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DarthFerret
Guest
Alright, without too much fan fare, will give you all a taste of my day at the Pre-Release.
First off : Promo Card.
It is the Allosaurus Rider: 5GG casting cost Elf Warrior. "You may remove two green cards in your hand from the game rather than pay Allosaurus Riders's mana cost."
"Allosaurus Rider's power and toughness are each equal to 1 plus the number of lands you control."
Pretty nice considering I would enter two different flights, and get a pair.
Next, comes deck construction for the first flight. First thing mentioned by judges, is that you cannot get more than 5 Snow Covered Lands (1 from each pack) unless it is foil. Ok, well, snow is definetly one of the major themes, so I bust my packs and look for the lands. 2 Islands, 1 Forest, 1 Swamp, and the Blue/Black dual (Frost Marsh). Ok, looking like it is blue and black for me right? After reviewing some of the cards, I realize that the blue is very week. I also have a Legendary Artifact that I cannot risist playing. Thrumming Stone. It gives all my spells Ripple 4. Sweet, as long as I get several copies. Then I look through some green, finding 3 Surging Mights (2G: Enchantment Aura, Enchant Creature, Enchanted creature gets +2/+2. Ripple 4.). I quickly locate a judge and ask him if the ripple stacks. It does! Ok, now we have a theme. Toss in some white, and some black and the deck fills in quite nicely. I have 3 copies of a white prevent damage spell (Swift Manuever) that go good with the ripple, and a couple of blacks that have 2 copies. I have the snow forest and the snow swamp, and a snow elf that makes colorless (although since it is snow it gives snow mana also). Good basis for a small beatdown deck with a bit of removal and white prevention.
In the first round I go 2-0 very quickly. My opponent was a younger kid that built a 60 card deck that was too stuffed to do anything. In fact the second game he was so mana flooded that I coasted to an easy victory. In the second round, I had my own mana problems and could not recover in either game. Third round is one of the best games I ever played in a dual environment. It is back and forth all the way through both games and he ended up on top 2-1 knocking me out of pack winning position. I went ahead and played the fourth round, and won 2-0 very easily once again.
Ok, so the WBG did not work as well as I had hoped, but I still went 2-2 for the first flight. Only problem was that flight 3 had already started, and I was not sure there would be a fourth. I check in at the desk where this guy I know was also trying to get into a fourth flight, (incidently he is the one that always stomped me at FNM) and see that there is 10 minutes left to register for 2HG. I ask him if he is interested since it is a bit cheaper, and he agrees. I knew that this would work out pretty well when he came up with our team name: Aqua Teen Hunger Force!
We settle in and bust our 7 packs. We get a pretty even distribution of cards and power. I settle into a role of RG beatdown, and he finds a niche in the WUB control. Power cards for my deck: Allosaurus Rider (yes I pulled one), 4 Surging Mights (without the artifact, but will touch on this later), Steam Spitter (a nasty little spider that has firebreathing), 2 Phyrexian Snowcrusher (6 drop 6/5 Juggernauts) and some pretty useful support spells. The kicker was a Shape of the Wittigo (3GGG: Enchantment - Aura, Enchant Creature, When Shape of the Wittigo comes into play, put six +1/+1 counters on enchanted creature. At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature if it attacked or blocked since your last upkeep. Otherwise, remove a +1/+1 counter from it). We worked a few minutes on fixing my mana curve, and adjusting some of his artifacts (one was a Jester's Scepter), then call our decks good to go.
1st round: We hand it to our opponents good. I dropped one of the Phyrexian Snowcrushers on turn 3 (red has a nifty acceleration spell) and watched the opponents scurry. By the end of turn 6 I had the other one in play. By turn 10, game over. Round one done (in 2 HG you only play one game per round)
2nd round: We end up in a creature battle that ends up with us out creaturing them (due to my partners removal and stall). Now we are 2-0!
3rd round: The hardest and most intense game of Multiplayer magic I have ever played. The creatures were there, the spells were flying, the turns took forever trying to determine the best attacking/blocking scenarios. We get down to 12 life, they are at 14, and the Judge calls time. We now have 5 turns left to finish up. They take turn one, and attack all out. One creature is summoned for defense. We are down to 3 creatures (including a frozen Allosaurus) and now it is our turn. My partner has a 4/4 flyer, a white 2/2 ground pounder that can tap a critter, and I have the frozen Rider. I start counting lands on my side, and pull the game winner, Lightning Serpent. A 2/1 Trample, haste that cost XR to cast. X is equal to the amount of +1/+0 counters he comes into play with. He dies at the end of the turn. I pull him off at an 11/2 and we tap thier only blocker to deal 15 damage for the win. (I really enjoyed beating them because they did a lot of trash talking before and during the game, and then, in the sore loser fasion, started complaining about loosing to a bunch of "Noobs". I think everyone else was laughing at them...heh) Well well, we get some packs for this...but now, to round 4....
Round 4, well, sorta. It is now 7:30 p.m. and I have been up for over 14 hours. (I live over an hour away from the pre-release) They guys we are playing agianst want to leave. They suggest that one of us forfiets, and we all split the packs evenly. We agree, and it ends up thier win (due to a coin flip) and we all walk with an extra 10 and a half packs each. Not a bad way to end it all, and in the long run, everyone was happy. We might have been able to beat them, but I think it was better this way.
I guess I really am a casual player after all.
BTW, the 20/20 land? Only saw 2 of them during the whole thing, never saw it played, and pretty sure if it was played, it never resolved.
Yes I got the ripple effect to work really good in round 3 of the 2HG, and in round 4 of the 1st Flight. With a little tuning, will have a deck ready in the decks forum soon for you all to trash out.
I would list the cards I have, but it is way too late, and I have to work tommorrow morning.
Almost forgot to mention, I pulled 2 Adarkar Valkyries, and they rock the house!
First off : Promo Card.
It is the Allosaurus Rider: 5GG casting cost Elf Warrior. "You may remove two green cards in your hand from the game rather than pay Allosaurus Riders's mana cost."
"Allosaurus Rider's power and toughness are each equal to 1 plus the number of lands you control."
Pretty nice considering I would enter two different flights, and get a pair.
Next, comes deck construction for the first flight. First thing mentioned by judges, is that you cannot get more than 5 Snow Covered Lands (1 from each pack) unless it is foil. Ok, well, snow is definetly one of the major themes, so I bust my packs and look for the lands. 2 Islands, 1 Forest, 1 Swamp, and the Blue/Black dual (Frost Marsh). Ok, looking like it is blue and black for me right? After reviewing some of the cards, I realize that the blue is very week. I also have a Legendary Artifact that I cannot risist playing. Thrumming Stone. It gives all my spells Ripple 4. Sweet, as long as I get several copies. Then I look through some green, finding 3 Surging Mights (2G: Enchantment Aura, Enchant Creature, Enchanted creature gets +2/+2. Ripple 4.). I quickly locate a judge and ask him if the ripple stacks. It does! Ok, now we have a theme. Toss in some white, and some black and the deck fills in quite nicely. I have 3 copies of a white prevent damage spell (Swift Manuever) that go good with the ripple, and a couple of blacks that have 2 copies. I have the snow forest and the snow swamp, and a snow elf that makes colorless (although since it is snow it gives snow mana also). Good basis for a small beatdown deck with a bit of removal and white prevention.
In the first round I go 2-0 very quickly. My opponent was a younger kid that built a 60 card deck that was too stuffed to do anything. In fact the second game he was so mana flooded that I coasted to an easy victory. In the second round, I had my own mana problems and could not recover in either game. Third round is one of the best games I ever played in a dual environment. It is back and forth all the way through both games and he ended up on top 2-1 knocking me out of pack winning position. I went ahead and played the fourth round, and won 2-0 very easily once again.
Ok, so the WBG did not work as well as I had hoped, but I still went 2-2 for the first flight. Only problem was that flight 3 had already started, and I was not sure there would be a fourth. I check in at the desk where this guy I know was also trying to get into a fourth flight, (incidently he is the one that always stomped me at FNM) and see that there is 10 minutes left to register for 2HG. I ask him if he is interested since it is a bit cheaper, and he agrees. I knew that this would work out pretty well when he came up with our team name: Aqua Teen Hunger Force!
We settle in and bust our 7 packs. We get a pretty even distribution of cards and power. I settle into a role of RG beatdown, and he finds a niche in the WUB control. Power cards for my deck: Allosaurus Rider (yes I pulled one), 4 Surging Mights (without the artifact, but will touch on this later), Steam Spitter (a nasty little spider that has firebreathing), 2 Phyrexian Snowcrusher (6 drop 6/5 Juggernauts) and some pretty useful support spells. The kicker was a Shape of the Wittigo (3GGG: Enchantment - Aura, Enchant Creature, When Shape of the Wittigo comes into play, put six +1/+1 counters on enchanted creature. At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature if it attacked or blocked since your last upkeep. Otherwise, remove a +1/+1 counter from it). We worked a few minutes on fixing my mana curve, and adjusting some of his artifacts (one was a Jester's Scepter), then call our decks good to go.
1st round: We hand it to our opponents good. I dropped one of the Phyrexian Snowcrushers on turn 3 (red has a nifty acceleration spell) and watched the opponents scurry. By the end of turn 6 I had the other one in play. By turn 10, game over. Round one done (in 2 HG you only play one game per round)
2nd round: We end up in a creature battle that ends up with us out creaturing them (due to my partners removal and stall). Now we are 2-0!
3rd round: The hardest and most intense game of Multiplayer magic I have ever played. The creatures were there, the spells were flying, the turns took forever trying to determine the best attacking/blocking scenarios. We get down to 12 life, they are at 14, and the Judge calls time. We now have 5 turns left to finish up. They take turn one, and attack all out. One creature is summoned for defense. We are down to 3 creatures (including a frozen Allosaurus) and now it is our turn. My partner has a 4/4 flyer, a white 2/2 ground pounder that can tap a critter, and I have the frozen Rider. I start counting lands on my side, and pull the game winner, Lightning Serpent. A 2/1 Trample, haste that cost XR to cast. X is equal to the amount of +1/+0 counters he comes into play with. He dies at the end of the turn. I pull him off at an 11/2 and we tap thier only blocker to deal 15 damage for the win. (I really enjoyed beating them because they did a lot of trash talking before and during the game, and then, in the sore loser fasion, started complaining about loosing to a bunch of "Noobs". I think everyone else was laughing at them...heh) Well well, we get some packs for this...but now, to round 4....
Round 4, well, sorta. It is now 7:30 p.m. and I have been up for over 14 hours. (I live over an hour away from the pre-release) They guys we are playing agianst want to leave. They suggest that one of us forfiets, and we all split the packs evenly. We agree, and it ends up thier win (due to a coin flip) and we all walk with an extra 10 and a half packs each. Not a bad way to end it all, and in the long run, everyone was happy. We might have been able to beat them, but I think it was better this way.
I guess I really am a casual player after all.
BTW, the 20/20 land? Only saw 2 of them during the whole thing, never saw it played, and pretty sure if it was played, it never resolved.
Yes I got the ripple effect to work really good in round 3 of the 2HG, and in round 4 of the 1st Flight. With a little tuning, will have a deck ready in the decks forum soon for you all to trash out.
I would list the cards I have, but it is way too late, and I have to work tommorrow morning.
Almost forgot to mention, I pulled 2 Adarkar Valkyries, and they rock the house!
