The Extended PTQ season opened for me with a qualifier in Milford, MA this past weekend. I decided to take The Rock, since I top 8'ed with it in the one PTQ I was able to make last year. I started with Darwin Kastle's deck from PT: Houston, and made some modifications since I was expecting a more beatdown-oriented field after Sligh dominated GP: Reims. The list I ended up running was this:

4 Yavimaya Elder
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Faceless Butcher
2 Spiritmonger
4 Wall of Blossoms
3 Ravenous Baloth
4 Duress
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Living Wish
4 Diabolic Edict
4 Pernicious Deed
3 Vampiric Tutor
1 Haunting Echoes
1 Dust Bowl
7 Swamp
7 Forest
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Treetop Village

Sideboard:
1 Dust Bowl
1 Genesis
1 Stronghold Taskmaster
1 Masticore
1 Ravenous Baloth
1 Faceless Butcher
1 Living Death
2 Cabal Therapy
2 Naturalize
1 Planar Void
3 Engineered Plague

The Rock is a deck that can be built in many different ways, and I set up my list to give me a good shot at beating the beatdown decks by using Walls and three maindeck Baloths. If you know ahead of time that Sligh and Suicide Black are going to show up in large quantities at your next PTQ, I would definitely recommend a setup similar to this for the deck. But this deck isn't great in the mirror match, however, as it lacks a way to deal with a stalled board in the maindeck, and doesn't get much better after sideboarding. If I could change it at this point, I would switch the Echoes to the sideboard for Living Death, and replace the Taskmaster with Filth. Echoes won me one game - but it would have been much better as Living Death the other times I drew it. Aluren was nowhere to be found, so the Taskmaster never did anything all day.

I get to the site around 9:15, register, and wander around for a bit to look at the decks. Pretty typical selection for the most part, Sligh, Oath, Rock, Tog. I watch R/W Squee/Confinement get beaten by Oath a few times, then just grab a seat and wait for pairings to go up. 64 players, so six rounds of Swiss.

Round 1 - Dan Chaplin, Fires
Game 1: He wins the roll and takes a mulligan, while I keep my hand. He gets an early Basking Rootwalla and Mogg Fanatic, but I have a Wall to hold off most of the damage. He only has me down to fourth by the time I get a Baloth to give me a life cushion. The Baloth takes out the Rootwalla in combat, but he has a Shock, so I'm forced to sacrifice it for life. He plays a Baloth of his own and tries to put Rancor on it - but I Edict him in response, and then Edict his Treetop Village when he attacks with it. Deed takes out a Blastoderm, and he draws nothing but land and Fires of Yavimaya while I kill him with a pair of Villages.

Game 2: He activates sac lands on each of his first three turns, but doesn't use the lands he gets for much besides a Rootwalla. I Duress and see a Flametongue Kavu, ready to be dropped on turn 4 to take out my Wall. A Baloth trades with the attacking FTK next turn and is sacrificed to bring me back up to eleven, while staring down a double-Rancored Rootwalla. I drop Genesis, and he attacks the 'Walla into it. I gladly trade and start recurring Baloths out of my graveyard to bring my life back up. With that engine going, he can't do damage fast enough and ends up falling to a pair of Elders.

1-0 matches, 2-0 games

I ask afterwards and find out he's not running Saproling Burst, since he doesn't have any. Lucky for me. Also, around this time, a car of more players from Maine shows up, since they thought the tournament started later. They're allowed in, drawing with each other first round. This brings the total players to 69, which means we're actually running seven rounds - but two losses isn't necessarily eliminated.

Round 2: Roger Scungio, Elves
Game 1: I played next to Roger in the first round, so I know what he's playing. He wins the roll and drops a first-turn Elvish Lyrist, which I answer with a wall. He has Elvish Champion, though, so the forestwalking Lyrist comes through for two anyway. I Duress and find the only option to be a Naturalize, so it goes away. Seeing his hand does let me Therapy away a Deranged Hermit, though. He draws and plays Masticore, going down to one card in hand, and attacks me to fifteen with the lyrist. I spend the turn Wishing for my own Masticore to deal with the champion. He discards his last card, draws, and spends the next minute or so agonizing over whether or not to play the card he just drew. I figure that the only thing that could be that good at this point is Overrun - so when he decides not to play it, I play a bird and use it to flashback the Therapy on him for Overrun. He did have it, and he loses Masticore since he can't pay its upkeep. Meanwhile, my Masticore shoots his Champion, then takes out all the other guys he plays while it and a Spiritmonger take him down.

Game 2: He gets a slower start, and I Edict off his turn 2 Priest of Titania. I have multiple Walls, and he doesn't draw a Champion, so none of his guys can get through. He stalls on four land, and when he taps all his lands plus a Llanowar to drop Deranged Hermit, I take the opportunity to tutor for Deed and blow it for one on my turn. This turns out to be the correct call, since he was holding a Bind. I get Masticore again, and it wipes out his team again, even though he counters one activation with the Bind. He takes an opportunity to Naturalize it when I'm tapped out - but it has already done its job and a Spiritmonger finishes things off.

2-0 matches, 4-0 games

Round 3: Joel Frank, The Rock
Game 1: He wins the die roll and mulligans, but is still able to Wish for Genesis early. I do the same, but he draws all four of his Treetop Villages. I draw my Dust Bowl, but don't have the mana to start Bowling his Villages and drop something to deal with Genesis at the same time. He just keeps attacking with Genesis and two Villages until I fall to the assault.

Game 2: I stall on three lands briefly, and then on four. He gets multiple Villages again, and a Baloth to go along with them. I get my own Baloth to keep my life up, but don't have as many options as he does due to my lack of land. He gets an Echoes off on me, which takes out my last Edicts and Baloths, so when Spiritmonger comes down on his side, I have no way to deal with it - well, except for the Living Death I don't draw.

2-1 matches, 4-2 games

Round 4: Chris Chin, Angry Ghoul
Game 1: He lays a turn 2 Hermit Druid, which I Edict before it becomes active. He can't get much going for a while, but I have no pressure, so it's not hurting him too much. He Entombs both Verdant Force and Avatar of Woe, but doesn't have reanimation yet and is starting to get low on life thanks to his painlands. When the first Exhume shows up, I have an Edict ready for the Force. He draws a second shortly afterwards, and the Avatar comes out, creating a standoff. I can't attack into the Avatar, and he can't attack with it without letting my Villages through - which is something he can't afford to do. I draw multiple Elders in this stretch, and keep saccing them to thin my deck. He gets something useful first, drawing another Exhume to bring the Force back, while I just get another Elder. The Avatar gets one hit in before I draw the maindeck Butcher to deal with it. With the Avatar gone, I can drop my Spiritmonger, which is lethal at this point. He plays another Druid - and when I attack with the Monger, he blocks with it and activates it, even though he has about eight Saprolings in play. He has no basic lands left, so his entire deck ends up in the graveyard. His plan of Reclamation on the last Exhume to get the Ghoul would be good, except I have Echoes in my hand. He scoops in response.

Game 2: He mulligans, and plays turn 1 Mox Diamond, Duress, go. I play a bird and pass the turn back. He fails to drop a land again and says go. I play Deed and blow it for zero; he Entombs Verdant Force in response. When he still doesn't play land, I tutor for Dust Bowl and lock him at one land for the rest of the game while Treetop Villages go in for the kill.

3-1 matches, 6-2 games

Round 5: Jill Costigan, The Rock
Game 1: I start off short on business cards, while she gets both Dust Bowl and Volrath's Stronghold. Stronghold recurs an Elder once or twice, and I know I'm going to lose if I can't get it off the board. She taps down to four lands to play Deed, leaving Bowl and mana to activate it open. I draw Living Wish and decide to try and bait her: I activate my Village and attack with it, and she Deeds for one. I then Wish for Dust Bowl and kill hers while she can't use it. The Stronghold goes a turn or two later, and one of the long-term threats is dealt with. Nothing stays on the board, as Baloths trade in combat a few times, and Deeds get set off on both sides. I get Echoes and use it - but there's not much left worth taking out at this point, while she still has two Mongers left. I misplay at this point and decide not to remove her Duresses.

She draws a Monger a couple turns later, and I'm in serious trouble. I draw the Butcher to deal with it for a while, but she plays Deed. I've drawn an Edict now, so if she activates the Deed, I can just Edict away the monger. She has one of those remaining Duresses at this point, though, so she Duresses off the Edict first, then blows the Deed at the end of my turn, freeing her Monger. It's joined by a Feeder and a Baloth, while I get out a Wall, Baloth, and Treetop. When she attacks with everything, I double-block the Baloth with Baloth and Treetop, chump the Monger with the wall, and let the Feeder through. This guarantees that I kill her Baloth and still have something big enough to block the Feeder and live later.

We both draw and play Mongers, but she is extremely low on cards at this point. It turns out that I have just enough creatures left in my deck to repeatedly chump one of the mongers, while the other one runs into mine every turn. I have to tutor for my last deed and blow it on her last turn to force her to Regenerate her mongers, removing them from combat... But she has no tricks and gets decked.

Game 2: We have five minutes at this point, so she has to win fast to pull out a draw. She ends up having to mulligan twice, but comes out fast anyway with a Feeder and a Baloth. I play Deed on turn 4, though, and sweep the board the following turn. When I play my own Baloth as time is called, she extends the hand.

4-1 matches, 7-2 games

Round 6: Alex Buck, Sligh
Game 1: He wins the roll and debates keeping his opening hand, eventually deciding not to Paris. I keep mine, as I have a couple discard spells. He plays Mountain, Seal of Fire - so at least now I know what he's playing. I Duress on my turn and see another Mountain, a Volcanic Hammer, and three Cursed Scrolls. Now I know what the debate was about. I have Cabal Therapy and Tutor, so I decide to take the Hammer. I figure that I can Therapy away any Scrolls he doesn't play, and then Tutor for Deed to deal with what's on the table. He plays a sacland, gets a mountain, and drops two Scrolls. I follow my plan and Therapy him for Scroll and tutor for the Deed, but I take a couple Scroll hits before I can blow it - but when I do, he's low on cards with nothing on the table and I'm still at fourteen. A topdecked Firecat tramples over an elder to bring me to eight, but I'm hitting back with a Baloth and Village for seven a turn. He gets another Firecat, but when it attacks along with Goblin Cadets, I block the Cadets, let them switch sides, and Edict him. The return swing finishes things off.

Game 2: He gets an early Scroll and Fanatic, and Lava Darts my Bird. I do get out a Wall, but he Stone Rains one of my lands, Wastelands my Village, and keeps the rest of my lands locked under a pair of Rishadan Ports. Fortunately, he's not able to do much else while this is going on. He keeps tapping my non-pain lands, so I keep taking damage to play things. Once I get to five lands, I'm able to drop Engineered Plague on Cats to prevent any major life swings. He stops Porting for a turn to drop a Scroll - and I take advantage, dropping a Baloth. He does the same thing again a couple turns later to play a Seal and a Lavamancer, and I drop Deed and clear his side of non-land permanents. I have to sac the Baloth to get my life out of the danger zone, but I draw another. It and a Spiritmonger keep swinging past a Morphed guy for the win.

5-1 matches, 9-2 games

Standings go up, and the 5-0-1's and 5-1's can draw in - except for the 5-1 who gets paired down. I'm not the unlucky one, so we get:

Round 7: Michael Canu, Benzo ID
5-1-1 matches, 9-2 games

The top 8 looked like this:

1. Paul Jordan (?) 5-0-2
2. Will Morgan (Psychatog) 5-0-2
3. Matt Rubin (U/G Madness)5-1-1
4. Joel Frank (The Rock)5-1-1
5. Mike Canu (Benzo)5-1-1
6. Aaron Lewis (The Rock)5-1-1
7. Tony Tsai (The Rock)5-2
8. Melissa Detora (CognivOath)5-2

I never got the chance to find out exactly what Paul was playing, but I believe it was along the lines of the U/W/B Super Goo deck from Reims.

QF: Matt Rubin, U/G Madness
Game 1: I get a ridiculous draw going first this game, playing turn 1 Birds, turn 2 Duress on his Rushing River, Cabal Therapy on Wild Mongrel, flash back Therapy on Aquamoeba - which leaves him with Arrogant Wurm and three lands. Treetop Village hits a couple times, then is joined by an Elder. When he gets to five lands, I Edict the Wurm, and still have an Edict for his next creature. The Village and Elder finish things off.

Game 2: My draw is more reasonable this game, but he never really gets going. He draws too much land, even after playing and flashing back a Deep Analysis. He kills a Baloth by ditching 3 cards to a Mongrel, but can't get an offense together, as I draw an Edict and a Butcher for his Roar of the Wurm token. Spiritmonger gets chumped repeatedly, and he dies when he runs out of blockers.

The quarterfinals finish as:

• Melissa (Oath) beats Paul (?)
• Tony (Rock) beats Will (Tog)
• Joel (Rock) beats Mike (Benzo)
• Aaron (Rock) beats Matt (Madness)

SF: Tony Tsai, The Rock
Game 1: This matchup is horrible for me, as his deck is much better suited to the mirror match. He wishes up Genesis early, and recurs Elders for a while to build up land advantage. He Edicts off the Spiritmonger I draw - and the fact that his creatures come back and mine don't means that I have no way to break through. He ends up winning with a Monger of his own.

Game 2: We trade Elders early, and I follow mine up with a Baloth, which gets Edicted. I get another, but he Buried Alives for Filth, Genesis, and a Bird. Swinging with the Baloth is useless now, since he keeps recurring a Wall to block, and when I stop, he starts recurring the Elder. I can't get any damage through his blockers, while his swampwalking guys have no trouble hitting me. I get a tutor, but there's nothing really useful it can get me. I go for the Living Death - but it just stalls for a bit, as he can put Filth back in the graveyard by flashing a Therapy or using the Deed he has on the table, so I scoop.

Melissa beats Joel in the other semi in a match that takes the full 90 minutes, and Tony sells Melissa the slot - so while Rock took 3 of the top 8 slots, Oath actually won.

I would definitely play the Rock again, but the deck needs to be reworked a bit to better fit the metagame, since the mirror looks to be a fairly common matchup, and my mediocre 1-2 record there could easily have been 0-3 instead. Living Death should be main, and the deck needs some sort of tech for the mirror. Filth wrecked me in the semis, so that is a definite consideration. Crypt Creeper is another possibility that has been showing up in some decks to deal with the opponent's Filth and Genesis. At this point, I'd remove the Taskmaster and Planar Void to make room for those, and then take out the maindeck Butcher for a second Living Wish since the number of Wish targets has increased.

No matter what deck you play in your next tournament, good luck, play well, and have fun.

Aaron Lewis