Yay! Another random Type 2 report! Thanks for all the responses on my last article, guys... But this week's Type 2 was quite different from last week's. I did very little playtesting with the deck I played with, mostly because my playtest buddy played it at the last tournament and he played pretty much the same deck I did last week. I originally was going to play the most rogue deck ever, but it could never work... the deck really needs four Demonic Tutors, but that ain't happening. We built the deck I was to play with about thirty minutes before we left considering I had just gotten home from school and the tourney was going to start in just a few hours. We made some last minute decisions on some stuff in the deck, and this is the way it turned out:

B/R Burning Wish
4 Duress
4 Innocent Blood
4 Chainer's Edict
3 Smother
3 Diabolic Tutor
3 Corrupt
3 Burning Wish
2 Skeletal Scrying
2 Engineered Plague
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Earthquake
1 Tainted Pact
1 Haunting Echoes
1 Befoul
1 Mirari
17 Swamp
4 Tainted Peak
2 Shadowblood Ridge
3 Mountain

Sideboard:
4 Shambling Swarm
3 Cabal Therapy
1 Mind Sludge
1 Wildfire
1 Pyroclasm
1 Earthquake
1 Haunting Echoes
1 Pillage
1 Corrupt
1 Recoup

If anyone is considering building this deck, you must have two Miraris in order to beat anything with artifact/enchantment removal. I only had one Mirari - but beggars can't be choosers. Some people may notice that there are Mutilates in the deck. Mutilate is good against U/G with Wonders in it, but other than that, Earthquake usually will win you a few games (trust me on this one and read on). Overall, I am happy with the deck, but I would have never expected the metagame we had this time.

We arrived at the store about forty-five minutes before our organizer got there to start the tourney. Walking around, I couldn't believe the amount of anti-mydeck decks there were present. Seven people played U/G madness or U/G threshold, eleven people had green in their deck, and nine people had blue in their deck. It looked like something from a Pro Tour or something.

From figuring out all of this, I knew I was in for a long night.

Round 1: Chris Cravatt playing Tog
This guy is cool in my book. Him and his buddy PJ play netdecks all the friggin' time. As I said earlier, netdecks tend to win a lot. I liked his version of Tog, and thank the gods he had only one Upheaval (I have zero, and his was foil... Grr!).

Game 1:
He beats me down to ten with Shadowmage Infiltrator until I get an Engineered Plague to stay in play. I play two Corrupts and drop him to seven. He bounces the Plague and finds his Upheaval, dropping two Finkels afterwards. I Burning Wish for a Duress and clear the way for a lethal Corrupt.

Game 2:
He gets an early Psychatog and stops a lot of my removal. I get a Haunting Echoes off, but it's still not enough. He finds enough food for the Tog and deals enough to send me packing for the third game.

Game 3:
I get an early Duress to strip his only Upheaval. He beats me down to five before I get a seven-point Corrupt to ease the sting of his Psychatog. I get another Corrupt to resolve via Mirari, but he swings for fourteen with the Tog. He gets me down to one and I tap out to get a Corrupt through...

Praise God he didn't have a counter.

Round 2: James Hancock playing U/B Opposition
James hasn't been playing for awhile, but he had a lot more experience than I did. It's too bad that he got probably the worst beating in his life in this round.

Game 1:
He drops some Finkels and Togs, but I had insane amounts of removal. I get Haunting Echoes off twice this game; the first one got Opposition, Counterspell, Psychatog, Deep Analysis, and Memory Lapse, the second getting Shadowmage Infiltrator, Aether Burst, and Chainer's Edict. I eventually get Mirari out and go into a Burning Wish loop. I clear the way for an Earthquake enough to kill him.

Game 2:
He gets some early Zombies out and beats me to six. I eventually get a boatload of removal and go into a Mirari/Burning Wish/Corrupt loop. Thank god he didn't have a way to stop my Mirari.

Round 3: P.J. Edwards playing U/G Opposition
This guy always plays net decks. I have never seen him not play with one... And as I've said before, netdecks tend to win a lot.

Game 1:

He beats me down with Roar of the Wurm tokens before I Corrupt to a double-digit life total. He gets Opposition on the board and Squirrel Nest. If anyone has played a version of my deck or MBC, you know that sorcery speed removal isn't the greatest against this deck.

Game 2:
He gets three City of Brass for his lands this game. I get a Mirari to resolve and Corrupt away. My life total never moved this game.

Game 3:
He gets the Opposition lock again. 'Nuff said. He swings with fifteen Squirrels to kill me in a long, stupid game.

Round 4: Chris Lewis playing U/G Madness
Chris is my good ol' playtest partner and this time around he plays a version of U/G Madness. This deck is stupid good and a big kick in the webbos.

Game 1:
He beats my face in Wurm tokens, and I'm dead within three attacks. The only damage he took was from flashing back his Deep Analysis twice.

Game 2:
The only damage I deal is a seven-point Corrupt. He eventually gets Arrogant Wurm and a Wurm token out and I'm dead in three turns from 25.

Overall, I think my games with Chris lasted about five minutes. I walked over to the gas station half a block down and got some grub. Thank god for Buffet Pizza, Little Debbie snack cakes, and Yoohoo (the best drink money can buy).

Round 5: Zane Mann playing U/G Threshold
This guy is starting to become a regular and all the games I've had with him have been quite fun. He's still learning some, and so am I.

Game 1:
I have removal for all his two-drops, but he eventually gets eight bear tokens via Grizzly Fate and a Phantom Centaur out with my lonely Visara. Out of desperation, I Corrupt him twice and Earthquake for the kill.

Game 2:
Almost the same as game one, but this time he Envelops all my Burning Wishes and Corrupts and his eight bear tokens smash my face in.

Game 3:
I kinda lose it this game and forget how to subtract and add. He gets me down to four, but I find Corrupts to ease the pain. Mirari hits the board and I Corrupt for about fourteen. I Burning Wish for Duress and Corrupt to finally end the game on the fifth extra turn.

But I could have nailed this one a lot earlier if I stuck with the plan of Haunting Echoes; I totally forgot that the Werebear would lose threshold if I Echoes and I could easily remove it then, stopping his stupid Genesis recursion.

I miss the Top 4 by a place or two, but I am happy overall with the tourney. Chris ends up winning the thing and five Legions booster packs (when they come out, of course). Through random trading, I pick up Serendib Efreet, Cunning Wish, Polluted Delta, and an Uktabi Orangutan. My foil Voidmage Prodigy I got in draft last week (some idiot passed it down) gets lots of attention and some stuff from Legions (thanks John).

Props:

• John Klauk: For playing Hunting Grounds and getting a stupid draw a bunch of games. Thanks for promising me some stuff from the Pre-Release.
• Chris Lewis: For the deck, and for playtesting that pile of crap deck that just won't work for me.
• Store Owner Justin: For having the tourney and the discussion about Nine Inch Nails (by the way folks, this band is the best band on earth). I'll bring that DVD up there sometime, and I'll greatly appreciate Closure.
• My Black Bordered Korean Mountain Yeti from Chronicles: For being a black bordered Korean Mountain Yeti. (From Chronicles - The Ferrett)

Any comments about the deck or the tournament will be greatly appreciated. Email me at monsieurbob711@aol.com.