Round 1: Versus Lloyd Tan (Sui Black)
I had a great hand that involved two Dark Rituals and one Death Wish, but no business to find a second Wish or one Tutor. He brought down a couple of creatures by turn 2, and I tried to go for the win, but when I cast Death Wish, I realized I had no other tutor for myself. I just went for the Windfall instead. One turn later, I got a Brainstorm, then I just went for Yawgmoth's Will on my turn, and then won from there with Death Wish in my hand.
Match Standing: 1-0
In Game 2, I had horrible hands I had to mull out of. I was beaten to submission by Shadow creatures as I didn't really find a way out of his disruption. Maybe next time, I should have Misdirections in the maindeck against Sui Black if I were to run Doomsday again...
Match Standing: 1-1
In Game 3, I was curbstomped. Utterly. Not enough business (No Brainstorm! Gah.), a Demonic Consultation that did little to help me out, and his disruption carried his creatures through uninterrupted.
Match Standing: 1-2
Tournament Standing: 0-1
Round 2: Versus Lyn Garcia (Madness)
I was expecting Lyn to change her deck after learning how much collateral damage Raffinity took in Vintage courtesy of all the Workshop hate, and she did. That being said, I wasn't exactly running the same deck, either (Not that it made much of a difference... both decks are insanely complicated to play.).
In Game 1, she went first, played a land, go. The moment she played an Island, I had a inkling I'd run into permission, so I played it safe.
My first turn, I played a land, played a Mox, cast Defense Grid. She'd need two more turns before she can get to Force Of Will on my time. I passed the turn to her, and she cast a Merfolk Looter.
On my turn, I played Brainstorm, and searched for something useful. Perfect. I now had Vampiric Tutor, a Dark Ritual, an ESG, and two Death Wishes. I played a land, Vamped for a Black Lotus, and passed the turn to her. She drew, didn't drop a land, then passed the turn to me.
On my turn I comboed out uninterrupted. She tried to respond by Looting into a Rootwalla, only to find out that even the Rootwalla costs 3 mana now.
Match Standing: 1-0
In Game 2, essentially the same thing happens. I locked her in the Grid on my turn after she dropped a land, and then I comboed out from there. This time, I was holding a Demonic Tutor, a Lion's Eye Diamond, and a Black Lotus, thereby making comboing out much easier.
Match Standing: 2-0
Tournament Standing: 1-1
Round 3: Versus Lin Hua Cheng (Stax)
This was a mismatch, without a doubt. Nonetheless, I took my chances. I won the die roll, removed his Sphere of Resistance on my first turn, then passed the turn to him. He was still holding one more, though. On his turn, he cast a second Sphere of Resistance, as he topdecked a Mana Crypt.
On my turn, I played a land, go. On his turn, he drew, go.
On my turn, I played another land, then go. On his turn, he found a land, then cast a Tangle Wire. At the end of his turn, I used Hurklyl's Recall to bounce all of his artifacts to his hand.
On my turn, I comboed out via three Dark Rituals in hand and a Death Wish. That was all I really needed.
Match Standing: 1-0
In Game 2, I found myself locked with a turn 1 Sphere Of Resistance. In fact, it was a cakewalk for Cheng as lockpiece after lockpiece came down and kept me in check while his Goblin Welder and Gorilla Shaman wreaked havoc on my life total. I was taken to school by two practically vanilla 1/1's. He never used their abilities and just beat me down with those critters.
Match Standing: 1-1
With six minutes to go, in Game 3, I found out that I was locked, but he couldn't put me away. I was waiting for ESG's for me to power out a Hurklyl's Recall, while he was waiting for a Demonic Tutor or a Karn to finish me off. We found neither, and for the first time in my life, I have played an hour's worth of a Magic match that would end in a draw due to time. Just when I thought things like these never happens to combo decks.
Match Standing: Draw
Tournament Standing: 1-1-1
Round 4: Versus John Paul Fuentes (Scepter-Chant)
Now, I had a must-win situation. It was definitely a difficult situation I was faced with, but I didn't want to back down at this point. Death Long, after all, typically has the advantage against opponents when you're going first for the most part, anyways. The sheer "oops, I win" power that the deck has is decidedly the best among all the combo decks in Vintage. Only Belcher can challenge that claim, but the latter has consistency issues (Though unlike Long, can be run budget.).
In Game 1, I locked him in a Defense Grid, and on turn 2, tried to combo out. That was dumb. I should've gone for a Desire to 6 instead, as it turned out he had the 3 mana to use Force Of Will, since he had one untapped land and Sol Ring in play. From there, I was beaten down by his Mishra's Factories, an Orchard token, and an imprinted Fire/Ice.
Match Standing: 0-1
In Game 2, I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I disrupted him decently, and a turn-three Mind's Desire for 7 net me everything I needed to win the game. I just needed one Wish and one Dark Ritual in there, after all, and I got those two and much more.
Match Standing: 1-1
In Game 3, I tried my best to avoid any room for disruption, so I went the same route again. I locked him in the Grid, and on turn 3, went for a Mind's Desire for 4, which found me one Duress, one Elvish Spirit Guide, one Burning Wish, and one Death Wish. I cast Duress (5 Storm), then cast the ESG (6 Storm), then cast the Burning Wish for a Tendrils (7 Storm.), then used Death Wish for the Black Lotus I Consulted away (8 Storm.). I then cast the Black Lotus (9 Storm.), tapped a land, and used Tendrils for 10 Storm.
Match Standing: 2-1
Tournament Standing: 2-1-1
Round 5: Versus (FCG. Forgot the name of my opponent.)
In Game 1, He had a very slow start. I think I won on the third turn just when he stacked his library with the Recruiters. I had two Rituals, a Lotus Petal, and a Demonic Tutor by turn three. That was all I really needed, as I got myself a Burning Wish for a Yawgmoth's Will from that point on.
Match Standing: 1-0
Game 2 was memorable. He had the edge because I didn't have much business in my hand, except for a Demonic Consultation. I was hoping for a Brainstorm to get going (Should've Consulted for one. Silly me.), but I took my chances and let him have his way. He dropped a Lackey on his second turn, and a Null Rod on his third.
And then it just happened. The play of the day.
Play of the day: at 18 life, what with a Recruiter, a Warchief, a Matron, and an upcoming Piledriver on his topdeck, I was running the risk of dying the next turn, so I decided to clear the board first because I got slaughtered. I breathed heavily, and looked at the options: Only two mana usable on my table, one of them blue by default. Null Rod on his side of the table. My hand consisted of a land, a Necro, a Tinker, a Defense Grid, and a Demonic Consultation. End of his turn, I cast Demonic Consultation, naming Balance (!). After twenty or so cards, I found it (!).
On my turn, I cast Balance, and cleared his creatures away. I passed the turn to him, and he played his Piledriver from the topdeck.
On my turn, I topdecked a Black Lotus. I looked carefully at my removed from game pile, and then cast Tinker. Surprise! The card I needed was still in my library! Darksteel Colossus came into play, and I passed the turn to him. On his turn, he attacked, brought me down to 15 life, cast two Mogg Fanatics, then passed the turn to me.
My turn, I attacked, bringing him down to 8 life. His turn, he attacked, bringing me down to 8 life. Then he cast another Piledriver.
My turn, I attacked again for the win. Demonic Consultation saved my life. Can't believe how lucky that was. He was actually holding a Red Elemental Blast when I Tinkered, and had he left just one mana open, he would've countered my last-ditch effort.
Match Standing: 2-0
Tournament Standing: 3-1-1
At the end of five rounds of Swiss, I was ranked 6th and I made the cut into the Top 8. I was definitely excited, but I still didn't think I'd win, as I was expecting to run into Workshops.
I then found out that Cheng and Glen didn't make it past the Swiss rounds, but as I'm not the type who'd underestimate my opponent, I held my breath.
Top 8: Versus Paolo (Iso-Chant... I think.)
Game 1 was a bit of a sham, as the judge made a ruling in my favor. I was down to 1 life after several horrible Necro draws, and I then went for Tendrils for 10 so I can go on for one more turn. He responded with Gilded Light, and due to my familiarity with timing issues for Orim's Chant (Which did NOT function in the same way.), I contested it, and the judge ruled in my favor. I then Necroed for 7 after the ruling, then won on my next turn.
I'd like to extend my apologies to Paolo for that one. There was a possibility I still could've won next turn as I was holding a Burning Wish, but as I had no idea if you had permission in hand, I would have to admit that it was anyone's game 1 had the correct ruling been made.
Match Standing: 1-0
Come Game 2, I didn't want another fluke win, so I tried to make sure there was no room for doubt. That, plus the fact that having Defense Grid in play would help me immensely to win.
By around turn 6, I had him trapped in a Defense Grid, as he was tapped out. I went for 7 storm, only to stall out. But then, I cast Time Walk with all my lands and Moxen in play, with Bargain in my hand. I had more than enough mana to cast it on my next turn. With him tapped down on my Time Walk turn, I cast Bargain, then just exploded for a huge Tendrils at the end of the whole thing.
Match Standing: 2-0
Top 4: Versus Ryan (Landstill)
Game one, I wiped out his hand of anything important, and this was a long game. He didn't want to attack to leave mana open for permission at all times. Around turn 7, I cast a bunch of artifacts and capped it off with a Necro, and he drained it. His turn, he cast Nev's Disk and Eternal Dragon after draining me for the Necro.
On my turn 8, I won the toss for the Mana Cypt I played, then I cast a bunch of spells into a Timetwister, and when I tried to go for a Tutor, he countered it. I then cast a Necropotence, and he let it through. That's twice I've attempted to cast Necropotence in one game. Considering my hand, I had no choice but to Necro for 6. He was capable of dealing 11 damage on his next turn, and I had Mana Crypt on my side of the table. I was going to leave this to chance. On his turn, he attacked, brought me down to exactly 1 life, and then passed the turn to me.
I rolled dice for the Crypt on my turn. He called even. I rolled odd. The luckiest break of my day. He then activated Nev's Disk, and I drew. Mox Ruby. My Necro the previous turn already yielded for me Lion's Eye Diamond, two Dark Rituals, Mox Pearl, one Sol Ring, one Demonic Tutor, after I discarded. I had to make sure I used Burning Wish and not Death Wish, since I was down to 1 life. I cast the Moxen, cast the Rituals, then cast Tutor. Responded to it by saccing the LED for red. I then cast Burning Wish, and got Yawgmoth's Will, replayed all my spells, then went for Demonic Tutor for Tendrils, for 38 damage.
Match Standing: 1-0
Game 2, he went first. He played a Faerie Conclave, and passed the turn to me.
On my turn, I played a land, cast Duress, and plucked away an Orim's Chant. I passed the turn to him, and he played a Strip Mine then cast Chalice of the Void for 1. Too bad this wasn't Doomsday. At least, he couldn't cast his other Orim's Chant, either. Fair enough.
On my turn, I attempted to cast a Defense Grid. He cast Force Of Will against it. I passed the turn to him, and he drew, and passed the turn to me.
On my turn, I topdecked Tinker. Big deal just right now. I tried playing a Defense Grid again. This time, it worked. His turn, he drew, played Brainstorm, found nothing, and passed the turn to me. He refused to use his Strip Mine because that would mean he'd be two turns behind having mana to use Force Of Will due to the Grid.
My turn, I topdecked a Lotus Petal. Precisely what I needed. I played it, played the Tolarian Academy in my hand, then cast Tinker, saccing the Petal. He only had two lands. There was no way he could counter me, barring an Elvish Spirit Guide. I got Darksteel Colossus, then passed the turn to him. He drew, then passed the turn to me.
At this point, a lot of people were watching us, and people were singing random songs, everything from Hulk Hogan's “Real American” to the Shaider theme. Jason_From_Hell then looked at his crumpled FHM Girls Next Door poster and said...
“Nalukot. Sayang. Ito pa naman sana yung iuuwi ko sa anak ko.”
I attacked, and said I'm done. I didn't want to get greedy and do something idiotic in turn, so I just held steady. On his turn, he drew a card, and found nothing. He scooped afterwards. Jason then commented again...
“No offense, pare, pero ANG BULOK NG PAGKAPANALO MO!!!”
None taken. :P
Match Standing: 2-0
Finals: Versus Aris Go (The Rock)
Finally, the Rock has come back to Vintage! I couldn't resist. Heh. I'm sorry.
In any case, the winner of this match would win the Nether Void (Which I had no use for.), the 9th Ed Box (Which I wanted badly.), the clutch bag (Which I tried to show up early for, only to miss it by five minutes.), and the latest issue of FHM (What? No Cosmo? I wanted Richard Gutierrez, dammit!:P).
Second place would get the Vampiric Tutor (Which I already had. It was also white-bordered, by the way.), the 9th Ed Box (Which meant I wouldn't mind losing.), the clutch bag (Which meant I wouldn't mind losing, more than ever.), and a back issue of FHM (What?!?). I had to fight for the win, if only for Rich... err... Bianca King! R-ight...
Game 1, I kept a grip of 6 cards, involving 2 Duress, 1 Brainstorm, 1 Lotus Petal, 1 Necro, and 1 Death Wish. Not too bad, but dangerous if I weren't going first. He mulled down to 4 (!) and didn't find anything of use. I played the Petal, and passed the turn to him as I won the die roll. His turn, he drew, and passed. The people watching were joking that Aris actually transformed his deck into Belcher, which explained all the mulling.
My turn, I drew a card, played a land, then cast Duress. I removed a Cabal Therapy. His turn, he played a land, passed the turn to me.
I drew, then held steady. There was no rush. I had the luxury of time, and if he suddenly tried to cast Duress, I'd respond with a Brainstorm. I now held two Moxen in hand. His turn, he drew, played a land, and cast Living Wish for a City Of Brass. End of his turn, I Brainstormed, and found a Black Lotus, a Dark Ritual, and a Demonic Tutor. Just what I needed.
I then went for the kill. cast Dark Ritual, cast Demonic Tutor, sacrifice Lotus for Red, cast Burning Wish for Yawgmoth's Will, and Aris scooped from there.
Match Standing: 1-0
Game 2, I had the following grip: 2 lands, 1 Vampiric Tutor, 1 Mox Ruby, 1 Demonic Consultation, 1 Dark Ritual. I had to mull to 6 because my first hand had decent mana, but no business at all. He opened the game with a Birds of Paradise.
On my turn, I drew a card, played a land, then passed the turn to him. I drew an Elvish Spirit Guide here, I believe. His turn, he cast Duress, and I responded with Vampiric Tutor. I guessed correctly he'd take out my Dark Ritual, so I didn't get the Lotus from my topdeck. That was the smartest thing I did all night long.
On my turn, I played a land, played the Mox, tapped for UUR, then cast Tinker. I took a chance and grabbed a Darksteel Colossus, then passed the turn to Aris. Aris played a second BOP, then passed to me. He has taken one damage so far from City Of Brass.
On my turn, I attacked with the Colossus, and I brought him down to 8 life. His turn, he drew a card, then passed the turn to me. It was academic from there, as he didn't find any answers to the Colossus.
I won, but I let Aris have the Bianca King FHM. Instead, I settled for the DVD cover of the Crimson Sea 2 game... :P
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