English Nationals (how to take a screwing and come back for another)

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Gizmo

Guest
I am of the mind now that the first day of English Nationals will be my last ever Magic tournament, the second (standard) day of competition is currently going on and I`m back at home - after yesterday I was in no rush to crash at Ellis Romero`s house again just to play in six rounds of a deadly dull format and come out with an average result.
What happened on Day One just hacked me off completely - I went 3-3 but didn`t lose a single game where I drew mana - the extent to which I got repeatedly and brutally mana screwed was just far too hard to swallow as I made almost no play errors, few draft errors, and still went a crummy 3-3.

(not so) Brief Report:

DRAFT ONE:
I draft BRG, I hate BRG but the draft is all screwed up because Dave Ball on my left kept picking the exact same colours as me. I first pick a Yav Barbarian - he takes Quirion Elf. Ok, so he wants green, I`ll take a Repulse then - he takes Tower Drake. Ok, he wants blue, I`ll go back to GR and take Kavu Agressor - he takes Ancient Kavu. WHAT! My booster now, I open and take Agonising Demise - he takes Recoil!
WTF!
Eventually I just get the hell out of his way in the second booster - it turns out he mis-signalled by taking the Quirion as he never wanted green, and it was only by the second booster that we got sorted - I deliberately avoided good blue cards and took weaker green cards to let him know that we should draft different decks, from then on we were ok, although he gets all the blue stuff I wish I was getting.

Rnd One: Some guy played RWB who I think had just had a frontal lobotomy from the way he played.
1.1 - I make a second turn Yav Barbarian, third turn I make another Yav Barbarian and serve for 2. He casts a Sunscape BMage without kicker to slow my rush, I assume. My fourth turn I serve my Yavs in as my deck is light on tricks and all my guys are 2/2, so I`ll have to trade 2/2s with him eventually. He doesn`t block. Fine by me, I cast a Sparring Golem. He lays a land, doesn`t play a spell, doesn`t attack EITHER - he`s played this 2/2 guy and then not blocked and not even attacked! I serve my 3 men, he blocks THE 3/3 GOLEM! lol He makes a Skizzik as a blocker, I deathbomb it and serve the Yavs till he bleeds.

1.2 - I win a slower game. Not worth describing, or at least too complex to describe easily.

Rnd Two: Dave Ball, he`s in U/B/r.
2.1 - I get screwed out of red mana and while my Golem goes for 8 damage, he just smashes me down in seconds.

2.2 - I go land, land, land, Slingshot Goblin. Slingshot Goblin kills all but like 3 creatures in his deck. I put Mourning on one of those 3 creatures and smash him upside the head in a hurry.

2.3 - I go land, land, land, Slingshot Goblin. He scoops.

Rnd Three: Some random mexican playing UBR.
3.1 - I crush him brutally - I go land, land, land, Slngshot Goblin and he never gets anytihng down I can't kill immediately and I serve all the way very rapidly.

Things look good, after drafting a deck I was VERY unhappy with, I`m one game away from being on the 3-0 table for the second year running (mainly thanks to Slingshot Goblin). This would be some achievement. The Gods of mana screw are about to pay me a visit though, and they mean BUSINESS.

3.2 - I draw 7 cards, 1 land. Paris into 6 cards, no land. Paris into 5 cards, 1 land. Keep it. Miss land drops on turns 2,3,5,6+8 - I was dead before I got an opportunity to miss a ninth land drop.

3-3 - Ok, he got a bit screwed in game one, so we are evens. Screws happen, I`m still only one game away from the big boy`s table. I draw 7 cards, 1 land. I draw 6 cards, 1 land. I draw 5 cards, 3 land, take it. I actually manage to make a bit of a fight of it with what I have, but continue to get screwed and he just overpowers me once we leave the early game as I am still unable to cast my spells.

He then doesn`t help my mood by stopping at the end of the match to point out any errors I made (I was casting my monsters before attacking - strictly he`s right, but it won`t often matter and if it had ever mattered I would have done it right. I should attack first almost every time though, and I wasn`t). But if I were you, next time you sit down opposite somebody who beats you fair and square, and then gets brutally screwed and has just lost the match through a double-screwing and no fault of his own DON`T stop to point out minor mistakes, it`s not what they want to hear.

Straight into the next draft, I`m on Table 5 with a 2-1 record, also I`m on a relatively kind 2-1 table with only Tom Harle and Ivan Ronaldson of note. The random guy I lost to last round is on the top table with John Ormerod and Neil Rigby among others, and from all reports he was totally awful and went 0-3 from that table. Ha-Ha!
I draft UW, it`s a strong deck but I think in retrospect I overdrafted tricks that weren`t removal (I picked up 4 Excludes) - drafting again I would have taken a Repulse over an Exclude at one of my picks and that would have been better. But that doesn`t explain what is about to happen, as the Gods of mana screw are about to set up residency.

Rnd Four: Ivan Ronaldson (one of the Hampton Court posse, probably their weakest link though) BRu.
4.1 - I BRUTALISE HIM! He casts three spells all game, none of them are 'useful'. The first is a Rogue Kavu, which I kill by blocking with my Tidal Visionary, turning the Kavu Black, then using Obsidian Acolyte to give the Visionary Prot:Black. The second is a 4pt Soul Burn on me to gain life. The third is a Magma Burst onto a Dream Thrush and Visionary in a valiant effort to stay alive as my 2/4 Prison Barricade and 2/4 Wings-of-Hoped Acolyte serve him down.

4.2 - I Paris to avoid a screw, but then get stuck on four mana. Getting stuck on four mana doesn`t sound that bad, but at 3 mana I get access to a lot of Cantrip effects and I was drawing cards like mad from Hobbles and Excludes, and STILL didn`t get into a fifth land, and he just overwhelmed me - I stabilised all but one Shivan Emissary and he finished me off at 1pt per turn.

4.3 - I draw an opening hand of 2 Exclude, 1 Prohibit, 1 Aurora Griffin, 3 Plains. I take this hand because I have 9 Islands to draw into here, and if I do so I`ll be able to Exclude into the late game and win. I go Plains, Plains, Plains (JOY!) he makes a third turn Caldera Kavu and on the VERY NEXT TURN I draw the island to Exclude with. I Rush the Caldera back and Exclude it, in fact I also Exclude three Urborg Emissaries and Hobble a Volcano Imp (that`s five cantrips over a number of turns, stat fans) and STILL don`t draw a fifth mana source and so cannot begin my offense from the Faerie Squadron and Attendant in my hand, and Ivan Soul Burns me out before I get to him.

This was an irritating loss because game one shows me I beat him down very hard - all my cards are either Prot:his cards or kill his cards and draw me a card. I should have owned him but got screwed.

Rnd Five: Random guy, playing BRu
5.1 - I CRUSH HIM! He gets a single hit in from a Firebrand Ranger before my Galina`s Knight, Shoreline Raider, and Samite Pilgrim shut him down entirely then I play Silver Drake and rain damage down on him from above. He plays crafty Wash Out technology to beat my Prot off the table, but I Rushing River his best guys in response and by the time he gets them down my Prot guys are back in position and I send the Drake over the top again for the kill.

5.2 - I draw 7 cards, 1 land. Draw 6 cards, it`s good. I make a second turn Galinas but never draw beyond 3 mana despite casting two Excludes and a Hobble and he gives me a total ramming with his big black men.

5.3 - I cast Dream Thrush. Not much else. I once AGAIN get totally screwed and don`t see a fourth source of mana until it is far FAR too late.

Once again, this defeat is extremely annoying because in game one I proved, again, that my deck brutalises BR decks because I am a deck of Protection, damage prevention, and cantrip removal spells. By now I am well and truly hacked off as I consider my deck to be potentially 3-0 material and I`m now 0-2 because of total screwings. If ever a deck was built not to be screwed it`s my deck, which is cheap, has 3cc cantrip removal spells up the kazoo, and plains 18 land (9u, 9w) - it`s like the best deck you could possibly draft in terms of never getting screwed, and yet I`ve been screwed in four out of six games.

Rnd Six: Kevin Spragge, playing BRg
6.1 - I know I crush BR decks - I`ve proven that in game one of my last two rounds. I prove it again.

6.2- I`m going to get screwed, I know it. I don`t, I almost get flooded (I`m on 2 spells, 9 land at one point) but the game drags on because my two spells are Prot: his decks o he cannot kill me before I draw into all my spells. I end the game with 2 Excludes and a Hobble in hand waiting for him to draw somrthing worthwhile.

FINAL RECORD: 3-3
Number of games played: 16
Number of games drew mana and won: 8
Number of games screwed and lost: 8

I tout my Type-II deck (Fish) around for a bit, Craig Jones is interested but wants to see if it beats Fires first (it can do, but its close), Andy McNish wants it because it feels like CounterSliver to play, so I leave it up to them who plays it.

I`m probably going to quit Magic now, not just because I got screwed and I`m throwing a tantrum. There are a cumulative weight of reasons why that have built up.
* I hate the current Type-II, I don`t think there has been a good expasnsion released since Destiny. It`s a very stale and boring format with no room whatsoever for innovative deckbuilding.
* Apocalypse is out, so I quit now to avoid buyig up new cards (although I doubt many will be tournament staples, the new lands might be a bit too expensive).
* I get less opportunity to play. Two years ago we were playing with Pete Ward and Chris Rennie, who were happy to drave all round the country every weekend to play in a tournament. Nowadays we are playing with Andy McNish and Chris Muryn, who have more commitments outside Magic and so we only get to tournaments like once every other month.
* Even that playgroup is breaking up. Chris is having a baby in a few months (well, his wife is) and that`ll be the end of Chris being able to put any time into Magic, and Andy always packs up over the summer and he`s getting married so we`ll soon be without him either. All that will be left is Neil and myself, and we both think there are much better things to do with our time than play Magic.

End result is it`s time to get out now, while my MBC cards are still valuable. We might travel down for Grand Prix or something, but otherwise we`ll be gone. Actually Chris and I were discussing it and we both thought it would be kind of cool to become Judges, because we both hate playing (or atleast find it far less interesting than we did a few years ago) but still hugely enjoy the social side of Magic and seeing all our friends from all over the country, so we could well go into judging. Certanly I`ll stay in touch with Magic for as long as I've got internet access, but I think in terms of playing competitive Magic, I`m all done.

:) (and I mean that)
 
G

Gizmo

Guest
Just got a phonecall from Neil - he made Top-8 again, playing a UBr deck with Obliterates, basically Nether-Go with Urza`s Rage and Obliterate.

About to play the quarter-finals now.
 
T

theorgg

Guest
It's always a sad time when a good player hits the road for good, or at least for quite a while.

While I somtimes disagree with your statments (personally, I have really liked all but about ten cards from the last few expantions), your input with this community has been invaluble. You've helped many people with their decks, and have added several interesting tidbits to discussions in the off topic forum. Personally, I'll miss hearing your thoughts, as your articles are very well written and interesting-- even when I disagree completly.

Becoming a judge might be a good alternative since you still like the "scene," but remember: BRING FOOD, FOO! Judges usually starve at a tournament when there isn't enough to spare one to run for food. Peanuts and Oranges are good choices, but apples are wildcards. when you bite into a rotten one, it ain't fun.

I hope to still see you around these parts here, as they ARE probably the best forums on the net for good conversation. Keeping you here is one of the things that will make sure of that.

:)

and also,
:(

and for Zadok:

\|/
***
/|\


that was his heart exploding.
 
Z

Zadok001

Guest
:(

A sad day, indeed. We will miss you, Gizmo - Without you, we have no one to call our resident Pro! And put very simply, despite your occassional cynical attitude, you would sure as hell beat us all to death if we actually played you. It's been a pleasure talking to you, reading your writing, and thinking about what you've said.

I hope with all my heart you'll stick around at least a bit. Keep your eyes on the new expansions. If you see something you like, return. :)

Best of luck to you, and I hope you'll stick around at least temporarily to watch. Think hard, play nice, and above all else, have fun.

We'll miss you!
 
G

Gizmo

Guest
I`m not leaving you all here. I`ll still be following Magic very closely as I intend to become a judge so I`ll have to pay even more attention to new releases.

Don`t worry, you`ve not got rid of me yet.

BTW:
English Top-8. Ollie Schneider (Orb), Craig Jones (UBR), Michael Fisher (Animal House), Ivan Ronaldson (Fires), Neil Rigby (UBR w/obliterates), Gordon Benson (mono-red), Stewart Walker (UBW), Tim ODonnell (BR)

So Neil comes 5th for the second year running.
 
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Neil Rigby

Guest
I am just here to tell you that Gizmo is not quitting because I wont let him, unless I move to London ;)
 
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John`O

Guest
About getting screwed.
The UW decks can be 'Screwed' or 3-4 land
some of the the BR and/or GW decks
are very happy on that land count
this is one of the disadvantages or having multiple 5cc
cards and no special mana cards.
For example my third deck at Barcelona was UWb
(Ertai, Spinal Embrace, Tsabos Decree, Zanham etc)
and won every game where
it had a good land/spell mix but still went 1-3
because it just wasn't consistent enough.

Not saying Dave wasn't unlucky btw.

In T2 yesterday I just wanted to beat the dull nether spirit
decks so I played skies,
with a sideboard of Oppostion and Static Orb
against Fires or any other aggro creature deck.


John
(14th English nationals 2001)
 
Z

Zadok001

Guest
Good to hear, Giz! :)

Nether Spirit is really starting to get on my nerves, though... Nether Spirit is the best creature in Type 2, and it's black - And it doesn't get played in black decks. How depressing!
 
D

Duel

Guest
Well, ignoring the obvious errors in the "Nether spirit is the best creature in type 2" (I think the word "best" is the problem), I'd mask that Gizmo remember: you don't need to play to participate. For several months I just watched the environment and built apprentice decks, but I still enjoyed magic. That's the state you can exist in if you don't want to play anymore. And we need more good judges, so go ahead and join.


Oh, and guys: English Nationals are over, no? So, where's Paskins and "Magdalen" eh?
 
G

Gizmo

Guest
Best creature, it sounds like a reasonable statement, although I`d put Sivvi up close as well.

JohnO said:
The UW decks can be 'Screwed' or 3-4 land
some of the the BR and/or GW decks
are very happy on that land count
this is one of the disadvantages or having multiple 5cc
cards and no special mana cards.
This was my second draft deck, I don`t think I had a particularly expensive deck:

Tidal Visionary
--
Obsidian Acolyte
Dream Thrush
Galina`s Knight
Prison Barricade
Prison Barricade
Samite Pilgrim
--
Shoreline Raider
Benalish Lancer
Disciple Of Kangee
Silver Drake
--
Aurora Griffin
--
Faerie Squadron
Treva`s Attendant

Prohibit
Wings Of Hope
--
Hobble
Hobble
Exclude
Exclude
Exclude
Exclude
Rushing River

9 Plains
9 Island

SB:
Gainsay
Barrin`s Unmaking

The big mistake is 4 Excludes. 4 Excludes is BAAAAD. In fact I didn`t want the third and fourth ones as I drafted them, but had no reasonable options in UW at those picks. I think one pick was Exclude/Benalish Emissary and the other pick was Exclude/Opt/Razorfoot Griffin. The Exclude I didn`t want to draft was the second one, when I had a Repulse I could have taken, but at that point I think you would draft a second Exclude ahead of a Repulse because two Excludes is very good, and I couldn`t know there were going to be another two Excludes coming around.
 
A

arhar

Guest
Hey Giz, s*** happens. I had a very similar experience at the Prerelease, where in almost every game I lost I drew either 14 or 2 out of 17 lands, and went 2-2 drop with 0 playing mistakes (and my deck was literally AMAZING. 2 Gaea's Skyfolk, Fungal Shambler, Kavu Mauler, Ebony Treefolk, 2 Urborg Elves, etc, etc..). But hey, it's all part of the game, and next time it will happen to my opponent.
 
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