Well, well, well... It's Champs time again.

Time to playtest away.
Time to throw together bad decks for a day.
Time to see SGC and company die in the fray.
Yet time and time again Warchief and Piledriver seem to keep winning the melee.

It's that time all right
And honestly, I can't be more upset that it's over.
Because in Columbus, Ohio I saw the best thing ever.
And that was Myr Enforcer, Broodstar, and Frogmite run over decks like a steamroller.

Who would have thought?
Affinity is actually very good.
Everyone thought MBC should be.
And we all knew that Karma could.

But I didn't play with U/G on steroids.
And I kept my Thirst for Knowledge in check.
Because I had a real good idea,
And that was to update Bob Maher's deck.

He smashed in Detroit.
I read the coverage here and it wasn't even close.
The control-on-control matchup is a pain.
But the winner is the one who cycles Eternal Dragon the most.

And, ladies and gentlemen... That's exactly what I did.

R/W Control
4 Eternal Dragon
4 Lightning Rift
4 Wing Shards
4 Wrath of God
4 Starstorm
4 Renewed Faith
3 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Decree of Justice
2 Akroma's Vengeance
2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Decree of Annihilation
8 Plain
6 Mountain
4 Secluded Steppe
4 Forgotten Cave
3 Temple of the False God

Main Deck Choices

4 Eternal Dragon
Is there a better card in the format right now?

4 Lightning Rift
This comes very close to the power of Eternal Dragon. It's always good.

4 Wing Shards
If you played during Onslaught Block, we all know how good this card is. It's still quite good - but the metagame didn't have as much Goblins as I thought there would be.

4 Wrath of God
The Man Above demands that he is a four-of. Can't say no to him, can you?

4 Starstorm
The SS, as some call it, was good for me all day. I found in testing that this card is more powerful than Akroma's Vengeance in the current format. The metagame seems to be all W/x control decks with Decree of Justice and Goblins. This card does a great job of dealing with the aforementioned cards. And as we all know, it cycles as well.

4 Renewed Faith
Ever since it reached ink, it has been good. Some things never change.

3 Solemn Simulacrum
Jens Thoren, I have two words to say... Thank you! This card is very very good! It can get you out of a land stall. It can stop attacks due to the card advantage it provides. It's always happy to throw itself in front of an attacker. Both sides of this card are very good. Sometimes I found myself targeting Lightning Rift to him just to get a card to save myself. For everyone who was unsure how good he would be, watch the price skyrocket shortly.

3 Decree of Justice
The best Decree is still insanely good. Three was the correct number.

2 Akroma's Vengeance
This card's value has gone up, obviously. (Affinity, derf derf derf.) I ran two, simply because unless I was in the mirror or against Affinity, I didn't need it that much. I already have eight mass removal spells in Wrath of God and Starstorm, so I believe that two was the right number.

2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
The holder of all abilities was my MVP all day long. I can't see how a lot of W/x control decks did not run her. If one is playing any W/x control deck correctly, then she should be six damage about 90% of the time.

I did notice something about Akroma, though. When I played Akroma I watched the reactions I would get from resolving her. I normally got a large sigh or a sentence involving some cursing. You can tell when people have no answer in their hand for her. The reaction Akroma gets upon resolution can tell you if you have the advantage in the game, or if you are behind a little bit.

1 Decree of Annihilation
The second-best Decree (in my books, anyway) was my silver bullet card. It leaves me with a final answer to a terrible situation and the cycling effect with Eternal Dragon won me two or three games on Saturday. I would never cut it from the main.

Sideboard:
4 Circle of Protection: Red
3 Altar's Light
3 Scrabbling Claws
3 Karma
2 Millstone

Sideboard Choices

4 Circle of Protection: Red
Goblins...'nuff said.

3 Altar's Light
It was Wipe Clean at the beginning but I began to see decks with Isochron Scepter pick up a bit, so I made the switch on-site. I was also afraid of Krark's Thumb.

3 Scrabbling Claws
I absolutely hated this card. You must understand that I am a huge idiot and I thought it played like Phyrexian Furnace. Well, folks... it doesn't! I didn't remove one Eternal Dragon all day with it.

3 Karma
Swamps are tech. I like to beat the new-found tech.

2 Millstone
This should be called Misstone, because I completely missed on this one. In theory it should have been good against W/x control. It was decent against them but nothing too great. Probably should have been Shatter if I knew that Affinity was going to be as big as it was.

I knew going into the tourney that MBC was my worst matchup, so I had to hope I didn't see it too much - if at all.

Gather round kiddies and see how the day in the life of Cedric Phillips went on October 25, 2003.

5 a.m. rolls around - and man, that two hours of sleep was sooooooooooo good. I get all geared up to go and jam to Yellowcard and Spitalfield before I leave. I'm on my natural high right now; I'm getting so geared up for big tourneys because I expect my testing to pay off in huge dividends.

After a stop at McDonald's on the way, we are at the Franklin County Memorial in about 2 hours.

Sidebar #1
Is there really anything better than McDonald's breakfast in the morning?

The turnout seems ok so far. I go do some scouting with my friend Marty and I find something I don't expect... A ton of Affinity. Now I do understand that this deck is the new U/G, but I haven't found it to be that good so I'm all smiles before the tourney starts. The player's meeting begins right on schedule and we are on to round one.

Round 1: Goblins
Game One goes by pretty easily with him getting stalled on land and with me getting an early Lightning Rift.

Game Two, however, goes terribly for me. He is playing first and begins with turn 1 Goblin Sledder. I lay a Secluded Steppe and pass the turn. Next turn, he attacks and plays a Stabilizer. I should have packed it up right there with another Secluded Steppe, Forgotten Cave, and Eternal Dragon in my hand - but I continue to play because the game isn't over if he has a bad hand. So on my turn, I play another Secluded Steppe and pass it back. He then taps three mana, and my assumption is Goblin Warchief, and I go to my lifepad and mark myself down to sixteen.

He announces Blood Moon. What? Shortly after, I pack it up for game three.

Sidebar #2
Also during that game, after he played Blood Moon he dropped a Goblin Warchief in addition to his Goblin Sledder, which was fine. Then the next turn, he played three Goblin Piledrivers. Three!!

So he attacks, and I Starstorm for two as though it's going to work with his Goblin Sledder out. Well it did and he then ranted on about his hate for Starstorm. Thanks, barn.

Game Three shifts the tide back my way, thankfully. Turn 2 Circle of Protection: Red gets a sigh out of him. I finish the game with four Wing Shards in my hand.

1-0

Round 2: Mono Black Control with a blue splash
Game One: I didn't know what to expect. I assumed he was maybe a U/B rogue deck but he turned out to be MBC splashing for Mana Leak and sideboard options. I win with Akroma and then cycling Decree of Armageddon.

Game Two, he gets control of the game with a Persecute for white. He snagged two Karmas and two Eternal Dragon's. How lucky! A large Consume Spirit got him the win.

Game Three, he gets land-stalled and counters my first two Karmas with Annul (which is good sideboard tech). I cycle Decree of Justice for four and go into aggro mode. I then play a Solemn Simulacrum and then get him to four. I then go to attack for the win and he cycles Decree of Pain. I frown and then draw off of Simulacrum... And third Karma it is! He scoops up with four swamps in play and we have a good laugh afterwards.

2-0

Round 3: Mono White Control with Cloudpost
Game One was soooooo long. Basically, we went back and forth with Eternal Dragons for a while and then he played Cloudpost. Then he played another. I was a bit worried because that advantage can get out of control if I don't get control quickly... So I played out my third Eternal Dragon when he had a Story Circle (naming white, of course) down and an Eternal Dragon of his own down. He also had a Chrome Mox on the table. So I cycled Decree of Armageddon - and he contemplated for a while and then cycled his fourth Eternal Dragon.

Crap.

I pass my turn back. He lays that plains and then passes it back. I attack with the three dragons when he is at five. He trades with one, and then prevents the other two because I'm an idiot and I forgot about the Chrome Mox. So the game goes on forever still.

We count our cards and I'm lower than he is. I mised my fourth Lightning Rift and the next turn I had to go for the win... So I cycled a Renewed Faith to kill him (he's at one by the way) and he hard-cast one in response and I cycle again in response and in response to that he plays a Gilded Light.

Gilded Light? What? Damn States and its randomness!

I have one card left in my library so it's all or nothing. In deep thought the judges call time. Man did that break my thinking! I regain my concentration and I cycle Starstorm, hoping he doesn't have another Renewed Faith...He doesn't! Yuuuessss! I mise the win.

3-0

After this game, I have the biggest headache ever. I go destroy a Coney Dog and before you know it, pairings are up again.

Round 4: Mono White Control Again
Game One: I win easily because he could not deal with my Lightning Rifts.

Game Two: he has control of most of the game and I don't draw a single Lightning Rift. Oh well.

No time for Game Three and we take the draw.

3-0-1

Well I'm happy right now. I think MWC should be a good match for me, since I have Decree of Armageddon but sometimes things don't work out. That's why this game is great.

Round 5: R/G Land Demo
Game One I don't know what he is playing until I see fourth turn Demolish. He kills a lot of my land actually and then gets a Stalking Stones going. I play a Simulacrum and I here him sigh. Simulacrum totally switches the momentum of the game. Few turns later I play He-Man (Akroma), and he scoops 'em up.

Game Two: He gets a very good start and I can't keep up.

After this game, he offers me a draw. I don't know if it is because he feels bad for me, or because he doesn't think he can win.

I take my chances and I refuse it and shuffle up. Is taking the draw the right play there?

Game Three I have three plains, Secluded Steppe, and Simulacrum. I can't throw this back, as this is ideal against him. He doesn't get off much land, but he goes aggro against me with a turn 3 and turn 4 Ravenous Baloth. I'm trying to keep up, but it's tough. He then plays Gigapede and my jaw goes to the floor.

That's the guy that land destruction actually needs... And I never thought of him at all. I then begin to catch up and if I can get to the next turn without him killing any land, I can get off a Akroma's Vengeance and take control back. He then draws a Plow Under!

My jaw is now though the pavement and I extend the hand.

3-1-1

I give him a lot of credit. He had the best build of that deck I've seen so far. Gigapede is brilliant in that deck and he knew how to play the matchup against me. I commended him and hoped he did well. I go check on the crew, and then get ready for next round.

Round 6: WW/r
Game One: He begins with Suntail Hawk and I could not be happier. He gets land stalled a bit, and I stabilize at three praying he doesn't get a Shrapnel Blast or Volcanic Hammer. He doesn't, and He-Man wins it for me.

Game Two he gets stuck on two land (Great Furnace and Plains). He still puts up a decent fight, though. Late in the game he plays Chrome Mox, Savannah Lion, Bonesplitter, and then he suits up the Lion. I cycle a Forgotten Cave and then my eyes explode and I even give a little fist pump; I mised an Akroma's Vengeance! I leave him with a Plains and he concedes.

4-1-1

I'm getting my momentum back.

Round 7: Goblins
Game one sees him get stuck on one mountain and four Goblin Sledders. Easy win.

Game Two: He gets an average start and slows me down a bit with an Icy Manipulator. Huh? I take care of it with Akroma and him asking me,"Akroma has haste?"

5-1-1

Two more and I'm in the top 8.

Round 8: R/W Slide
Game One was long but fun. We found out that it was the mirror quickly but I laid the first Lightning Rift and had the advantage. I really think I outplayed him with the Lightning Rifts and with my Akromas. I got him to tap out to play an Eternal Dragon.... I then Wrathed it away and beat with Akroma to take him to one.

He then muttered,"I didn't want to have to do this," and then he punched me in the face! He immediately got thrown out of the tournament and I was awarded a 2-0 match win... Phew!

No, not really. He hard-cast Decree of Annihilation. We played the"Mize off the Library" game and I won it. The game ended with about five minutes left.

Game Two: He played mountain and cast Spark Spray to the face! Ouch! He then took the 1-0-1 loss because there wasn't enough time.

6-1-1

One more...

Round 9: U/W Control
Game One: I find that I'm against a guy I know from a different store. He's a cool guy. His deck was bling blinging, because his whole deck was foil and foreign. I'm talking Oblivion Stones, Exalted Angels, Eternal Dragons, Decree of Justices...The whole works! And his lands... They were all Guru. That's pretty crazy, I'd say.

But I wasn't intimidated. And you know why? You can pay as much as you want for cards but expensive cards don't stop the land screw. We moved on to Game Two.

Game Two: I was behind a bit - and it cost me, as I tried to hard-cast Decree of Annihilation. He had Discombobulate and I lost.

Game Three: We played speed Magic because we only had 10 minutes left. We got into turns and he had one card left in hand while he was at fourteen. He told me it's an Unsummon. So of course, I say I'm going to draw Akroma off the top and smash his face because I like to put on a show when a lot of people are watching.

So... I did! He Unsummoned it and that was it.

The game ended in a draw which neither one of us could afford. We asked each other to concede, and neither of us could do it. We both wanted the spot, and I believe one of us could have won the tourney - but what can you do? The worst possible outcome occurred.

6-1-2

21st place and I'm a bit disappointed.

I'm disappointed in myself because my goal was to make the top 8 and it was right there. If I had made it, then four people from my store would have made the top 8. I sat back and cheered on my teammates and remembered the good things that came from today... Like that Coney Dog. (Man, that thing was good.)

Props

• Kyle Boddy - At least someone with my deck made the top 8
• Ground Zero Comics - For being the best place to play Magic in my area and probably the state. If you're ever in the Cleveland area, look us up. (Anyone else have four TVs and sixteen-player Halo in their store?)
• Brian Fulop - A sheer master. Expos suck.
• Marty Porter - For not choking when you were 6-0. It's about time!
• YellowCard - For being an amazing band (especially for being something to wake up to).
• My Alarm Clock - For working.
• The Kid playing R/B Slivers - Hell yeah, man!! (He was 5-1 at one point.)
• Coney Dog - I love you.

Slops

• Aaron Nutler - For being Aaron Nutler.
• Me - For missing the top 8.
• Franklin County Memorial - Why not the convention center, PES?
• Brian Six - Regionals a fluke.. YUUUUSS!
• Stifle - For owning my Decree of Justices in round 9.

Until the assassins complete their mission,
Cedric A. Phillips
Stangz215@hotmail.com
Stangs215 on AIM