Last weekend, I played in an 8^th Edition Prerelease tournament. After opening my packs and seeing that I had four out of five rares that I really couldn't use, I was not looking forward to the beating I was about to receive. The five rares were Elvish Champion (which went with the zero elves I had), Story Circle (a great card, but it had no support in white), Trade Routes (enough said), Defense Grid (which I sideboarded in, once, against the only blue player I faced), and a City of Brass that I forced myself to main deck because I decided that I had to play three colors to get enough effective cards to win any matches.

So I sat there, looking at my bland set of packs that just frustrated me to no end. I ended up putting together a R/G/B deck that had a few decent cards in it. I had a Volcanic Hammer, Lava Axe, and Shock Troops in red; Vine Trellis, a pair of Rampant Growths, and a Spined Wurm in green; and a Dark Banishing, Dusk Imp, a pair of Drudge Skeletons, and Gluttonous Zombies in black. I decided that this combination gave me a little to work with, as it gave me some direct damage, speed, and creature removal.

My deck constructed, I walked around, waiting for the pairings. While wandering around, I talked to a few of the players I knew: Jake and Gabe both asked me how my deck was. I told them I didn't get much and that I planned on losing pretty badly. The judge's wife, Jeannie, overheard this and made a sarcastic comment about how she was"sure" I would do horribly. I just laughed and showed her the crap that I was playing with.

She didn't make too many jokes after that.

My first-round opponent had never played in a tournament before. Therefore, he didn't know sideboarding rules or even the"draw first, go second" rule. As a local player, I took this opportunity to make announcements for all first-time players on the rules of Limited play before the tournament began. I also like speaking in front of big groups; I think it goes back to the whole"everyone is paying attention to you" thing. When I was done playing Big Man on Campus, we all settled down and began round one.

Round one had me paired with Ben Yates, the rookie. One of the reasons I had noticed that he was new was because when I sat down to play, he had his sideboard in his hand and asked me what colors I was playing. Well, as you can imagine, I was very happy about this match. As an experienced player, there should be no reason I should lose to someone who hasn't played in a tournament before.

We began playing and I saw he was playing G/W/R - which was, as I found later, what most people were playing. One of the wonderful things about Limited format is that it gives you the opportunity to play with cards you normally wouldn't - but maybe I should say that it's frustrating, as I haven't played with cards like Orcish Spy in several years. Due to this fact, I misread the card as"Look at the top three cards of target player's library (Put them back in any order)" when in fact it says,"(Put them back in the same order)". The interesting thing here is that I was the only one who noticed that I was cheating. But thanks to my hatred of cheaters, I scooped and started shuffling up for the next game. My friend Carl was the judge, and he got a big kick out of that.

With that, the whole"optimistic" thing went out the window. Game two, I played a few quick creatures and was able to beat down with the Gluttonous Zombie for the win. Game three I again drew the Orcish Spy, but decided use it right this time. I dropped a Spined Wurm and was eventually able to beat down all his creatures until he wasn't able to block it any more.

1-0 (2-1)

In the second round, I faced one of the locals, named AJ. For me, I really wanted to win this match because AJ had beaten me in the last Limited tournament I played in. Revenge is always sweeter when served cold, and I am unforgiving since the defeat had occurred over a month ago. When we began playing, I saw that AJ was also playing W/G/R. I became a little more confident, knowing he couldn't block my Gluttonous Zombie if I could eventually draw it.

We went into a stalemate for a little while, until AJ finally got a flier out. Luckily, the next turn I topdecked a Dusk Imp - my only flyer. When he attacked the next turn, I chump blocked, and away went his flyer. The interesting part of this match was the bluffing that went on due to the fact that we both had Nantuko Disciple in play. We were able to stall out and not really get through for anything... Then I drew my Gluttonous Zombie. AJ was at eighteen life - unfortunately, I only had three cards left and the game ended with him at three. Onto game two!

This time I got a little bit luckier, as I drew the Gluttonous Zombie in my opening hand. Needless to say, the game was over in a few turns. The third game, I wasn't lucky enough to draw the zombie in my opening hand... But it didn't matter, as I drew it the same turn I dropped my fifth land.

The next round I played against my good friend Gabe. He was making fun of me cause I was 2-0 with my"crap" deck. I told him I had just gotten lucky.

Well, he believed this more after he beat me down in the first game with a Two-Headed Dragon. At this time, I decided to look into my sideboard to see if I had any glimpse of hope in there. There was a glimmer, as I found a Wing Snare - but it didn't matter, as I was able to get him quickly with the zombie.

In the third game, I got stuck with the Wing Snare in my hand, but didn't mind saving it for his dragon. The bad thing about Wing Snare, though, is that it doesn't help you against Phyrexian Colossus - but luckily, Dark Banishing does! The zombie went in for the win.

At this point in the tournament, I began to realize that if I kept playing against people who weren't playing black, I could use the Gluttonous Zombie to gain victory.

In the fourth round, I got paired down against Jeannie, the judge's wife. She was 3-0-1. While playing in the first game, Jeannie made a comment how she could have won a drawn game if it wasn't for the dark print on the new cards. She mentioned that she had a Shivan Dragon in play, but saw the dark print and thought that it pumped for red. This surprised me a little, as Jeannie has been playing for a long time - but then I remembered my own faux pas with the Orcish Spy in round one. The point of this, of course, is now I know that when this match is over, I need to put in the Wing Snare.

Luckily for me, I didn't actually see the Shivan in the first game and was able to pull away my first opening match victory. In the second game, she drew the wretched Shivan - but I was waiting for it with open arms and my foil Dark Banishing (forgot it was foil). The Gluttonous Zombie then came to me and we decided to win this match together. The zombie and me went on to victory.

At this time, Jeannie decided to reiterate her previous comments about me having a crap deck and that I was going to lose. I let them go, as I was 4-0 and a shoo-in for the Top 8. My only problem was that I now had to play the only other guy who was 4-0 and nothing was set in stone. His name was Austin.

This match I remember easily, as I wanted the Hammer of Bogardan this kid had pulled. Having played next to this kid all day, I knew that he was playing U/R. I also knew that I had Boil in my sideboard waiting for him. The first game, he pulled out several small blue fliers. Since my deck has only one flier, I received a mild beating. I sided in Wing Snare and Boil, as well as few other cards I can't really remember. The game started off well, as the only creature he played was a Storm Crow - and that fell to a Volcanic Hammer quite easily. The game went quickly as he never developed a board position.

In the third match, he played a few more creatures - the only problem was that they were all blue, as he only drew island. When he tapped all four islands to play a 2/2 flier, I took my chance: I sacked my Shock Troops to kill his flier, and then decided that topdecking a Boil would win me the game. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and knowing that I drew a Boil makes it easier to say that I wanted it. Needless to say, he scooped his islands and conceded.

5-0 just sounds so good. And to think I didn't need the zombie to win that last round, either!

I was on to the last round of Swiss. My opponent in this round was Kevin, and he had gotten the bye in the first round. It turns out he then went 4-0-1, so was therefore the only other opponent without a loss. Now, everyone likes to go undefeated, and I am no different: The only problem with this plan was that the first land my opponent played was a Swamp. The Gluttonous Zombie didn't really care for that, and decided he didn't want to play this game.Therefore, after getting a mild beating, I decided to take out the zombie and put in my Swamp-walking Bog Wraith. This plan worked well, as I drew well and got the Bog Wraith early, then swung with him to victory. This was a little sweeter, as Mr. Bog Wraith was also foil.

We then went on to game three. In game three, I drew little to help me as I received another mild beating and watched my undefeated record go the way of the Passenger Pigeon.

Well, I didn't have much time to cry over it, though, as the Top 8 began shortly afterwards. My first opponent was another regular by the name of Pat. Pat is a nice guy, but he usually doesn't build the strongest decks - therefore, I was slightly surprised to see him in the Top 8. What I hadn't realized, though, was that I was still seeded number one after my loss, so I was playing Pat, who was seeded number eight. I don't really remember very much about this match. I think I went 2-0 against him - the only time I did that all day.

In the semifinals, I once again played Gabe - the man I had played in round three. Things were good for me, as I knew exactly what Gabe had and knew exactly what needed to be done. In the first game things looked bad when he dropped down his Phyrexian Colossus, which I saw coming with my Orcish Spy. I chump blocked with all three creatures I had stay alive. I then drew another creature that wouldn't help.

Gabe was at ten, and I was at ten as well. Gabe then decided he was going to untap his Colossus and put his life at two. He attacked, and I was at two. Then I topdecked a Lava Axe and Gabe was furious.

In game two, I decided to side in Fear and hope to drop it on my Spined Wurm; I also threw in a Craw Wurm that I hadn't decided to play with before, for some reason. None of this mattered, as he drew his Two-Headed Dragon with me at four and him at six. My zombie was disappointed not being able to swing in for the blood it oh so desired.

In game three, Gabe once again dropped his Phyrexian Colossus. Again, my only chance of survival was to chump block or die. Then I drew a Dark Banishing and realized that in life there is more than one option, and went for the second - and on for the victory.

I am in the finals with my crap deck.

At this point, I will mention that I decided to write this article after reading another article on StarCityGames about playing errors. I would like to think that I was able to make it to the finals because I made few play errors. I know Gabe will definitely reflect back on the errors he made with his Phyrexian Colossus in his next match - but luckily for me, that will be on a different day.

My final opponent of the day is Jeannie. By this time, it was two-thirty in the morning; Carl asked his wife if she wanted to just draw so that everyone could go home. She said no, because she didn't get the chance to beat me every day.

At this time, I will point out that I had played Jeannie four times total, including my earlier match. Three of those matches, I defeated her in the Swiss rounds. The other match she defeated me in a single-elimination round, which kept me from the finals. Playing her again in a single-elimination round, I decided I wanted revenge - and I wanted it quickly, as I was really, really tired. In the first game, I came out quickly and goes the W quick enough to see it possible to make it home before three.

After this match, my tired wife showed up. At the time of this tournament, we had only one car - and since she had to work that night, she had kept the car. Even more eager to go home now than ever, I saw blood and sided in only the Fear and Craw Wurm, which worked well against Gabe.

But those of you who have read this all the way through realize my crucial mistake! I forgot Wing Snare for her Shivan Dragon. This was my undoing, as out it came and whupped my behind. But this match was also quick, and we went on to game three. In game three, I put back in the Wing Snare - but to no effect, as it was never there to stop the oncoming dragon and my inevitable doom.

Well, I had finished in second place - but I was happy with that, as it got me nine packs and my foil Rukh Egg.

I hope that I remember next time what my opponent played with. This was one of the types of errors the article had talked about - and was also the most detrimental. I couldn't overcome it this time, but hopefully next time I will. Well, I hope you enjoyed my story - and to all the folks of Ground Zero, goodnight.