Hello, everybody; I hope that you will share the joy that I've had at my best-ever performance at playing this complicated game.

Since you probably have no idea who I am, let me say that I am a thirty-three year old dentist from Thessaloniki, Greece with a huge love for this game. You can understand that my playing time is limited due to other aspects of adult life catching up to me, but I try to get as much playing time as I can. While I consider myself a decent player, up to now I had not had any major accomplishments besides a top 4 in the 99 Minnesota state championship, a top 8 at Greek Nationals 2000, and a few top 8's in local and international PTQs. My best format has always been Constructed, and my rating has hovered around the 1900's for the last year or so. My favorite aspect of deck building is to tinker with established decks to make them fit my play style.

After making top 4 in a three-hundred person PTQ in London during Gencon, I was able to win the local PTQ in Thessaloniki, Greece and earn the qualification for Houston (thanks, Thanos - you know why!). If I ever was going to play in a PT, an Extended one would be my choice - so there I was, ready to go!!

I had the pleasure of traveling with Jon Kosmidis who qualified through the other Greek PTQ and is one the best players in Greece. He went on to prove my words with a 35^th place performance with Cognivore Oath.

The Deck
I have been playing The Rock ever since it was Standard-legal; it actually gave me a 5-0-1 record in that year's National Championship to put me in Top 8. I even played it last year when it wasn't the best deck by any means, so there was no question as to what I would be playing in Houston. I was especially excited about the prospect of adding Living Wish, Cabal Therapy, and Genesis to the deck. So here it was (and a little different than the coverage at the end of day one in Sideboard online. Aaron Forsythe missed out on a few things - especially the Phyrexian Plaguelords, who also do not appear in the complete decklists either):

Rock Therapy
(No I didn't rip off the deck name from Darwin Kastle; I thought about it the night before because it sounded cool!!)

4 Birds of Paradise
3 Llanowar Elves
4 Yavimaya Elder
2 Yavimaya Granger
3 Spiritmonger
3 Phyrexian Plaguelord (MVP)
2 Deranged Hermit
4 Pernicious Deed
4 Cabal Therapy (very good)
3 Living Wish
2 Vampiric Tutor
2 Living Death
1 Haunting Echoes
1 Island
1 Volrath's Stronghold
2 Dustbowl
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Polluted Mire
4 Swamp
3 Treetop Village
8 Forest

Sideboard:
1 Genesis
1 Boneshredder
1 Gilded Drake (co-MVP)
1 Ravenous Baloth
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Grand Coliseum
2 Chainer's Edict
2 Coffin Purge
2 Duress
3 Naturalize

Card Analysis
Yep, it's 61 cards - I just like the 24/61 land count better than either 23/60 or 24/60. I won't really go into statistics here, but if you don't like the 61 cards you'll have to pick the odd one out. Now here is an explanation of my choices.

Phyrexian Plaguelord/Deranged Hermit: Well, that's why the deck is called The Rock!! G/B Control decks that don't have Plaguelord don't deserve the name. Even though Sol Malka, who designed the deck, downgraded the lord/Hermit combo and insisted on Spiritmonger as the weapon of choice, I will disagree and go back to the basics. In an environment with lots of single creature kill (Edicts) and creature stealing (Gilded Drake, Treachery) the Rock and his Minions get to shine again, just like they did back then. I was never unhappy to have a Plaguelord, and there were many cases where a Spiritmonger would not have gotten it done. But then again, Darwin Kastle made top 4 without either 'Lord or Hermit, so you decide.

I have to add that the Plaguelord is especially important in the mirror, as much of our playtesting showed. Whoever got him first would be in great shape to win the game. As you will see, he also helped kill Hermit Druids, excess Saproling tokens, and anything that got in his way.

Cabal Therapy: This got the nod over Duress at the last minute. I played with Therapy in my U/B aggro deck in the Block PTQ's and was really happy with the way it played. It only made sense to include it in this deck, since there were many creatures that could be used for the flashback (excess Birds or Elves, Elders or Grangers before echo, squirrels).

Yavimaya Granger: This was another last-minute addition. I just wanted another mana fixing creature and a way to quickly get to five mana (possibly on my third turn) in order to start playing any of my powerful 5 cc spells. He was a solid choice and helped a lot. Many of my opponents had to read what the card did!

Haunting Echoes: With two tutors, I figured that they could be found at the right moment or lay in the deck when they were not needed. They did help me to win some games and I would probably play them again.

Living Death: I opted to skip Recurring Nightmare and go for two deaths, which I think were a little too much. Probably one Death and one Nightmare would have been more useful - and would have gotten me a win vs. Rob Dougherty.

Spiritmonger: As I said before, I don't value this card as high as I used to. They could go in favor of another Hermit and maybe two Ravenous Baloths to fight beatdown better. One could be moved to the sideboard to help in some matchups.

Vampiric Tutor and Living Wish: I would probably reverse the numbers, or maybe go 4-1 like Darwin Kastle did. The truth is, you never want to wish more than once or twice during the game. Both spells where crucial and provided many game wins.

Island and Polluted Mire: The best idea I had during testing, which was also discovered by most other Greek players. Larkin mentioned that he could not make it stick in his testing, but I don't see why; I almost never had a problem getting the blue mana for Gilded Drake when I needed it, either via Mire, Bird, Elder, or Granger. If I had known any better, it would have also offered the choice of Llawan, Cephalid Empress to fight Psychatog.

Sideboard options:

Genesis: Very helpful in the mirror match or against decks with creatures

Gilded Drake: Just great

Uktabi Orangutan: I never faced Tinker, so I can't say if it was needed.

Boneshredder: He was sometimes useful, but never first-rate. Maybe Faceless Butcher could fill his role and allow for a great interaction with Plaguelord.

Ravenous Baloth: One is just not enough. Maybe if he could be combined with a couple more maindeck it would make a difference.

Grand Coliseum: Really a tough choice. There were games where I got it, but I believe I lost most of them anyway. If you need it, you are probably in trouble already and it might not be enough to get you out of it.

Edicts, Purge, Duress, Naturalize: Absolutely essential - all of them are needed against the usual matchups. I liked Chainer's more than Diabolic Edict because of the flashback, which was relevant in many games, and Coffin Purge was preferred over Planar Void since it's still active even after it's discarded via Duress. Play with the numbers of each to fit your style.

Missing Cards
Stronghold Taskmaster: I had no idea how Aluren would get the combo off, so I never even considered his usefulness. It's really good to have against black beatdown as well.

Llawan, Cephalid Empress: I was really upset for missing out on that one. To think I had already acquired four when it came out, all in order to fight 'Tog decks! And then I expected people to play Tog in Houston, but did not come up with Llawan as an option. Even though they play with Edict, Llawan is fairly easy to play and keep alive against Tog decks; it would have made a difference, I think.

What Would I Change In This Deck?
Out: Three Spiritmongers, one Living Death, one Living Wish
In: One Deranged Hermit, two Ravenous Baloths, one Recurring Nightmare, one Vampiric Tutor

Sideboard:
Out: One Grand Colisseum, one Uktabi Orangutan, one Boneshredder
In: One Spiritmonger, one Llawan, one Stronghold Taskmaster

Why Play This Deck?
Because you're like me and like the interaction and the excitement during a game of Magic. It's probably not the best deck around - but it's certainly not the worst, either. Every game will be challenging, offer lots of opportunities to outthink yourself and your opponent and the deck will provide the tools to win. I heard Ken Krouner say during the PT that the Rock wins about 55% of the time, and I will probably agree. It wins more than it loses, but it's never easy. So there you go.

Good Matchups: Mirror, Reanimator, green beatdown/stompy, suicide black
50-50 Matchups: Combo decks
Bad Matchups: Sligh (though this might be fixed with maindecked Baloths), Psychatog (maybe less with Llawan in the sideboard)

PT HOUSTON: THE REPORT

PT Houston: The Report
Round 1: Karim Aouidad (France), U/B Reanimator final finish: 327
Karim is playing the French version of Reanimator with a blue splash for Careful Study, Mana Leak, and Mystical Tutor, along with Rushing River to fight Planar Void.

First game, we both started slow; something that usually works to my advantage. I used Cabal Therapy to get rid of a few Mana Leaks; I think he drew all four that game! In the fifth or sixth round, Karim exhumed a Verdant Force; I cast Living Wish for Gilded Drake, stole his force, and we moved on to the next game.

Out 2 Granger, 2 Hermit, 2 Plaguelords (this would later switch to two 'mongers)
In 2 Edict, 2 Coffin Purge, 2 Duress
Second game he plays first, casts Careful Study, discards Verdant - and before I can breathe, he Exhumes it. On my second turn, I do have the Living Wish for the Gilded Drake, but when I cast it next turn (I even managed to have the lone island!), he had the Mana Leak. Since Verdant puts you on a very short clock, we moved on.

Game three we again both start slow, which allows me to build up to seven or eight mana and not fear his mana leaks, since he only has one blue source. At some point I Living Wish for Drake, and I also had Living Death in hand. I don't remember exactly how I ended up winning, but Karim didn't have a chance in this game after his slow start, since I had all the answers. I believe his first reanimation attempt resulted in my casting Living Death and still holding on to the Drake, and eventually beating down with small two-power men. A good match and a nice opponent.

Match Record 1-0

Round 2: Marco Dolazza (Italy) Mono-B Reanimator, final finish: 280
Another version of Reanimator, this one more like last year's Benzo deck.

Game one we both start slow, me with forest and two Dustbowls and Marco with swamp and two Rishadan Ports. Turn three he Buried Alive a Squee, a Verdant, and... a Petradon!

To be honest, I had not thought of Petradon in such decks, so his appearance came as big surprise. When all could answer with was a Granger to fetch some more land, you can understand what happened when Petradon was Exhumed next turn, along with Marco drawing his third (!) port.

Same sideboarding as before.

Game two was also quite interesting: Marco switched to a sideboard with Mesmeric Fiends, which he cast on turn 2, nabbing my Vampiric Tutor. I had already played a Pernicious Deed, and later drew a Living Wish. Marco played a Zombie Infestation, discarded a Verdant, and reanimated it. I blew the Deed for two at the end of the turn, got my Tutor, which I used in my upkeep to get an island, and after laying the island I Wished once more for the Drake and that was it. He kept hitting me with the Drake while he got some fiends and zombies to chomp with, but eventually he ran out.

Game three outlined the power of Cabal Therapy. He started cautiously with a swamp, but did not Entomb anything in fear of my Purges (which was a good play, since I actually had one in hand). After laying a swamp for my Purge turn 1, I played forest, Bird on turn 2 and applied some Therapy on his hand. I successfully got Exhume - and when I saw two Entombs, I happily sacked my bird to get these two (he was tapped out from playing Infestation at that point). After that, Marcos hand was reduced to almost nothing, while I got a small army of creatures to beat him down.

Another nice opponent and another good match.

Match record 2-0

Round 3: Ricardo Barros (Brazil), mono-G Hermit, final finish 98
Ricardo was playing the same deck as Diego Ostrovich (see round 14), based on acceleration to Deranged Hermits, Skyshroud Poachers, and Living Wish to fetch whatever was deemed useful from the sideboard. Obviously, my deck packing three Plaguelords was not a good matchup for these guys.

Game one was a testament as to how their deck can beat Rock. While I took some early damage from elephant tokens and elves, I eventually laid down a Plaguelord, who, along with a Deed and some birds, cleared his side of the table. I followed up with a Spiritmonger and easily won....

Ooops, that's not what happened, since Ricardo got some loving from his deck and started topdecking answers one after the other while he was at three mana. Hermit, Poacher, another Hermit, Call. I was only drawing land in the meantime, which meant that the 'Monger was being blocked by an endless supply of squirrels, while a massive army amassed on the other side. I eventually could not hold on defense and lost a game I thought should have been over a long time ago.

Out: 1 Haunting Echoes and 1 Cabal Therapy for 2 Chainer's Edict

Game two saw me with a slow opening hand that featured both Plaguelord and Hermit, so I kept it hoping for a slow draw from Ricardo. Indeed, he did not have any acceleration of his own, so he got a slow start and beat me down to four - but then I got Plaguelord and Hermit recursion via Volrath's Stronghold, along with ten mana. Gotta love it when that happens... And once again, we are on to game 3.

Game three, Ricardo starts well with Rofellos, but I have Edict to stop any turn 3 Hermit madness. I answer with Elf - and as his hand is rather slow, Ricardo plays Topple (sideboard anti-fattie tech) on the elf. Obviously, he has another, so I was not very surprised when my turn 5 'Monger joined the elf. He wished for Genesis and started using it to get Rofellos back, and played a Slate of Ancestry. He didn't have too much mana to activate it, however, and a later Therapy showed two more stuck in his hand. I played a Deed and killed his creatures when he activated it, so no cards and no hand for him. I eventually got a Plaguelord and quickly finished him.

Ricardo was one of the nicest guys I played all weekend and the game was played in good spirits. Obviously, he realized how bad a matchup my deck was to his.

Match record 3-0

Round 4: Gabriel Carleton-Barnes (USA), U/B Psychatog, final finish 32
It seems that Americans love Psychatog, as most of them were playing variations of that deck. Gabe had retired for a while, only to come back and qualify on his first try - so he's obviously a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, the lack of Llawan from my sideboard severely reduced my chances against Psychatog.

Game 1: I try to apply some beatdown and get him down to seven before he drops a tog. I living wish for Drake and steal his 'Tog - only to have him play two more! He had no counters at the time, so imagine how bad Llawan would have been.

Out 2 'Mongers, 2 Granger
In 2 Edict, 2 Duress

Game 2: He can't find black mana, and I am beating down with elder and elf. At some point, I tap out to cast something; he counters and proceeds to Treachery my Yavimaya Elder! So he gets the black mana with my cards - as if he needed more card advantage. He had so many cards at one point that he decided to Foil a lowly Llanowar Elves. When he played a Tog and I went for Echoes, he Foiled again and that was game.

I really took a beating in this round; I was not in the game at any point of the match. Gabe was another nice opponent. I wished him luck and moved on.

Match record 3-1

Round 5: Charles Gindy (USA), mono-B Reanimator final finish 122
Charles is a teenager from Florida who's playing in his first Pro Tour, so he is as happy as I am to be here.

Game One: I get a better start with a quick 'Monger, who is followed by a Plaguelord a few turns later. He Exhumed a Crosis and we trade blows for a while, until he hard casts Visara .

(Side note: I heard Americans pronounce her with the stress on the I; we in Greece call her viza'ra, which also means"excellent breast" - so there you go.)

I lay a Village, activate it, and use it with Plaguelord to kill her so my Monger can finish the job, right? Wrong; I put my thoughts on the stack, first in last out, so I first killed the 'Lord and at the same time killed the Village, so it didn't work. Charles was quite strict on it and called a judge. I can't blame him.

Dismissing that mistake from my mind, I followed up with another Plaguelord that I had in my hand. Facing lethal damage and obviously not wanting to chump with Crosis, he used Viza'ra to kill my 'Monger the next turn, which allowed my Lord to kill her along with Treetop - in the right order, this time. This gave me a couple more turns to draw an answer to Crosis - which I did, first with a Wish for Drake and then with a Deed to get my Drake out of the way for his Crosis to finish him off.

Obviously, I was quite relieved that my earlier mistake did not cost me the game.

Sideboard: Same as before

Game two, he had the good start and pretty soon a Crosis was taking advantage of my forest-screwed hand to make me discard five green cards. You can guess what happens in cases like these.

Game three is much better for me, as he is unable to get a good start (I believe he mulliganed as well), and I am able to beat him down with Granger and Elder with a Drake and Living Death as backup for any reanimation plans of his.

Match Record 4-1.

At this point I am wondering whether it is wise to offer the draw right away and guarantee a spot in day 2. I finally decide to go for the win and see what happens.

Round 6: Roc Herms (Spain), angry Terravore/Hermit, final finish 49
Roc is playing the Spanish version of the broken Hermit combo, where they Unearth a hasted Terravore with an Anger in the yard, after having milled all the deck through the Hermit Druid until they get a lone mountain and Reclaim the Unearths.

I really hate combo decks, so I will do my best to beat him.

Game one is not really worth talking about, since he had to mulligan to five, going first, in order to get a decent hand. I can't really feel sorry when combo players have to take such mulligans, since they are looking for specific cards in their hand in order to get the combo - which can put a strain on what they feel are playable hands. By the time he gets a Hermit Druid down, I already have Plaguelord, so the Hermit never got active to do his job.

In: 2 Duress, 2 Edict, 2 Purge; out 2 Hermit, 2 Granger, 2 'Monger

I got to taste the combo in game two, where his deck made up for the previous mulligan. Turn 1 druid through Mox Diamond, turn 2 activation to mill all the deck (mountain was the last card!) and turn 3 kill with Terravore. I didn't have time to blink.

Game three goes a lot better, though, since he is not very happy with his hand. I Duress early to take Unearth, and play a Deed. I blow it when he tutors and plays a Druid, then follow up with a Living Wish for Boneshredder to take care of the next one he plays. He never gets an active Druid and falls to Treetop Beats.

Match Record 5-1

Round 7: Joshua Marrick (USA), Three-Deuce (!!!), final finish 68
Never expected to see this deck around - but obviously, Joshua has had good success with it so far, so he is to be congratulated. He passed on the white, and made a classic R/G beatdown deck with Tangle Wires. I hope that he doesn't get a very good start and then I should be okay.

Game one he starts with double-Mogg Fanatic, but he is stuck on one land. When I Therapy for Cursed Scroll turn 2, I see two Skyshroud Elites and no green mana yet - so my turn 3 elf takes one for the team before the Fanatics do him in to discard the Elite. Turn 4 Granger fixes my mana and expends his burn spells. He lays a forest and a Wild Mongrel, but by now I have five mana to play and Deed for two to clear the table at eight life. This turns out to be enough, as a succession of Plaguelords and Hermits are enough to finish the game.

Out: 1 Echoes, 1 Therapy; in 2 Edicts

Game 2: He starts better, with Jackal Pup and Elite, while I get a Bird burned. I have a lot of five casting-cost goodies, so I want to get to five mana quickly.

Quick Test: Turn 3, I have a Deed and a Granger and I am at eleven life. My opponent has two mana and Pup/Elite. What would you play: Deed or Granger?

I go for Granger, only to have it burned EOT and see a tangle wire enter play next round, which sealed the game for him. Wrong choice.

However, game three I get an aggressive draw that results in a quick monger followed by Plaguelord. He never gets in the game and I win handily at about twenty life.

So at the end of day one I stand at 6-1; not too bad for my first Pro Tour. Jon Kosmidis concludes the solid Greek performance with a 5-2-1 record to make day two as well. Go, Greece!

Day 2

Round 8: Jun Ishihara (Japan) Rock final finish: 13
Jun is probably a new player, since I now see him above me on the Rookie Of The Year rankings. He is playing a Rock deck that features Baloths and Mongrels.

Game one starts slow for me, as after a mulligan I am land shy and have to Living Wish for a Coliseum to get going. However, since by the third turn Jun has not played anything important, I correctly guess that he has a 'Monger and make him discard it via Therapy. He follows with a Baloth and beats me down with Baloth and a Treetop. I stabilize with a Plaguelord and Deed (I also have a bird out), so he cannot attack anymore. He plays and sacks two Elders, which puts him ahead in the resource race - but I'm getting ready for the cool play.

I sac the Bird and the Plaguelord at the end of turn to kill his Baloth, and cast Echoes the next turn, removing his Baloths, Elders, and 'Mongers. I am ready to follow that with a Living Death so that I can get back 'Lord and Bird, when he plays a Dustbowl and wrecks my mana base. He eventually ends it with Treetop and Mongrel beats.

In 2 Edict, 2 Purge, out 3 'Mongers, 1 Granger.

In the mirror match, my configuration favors the lord/Hermit combo; I don't think the 'Mongers are relevant, so I boarded them out, since I was still able to bring them in with Living Wish if I needed them.

Game 2 was quite interesting; we both had good starts. I missed on a Therapy - and when I played an Elder on turn 3, he Coffin Purged the therapy so I could not play it again. Preparing for my next plays, I Purged his Purge in the graveyard. He started beating down with Baloth and Treetop again; I living wished for Genesis and played Plaguelord. When I later followed up with a Hermit and Genesis in the yard (he blocked a Baloth at some point), the game got academic; I killed all his creatures and started beating down with the lord. Although he had two Deeds, he did not have eight mana and was forced to blow them on the same round he played them, as I was also beating down with two (and then one) Treetop. A monger tried to block at some point but got angry squirrels thrown at him. At some point my lord went to the graveyard (maybe an edict) but I just got him back and ended the game.

Game 3 was a little anti-climactic. Jun started with a treetop and two colorless nonbasics, and could not find another colored mana source for several rounds. This allowed me to apply some Therapy on his hand, picking, in succession, a Deed, two Elders, and a 'Monger. Although he had Living Wish in his hand, he later admitted he did not run any land in the sideboard. While I was clearly in a good position, I did not have any threats on the table for a while - until I drew a Hermit, paid the echo, and went all the way with him and his friends.

Jun was a really nice opponent, and I really enjoyed the game, especially when he noted my cards were Japanese after a Duress, and he would utter Japanese expressions whenever I played a strong card. I was glad to see him do well after our match; he did better than I did, actually.

Match record 7-1

Round 9: Kamiel Cornelissen (Holland) , Angry Hermit Final finish: 20
Well, here I was in the big leagues - playing at table 2 against an established pro. Kamiel was running the Hermit Druid/Sutured Ghoul combo deck. I had seen him play next to me earlier, so I had a good idea of how the deck won with the druid trick..

Game one, Kamiel shows me how the deck can win without Hermit Druid. While I play Therapy for Hermit Druid, I see him Entomb and Exhume a Verdant Force! I certainly wasn't expecting that, since I was under the impression that he only won with druid combo. Ooops.

I was not able to mount any substantial defense in the few turns I had left, and quickly lost that one.

Sideboard: In 2 Duress, 2 Edict, 2 Purge; out, 2 Hermits, 3 'Mongers, 1 Granger. I really wanted Plaguelords in this matchup, and boy was I right about that!!

Game 2: Kamiel keeps a rather questionable hand with one land and then draws a second Forsaken City. It did have a Druid, though, so when he played him, I Tutored for Edict and got him next turn. A Plaguelord came down, and after a futile attempt to Exhume the Druid (he fell to Plaguelord activation) and having discarded way too many cards to untap the cities, I won the game and we moved on to a crucial game 3.

Game 3 saw him mulligan to five cards. I remember him saying the day before that with such a deck, you basically mulligan until you get a good hand, so I guess that's what he was doing. I was certainly quite hopeful after this turn of events and decided to keep my Duress, Plaguelord, and five-land hand. I figured that by the time he got going I would have removed his best threat with Duress and have Plaguelord to kill druids with. He only had five cards, after all...

Well, I did not get my wish. After Kamiel played a land, I drew a second Duress and saw his hand, after he Entombed a Verdant: Two Vampiric Tutor and a Hermit Druid! I don't think he could have asked for a better five-land hand: Land, Entomb, two tutors and Druid! I take one tutor and say go. Next turn, there is no point in playing the second Duress, as he tutors for an Exhume (he also drew and played a land in his turn) and I am facing a third-turn Verdant Force again. I play a Plaguelord and take one big hit from the force before Kamiel has to hold back because of the lord and try to get me with tokens. I had already played a Deed as well, so he could not play the Druid in his hand (and I'm not sure he had the green mana to do it anyway).

The Plaguelord holds back while Saprolings slowly take me down. In the meanwhile I am not drawing anything remotely good for those few turns after the deed, but I get a bird and ramp up to six mana. The bird has to block and kill a token to keep me at five life and I am still holding on to the Deed... Then I draw an Edict and things really turn around. I deed for zero, then edict him, and start hitting with Plaguelord and a village to get him to seven (since he had taken pain from fetch lands and tutors early on). Kamiel attempted another Exhume, which brought his Verdant Force and my Bird back into play. So next turn I tap my bird for mana, sac it to kill the lone saproling, and flash the Edict back with my remaining six mana, killing the Force for the second time in the same game! Next round, it was all over and once again I was really happy with having played with Plaguelord once more.

Kamiel commented that I had to draw the Deed to save myself, but there were really a big variety of spells that could have turned the game around (anything with the word"Living" would have been fine as well; Death or Wish). Overall, it was a good game and Kamiel was a total gentleman throughout the match - and more importantly, a total gentleman in defeat as well.

Match record 8-1. At this point I was really thinking about possibilities of a high finish! I had to, since I was second in the standings - which, from what I heard later, made a lot of my Magic mates in Greece quite happy. I was really hoping to play Darwin Kastle, who was seeded first, since I was quite confident that I had a good chance in the almost-mirror Rock match. But unfortunately, I got paired down...

Round 9: Peter Myrvig (Denmark) Psychatog Final finish: 5
Peter was playing a variation of the Psychatog deck, I guess most of you have seen it since he made top 8 with it. I was really unhappy about playing that matchup again, but intended to do my best, since I was still playing on the top table of the tournament.

Game one: I get a slow start, but so did he. I played a Plaguelord, which got Memory Lapsed twice and then bounced with Boomerang. I had seen his hand with Therapy that turn, and knew that he did not have a counter... So when next round he played the Tog I had seen in his hand and I went for a Haunting Echoes, I was dismayed to see him play Counterspell, which he had just topdecked.

If the Echoes had resolved, the game would have gotten quite interesting since he would avoid the Echoes effect via tog - but then he would have needed quite a few new cards to kill me before I got him. During that game, I got a warning from the table judge for not removing Living Wish from the game but putting it into the graveyard. When I asked the judge what would happen if I did it again, he said that it might be upgraded to a game loss.

So during game two when I did it again, Peter jumped on the opportunity to cheese out a win. He immediately called the judges over to get me a game loss. When I commented that he was acting like a fifteen-year old, he just shrugged his shoulders. So much for good gamesmanship this round. It turned out that head judge Rune Horvik did not feel this warranted a game loss - thank God for a sensible head judge! Being as it was, I asked one of the judges to stick around to watch my opponents' slow play, since after his game one win, every Brainstorm took an eternity to resolve. It was especially funny to see him think for about two minutes when he was tapped out and I Edicted his tog (no, he was not playing ACC counters). At that point, the judge had had enough and gave him a warning for slow play... So we were tied, at least.

As for the actual game, it went quite better for me, since I got him to dump all four togs to his graveyard. (The first went in a Fact or Fiction 4-1 split, the second and third to Edict, and the fourth to Cabal Therapy, if I recall correctly). A mix of discard and Edicts kept me in good control of that game. He Upheavaled after losing the fourth tog, that but only managed to eat more time off the clock until I replayed my two Treetops and finally got the win.

I also got another warning for forgetting to discard after Upheaval - and again he begged for a cheesy win, but it was not to be. Since we had only five minutes left for game three, after conferring with the judges for shuffling limits I informed him that I would be spending the rest of the time shuffling and mulliganing. I was not about to try a random"Who draws the better hand game" against this guy.

All in all, Peter was the worst-mannered opponent I faced all weekend. I can't take away his accomplishment, though - he did make top 8. I just hope it was not through cheesing out more wins by rules disputes.

Match record 8-1-1. I was still in the mix, but I had better win next round...

Round 11: Rob Dougherty (USA). Mono-b Reanimator. Final finish: 2
Well, there's not much to say about Rob, he is quite famous for this deck by now. Since I had not lost to Reanimator yet, I was quite optimistic about the game. Rob was not much of a talker, so we sat down to play right away.

Game one was probably the best I played all weekend. I won the roll and had a very good hand: Two forests, bird, Elf, Deed, Elder, Living Wish. I play the turn one bird and Rob lays a mountain.

Next turn, I draw another Elder - and here is the skill test: What is your turn 2 play? Deed, Elf, Wish or Elder? Think and I'll come back to that point.

I decide to play the Deed, so it won't fall to a duress (at this point I haven't seen what kind of discard he is packing). Rob goes end of turn Entomb, upkeep, Tutor, and reanimates a Symbiotic Wurm. (I read it since I had never seen the card before!) Now, I don't knock on my decks, but I really concentrated on the top card being a land, so I could Wish for Gilded Drake and steal his Wurm. But fate had other plans, and I drew my third elder. I decide to lay the elf and play the Wish anyway, risking the loss of the Drake if he had Therapy. So Rob plays his second Tutor (so we both had good hands, only he played his better) and actually gets a Therapy. Not only that, but when he sees the three elders in my hand, he happily sacks the Wurm to flash it back and destroy my hand - while getting seven tokens!

So going back to the skill test question, those of you who would have played the elves on turn 2 win. Since I knew what he was playing, there was no point in getting the Deed our of discard range; getting the possibility of the turn 3 Gilded Drake was much more important.

But I hadn't lost yet, since the Deed got rid of the tokens. Rob Exhumed the Wurm a couple of turns later and started hitting me again - and at six life, I draw a Tutor of my own. During his next attack, I have to chump with the Elf - but I still have a Bird and four mana on the table. He plays Last Rites; I tutor in response and think hard about what to get. Living Death would not be enough, since I would be at four life with three Elders and an Elf against seven tokens. I would draw lots of land, but I would need another Deed to get rid of the three extra tokens next round. So I went for the best staller in this scenario: Deranged Hermit.

After I played him, Rob saw that I was going to gain a lot of time and quickly played Taskmaster and Nether Spirit. I paid echo and chumped for 2 turns, until I drew my second Tutor; again, Rob played Last Rites, and again I tutored in response. This time Living Death brought things to an even keep, with me at two life. I again paid echo and we spent a couple of turns watching each other. At this point I probably should have sacked one or two elders to dig deeper, but I was too low on life to risk it... So when Rob hard-cast beautiful boob (Viza'ra), I needed a very good topdeck to survive. It didn't happen and we moved on to game two.

Sideboard: The usual vs. Reanimator

During shuffling for game two, Rob suddenly became very talkative about my playing with foils and how this could be a way to cheat on my mulligans if I"felt" the top of my deck. Apparently, there is a way to tell foils apart through the sleeves - and since most of my foils were lands, there was a good chance that"fondling" my 8^th card would give me possible insight about the increased probability of the card being a foil and therefore a land. So he actually asked the judge to deal me my seven cards!

Rob:"I'm not saying that you do such things, but there are people who do it."

Oh, but you just said that, Rob - you insinuated that I could be a cheater, and that's insulting enough for me. I don't know if he was trying to rattle the scrub he had in front of him (admittedly, he had never seen me before), or he was being overly cautious, but I believe the whole situation was blown out of proportions and we wasted a lot of time on the clock. I really have to say that throughout the next game, the table judge was constantly peeking at my deck. He probably bought into the"cheating" b.s. and wanted to make sure I was honest. Oh well, that's what you get for being an unknown playing at the top tables of the Pro Tour.

Game 2 started about the same way, with Rob getting the big Wurm in play quite early; fortunately, this time I had the Edict/Deed combo that I needed to get rid of it. A few turns later an Echoes resolved, and I removed Wurm and some reanimation spells along with Vampiric Tutors - and I also got the opportunity to notice that he had taken out all other fatties and went for the Faceless Butcher/Phyrexian Negator plan. He tried to beat me down with a Nether Spirit that he Entombed, but my Treetop came out on top and went on the offensive. His Spirit started blocking, reducing the damage race to one per turn. I also made the mistake of leaving the Reanimates in when I resolved Echoes, since he already was at three life and could not reanimate anything in his deck. But he could Reanimate my elf - and when he did, my treetop could not attack anymore. Thankfully, I drew into a Living Wish, which brought a Boneshredder to kill the Elf, and my Treetop trampled over for the last need point of damage.

So after all the time wasted with the foil thing, there were only a few minutes left for game 3 - about two, actually. Which was rather unlucky for me, since I think that with that sideboard plan, my deck would easily come out on top if I avoided the early animated Wurm. It was very strange that the table judge decided to give us two extra minutes at that time (I really have no idea why, since if it was about the time wasted before game 2 the extra time should have been awarded back then), which might have been just enough for Rob to beat me down with turn 3 Negator and turn 4 Butcher... Only things came to a standstill when I played a turn 4 Hermit while still at fifteen life, and time ran out without anyone coming on top.

We drew, for a match record of 8-1-2.

I can't say that Rob was ill-mannered during the match, it was probably his professional approach to the game, which I can understand but not adhere to. After the game, we shook hands and he commented that the games were well-played and explained a little bit more about the"foil theory." I just think he exaggerated with his suspicion of possible cheating on my part. He should know better than to say all those things to someone who had never played on the PT circuit before. I still want to congratulate him on his good performance and finals appearance.

At this point, I surely had to win next round to keep playing for the top spots.

Round 12: Craig Stevenson (UK) Sligh Final finish: 30
I remembered Craig from his top 8 appearance in Grand Prix London. Today he came with Sligh, which treated him really well on day 2, since he was 4-0 up to that point. Since he was moving up from the lower tables I didn't have the opportunity to see what he was playing earlier, so I had no idea what his deck was.

When he started with a Jackal Pup, I knew I was in trouble: With that build, my deck has many problems against Sligh. Combined with the fact that I didn't know what I was facing and kept a slow hand, Craig had no problem in quickly finishing the first game. When I cast Therapy for Blistering Firecat towards the end of game 1, he laughed and said he couldn't afford such expensive cards. Yeah, right....

Game 2 was a little strange. He started with a Fanatic and I Living Wished for a Shredder in order to kill any small creature he might play, while building up my mana. However, he kept hitting with the Mogg, and never played any other creatures. Turn 3 he played Stone Rain and stopped my acceleration, and down came the Firecats and turns 4 and 5. When I was able to wish for a Baloth and play him at four life, it was too late; I just got burned out.

Match record 8-2-2. That was quite disappointing, but I already knew that my chances of beating Sligh were not good. Craig had good hands in both games, while mine were less than optimal, with no acceleration in either of those. At least the birds and elves would have drawn some of his burn (better them than me, right?).

Craig was a nice opponent and the game went very smoothly; we didn't really have too much time to interact, it was over quite quickly anyway.

Round 13: Kyle Rose (USA), Psychatog, Final finish:9
Another bad matchup for me and by now I was getting frustrated about not being able to win and it wasn't getting any better. Oh Llawan, where art thou?

The most interesting thing about game 1 was the die roll. We both roll simultaneously and I look at his roll of five and rejoice - until I stare at my die, which was at three! This was quite important, as Kyle is able to Spike my turn 1 elf and counter a turn 3 Granger, and then played an Engineered Plague for birds, which severely limited my mana development. I was never in that game, as he kept drawing way too many cards, until he found the tog and killed me quickly.

In 2 Edict, 2 Duress, out 3 'Mongers, 1 Granger. I don't like keeping the Spiritmongers in, since they might sideboard Treachery. You have to hate getting killed by your creature.

Game 2 was a little more interesting. Kyle played many card drawing spells, but his hand was not very good. I had another slow start - but I had an Echoes in hand, waiting for the best time to use it. While I had seen his hand at some point and he didn't have counters, there was nothing exciting in the graveyard to remove. At some point he played a Tog, but could not counter the Edict I played.

It has to be noted that these decks only play with four"real" counters; the rest are Spikes and Mana Leaks, which allows for many mid-game spells to resolve if one is careful with his mana. While Kyle drew even more cards, he could not find other togs, while I could not find anything exciting either. At some point he Intuitioned and played an 'Tog, leaving two blue mana open with me having one card in hand (Echoes). He later told me that he was afraid that I had a Diabolic Edict - which, together with the Chainer's Edict in the graveyard, would have killed his last tog. But all I could do is play the echoes and pray he didn't have a counterspell, since I had the mana for a Spike or a Mana Leak. Unfortunately, Kyle had the counter and the game was soon over.

Match record 8-3-2. Kyle was a good opponent, not very talkative during the game but definitely courteous. So any chances of top 10 finish had now evaporated and my frustration was really growing, I really wanted another win. I hoped for a good matchup in the final round to end on a high note.

And at last I got a little lucky.

Round 14: Diego Ostrovich (Argentina), Mono green elves and squirrels. Final finish: 39
So this was the $2000 game. The winner would be in the teens and the loser in the forties. Now don't get me wrong; Diego is a fine player with lots of high-place finishes, but I had already faced his deck in round 3 and I was fairly certain I had the upper hand in the matchup due to the presence of the Rock and his Minions. It was time to use the deck as it was meant to be used.

Game one, I kept a hand that had Plaguelord in it and not much else. Diego started out rather slow, with turn 3 and 4 Call of the Herd. I played a Deed and was forced to blow it when he Naturalized it, but followed up with a Living Death to clear the board. Next round I also activated both Dustbowls and left him sitting on two lands. Plaguelord came down and controlled the field for the rest of the game.

Game two was much better, since Diego got off to a better start and I didn't have the 'Lord. I was able to stall the onslaught with Elders and a Deed, which allowed me to build up to eight mana. At this point, Diego had two Birds and an Elf, and played a Poacher and Fecundity - the sideboard tech to provide card advantage. The problem was that Fecundity worked equally well for me, and my cards were stronger in the midgame.

After that, I played a Hermit. Diego untapped and waited to activate Poacher in my turn. I didn't pay echo on Hermit (and drew a card from Fecundity), and played a Deed. After he activated Poacher, I blew the deed for four and killed everything except his Hermit. That meant that Diego drew nine cards and I drew four - but after his mana producers were gone, Diego only had six mana left.

During his turn, he played Call of the Herd and fecundity again, while I answered with another Hermit and the Haunting Echoes I had drawn off the Fecundity. That removed most of his threats from his deck - and the poacher that was played next turn had nothing left to Poach for!! Eventually I got a Plaguelord down and was able to overcome his defenses, while using Cabal Therapy to get rid of a Masticore in his hand as well. It was an extremely interesting game and I got down to two life before assuming control of the game.

Final record 9-3-2, Final finish 17. Diego was a very good opponent - but as we discussed after the game, the matchup was very much in my favor because of the Plaguelord. He actually told me he had defeated three other Rock decks that day.... Only those decks did not feature the Rock!

I have to say that Diego was very courteous throughout the game - and even though he was in a bad matchup and a losing position, he did not try to pull rules cheese tricks when (once again) I placed a Living Wish in my graveyard. He just asked me to remove from the game. Others might try to get match wins out of insignificant mistakes likes these.... An enjoyable opponent with a fun and original deck.

Epilogue
So this ends the story of my performance in PT Houston. In hindsight, I will say that besides playing skill and deck selection it does take luck to do very well and I believe I had some of it, especially during day 1. The deck performed just as I expected, providing for difficult, but winnable matchups. If you noticed, my first 8 wins were all won two games to one, which shows how the deck can deliver in crunchtime. I already mentioned a few tweaks that I think could have made a difference if I had any idea of the expected metagame in Houston.

To finish off, I will offer special thanks to the following people:

• Kaissa games and head coordinator for Greece, Miltos Kyrkos: The Greek distributors are doing their best in the last few years to promote high-level events and support our travel to big international events. If one considers that the last time I wrote a report in Spring of 2000, I was complaining about lack of reporting events, even in National Championships - we have come a long way. Now we can hold PTQs that offer full-price tickets to the venue of each Pro Tour. I hope that our performance has vindicated their efforts. Thanks, Miltos!!
• My good friend and playtest partner Dr. Dimitris Petridis, who helped me a lot for the preparation and tuning of the deck, along with my fellow PT mate, Jon Kosmidis. I expect high level of competition and appearance at big events from both these guys.
• My good friend John Hourdakis for flying down from Minneapolis to see me after two years. It was great to see you man, see you in two months !!
• The magic community of Thessaloniki, for providing a good relaxed environment where people can enjoy the game and get better at it. Next time it will be one of you guys!!
• The Minnesota players at Dreamer's store. I still miss you guys and hope to see you soon (you too, Sam Lewis!) It was good to see Ken Bearl (the new Minnesota State Champ - well done, Ken) in Houston and I look forward to meeting most of the other guys in Chicago. I might even drop by Minneapolis around that time, so you better be there when I show up at Dreamers!!!
• And most of all, thanks go to my fiancée Christina for her love and support towards my participation in this event. Most of you know (or will eventually find out) how hard it can be to play without the cooperation of your better half!

So this ends this report; I hope it can help you decide on whether you will play the Rock in this season's Extended events. I will probably be going to Chicago and I'm warning everyone: I suck at draft, so if you lose to me, a big chunk of your rating is coming my way!

Cheers
Alex Bakopoulos