeen or eighteen. |
Round 7 Micheal Belfatto
vs. Justin George
Game 1
Bellfatto won the roll and elected to draw – the popular choice on the weekend. Justin was the first one to act, with a turn 2 Judge of Currents, then a turn 3 Pestermite tapping Belfatto’s land during his upkeep. This prevented Belfatto from making a turn 3 play, and definitely turning this into a tempo advantage match for Justin. A turn 4 Surgespanner put Belfatto in a dangerous situation – he would need to deal with the creature or be faced with taking 5 a turn until he could play two creatures. Fortunately for him, he had an answer in an evoked Shriekmaw. It killed the Surgespanner, but still left Belfato well behind in the race. JG missed his fifth land and played a Drowner of Secrets, attacking for 3 and taking Belfato to 13. Belfatto played one of the more powerful creatures in a situation like this – Marsh Flitter – and locked up both the ground and air. Not to be outdone, Justin played a fifth land and a Cloudgoat Ranger on the next turn. Belfatto, who had missed his fifth land drop, played a Dreamspoiler Witches and went to 8 on Justin’s turn as Justin played a Perstermite to tap the Flitter and Cloudgoat Ranger came to play.
Finally making his fifth land, Belfatto passed the turn with a Pestermite in hand ready to take care of the Douser that until now had prevented him from attacking. When Justin announced his attack, Pestermite came down and tapped the Ranger, killing the Douser, who made the Witches smaller. Justin’s Pestermite attacked again, but it traded with Belfatto’s. Justin, who had been ahead on tempo the entire match, only had one more card to play – an unimpressive Tideshaper Mystic. Belfatto took advantage of the lull and played both a Squealing Pie-Sneak for cheap revealing a Turtleshell Changeling and a Black Polar Shaman, ensuring that the ground was well clogged up. Justin topdecked an Eyeblight’s Ending, which took out the Flitter, and the Giant was once again free to rule the skies. Belfatto reluctantly went to 3 instead of chump-blocking with his witches.
Belfatto drew a land, and elected to attack Justin down to 23 - the Judge of Currents had done his job –leaving just the witches behind to block the Giant and set himself up for a possible mini-overrun with the Mirror Entity in his hand. Justin drew an Oblivion ring and ended any hopes of that.
Justin 1 – Belfatto 0.
Game 2
Belfatto again chose to draw. Once again, Justin started out of the gates swinging, but again it as with a set of small creatures. Turn 1 Goldmeadow Harrier, turn 2 Stonybrook Angler, and a turn 3 Douser ensured that Micheal’s creatures would not be doing anything productive for a while. A turn 3 Black Poplar Shaman mucked up the ground, and Justin was visibly upset to see the much maligned virtual wall on Belfatto’s side. “I have no good way to deal with it,” he said. “I guess I can just tap it.” He did so with the harrier and came in for 1 with the douser, passing the turn back to Belfatto. This was hardly the aggressive draw that Justin was hoping for. Belfatto played a Moonglove Extract, but had only drawn blue and black mana, and was holding a hurly burly – a card that could easily turn this game around. Justin tapped the Shaman at end of turn, and swung with his team. The Angler died to the Extract, but Justin followed it up with an Inkfathom Divers – a very strong card against Belfatto’s draw.
Passing the turn back to Justin, Belfatto tapped the Divers with a Pestermite, but had no answer for the Surgespanner that Justin cast on that turn. Another missed land drop and a Harrier-tapped Pestermite left Belfatto with nothing to do but take five from an attack. Justin bounced the Shaman, but another blocker – a Sentinels of Glen Elendra - showed up at instant speed ready to stop the Surgespanner. The Silvergill Douser did what it does best and saved the Spanner from dying in combat, but Justin had no other plays. Belfatto missed a land drop again, but drew a Cryptic Command, and attempted to figure out the best way to abuse the spell in the current situation. He attacked with his Pestermite, taking Justin to 18, and then took 5 again going to 6 from the ensuing counterattack. Justin cast a Steambed Aquatects, but Belfatto countered it and returned the Surgespanner to Justin’s hand.
Belfatto tapped his deck for luck, but again did not draw a land. A Dreamspoiler witches came down on Belfattos side, but that doesn’t do anything against the 3 damage that the islandwalking Inkfathom Divers came over for on Justin’s turn. A Purity from Justin came down, and when Belfatto drew another blank, he extended the hand to Justin.
Justin George 2-0 over Micheal Belfatto
Quick Interviews: How many lands is a Wanderer’s Twig?
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DJ Kastner |
Adam Yurchick |
Mike Patnik |
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A twig counts as .45 lands. |
Exactly one. |
I hate that card! When I play it, I think of it as fixing,
not as part of my mana base. |
The top four tables of the tournament drew in the last round, setting the top eight…
Quick Interviews with the Top Eight
Randy Wright
How long have you been playing: 14 years
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: around 20
How many Pro Tours have you played in: 10
How long did you travel to get here: 8 minutes
What card do you most want to open: Mulldrifter
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Thoughtweft Trio
Micheal Patnick
How long have you been playing: 7 years
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: 30ish
How many Pro Tours have you played in: 8 or 9
How long did you travel to get here: 3 hours
What card do you most want to open: Shriekmaw
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Austere Command
Justin George
How long have you been playing: 8 years
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: 5
How many Pro Tours have you played in: 0
How long did you travel to get here: 1 hour 40 minutes
What card do you most want to open: Shriekmaw
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Austere Command
Micheal Krumb
How long have you been playing: Since 1995 or so, first tournament was Regionals 1998.
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: 28
How many Pts have you played in: 5 or so
How long did you travel to get here: 5 hours
What card do you most want to open: Shriekmaw
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Garruk Wildspeaker
Alvin Law
How long have you been playing: Since The Dark, then I took a long break until Ravnica
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: This is my second
How many Pro Tours have you played in: 0
How long did you travel to get here? 4 hours
What card do you most want to open: Shriekmaw
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Garruk Wildspeaker
Josh Wludyka
How long have you been playing: one and a half years
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: 6 to 8
How many Pts have you played in: 2
How long did you travel to get here: 4 hours
What card do you most want to open: Profane Command
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Purity
Michael Jacob
How long have you been playing: 12 years
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: 6 or 7
How many Pts have you played in: 6 to 8
How long did you travel to get here: 4 hours
What card do you most want to open: Shriekmaw or Marsh Flitter
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Thundercloud Shaman
Peter Jesuale
How long have you been playing: Since Fallen Empires
How many PTQ top 8s have you played in: 6 or so
How many Pts have you played in: 1
How long did you travel to get here: 4 hours
What card do you most want to open: Austere Command
What card do you least want to open, but you would first pick: Thoughtseize
Top Eight Draft: Josh Wludyka
Josh is a member of team RIW and
traveled three hours from
Pack One
1: Incendiary Command over Silvergill Adept
2: Boggart Harbinger
3: Vigor
4: Cloudcrown Oak
5: Peppersmoke
6: Thieving Sprite
7: Moonglove Winnower
8: Arbiter of Knollridge
9: Whirlpool Whelm
10: Seedguide Ash
11: Ego Erasure
12: Wanderer’s Twig
13: Needle Drop
14: Rootgrapple
15: Hoarder’s Greed
Josh was fortunate to open a strong rare in Incendiary Command, with nothing else approaching that power level in the pack. He signaled goblins with Boggart Harbinger second, but a surprising Vigor third suggested that green might be open. After this Josh chose to stay on course with black, but later in the pack started to bounce around when quality cards in black dried up. A very late Seedguide Ash was a second hint that green in general and treefolk in specific might be open, but if that was the case where were the rest of the green cards? The Wanderer’s Twig twelfth was a gift, since Josh’s early indecision would likely keep him from having enough playables in two colors. At the end of the pack Josh looked to be some combination of green, black, and red, but I didn’t know which two of them would be main colors and I don’t think Josh did either. He had the most cards in black, but none of them were of exceptional quality while his three green cards were all great and the Incendiary command was an obvious bomb even though it appeared that Josh was being forced out of red.
Pack two
1: Timber Protector over Oblivion Ring
2: Chandra Naalar over Tarfire, Lash Out, and Marsh Flitter
3: Auntie’s Hovel over Treefolk Harbinger and Vivid Marsh
4: Peppersmoke
over
5: Mudbutton Torchrunner over Elvish Promenade and Drowner of Secrets
6: Nath’s Elite
7: Cloudcrown Oak over Fistful of Force
8: Gilt-Leaf Seer over Hurly-Burly
9: Inner-Flame Igniter
10: Flamekin Harbinger
11: Treefolk Harbinger
12: Mournwhelk
13: Unknown
14: Nightshade Stinger
15: Unknown
An opened Timber Protector was all the motivation Josh needed to commit to treefolk, but Chandra, Lash Out, and Tarfire in the second pack visibly distressed him. He flirted with the idea of taking the Marsh Flitter, but eventually settled on the planeswalker. I was somewhat surprised to see him take the Auntie’s Hovel over Treefolk Harbinger in pack three because he already had the treefolk lord to find, but he valued the mana fixing more. The rest of the pack settled Josh down into red-green, with a likely splash of black facilitated by his Twig and Hovel. He was also fortunate to table the Treefolk Harbinger as well as pick up a late Flamekin Harbinger, which would effectively double the amount of Vigors and Timber Protectors in his deck.
Pack three
1: Boggart Loggers
2: Mudbutton Torchrunner
3: Imperious Perfect over Mulldrifter and Weed Strangle
4: Tar Pitcher over Vivid Crag
5: Battlewand Oak
6: Plover Knights over Drowner of Secrets
7: Fire-Belly Changeling
8: Runed Stalactite
9: Boggart Sprite-Chaser
10: Bog-Strider Ash
11: Nettlevine Blight
12: Needle Drop
13: Aquitect’s Will
14: Warren-Scourge Elf
15: Bog Hoodlums
Josh’s third pack was unfortunately completely blank for him, but his next four picks were all solid cards even though he still seemed to lack a tribal direction. Pack six also had nothing for him, but such a late Drowner of Secrets indicated that there was probably an extremely good Merfolk deck somewhere at the table. Fire-Belly Changeling and Runed Stalactite gave Josh some much-needed tribe-fixing.
Josh’s final deck was heavily red-green with a black splash for two Peppersmokes facilitated by Auntie’s Hovel and Wanderer’s Twig. He had some tribal synergies in treefolk and goblins, but he had to hope that his power cards would make up for the relative lack of overall synergy.
Quarterfinals: Josh Wludyka vs. Randy Wright
After one of the odder drafts I've watched in this format, we enter the top eight. I watched Josh draft, and he has a red-green deck with goblins and treefolk as subthemes, and three bombs in the form of Chandra Naalar, Vigor, and Incendiary Command. Randy's deck is a black-red goblin deck with Marsh Flitter and two Tar Pitchers.
Josh won the roll and chose to draw first because of his slightly awkward mana. The first creature of the game was a 2/1 Adder-Staff Boggart on turn two after Josh played a Runed Stalactite, and Randy followed it with a Mudbotton Torchrunner; Josh matched with his own on his third turn. Randy set out a Moonglove Extract, but did not play a fourth land. Josh didn't have a fourth land either, but he did have a Treefolk Harbinger to get one, and the Harbinger picked up the Stalactite. This did not stop Randy from attacking with the Torchrunner, which traded with the 1/4 treefolk.
Randy's ensuing Tar Pitcher was imposing, but not a huge threat yet with no friends other than Adder-Staff Boggart. Josh added a Fire-Belly Changeling and Battlewand Treefolk to the board, but Randy wasted no time before throwing the Adder Staff Boggart at the Changeling. He then untapped and played a Marsh Flitter to give his Tar Pitcher more food. Josh wasn't done yet, however, and when he found his sixth land he had a Vigor waiting for Randy. Randy had the Eyeblight's Ending for the Vigor, however, and his board of Flitter, Tar Pitcher, and two tokens threatened to quickly take Josh out out of the game.
Josh drew and sighed with relief. He had found his second Mountain for Incendiary Command, which killed every creature in play after hitting the 3/3 Marsh Flitter with the Mudbutton Torchrunner trigger. Josh found Vigor waiting for him again on his next turn. Randy's Warren Pilferers returned Tar Pitcher, but he appeared not to have an answer to Josh's Incarnation. Josh had more to play as well- his own Tar Pitcher, which he equipped the Runed Stalactite to. Randy attempted to Tarfire Josh’s Tar Pitcher in response, but this only grew it thanks to Vigor's ability.
Sending the Tarfire at Josh instead of his creature would have given Randy the chance to simply burn his opponent out, but that chance was now gone. He still went for the burn plan with a Boggart Birth Rite targeting Mudbutton Torchrunner, which the Tar Pitcher promptly threw at Josh to take both players to five life. Josh added a Gilt Leaf Seer and equipped the Stalactite. Randy tried his best to look stoic, but Josh wasn't scared; he equipped Vigor with the Stalactite and came over with a 7/7 Vigor, a 4/4 Tar Pitcher, and the Gilt Leaf Seer to do the last five damage. Had the Tarfire gone at Josh instead of the Seer, Randy would have been able to kill him the turn before.
Josh 1-0 Randy
Randy chose to play in game two,
starting with a Skeletal Changeling.
Josh had Treefolk Harbinger for a
This whole time, Randy's Thieving Sprite had been stealing single points of Josh's life total, but a second Cloudcrown Oak from Josh put an end to that and allowed him to go on the offense next turn. A Moonglove Extract from Randy traded with Josh's Inner-Flame Igniter, but a sideboarded Warren-Scourge Elf put a wrench in Randy's offensive plans even though he had found a Tar Pitcher and Randy’s Boggart Harbinger searched for a Mudbutton Torchrunner to team it up with.
Josh had another bomb in store for Randy in the form of a Timber Protector, which give his three Treefolk- Cloudcrown, Harbinger, and the Stalactited Warren-Scourge Elf- the ability to attack without fear. Randy chump blocked and used Tar Pitcher and Torchrunner to take Josh to 9, then played Warren Pilferers returning the Torchrunner. Josh had added a Seedguide Ash, but needed to get his creatures through before Randy could kill him with the Tar Pitcher.
The right answer for Josh was just to attack with the whole team. Randy had to chump block with everyone, and without a team of creatures he died to Josh's five Treefolk. Both games were essentially races between Josh's gigantic treefolk and Randy's Tar Pitchers; Josh was fortunate to draw as many of his big creatures as he did, but Randy's deck didn't seem capable of burning Josh out fast enough to stop his parade of trees.
Josh wins 2-0 and advances to the semifinals.
Recaps from the Other Quarterfinals
Mike Patnik(W/G Kithkin Aggro) v. Mike Krumb (WRB aggro)
Game 1: Hostility was too large for Patnik to deal with, and Krumb went up 1-0.
Game 2: Mirror Entity made Patnik’s six kithkin tokens into 3/3s, smashing Krumb’s board.
Game 3: Multiple Cloudgoat Rangers ruled the air, but only after Patnik took a beating in the early game. He ended the game at 1 life in an amazingly close race.
Alvin Law (UB Faeries) v. Michael Jacob (GB Elves/Treefolk)
Game 1 – Law’s faeries pulled out the game flying over Jacob’s ground pounders.
Game 2 – A trio of Mournwhelks decimated Law’s hand and outraced Law’s smaller flyers
Game 3 – Jacob’s massive creatures once again were no match for Law’s aerial assault.
Justin George (UW Merfolk) v. Peter Jesuale (U/W merfolk)
Game 1- The epic mirror match resulted in Justin managing to deck Peter despite a Forced Fruition preventing him from playing any spells.
Game 2 – Peter’s two Mulldrifters gave him enough of an advantage to win the game with single digit cards left in his library.
Game 3 – A close game where Justin’s Drowners were just fast enough to deck Peter before Peter’s flyers and islandwalkers could do Justin in.
Semifinals: Alvin Law vs. Josh Wludyka
Josh won the roll and chose to draw
again. Josh is playing the same deck as
last round;
Josh tried to make some progress
with a Runed Stalactite and Battlewand
Treefolk.
Josh 1-0
Josh was only beginning his
attack. He played a Cloudcrown
Oak on the next turn, but
Nonetheless, Josh's deck was
feeling kind and gave him Vigor.
Josh wins 2-0, moving on to the finals.
Semifinals: Mike Patnik vs. Justin George
Justin wins the roll and both players keep.
Justin led off with a Judge of Currents, a small but powerful force in this matchup. Not to be outdone, Patnik laid his powerful card, a Wizened Cenn. Justin sent in the Judge, and Patnik took one without hesitating. Justin passed, and Patnick played a land, sent in the Wizened Cenn for 2, and continued with a Springjack Knight – a card that Justin was forced to read. Justin made his fourth drop, then confirmed the wording on Springjack Knight. He again swung in, and once again Patnick took 1. The Wizened Cenn then found itself on the wrong end of a Moonglove Extract. Springjack Knight attacked, revealing a Cloudgoat Ranger and dealing twice its power in damage. This attack was followed up with a Kinsbaile Balloonist, which Justin dealt with on his turn with an Oblivion Ring. The Knight came in again, this time hitting with a Surge of Thoughtweft against an island. The Surge went to the bottom as Patnick dug for a 5th land to fuel all the gas in his hand. Justin blocked with the Judge and played a Wings of Velis Val, trading creatures but losing some card advantage. Patnik calmly followed up with a changeling spell of his own – a Mirror Entity.
Justin seemed unhappy to see it. He played a Wellgabber Apothecary and passed. Mirror entity came in for 1, and was joined by a Kinsblade Baloonist on the board – but still no fifth land. The Wellgabber came to fight, and got in for 2, bringing the score to 16 Mike, 17 Justin. Mike attacked with the Balloonist, then played his fifth land and the Cloudgoat Ranger – which came with an army of Kithkin ready to be all they can be.
Justin attacked with the Wellgabber into the army. He was blocked by a giant and died, but all was not lost. An Austere Command cleared the board. Patnik rebuilt with a second Cloudgoat Ranger. Justin played a Drowner of Secrets and an Amoeboid Changeling, but it wasn't stopping anything. The giant came over for 5, taking Justin to 8, and Patnik played a Changeling Hero, championing a token. Justin drew and passed back, and the Giant and the Hero came in – ready to fight. Justin put damage on the stack and cast a Pollen Lullaby, losing the clash, but living for at least one more turn. Justin milled a few, revealing a second Wizend Cenn and a third Cloudgoat Ranger. Justin played a Plover Knights and passed back. The Giant and Hero came back to life, and rejoined the fight. Justin blocked the giant with a Plover Knights, but with damage on, the Giant was given Tricloplean sight, and Justin’s board went down by one more card. Justin again drew and passed. The giant tapped the hero and two tokens and flew over to victory.
Game 2
Patnik came out swinging with a turn 1 Goldmeadow Harrier, and a turn 2 Kithkin Greatheart. Justin played a turn 3 Drowner of Secrets, but a Wizened Cenn allowed Mike to come in with the Greatheart. Justin milled for one getting rid of a second Wizened Cenn – a pretty good mill to say the least. Justin played a Rejeerey, and at the end of turn, Patnick tapped the Drowner, who milled a Springjack Knight. The team came in to battle, and Justin did not block. Mike played a Triclopean Sight, making Justin take 8, and follwed it up with a Springleaf Drum. Justin, clearly not happy about the way this game was going, played a Paperfin Rascal targeting his own island with the Rejeerey. He lost the clash to a Mirror Entity on Mike's side. Justin passed and Mike went to tap the Drowner. Justin milled the Entity off, and then played a Pestermite, during Patnik's upkeep, taping a plains. Justin was beginning to take control, but was he at enough life to weather any more heat from Patnik? A Kithkin Mourncaller came to the party, and Patnick was able to swing into Justin with no fear of repercussions.
The squad came again, full force, with Harrier tapping the Paperfin Rascal. Justin blocked the Wizened Cenn with a Pestermite, and Harrier with Regery, trading all, but Mike drew two off of it, going to 5 in the attack. Justin drew, then passed. Mike played Cloudgoat Ranger, but it was countered by Scattering Stroke, winning the clash by revealing a pollen lullaby to a land. Justin chose not to add the mana, played an Amoeboid Changeling and passed. Things were looking up. Then another Cloudgoat Ranger came onto the scene. Greatheart came in, and it was blocked by the Drowner. First strike on, Justin milled one and played a Triclopean sight, killing the Kithkin. The next turn was uneventful, with Justin milling three, and Patnick trying to decide when to come with the Ranger. Finally, the Ranger came in, with flying, and Justin played the Lullaby, tying the clash. Mike played a Balloonist, verbally taunting Justin to play Austere Command, then passed. Justin milled another three, untapped and peaked at his card, then passed the turn. Mike swung with the squad, and Justin played a Wings of Veils Val on a Rascal, trading with the ranger but going to 1. Justin milled three, leaving 5 cards left, but drew a land, and conceded in the face of an unrelenting army of flyers.
Mike Patnick wins 2-0 and moves on to the finals.
Finals: Mike Patnik vs. Josh Wludyka
Mike Patnik
is a past member of the
Josh won the roll, and true to form chose to draw first. Both players kept seven cards.
Patnik
made the first play of the game with a Kithkin Healer
off of three Plains; Josh's first play was Imperious Perfect off of
However, Josh wasn't out of the woods yet, as one of them became a Changeling Hero next turn. His rejoinder was Boggart Harbinger for his second Mudbutton Torchrunner, which threatened to team up with Tar Pitcher to eat the Hero. Patnik attacked with his Hero and two tokens. Josh tried to kill a kithkin token with an elf token thanks to the Imperious Perfect’s bonus, but a Surge of Thoughtweft from Patnik did two extra damage and forced the tokens to trade. This put Patnik to 23 and Josh to 9. The Torchrunner took one for the team next turn to take out the Hero, leaving Patnik with only one 1/1 kithkin token to Josh's Boggart Harbinger, Tar Pitcher, Imperious Perfect, and an Inner-Flame Igniter.
Patnik played a Kinsbaile balloonist next turn, but passed with four lands untapped and two cards in hand. Either he had a trick- perhaps Neck Snap?- or he was out of gas and land flooded. Unafraid of Patnik's four mana, Josh sent in the Igniter and Harbinger, which took Patnik to 19. Patnik had a Wizened Cenn for his next turn, after which the Balloonist took the token to the air in an attack. Tar Pitcher threw the Harbinger at Wizened Cenn before damage, so Josh only fell to six instead of four. Josh still had spells, and came up with a Cloudcrown Oak before sending the rest of his team into the red zone in a giant attack that took Patnik from 17 to 2 after a pump from Inner-Flame Igniter. Patnik scooped in the face of Josh's massive army of trees.
Josh 1-0 Patnik
Patnik chose to play first in game two, and both players kept. This time, Patnik had a Goldmeadow Harrier for his first turn but no second land. Josh had a Battlewand Oak before Patnik found land number two, but the turn after that Patnik found a forest that allowed him to cast Kithkin Greatheart. Josh passed with no land or other play, and Patnik was fortunate enough to draw his second plains. He played Kithkin Mourncaller and passed. Josh drew a Swamp, allowing him to cast Cloudcrown Oak and get in with Battlewand for three, but Patnik found yet another plains on top of his deck and practically threw a Wizened Cenn into play before attacking with his Mourncaller and Greatheart. Josh blocked the Greatheart with Cloudcrown Oak, but a Surge of Thoughtweft forced the creatures to trade.
The players appeared to be done with their mana issues when Josh found a fifth land, but Josh decided to create some more of them with a Rootgrapple on Patnik's only Forest and attacked Patnik down to 17 with Battlewand Oak. Patnik was out of land and played Kithkin Healer before sending in the team, putting Josh to nine. Josh decided to play defense this turn, playing a Bog-Strider Ash and passing. Patnik kept pushing, using the Harrier to tap the Ash and attacking with everyone. Josh's Battlewand Oak and a Peppersmoke took out Patnik’s Wizened Cenn, but Josh still fell to 3 in the attack.
Josh needed to stop the bleeding. He played a Mudbutton Torchrunner, gained two life using the Bog-Strider Ash’s trigger, Peppersmoked the Torchrunner, and killed the Daggerdare. This was all for naught when Patnik played a Cloudgoat Ranger next turn that took Josh’s remaining five life points with its first attack.
Josh 1-1 Patnik
Before game three, the players negotiated a split: the loser would get all the product, and the winner would get the plane ticket. Oddly, the first place prize was 36 packs and the second place prize was 34. Patnik stated that he was determined to win so that he would not be shorted two packs from two boxes. The players shuffled for a long time; Josh chose to draw this time.
Patnik chose to keep, but Josh mulliganed. He kept the six. Patnik failed to make a creature no the first two turns, but Josh got on board with Fire-Belly Changeling. Patnik shrugged and played out a Mirror entity with no protection, but Josh had nothing; he merely attacked and pumped his Changeling twice with his two Mountains. Emboldened, Patnik played out Wizened Cenn and attacked for three thanks to the Cenn's ability. Josh's fourth turn Bog-Strider Ash had no effective blocks against the Wizened Cenn and Mirror Entity, and Patnik threatened to end the game immediately with a Cloudgoat Ranger that gave Mirror Entity lots of things to mirror onto. A turn later, Josh's three blockers couldn't stop Patnik from turning his six creatures into 6/6's and attacking for the win.
Mike Patnik wins the invitation and plane ticket to Pro Tour Kaula Lumpur. Congratulations Mike!