My babysitter (who happens to be my sister) was late. I was going to show up at the tournament around 10:30, but she showed up at 10:30... So I rushed out the door and decided to call ahead to make sure my spot was still available.

It was.

It's a good thing I called ahead because as I walked into Mile High Comics the place was a madhouse; we had filled up to the maximum 64 people, and people were being turned away. This is good - it shows a lot of interest for Type One in the Denver area. I feel bad, though, and wish everyone could have played today; I tell you, it's all about the pre-registration.

Originally I had my deck list all worked out and typed up ready to turn in. But the day before this tournament I had a revolution: Tempting Wurm was not going to win. The pet deck I had been playing and playtesting for the last two months was not going to make the cut. So what was I to do?

Time to improvise; see, the deck was already control based, and I almost always play control so a few changes here and there, remove green from the mana base, and voila! Mishra Factory Keeper was born. Unfortunately, I was making changes to the deck up to the moment I walked out the door and my neatly-typed deck list was now messier than my homework in the forth grade, you remember, the time my dog ate it...

So I have this scrap of ragged paper, covered with scribbles and card names crossed off; I think about handing it in, but decide it's not worth the possible game lose and grab a deck registration sheet. Okay I have about seven minutes before the tournament starts...They start calling the pairings and I turn my deck list in right at the last possible moment.

For reference I will put the list right here and save you the trouble of scrolling to the bottom.

Mishra Factory Keeper
4 Mishra's Factory
2 Morphling
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Teferi's Response

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mind Twist
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Cunning Wish

1 Zuran Orb

1 The Abyss
1 Balance
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Fire / Ice
1 Disenchant

4 City of Brass
4 Underground Sea
3 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
1 Polluted Delta
1 Undiscovered Paradise
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Sol Ring
5 Mox
1 Black Lotus

60 Cards

Sideboard:
4 Red Elemental Blast
1 Ebony Charm
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Misdirection
2 Disenchant
1 Teferi's Response
2 Obstinate Familiar
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Powder Keg

Okay today has been hectic, but all is well I am about to start playing.

*** Disclaimer: All below events are true to the best of my knowledge, this entire report is based on my memory (scary, huh?), life totals and a few cards names taken here and there. ***

Round One: Jeff Urich (R3as0n on themanadrain.com) playing Tools and 'Tubbies (TnT, Fully Powered)

Game One:

I win the roll, yea. I play a random land and pass Jeff drops a first-turn Su-Chi, which I Force of Will; I drop another land and Jeff busts out a Quirion Ranger and a Sylvan Library, while I drop a Mishra's Factory - he answers with Juggernaut. We trade the Jug and the Factory, and another Jug soon comes to play. He brings his friend Mr. Welder and together they roll over me.

Okay, I was totally overwhelmed. I had never played against TnT before, but it's the Shiz!

Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 11, 6, 1, dead.
Jeff: 20, 16, 12

(Sideboard went something like this: +1 Swords to Plowshares, + 2 Disenchant, +1 Ebony Charm, +1 Hurkyl's Recall, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 The Abyss, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Zuran Orb, -1 Misdirection)

Game Two: All right. I have a better feel for the deck now and get down to the dirty. We both drop some lands and Jeff plays a Sylvan with a Grim Monolith in play; I decide that it needs to be countered. I Force, he Blasts it, and that's that. I have a Factory in play, he has a Sylvan Library. He drops a Memory Jar that I Mana Drain; he Red Elemental Blasts, I Force of Will. Ha ha - take that!

Jeff follows up with a Jug, which meets Swords to Plowshares. I have a Mishra's Factory in play that gets Wasted and a Goblin Welder drops on his side. He soon replays the Memory Jar. I fear combo from the Monolith and expect to see a Power Artifact and to die soon... So I cast Hurkyl's Recall to"hide" the Monolith for another turn and buy time. It turns out Jeff does not have any tricky combos hidden in his sideboard and I take some honest Juggernaut beats and lose soon after.

At one point, Jeff casts a Jester's Cap - Jester's Cap!? I think I am pretty smart and I Mana Drain that bad boy, Jeff is okay with this and welds it back into play, D'oh! He then removes both Morphlings, all Factories, and my Yawgmoth's Will; as you can guess, I did not deck him. This game, Jeff also had a Survival of the Fittest - but from what I remember, Jeff did not need to use it.

Jeff and I shake hands and wish each other well, he tells me"Don't worry, I'll keep up your tie breakers." Jeff definitely has the deck to do that!

Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 12, 8, 3, 2, dead.
Jeff: 20, 16, 14, 19, 11, 7, 6

Games: 0-2, Matches: 0-1

Round Two: Jeremiah Medina playing: Sligh (Powered? I Never saw Lotus, may have been a Ruby)

Game One: Ahh, Sligh - red cards I know and love. Much better than TnT.

(It's not that this is a better deck; I just understand this matchup. Much better than being slaughtered by TnT again! Note to self: Become more familiar with TnT.)

He drops an early Jackal Pup; I take a hit and then Fire it the next turn. I find my Zuran Orb and gain some life from the Factories that get Lightning Bolted. He gets a Gorilla Shaman into play and nukes my Orb, I Mana Drain a Cursed Scroll, play The Abyss which knocks off the Monkey, a Goblin Cadets, and a Mogg Fanatic who pops me for one. I do get a little low on life but have a Morphling (and Factory) in play and he swings for the win.

Life: Zach 20, 18, 20, 17, 14, 11, 13, 12, 10, 7, 3
Jeremiah: 20, 18, 14, 7, dead

(Sideboard: +1 Swords to Plowshares, +1 Misdirection, +1 Teferi's Response, +1 CoP: Red, +1 Powder Keg, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Disenchant, -1 Brainstorm, -1 Strip Mine, -1 Cunning Wish)

Game Two: First-turn Fanatic and second-turn Black Vise start to beat me down; they are followed up with a ton of burn. I was dead by turn 5.

Life: Z 20, 19, 17, 16, 15, 14, 11, 10, 8, 6, 3, 2, 1 dead
J: 20

Game Three: Not good; I am one game away from starting this thing out as a 0-2... What am I to do? Well, I look into my opening hand and see the devil staring back at me: He says for the low, low price of two life and one card draw, I can have any one card in my deck.

That's fair. I take CoP: Red. The next turn I cast the CoP and take a point from my City of Brass. He Bolts me while he can and also has a Fanatic in play. I build up a Zuran Orb and an Abyss on top of my CoP: Red; overkill, anyone?

While I am building up control, he casts a Pup and a Goblin Cadets to go with the Fanatic, I am taking one point a turn because all I have is a City of Brass and two other non-pain lands. Soon Morphling drops and finishes things off for me.

Life: Z 20, 18, 17, 14, 13, 12, 11, 15, 12, 9, 11, 13, 12, 11, 7
J: 20, 15, 5, Jeremiah wants his mommy.

Games: 2-3 Matches: 1-1

Round Three: Drew Fisher playing White Weenie (No Power)
Drew is a cool guy, he seems to have a pretty good grasp of Type One. At the last tournament there were at least five Sui-Black decks running around - so Drew metagamed WW. Good call, but I did not see one Sui-Black deck at all today; I hope he did.

Okay, I have been playing Keeper for two rounds now; I should know my deck inside and out by now, right? Heh...On to the report.

Drew opens with a Savannah Lions; right on! I play a Mishra's Factory, which Drew takes exception to - it seems double-signed Mishra Factories are a rarity. I take a hit off the Savannah and Force of Will a pro-black knight. It seems my Factory was enough to distract him, as he attacked with his Lion the next turn and I blocked, after making my Factory a 2/2, then tapping him so he becomes a 3/3; long story short, the Lion died.

I play an Abyss and his Knight says"nee," neatly ignoring the Abyss. I take some damage from the knight (he was a pump knight, for the record). Then I cast my Morphling and swing for the win...

Wait, that's not what happened!

After hitting him for ten, I cast a Vampiric Tutor for something, to make sure he is dead, at the end of his turn. Then after shuffling and having Drew cut, I do the token jester of putting the card on top of my library and draw it. At this point Drew points out that my Morphling is dead since I never paid his upkeep. I just smile and say fair enough (hey, WW needs all the help it can get). So here I am with a Yawgmoth's Will in hand (that's what I tutored for) and a Morphling, Ancestral Recall and Time Walk in the grave. I play the Will using a Lotus, return the Lotus to play, drop Morphling, cast Time Walk and then get greedy with my last blue and cast Ancestral; Drew responds with a top decked Swords to Plowshares, as he was recently Mind Twisted, and removes my Morphling from the game.

Sloppy, sloppy play!

No worries; I dispatch the pump knight via Diabolic Edict, Drew points out"but the knight is pro: black!" as he puts the card to the grave. I then play a Factory and sweep up this mess for the win. That was harder than it looked.

Life:
Zach 20, 18, 17, 15, 14, 10, 6, 4, 3, 6, 5, 13, 15
Drew: 20, 15, 10, 8, 12, 10, 8, 6 dead.

Side note: Keeper really is a complex deck. I'm not making any excuses for my play mistakes, but I would suggest that if you plan to play Keeper (or any other deck for that mater) at any large tournament, play test it first. Although my Keeper trial by fire was easily one of the most fun tournament experiences I have ever had, do not try this at home. I have played lots of other control based decks and had a good 'feel' for the deck.

(Sideboard: +1 Swords to Plowshares, +1 Powder Keg, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Strip Mine)

Game Two: Okay - I made game one look a lot closer than it should have been. Time to play.

I Edict a Soltari Monk who just had Empyreal Armor cast upon him, take some damage from City of Brass, Swords to Plowshares another pro: black guy, and then Vampiric Tutor for Morphling. Morphling gets lonely, so he calls his friend Mishra over and together they do what they do: Twenty to zero in three turns or your money back!

Life: Z 20, 19, 17, 16, 14, 11
D: 22, 21, 14, 7 dead

Games: 4-3, Matches: 2-1

Round Four: Karen Maeda (soon to be Jackalope on TMD) playing Keeper (Fully Powered).
Karen works for Marshaks (www.marshaks.com), a store in Ft. Collins that holds monthly Type One tournaments and also spins for some local clubs, she gave me one of her demos and I dig her music, if you like techno at all check her out at www.dj-jackalope.com and support our local talent.

The Keeper Mirror! She was even playing Factories - hell yeah!

Game One: My notes for this match stink! This has something to do with paying attention to the game at hand, I apologize for not taking better notes. Here is what I can tell you...Karen plays a first-turn Factory, Mox Sapphire, Sol Ring, Merchant Scroll for Ancestral Recall. Burn for one. I draw and play a Mishra's Factory and pass. She plays the Ancestral Recall and I Force of Will; she Force of Wills back. Damn. I am able to destroy her Factory (via Edict, I think) and then proceed to chip her life from seventeen to nine, she lays a Factory and I Swords to Plowshares, she Mana Drains; I Drain back, and that's that. Factory rocks.

Life: Zach 20, 19
Karen: 20, 19, 18, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 12, 10, 8, 3 dead

(Sideboard: +4 Red Elemental Blast, +1 Misdirection, -1 The Abyss, -1 Swords to Plowshares, -1 Fire/Ice, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Cunning Wish)

Game Two: Karen plays first and establishes double blue before I do; she also gets a Factory out, then another. I also have a Factory. We trade beats with our trees for a few turns, and then I trade my Factory for hers. She gets a Mox Monkey out and eats my artifacts faster than an Atog! I Vampiric Tutor for something that gets countered (she wins the war). I counter another spell and get taken down by her Monkey and Factory.

Life: Z 20, 18, 16, 14, 13, 11, 9, 7, 4, 3, 2, 1 dead
K: 20, 18, 16

Game Three: This game, I have the early Ancestral Recall and the counter back up to support it; I cast the Ancestral, but she Red Elemental Blasts it; I Drain back, she Force of Wills, I Force back. Good deal.

I drop a Factory, then another, and take her to eleven. I believe she gets a Morphling into play - and I balance, saccing a good deal of land to my Zuran Orb. This leaves me with two Factories, one blue dual, and a Mox Sapphire. I draw another Blue source and start attacking, holding back counter magic just in case. She has no answer to my Factories and I win!

Life: Z 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 22
K: 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 7, 3 dead.

Games: 6-4, Matches: 3-1

Round Five: Gary Wolfmeier playing Sligh (Powered?)
This was a battle! It went a little something like this...hit it.

Gary was chillin' with his beanie pulled down to his eyebrows, and ready to do battle. He had a few of his friends hanging around with him for support and they even gave me a nickname - Mr. Smiley, which reminds me of Guy Smiley. Hey, it could have been worse. For a minute it was like the Muppet show gone wrong!

Game One: Gary plays a quick Fanatic and soon found out why I was smiling so much; I dropped a Antiquities double-signed Mishra Factory and an Alpha Lotus. I think his jaw dropped to the floor. So the game goes on and Gary and his friends drool over my all black-bordered deck, I really think this helps to win matches, as they were enthralled by it!

Where were we? Oh yes...He hits me with the Fanatic a few times and until I play a Factory, he then drops a Ball Lightning, which I allow. I play another Factory and take some City damage to cast The Abyss; I end up with a Zuran Orb soon after and freely attack with my Mishras - because if they draw out burn, then there is that much less I am taking. (They are also life points now that the Orb is in play.)

He casts a Blistering Firecat, which gets Force of Willed. He then casts Seismic Assault, which I also allow but then Disenchant; he discards two lands to do four to me in response. He tries to bolt me and I Misdirect to him (there are no creatures, due to The Abyss). He does some other random burn to me. I am still hitting him for two a turn with my last Factory and he plays a Keldon Battlewagon to get me to two (with about five land and a Zuran Orb in play) as I take his last few life points away.

Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 12, 11, 10, 12, 11, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 10, 12, 11, 13, 7, 6, 4, 2
Gary: 20, 18, 15, 11, 9, 6, 4, 2 dead

(Sideboard: +1 Swords to Plowshares, +1 Misdirection, +1 Teferi's Response, +1CoP: Red, +1 Powder Keg, -1 Disenchant, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Strip Mine, -1 Mystical Tutor)

Game Two: This game was much quicker than the last one; he got a first-turn Jackal Pup, Second Turn Pup/Fanatic. I play a second-turn Balance with a Factory in play and Jewelry to boot! He plays another Pup and Bolts me. I untap, draw, play a land, and pass. Next he casts a Ball Lightning, which I Mana Drain, and turn into a protected Morphling the next turn, he holds back and I attack, wipe out his board via Keg, and attack a few more times. It's his turn and he has a Buggy and Pup in play (I had been taking four a turn from these guys) but I was leaving my Morphling tapped so he would be protected as I had only one spare Blue after each attack. This turn I have like four sources, so he attacks - and I untap my Morphling, pump him to a 5/1, and block the Pup, killing Gary! This game is mine with style points to spare.

Life: Z 20, 18, 16, 15, 12, 8, 4
Gary: 20, 15, 10, 5 dead

Games: 8-4, Matches 4-1

Round Six: Josh Timberman (Routedashf on themanadrain.com) playing Paragon Keeper (-Mystical Tutor, +Vampiric tutor), Fully Powered
Josh is a cool guy, he had been out of magic for awhile, but seemed to have a good grasp of what he was doing. Once again I don't have the best notes, just life totals - so this is mostly from my memory. For more details of this match, check out Josh's report.

We are both thinking about the Top Eight and we both have 12 points, there are a ton of other people who do as well, so if we draw we risk the chance of neither of us making it - so it's game time.

Game One:

I open with a quick hand and have no counter magic; I play a Tundra and pass. During Josh's upkeep, I cast Ancestral and he answers with Force of Will, pitching Cunning Wish. Josh plays a Library of Alexandria, but can not use it right away because of the Force of Will he cast earlier.

I play an Underground Sea and pass. We draw go for awhile and I play a Strip Mine; since Josh only has five cards in hand I think I'm okay and do not use the Strip. On Josh's turn, he draws Brainstorm! This puts him in Library range and he uses it - I don't delay any longer and Strip the Library of Alexandria right there.

I have in hand at this point Force of Will, Force of Will, two Lands, Demonic Tutor, Misdirection and a Mana Drain. I believe I have a Mishra's Factory in play as well. I feel pretty good about winning a counter war and want to get control in one feel swoop, I am swayed to have a counter battle with Josh, so I go ahead and tutor up a Mind Twist...

Foolish? I have the Mana to cast the Mind Twist for six and still Mana Drain, so I do. I Twist, he Drains, I Drain, he Misdirects the Twist to me, I Force of Will; he Force of Wills! I lose my Yawgmoth's Will!

He lays a Dust Bowl, then plays a Mox monkey, he kills every one of my lands before I agree to concede if he shows a counter (I have a Force of Will too), he does. Game.

Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 concede
Josh: 20, 19, 18, 17, 16

(Sideboard: +4 Red Elemental Blast, +1 Misdirection, +1 Teferi's Response, -1 Disenchant, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 The Abyss, -1 Zuran Orb, -1 Swords to Plowshares)

Game Two: This is a long game, too; I take a lot of damage from a pair of Cities. I get a Factory into play and cast some Red Elemental Blasts and Mana Drains, play a Morphling, then swing a couple times for the win.

Life: Zach 20,19,18,17,16,15,14
J: 20, 19, 17, 16, 14, 12, 7, 2 dead

Game Three: We have five minutes left of game play. Five minutes is not enough time for this match up! I have a ton of counters in hand and draw a Tutor, extra rounds is called. What the heck, I decide that I can win a counter war and Mind Twist Keeper, I have something like this in my hand: 1 Force of Will, two Red Elemental Blasts, Mana Drain, Response, Twist. I cast the Twist for six, he Misdirects, I Red Elemental Blast, he Force of Will's, I Red Elemental Blast, he Force of Wills, I Force of Will, he Red Elemental Blast! This was a blast, what a fun play. Sure, I lost my hand (or what was left of it), but so did he! Much more fun than just simply Mind Twisting and him saying okay.

Karen (DJ-Jackalope) was watching our match and awarded us both with an early Christmas present - some CD's she cut herself, for the play of the day! Thank you, Jackalope! So this game is a draw after all is said and done, but it was a beautiful match to play and to watch.

Games: 9-5-1 Matches: 4-1-1

There is a little tension with everyone wondering who is going to make top eight, especially with my draw last round, I decide this is a good time to do some trading and pick up a few odd and ends. It looks like R3as0n is a man of his word, as I am the only thirteen to make it into the top eight, thanks to his winning record on my tiebreaker. Thanks Jeff!

The Top Eight:

• TnT (R3as0n, Jeff Urich) vs. Sligh
• Keeper vs. Keeper
• Grow vs. Grow
• Keeper (Green Knight, Zach Gable) vs. Tinker a.k.a. el Artifacto (A.J. Hill)

Quarter Finals:
A.J. knows what he is doing and is ranked 4^th in the state with a 1842 rating. I have played A.J. a few times and know his deck fairly well. I am looking forward to the challenge of facing off against him. This deck runs a ton of artifacts, like Su-Chi, Triskelion, Karn, Silver Golem, and has some blue based control for back up as well, I do not think he was running Force of Wills today. It also features four Copy Artifact.

Game One: AJ opens with a first-turn fatty, which I Force of Will; then a second turn Triskelion almost drops, but I Force of Will this, too. Next he plays a Tinker, saccing Mana Crypt to get a...

Yes, I Force of Will this as well - love the Force!

AJ has three Workshops and an Island; I Strip the Island so he can't Ancestral. By this time, I have a Mishra in play that is chipping away at AJ, until he gets a Triskelion into play that hold back my Factory, I drop another Factory to keep the Trike at bay and follow up with a Morphling a few turns later. He finishes this game. As soon as AJ dies he reveals his hand of four - yes, four - Copy Artifacts, he could not cast one of them because his lands in play were three Mishra's Workshops, an Island and a tapped Mana Vault. Good thing I stripped that Island when I did!

Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 16
A.J.: 20, 19, 17, 16, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 2, 1 dead

(Sideboard: +3 Red Elemental Blast, +1 Swords to Plowshares, +1 Misdirection, +2 Disenchant, -1 The Abyss, -1 Mox Emerald, -1 Fire/Ice, -1 Teferi's Response, -1 Cunning Wish, -1 Zuran Orb)

Game Two: I believe this game has AJ drop another first turn Su-Chi, which resolves and gets sent to the field via a Swords to Plowshares. I have a couple of Factories in play which are providing the entertainment. AJ plays another two Triskelions over the next few turns; I Disenchant one and take three then Edict the other and take three more. I play my third Mishra's and A.J. is not looking good.

Until he plays...Back to Basics! And a fattie . I am hosed, I play no basic land and this could be game...

Wait a minute! I'm playing Keeper! I look into my hand and have a Demonic Tutor, Force of Will, Swords to Plowshares, Red Elemental Blast and a Disenchant - but all of my lands are tapped. I do, however, have a Sol Ring and a Jet. What would you do? I Tutor up a Black lotus, play it for white, cast the Swords to Plowshares first (just in case he has a counter), then disenchant the Back to Basics! I Force his last attempt to survive, and finish him off with my Factories. The match goes to me!

I also recall AJ casting another Back to Basic at one point, which I let resolve and then Red Elemental Blasted it before my turn.

Life: Zach 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 10, 9
A.J.: 20, 19, 23, 20, 16, 12, 7, 1

Games 11-5-1, Matches: 5-1-1

Semi-Finals:

• Keeper (Me, Green Knight)
• TnT (R3as0n)
• Keeper (???)
• Grow (???)

The prize scale is $250.00 for first place, $100.00 for second, $50 for third and $50 store credit for 4^th. Or if you play with a bunch of good guys, like I do at Mile High, we split the prize $100.00 cash and $12.50 store credit each for the top four. I try to convince everyone to split the prize money, but play for ranking - but it seems that R3as0n and I are the only ones even slightly interested.

Someone says something about how your Type One rating doesn't matter anyway, but I disagree. Oh well. We did not play for ranking, but I scored $100.00 and my second top four finish in a row. Overall, it was an excellent tournament and I had a great time. I got to meet a ton of cool people and was very impressed at the amount of power that was in the field today; I'd say there were at least fifteen fully-powered decks, maybe more.

Random Thoughts:
Keeper was a blast to play; I really liked it. I wanted more fetchlands, but only had one before the tournament and no time to trade before registering my deck. So I would drop one City of Brass for one Fetch land. I would also consider removing an Underground Sea for an Island, if I were to do it again. Also I would fit a Shattering Pulse (or maybe two) into the sideboard after being routed by TnT. Overall, though, this was one of the most rewarding tournament experiences ever.

I absolutely loved the Mishra's Factories in the deck as they were an uncounterable beatstick and traded nicely with Juggernauts and all other manner of beasts (not the creature type; just creatures in general). I also loved the Vampiric Tutor main deck; there was never a moment when I regretted drawing this card. Cunning Wish was awesome game one and easily sideboarded out game two to bring my good stuff in. I was glad not to have green and always had the mana to cast what ever I needed.

I know the tournament report does not reflect it, but the Teferi's Response was a house with the Factories and the Brainstorm was also amazing in general. My Mox Emerald was a nice boost, and sure made it easy to sideboard - but may very well be leaving the mana deck in favor of a Wasteland. Active Library of Alexandrias and Dust Bowls are not my friends! Especially the Dust Bowl (see round 6, game 1. Twitch, twitch).

To the Keeper and Grow players in the Semis, I apologize for not getting your names.