There is a small type 1 tournament that is held every week at Game Tech, a gaming store about ten minutes from my house. There is another store called Dreamers, which holds monthly tournaments for Power 10 cards.

So I heard there was a Black Lotus to be won and bam! I decided that I wanted to watch someone win it.

I had no thought in mind that person could be me.

You see, I'm an aggro player - specifically R/G aggro. Unless an aggro player is using some dirty form of winning (Sui and Sligh), or is just really good (TNT), aggro doesn't usually fare too well. I've gone to this tournament at Dreamers a few times; the first time I went, I managed to make top 8 with a sub optimal deck. I lost to former JSS champ Ben Ashkar's Tradewind/Survival deck in the top 8, he went on to win the tournament. I missed a month. Then I came back and mised into top 4, losing to the wackiest Sligh build I'd ever seen. He went on to win the tournament.

I'm seeing a pattern here: Whoever I lose to in the top 8 of the tournament will likely win the whole thing.

My friend Sam had bought a Mox Emerald the day before and had decided to let me use it, as he wasn't attending. I thought,"Lucky me!" since I'd never played in a tournament, wielding power. Unfortunately he forgot to loan me the $100 dollar piece of cardboard - and I arrived at the site about twenty minutes early, powerless. I was somewhat concerned because of the results of the Type 1 FNM I'd placed 4^th in earlier that week; 3-3 is not a confidence builder.

Dreamers is a nice little store, with the smallest parking lot I've ever seen - thus, I was forced to park on the street. I walk into the store shivering, my hands ready to freeze - Minnesota winters are cold! - with about twenty minutes before the tournament will begin. As I went into the crowd I saw the usual type 1 gurus such as Nick Godrey, Craig Olson, and Bryan Cox. Brian Cox was taunting everyone that his new Replenish deck broke the triangle and will win the entire tournament. But apparently he was bluffing that and went with his mainstay, BSB. I prepare my deck - but I forget to sign up!

Here's a list for anyone who cares to see my unpowered glory.

R/G Zoo

Land (26)
6 Mountain
4 Forest
4 Taiga
4 Wasteland
4 Treetop Village
2 Wooded Foothills
1 Sol Ring
1 Strip Mine

Burn (13)
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Incinerate
4 Cursed Scroll
1 Chain Lightning

Creatures (14)
4 River Boa
1 Uktabi Orangutan
2 Call of the Herd
4 Kird Ape
3 Gorilla Shaman

Other (7)
4 Naturalize
3 Rancor

Sideboard (15)
4 Compost
4 Red Elemental Blast
2 Hull Breach
2 Ravenous Baloth
1 Phantom Nantuko
1 Fireball
1 City of Solitude

Now I'll say a few things about my mainboard selections. The mana base seems large, no? Well it is.. The four Treetop Villages balance that out though. They are the biggest creatures in the deck. They trample on their own, and I can't believe how good they've been to me. If you don't like them, they are easily replaced with a few burn spells and a land or two. There should be four Wooded Foothills, but I'm poor and just borrowed it from my friend Ben (brislove on TheManaDrain forums).

You might be wondering where Blurred Mongoose is. It's a very good creature - but the thing is, Ophidian is just superior. Cutting the Mongeese that were in my deck allowed me to add Rancor and Uktabi Orangutan. I've never even considered going back to the Mongeese. The Uktabi, on the other hand, has since been replaced by a third Call.

If you don't believe it yet, Naturalize is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G in over half of your matchups. Against traditional Sligh and other decks without enchantments, it is often dead. That was the inspiration for Phantom Nantuko, as janky as they come. I needed four cards that I'd have the option of siding in against decks whose only permanents are lands and creatures. The lone Fireball fits into that, too. With twenty-six lands Fireball often tends to be an"I Win More" card; it prevents Sligh from topdecking burn for the win while you finish them off with your beatsticks or scrolls.

You may question some of my sideboard choices - but I might, too, but they didn't end up affecting my game play, so it's okay. If I were to play this deck in a random environment I'd probably drop the City of Solitude and the two Hull Breach for three Anarchys. Parfait is just a beating for this deck, and Anarchy helps against white weenie too.

I hear the shouts go up,"Pairings are up." I go to check my pairing for the first round and miss my name completely. I think,"Oh, $#!@" and go ask the kind proprietor Jason if I can get in late. There's one person unpaired; I assumed I'd play him, but apparently I wasn't the only one to forget and get a bye.

First Round - Bye
I hang out by my friend Brian and watch his good Stompy build get shut down by what looked like Call of the Kor + STP.dec. Stompy can't deal with Pro-Green things too well. Afterwards, I play some Type 2 with Brian. My funky Reanimator deck is just too much for his Burning Bridges. I amassed something like thirty zombies before the Cabal Archon finished him off.

Matches 1-0 Games 0-0

Second Round - Ben Balling, BSB, powered
Ben is someone I've played with quite a bit since I got back into the game. I topdeck horribly and succumb to Morphling quickly. If I'd seen something good for this matchup I might have won - but the strength of BSB really showed in this match. I'd like to tell you more about this match, but there isn't much to tell. He got his counter engine running and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Sideboarding:
-1 Chain Lightning
-1 Incinerate
-2 Rancor
-1 Gorilla Shaman

+4 Red Elemental Blast
+1 City of Solitude

Matches 1-1 Games 0-2

Third Round - Extended B/W Reanimator, unpowered (it was an Extended deck)
Things are looking okay right now... I need to go 3-0 from here on out to be assured top 8 - no problem.. This was probably my toughest matchup all day, as Reanimator usually crushes aggro... And that's exactly what it did game 1. My deck is just not ready for a turn 3 Phantom Nishoba. I did come close to winning this game, but the strength of a 7/7 Spirit Linked creature is just too much for me. Interestingly he used the new Extended"It" card, Cabal Therapy, to replenish the counters on his huge beast, with his Exhume returning a Kird Ape to play. I'd brought his monster down to a 5/5, something manageable.

Game 2, I immediately land screwed him. His swamp was Strip Mined and his tainted field was wasted. He Duressed once, but that was about all he was able to do. Game 3 he was again land screwed, managing not to see white. He got his Nishoba out again, but a Cursed Scroll and two Lightning Bolts sent over enough damage for the win.

Sideboarding:
-2 Naturalize
-1 Gorilla Shaman
-1 Uktabi Orangutan

+4 Compost

Matches 2-1 Games 2-3

Fourth Round - Mike, Gro, powered
I'm a fan of Gro - unless they play Mystic Enforcer. And thankfully, my opponent never saw either of his Mystic Enforcers. This match is where I realized how strong forcing Counterspells to be played in this match was. Call of the Herd was my MVP here; I drew out four of his cards with my two Calls, which allowed the City of Solitude to hit the board. At that point he was simple to beat. Cursed Scroll just destroyed him game 1 and in game 2 a Scroll (named by Meddling Mage early) pinged him down enough for the burn to win it. Wastelands were integral in these games, keeping him short on mana the entire match. He maxed out at three sources.

Sideboarding:
-2 Rancor
-2 Naturalize
-1 Uktabi Orangutan

+4 Red Elemental Blast
+1 City of Solitude

Matches 3-1 Games 4-3

Fifth Round - Jim, R/G Zoo, unpowered
I go over to look at the pairings - and see I'm playing Jim, who'd thrown together a version of zoo somewhat similar to mine, very quickly. His hastiness doomed him in the matchup. My tiebreakers were looking pretty bad going into this match. I nearly attempted to draw into top 8 but decided that this match would be better - and if the games didn't go my way, I'd be kicking myself for the next month. So we play, and the thoughtfulness (in comparison) of my build is really apparent. In the first game, I took a pain from my Wooded Foothills - and that was it, as I was on the aggressive for the entire match. Wild Mongrels do not like matching up with Kird Apes, especially ones with Lightning Bolt backup. The 2/2 Mongrel cowers before my fearsome 2/3 Kird Apes. When he'd try to pump the Wild Mongrel to prevent it from dying a death to apes, I'd respond with a Lightning Bolt. That royally screws the controller of the Wild Mongrel, as they just got some major card disadvantage. Disappointingly, my opponent discarded three cards to his Mongrel so he could kill my Kird Ape after his Dog had gotten burned. Two of his mongrels were struck down by well-timed burn - and they were the only creatures he had out for more than a turn in this match. Jim's inexperience with the deck also hurt him. Jim's color screw second game allowed me to waltz into the top 8 as the 4 seed.

Sideboarding
-1 Rancor
-2 Naturalize
-1 Gorilla Shaman

+2 Ravenous Baloth
+1 Phantom Nantuko
+1 Fireball

Matches 4-1 Games 6-3

The top 8 is up - and six people from the store I regularly play at, Game Tech, have made it.
1. Justin (RUB) vs. 8. Oath
2. Brian (BSB) vs. 7. WUB
3. Chris (4 color zoo) vs. Nick (Urphidian)
4. Steve (R/G zoo) vs. Ben (BSB)

Control is running rampant and I guess - and it's up to me or Chris to slap it around for the 4^th month in a row.

Quarterfinals - Ben Balling again, BSB, powered
It's Ben again! How I loathe playing BSB... But how I relish in victory over it.

Ben and I have some fun in these games, 'cept he doesn't enjoy my early beating sticks that go all the way. Ben is very cocky at the beginning of the match, while I was on a three-game losing streak against him - but the more unlikely it is I'll win, it seems the better I topdeck.

In the first game, my diversity of creatures is too much for him. Three Kegs were used, and I maintained at least two creatures on the board the entire game. I get a turn 2 Boa, which is immediately Rancored, and bashes in Ben's face for four a turn. There isn't much he could do here so I'm going to semifinals.

Sideboarding
-1 Chain Lightning
-1 Incinerate
-2 Rancor
-1 Gorilla Shaman

+4 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Gorilla Shaman

Matches 5-1 Games 8-3

Semifinals - Justin Bing, RUB control, powered
The six of us watching had a lot of fun trying to get on Mr. Bing's nerves in his quarterfinal match. His opponent led the way, and he allowed it; Good man. This guy is a little new to type 1, and as a result his deck is very janky - but in a good way. He's placed high in all four tournaments he's been to, and this is a very tough match for me.

My new strategy of forcing my opponent to repeatedly use counterspell effects is utilized here and I force game 1 with creature beatdown. In game 2, I manage to get some early 1/1 Kird Ape beatings in. I eventually find a forest but he already has a Finkel on the board. The Shadowmage Infiltrator allows him to search for answers, of which he finds none that he can play. I manage to force damage past a tapped Masticore (Naturalize is apparently broken) and his misplay of tapping out to regenerate Masticore wins me a spot in finals. I really wanted to win wih Sol'kanar, the Swamp King out, but he never saw it. Wasteland is critical in this match, as it allows me to sneak past his Mishra's Factories.

Sideboarding
-2 Naturalize
-2 Gorilla Shaman

+4 Red Elemental Blast

Matches 6-1 Games 10-3

Finals - Nick Godrey, Urphidian, powered
I had finished relatively quickly, so I go watch the other semifinal match between Brian Cox and Nick Godrey. I'm rooting for Brian, although he is the more experienced player - because having to fight red with my deck can be extremely difficult, I've lost three matches in a row to Nick and I've never beaten Brian, although he doesn't play often anymore. Nick's red splash for Red Elemental Blast helps give him the match and we're playing in finals. I heard during my match with Justin that two of Brian's Morphlings had been flamed out by Kavus.

We both shuffle for five minutes. It's Nick's second consecutive finals here, once again playing against unpowered aggro. I lose the roll; he opts to play. This game involved me seeing no forests and a max of three lands - but it was nearly a close match though. The eight-person crowd was sure I was done for and I wasn't all that hopeful. Urphidian has a reasonably favorable matchup against me, and the last game showed me to be a not so good topdecker.

In go the four Blasts, a City, the Phantom Nantuko, and 2 Ravenous Baloths. The Phantom was a bit of a mistake - but luckily, I didn't see it. It immediately came out and I got a good threat back in. Game 2 was all about me playing"draw, go" for three turns and him starting to get the library going. The match began to turn when he played an Ophidian. Ophidian lets me empty my hand and generally forces him to empty his to save it. I immediately play out a pair of Incinerates to deplete his hand of counter. He draws off the 'phid for awhile.

I forgot how I managed to win this match. All I remember was that a pair of Kird Apes were allowed to beat him down after he neglected to put his Keg at zero. I forced the last three points of damage with a Lightning Bolt, backed by a topdecked REB.

Game 3 was a little strange. I managed to draw only one green source. His untapped Wasteland and two islands kept me from playing my Wasteland, and didn't allow me to Scroll early - but I had a handful of burn was strong for me. A topdecked Wooded Foothills gave me the color I needed. Nick decided to sit on a Wasteland he had topdecked instead of hitting my mana base - and I eventually got my third land and started playing out threats. Nick didn't really get much this game and fortunately I was able to burn him out for the game.

Sideboarding
-1 Chain Lightning
-1 Gorilla Shaman
-1 Call of the Herd (was 2 as I put in Nantuko for game 2. He headed back to where he belonged though, on the bench)
-1 Forest
-1 Uktabi Orangutan

+4 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Ravenous Baloth
+1 City of Solitude

Matches 7-1 Games 12-4

Overall this tournament rejuvenated my interest and enjoyment of type 1. I spent nearly eight hours at the store and enjoyed every minute of it. I'm glad that the competition there was so great. The best players in this region showed up and the level of competition was not in the least disappointing. It seems unpowered decks are winning quite a bit at the Dreamers tournament, the four months I've been there. This brings fact to the idea that you can play Type 1.

I'll do what people love doing at the end of articles: Giving props and slops to people.

Props

• Game Tech players, for taking six of the T8 slots and sweeping the top 4.
• My topdecking in T8 for being so consistently good
• All the great players there
• My new Vintage rating
• My powerless deck
• Sam for forgetting to lend me his emerald

Slops

• The tiny parking lot
• My janky sideboard

Wait a sec - that wasn't the end! Now I know you all salivate over decklists, so I'll give you a updated one of my deck that is what I'll be taking to tourneys around here for awhile.

Land (26)
6 Mountain
4 Forest
4 Taiga
4 Wasteland
4 Treetop Village
2 Wooded Foothills
1 Sol Ring
1 Strip Mine

Burn (13)
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Incinerate
4 Cursed Scroll
1 Chain Lightning

Creatures (14)
4 "River Boa
3 Call of the Herd
4 Kird Ape
3 "Gorilla Shaman

Other (7)
4 Naturalize
3 Rancor

Sideboard (15)
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Compost
3 Anarchy
2 Hull Breach
2 Ravenous Baloth
1 Fireball

With the realization that I can beat monoblack without Compost comes the removal of one from the sideboard. It's still important. Anarchies are amazing Pgainst parfait if you get them down far enough. Uktabi Orangutan was unspectacular, so he was dropped in favor of my new favorite green card, Call of the Herd (farewell, dear Earthcraft, farewell).