PTNY Report

Pro Tour New York Report

May 3, 1999

This is my ‘Actual Play’ tournament report. After what happened to me this last weekend, it would be understatement of the year to say I had a lot of stories to tell. But if I started at the beginning when I started building Saga block decks, you wouldn't hear about the actual Tour for weeks. So before I go back and start at the beginning together with articles on our other decks from the rest of the Mogg Squad (I just left The Legion to join it), I'm going to write a report on my matches. A lot happened to me other than my matches, but I'll cover that later. Starting with my first round, here's what happened:

Round 1: Hakkon Monsen, Monogreen

He flipped over a foil Might of Oaks during shuffling, so I knew what I was up against. He wins the coin flip and gets off to a standard green start. I start to draw a lot of cards on turn 3, but there was no way I could possibly go off that turn. I had all the pieces for the next turn, though. But he topdecked the Might of Oaks to kill me on his fourth turn. Meanwhile, I'm looking around and every deck I see I think I can handle; the Tinker decks just weren't in my area. Game two I play a land and Voltaic Key holding an Academy and a probable turn 4, and he plays a Forest and neither says go nor taps it for a second. I say “ Crop Rotation for Tolarian Academy ”. He thinks for a while, and cast Crop Rotation for Tolarian Academy! This is something we considered for our green deck, but ended up throwing out as slowing you down too much. So I couldn't go ballistic and played land. But he played Cradle and said go. His next turn he did nothing, then he started discarding. Should he have cast Crop Rotation? It cost him a full turn even if he topdecked the Forest he needed, and with 2 Cradles in his hand waiting another turn would have let him get the Academy basically for free. I think that he should have mulliganed if that was his best play, since obviously my deck has to be able to handle other people's Tolarian Academies. So I had all the turns in the world, and he conceeded to save time when the game was clearly in hand. Game three, I had trouble getting off the ground because I didn't have a Stroke, and put out a Cloud of Faeries to block a Rancored Albino Troll and an active Hidden Guerillas while at 10 from such amazingly fast beatings. At the time I somehow didn't realize the Guerillas had trample, although my second best deck (Hermit Green) had 4 in the sideboard. He tried for Symbiosis and I got him with Hibernation. While waiting I drew all the other Hibernations while he didn't have enough land to mount a decent attack against a Hibernation more than every other turn. Eventually, I found a Stroke and drew most of my deck, but there was no Palinchron yet. I cast Frantic Search for two of the remaining four cards. No Palinchron. I cast the last Frantic Search. Still nothing. No cards were left in my deck. I checked my graveyard and my hand. No Palinchron. I was at 5, since I was trying to get the most turns possible from my Hibernations, and he had a Ticking Gnomes he had just drawn. I counted my available mana this turn and on upkeep, and I think I had exactly enough to Low Tide him with a combination of two Strokes I still had, and could have had several mana to spare if I'd suspected the problem earlier. But he would just Symbiosis the Ticking Gnomes, so I wouldn't survive until my upkeep. I counted the deck: 59. I checked the sideboard: 15. No Palinchron! Apparently it had been Confiscated. I remarked, “That probably cost me several thousand dollars,” and got an Asian Palinchron (and a sleeve) from Alex. I didn't feel too bad because my opponent could have won by not trying to kill me with Symbiosis, and my deck worked pretty well. Mistakes were made.

0-1

Round 2: Carlos Romao Yamaue

I'm not saying what he was playing up front because it would ruin the fun. At any rate, I get land but no quick win. He plays a first turn Forbidden Watchtower. I thought W/R, which is virtually a bye. Then he played Forest, and I didn't know what he was doing, maybe some antigreen deck. After he played Argothian Enchantress and Island, I had all the clues I needed but still didn't realize what the situation was because he was casting Pacifism on his Watchtower to draw enchantress cards. When he started to mount an offense with Raven Familiars, Clouds of Faeries and Rancors I just went off. I waited about five turns before that because until that turn he held back 2UU and I didn't want to walk into Rewind. Second game he cast two Cloud of Faeries turn 2 and then Arcane Lab on turn 3. I thought: Wow, I'm on a ten turn clock. But that game demonstrated the problem with Arcane Lab: You can just play artifacts, Stroke on your opponent's turn, untap, Rescind the Lab and win, while your opponent is slowed down by the lab. But I didn't have that early on, so I cast Palinchron with my abundant mana for defense and even attacked with it once before I realized that was really stupid. He cast Cessation on it, and in response I picked it up and got hit for two. The next turn he tried a second time with another Cessation and I realized I didn't care. I found a Stroke and finished him off. When the game was about to end, he cast Barrin, Master Wizard and I realized what he was trying to do and felt really stupid for not seeing it earlier. But his deck either wasn't consistant or just drew really badly against me. I did spend some time trying to make something similar work, and couldn't.

1-1

Round 3: Charles Lancaster, Monogreen

Because of my strange pairings on the first day, I didn't understand the real extent of R/U in the tournament until the second day. He says before the game, ‘I built the deck to beat Fluctuator, ’ which made me very worried until I realized it was a green deck. Green is actually one of the most dangerous matchups, because if you get slow draws you lose to green but you have a ton of time against most other decks. I did lose one game that way, but after sideboarding he still played with Acridian and Titania's Chosen, which are clearly suboptimal against a four Hibernation deck without creatures, although he did have the Guerillas. He tries to use hundred dollar bills for Titania's Chosen counters, but a judge we ask won't let us because of New Jersey's strict gambling laws - say, against Texas Hold-Em. He ends up using credit cards instead, which is fine by me, but as he says, ‘You're an easy going guy.’ At any rate, the deck drew smoothly and he had too much trouble rebuilding from Hibernation.

2-1

Round 4: Mattias Jorstedt, R/U Sneak Attack

The Sneak Attack deck is normally based on Wizard Mentor, stalling into the Sneak Attack and then using the resulting card economy and savings on mana to win. But this strategy is far too slow to bother the Fluctuator deck. The real problem is that it's too early to have my opponents scouted and he could have Serra Avatars, which he didn't. So when he drops a Sneak Attack first game, I go off. When he drops a Viashino Heretic second game, I go off on turn 3. Dropping a Heretic on turn 3 is not a winning strategy anyway, because even if it shuts me down I get Yawgmoth's Will, rebuild and win while he taps mana and plays defensively. But almost any deck would have lost to my draws.

3-1

Round 5: Andreas Jonsson, non-Tinker R/U

R/U beats the Fluctuator deck with a quick kill backed by disruption, but that's almost impossible for this version, which seemed like it was made to handle green. Without artifact removal I almost can't lose game 1, and I go off several turns later than I probably could have because of potential counters and his clear inability to kill me anytime soon. Game two he's doing fine until he decided to play a Viashino Heretic, at which point I had to go off. Against control decks you often have the game completely under control, and win only when they show a threat and tap out to maximize your chances of going off smoothly.

4-1

Round 6: Adrian ‘Lesbian Avenger’ Sullivan, Ponza Red

After waiting to make sure we weren't a feature match, and Adrian sneaking in quickly to make me the one putting my deck on display for the spectators, we sat down and Adrian pulled out his ammunition, complete with an INWO Corruption and a card saying ‘Under Pressure’. He put a button in each hand - one was ‘Bite Me’ and the other was something like ‘You Suck’, so he moved them around and asked: Do you bite or do you suck? I said I bite and guessed right, so he sucked. But game one he dropped a milk drinker (Molten Hydra), and it went all the way because I had a very slow hand, a Lay Waste cost me at least a turn and got a Cloud of Faeries a turn too late to chump block since the Hydra would just tap to kill me directly. But with Hydra the only real offense in Adrian's deck, he was at a huge disadvantage, although his sideboard helped some. I get a turn three kill on him. In the other game, I go off early with Yawgmoth's Will to Opportunity multiple times, see about forty cards, got unlimited mana and found no Strokes. I said go. Adrian blew up an artifact with Heretic. I drew Smoldering Crater, cycled to a Stroke and it was all over.

5-1

Round 7: Joao Isidro, W/R

His deck is normally a bye for Fluctuator because it puts on very little pressure. He had Goblin Patrol and Cathodian, though, which made life a little more difficult. I got a slow but steady draw first game, and gambled that he didn't have both Parch and Arc Lightning to give myself the turn I needed to make my win reliable. As it was, I had no Fluctuator and was discaring cycling cards to Frantic Search looking for Stroke of Genius. He had both. I won one sideboarded game easily, but in the other he used two Viashino Heretics to kill all my artifacts. He would have won the match, but he was running scared and held back not just both Heretics and four mana but also one of his two Mother of Runes. With all that time, I set up a Yawgmoth's Will that could go off into two Heretics without artifacts, and his blowing up the wrong artifacts allowed it to be a very secure win.

6-1, 14th after first day

Round 8: Bob Maher, Jr., Deadguy Fluctuator

I think we had a much better version of Fluctuator than the Deadguys did, but the mirror matchup still comes down to draws. The first game I got a good draw and just won. Second game, he double mulliganed, but got the Academy, four Keys, a Fluctuator and a Monolith. I was stuck with only three mana, only one of which was blue, but had the entire combo in my hand. So it was a topdecking game: If he had a Stroke (or probably Opportunity) he was gone, if I got Rescind mana up or a Mirage I won just as easily. He held back a Rescind, though, which I think was a mistake, but I don't know if it mattered.

7-1

Round 9: Shawn Keller, Jumble R/U Tinker

We'd been worried about this matchup the whole weekend, but this match I just cruised. Game one we have a big edge, and I went off easily. I used the sideboard strategy we worked out, which is to go to 2 Turnabout, 2 Yawgmoth's Will and a few counters. You let him blow up your artifacts (you just win if he doesn't), then play Yawgmoth's Will and win without a problem. Keller's inability to bring out a quick Colossus meant this strategy worked.

8-1

Round 10: Casey McCarrel (Feature Match), Jumble R/U Tinker

First game I have a slow draw and he brings out a third turn Colossus. He cast Confiscate on Remote Isle, and that prevented me from going off for the turn he needed to win. Second game he brought out another third turn Colossus, but I didn't see it as a problem because I went off halfway on turn 4. Without a way to continue that turn, I just played out a Monolith after my Stroke. He played MELTDOWN. Where did that come from? I thought it wasn't a problem: I still had the Academy, and I set up for a game-winning Yawgmoth's Will on the next turn and he had just 3 land and the Colossus. He played Grim Monolith, Voltaic Key, and Confiscated my Tolarian Academy. At this point, I had to Lingering Mirage his Academy, play another one, get more mana, then cast Yawgmoth's Will and play back my artifacts, Frantic Searches and Stroke from the graveyard to win. There was another way involving the Rescind in my graveyard, but it would have made for a very marginal Stroke at the end even if I could get over the barrier and cast Yawgmoth's Will (I forget if I could). So instead I used the Frantic Searches to look for an artifact that would win me the game. I found Fluctuator, which left me needing a Monlith or Key off the second Search, but I didn't get one and only had 2 mana after Yawgmoth's Will, which prevented me from casting Frantic Search. I recast my artifacts and conceded after putting on a show for the spectators.

8-2

Round 11: Justin Gary, Your Move Games R/U Tinker

We're joking around so much from the very beginning that we're actually told to quiet down; this match was a lot of fun. First game, he thinks a lot before using Tinker on a Monolith with a Key out. I assume he's going for the Colossus (because he has a Key, and that's what McCarrel did) but he gets Phyrexian Processor instead, and pays 18 life and makes a minion (neat plastic figurines included). Wow. Bethmo comes by to watch this match, and sees what I see: That I'm holding 2 Cloud of Faeries. I put it this way: “He's certainly forcing me to think differently.” He was just a little Processor-happy. So my next turn I play some mana and put out 2 Faeries. Justin untaps and attacks. I think about letting it through, because if he had Arc Lightning he would have probably killed the Clouds, but I block since I'm holding Palinchron and Yawgmoth's Will and he doesn't even have the fourth land. I was planning to play Palinchron, attack for one, then next turn block with Palinchron and bring it back to my hand, using Yawgmoth's Will to replay the Faeries if I had to. But he played Raven Familiar, which in addition to flying has the exact power and toughness needed to own Cloud of Faeries. I still had him with Palinchron, of course, since he couldn't afford to pay echo, but I could also Stroke for 6 leaving three mana and I sort of went off. Oh well, these things happen. I would have liked to kill one person with damage, though. He won game two when I got a bad draw. Game three he brought out Arcane Laboratory, but I just used the anti-Lab plan, Stroking on his turn, untapping, Rescinding the Lab and winning.

9-2

Round 12: Terry Tsang (Feature Match), Jumble R/U Tinker

I'd been paired with Tsang in Round 10, but the repairing changed his name to McCarrel and gave him two meltdowns. Tsang also had a different approach to this matchup: He mulliganed much more agressively, and he kept in Arc Lightning to win off 18 point Processor token attacks, or so I heard afterwards. He found an aggressive hand that way, but I managed to gain Academy control with a Lingering Mirage, used the Academy to Rescind his Colossus for a full turn, then went off. Once again, he played the Academy first but I found a Rescind and the mana to cast it, taking Academy control. This time he Confiscated it back, but I had a second Rescind for that, and went off quickly after that.

10-2

Round 13: Richard Van Cleave, Green with Thran Quary for artifact removal

We'd talked over how to deal with ‘Five Color Green’ before, and we decided you play it like regular green except that you keep in Yawgmoth's Will (or add it, since the others didn't start either Will) and follow the anti-red procedure of not exposing yourself to Rack and Ruin. He has to tap out because of Hibernation and you win that way. I need a draw to make Top 8 at this point, but he needs a win so we play. He gets two Dogs and a lone Thran Quary, which may be one of the riskiest hands ever (since he somehow didn't know what I was playing, and I could have had Claws of Gix), drew a Forest but could only cast a Symbiosis, giving me plenty of time. Game two I brought in only 3 Hibernation to avoid breaking the deck, because he might bring in Thran Lens, because his creatures might not all be green and he might not have that many pumpers. It was a moot point, because his draw was horrendous, and all he could play was a Pouncing Jaguar. So I was in.

11-2

Round 14: Rob Dougherty, Your Move Games R/U Tinker

We're at worst the number 2 and 3 seeds with an Intentional Draw (we're both in regardless), so we draw.

11-2-1, 1st seed

Quarterfinals: Terry Tsang again, Jumble R/U Tinker

I was using Jack Stanton's Cow in the final 8, because he threatened to give it to Tsang if I didn't and I couldn't risk that. This coverage of the Final 8 pretty much says it all. Game one I just won, going off turn 4 after Miraging an Academy. Game two he took an aggressive mulligan that I think is a mistake, because both decks need a critical mass of cards to function in this match, and paid for it with a bad new hand. I found a Stroke at the last moment trying to go off, then won easily. Game three he got a fourth turn kill with Processor for 12 and a Colossus. Game four he got the early Colossus pressure and I didn't have a way to outrace him if he held Rack and Ruin, which he did. Game five he had the Academy and a castable Rack and Ruin, but without pressure it didn't matter. I exposed my artifacts to Rack and Ruin because I could mount a gigantic Stroke (although I couldn't win that turn), setting up for the next turn, at which point the number of cards I drew made Yawgmoth's Will a certain game winner.

Semifinals: Casey McCarrel again, Jumble R/U Tinker (with those 2 Meltdowns)

Casey was probably the person I least wanted to face in the whole tournament, with the possible exception of the other five people playing Zero Effect. The Jumble version of R/U was the best equipped to handle Fluctuator, with Confiscate and without the Citanul Flute engine cluttering up the deck, and Casey both had the 2 Meltdowns and was playing it the best. Game one is still generally a breeze for us, though, and I went off without trouble. But then things got mighty ugly, as Casey's deck drew in amazing fashion. He put me on the clock, which forced me to be aggressive and I walked into Meltdown for 2 Keys and then Rack and Ruin for 2 Fluctuators, leaving me a turn or two short of recovering. Going back to my sideboard, I realized just how important Casey's first artifact really was, so I went up on countermagic since I was going first. Game three, I made the mistake that cost me the match: I had 2 Academy as my only lands, and no Voltaic Keys, so I mulliganed. I hadn't yet mulliganed in the whole tournament, keeping several questionable one land draws and generally getting away with it. But when it saw my mulligan, I guess the Cow panicked. Not that it was the wrong decision: My second hand was much, much better, although it was slow. I basically played a bunch of land, crippled Casey's mana by countering a Monolith, got to six mana, and cast Opportunity and then won with Yawgmoth's Will, since Casey kept doing nothing with 3 land and an Academy, and I didn't want to Mirage him into his fourth mana or walk into Rack and Ruin. I finally found a Rescind and played it really safe. Game four I found I had broken my unspoken pact with my deck, and had to mulligan again. It wasn't too bad, and I got a ton of time by Power Sinking a Powerstone. I used Yawgmoth's Will to cast a Rescind and land out of my graveyard, then used a second Will to recast a Frantic Search with a Rescind still in the graveyard. This kept Morphling's companion, Phyrexian Colossus, off the table, since he could only recast it every other turn with Grim Monolith, giving me four turns instead of two. But I still haden't seen a Stroke or Opportunity in twenty-plus cards. I had a ton of mana, enough to cycle everything for mana (still haden't seen a Fluctuator either), and still had two turns to find one. But I drew two Turnabouts, which just wasn't funny against Morphling and Phyrexian Colossus when he had 2 mana and 16 extra life. Game five was the real scare. I played a turn one Academy (he did have his), which then hurt when I drew Power Sink and couldn't stop his Monolith. Then he burned his Academy for three mana to protect Wildfire. I had two mana and Power Sink, he had U in his pool and an untapped Powerstone. I tapped two mana and cycled. He tinkered for a Colossus and killed me, while I attempted to rebuild in three turns but didn't have it. I drew the Search I needed, but not the Island; I would have needed like 10 perfect cards in a row anyway. What really got me panicking was when I was asked why I didn't hold the two mana for the Power Sink on the Tinker. For a second I thought that was a $10000 cycle for Casey. But we talked it over: The cycle bought me a full turn, and with Casey willing to burn an Academy to protect the Wildfire he wasn't about to expose Tinker and lose half his mana. Meanwhile, I would have lost a full turn by not cycling with the two mana (assuming the burn didn't matter), while he could easily not have a Tinker at all or be holding another Academy (which would explain his burning the first one). Plus he would have drawn Phyrexian Processor, which would have won the game at least three turns before I found blue mana. So it was just a technically incorrect cycle, and didn't cost me the match; if he declared his attack phase it was the right play to cycle anyway.

Other notes:

That's one of the worst panics in Magic, when you suddenly realize you might have just thrown away the big game. I spent a while after losing in the quarters of an PTLA qualifier debating the merits of a play in the third game that we thought might have cost me the match (turned out it was the right play, although I didn't remember why for a while for some reason). At any rate, it was a really fun, interesting and close match, and you can't be that upset with third place, $10000 and being qualified for a year including the team tournament. Me, Alex Shvartsman and Michael Pustilnik picked up more than enough points to break 45, with Mike making Top 16 although Alex just missed the money in 69th. They were both playing a B/r deck which had red just for Viashino Heretics main and Rack and Ruins in the sideboard, with both Eastern Paladin and the underrated Rank and File maindeck to handle what we thought would be much more green. My new team, the Mogg Squad, did really well too: Four of the six copies of Zero Effect made second day, with only the World Champions Jakub Slemr and Brian Seldon not making it. Scott Johns, who did a ton of work with me and helped tune my decent version into a finely tuned machine (more on the development later) took 16th, Alan Comer took 25th, and Gary Wise came in 42nd. Of the three people who chickened out and didn't use Fluctuator, Sigurd Eskeland placed 40th with Hacker's deck (Hacker went 0-3 drop), and both Frank Gilson and Kurt Burgner just missed second day at 4-3.

I'm not sure how exactly we're going to chronicle all our playtesting and development, along with what happened outside the game during the tour. I have a Playtest Diary I kept until April 10, and I'll probably release that after I take a few hours to think about it.