9 brave players set out from TCG on an early saturday morning in late october. One destined for fame
and fortune, the rest for complete mediocrity. It was
a fun trip, none the less!
Finding myself not having to judge the event, I agreed to drive up and play so some others could also attend. In my particular vehicle, I had Jon Pelosi (playing
the Stuffy Doll/Pariah deck that won out for him during the standard portion of our recent Magic Olympics), RJ Elliott (sporting a goblin deck that he had been
working on for awhile) and myself, playing 'PreCon 4/7' as I have dubbed it, which meant that we took a Goblin Feast preconstructed deck the night before, removed
4 cards and added 7 to it. I also had an amazing tech sieboard, consisting of 3 Damnation, 2 Pithing needle, 5 Mountain and 5 Swamp. At least my 4 Mogg Fanatics
I played were the new DCI foily variety (where he shows you his butt), which noone at the event had ever seen. I had low hopes for the deck (0-3, maybe 0-4 drop),
but I should have known better. After all, it had performed very well in the two and a half games I playtested with it!
So, there we were, at the Veterans Memorial in Columbus Ohio. Also in attendance from the store were: Eric Sarosy, Randall Collins, Alex Gfroerer, David DeBruine,
Steven Kimball and Tony Murray (the final 3 being recent converts from the YuGiOh field to Magic. They've each been playing about 3 weeks, but they've been very
hardcore about it).
Round 1 pairings went up, and the 199 people in attendance struggled to find their spots. I was paired with long-time Columbus area player Akil Steele, playing a
black/blue build that he had been working on with Olwen Wee. First game, I got in some early hits with 2 Mogg Fanatics, bringing him down to 16 life quickly. He played
a Looter Il-kor, which I tarfired, and then another creature that let him draw a card and discard a card. White Akroma went into his graveyard. Then he dropped Hidden
Horror (a smallish 4/4 that you have to sacrifice unless you discard a card. To the yard went Red Akroma). Now came Vesuvan Doppleganger, copying Angel of Wrath.
Swing for 10. Draw a swamp, go-go-gadget game #2!!
Game 2 went completely different. I had some good goblins out, as well as Mad Auntie ot beef them up. He did his draw discard, throwing Haakon into the yard. I took
a second to read it, and thought to myself "how cool will it be to kill that? he loses 2 life too!". He put Haakon into play, then Nameless Inversioned my Mad Auntie. Kinda
sucked. I attacked on my turn with two Mogg Fanatics, saccing the one he blocked to still get in for the 1 damage. His turn didn't go so well for me. He recast Nameless
Inversion (it is a Knight, in addition to all other creature types) 3 times to wipe my side of the field, then attack with the 3/3 Haakon. Drawing a 1/1 or 2/2 from that point on
was pointless for me. So, I was 0-1 now, like most of our 'crew'.
Round 2 I played a guy named Steve, which was a very enjoyable match (he said at the end, after my 2-0 trouncing, that if nothing else, playing me was the most fun
he had had in a very long time). Game 1 went very quickly in my favor. Game 2 had what I will dub my play of the day (maybe the play my year). Turn 3 of game 1 saw
him throw down Doran, the Siege Tower (which fell rather quickly to my block with a Mogg Fanatic on his attack, then sacing it to do damage point #2, followed up by a
Lash Out). Game 2 went almost the same, with his Doran coming out to play opposite my Mogg Fanatic and Mudbutton Torchrunner. His super secret tech was that Doran
would deal 5 damage in combat, whereas my 1/1s still only throw down for 1! On his 4th turn, he attacked (since I was at 20, I decided to eat the 5 damage ((hey, I'm
working a plan here!))), and then he cast Garruk and made a 3/3 beastie before telling me with a smirk to go. Arrrggghhh, a sort of 5/5, a 3/3 and a Planeswalker versus my
two lowly 1/1s. What to do? Oh yeah, untap, upkeep, draw. What I like to call 'the miracle draw', the top-decking king of kings, etc. Yes!!!! I drew a land!!! If you've
ever heard Eric Sarosy tell his story about the 'Quad Laser' from 2HG states, this one tops that.
I had the THE DEATH STAR and it was pointed at Steve's version of Alderran. I layed that land (my fourth, btw) and announced that I would be casting Fodder Launch,
targeting Doran, sacrificing the Torchrunner as part of the cost. Steve looked at me expectantly. We had already had to call a judge on a couple of play points (one of the
players next to us had told Steve that I was a judge, and he should just believe me. But, in this instance, as I informed Steve several times, I was not a judge but his
opponent, and you should never trust the word of your opponent). So, I further explained what was happeneing by informing Steve that as the Torchrunner hit the graveyard
from being sacrificed, I was dealing 3 damage to his 3/3 beast. He responded by saying 'Sad Face' as he removed his 6-sider from the field. I then explained that I was
giving Doran -5/-5 for the turn, making it into a -5/0 and that it was going to his graveyard now that we were checking state based effects. "Sad face again' was the response
from his side. 'Finally, when the 5 damage to you resolves, I'm redirecting it to your Garruk', to which Steve vehemently responded 'you can't'. His argument was that Fodder
Launch deals damage to the creatures controller, and that since this is explecit 'controller damage' it cannot be redirected anywhere. That got a call of Judge on my part,
which took a while to convince my opponent of everything that was going on was legitimate. As Garruk waved goodbye, Steve instead made the aformentioned sad face,
and then I proceeded to hit him with many attacks from the Mogg Fanatic and it's Boggart kin.
At this point, I found out that my compartiots were not doing as well. Jon and the Stuffy deck had gone 0-2 drop. RJ was 0-2 'still in', and the records of everyone else
were of the 0-2 or 1-1 variety. RJ and I decided to give it one more round, which I ended up conceeding to my opponent (another Columbus local that I have known for
a very long time), as we came down to the 5th turn of our 1-1 match. I thought we would be leaving then, and was prepared to drop, but RJ wanted to give it one more shot.
My final opponent did not fair well at all against Precon 4/7, as he really only got to keep lands and one bird of paradise in play for more than one turn in either game. Telling
me, when he was at 2 lands and a bird, that everything in his grip took 4 mana or more was just a signal for me to go all out crazy. 2 Mad Aunties on the field, plus a couple
of standard goblins, just did him in.
At this point, we were ready to leave (I even picked up a stray player in the form of Steven Kimball), and we headed off to get some buffet and wallow in our sorrows (which,
were not all that great for me. I technicly went 3-1 with a precon).
I don't remember everyone elses records, but here are some things that were learned that day:
Alex (who ended up 25th, taking home, I believe, 9 packs) learned the importance of always revealing a morphed creature to your opponent (which you have to do after
a game ends, or in his case, when it is bounced back to your hand). This misplay gave him a game loss that lead to a match loss.
Jon learned that Planeswalkers, which are permanents and NOT creatures, just sort of shrug off your Wrath of Gods, while Oblivion Ring is tech against just about everything.
The Yu-Gi converts learned that your opponents in magic are allowed to take note of what is in your hand when they throughtseize you, which is strictly forbidden in YuGiOh.
And, more than anythng else, I learned that MATH IS HARD!! Especially when I did 2 damage to a 3/2 flyer that can be pumped, so it still lived to hit me in the face, and one
opponent, who had a 6/7 Tarmogoyf when he cast it, and then attacked into my 5/5 Goblin Champion, after I had returned a tribal-goblin-instant to my hand from my yard, and
did not adjust his marking die accordingly, learned that a 3/4 just doesn't kill a 5/5. Sad Face!!
Alex Gfroerer, on the right, says 'I did the best out of all the TCG'ers, bitches!!' and Eric Sarosy, left, says 'I really must thank TCG for bringing me here from my native
land, helping me get my green card, stable employment and a shirt to wear!! What a country!'
a fun trip, none the less!
Finding myself not having to judge the event, I agreed to drive up and play so some others could also attend. In my particular vehicle, I had Jon Pelosi (playing
the Stuffy Doll/Pariah deck that won out for him during the standard portion of our recent Magic Olympics), RJ Elliott (sporting a goblin deck that he had been
working on for awhile) and myself, playing 'PreCon 4/7' as I have dubbed it, which meant that we took a Goblin Feast preconstructed deck the night before, removed
4 cards and added 7 to it. I also had an amazing tech sieboard, consisting of 3 Damnation, 2 Pithing needle, 5 Mountain and 5 Swamp. At least my 4 Mogg Fanatics
I played were the new DCI foily variety (where he shows you his butt), which noone at the event had ever seen. I had low hopes for the deck (0-3, maybe 0-4 drop),
but I should have known better. After all, it had performed very well in the two and a half games I playtested with it!
So, there we were, at the Veterans Memorial in Columbus Ohio. Also in attendance from the store were: Eric Sarosy, Randall Collins, Alex Gfroerer, David DeBruine,
Steven Kimball and Tony Murray (the final 3 being recent converts from the YuGiOh field to Magic. They've each been playing about 3 weeks, but they've been very
hardcore about it).
Round 1 pairings went up, and the 199 people in attendance struggled to find their spots. I was paired with long-time Columbus area player Akil Steele, playing a
black/blue build that he had been working on with Olwen Wee. First game, I got in some early hits with 2 Mogg Fanatics, bringing him down to 16 life quickly. He played
a Looter Il-kor, which I tarfired, and then another creature that let him draw a card and discard a card. White Akroma went into his graveyard. Then he dropped Hidden
Horror (a smallish 4/4 that you have to sacrifice unless you discard a card. To the yard went Red Akroma). Now came Vesuvan Doppleganger, copying Angel of Wrath.
Swing for 10. Draw a swamp, go-go-gadget game #2!!
Game 2 went completely different. I had some good goblins out, as well as Mad Auntie ot beef them up. He did his draw discard, throwing Haakon into the yard. I took
a second to read it, and thought to myself "how cool will it be to kill that? he loses 2 life too!". He put Haakon into play, then Nameless Inversioned my Mad Auntie. Kinda
sucked. I attacked on my turn with two Mogg Fanatics, saccing the one he blocked to still get in for the 1 damage. His turn didn't go so well for me. He recast Nameless
Inversion (it is a Knight, in addition to all other creature types) 3 times to wipe my side of the field, then attack with the 3/3 Haakon. Drawing a 1/1 or 2/2 from that point on
was pointless for me. So, I was 0-1 now, like most of our 'crew'.
Round 2 I played a guy named Steve, which was a very enjoyable match (he said at the end, after my 2-0 trouncing, that if nothing else, playing me was the most fun
he had had in a very long time). Game 1 went very quickly in my favor. Game 2 had what I will dub my play of the day (maybe the play my year). Turn 3 of game 1 saw
him throw down Doran, the Siege Tower (which fell rather quickly to my block with a Mogg Fanatic on his attack, then sacing it to do damage point #2, followed up by a
Lash Out). Game 2 went almost the same, with his Doran coming out to play opposite my Mogg Fanatic and Mudbutton Torchrunner. His super secret tech was that Doran
would deal 5 damage in combat, whereas my 1/1s still only throw down for 1! On his 4th turn, he attacked (since I was at 20, I decided to eat the 5 damage ((hey, I'm
working a plan here!))), and then he cast Garruk and made a 3/3 beastie before telling me with a smirk to go. Arrrggghhh, a sort of 5/5, a 3/3 and a Planeswalker versus my
two lowly 1/1s. What to do? Oh yeah, untap, upkeep, draw. What I like to call 'the miracle draw', the top-decking king of kings, etc. Yes!!!! I drew a land!!! If you've
ever heard Eric Sarosy tell his story about the 'Quad Laser' from 2HG states, this one tops that.
I had the THE DEATH STAR and it was pointed at Steve's version of Alderran. I layed that land (my fourth, btw) and announced that I would be casting Fodder Launch,
targeting Doran, sacrificing the Torchrunner as part of the cost. Steve looked at me expectantly. We had already had to call a judge on a couple of play points (one of the
players next to us had told Steve that I was a judge, and he should just believe me. But, in this instance, as I informed Steve several times, I was not a judge but his
opponent, and you should never trust the word of your opponent). So, I further explained what was happeneing by informing Steve that as the Torchrunner hit the graveyard
from being sacrificed, I was dealing 3 damage to his 3/3 beast. He responded by saying 'Sad Face' as he removed his 6-sider from the field. I then explained that I was
giving Doran -5/-5 for the turn, making it into a -5/0 and that it was going to his graveyard now that we were checking state based effects. "Sad face again' was the response
from his side. 'Finally, when the 5 damage to you resolves, I'm redirecting it to your Garruk', to which Steve vehemently responded 'you can't'. His argument was that Fodder
Launch deals damage to the creatures controller, and that since this is explecit 'controller damage' it cannot be redirected anywhere. That got a call of Judge on my part,
which took a while to convince my opponent of everything that was going on was legitimate. As Garruk waved goodbye, Steve instead made the aformentioned sad face,
and then I proceeded to hit him with many attacks from the Mogg Fanatic and it's Boggart kin.
At this point, I found out that my compartiots were not doing as well. Jon and the Stuffy deck had gone 0-2 drop. RJ was 0-2 'still in', and the records of everyone else
were of the 0-2 or 1-1 variety. RJ and I decided to give it one more round, which I ended up conceeding to my opponent (another Columbus local that I have known for
a very long time), as we came down to the 5th turn of our 1-1 match. I thought we would be leaving then, and was prepared to drop, but RJ wanted to give it one more shot.
My final opponent did not fair well at all against Precon 4/7, as he really only got to keep lands and one bird of paradise in play for more than one turn in either game. Telling
me, when he was at 2 lands and a bird, that everything in his grip took 4 mana or more was just a signal for me to go all out crazy. 2 Mad Aunties on the field, plus a couple
of standard goblins, just did him in.
At this point, we were ready to leave (I even picked up a stray player in the form of Steven Kimball), and we headed off to get some buffet and wallow in our sorrows (which,
were not all that great for me. I technicly went 3-1 with a precon).
I don't remember everyone elses records, but here are some things that were learned that day:
Alex (who ended up 25th, taking home, I believe, 9 packs) learned the importance of always revealing a morphed creature to your opponent (which you have to do after
a game ends, or in his case, when it is bounced back to your hand). This misplay gave him a game loss that lead to a match loss.
Jon learned that Planeswalkers, which are permanents and NOT creatures, just sort of shrug off your Wrath of Gods, while Oblivion Ring is tech against just about everything.
The Yu-Gi converts learned that your opponents in magic are allowed to take note of what is in your hand when they throughtseize you, which is strictly forbidden in YuGiOh.
And, more than anythng else, I learned that MATH IS HARD!! Especially when I did 2 damage to a 3/2 flyer that can be pumped, so it still lived to hit me in the face, and one
opponent, who had a 6/7 Tarmogoyf when he cast it, and then attacked into my 5/5 Goblin Champion, after I had returned a tribal-goblin-instant to my hand from my yard, and
did not adjust his marking die accordingly, learned that a 3/4 just doesn't kill a 5/5. Sad Face!!
Alex Gfroerer, on the right, says 'I did the best out of all the TCG'ers, bitches!!' and Eric Sarosy, left, says 'I really must thank TCG for bringing me here from my native
land, helping me get my green card, stable employment and a shirt to wear!! What a country!'