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Before the players really started showing up in force today, those of us who were here early had a pool going about how many would decide to compete for the chance to win a Black Lotus in this, the final tournament of Eudemonia’s second Power Nine series. It is now 10:47, just over 45 minutes into deck registration, more than 40 players have paid their entry, and they’re still filtering in. Today we’ll definitely have an epic battle to decide who wins the grand prize.
Michael Klemic has had it with these other Type 1 players trying to take his lotus.
However, the Black Lotus isn’t all there is to win today. The rest of the top 8 is rich in valuable prizes, with . Also, Eudemonia’s tradition of random door prizes continues, with lots of cool cards for the competitors. Everyone has a chance to win those, just for showing up.
For those of you who haven’t been following the series, this is how the other 8 tournaments turned out:
1) Mox Pearl – David “Web” Ochoa, with two-color tendrils 2) Mox Emerald – Luis Scott-Vargas, with two-color tendrils 3) Mox Ruby – Andy Grizwold, with Oath of Druids 4) Mox Jet – Jeff Nielsen, with The Gilded Claw (a workshop deck) 5) Time Walk – Luis Scott-Vargas, with two-color tendrils 6) Mox Sapphire – Brett Allen, with “The Solution” 7) Ancestral Recall – David Ochoa, with four-color stax 8) Timetwister – David Ochoa, with four-color stax
So it’s clear that David Ochoa and his teammate Luis Scott-Vargas are forces to be reckoned with in this field. We’ll be paying special attention to them throughout the day whenever we can, as well as the other past winner, who are also in attendance today. In addition to them, we have notable player Mark Chalice (of Pro Tour: New York 1998 fame), who has come in second at least once to earn a free entry and round one bye into this tournament. He’ll also be someone to watch today, along with Paul Cheon, reigning US National Champion, who is giving Type 1 a try.
Erik Brown shows off his Battle of Wits deck which he is hoping will go all the way for him today.
Talking with the players before the event, it seemed to me that there are a lot of people attempting to build decks that beat the expected metagame, with surprisingly few to create that theoretically balanced combination of decks with Mishra’s Workshop and Tendrils of Agony. If we get a lot of unexpected matchups, we could really get a couple of interesting feature matches. Here’s hoping for a blue/white fish vs. blue/black fish epic battle.
Round 1: Jon Wang (Control Slaver) v. Paul Cheon (Tendrils)
Me: “So it’s your first match of the day, you’re paired against reigning national champion Paul Cheon, how do you feel?” Jon: “Well, not that bad, actually, since I’ve played this guy before. I lost to him, though.” Paul: “When was that?” J: “It was in a San Diego PTQ in extended way back when. You were playing Green/Black Rock with Cranial Extraction.”
Jon wins the “guess the collector number” competition, and elects to play. Paul remarks that, while he shuffled, he revealed a Night’s Whisper and a Triskelion, and laments that he still doesn’t know what he’s facing. The players start off with some lands, a mox or two, some Brainstorm action, and some tutoring. The first business is Paul’s third turn which is Black Lotus, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Mind’s Desire. The desire finds him Ancestral Recall, Brainstorm, Lotus Petal, Polluted Delta, and Memory Jar. The Memory Jar gets targeted by Force of Will, but in response, Paul has Ancestral Recall and Brainstorm for free, followed by Vampiric Tutor and another Brainstorm, which is countered by Mana Drain. Paul remarks “I think that’s a Fizzle,” and takes three mana burn from his Lion’s Eye Diamond.
For a few turns, the combatants merely draw cards and say go. Paul breaks the standstill by playing Mox Ruby, Mana Crypt, Dark Ritual, Demonic Tutor, Cabal Ritual. Jon responds with Ancestral Recall and a Library of Alexandria activation, followed by removing Paul’s graveyard from the game with Tormod’s Crypt. The Ritual resolves, and Paul casts Time Walk followed by Tendrils of Agony for 16 life, reducing Jon to 1 life. On his extra turn, Paul untaps, casts Yawgmoth’s Bargain, and is done.
On Jon’s turn, he plays a bunch of artifact mana and attempts Mindslaver. In response, Paul draws 6 cards and tries a Force of Will. Jon counters with a Force of Will of his own, and Paul goes to the deck again for another 5 cards to get a second Force of Will. On his turn, Paul casts Yawgmoth’s Will and his Tendrils of Agony comes back to win the game. Game Score: Jon 0, Paul 1
Game 2: Paul sideboards, and then counts his sideboard and finds 16 cards. After going back to the drawing board, he restores his deck and sideboard to the proper number of cards. Jon gets to be on the play again, and has a first turn Sphere of Resistance. After some tutoring and mana development, the first business of the second game is Jon’s Goblin Welder on the fourth turn of the game. On his following turn, Jon has a Tinker to get Darksteel Colossus. Paul has Mana Crypt, Black Lotus, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Mind’s Desire for 6 hitting Mox Pearl, Mox Emerald, Mana Vault, Cabal Ritual, Force of Will, and Grim Tutor.
After some confusion regarding whether the spells removed by Mind’s Desire cost a colorless mana, he casts a bunch of artifact mana followed by his Grim Tutor. Jon has a Mana Drain for the tutor, but Paul has a Force of Will of his own, which costs only a colorless mana. Game Score: Jon 0, Paul 2
Round 2: Brett Allen (Blue/White “Fish”) v. Matt Benjamin (Tendrils) Game 1: These players have both done quite well in this series so far, Brett actually taking home first place once, and Matt appearing in numerous top 8 lists, but neither have earned the honor of a bye, so they had to trample over their hapless opponents last round to appear in the winner’s bracket in round 2. However, one of them will have to lose this round, and with it their undefeated record today.
Brett starts things off with an Ancestral Recall and a mox, and both players get their mana on for a little bit. After some brainstorming and tutoring, Matt has an Ancestral Recall of his own. He wins a brief counter war, and draws three. On Brett’s turn, he casts Jotun Grunt (!). After stifling one of Matt’s fetchlands and attacking, it appears that Brett is doing okay. Matt, however, has a Black Lotus and a Dark Ritual to help him play Grim Tutor. After Lotus Petal and a pair of Cabal Ritual, Matt has a lot of mana and plays Yawgmoth’s Will. Game Score: Brett 0, Matt 1
Game 2: This game gets off to a start similar to the last one, until on his second turn Bret casts Null Rod. Matt allows it to resolve, and continues to play lands. Brett plays Stormscape Apprentice, and Matt casts Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Timetwister. In response to the timetwister, Brett casts Orim’s Chant to prevent Matt from casting any further spells. On Brett’s turn, he casts a redundant Null Rod, attacks, and then counters a Vampiric Tutor with Daze for free.
Matt has an Ancestral Recall followed by another Vampiric Tutor, this one sorcery-speed and from a set depicting feudal era China. Brett goes without action on his turn, and then Matt opens it up with Cabal Ritual, Rebuild, Mox Ruby, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Mana Crypt, Memory Jar, sacrificing his Lion’s Eye Diamond in response. When he activates the jar, Brett casts Stifle.
Brett re-casts his Null Rods and attacks. Matt takes damage from his crypt, going to 3 life. Matt tutors Yawgmoth’s Will, but Brett has a Force of Will and we go to game 3. Game Score: Brett 1, Matt 1
Game 3: Matt starts this one off with Mox Emerald, Xantid Swarm after Brett is forced to mulligan to 5. On his next turn, Matt undoes the mulligans by casting Timetwister. Brett plays his newfound Ancestral Recall, and then Matt has a Duress and an Imperial Seal. A turn later, Matt’s xantids are stifled and his Necropotence countered. On Brett’s next turn, he plays Null Rod and Orim’s Chant in response to yet another xantid attack.
Time is called, and we go to the extra 5 turns. Matt casts Black Lotus, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Dark Ritual, Rebuild, and his three artifacts. He then plays Grim Tutor, sacrificing Lion’s Eye Diamond in response, to get Yawgmoth’s Will. Game Score: Brett 1, Matt 2
Round 3: Victor Andersen (Better than “Worse than Growatog”) v. Pro Tour Legend Mark “My name is Mark Chalice” Chalice (“Bobs and Bombs”)
These players were both the beneficiaries of byes in their first round. Mark, however, got a free ticket to the 2-0 tables. Victor had to play a bunch of Strip Mines to get to where he is now. However, the ways in which these two players got together, they’ve both done quite well in this series of power tournaments. Victor is playing a deck which has seen some success elsewhere in the type 1 world. I don’t need to say anything more than that it has nine strip mines in it.
Game 1: Mark leads off with an Ancestral Recall, and then finds himself with too many cards in his hand, so he discards Tendrils of Agony. Victor doesn’t have a Strip Mine, and Mark has a turn 2 Dark Confidant with a Sol Ring. A turn later, a second Dark Confidant joins his side of the board, and Victor plays a Wild Mongrel, preparing to attack.
During his upkeep, Mark casts Vampiric Tutor and draws a Black Lotus off of a Confidant, followed by a Mystical Tutor which allows his second confidant to draw him a Yawgmoth’s Will. The game is over when he shows his hand of Black Lotus, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Yawgmoth’s Will. Game Score: Victor 0, Mark 1
Game 2: Victor leads with a Wasteland, and Mark has a pair of mana sources. On Victor’s second turn, he casts Null Rod, and a counter war ensues. After two Force of Will and a Pyroblast, The artifact goes to Victor’s graveyard. Mark draws some cards, gets Dark Confidant countered, and loses his Underground Sea. Victor sets up to start attacking with a Nimble Mongoose, but Mark plays Diabolic Edict. Victor plays Wild Mongrel, and Mark plays Mystical Tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will.
Mark’s turn goes Cabal Ritual, Yawgmoth’s Will, Ancestral Recall, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Sol Ring, and then he realizes he made a mistake, having intended to cast Mystical Tutor before his Ancestral Recall. Mark finishes up with Diavolic Edict, Dark Confidant, Brainstorm, Hymn to Tourach, mana burn.
After drawing some cards and playing some lands, Mark plays a Tendrils for 12, reducing Victor to 1 life, and a turn later, attacks. Game Score: Victor 0, Mark 2
Round 4: Erik Brown (Oath) v. Paul Cheon (Tendrils)
Game 1: Erik won the die roll, and is on the play. He starts off with a land and a mox, and the two players spend a couple turns playing Brainstorms, Impulses, and tutors. The first business of the game shows up on turn 5, when Paul leads off with Dark Ritual, followed by Cabal Ritual, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Mind’s Desire for 5 revealing Necropotence, Yawgmoth’s Will, Force of Will, Polluted Delta, and Tolarian Academy. Paul’s free Necropotence gets countered by Force of Will, his Yawgmoth’s Will is protected by his own force, and Erik concedes the game. Game Score: Erik 0, Paul 1
Game 2: Erik gets to be on the play again, and starts things off with Forbidden Orchard, which he uses on Paul’s upkeep to cast Ancestral Recall. Paul plays a land as well, with a similar Ancestral Recall on Erik’s upkeep, which Erik counters using Force of Will. A Duress from Erik takes Paul’s Dark Ritual out of a hand of Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Chain of Vapor, Tolarian Academy, and Erik follows up the Duress with a pair of Oath of Druids. Paul is stuck attacking for two, playing his Academy, and saying go.
Erik uses his two Oath of Druids to get out both Razia and Akroma, and then counters Paul’s Chain of Vapor with a Mana Leak. On Paul’s turn, Erik’s last two cards counter a Brainstorm, and we go to game 3. Game Score: Erik 1, Paul 1
Game 3: Paul is on the play, and gets straight to the action this time with a turn 1 of Mox Jet, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Grim Tutor, land, Timetwister. Apparently, Erik drew into no lands, as his turn is draw, discard, go. On Paul’s turn, he casts a pair of Duress, taking both of Erik’s Force of Will, and then a Xantid Swarm. In response to a Duress from Erik, now that he has lands, Paul casts Mystical Tutor and finds Yawgmoth’s Will. The Duress resolves, taking Lotus Petal over Misdirection and Mox Emerald. On Paul’s turn, he fires up Yawgmoth’s Will and casts Duress, Duress, Mystical Tutor.
Erik plays Brainstorm and uses Wasteland, and Paul plays his new Ancestral Recall. The players draw some cards, play some lands, and do some Brainstorming, and then Erik makes a move. He casts Oath of Druids, which resolves. Paul doesn’t have much on his turn, and Erik flips over Akroma and attacks for 6, then casting Duress to take Cabal Ritual out of a hand full of fast mana.
Paul’s draw is not encouraging, and he attacks with one of his two xantids before playing Brainstorm. Erik flips over Razia and attacks wth both, but Paul’s remaining xantid blocks Razia and he lives for a turn, though he is reduced to 2 and then 1 by a fetchland. A Duress sets up a Time Walk for him, but he doesn’t draw what he needed and Erik wins the match. Game Score: Erik 2, Paul 1
Round 5: David “Web” Ochoa (Stax) v. Jeff Nielson (Auriok Salvagers combo)
Game 1: Web continues his run of losing die rolls, and Jeff elects to play. He elects to mulligan after Jeff decides to keep his first 7. Jeff leads with land go, and then counters Web’s Crop Rotation with a Force of Will. On Jeff’s second turn, he casts Dimir Guildmage. While Web has no gas, Jeff tutors up and plays a Black Lotus using a Trinket Mage.
On his third turn, Web resolves Karn, Silver Golem with the aid of a Mana Crypt despite Jeff’s casting of Thirst for Knowledge, and then Jeff plays two more Trinket Mages, getting a Mana Crypt and a Sensei’s Divining Top. Web has a Trinisphere, and then he uses his Karn to destroy Jeff’s Mana Crypt after it lightning bolts him. After an attack from Jeff reduces him to 8 life, Web casts Tinker and gets Sundering Titan. This time, when Jeff attacks, Web is ready, and takes damage from only 1 unblocked mage, killing Dimir Guildmage in combat.
After being attacked by Sundering Titan, Jeff packs in his cards. Game Score: David 1, Jeff 0
Game 2: Jeff starts things off this game with a Leyline of the Void in play, and then casts Pithing Needle, naming Goblin Welder after some confusion. Web plays Mox Sapphire, Sol Ring, City of Brass, Tinker and gets Sundering Titan, destroying Jeff’s land. Jeff casts Conjurer’s Bauble and draws a card, and Web follows his first turn up with Jester’s Cap. Jeff has an Aether Spellbomb, which he plays, and Web casts Vampiric Tutor on his own upkeep, dropping to 16 life.
After attacking a second time, Web casts Seal of Cleansing and uses it to destroy Jeff’s spellbomb before he has untapped blue mana, following it all up with activating Jester’s Cap to remove the solution from Jeff’s deck. Game Score: David 2, Jeff 0
Round 6: Richard Luna (Tendrils) v. Luis Scott-Vargas (Stax)
In this, the last round of swiss, matches actually being played out were rare, but I managed to find these two, on their last chance to make top 8, forced to play it out. One of them would continue playing today. The other one would go home early. Or, you know, not. Depending on if he wanted to or not. He could stay.
Game 1: Luis won the die roll, and leads with Workshop, Crucible, Mox Emerald, go. Richard has a very spicy draw, with Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Grim Tutor, sacrifice Lion’s Eye Diamond in response, Wheel of Fortune, Yawgmoth’s Will. Game Score: Richard 1, Luis 0
Game 2: Luis has a first turn of Wasteland, Mana Vault, Darksteel Ingot, Goblin Welder, and Richard has a Dark Ritual-assisted Necropotence. After drawing a whopping 11 cards, he discards quite a few and it’s Luis’ turn again. He untaps and casts Rule of Law, which is countered by a Force of Will from Richard. Richard uses a second ritual to play Grim Tutor for Black Lotus, which he immediately plays, and then sets aside a single card with necro, reducing his life total to 3. Luis uses Crop Rotation on his Gemstone Mine, which Richard counters with yet another Force of Will, dropping to only 1 life.
On his turn, Richard untaps, uses his lotus to cast Ancestral Recall and then Timetwister, and the players shuffle their hands in to get new ones. After looking at his new hand, Richard concedes game 2. Game Score: Richard 1, Luis 1
Game 3: Richard is stuck taking a mulligan, but Luis has something with which he is satisfied. Richard casts a turn 1 Brainstorm, then a fetchland, then another Brainstorm. Luis has a Bazaar of Baghdad, and then Mox Jet, Mox Pearl, and Chalice of the Void (1 counter). Richard goes all in, playing Mana Crypt, Lion’s Eye Diamond, a land, Demonic Tutor, and sacrificing his diamond in response, discarding his hand. He finds himself a Yawgmoth’s Will, which he casts, allowing him to replay the diamond, and then Hurkyll’s Recall targeting himself, followed by his three sources of artifact mana, his Demonic Tutor, and a Tendrils of Agony. Game Score: Richard 2, Luis 1
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Posts: 213 | From: Berkeley | Registered: May 2004
Quarterfinals: Mark Chalice (Tendrils with Recoup) v. Brett Allen (Blue/White “Fish”)
Game 1: Brett has a turn 1 land, and Stifles Mark’s turn 1 fetchland, but Mark counters back with Force of Will, following it up with Dark Ritual and Dark Confidant. On Brett’s second turn, he plays Meddling Mage and names Yawgmoth’s Will, but Mark has an Ancestral Recall, land, Mox Emerald, Dark Confidant (number 2!). Brett has a recall of his own, and an Echoing Truth on the confidants, followed by a second Meddling Mage naming Dark Confidant, all thanks to a lotus.
Mark, two confidants stranded in his hand, ponders his options, eventually settling on playing a land and casting Necropotence, which Brett counters. On Brett’s turn, he gets out a Jotun Grunt and Mark sees the writing on the walls that he is not long for this world. He plays a couple of spells, and then a Tendrils for 6 life. Brett attacks for 8 with his three men, and Mark plays Dark Ritual and a Tendrils for 4. Flipping over his next draw to see what it is, Mark shows off a fourth unplayable Dark Confidant. Game Score: Brett 1, Mark 0
Game 2: Mark leads this one off with a turn 1 Duress, taking Swords to Plowshares out of a hand of 3 stifle, a Jotun, and 2 lands. Brett wastes Mark’s land, and Mark plays turn 2 Lotus Petal, Brainstorm, go. Apparently, he kept 1 land. Brett’s turn 2 is land, lotus, Ninja of the Deep Hours. As he attacks and draws cards, Mark sits on nothing in play. Eventually, after Brett gets out a Jotun, Mark plays a Volcanic Island and a Mana Vault.
Another attack later, Mark has a Tolarian Academy, but a hand full of black cards with no swamps. Game Score: Brett 2, Mark 0
Semifinals: Erik Brown eliminated David Ochoa in 2 games, Brett Allen eliminated Mark Chalice in 2 games, Richard Luna eliminated Dante Davalos in 3, and Dan Messino eliminated Mohammad Mukhtar in 3.
Richard Luna (Tendrils) v. Dan Messino (Blue/White/Black “Fish”)
We join two relative unknowns in this metagame in the semifinal round. Richard has made two past appearances in the top 8, but never gotten all the way to the finals. Dan has not only avoided the top 8, he’s never been the subject of a feature match before. This promises to be interesting, as Dan has build a three-color weenie creature deck with some unique card choices.
Game 1: Richard plays Tolarian Academy, Mox, Go. Dan had land go, and when Richard passes on his second turn with no plays, Dan goes for an end of turn Brainstorm. When Richard has no plays on his third turn, Dan seems to be smiling in wardly as he casts Dark Confidant, which runs into Force of Will from Richard. On Dan’s next turn, he casts a second Dark Confidant, which resolves, and then on Richard’s turn, Dan responds to a Wheel of Fortune by playing Seek, a kind of Extract with an attached life-gaining component. He chooses to extract Tendrils of Agony, gaining 4 life, and Richard concedes the game. Game Score: Richard 0, Dan 1
Game 2: Richard is on the play again. Let’s see if he gets a draw with some more action than his last one. Richard’s first turn is land go, and Dan has an end of turn Ancestral Recall after Richard’s second land, but Richard counters it via strong force of will. On Dan’s second turn, he plays a Dark Confidant, which resolves, and Richard untaps, plays a third land, and is done yet again.
Dark Confidant draws Dan a land, and then attacks. On his end step, Richard sacrifices a fetchland, and Dan responds with Brainstorm. Luckily, he finds Stifle to stop the land search and Richard is stuck with yet another turn sans action. The confidant nets Dan another free card (Lotus Petal this time), and he casts Seek, remarking that there is neither a tendrils nor a colossus in Richard’s deck. Eventually, he settles on removing Yawgmoth’s Will, and gains 3 life. Dark Confidant attacks, reducing Richard to 14.
After combat, Richard counters Dan’s Meddling Mage, but still has no plays of his own on his turn, and the confidant deals Dan another point when he reveals Swords to Plowshares. A Jotun Grunt joins the attacking force, but Richard resolves a Demonic Tutor on his turn, followed by Black Lotus and Tolarian Academy. He sacrifices the Lotus to cast Wheel of Fortune, but Dan pays 5 mana for Force of Will, and a turn later Dan Messino is through to the finals to play against Brett Allen in a very surreal Fish v. Fish mirror match. Game Score: Dan 2, Richard 0
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Posts: 213 | From: Berkeley | Registered: May 2004
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Finals: Dan Messino (Blue/White/Black “Fish) v. Brett Allen (Blue/White “Fish”) These are real men.
Usually, this kind of event ends anticlimactically in an annoying prize-splitting arrangement, but these two have decided to be REAL MEN and play the match out to its conclusion.
Game 1: Dan wins the die roll and elects to play, leading off with Island, Black Lotus, Lotus Petal, and Brett had land go. After some fetching and brainstorming, the action remains slow. The first real action is Brett casting Meddling Mage naming Dark Confidant. On his turn, Dan plays a Jotun Grunt, upping the creature size ante, but Brett has another Meddling Mage. This one prevents Force of Will from being played, and Dan takes his turn, attacking for 4 and then playing Brainstorm and a land.
On Brett’s fourth turn, he attacks back for 4, then casting a Jotun Grunt of his own. On his end step, Dan sacrifices his fetchland, Brett stifles it, and then Dan casts Swords to Plowshares removing the mage naming Dark Confidant from the game. On his upkeep, he removes his own graveyard from the game and says “go.”
On Brett’s upkeep, he ponders his options with his own Jotun, eventually settling on casting Swords to Plowshares on Dan’s, giving him two cards in his graveyard to remove. However, Brett proceeds to his draw step without dealing with the upkeep cost, and is stopped by the judges after taking the card off of his deck but before looking at it. A spirited discussion ensues, and eventually the head judge rules that, had a supporting judge not stopped him before completing the draw action, Brett would have finished drawing the card, and therefore the grunt must be sacrificed due to failure to pay its upkeep cost.
When Brett attacks with his meddling mage and attempts to switch in a Ninja of the Deep Hours, Dan casts Stifle to prevent the ninja from entering play. Dan plays draw go, and when Brett attempts to re-cast his mage, Dan sacrifices his lotus to get 5 mana for Force of Will, which is in turn countered by Brett’s own force. The mage resolves, and names Misdirection. On Dan’s turn, he casts Time Walk followed by Seek. Seek removes Force of Will from the game, gaining 5 life for Dan, and on his time walk turn, Dan plays Meddling Mage. The mage names Stormscape Apprentice, and immediately trades with Brett’s mage during his attack phase. Post-combat, Brett casts Jotun Grunt and Stormscape Apprentice.
Dan has no play on his turn, and Brett successfully deals with the upkeep on his grunt. On his attack, he switches in a pair of Ninja of the Deep Hours instead of his apprentice and grunt, draws 2 cards, and then casts Time Walk. On his extra turn, he draws another 2 cards, re-casts his grunt, and says go. After looking at his draw, Dan concedes the game. Game Score: Dan 0, Brett 1
Game 2: Dan decides to mulligan, keeping 6, and Brett keeps his first 7. The cause for Dan’s anguish at his hand is apparent when his first turn is Mox Ruby, Black Lotus, go. Brett leads with Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall, but Dan counters with Force of Will. Brett finishes up with Stormscape Apprentice and Meddling Mage naming Misdirection, attacking a turn later. Dan draws a Mox Sapphire and cycles Time Walk, drawing a Tundra but without any creatures to play.
Brett gets a second land and casts Jotun Grunt, which Dan allows to resolve. Dan is stuck with nothing significant on his turn, and Brett attacks for 7, but his apprentice is returned to his hand when Dan stifles its coming-into-play ability. Dan finally draws a creature (Meddling Mage) and names Stormscape Apprentice, sacrificing his Black Lotus to pay for Force of Will to protect it from Swords to Plowshares.
When Brett attacks, Dan does not block at all, and drops to 1 life. After looking at his draw, he concedes.
Brett Allen is the winner of a Black Lotus.
Miscellaneous fun pictures!
Your intrepid reporter enjoys a tasty snack.
Ryan Reynolds, mild-mannered head judge, blasts the camera with his ray gun. Secretly, he’s an alien.
____________________ PoTaTo!
Posts: 213 | From: Berkeley | Registered: May 2004
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Oh dear, did they not post decklists again?
I imagine they've probably been lost, like the last time decklists weren't posted promptly. I don't have any news for you though, merely speculation.
On another note, since we seem to suffer from a lack of interesting discussion in these tournament report threads, I'll start something risky: What do you guys think about the ruling in the finals that the Jotun Grunt had to be sacrificed? It's something of a forgone conclusion since Brett won the game anyways, but I'd like to know what you guys think. Does it matter whether he would have stopped himself before completing his card-draw?
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Posts: 213 | From: Berkeley | Registered: May 2004
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I think that the Grunt should not have been sacrificed in the spirit of the last few years of DCI being more user friendly.
Brett swords a dude during his own upkeep, clear to all onlookers, as a way to get a 2nd card into his grave to pay for the Grunt's upkeep. Had he not Swords at that time, and disregarded the Grunt and went to draw step, then maybe (Judges discretion). Sometimes we forget to pay upkeep for Kataki or EFlux.
Posts: 45 | From: Vacaville, CA | Registered: Apr 2006
quote:Originally posted by LotusHead: I think that the Grunt should not have been sacrificed in the spirit of the last few years of DCI being more user friendly.
Brett swords a dude during his own upkeep, clear to all onlookers, as a way to get a 2nd card into his grave to pay for the Grunt's upkeep. Had he not Swords at that time, and disregarded the Grunt and went to draw step, then maybe (Judges discretion). Sometimes we forget to pay upkeep for Kataki or EFlux.
So, normally if you draw a card without paying an optional upkeep, it's gone and I think there's no argument. Even at the prerelease they ruled that way.
But in this situation, there were two weird things. It's not that I completely forgot the upkeep. I put the counter on, and then went to put the cards in the graveyard on the bottom of my library as I had clearly set it up. At that point the judge interrupted to point out that Dan was now at 19 life, so I picked up my pen to adjust his life total. After putting down my pen, my mind blanked temporarily, and when I looked up, I saw that the counter was on the Grunt and started to draw a card. Well, the Grunt can't just be chilling there with a counter on it... that's not a possible game state. I think that's why Arun tried to stop me, as I'd taken an ambiguous half-action.
The second thing is that it sounds like if a player (instead of a judge) had made the noise that stopped my draw, then they would have ruled that I could pay the upkeep. That's a pretty strange double standard.
Ryan's final ruling seemed to be based on what "would have happened" if there had been no interuption. My argument during the match is that if there had been no interruption, I still might have noticed the problem before fully drawing (the card was about 2 inches off my library, face down). Ryan thought that chance was pretty slim, which is fair, but it could have happened.
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After talking that situation over with Rob, I'm fairly certain we made the wrong ruling here. Some people thought it was my mistake to stop Brett in the middle of the card draw (as if I'd allowed him to continue there would have been no question that the Grunt has to be buried), but as Brett pointed out in his post above it's certainly illegal to either not bury the Grunt or pay the upkeep so by preceding to his draw step surely an illegal play is occurring which I, as a judge, must stop before the game state becomes unrepairable. Given that I was able to do so, we must then force him to choose whether or not to pay the upkeep so I do think he should have been allowed to. No doubt a difficult situation whatever the correct thing to do was, especially given all that was at stake in this match, but I'm rather glad that this ruling didn't have an overall effect on the match as I really would have hated to see it decided by something like that.
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On a completely unrelated note, did anyone play against anything completely unexpected and get beaten by it? I always like hearing about new tech, especially in a format where the new tech is so, well, techy.
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Posts: 213 | From: Berkeley | Registered: May 2004
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