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We had a Pro Tour Qualifier in Madison last weekend: the second largest PTQ in North America so far this season, and bigger if some Madison natives weren't busy that weekend. Want interesting and innovative decks? Read on. Need stats on archetype performance? Sure. Looking for tales of yours truly going undefeated and untied? Of course. More rants about Blue? Maybe next time.
Undefeated and untied? Yeah, I was judging.
Being married to the head judge has some advantages, and some disadvantages. One advantage is that I came home from the tournament with all the decklists, a copy of the final standings, and more. One disadvantage — I'm the first one tapped when she needs another judge on short notice. Going into the event, I knew I could play if the turnout was low, but if turnout got much over 100-125, I would have to wear stripes. We had 183 players. Stripes it was.
(By the way, if you guessed that favorable rulings is one of the advantages of being married to the head judge, you are wrong. Ingrid's very first action after passing her level 1 judge test was to give me a game loss. It was warranted.)
Enough with the judge crap? Okay. I know - everyone reads an article like this for data, so here goes.
I went through all the decklists and tried to identify all the archetypes being played and how they finished. I'll provide decklists below. For each archetype, I'll post the best finish, total number starting the day, and number to break the Top 32. If the best finish is blank, it's because no one playing the deck finished in the Top 32, or because everyone playing the deck dropped before the end of the Swiss. My table also leaves out a few new decklists (e.g. the deck that finished seventh). I'll discuss those decks later, as well as discussing the archetypes in greater detail.
| Archetype | Best Finish | Number Played | # in Top 32 |
| Boros | Winner | 14 | 4 |
| U/W Tron | Second | 16 | 2 |
| Scepter Chant | Third | 7 | 1 |
| Opposition | Fourth | 3 | 1 |
| Astral Slide | Fifth | 2 | 2 |
| Aggro Loam | Sixth | 4 | 2 |
| Flores GW | Eighth | 8 | 3 |
| Non-Flow Rock | Ninth* | 12 | 2 |
| Affinity | Tenth | 18 | 5 |
| Flow Rock | Twelfth | 19 | 3 |
| TEPS | Twentieth | 7 | 1 |
| R/G Aggro | Thirteenth | 3 | 2 |
| Goblins | Fourteenth | 8 | 1 |
| Trinket Mage | Fifteenth* | 7 | 1 |
| Ichorid | Thirtieth | 3 | 1 |
| Ben Bleiweiss’ U/G | n/a | 7 | - |
| Tooth and Nail | n/a | 5 | - |
| CAL | n/a | 1 | - |
| Psychatog | n/a | 4 | - |
| other | n/a | lots | - |
* These are highly atypical versions of the archetype. For example, the Trinket Mage deck in fifteenth is B/W splashing U mainly for the Trinket Mage. Decklists are below.
Originally, I was just going to talk about the archetypes one at a time, and slip in the Top 8 lists where they fit. However, identifying archetypes is not always easy. Here's a quiz: I'll give you some cards — you identify the archetype. I'll even put some white space between the cards and the answer.
Isochron Scepter, Lightning Helix, Fire / Ice
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And the answer is....
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Scepter Chant, a.k.a. NO Stick
Kird Ape, Grim Lavamancer, and Lightning Helix?
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And the answer is....
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Boros (which almost always splashes for the monkey nowadays).
An easy one:
Trinket Mage, Sensei's Divining Top, Tormod's Crypt, Engineered Explosives?
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And the answer is....
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Trinket Mage (duh) or TrinketTron
Here's one we all know: Shrapnel Blast, Pyrite Spellbomb, artifact lands and Pithing Needle.
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And the answer is....
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Affinity
How about a deck that runs Dark Confidant plus all of the above cards?
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Y RLY
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And the answer is....
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Seventh place.
Okay, that's not the “answer,” but it is where it finished. I called it Trinkety Zoo in my notes. I'm not sure what the player actually called it. It's not written on the decklist.
It's a cool deck.
Instead, I'm just going to list the Top 16 decks, in order. I'll have complete decklists for the first eight, and just list the player's name and archetype for anything not pretty close to the standard archetype. I'll throw in comments on archetypes later. I'll start with the winner and walk on down.
Craig is going to kill me. Tables, lots of decklists — a formatting nightmare and I'll just barely make deadline. Sorry, Craig. [No problem, fella. — Craig.]
I said I'd start with the winner.
Mike Hron.
Way to go H-Ron!
I mentioned that some of the Madison crowd was busy — they were in Geneva. Mike won, Matt came in 96th, Sam 118th, BK not so good, and Chris Richter was judging.
Back to the PTQ.
We had eight rounds of Swiss, plus the Top 8. That is a lot of games, and a lot of chances for an inconsistent deck to crap out. I talked about the difference tournament size makes, so maybe it says something that the deck that won was also one of the most consistent in the format.
| Boros Deck Wins An Extended deck, by Brandon Rutter 1st place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Creatures 4 Grim Lavamancer 4 Kird Ape 4 Savannah Lions 4 Silver Knight 4 Soltari Priest Instants 4 Lightning Helix 4 Sudden Shock Legendary Creatures 2 Isamaru, Hound of Konda |
Sorceries 4 Firebolt 4 Molten Rain Basic Lands 1 Mountain 1 Plains Lands 1 Barbarian Ring 2 Battlefield Forge 3 Flooded Strand 4 Sacred Foundry 1 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills | 2 Armadillo Cloak 3 Pyrostatic Pillar 4 Ancient Grudge 1 Krosan Grip 3 Umezawa's Jitte 2 Kataki, War's Wage |
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Richard Feldman and Zac Hill clearly had an impact on the metagame. I saw a ton of decks running Petrified Fields, Razormane Masticores, and other cards first popularized for U/W in their articles. Tenacious Tron variants were the most common control decks in the field. Eighteen players brought U/W Tron decks, but only two made the Top 32. That's not very good odds. That deck is not very good again aggro, in my experience, and that was born out in the finals. Boros won game 1 and game 3, both times with a Chalice set to two in play, and after being Wrathed a couple times.
This version does show a lot of Tenacious Tron influence, but also shows some hints of Shaheen Sorani's original Worlds deck, including a Solemn Simulacrum. It also features Triskelion over Razormane or other creature control. That may be because Tommy Kolowith is more of a vintage player (Team ICBM) than Extended, and Triski trumps Razormane in that format. I should also note that Triskelion was a major factor in the win over Opposition in the semis — Triski killed a lot of Symbiotes, and did it far faster than Razormane Masticore could have. [Hang on, I've a call from Richard Feldman coming through... - Craig, amused.]
| U/W Tron An Extended deck, by Tommy Kolowith 2nd place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 3 Azorius Signet 2 Chalice of the Void 2 Chrome Mox 1 Crucible Of Worlds 1 Engineered Explosives Artifact Creatures 1 Platinum Angel 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Sundering Titan 1 Triskelion Instants 4 Condescend 3 Gifts Ungiven 4 Remand 2 Repeal 1 Spell Burst 4 Thirst For Knowledge Legendary Artifacts 1 Mindslaver |
Sorceries 2 Decree of Justice 3 Wrath of God Basic Lands 2 Island 1 Plains Basic Snow Lands 1 Snow-Covered Island Lands 2 Flooded Strand 3 Hallowed Fountain 1 Petrified Field 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins | 1 Chalice of the Void 1 Crucible Of Worlds 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Serrated Arrows 2 Tormod's Crypt 2 Triskelion 2 Dismantling Blow 1 Fact or Fiction 2 Repeal 2 Ghost Quarter |
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Third place went to a more traditional base U/W control deck - Scepter Chant. I was surprised by the Minamo, School at the Water's Edge I kept seeing hitting play. I shouldn't have been: Teferi is a Legend, and Teferi is a big part of what makes the deck tick. Teferi plus Orim's Chant on a Scepter is an ugly, ugly thing.
| Scepter Chant An Extended deck, by John Knapp 3rd place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 3 Chrome Mox 4 Isochron Scepter Creatures 1 Eternal Dragon Instants 4 Counterspell 3 Cunning Wish 3 Fact or Fiction 3 Fire / Ice 3 Lightning Helix 3 Orim's Chant 3 Spell Snare 3 Thirst For Knowledge Legendary Creatures 2 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir |
Sorceries 3 Wrath of God Artifact Lands 3 Seat of the Synod Basic Lands 4 Island 2 Plains Lands 4 Flooded Strand 3 Hallowed Fountain 1 Polluted Delta 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Steam Vents Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge | 4 Dwarven Blastminer 2 Meddling Mage 1 Absorb 1 Disenchant 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Fire / Ice 1 Lightning Helix 1 Orim's Chant 1 Stifle 1 Wipe Away 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir |
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When the fourth place deck first appeared in Top 8 lists a couple weeks ago, I dismissed it. That was probably a mistake. After watching the deck in action in both the quarters and semis, I have a different opinion. Right now, I think the Coiling Oracle / Wirewood Symbiote combination may be the best card advantage engine in the metagame. If the opponent cannot kill the 1/1s, then it can rip through more cards than practically anything else. (Fecundity Goblins might be better at digging — although Fecundity Goblins is not a better bet to make Top 8.) In any case, proxy up the deck. I don't think the Top 8s are a fluke.
Excuse me, I have to price Oppositions online.
| Opposition An Extended deck, by Colin Rafferty 4th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 2 Static Orb Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Coiling Oracle 4 Eternal Witness 4 Llanowar Elves 2 Scryb Ranger 3 Viridian Shaman 4 Wirewood Symbiote 4 Wood Elves Enchantments 3 Opposition Instants 2 Orim's Chant |
Sorceries 4 Beacon Of Creation Basic Lands 9 Forest Lands 4 Breeding Pool 1 Temple Garden 3 Windswept Heath 2 Wooded Foothills Legendary Lands 1 Pendelhaven | 2 Xantid Swarm 2 Ground Seal 3 Krosan Grip 3 Spell Snare 1 Stifle 3 Trickbind 1 Kataki, War's Wage |
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Three people brought Opposition decks to the party. One made Top 8. That's decent, but G/W Astral Slide decks fared even better. Two people sleeved up Slide decks, and both made the Top 32. That is by far the strongest showing of any archetype. Get out your Sharpies, here's another overlooked archetype to add to your test gauntlet.
| Slide An Extended deck, by Shawn Iden 5th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Creatures 3 Eternal Witness 3 Loxodon Hierarch 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder Enchantments 4 Astral Slide Instants 4 Gilded Light 3 Renewed Faith Sorceries 3 Life from the Loam 4 Living Wish 3 Plow Under 4 Wrath of God |
Basic Lands 4 Forest 3 Plains Lands 3 Nantuko Monastery 4 Secluded Steppe 3 Temple Garden 4 Tranquil Thicket 4 Windswept Heath | 1 Sundering Titan 1 Eternal Witness 1 Harmonic Sliver 1 Loaming Shaman 1 Loxodon Hierarch 3 Krosan Grip 3 Orim's Chant 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Blinkmoth Well 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All |
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Sixth place was taken by a well-known archetype: Aggro Loam. Cycling lands and Life from the Loam has been doing well online since Ravnica appeared. No real surprises — this is pretty much the decklist that took both first and second in the recent LA PTQ, right down to the low Devastating Dreams count and the Dark Confidants.
| Aggro Loam An Extended deck, by Justin Meyer 6th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 1 Engineered Explosives Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Dark Confidant 4 Terravore 3 Wall of Roots Enchantments 3 Seismic Assault |
Instants 2 Putrefy Sorceries 4 Burning Wish 3 Cabal Therapy 2 Devastating Dreams 2 Duress 3 Life from the Loam Basic Lands 1 Forest 2 Mountain 1 Swamp Lands 1 Blood Crypt 3 Bloodstained Mire 4 Forgotten Cave 2 Ghost Quarter 1 Overgrown Tomb 2 Stomping Ground 4 Tranquil Thicket 4 Wooded Foothills | 3 Ravenous Baloth 2 Smother 1 Cabal Therapy 1 Chainer's Edict 1 Deathmark 1 Devastating Dreams 1 Hull Breach 1 Life from the Loam 4 Shattering Spree |
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Seventh place is not an archetype I recognize. It is, however, extremely interesting. It's almost like the pilot just decided to play all the good cards in the format, provided they cost two or less, and then added Trinket Mage. Or something like that. I didn't get to see this deck in action, mainly because the games seemed to end pretty damn fast. I'm going to have to check this out, and see if I can build it online.
It may look janky, but think about it for a while. Then proxy it up.
| Trinkety Zoo An Extended deck, by Eric Powleit 7th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 1 Engineered Explosives 3 Isochron Scepter 1 Pithing Needle 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 3 Sensei's Divining Top 1 Tormod's Crypt Creatures 4 Dark Confidant 4 Grim Lavamancer 4 Kird Ape 3 Trinket Mage Instants 4 Fire / Ice 4 Lightning Helix 4 Shrapnel Blast |
Artifact Lands 1 Ancient Den 2 Great Furnace 1 Vault of Whispers Basic Lands 1 Mountain Basic Snow Lands 1 Snow-Covered Mountain Lands 3 Barbarian Ring 2 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 1 Sacred Foundry 2 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 4 Wooded Foothills | 1 Engineered Explosives 4 Dwarven Blastminer 3 Ancient Grudge 4 Ghastly Demise 3 Stifle |
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Feldman and Hill had some impact on the metagame. Mike Flores has, too. Eight people brought versions of his G/W Haterator deck. This has clearly been revamped and tuned a lot (or, more probably, evolved separately), but it is at least the right colors. I love Phantom Centaurs with Armadillo Cloaks and / or Swords, and this deck does that. Heck, it even has the Feldman / Hill tech of four Chalice of the Voids. The most interesting innovation in this deck, however, is the four Ghost Quarters, plus a Red splash for Dwarven Blastminers from the sideboard. Tron much? Not against this deck.
Another player piloting the same deck finished sixteenth — not bad results at all.
| G/W Aggro An Extended deck, by Brandon Scheel 8th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 4 Chalice of the Void 3 Chrome Mox 2 Sword of Fire and Ice Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Llanowar Elves 3 Loxodon Hierarch 3 Phantom Centaur 4 Troll Ascetic Enchantments 4 Armadillo Cloak 2 Worship Legendary Artifacts 3 Umezawa's Jitte |
Snow Creatures 4 Ohran Viper Basic Lands 2 Forest 1 Plains Lands 4 Ghost Quarter 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Stomping Ground 4 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath 3 Wooded Foothills | 4 Dwarven Blastminer 1 Worship 3 Ancient Grudge 3 Krosan Grip 4 Plow Under |
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The ninth place deck is probably the closest thing to a classic Rock deck to see play. It has Duress and Pernicious Deed — even Withered Wretch. Overall, Rock did not do all that well. Destructive Flow Rock was the single most commonly played archetype, and it did not fare well at all. Four players brought Gifts Rock variants, and one a Flores-style Contested Cliffs version. They all lost badly. I have to concede that I had a Flow Rock variant (with Centaurs and Cloaks), but I don't really expect that I would have done all that well with it. My version was built for fun, not winning. This version, however, did go 6-1-1 and missed Top 8 on tiebreakers.
| B/W/G Aggro An Extended deck, by Taylor Laehen 9th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Creatures 4 Dark Confidant 2 Jotun Grunt 2 Loxodon Hierarch 3 Phantom Centaur 3 Wall of Roots 2 Withered Wretch Enchantments 4 Pernicious Deed Instants 1 Ghastly Demise |
Sorceries 4 Call of the Herd 4 Duress 4 Gerrard's Verdict 4 Vindicate Basic Lands 2 Forest 1 Plains 4 Swamp Lands 2 Caves of Koilos 1 Godless Shrine 1 Llanowar Wastes 1 Nantuko Monastery 3 Overgrown Tomb 3 Polluted Delta 1 Temple Garden 4 Windswept Heath | 1 Jotun Grunt 1 Loxodon Hierarch 1 Withered Wretch 2 Ghastly Demise 2 Naturalize 2 Kataki, War's Wage 4 Cabal Therapy 2 Global Ruin |
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The next three decks were pretty much standard versions of the archetypes.
Affinity — Eric Luck, 10th
Boros — Manuel Fernandes, 11th
Flow Rock, Aaron Dettman, 12th
The next deck, on the other hand, is not at all a netdeck. R/G Aggro had three pilots, and two made Top 32. Once again, that's a whole lot better odds than most of the more common archetypes. It's far better than Tenacious Tron, or Boros, or even Affinity.
| R/G Aggro An Extended deck, by Peter McGrain 13th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Creatures 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Grim Lavamancer 3 Phantom Centaur 4 Troll Ascetic 4 Wild Mongrel Instants 3 Char 4 Sudden Shock 2 Violent Eruption Legendary Artifacts 3 Umezawa's Jitte |
Sorceries 4 Call of the Herd 3 Firebolt Basic Lands 6 Forest 3 Mountain 1 Swamp Lands 1 Blood Crypt 3 Bloodstained Mire 1 Overgrown Tomb 3 Stomping Ground 4 Wooded Foothills | 4 Pyrostatic Pillar 3 Krosan Grip 4 Cabal Therapy 4 Duress |
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Storming Goblins — Matt Duefler, 14th
A quick note on Goblins. Seven players apparently thought this was Legacy, so they brought Goblins. Without Aether Vial and Goblin Lackey, Goblins are not the be-all and end-all of the format. Five of the Goblin decks were storm / Empty the Warrens versions. Two were Fecundity / Dirty Kitty versions. One was a straight Legacy port — or maybe a leftover from 2004. In any case, they did not do well overall.
The next deck, on the other hand, also seems like a throwback — at least to me. This seems like something from Invasion block. I can't really say much more than that — I haven't played anything like this combination of Trinket Mage and discard either online or in real life. I'd like to, though.
| B/W/U Trinket Mage An Extended deck, by Martin Lawrence 15th place at a Pro Tour Qualifier tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on 2007-02-11 | ||
Artifacts 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Pithing Needle 1 Sensei's Divining Top 1 Tormod's Crypt Creatures 4 Dark Confidant 4 Descendant of Kiyomaro 4 Meddling Mage 4 Silver Knight 3 Trinket Mage Legendary Artifacts 3 Umezawa's Jitte Sorceries 4 Duress 4 Gerrard's Verdict 4 Vindicate Artifact Lands 1 Ancient Den 1 Vault of Whispers |
Basic Lands 1 Island 2 Plains 1 Swamp Lands 3 Flooded Strand 4 Godless Shrine 2 Hallowed Fountain 3 Polluted Delta 2 Watery Grave Legendary Lands 2 Flagstones of Trokair | 1 Engineered Explosives 2 Pithing Needle 2 Worship 2 Disenchant 3 Smother 2 Stifle 3 Kataki, War's Wage |
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G/W Aggro — Daniel Hoppestad, 16th See the G/W Aggro deck that finished eighth.
I'm pushing deadline already, so I'll save some of the other notes and decklists for later. I'll conclude with a list of interesting things I found in the decklists.
Cards I Didn't Expect
* Guilty Conscience
* Stuffy Doll
* Peach Tree Oath
Old Archetypes Live Again
* Sunny Side Up
* U/G Madness
* CAL
* B/W Braids (2)
* Fires of Yavimaya
Completely Off the Radar Archetypes
* Zuberas with a Splice engine
* Rats w/ Coat of Arms
* Erayo
* Glare of Subdual
As a closer, here's a deck that hit a nostalgic cord. It was like it was 2001 again, in Las Vegas. Ingrid dominated the Women's Open at GP: Vegas with her version Star Spangled Slaughter. This deck was pretty close to a card for card recreation. Its pilot dropped, but I still like the deck. I just don't recommend it.
| Star Spangled Slaughter Featured by Phil Ives on 2007-02-11 (Extended) | ||
Artifacts 2 Chalice of the Void 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Pithing Needle 2 Sword of Fire and Ice 1 Tormod's Crypt Creatures 3 Exalted Angel 4 Lightning Angel 4 Trinket Mage Instants 4 Counterspell 4 Lightning Helix 3 Spell Snare 3 Stifle 4 Thirst For Knowledge Artifact Lands 1 Ancient Den 1 Great Furnace |
Basic Lands 3 Island 2 Plains Lands 1 Barbarian Ring 4 Flooded Strand 4 Hallowed Fountain 1 Sacred Foundry 3 Steam Vents 3 Windswept Heath Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins | 1 Pithing Needle 2 Trinisphere 3 March of the Machines 3 Disenchant 2 Umezawa's Jitte 4 Wrath of God |
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And that has got to be it. I'm at deadline. I know that's a rotten way to end something, but sometimes needs must out.
PRJ
pete {dot} jahn {at} Verizon {dot} net
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