Wow, it feels so good to be a published strategy author. There’s much more spring in the keyboard. Or maybe that’s just normal for a brand new keyboard. I should come down from the heady heights, as I need to write about my latest PTQ experiences and fact is, even if I’m a published author, I still have never won a PTQ and this weekend I wasn’t particularly close. Well. I was quite close on Sunday, but I thought Craig Stevenson, having had more stuff published, deserved it more so I let him beat me. Okay, so he beat me fair and square. So again, congratulations, Craig, well done! Looks like I take a back seat to the scouser after all.
But before we come to the close Sunday, we’ll see what happened on the Saturday. A lot of people will give you the advice to get a good night’s sleep before and try not to have a hangover on the day of the tournament but I say that’s total bull! The night before my best PTQ result I drank several pints of ale and spent about four hours on my mate Ed’s floor in a state that could only approximately be called sleep. That said, I wouldn’t recommend driving 900 km the previous night and show up not having slept at all for 27 hours at the start of the tournament. Even if you’re just stopping in the middle of a 1200 km journey you were going to do anyway.
To get to the point, after driving there through the night from Frankfurt, Germany, I arrived in Bath where the attendance of 105 players caused a slight table shortage. But Claire and the gang had it all under control and the tournament ran fine. And to really get to the point, here’s the card pool I opened.
Red
1 Sokenzan Bruiser
1 Kami of Fire’s Roar
1 Brutal Deceiver
1 Akki Raider
1 Battle-Mad Ronin
1 Akki Blizzard-Herder
1 Goblin Cohort
1 Devouring Rage
1 Torrent of Stone
1 Kumano’s Blessing
1 Yamabushi’s Storm
1 Unnatural Speed
Black
1 Iname, Death Aspect
1 Deathcurse Ogre
1 Crawling Filth
1 Genju of the Fens
1 Nezumi Ronin]
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Cruel Deceiver
1 Pull Under
1 Call for Blood
1 Struggle for Sanity
1 Horobi’s Whisper
1 Rend Spirit
1 Oni Possession
1 Midnight Covenant
1 Psychic Spear
Blue
1 Teller of Tales
1 Quillmane Baku
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 River Kaijin
1 Hisoka’s Guard
1 Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch
1 Teardrop Kami
1 Aura of Dominion
1 Phantom Wings
1 Veil of Secrecy
1 Peer Through Depths
1 Dampen Thought
1 Reach Through Mists
White
1 Patron of the Kitsune
1 Takeno, Samurai General
1 Kami of Tattered Shoji
1 Hundred-Talon Kami
1 Kami of Old Stone
1 Kitsune Healer
1 Takeno’s Cavalry
1 Waxmane Baku
1 Silent-Chant Zubera
1 Kami of False Hope
1 Terashi’s Cry
1 Cage of Hands
1 Terashi’s Grasp
1 Candle’s Glow
1 Ward of Piety
1 Call to Glory
1 Blessed Breath
Green
1 Venerable Kumo
2 Harbinger of Spring
1 Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
1 Order of the Sacred Bell
1 Genju of the Cedars
1 Kami of the Hunt
1 Matsu-Tribe Decoy
1 Petalmane Baku
1 Child of Thorns
1 Jukai Messenger
1 Serpent Skins
1 Kodama’s Might
Artifacts and Lands
1 Ornate Kanzashi
1 Nine-Ringed Bo
1 No-Dachi
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 God’s Eye, Gate to the Reikai
I hate this card pool. Blue is, as usual, terribly shallow, as is Red. Black has some good removal but is a little light on creatures. Green lacks the obligatory offensive two-drops. White is good, but very defensive. Playing with this card pool made me realize just how much I hate playing controlling, defensive decks in this format. I want to be the beatdown. I need to be the beatdown. And just to make it all worse, I built the cute deck rather than the good deck. When I handed in my decklist I was thinking that it’s either madness or genius and with 20/20 hindsight it was temporary insanity, a brainfart brought about by lack of sleep. If I was capable of blaming my shortcomings on anyone but myself, I’d blame Gabriel Nassif for convincing me that Ornate Kanzashi can win games on its own and provides enough power that I can play without removal or evasion or the power of Nezumi Graverobber. Just look at this deck and tell me how I, lover of G/B beatdown in CoK/BoK Sealed expected to win with this. Remember, there is only one Ornate Kanzashi.
Creatures (16)
1 Kami of False Hope (S)
1 Child of Thorns (S)
1 Jukai Messenger
1 Petalmane Baku (S)
1 Silent-Chant Zubera (S)
1 Matsu-Tribe Decoy
1 Waxmane Baku (S)
1 Kami of the Hunt (S)
1 Genju of the Cedars [S]
1 Order of the Sacred Bell
1 Kitsune Healer
1 Kami of Old Stone (S)
1 Hundred-Talon Kami (S)
1 Kami of Tattered Shoji (S)
1 Venerable Kumo (S)
1 Patron of the Kitsune (S)
Other Spells (7)
1 Ornate Kanzashi
1 No-Dachi
1 Cage of Hands
1 Terashi’s Grasp (A)
1 Candle’s Glow (A)
1 Blessed Breath (A)
1 Kodama’s Might (A)
Lands (17)
9 Plains
8 Forest
Spirits: 11+1
Arcane: 4
My thinking at the time was that this is a slow, controlling deck, no matter how I build it, so I went for the slowest, most controlling deck possible. And just look at all those spirits! Anyway, the only removal in this deck is the one Cage of Hands, with a slight nod to the Waxmane Baku. The only evasion comes from Hundred-Talon Kami and Jukai Messenger. Of course the Messenger shouldn’t really be played except in an aggressive deck or one full of ninja, but that’s beside the point. Before I drown in the foam excreted from my mouth, here’s what I should have played, though I probably wouldn’t have done much better with it, as it still contains tons of creature I’m embarrassed to see in my deck.
Creatures (14)
1 Kami of False Hope (S)
1 Silent-Chant Zubera (S)
1 Cruel Deceiver (S)
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Waxmane Baku (S)
1 Nezumi Ronin
1 Genju of the Fens [S]
1 Kitsune Healer
1 Kami of Old Stone (S)
1 Hundred-Talon Kami (S)
1 Kami of Tattered Shoji (S)
1 Patron of the Kitsune (S)
1 Takeno, Samurai General
1 Iname, Death Aspect (S)
Other Spells (9)
1 Ornate Kanzashi
1 No-Dachi
1 Cage of Hands
1 Terashi’s Grasp (A)
1 Candle’s Glow (A)
1 Blessed Breath (A)
1 Rend Spirit
1 Pull Under (A)
1 Horobi’s Whisper (A)
Spirits: 9+1
Arcane: 5
Are there people who feel comfortable playing a deck that contains all of the following: Kitsune Healer, Kami of Old Stone, Hundred-Talon Kami, Kami of Tattered Shoji, Iname, Death Aspect? If such people are out there, I have this to say to you: FREAKS! To each his own, but boy, do I hate this deck. The problem with not sleeping for 27 hours prior to an event is that sleep deprivation makes you inert. I knew that I should probably be prepared to side in the Black, but inertia kept me from ever bothering. If you’re not sure whether you’ve got the right build always make sure you can sideboard into the alternative. And do it! Yes, I had Swamps ready, no, I never made use of them. Perhaps it wasn’t sleep deprivation but the eerily soothing effect of my summer blue sleeves.
Having said how much I hate this deck, it was kind of fun to play, in the same way smashing your head against the wall helps with a headache. I have no idea what that metaphor is supposed to mean, but as a writer I’m an artist, I don’t have to make sense. I mean I’m an artiste. [A sandwich artiste. – Knut, vaguely insulting] Here’s how the matches played out:
Rd 1 vs. Graham Hopkins
This match was so misleading as my deck worked a treat. Game 1 he is manascrewed and my deck delivers quick beatdown to punish it. Kami of the Hunt, Waxmane Baku and Order of the Sacred Bell can be quite effective like that. Game 2 his deck worked but mine worked better and produced all the answers. He got Kokusho, but my Matsu-Tribe Decoy and No-Dachi were wreaking havoc with the rest of his team. Who’da thought a lowly Venerable Kumo could hold off the mighty dragon, but No-Dachi and Child of Thorns allowed him to do just that. The Patron came out and my ridiculous life gain and damage prevention carried the day. No-Dachi beat him singlebladely.
Rd. 2 vs. Robin Lubarr
Game 1 Waxmane and Patron stall the game until Ornate Kanzashi comes to play and removes Yosei, the Morning Star from the game on first activation. I didn’t have the mana to cast him, but taking him out was enough for the Patron to weave his ridiculousness and beat my opponent silly. Games 2 and 3 are similar, except he manages to draw and play Yosei both times, and win both times by rending Yosei to tap me down. Neither time did I have the mana to return the Cage of Hands on Yosei to my hand. It’s so frustrating to lose two games in a row in exactly the same way, and I can’t help but think I should’ve been able to do something about it. Of course, I was too tired to figure out what.
Rd. 3 vs. Steve Foulkes
In the blue corner – Patron of the Kitsune. In the black corner – Honden of Life’s Web, Honden of Night’s Reach and Long-Forgotten Gohei. You figure out who won. Or would have. Yep, this was the awesomeness of a 0-0 draw. It wasn’t even played slowly, it was just that complicated. He aimed about a million removal spells at the Patron but never managed to kill it. The same Torrent of Stone targeted it three times, but was always trumped by Kodama’s Might, Blessed Breath or Candle’s Glow. In return for all my resources the Patron protected me from his army of 2/2 spirit tokens. In the extra turns he was trying to find a way to kill me, I realized I needed more turns than I had to deck him so I offered the draw and he took it. I wouldn’t want to have been in his shoes, having to try to find a way through those defences. What a silly game!
Rd.4 vs. Michael Groves
Nothing is more depressing than having to play beatdown with this deck. Except maybe facing Uyo and tons of mana, knowing he has Glacial Ray in hand. Up to this point I was having fun, but now I just became disgusted with my deck and after losing this round I dropped and played a draft that went horribly wrong because I couldn’t make up my mind whether I was drafting spirits or samurai.
That was an uninspiring start for the PTQ season. But after a 300 km drive home to Manchester and seven hours of sleep it was time for the local PTQ, which saw a surprisingly low attendance of only 51 players. My card pool was quite a contrast, too.
Red
1 Myojin of Infinite Rage
1 Sokenzan Bruiser
1 Kumano’s Pupils
1 Fumiko the Lowblood
1 Shinka Gatekeeper
1 Akki Rockspeaker
1 Frostling
1 Overblaze
1 Torrent of Stone
1 Yamabushi’s Flame
1 Kumano’s Blessing
1 Crushing Pain
1 Lava Spike
1 Crack the Earth
Black
1 Kuro, Pitlord
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
1 Cursed Ronin
1 Numai Outcast
1 Takenuma Bleeder
1 Nezumi Ronin
1 Kami of the Waning Moon
1 Wicked Akuba
1 Nezumi Cutthroat
1 Ashen-Skin Zubera
1 Three Tragedies
2 Call for Blood
1 Befoul
1 Honden of Night’s Reach
1 Horobi’s Whisper
1 Ragged Veins
Blue
1 Myojin of Seeing Winds
1 Jetting Glasskite
1 Quillmane Baku
1 Shimmering Glasskite
1 Kami of Twisted Reflection
1 Soratami Rainshaper
1 Floating-Dream Zubera
1 Hisoka’s Guard
1 Ribbons of the Reikai
1 Quash
1 Field of Reality
1 Toils of Night and Day
1 Veil of Secrecy
1 Hisoka’s Defiance
White
1 Hundred-Talon Kami
1 Kami of Old Stone
1 Moonlit Strider
1 Takeno’s Cavalry
1 Lantern Kami
1 Kami of False Hope
1 Terashi’s Grasp
1 Cage of Hands
1 Terashi’s Verdict
1 Call to Glory
1 Candle’s Glow
1 Quiet Purity
1 Blessed Breath
Green
1 Kashi-Tribe Warriors
1 Order of the Sacred Bell
1 Lifespinner
1 Kashi-Tribe Reaver
2 Sakura-Tribe Springcaller
1 Matsu-Tribe Decoy
1 Humble Budoka
1 Matsu-Tribe Sniper
1 Orochi Leafcaller
1 Traproot Kami
1 Honden of Life’s Web
1 Lure
1 Serpent Skin
1 Kodama’s Reach
Artifacts and Lands
1 Jade Idol
1 Pinecrest Ridge
Look at that, my Champions rares have an average converted mana cost of 9.666, how nice. The Betrayers rares more than make up for it though, a sexy Samurai that gives creatures around her anger management issues and the sexy rat with blood coming out of her eyes. Personally I find this image somewhat disturbing, but I assume the Fascist Art Director who commissioned it knew what he was doing (I guess rat fetishists makes up a larger proportion of Magic players than I always thought). More importantly, this pool is full of my beloved 2-power two-drops. Give a big up for Wicked A, Humble B and Nezumi C, in town today to kick some no good control players’ butts! Here’s the saucy deck I took into battle:
Creatures (15)
1 Orochi Leafcaller
1 Matsu-Tribe Sniper
1 Ashen-Skin Zubera (S)
1 Nezumi Cutthroat
1 Humble Budoka
1 Wicked Akuba (S)
1 Kami of the Waning Moon (S)
1 Matsu-Tribe Decoy
1 Nezumi Ronin
1 Takenuma Bleeder
1 Cursed Ronin
1 Kashi-Tribe Reaver
1 Lifespinner (S)
1 Order of the Sacred Bell
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
Other Spells (8)
1 Honden of Life’s Web
1 Honden of Night’s Reach
1 Befoul
1 Torrent of Stone (A)
1 Horobi’s Whisper (A)
1 Lure
1 Serpent Skin
1 Kodama’s Reach (A)
Lands (17)
1 Pinecrest Ridge
1 Mountain
6 Forest
9 Swamp
Spirits: 4
Arcane: 3
An awesome bomb, a great curve, double Honden, regenerators and Lures galore! This deck is pure awesome-juice and it fits my play style perfectly. I told everyone before round one I’d be disappointed not to make Top 8 with this deck and hence my head was hanging low after I finished 10th. I think this is the correct build for this pool; none of the other colors have the creature base or general depth required for a main color. The only question is what to do with the splash. It isn’t strictly necessary; a Springcaller could easily take the place of the Torrent. On the other hand it could be White for Cage of Hands which would also provide sideboard access to Terashi’s Grasp and Quiet Purity. Not that I actually needed them, but in principle it could be an idea. I think there are arguments on all sides here, the splash offers a way to deal with black creatures and doesn’t really hurt here at all with Reach, Leafcaller and Pinecrest Ridge. To the Leafcaller’s critics, he was amazing all day, helping a lot with Cursed Ronin and the splash, and one should never underestimate the value of random one-drops in aggressive decks.
Kami of the Waning Moon doesn’t have an awful lot to do with only six other spirit or arcane spells in the deck, but with Wicked A, Ink-Eyes and Cursed Ronin in the deck the prospects are too juicy to leave him out. And he’s good at dealing those last few points of damage.
I’m not gonna bore you with another round-by-round, as it would be too much repetitive “I wrecked him with regeneration/lure combos or double Honden or Ink-Eyes or the almighty Orochi Leafcaller”. Instead I’ll just mention the two rounds I lost.
Round 3 vs. Craig Stevenson
Game 1 I mulligan down to five and although I have a strong start with turn 2 Wicked A, turn 3 Kami of the Waning Moon, his hand is a pure seven cards of gas and I fail to find a Green mana source to cast all the Green goodies in my hand. In game 2 my opening hand is Kodama’s Reach, Ashen-Skin Zubera, Nezumi Ronin, Kami of the Waning Moon and 3 Swamps. Throughout the entire game all I draw is a Nezumi Cutthroat and endless land, and Craig once again has a good hand and easily defeats my flood. I hate losing like this because I can’t find a way to blame it on myself which in turn makes me feel and act like a whinging prick and a bad loser. Craig, if you can remember any mistakes I’ve made, please tell me, so I can blame it on them instead of bad luck. Would make me feel a lot better.
Round 5 vs. Richard O’Neill
This one is much better. Game 1 took quite a while and I realized that I had lost it when he cast Eradicate on my Order of the Sacred Bell. And like a complete idiot I let him search my library. Remember, kids, even after putting the creature in the bin and showing your opponent your hand you can concede. Concession doesn’t use the stack, it can’t be reacted to and it can happen during the resolution of a spell. In game 2 I mulligan down to five, but would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for that meddling Quiet Purity that took out my Honden of Life’s Web. And in game 1 I hadn’t drawn a single one of my enchantments. Grrrr!
I finished on 4-2; all the top tables ID’d the last round, so in spite of my awesome tiebreakers I was shut out of the Top 8. I would be happier finishing 10th knowing the Top 8 had to fight hard every round to get there. I hate going into the last round knowing it probably doesn’t matter one bit what I do. That feeling of helplessness! Then I watched the Top 8 draft and see a friend of mine who snuck in take Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep over both Matsu-Tribe Decoy and Sakura-Tribe Elder. After first picking Sosuke, Son of Seshiro! Oh well, serves me right for not conceding.
So it ended in disappointment again. At least the side event draft was the right tonic this time. I opened Meloku, was more or less the only one drafting Blue and ended up with a ridiculous deck full of bombs (Meloku, Nagao, Opal-Eye, Patron of the Moon, Jetting Glasskite…). It was the perfect deck for my mood, playing it felt like physically hurting my opponents, crushing them and making them squirm helplessly and… I think that’s enough for today.
Till next week!
Martin
Martin underscore dingler at hotmail dot com