Who needs theory when preparing for Regionals? If you want to know what's good in Type II, take a look at what's winning at the JSS. If Saturday's JSS was any indication, Blue/Green Madness is as strong as ever. The winning deck, a Blue/Green variant designed by Joel Grizzele, was piloted to victory by Michael Bennett. More notable than the winning deck were the commonalities of the Top 8 finishers: Each of the Top 8 decks ran Green, while none of them ran Black. (The gang from Torment apparently took a pass.)
Michael's would be one of three Blue/Green decks making Top 8. There were also two Red/Green decks, a White/Green deck, and a White/Green/red deck. These seven decks were all heavily creature-based, and packed a full contingent of four Wild Mongrels apiece. There were so many dogs in the Top 8 that no one left without some fleas. The eighth deck was Wake, playing Blue/White/Green.
Each of the Top 8 finishers was kind enough to share a copy of their decklists. The entire eight decklists have been entered into the StarCity database. Before scrolling away to the land of stats and tech, I invite you to continue reading and hopefully share in the flavor of a very positive Magic, The Gathering/J.S.S. experience.
Start-Up
The time prior to the tournament was filled with the usual, last-minute chaos of deck building and registration.
"How long 'til we start?"
"Who's got a Searing Flesh? Anyone got a Searing Flesh!?"
"Am I out if I lose in the first round?"
There was one kid who looked to be about nine years old. It looked as if his little hands were clenched around every red card he owned. Mom was helping out with Deck Registration, when they realized they hadn't entered"Total Number of Cards in Deck". So she starts counting out his cards and putting them in stacks of thirty.
First pile makes thirty. Second pile makes sixty. Third pile makes ninety. It was almost painful watching her count, because the cards were worn, sweaty, and sticking together. Maybe I could lend him Battle of Wits and a couple Islands? Turned out the deck had 116 cards. Let's call it"Red-116". From what I saw the deck contained Dragons, Goblins, and Burn. I also saw an innocent eagerness in his eye that said he knew how to use them. Go get 'em, Tiger!
Round 1
The tournament was scheduled for 10:00 and, by my experience, began at a very prompt 10:20. With 73 participants, the tournament would be seven rounds before cutting to the Top 8. The lead judge, Paul Morris, did a nice job keeping meddling parents reasonably at bay.
It's startling how the noise level goes from chaos to quiet once the judge announces,"You may begin!"
I chatted for a while with another parent, a man named Greg Koren. His son and a friend of his son were entered. Greg wasn't just another parent; he was a parent who enjoyed the game as much as the kids. Ahh, a kindred spirit! Greg was kind enough to be my first interview for the day. He and his son learned about Magic through a friend, and bought a Starter Set. Their collection has now expanded to four boxes of cards, but unlike myself, they still maintain a usable dining room. Greg insisted that his absolute, all-time favorite web site is StarCityGames. They check for content daily, and also read Wizards' sites and Brainburst. His favorite deck at the moment is Mono-Black Control.
Round 2
There were thirty-six first-round winners. Perusing the tables of Round 2, I was able to identify/estimate 33 of these winners, and arrived at the following sub-totals:
- Blue/Green
- Red/Green
- White/Green
- 2 Astral Slide
- Mono-Black Control
- Psychotog
- Wake
- Sligh
- 1 Reanimator
- Opposition
- Mono-Blue (?)
- Elves
- Slivers
- 1 Zombies
- Red-116... how does that kid shuffle?
Have to admit that putting together these totals was more difficult than I would have thought, and I failed miserably in attempting it the first round. I spent way too much time watching a kid put down four different land types on his first four turns. Is Domain still alive? By the time I moved on, other tables were shuffling up for their next games.
I figured I'd have a better chance in the second round when the uber-rogues would be thinned down a bit, but I still couldn't help feeling a little self-conscious about looking over people's shoulders. No, I'm not scouting. Yes, I did introduce myself to the lead judge, and described my intentions of writing a JSS tournament report.
Speaking of the lead judge, how about responses from interview number two?
Paul Morris has been playing Magic off and on since 1993. His favorite format is Type 1.5 or Extended because he gets to"play his old stuff." Paul enjoys playing the game casually, but doesn't care for playing in tournaments. He became a judge to support his local store, Comics Plus, and their Friday Night Magic events. Paul's all-time favorite card: Gaea's Blessing.
Round 3
As the ranks of the undefeated were thinning, I figured it was time to try a little play-by-play coverage of events. Introduced myself, and asked permission of Zeke Umile and Phillip Tolson if they wouldn't mind me covering their match. Zeke was playing Sligh. Phillip was playing Red/Green.
In game one, Phillip played at least one threat every turn: Basking Rootwalla, Grim Lavamancer, another Rootwalla, Birds of Paradise, Call of the Herd, Phantom Centaur, Wild Mongrel. Zeke answered as long as he could: Firebolt the first Rootwalla, Flame Burst the Grim Lavamancer, Chain of Plasma to Phillip, Fiery Temper the elephant token. Even with a subsequent Volcanic Hammer and Words of War, Zeke couldn't keep up with Phillip's creature rush.
In game two, Phillip cast a turn 2 Mongrel, then enchanted it with Elephant Guide. Zeke was able to stall the creature rush with Ensnaring Bridge, but Phillip finished with some burn of his own.
Interview number three: Phillip Tolson. He's been playing since Invasion, and does no strategy reading via the net. He plans on attending his first Regionals this year. He's made it to one Prerelease, and attends a lot of FNM's.
Round 4
This round's battle of the undefeated pitted Voltaire Ronquillo versus Michael Bennett in a Blue/Green mirror match. I'll dispense with the play-by-play as the match speed of these decks is too fast to both observe and write about. Suffice it to say that at the end of turn 4, each of these guys had Wonder in the graveyard, an Arrogant Wurm, a Basking Rootwalla, and/or a Wild Mongrel/Aquamoeba on the board. Turn 4!
No Roar of the Wurm tokens for either? Maybe they're not that fast after all...
Michael won the first game, while Voltaire won the second. Each of their sideboarding included varying use of Ravenous Baloth, Callous Oppressor, and Krosan Reclamation. For a more complete review of this deck's sideboard options, I recommend Dave Meddish's"Flexing Blue/Green Madness's Muscles."
In the third game, Voltaire got off to the quicker start by casting Careful Study and Quiet Speculation on turns 1 and 2. With two Roar of the Wurm, two Deep Analysis, and Wonder in the 'yard, Voltaire was ready to go.
Michael had to"freedom" down to six cards, but managed a turn 2 Mongrel and a turn three Arrogant Wurm. He would eventually Chain of Vapor Voltaire's first Wurm token, and Circular Logic the second.
Afterwards, Michael would modestly say,"In the mirror, it's a matter of who draws the better cards."
Round 5
I decided to cover a match of a more personal interest: My son Matt versus his opponent Nicolas Cuervo. Each player had one match loss. Matt was playing Mono Black Control, while Nicolas was playing Reanimator.
Nicolas Smothered Matt's second-turn Nantuko Shade, but was stuck on two lands until turn 5. Despite his slow start, Nicolas was eventually able to Bloodstained Mire his way into a Mountain, and Bury Alive the usual suspects. Matt couldn't deal with Visara.
In game two, it was Matt's turn to win with Visara, and casting Haunting Echoes on Nicolas sealed the game.
Neither liked the matchup for game three, agreed to draw, and take their chances in the next two rounds. They each correctly surmised that 5-1-1 would qualify for Top 8.
Round 6
Table one featured Cory Eisenhard versus Matt Ayers. I did the usual,"I'm doing a tournament report, would you mind if I covered your match?" speech. Both agreed, and were soon battling it out in a Red/Green mirror match. Cory had Elephant Guide on his Wild Mongrel. Matt had Elephant Guide on his Call of the Herd elephant token. Whenever either tried to cast a blocker, the other would burn it out.
I think they were each trying to steal a win, because halfway into the first game, they decided to call the match a draw.
That was quick.
With nothing to write about, I decided to take in the surroundings. This JSS event was at DreamWizards, a gaming/hobby store in Rockville, Maryland. It's been owned and operated by a husband and wife team for 24 years, with inspiration for the store coming from an interest in roleplaying games.
As gaming facilities are concerned, DreamWizards is very comfortable. The layout of the store is rectangular, with the retail portion of the store comprising the front half, and the gaming section in the rear. The entire street-side wall is made of glass, so this daytime event had plenty of light. Also, the store has high ten-foot ceilings, which further adds to a spacious, non-claustrophobic environment.
Photos, directions, and a schedule of events can be found at www.dreamwizards.com.
Before going too far and describing the tile in the bathroom, I decided to track down one of the guys who gave me all this free time.
Cory Eisenhard has been playing Magic since Invasion. He learned it from a friend, and regularly attends most major events including PTQs, GP Trials, and Regionals. His play is limited to weekends. He reads all of the major strategy websites. Favorite card? Caller of the Claw.
Round 7
With so many intentional draws into the Top 8, there were only a handful of relevant matches. One of the relevant matches was also a personal one: Matt Murphy had won in Round 6 versus an Opposition deck, and was now paired against Mirari's Wake for the Top 8. Matt was 4-1-1 and needed a win to qualify. Ian Bennett, running Wake, was playing for top seed and"hopefully avoiding one of those Red/Green decks."
I put my pen and paper aside and decided to be a spectator for a little while. Matt won the first game. But Ian's Wake deck established a lock in games two and three for which Matt had no solutions. Matt would play a spell: Corrupt, Mind Sludge, Riptide Replicator. Ian always managed to have a counter.
Matt would lose this match and not qualify for Top 8. As a consolation, he did earn a City of Brass for having the highest ranking among players under thirteen years old.
Before moving this tournament report onto the Top 8, I have another interview to share. From Round 3 on, one guy kept asking me,"Can I be your feature match?" That guy was Jeremy Waggoner. Sorry, Jeremy, I didn't get to cover any of your matches. For you, me, and the 3 readers that didn't skip to the decklists at the end, I'll give the highlights of our Q&A:
Jeremy has been playing for a year and a half. He participates in J.S.S. events, PTQs, GP Trials, and intends to make it to Regionals. He learned Magic from a friend, reads StarCityGames and The Sideboard. Favorite Card? Call of the Herd.
Top 8
Here were the Top 8 standings after 7 rounds:
- Ian Bennett, Wake
- Corey Eisenhard, Red/Green
- Matt Ayers, Red/Green
- Michael Bennett, Blue/Green
- Sam Wolsserman, Green/White
- Voltaire Ronquillo, Blue/Green
- James Hannah, Blue/Green
- Bobby Gauthier, White/Green/red
Bobby Gauthier qualified based on tie-breakers, having the highest ranking among 8 players with fifteen points.
Quarter Finals
Match coverage for Ian Bennett versus Bobby Gauthier.
Bobby started quickly; by turn 3, he had two Anurid Brushhoppers and a single Llanowar Elves in play. On turn 4, Ian cast Wrath of God. Bobby saved one of his Brushhoppers by pitching two cards. On his next turn, Bobby cast Call of the Herd, but Ian's turn 5 saw another Wrath of God.
Ian cast a ninth-turn Mirari, and finally missed his first land drop on turn ten. Ian half-heartedly offered that he had a lock on the game, but didn't press the issue as Bobby chose to continue playing.
Here's the lock: Flashback Moment's Peace and remove from game. Mirari a Cunning Wish. Return a Moment's Peace and a Cunning Wish to hand. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Game two stalled out to time, but was proceeding similar to the first - with the only difference being that Ian was very close to decking himself. No problem! Cunning Wish for Krosan Reclamation; return two cards to library. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Corey Eisenhard's Red/Green deck beat James Hannah's Blue/Green.
Matt Ayers' Red/Green deck beat Voltaire Ronquillo's Blue/Green.
Michael Bennett's Blue/Green deck beat Sam Wolsserman's White/Green.
I took a moment to chat with Voltaire on the way out. He will"absolutely, definitely" be at Regionals. Voltaire started played during Invasion block, and reads all major strategy websites. His preferred deck type is Aggro-Control and Favorite Card of all time is Fire / Ice.
Semifinals
I caught up with Cory Eisenhard and Matt Ayers in game two of their Red/Green mirror. Matt had won the first game, and they were both off to quick starts in the second. Play basically went, creature, burn; creature, burn; creature, burn. Around turn 6, both players had zero cards in hand, and zero creatures on the board.
The sweetest play was Matt using Violent Eruption to kill a Llanowar Elves, Basking Rootwalla, and a Phantom Centaur, with a leftover point of burn aimed at Cory for good measure. It had been a real battle of attrition, which Cory won by having access to Call of the Herd flashback. Game three went pretty much the same way as game two. Cory won the match, again having better access to Elephant tokens.
Mark Bennett's Blue/Green deck beat Ian Bennett's Wake deck.
Finals
Cory, playing Green/Red, won the first game. He cast a turn 2 Wild Mongrel, then enchanted it with Elephant Guide and began to swing. On turn four, Cory Firebolted Michael's Merfolk Looter, and cast Call of the Herd from his hand. On turn five, another Elephant Guide was cast, this time on his Elephant token. Michael had Arrogant Wurm and a Roar of the Wurm token to hold off further combat damage, but couldn't avoid Cory's burn.
Michael was able to even the score by winning game two. Using Centaur Garden as his third turn land drop, Michael attacked with Wild Mongrel. Cory had a Grim Lavamancer on the board, and did not block. On Cory's turn three, he played Call of the Herd. He didn't get greedy and chose to withhold attacking with Lavamancer. Michael had been baiting him, and cast an end-of-turn Arrogant Wurm.
Michael swung with the team on turn 4. Again Cory did not block. During second main phase, Michael cast Careful Study, and put Roar of the Wurm in the 'yard, and Rootwalla into play. On his fourth turn, Cory put Elephant guide on his token and attacked, keeping the Lavamancer behind.
On turn 5, Michael attacked with the Mongrel and Arrogant Wurm. The Rootwalla did not attack. Cory blocked the Mongrel with his Lavamancer - and then, before combat damage, sacked the game's second Wooded Foothills. Using the newly-acquired Mountain and two excess graveyard cards, Cory tapped the Lavamancer, aiming the two points of burn at the idle Rootwalla. Despite open mana, Michael chose not to save it.
On Cory's fifth turn, he attempted to cast a Mongrel of his own. Michael countered with Circular Logic. Cory was able to successfully cast a Grim Lavamancer, replacing the one he lost the previous turn.
Let me try to re-set the board: Cory was at six. Michael had Arrogant Wurm, Wild Mongrel, and Basking Rootwalla; while Cory had an Elephant Guided Elephant token and a Grim Lavamancer.
It's the start of turn 6. Michael draws, putting a third card in his hand. He has four cards in the graveyard, and the game is over. Did I give you enough info to see it?
Michael swung with the team. Cory's token blocked the Arrogant Wurm, and the Lavamancer blocked the Rootwalla. Wild Mongrel was not blocked. Michael pitched this hand's three cards to the Mongrel, making it 5/5, and giving himself threshold. He then tap/sacked Centaur Garden for a Giant Growth effect and the win. If you look at it, Cory's blocking combination wouldn't have mattered.
Game three was a painful letdown from the previous two, and a most unfitting way to end the tournament. Cory, choosing to play, had to mulligan twice. Dealing himself five cards, Cory took a chance by keeping a zero-land hand than did include a copy of Llanowar Elves. He drew Karplusan Forest on turn two and cast the Elf. Michael sent him back a turn by casting Chain of Vapor on the Elf. In the meantime, Michael had Quiet Spec'ed a couple Roar of the Wurms into his graveyard. With Wurm tokens on the board turns 4 and 5, Cory had no chance and conceded the match.
During a brief talk with Michael after the match, he insisted on giving credit for the deck design to his friend, Joel Grizzele. He said that the Centaur Garden constantly messed up his opponents' combat math during the day. I asked him about the main-deck Opposition and its effectiveness; he said it was a nice surprise spell, and it was fun having Rootwallas keeping Wurm tokens at bay.
Congratulations, Michael! Hats off to DreamWizards and lead judge Paul Morris for a well-run tournament. All things being equal, I'd have rather been playing. Thanks for reading.
Dan Murphy
narniabug@hotmail.com
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