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Type 1 Unsanctioned with Capped Welder - Seattle - December 17, 2005
The Type 1 tournament was supposed to start at 1pm but naturally it didn't start until 1:30 or later. I think this was at least partially because of the huge stack of deck lists the judges had to go through. I saw two of them frantically reviewing a stack of them. It must take awhile to review Type 1 deck lists since you'd have to check for banned cards, restricted cards and, in this case, count the number of proxies to be sure it was 10 or less. Yes this was an unsanctioned proxy event but that meant I could actually play without using my real Power.
The delay gave me plenty of time to walk around and see who else was there. I knew Randy Buehler often played at Seattle area unsanctioned events and had written about some of them for Star City. For my family and those not familiar with Randy Buehler he's currently Director of R&D for Magic and has written for the official Magic site and Star City Games.
I saw a guy who I thought was him but I wasn't sure so I slyly walked by him and looked down at his deck registration sheet. Yep, Randy Buehler. This should be fun. I knew he still did very well at these events and often won them. At first I thought it would be fun to play against him but then I thought it would be more fun to watch him play someone else.
Sitting next to Randy was another player I recognized but I wasn't sure who he was. Then I saw the Magic Hall of Fame pin on his sweater. And I still didn't know. I had to look it up online to match the picture to the face as Alan Comer, member of the first Magic HOF class. He's also worked for Wizards of the Coast until recently when he rejoined the pro tour.
So there was some heavy competition.
As they finally started clearing the tables for the start of round one they announced that the printer wasn't working and they'd have to call out the pairings. Table one was a couple of people I didn't recognize. Then the judge called out, "Table two, Roy Zolnoski versus Randy Buehler." You've got to be kidding me.
Round 1 - Randy Buehler - TPS
As I sat down I said, "I was hoping to be able to watch you play from afar." He smiled and asked what my Magic story was. I told him I'd played since The Dark but mostly casually, blah blah blah, then we both concentrated on the cards. I had a decent opening hand with some counters and some land. He kept too.
After a couple of turns with no conversation I asked him, "So, have you been playing Magic long?" Ha ha, wink wink. He was very focused on the cards though and while he was friendly he didn't talk all that much.
Did I forget to mention that this was between rounds for the PTQ? It was. Everyone was standing around our table. EVERYONE who wasn't playing, or at least it felt that way. I felt people standing right behind me and saw a crowd form behind Randy too. Any match he was in was the one of interest for most people. So I was nervous but retained my focus.
On turn one Randy had played Crop Rotation and went to get Tolarian Academy. I was saving Wasteland in my hand because I wasn't sure what he was up to. I had a Mana Drain in my hand but didn't counter the Rotation. I figured I'd wait to see what else he had planned. Eventually with the help of Black Lotus he cast Dark Ritual and got to 4BB, then cast Yawgmoth's Bargain. I Mana Drained it and he looked somewhat frustrated. I'm sure he expected to be in the clear after I let the Lotus and his search spells through.
So I started turn two with 4BB in my mana pool. Naturally I used that to cast Mindslaver and activated it. That was a waste because all he had in play at that point was a Sol Ring---he'd sacrificed everything else on the Bargain and lost his only land, the Academy, to my Wasteland on my turn. It basically served as a Time Walk and I got to record his hand, which was mostly Grim Tutors and other searching. Nothing that would be too threatening without land.
Then I found an activated a Jester's Cap, removing both his Tendrils and his Brain Freeze. I don't think he had any way to win at that point but I was still somewhat intimidated by the whole spectacle and didn't take enough time to really look through his deck. I did notice that all his Moxes and Black Lotus were real and many of his expensive cards were either promo foil versions (Vampiric Tutor for example) or signed by the artist (like Ancestral Recall).
A couple of turns later I found Tinker and traded my Mox Emerald for a Darksteel Colossus. Two turns later he was dead. And with everyone watching! That was fun.
Game two he Duressed away my Mana Dran and Time Walk then played a Xantid Swarm. Eventually he found his combo pieces and I couldn't counter any of them even though I had Stifle in my hand.
Game three I made a play mistake early. My opening seven was 3 Force of Will, Polluted Delta, Volcanic Island, Goblin Welder, and a Demonic Tutor. On turn one I could either play the Volcanic Island and the Welder or play the Delta for an Underground Sea which would set me up for the Tutor. But I stupidly played the Delta and fetched another Volcanic Island, then played the Welder. I don't know why I did that, but it kept me off black for several turns. Meanwhile Randy Duressed away one of my Force of Wills and started casting Vampiric and other tutors, trying to find the combo pieces. I drew a Lotus Petal which I knew would get me black mana for the Tutor but I wanted to set up one lethal blow and bluff more counters so I kept it in my hand. Risky, but I didn't think he'd Duress the Petal if I played it and he'd just get whatever I Tutored for since I didn't have the mana to Tutor and play something else in one turn.
Then I drew that Mox Emerald. I played the Lotus Petal and Tutored for a Tinker. Then I traded the Emerald for a Colossus again. This left me tapped out but he was at 13 and with the two Welders I had in play I had lethal damage on the table. He untapped, showed me his four cards and said "I win." He had two Tutors, a Yawgmoth's Will and a Tendrils of Agony.
Darn. I really thought I'd win but he pulled it out on the last possible turn.
After the match Randy was talking to Alan Comer about the match so I walked up and said "I'm going to eavesdrop if you don't mind." I talked to him for a bit about my strategy and his, particularly about my sideboard decision to not board in Tormod's Crypt. He said the Crypt is only really useful in his deck in the narrow situation we found ourselves in during game three and that I was right not to board that in. He also agreed with the hand I kept in game three even though I didn't have any card drawing or threats but did have three Force of Wills. He said "good match" and I walked away feeling better about a match loss than I ever have.
games: 1-2
matches: 0-1
Round 2 - Chris Ross - TPS
Augh, again with the TPS! Combo was everywhere. But Chris was obviously no Randy Beuhler. I got a Mindslaver online quickly and looked at his hand. He was saving everything in his hand to go off in one monster turn. He had a Mox, a Black Lotus, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Tinker, Yawgmoth's Will and Force of Will. Then he top decked a Dark Ritual. I played his artifact mana, played his land, then played Tinker and Force of Will'ed it. Then I stepped back and realized I could cast Yawgmoth's Bargain. I did and forced him to draw his deck, killing him immediately two different ways.
Game two was worse for him. I kept a no land hand but it had a Mox Emerald, a Lotus Petal, a Welder, and some counters. I could Petal out the Welder and wait for more mana backup, and once I got it I had something to trade for a Tinker. He Duressed me on his first turn and chose one of the counterspells. If he'd taken the Lotus Petal I would have been hosed. I played out my hand and said go. He drew and said go, missing the land drop. I top decked a Wasteland and thought a bit before trading my only land for his only land. I knew I could function with just one or two land but he needed more than that. He played draw go, still no permanents, and I did the same for a couple of turns, swinging way more than I ever wanted to with the Welder. He eventually drew an Underground Sea but then I drew my Strip Mine. I thought for a minute again but again decided to blow up his only land. I eventually found another Goblin Welder and all I could do was swing for two every turn. But he couldn't find land and couldn't do anything so eventually the Welders beat down.
games: 3-2
matches: 1-1
Round 3 - Kris Scudder - TPS
Not again! And this time it was against another seasoned opponent. Kris had obviously played TPS before and played it very carefully once it became clear what I was playing. He used Duress to get the Mana Drains out of my hand and then assembled his combo pieces. He had to Bargain down to two life to find everything he needed in game two but he eventually did and went off.
games: 3-4
matches: 1-2
At that point it was about 4:30 and I figured my family was getting impatient waiting for me in downtown Seattle somewhere so I decided to drop and get an early start back to Portland since I had no chance at Top 8 and would have had to play four more rounds just to see where I finished. Still it was a blast to get to play against and hobnob with current and future Hall of Famers and I did learn quite a bit about how to play against TPS. I definitely need Arcane Laboratory in the board instead of Stifle, since Xantid Swarm won't do anything to shut down the Lab and TPS doesn't run very much bounce at all. I also realized I should have boarded in Platinum Angel against Randy and should probably go back to running that main since combo only has one or two answers to that.
The delay gave me plenty of time to walk around and see who else was there. I knew Randy Buehler often played at Seattle area unsanctioned events and had written about some of them for Star City. For my family and those not familiar with Randy Buehler he's currently Director of R&D for Magic and has written for the official Magic site and Star City Games.
I saw a guy who I thought was him but I wasn't sure so I slyly walked by him and looked down at his deck registration sheet. Yep, Randy Buehler. This should be fun. I knew he still did very well at these events and often won them. At first I thought it would be fun to play against him but then I thought it would be more fun to watch him play someone else.
Sitting next to Randy was another player I recognized but I wasn't sure who he was. Then I saw the Magic Hall of Fame pin on his sweater. And I still didn't know. I had to look it up online to match the picture to the face as Alan Comer, member of the first Magic HOF class. He's also worked for Wizards of the Coast until recently when he rejoined the pro tour.
So there was some heavy competition.
As they finally started clearing the tables for the start of round one they announced that the printer wasn't working and they'd have to call out the pairings. Table one was a couple of people I didn't recognize. Then the judge called out, "Table two, Roy Zolnoski versus Randy Buehler." You've got to be kidding me.
Round 1 - Randy Buehler - TPS
As I sat down I said, "I was hoping to be able to watch you play from afar." He smiled and asked what my Magic story was. I told him I'd played since The Dark but mostly casually, blah blah blah, then we both concentrated on the cards. I had a decent opening hand with some counters and some land. He kept too.
After a couple of turns with no conversation I asked him, "So, have you been playing Magic long?" Ha ha, wink wink. He was very focused on the cards though and while he was friendly he didn't talk all that much.
Did I forget to mention that this was between rounds for the PTQ? It was. Everyone was standing around our table. EVERYONE who wasn't playing, or at least it felt that way. I felt people standing right behind me and saw a crowd form behind Randy too. Any match he was in was the one of interest for most people. So I was nervous but retained my focus.
On turn one Randy had played Crop Rotation and went to get Tolarian Academy. I was saving Wasteland in my hand because I wasn't sure what he was up to. I had a Mana Drain in my hand but didn't counter the Rotation. I figured I'd wait to see what else he had planned. Eventually with the help of Black Lotus he cast Dark Ritual and got to 4BB, then cast Yawgmoth's Bargain. I Mana Drained it and he looked somewhat frustrated. I'm sure he expected to be in the clear after I let the Lotus and his search spells through.
So I started turn two with 4BB in my mana pool. Naturally I used that to cast Mindslaver and activated it. That was a waste because all he had in play at that point was a Sol Ring---he'd sacrificed everything else on the Bargain and lost his only land, the Academy, to my Wasteland on my turn. It basically served as a Time Walk and I got to record his hand, which was mostly Grim Tutors and other searching. Nothing that would be too threatening without land.
Then I found an activated a Jester's Cap, removing both his Tendrils and his Brain Freeze. I don't think he had any way to win at that point but I was still somewhat intimidated by the whole spectacle and didn't take enough time to really look through his deck. I did notice that all his Moxes and Black Lotus were real and many of his expensive cards were either promo foil versions (Vampiric Tutor for example) or signed by the artist (like Ancestral Recall).
A couple of turns later I found Tinker and traded my Mox Emerald for a Darksteel Colossus. Two turns later he was dead. And with everyone watching! That was fun.
Game two he Duressed away my Mana Dran and Time Walk then played a Xantid Swarm. Eventually he found his combo pieces and I couldn't counter any of them even though I had Stifle in my hand.
Game three I made a play mistake early. My opening seven was 3 Force of Will, Polluted Delta, Volcanic Island, Goblin Welder, and a Demonic Tutor. On turn one I could either play the Volcanic Island and the Welder or play the Delta for an Underground Sea which would set me up for the Tutor. But I stupidly played the Delta and fetched another Volcanic Island, then played the Welder. I don't know why I did that, but it kept me off black for several turns. Meanwhile Randy Duressed away one of my Force of Wills and started casting Vampiric and other tutors, trying to find the combo pieces. I drew a Lotus Petal which I knew would get me black mana for the Tutor but I wanted to set up one lethal blow and bluff more counters so I kept it in my hand. Risky, but I didn't think he'd Duress the Petal if I played it and he'd just get whatever I Tutored for since I didn't have the mana to Tutor and play something else in one turn.
Then I drew that Mox Emerald. I played the Lotus Petal and Tutored for a Tinker. Then I traded the Emerald for a Colossus again. This left me tapped out but he was at 13 and with the two Welders I had in play I had lethal damage on the table. He untapped, showed me his four cards and said "I win." He had two Tutors, a Yawgmoth's Will and a Tendrils of Agony.
Darn. I really thought I'd win but he pulled it out on the last possible turn.
After the match Randy was talking to Alan Comer about the match so I walked up and said "I'm going to eavesdrop if you don't mind." I talked to him for a bit about my strategy and his, particularly about my sideboard decision to not board in Tormod's Crypt. He said the Crypt is only really useful in his deck in the narrow situation we found ourselves in during game three and that I was right not to board that in. He also agreed with the hand I kept in game three even though I didn't have any card drawing or threats but did have three Force of Wills. He said "good match" and I walked away feeling better about a match loss than I ever have.
games: 1-2
matches: 0-1
Round 2 - Chris Ross - TPS
Augh, again with the TPS! Combo was everywhere. But Chris was obviously no Randy Beuhler. I got a Mindslaver online quickly and looked at his hand. He was saving everything in his hand to go off in one monster turn. He had a Mox, a Black Lotus, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Tinker, Yawgmoth's Will and Force of Will. Then he top decked a Dark Ritual. I played his artifact mana, played his land, then played Tinker and Force of Will'ed it. Then I stepped back and realized I could cast Yawgmoth's Bargain. I did and forced him to draw his deck, killing him immediately two different ways.
Game two was worse for him. I kept a no land hand but it had a Mox Emerald, a Lotus Petal, a Welder, and some counters. I could Petal out the Welder and wait for more mana backup, and once I got it I had something to trade for a Tinker. He Duressed me on his first turn and chose one of the counterspells. If he'd taken the Lotus Petal I would have been hosed. I played out my hand and said go. He drew and said go, missing the land drop. I top decked a Wasteland and thought a bit before trading my only land for his only land. I knew I could function with just one or two land but he needed more than that. He played draw go, still no permanents, and I did the same for a couple of turns, swinging way more than I ever wanted to with the Welder. He eventually drew an Underground Sea but then I drew my Strip Mine. I thought for a minute again but again decided to blow up his only land. I eventually found another Goblin Welder and all I could do was swing for two every turn. But he couldn't find land and couldn't do anything so eventually the Welders beat down.
games: 3-2
matches: 1-1
Round 3 - Kris Scudder - TPS
Not again! And this time it was against another seasoned opponent. Kris had obviously played TPS before and played it very carefully once it became clear what I was playing. He used Duress to get the Mana Drains out of my hand and then assembled his combo pieces. He had to Bargain down to two life to find everything he needed in game two but he eventually did and went off.
games: 3-4
matches: 1-2
At that point it was about 4:30 and I figured my family was getting impatient waiting for me in downtown Seattle somewhere so I decided to drop and get an early start back to Portland since I had no chance at Top 8 and would have had to play four more rounds just to see where I finished. Still it was a blast to get to play against and hobnob with current and future Hall of Famers and I did learn quite a bit about how to play against TPS. I definitely need Arcane Laboratory in the board instead of Stifle, since Xantid Swarm won't do anything to shut down the Lab and TPS doesn't run very much bounce at all. I also realized I should have boarded in Platinum Angel against Randy and should probably go back to running that main since combo only has one or two answers to that.
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