I wrote this piece* on 3/12/2007. Needless to say the correct channels weren’t used, and this article kinda feels like an old girlfriend that you haven’t seen in three years that you happened to pass by in the mall, who talks to you like she didn’t rip your heart out by sleeping with your best friend Todd, who you’re cool with now, but still, what nerve! It was supposed to be a recap of GP: Dallas along with some walkthroughs on the “new” TTP format. It’s not new anymore so you probably won’t learn anything, and GP: Dallas was soOoOoo five GP’s ago. That said, there were too many cute ramblings for me to just give up on it, so I’m sincerely sorry if this article disapoints. Just check the footnotes and the random links throughout the article before you leave.
My next piece is going to be super-cool. I started writing it when I was going through a period of insomnia, so I really had no clue what I had written until I woke up in the morning. It has no strategic value, its more of a narative of a guy who gets his binder stolen and goes berserk when he tries to get it back. The Pin, the Magic crime boss of the area, was behind it the entire time, so the binder-less Magic player starts taking out some of The Pin’s thugs one by one until the climatic finale.
I just feel like there is so much gold in this piece, even if the rainbow leading to has been blotted out by storm clouds.
All the stars were lined up for me to write the bestest piece ever written, a tournament report !cartoon style! on GP: Dallas, I just couldn’t follow through. Things came up, I got bored with the old pictures so I made some new ones, it got further and further away from the tournament, Extended season ended, SPRING BREAK OMG GO CRAZY!(#Y@HF IVB#NeonCheon$#(!#!!!!!!
Thus, it never was written, and I get even more frustrated about my procrastinated state. For what its worth, I’ll put the cartoons I actually did draw at the bottom******. The whole idea was to draw as many pros as I could in the hopes one of them would pick me up for the Two-Headed Giant PT**. The back story would have been an extremely exaggerated tale of Julien and I searching for a girl at the tournament site who resembled Natalie Portman*** to a small degree. Long story short he backed out of taking a picture with her on my phone. He just doesn’t realize the leverage he holds in picking up Magical Martha’s****. He has a Pro Player card… two of them! I bet he gets all the freaky girls.
If I had a choice I would end the piece here. I’ve said all I need to say and put enough footnotes in there to make even the most sparingly of commenter’s to throw a shout out in the forums about how hilariously funny this article was. Unfortunately for me, and probably you, I have to continue until I have around three thousand words.
Babba bouie, babba bouie… babba bouie.
So now for the bulk of this piece I can choose from a variety of formats… let’s start with TTP Draft since its by far the easiest to talk about without having to do too much work. Here are my favorite archetype’s to draft:
U/R Storm / Suspend / Bruuuuhhaaaa
What better place to start than with the best archetype in TTT. This deck gained the best two commons in the set with Dead / Gone and Shaper Parasite, so it has to be ridiculous, right!? Wrong. It’s actually gotten worse since all the other decks got stronger. In TTT, U/R never lost to a Green deck. Heck, no deck lost to a Green deck. Now, however, U/R is more “fair.” It didn’t get any super strong suspend or storm cards, so all adding P to mix did was dilute the chance of getting a very good storm deck.
W/B Rebels
This one is probably fairly obvious to the experienced Magicians out there. It’s the strongest deck in TTP, with U/R coming in at a close second. Black is naturally the worst color in TTP, BUT, when it pairs with White you get all kinds of crazy synergy. Planer Chaos brings forth a handful of handy rebels that add a handful of handy utilities to the rebel deck. You get a much needed searcher in Blightspeaker, a pseudo removal spell in Big Game Hunter, a tapper in Rathi Trapper, a very handy flier that is sure to turn the race in your favor in Aven Riftwatcher, and an insane 1/2 that will dominate combat until he is killed in Saltfield Recluse. You also gain some cheap removal with Midnight Charm and Sunlance, which leads me to believe that this is the most powerful and cohesive deck in the entire TTP universe. Pick those Armou Scouts a lot higher boys. Higher than Castle Raptors. Higher than Temporal Isolation.
Lets be honest here, all the Green decks are the same, and you almost always splash at least one color to it. Green has a lot of good mana fixers and thus, just like in Ravinca block (well not exactly), can play the best card in every pack. A lot of the times when I’m drafting and I don’t really have a deck coming together by pack 2 I just revert to the draft G/X/X/X plan. Normally all of the cards that will be picked high can be splashed into Green so you really don’t lose you early picks by going this route. This is really more of a backup plan in case your W/B or U/R deck doesn’t come together, and it’s generally not a good idea to go into a draft with intent to force this. Normally the decks will be two base colors splashing two other colors. U/G/r/b and U/W/r/b are the most potent of the combinations since they encompass the majority of the removal possible in the format.
Those are pretty much the only decks I draft, so I’ll give a draft walkthrough for each type with discussion in between picks.
Pack 1:
Flowstone Channeler, Herd Gnarr, Trespasser il-Vec, Amrou Scout, Grapeshot, D’Avenant Healer, Wormwood Dryad, Mystical Teachings, Two-Headed Sliver, Prismatic Lens, Krosan Grip, Tectonic Fiend, Scryb Ranger, Triskelavus, Spike Feeder
Pick: Triskelavus
Pack 2:
Flowstone Channeler, Trespasser il-Vec, Spinneret Sliver, Fortify, Spiketail Drakeling, Flamecore Elemental, Thrill of the Hunt, Plunder, Skulking Knight, Brass Gnat, Conflagrate, Spirit Loop, Sudden Spoiling, Coalition Victory
I’m not a big fan of Sudden Spoiling since more often than not it will end up as a one-for-one, but there really is no other pick on its power level here. I did consider taking Fortify briefly, but opted against it.
Pick: Sudden Spoiling
Pack 3:
Scarwood Treefolk, Slipstream Serpent, Gaze of Justice, Strangling Soot, Flamecore Elemental, Clockspinning, Sidewinder Sliver, Viscid Lemures, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss, Fool’s Demise, Gustcloak Cavalier, Wipe Away, Magus of the Disk
If I had to guess, I’d say White is open. Too bad I had to ship a Amrou Scout and Fortify already.
Pick: Magus of the Disk
Pack 4:
Scarwood Treefolk, Amrou Scout, Mana Skimmer, Glass Asp, Traitor’s Clutch, Plunder, Eternity Snare, Molder, Assembly-Worker, Haunting Hymn
How lucky.
Pick: Amrou Scout
Pack 5:
Coal Stoker, Durkwood Baloth, Coral Trickster, Ivory Giant, Deathspore Thallid, Venser’s Sliver, Clockspinning, Bogardan Rager, Sangrophage, Gustcloak Cavalier, Vesuva
I don’t like Ivory Giant much, and I probably won’t play it, but if I’m going to get any good White cards in pack two I have to start cutting it hard.
Pick: Ivory Giant
Pack 6:
Spinneret Sliver, Ivory Giant, Mindstab, Plunder, Eternity Snare, Venser’s Sliver, Paradise Plume, Dread Return, Outrider en-Kor, Angel’s Grace
4322s are awesome.
Pick: Outrider en-Kor
Pack 7:
Gemhide Sliver, Feebleness, Two-Headed Sliver, Blazing Blade Askari, Shadow Sliver, Ophidian Eye, Watcher Sliver, Saltcrusted Steppe, Dementia Sliver
Pick: Feebleness
Pack 8:
Mana Skimmer, Benalish Cavalry, Feebleness, Watcher Sliver, Glass Asp, Traitor’s Clutch, Aspect of Mongoose, Fungal Reaches
Pick: Benalish Cavalry
Pack 9:
Trespasser il-Vec, D’Avenant Healer, Wormwood Dryad, Mystical Teachings, Prismatic Lens, Krosan Grip, Tectonic Fiend
Pick: Trespasser il-Vec
Pack 10:
Thrill of the Hunt, Plunder, Skulking Knight, Brass Gnat, Spirit Loop, Coalition Victory
Pick: Skulking Knight
Pack 11:
Gaze of Justice, Clockspinning, Viscid Lemures, Fool’s Demise, Gustcloak Cavalier
Pick: Viscid Lemures
Pack 12:
Glass Asp, Traitor’s Clutch, Plunder, Molder
Pick: Traitor’s Clutch
Pack 13:
Deathspore Thallid, Clockspinning, Sangrophage
Pick: Deathspore Thallid
Pack 14:
Plunder, Paradise Plume
Pick: Paradise Plume
Pack 15:
Dementia Sliver
Pick: Dementia Sliver
Pack 16:
Pentarch Ward, Assassinate, Thallid Germinator, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Temporal Eddy, Call to the Netherworld, Cyclopean Giant, Brass Gnat, Savage Thallid, Sudden Shock, *, *, *, Shadow Guildmage, Thrill of the Hunt
Not much in this pack for me.
Pick: Assassinate
Pack 17:
Strength in Numbers, Zealot il-Vec, Urborg Syphon-Mage, Snapback, Aether Web, Lightning Axe, Screeching Sliver, Psychotic Episode, Jedit’s Dragoons, Might of Old Krosa, Dread Return, Psionic Sliver, Assault / Battery, Forest
You could make a point for Zealot il-Vec or Lightning Axe here, but Urborg is really good at finishing the game.
Pick: Urborg Syphon-Mage
Pack 18:
Cloudchaser Kestrel, Drudge Reavers, Goblin Skycutter, Cancel, Foriysian Interceptor, Aetherflame Wall, Detainment Spell, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Bewilder, Cavalry Master, Truth or Tale, Wheel of Fate, Prodigal Sorcerer
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Cavalry Master
Pack 19:
Empty the Warrens, Errant Doomsayers, Viscerid Deepwalker, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Ghitu Firebreathing, Momentary Blink, Greenseeker, Pit Keeper, Duskrider Peregrine, Smallpox, Icatian Javelineers, Plains
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Duskrider Peregrine
Pack 20:
Mogg War Marshal, Terramorphic Expanse, Drudge Reavers, Call to the Netherworld, Drifter il-Dal, Havenwood Wurm, Basal Sliver, Sage of Epityr, Cavalry Master, Fungal Reaches, Lord of Atlantis
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Cavalry Master
Pack 21:
Icatian Crier, Divine Congregation, Jhoira’s Timebug, Chameleon Blur, Cyclopean Giant, Undying Rage, Urza’s Factory, Pendelhaven Elder, Gemstone Caverns, Whispers of the Muse
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Gemstone Caverns
Pack 22:
Tendrils of Corruption, Think Twice, Screeching Sliver, Momentary Blink, Ancient Grudge, Foriysian Interceptor, Nightshade Assassin, Fool’s Demise, Consecrate Land
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Tendrils of Corruption
Pack 23:
Errant Doomsayers, Aether Web, Temporal Eddy, Jedit’s Dragoons, Savage Thallid, Ancient Grudge, Flickering Spirit, Barbed Shocker
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Errant Doomsayers
Pack 24:
Pentarch Ward, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Temporal Eddy, Call to the Netherworld, Cyclopean Giant, Brass Gnat, Savage Thallid
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Pentarch Ward
Pack 25:
Snapback, Aether Web, Screeching Sliver, Psychotic Episode, Dread Return, Forest
Pick: Psychotic Episode
Pack 26:
Foriysian Interceptor, Aetherflame Wall, Detainment Spell, Truth or Tale, Wheel of Fate
Pick: Wheel of Fate
Pack 27:
Errant Doomsayers, Ghitu Firebreathing, Smallpox, Plains
Pick: Errant Doomsayers
Pack 28:
Drudge Reavers, Call to the Netherworld, Drifter il-Dal
Pick: Drudge Reavers
Pack 29:
Divine Congregation, Chameleon Blur
So much for worrying about not getting White this pack.
Pick: Divine Congregation
Pack 30:
Fool’s Demise
Pick: Fool’s Demise
Pack 31:
Mire Boa, Dreamscape Artist, Aven Riftwatcher, Cradle to Grave, Dead / Gone, Aquamorph Entity, Evolution Charm, Pallid Mycoderm, Melancholy, Piracy Charm, Primal Plasma, Stonecloaker, Jodah’s Avenger, Reckless Wurm, Benalish Commander
Man, I hope the Riftwatcher tables.
Pick: Stonecloaker
Pack 32:
Reflex Sliver, Spitting Sliver, Brain Gorgers, Dust Corona, Vitaspore Thallid, Dash Hopes, Aquamorph Entity, Seal of Primordium, Healing Leaves, Simian Spirit Guide, Big Game Hunter, Serendib Sorcerer, Mirri the Cursed, Gossamer Phantasm
Man, I hope that Big Game Hunter Tables.
Pick: Mirri the Cursed
Pack 33:
Whitemane Lion, Midnight Charm, Wistful Thinking, Keldon Marauders, Dash Hopes, Shade of Trokair, Healing Leaves, Brute Force, Primal Plasma, Dismal Failure, Enslave, Keen Sense, Synchronous Sliver
Man, I hope that Whitemane Lion Tables.
Pick: Enslave
Pack 34:
Saltfield Recluse, Synchronous Sliver, Needlepeak Spider, Pallid Mycoderm, Keldon Marauders, Dust Corona, Uktabi Drake, Blightspeaker, Healing Leaves, Hunting Wilds, Kor Dirge, Dichotomancy
Man, I hope that Saltfield Recluse tables.
Pick: Kor Dirge
Pack 35:
Synchronous Sliver, Dawn Charm, Shade of Trokair, Uktabi Drake, Ghost Tactician, Gossamer Phantasm, Bog Serpent, Revered Dead, Psychotrope Thallid, Mycologist, Fungal Behemoth
Man, I hope that Fungal Behemoth tables.
Pick: Shade of Trokair
Pack 36:
Veiling Oddity, Wistful Thinking, Citanul Woodreaders, Pallid Mycoderm, Uktabi Drake, Piracy Charm, Healing Leaves, Dormant Sliver, Sulfur Elemental, Imp’s Mischief
I reaaaaaallly like Imp’s Mischief. It’s definitely bomb power level. In this particular draft I killed a guy who was at five when he tried to Cannonade my Scout, hi-jacked a Careful Consideration, and killed an Errant Ephemeron with a Lightning Axe via the Imp’s Mischief.
So so mischieveous.
Pick: Imp’s Mischief
Pack 37:
Erratic Mutation, Battering Sliver, Reflex Sliver, Midnight Charm, Dash Hopes, Citanul Woodreaders, Simian Spirit Guide, Big Game Hunter, Keen Sense
Wowza, now all I need are some Blightspeakers.
Pick: Big Game Hunter
Pack 38:
Needlepeak Spider, Spitting Sliver, Vitaspore Thallid, Brain Gorgers, Fury Charm, Mana Tithe, Bog Serpent, Sophic Centaur
Pick: Mana Tithe
Pack 39:
Dreamscape Artist, Aven Riftwatcher, Aquamorph Entity, Evolution Charm, Pallid Mycoderm, Melancholy, Primal Plasma
Ding.
Pick: Aven Riftwatcher
Pack 40:
Reflex Sliver, Brain Gorgers, Dust Corona, Vitaspore Thallid, Dash Hopes, Simian Spirit Guide
Pick: Brain Gorgers
Pack 41:
Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes, Healing Leaves, Keen Sense, Synchronous Sliver
Pick: Synchronous Sliver
Pack 42:
Pallid Mycoderm, Dust Corona, Blightspeaker, Healing Leaves
Ding.
Pick: Blightspeaker
Pack 43:
Synchronous Sliver, Ghost Tactician, Mycologist
Pick: Mycologist
Pack 44:
Wistful Thinking, Dormant Sliver
Pick: Dormant Sliver
Pack 45:
Reflex Sliver
Pick: Reflex Sliver
1 Shade of Trokair
1 Feebleness
1 Amrou Scout
1 Benalish Cavalry
1 Blightspeaker
1 Errant Doomsayers
1 Imp’s Mischief
1 Duskrider Peregrine
1 Assassinate
1 Kor Dirge
1 Sudden Spoiling
1 Aven Riftwatcher
1 Big Game Hunter
1 Outrider en-Kor
1 Stonecloaker
1 Urborg Syphon-Mage
1 Tendrils of Corruption
2 Cavalry Master
1 Magus of the Disk
1 Mirri the Cursed
1 Enslave
1 Triskelavus
8 Swamp
9 Plains
This really wasn’t a very good draft to share since I was just getting passed the uber-nuts the entire time, which really goes to show you why W/B Rebels is the best deck.
I just realized I don’t have a U/R draft saved on here, so I’ll just share one of the G/X/X/X drafts:
Pack 1:
Lightning Axe, Mogg War Marshal, Temporal Isolation, Think Twice, Ashcoat Bear, Detainment Spell, Psychotic Episode, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, *, *, Thick-Skinned Goblin, Fallen Ideal, Angel’s Grace, Resurrection
This is a pretty strong pack featuring the Axe, Temporal Isolation, Detainment Spell, *, and *.
Pick: Lightning Axe
Pack 2:
Drudge Reavers, Goblin Skycutter, Cancel, Penumbra Spider, Pentarch Ward, Basal Sliver, Subterranean Shambler, Mindlash Sliver, Havenwood Wurm, Voidmage Husher, Ignite Memories, Curse of the Cabal
I really value Penumbra much higher than before. She’s the best card in the pack, so let’s do it.
Pick: Penumbra Spider
Pack 3:
Urborg Syphon-Mage, Thallid Germinator, Terramorphic Expanse, Snapback, Sage of Epityr, Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Calciform Pools, Opaline Sliver, Krosan Grip, Cockatrice
Bleh, not that big of a fan of any of the cards here, but one soars above them all. Looking back, Terramorphic Expanse wouldn’t be a bad pick here either.
Pick: Cockatrice
Pack 4:
Zealot il-Vec, Urborg Syphon-Mage, Snapback, Aether Web, Cloudchaser Kestrel, Ancient Grudge, Greenseeker, Foriysian Interceptor, Vampiric Sliver, Walk the Aeons, Undead Warchief
Really digging deep here. Walk is decent, so is Syphon-Mage along with Snapback. Instead I voted to stay on color and increase my splash potential.
Pick: Greenseeker
Pack 5:
Thallid Germinator, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Temporal Eddy, Chameleon Blur, Flickering Spirit, Ghitu Firebreathing, Bewilder, Opaline Sliver
Pick: Thallid Germinator
Pack 6:
Strength in Numbers, Errant Doomsayers, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Aetherflame Wall, Detainment Spell, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Bewilder, Faceless Devourer
Pick: Strength in Numbers
Pack 7:
Screeching Sliver, Psychotic Episode, Jedit’s Dragoons, Sprout, Foriysian Interceptor, Opaline Sliver, Volcanic Awakening, Living End
Pick: Jedit’s Dragoons
Speaking of Jedit’s Dragoons, he’s gone up a lot in value.
Pack 8:
Mogg War Marshal, Detainment Spell, Psychotic Episode, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Fallen Ideal, Angel’s Grace
Pick: Mogg War Marshal
Pack 9:
Strength in Numbers, Call to the Netherworld, Cyclopean Giant, Brass Gnat, Screeching Sliver, Spell Burst
Pick: Strength in Numbers
Pack 10:
Drudge Reavers, Cancel, Pentarch Ward, Mindlash Sliver, Ignite Memories
Pick: Pentarch Ward
Pack 11:
Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Calciform Pools
Pick: Thallid Shell-Dweller
Pack 12:
Ancient Grudge, Foriysian Interceptor, Vampiric Sliver
Pick: Vampiric Sliver
Pack 13:
Chameleon Blur, Bewilder
Pick: Chameleon Blur
Pack 14:
Detainment Spell
Pick: Detainment Spell
Pack 15:
Scarwood Treefolk, Slipstream Serpent, Gaze of Justice, Strangling Soot, Fathom Seer, Ground Rift, Eternity Snare, Skulking Knight, Sidewinder Sliver, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss, Skittering Monstrosity, Spirit Loop, *, Sudden Spoiling, Leviathan
Soot and Spoling are the best cards in the pack. Of them the Soot is stronger and more easily splashed.
Pick: Strangling Soot
Pack 16:
Durkwood Baloth, Coral Trickster, Ivory Giant, Deathspore Thallid, Viashino Bladescout, Mystical Teachings, Thrill of the Hunt, Shadow Sliver, Bogardan Rager, *, Paradise Plume, Might of Old Krosa, Whirling Dervish, Ancient Grudge
Pick: Durkwood Baloth
Pack 17:
Durkwood Baloth, Fathom Seer, Chromatic Star, Gorgon Recluse, Herd Gnarr, Skulking Knight, Brass Gnat, Dream Stalker, Harmonic Sliver, *, Thick-Skinned Goblin, Thornscape Battlemage, Brass Gnat
This pick is pretty close between the Battlemage and Baloth. Thornscape has more of a risk factor since if you don’t have Red he’s like an Amrou Seeker without evasion that you can’t search for (I just wish there was a better way to describe three mana 2/2s).
Pick: Durkwood Baloth
Pack 18:
Flamecore Elemental, Feebleness, Chromatic Star, Tolarian Sentinel, Viashino Bladescout, Ophidian Eye, Molder, Children of Korlis, Tectonic Fiend, Voidmage Husher, Ixidron, Drudge Reavers
Pick: Chromatic Star
Pack 19:
Coal Stoker, Tolarian Sentinel, Blazing Blade Askari, Traitor’s Clutch, Plunder, Eternity Snare, Durkwood Tracker, Plated Pegasus, Celestial Crusader, Enduring Renewal, Mountain
Pick: Durkwood Tracker
Pack 20:
Flowstone Channeler, Herd Gnarr, Grapeshot, Traitor’s Clutch, D’Avenant Healer, Glass Asp, Prismatic Lens, Gustcloak Cavalier, Spell Burst
Pick: Herd Gnarr
Pack 21:
Spinneret Sliver, Viscid Lemures, Ground Rift, Wormwood Dryad, Venser’s Sliver, Pull from Eternity, Molten Slagheap, Ghostflame Sliver, Krosan Grip
Pick: Spinneret Sliver
Pack 22:
Gemhide Sliver, Gaze of Justice, Molder, Venser’s Sliver, Children of Korlis, Sangrophage, Fallen Ideal, Firewake Sliver
Pick: Gemhide Sliver
Pack 23:
Gaze of Justice, Ground Rift, Eternity Snare, Sidewinder Sliver, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss, Spirit Loop, Leviathan
Pick: Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
Pack 24:
Thrill of the Hunt, Shadow Sliver, Bogardan Rager, Dementia Sliver, Paradise Plume, Ancient Grudge
Pick: Thrill of the Hunt
Pack 25:
Herd Gnarr, Brass Gnat, Harmonic Sliver, Skittering Monstrosity, Brass Gnat
Pick: Herd Gnarr
Pack 26:
Ophidian Eye, Molder, Children of Korlis, Drudge Reavers
Pick: Drudge Reavers
Pack 27:
Traitor’s Clutch, Plunder, Mountain
Pick: Mountain
Pack 28:
Traitor’s Clutch, Glass Asp
Pick: Glass Asp
Pack 29:
Ground Rift
Pick: Ground Rift
Pack 30:
Dreamscape Artist, Poultice Sliver, Dead / Gone, Ridged Kusite, Erratic Mutation, Reality Acid, Deadly Grub, Citanul Woodreaders, Merfolk Thaumaturgist, Brute Force, Melancholy, Serra’s Boon, Timebender, Kor Dirge, Teneb, the Harvester
Pick: Teneb, the Harvester
Pack 31:
Cradle to Grave, Reflex Sliver, Firefright Mage, Blightspeaker, Ghost Tactician, Fury Charm, Evolution Charm, Prodigal Pyromancer, Fa’adiyah Seer, Revered Dead, Shivan Meteor, Kavu Predator, Mycologist, Merfolk Thaumaturgist
Pick: Evolution Charm
Pack 32:
Midnight Charm, Synchronous Sliver, Needlepeak Spider, Mire Boa, Reality Acid, Pallid Mycoderm, Gossamer Phantasm, Prodigal Pyromancer, Seal of Primordium, Kavu Predator, Necrotic Sliver, Mesa Enchantress, Temporal Extortion
Pick: Mire Boa
Pack 33:
Battering Sliver, Reflex Sliver, Brain Gorgers, Ghost Tactician, Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes, Seal of Primordium, Vampiric Link, Muck Drubb, Lavacore Elemental, Hedge Troll, Body Double
Pick: Hedge Troll
Pack 34:
Reflex Sliver, Poultice Sliver, Spitting Sliver, Veiling Oddity, Evolution Charm, Pallid Mycoderm, Brain Gorgers, Piracy Charm, Seal of Primordium, Sophic Centaur, Fungal Behemoth
Pick: Evolution Charm
Pack 35:
Dreamscape Artist, Cradle to Grave, Keldon Marauders, Dust Corona, Blightspeaker, Aquamorph Entity, Mana Tithe, Brute Force, Venarian Glimmer, Frozen Aether
Pick: Cradle to Grave
Pack 36:
Synchronous Sliver, Dust Corona, Vitaspore Thallid, Dash Hopes, Aquamorph Entity, Shade of Trokair, Gossamer Phantasm, Fa’adiyah Seer, Timecrafting
Pick: Aquamorph Entity
Pack 37:
Dawn Charm, Spitting Sliver, Battering Sliver, Vitaspore Thallid, Deadly Grub, Aquamorph Entity, Vampiric Link, Waning Wurm
Pick: Dawn Charm
Pack 38:
Dreamscape Artist, Ridged Kusite, Reality Acid, Deadly Grub, Brute Force, Melancholy, Timebender
Pick: Melancholy
Pack 39:
Reflex Sliver, Firefright Mage, Ghost Tactician, Fa’adiyah Seer, Revered Dead, Kavu Predator
Pick: Kavu Predator
Pack 40:
Synchronous Sliver, Gossamer Phantasm, Seal of Primordium, Necrotic Sliver, Mesa Enchantress
Pick: Necrotic Sliver
Pack 41:
Ghost Tactician, Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes, Seal of Primordium
Pick: Seal of Primordium
Pack 42:
Spitting Sliver, Seal of Primordium, Sophic Centaur
Pick: Spitting Sliver
Pack 43:
Venarian Glimmer, Frozen Aether
Pick: Frozen Æther
Pack 44:
Dash Hopes
Pick: Dash Hopes
1 Lightning Axe
1 Thrill of the Hunter
1 Greenseeker
2 Durkwood Baloth
2 Evolution Charm
1 Strength in Number
1 Gemhide Sliver
1 Kavu Predator
1 Mire Boa
1 Spinneret Sliver
1 Strangling Soot
1 Melancholy
1 Hedge Troll
1 Necrotic Sliver
2 Herd Gnarr
1 Penumbra Spider
1 Vampiric Sliver
1 Spitting Sliver
1 Cockatrice
1 Teneb, the Harvester
6 Swamp
1 Mountain
2 Plains
8 Forest
Jedit’s Dragoons and Thalid Shell-Dweller were the hardest cards to cut from the deck, although I’m not sure what I’d take out (other than maybe a Kavu Predator).
Word Count: 3521 (1509 if you’re counting words I’ve written)
Ah, if Julien had only taken that picture with the Natalie Portman-lookalike. It wouldn’t be the first time I used a Pro as my “in” to talk to a girl. Well, actually, it would have been the first time. If only I had talked to her at the GP! So many words I want to tell her. It would have gone something like this:
My Dearest Natalie Portman-Lookalike,
If I may be so bold to squire you throughout the mystical land of my heart,
It is as deep as it is bloody, and it swoons for the touch of your lips on my bosoms,
Err… your bosoms, my lips,
Twice I have encountered your lovely face, and twice I have recoiled without even speaking to you,
It is with jealous rage that I type these letters upon a battered keyboard,
Jealous of the Sun and the Moon, who gaze upon you constantly from beyond a birds eye view,
Jealous of the trees and the flowers who walk amongst you without a second thought,
Jealous of your undergarments that get to touch your velvet skin daily,
So I write you this letter you’ll never read,
On a website you’ve never visited.
Until that fateful day you become of age,
Yours forever,
Christopher Kyle Sanchez
That would surely win her heart.
Word Count: 1736 (Ugh, this is moving slower than Max Bracht in a sanctioned match against StrWrsKid at the 2006 Magic: The Gathering World Championships)
As far as Block Constructed goes, I’m not Q’d for Yokohama so I could care less. In Dallas I managed to get 23rd, a.k.a. one win short of qualifying again (third time this season, for those counting). Luckily my rating still isn’t high enough to Q me that way. It’s times like these when a competitive Magic player must analyze who he is and where he is going with this. My goal for this year was to make Level 3, and sitting with two points and no Pro Tours so far it looks pretty hopeless. I’m fairly confident I could maintain that level since I have both the resources to attend all the PT’s and desire to do well at them. PTQs are just such staines. I’ve never won one, and its just so demoralizing to battle for hours only to fall short each time.
So here’s the story…
I’m playing in Round 7 of GP: Dallas. I’m playing King in the Castle, obv, and I’m up a game against a standard Aggro Loam deck. I have a Top out along with a Trinket Mage and a Troll, and maybe a Bird. My opponent was playing off the top of his deck, and used Burning Wish last turn to go for Damnation. On his next turn he played it, and made the pass turn with his hand.
I untapped everything, I already knew the top card of my library, so I drew it to my hand in front of my without looking at it and tapped a land to activate Top, then my opponent stops me.
“Whoa, whoa, I wasn’t done.”
I tapped all my stuff and put the card back on top. He thinks for a bit then plays a Forgotten Cave, and ships the turn.
I untap, draw again, then proceed with my turn.
A couple of turns later my opponent asks, “Did you draw an extra card against me?”
I’m like, “lol, no.” I didn’t really say lol, but I chuckled a bit. “Chuckle” is a bit extreme… it was more like a slight laugh. Whatever, that was that, and I won several turns later. When we sign the slip and call for a judge to pick it up, the judge tells us to wait as an investigation is taking place. Apparently someone thought they saw me draw an extra card. The judge took our slip, and I retired to the restroom.
When I’d finished taking a much-needed wee, I walked outside. Outside, some guy was walking down the hall staring me down. I turned around to see if he was looking at someone behind me, but there was no one there. This bald guy in a Sooner’s jersey***** walks up and starts yelling at me. Saying he saw me cheat and threatening to do something about it. I told him he was wrong, and proceeded to the event hall.
I walked over to a team draft taking place with the esteemed Timothy James Aten XIII (and some other randoms) to watch some games. After about five minutes there, I notice a guy standing directly behind me, literally breathing down my neck. I shrug it off until I notice it was the same guy from the hall. I turn around. “Are you the guy from the hall?”
He responds in an angry tone “Yah! I’m the guy from the hall! What you did was wrong!”
“Dude, you saw wrong,” I replied.
“No I didn’t! I saw you draw an extra card! I can’t see how you live with yourself! Cheating to win!” he screamed.
At this point he was getting a little too close, so one of my friends (who was passing by) came up and got between us. The hall guy was talking the entire time about how he hates cheaters, and how he’s going to make sure I never do it again.
I calm things down and say, “Whoa dude, is there any possibility that you’re wrong here?” I explained the situation about how I thought he passed the turn, and how I put the card back on top, but the guy kept coming at me with vicious slurs. By now my boy David Gonzalez was getting into it, and he started pointing his finger in the Sooner’s face. I settled David down then turned back to the AS (Angry Sooner), whose eyes were glaring and full of tears.
Something was wrong with this guy, so I just turned back to the match and ignored him to avoid a conflict. He eventually walked away, glaring me down the entire trip back to his buddy’s table.
At first I thought Cedric had put someone up to doing that. I mean, Cedric knows people, so it’s not completely unbelievable to think he would pull such a prank. So I sought out Cedric, only to find a replacement in Adam Yurchick and Paul Cheon. I told them the entire, story and they laughed at the AS… just then, coming out of nowhere, I turn around and there he is again.
“Jeez dude, I didn’t cheat. You’re way off base here, so walk away.”
“I saw you cheat! I’m going to put you on tilt so you lose all your matches, Kyle Sanchez! I’m going to let everyone in this place know you cheat so it doesn’t happen again!”
I couldn’t let him sully my good name, so I sought out the only person who could resolve this situation.
After talking with the Head Judge for awhile, I pointed out the AS and he set him aside to put him in timeout for about ten minutes. All the while the head judge was trying to calm the AS down. Unfortunately he didn’t get anything more than a slap on the wrist and a time out, so it just goes to show you that there is no justice in the world.
Thank you sincerely for reading,
SAHHHHHHHHHNNNNchez
1) Sleeping Lessons by The Shins
2) Australia by The Shins
3) Pam Berry by The Shins
4) Phantom Limb by The Shins
5) Sea Legs by The Shins
6) Red Rabbits by The Shins
7) Turn On Me by The Shins
8) Black Wave by The Shins
9) Split Needles by The Shins
10) Girl Sailor by The Shins
11) A Comet Appears by The Shins
12) Vaudeville Villan by Victor Vaughn
13) Silent Shout by The Knife
14) Mad Over Me by Yellowman (Mr. Sexy in Jamaica)
15) The Mound Moves by Zoot Money And The Big Roll Band
16) In The End by The Stills
17) Despertar by Fedrico Aubele
18) Flesh by Islands
19) Futures by Jimmy Eat World
20) Green Machine by Kyuss
21) Paperbook Bible by Lambchop
22) Shut Your Eyes by Snow Patrol
23) Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol
* Two muny peeple refur to artickles az piece’s. Stop it.
** LEVEL 3+ PROs ONLY: [email protected] (it’s from 7th grade, laugh it up)
***I found out later in the weekend she is sixteen.
**** Magical Martha – (noun) 1) Any person of the female gender who plays the game Magic: The Gathering TM. 2) A woman named Martha who claims to have magical powers, usually a witch. 3) A dead rodent.
1) “Wow, that Magical Martha sure can play her Super Frank Karsten Baby Bot Demolisher Destroyer Killer Of The Sacred Vine deck well.”
2) “Hang her! Shes a Magical Martha!”
3) “Excuse me Sir, do you have any Magical Martha’s for sale?”
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