My name is Nathan Saunders, and I won the Oregon State Championships with Mono Black Control. My list is as follows:

4 Phyrexian Arena
4 Terror
3 Smother
2 Infest
3 Oblivion Stone
4 Consume Spirit
2 Promise of Power
3 Grid Monitor
2 Coercion
2 Mind Sludge
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Scrabbling Claws
3 Diabolic Tutor
2 Chrome Mox
2 Stalking Stones
21 Swamps

Sideboard
3 Dark Banishing
1 Stabilizer
2 Persecute
1 Coercion
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Mourners Shield
1 Withered Wretch
2 Grim Reminder
2 Vicious Hunger
1 Culling Scales

After much debating, I ended up cutting out Robo-Jens for three Hundroog (Hundroog! - The Ferrett).... No, wait - three Grid Monitors and one Promise of Power. As good as Jens was, I just needed the fatter butt to stop angry White Knights and those evil Clickslithers. I think I found a Clickslither in my bathtub once; he got smashed with toilet paper. Apparently TP makes a good Lightning Bolt.

I almost cut the Stabilizer right before the tournament, but saw way too many W/R cycling decks (and knew a few good players were playing U/R rogue cycling decks), I knew it had to stay. The Culling Scales are terrible with the Moxes, but it was my only answer to Damping Matrix, and had to get tossed into the sideboard.

I knew the matchup with Affinity was horrible, and debated the Dark Banishings possibly coming into the main deck. After much deliberation, I decided to stick with my guns and run Smothers - I just needed it that much more against Goblins and White Weenie, and random annoying things like Zombies. Operation: Avoid Affinity was now in progress!

Anyway, on to the juicy results!

Round 1: Roy Zolnoski, Black/Red Dragon Control
Roy was obviously at States to have a fun (and probably not too successful) time with his red/black dragon control deck. Game one was interesting; he started out with a turn 4 Abyssal Specter as I missed a land drop. Already frustrated, he then dropped a Cabal Interrogator, cast Lightning Greaves and started serving. I finally got a Phyrexian Arena into play, and started getting too much card advantage for his little discard stick to matter. Grid Monitor came out fast, and bashed his dome. A random Bladewing the Risen entered Roy's side of the table, but he ended up getting Consume Spirited. Game one, me.

Game two was a different story. I had no idea what Roy was playing, and boarded out three of my Terrors. That was a mistake, as an early Cabal Interrogator plucked away at my hand - not a Smother in sight for me. I had two Phyrexian Arenas in play, trying to get some good cards to beat him down with. The beating was all Roy's, as he played Rorix Bladewing. Two turns later and four cards, I drew nothing to kill it. I scooped.

Determined not to lose to a casual dragon deck round one, I boarded back the Terrors to kill his pesky dragons. This would be quite key, for Terror destroyed Mr. Shivan Dragon and Mr. Two-Headed Dragon. Visara the Dreadful then came down to play and finished Roy off. Thank goodness - I beat dragon control. Barely!

1-0.

Round 2: Thomas Mirchel, Green/Red Land Destruction
Before we started the game, a judge came up to Thomas and had to give him a game loss for an illegal deck list. Apparently Thomas didn't register all the forests in his deck.

Game two was a very interesting game - I was quite the lucky man. Thomas went first and dropped a Birds of Paradise. Then a second-turn Stone Rain. And third-turn Molten Rain, and then a Creeping Mold. Ohh, great - land destruction, my deck's worst matchup. A Troll Ascetic came into play for Thomas, as I was tempted to Terror his Birds of Paradise, I held it like a good little Magic player. I kept on drawing land, and finally Thomas missed another turn of blowing up my land, and Oblivion Stone came into on my side as a Creeping Mold target. Thomas took the bait, and Creeping Molded my Stone.

I then played another land and played Grid Monitor. Hooray! Thomas followed with a Ravenous Baloth, but Terror killed it. Then I peeled Infest from the top of my deck, and the little Troll Ascetic died. Grid Monitor smash! And smash and smash and smash he did. Another Baloth for Thomas, another Terror for me. Thomas ended up at one life and drew...A Bloodstained Mire. He showed me the Form of the Dragon in his hand, and conceded. Poor Thomas, two of his red sources were City of Brasses. Ouch. Literally.

2-0

Round 3: Jordan Stanton, White Weenie
Jordan seemed like a nice guy, and he led off with a Savannah Lions. Roar. The Lions began to smash, but they died - and here came the Phyrexian Arena! It was almost too much card advantage for me, but Thomas kept on playing little beaters, and I tried to keep up. An Extraplanar Lens for me, followed by two Promise of Powers in a row, one for a 5/5 and one for a 3/3. Thomas then decided to cast a Wrath of God, which made me giddy, for he lost his only two creatures and my Promises of Power were merely a desperation tactic. A few Consume Spirits later, massively fueled by the Lens, and Thomas was dead. Phew!

Game two was a joke. Thomas overextended early and I cast Infest, getting three-for-one card advantage. Like that matters! Thomas then cast multiple White Knights, Bonesplittered one up and began bashing. But before I could do much more, a Karma ended it right before I could stabilize. Stupid Karma!

Game three was another back-and-forth game. I got out an Arena and began getting more card advantage. I got an Oblivion Stone in play, which blew away a Karma and a few weenies. Thomas then got another Karma in play, but I then tutored for my tech: Mourner's Shield. Next turn, I took three from a Karma (for I randomly had a Chrome Mox and two Stalking Stones in play, to go along with my three swamps) and Smothered his Silver Knight. I prevented the damage during my upkeep from the evil karma, and smashed with Grid Monitor. A few turns later, and it was over. Phew!

3-0.

Round 4: Jacob Duncan, Goblin Bidding
I was at table one and was gathering quite the crowd of my friends. This kid was playing Goblin Bidding, and kept on looking at me very strangely. So I'd stare back at him, wondering what the problem was. He'd then stare, and I stared back. This continued for a bit as we began play.

Sometimes Goblins just win, but not this game. An Arena-fueled, card-advantage filled game was good times against his three Clickslithers he played against me. One turn was key, as he swung in with three Clickslithers, I blocked one with my Grid Monitor and cast terror on another, only taking three damage. A consume spirit to finish off the Clickslither, followed by an Extraplanar Lens-fueled Oblivion Stone, and the game was mine.

Game two was very similar to game one, but I had seen from an early Persecute which had revealed a Patriarch's Bidding in his hand (I named red), that the Bidding may hurt me, for he drew multiple Clickslithers this game too. My plan was to Oblivion Stone away a Goblin and a Clickslither he had in play, and deal with his Bidding by praying for a discard spell. However, this wasn't meant to be - for the young man I was playing prematurely cast Patriarch's Bidding, bringing back a single Clickslither, and before I even blew my Oblivion Stone. Thanks!

I exploded the Stone during his end step, then worried he was going to Bidding the following turn - but that didn't happen. Grid Monitor swung in, and I said go. He then cycled a Gempalm Incinerator and played a Sulfuric Vortex. Right... But he was at six life! I said,"thanks for the game," and smashed with the monitor, putting him at two."Good luck next round," I said, he replied,"Ohh." He then died to his own Vortex.

4-0

Round 5: Brad Maybee, Black/White Control
I didn't know Brad before the tournament, but he was sure excited to tell me how much his black/white control deck smashed MBC in playtesting. Whatever, kid. He talked some more trash, and I laughed at him, and the judge told us to knock it off, for we were annoying him.

Anyway, I had to mulligan in game one, and Brad came out swinging away at my horrible hand, casting Coercion twice getting an Infest and another pretty worthless card, cursing his luck as I plucked an Oblivion Stone and put it into play. The game drew on as I couldn't draw anything, and he cycled an Eternal Dragon about a billion times. I made a judgment call later that game by hitting him with Mind Sludge (not leaving enough mana open to blow my Stone) and in response, he made a lot of possums with Decree of Justice. I scooped.

Game two was a joke. I kept a risky hand of one Stalking Stones, one Chrome Mox, one Phyrexian Arena, two Coercions, a Grim Reminder, and a Persecute. I proceeded to not draw a single land or Chrome Mox the whole game. It was such a joke, Brad cast Akroma's Vengeance just to kill my Mox. A Decree of Justice angel token later, and I scooped.

4-1

Round 6: Mike Marchant, Red/White/Green Astral Slide
I know Mike from a card shop I normally play at. He always seems to have broken black draft decks, and I knew beforehand that he was playing Slide. Before game one I began counting his deck. Right before I was finished, he said,"So you want to play that way, huh?" and then proceeded to pick up my deck and looks through it! I said"What the @$*% are you doing?" and he accused me of looking through his cards and decided to look through my deck.

So after calling a judge over, he got a game loss.

Mike was very distraught after this, and wasn't very happy playing another game. It didn't last long, as two Mind Sludges in a row took out his whole hand, and he promptly died to a Grid Monitor and a Consume Spirit. Smash!

5-1

Round 7 Chris Ives, Red/White Slide
Chris is a good guy and one of my friends, but I was giddy knowing I had to play him, for he was playing red/white slide. I then told Chris"Bye," for I was going to have to knock him out of the tournament. That was pretty crappy of me, and I apologized later, but it was also pretty funny. Then they announced a repairing. Alas, I still was going to play Chris, and waved goodbye at him yet again.

Game one was a pretty good game, even with the tons of card advantage I was getting. My Scrabbling Claws took out an early cycled Eternal Dragon, but Chris got an Astral Slide and a Lightning Rift in play, and my Grid Monitor was trapped in Slide limbo. Finally, I Oblivion Stoned away everything, and Chris proceeded to play another Astral Slide. I Consume Spirited his dome for a third of his life, but then he cycled Decree of Justice during my end step and made seven possums. Ugh. So on my turn, I smashed with Grid Monitor - and after much deliberation, Chris took the damage. I then cast Infest, nuking his little soldiers. I won a few turns later when he couldn't draw out of it.

Game two was amazing for me, what a beating. I played a turn 1 Stabilizer thanks to a Chrome Mox, and a turn 2 Phyrexian Arena. If this wasn't enough, I played a turn 3 Persecute for white, nuking half his hand, followed by a"I bet you have a Mind Sludge for me too," followed by a"Yep, now I do" Mind Sludge for four cards on turn 4. What a beating. Game over.

6-1

Round 8: Lance Darling, Goblins
I've known Lance for years, and even though he was the number one seed and a current 7-0, I got him to draw with me. Hooray! I didn't want to risk losing to his Goblins build.

6-1-1

Top 8: Alex Luttman, a.k.a. Rare Draft Kid, Playing Red/White Slide
I've known Alex for a while now, ever since he was a little guy drafting every rare he could see, hence his nickname. Now RDK was out for revenge from years of oppression!

Game one was a complete beating, but not for Alex. I could have cast a turn 3 Promise of Power to refill my hand (thanks to two Chrome Moxes I had drawn), but I decided to cast a Grid Monitor that I had topdecked that turn. Alex got a Lightning Rift in play, and dinked me with a cycling card. I cast Promise of Power to draw five. Mmm, beefy! Grid Monitor smashed his dome. I knew Alex had four maindecked Gilded Lights in his deck, and baited one with a four-point Consume Spirit. He bit, and cast one. Next turn I did the same thing, this time with Mind Sludge. He had another Gilded Light, and didn't lose his hand. He finally Wrath of Godded away my Grid Monitor, and then I Consumed him two straight turns to finish him off. Splat!

Game two was a wrecking. Alex could never get anything going after mulliganing, and I cast a bunch of goodies, including Phyrexian Arena, Stabilizer, and Scrabbling Claws (first turn, I may add). Alex could never draw an Akroma's Vengeance, but did manage to cast an Astral Slide and Damping Matrix. Neither did anything to me, and Visara the Dreadful stabbed his desperation Exalted Angel and went in the next turn for the kill. (Of course, I am hoping he meant"killed in combat," as opposed to"killed via tapping," since Damping Matrix shuts Visara down - The Ferrett)

Top 4: Donovan Sargent, Playing Goblins
All day long I heard about Donovan's land light gobbos build, but he kept on smashing, all the way to the top four. That's where it ended, though.

Game one was a typical game against Goblins. Stabilize around turn 3 or so (thank you, Infest), and get out a Phyrexian Arena and start drawing like mad. However, Donovan had maindecked Sulfuric Vortexes, and now I was taking three a turn. I began racing with an animated Stalking Stones - and boy, was that land angry! The angry and animated Stalking Stones smashed a few straight turns, and a Consume Spirit was a Blaze for a turn, finishing him off.

Game two was completely the opposite. Donovan started off with a turn 2 Goblin Sledder with a turn 3 Goblin Burrows, and Burrowed up the little beater. I finally offed the Sledder thanks to my Phyrexian Arena giving me a Smother, but then Goblin Goon hit the table. I shrugged it off and played my Grid Monitor - but Grid Monitor doesn't like Shatter, and bit the dust. Thanks to the Goblin Burrows the Goblin Goon had eight power, and smashed me. I drew two cards, and didn't get a Terror, and died. Ouch!

Game three was all about Persecute. After Infesting away two Goblin Sledders, a Persecute hit soon after for about five cards. I got a few Goons, a Clickslither, and some other random card. A Grid Monitor started smashing after I made sure I wasn't going to get burnt out. Donovan proceeded to draw land after land, and the game was mine. To the finals!

Finals: Owen Sullivan, Goblins
Owen was quite glad to be in the finals, and he was easily the second-best player in the top 8. Owen had main deck Sulfuric Vortex as well, so I knew this match wouldn't be easy.

Game one was a great game. Back-and-forth action, but Owen was just a tad faster than me. I was playing land after land, and Owen got a Vortex in play. A Clickslither soon followed, and I was going down fast. I had one more turn to live, which I said,"How about Drain Life now?" and I promptly drew my Consume Spirit. The crowd went crazy as I domed Owen to win game one.

Game two was very similar to game one. I had smashed Owen with a Grid Monitor, before it got shattered. Owen ran out of gas soon, but hit with a Sulfuric Vortex at the right time... For me to win!

See, Owen was at five and I was at three. I had Stalking Stones in play, and got excited that I thought Owen made a huge mistake. I animated my Stalking Stones and swung, trying to put Owen to two, but he calmly sacrificed his Skirk Prospector, tapped his mountain and shattered my Stalking Stones. I was discouraged, and said go. Owen then went down to three, played another Sulfuric Vortex, and I had lost. Drats.

Game three was amazing. I mulliganed a one-land hand into an amazing hand with a Vicious Hunger, a Smother, three swamps and a Grid Monitor. I then proceeded to act like a loved one had died, practically crying. I bluffed into saying I'd keep my hand, and acted distraught. Owen was quite nervous, as he was land screwed. His Skirk Prospector got Smothered, and then his Goblin Piledriver got vicious hungered. My Grid Monitor hit play, and Owen was still stuck on two lands, but had Shatter for the Monitor.

Then it came: Persecute. And boom! Owen's whole hand was gone. The crowd went nuts, and rightfully so. Owen, however, was not out of it yet. He plucked a land from the top, and then a Sulfuric Vortex. However, playing the vortex was a misplay, for I then played Stalking Stones, played a Chrome Mox and imprinted my only card on it, a Terror, all so I could animate the stalking stones during his end step. I did just that, and started bashing Owen. A goblin chumped a few turns later, a Skirk Prospector got Smothered, and soon a Consume Spirit destroyed Owen's hopes of becoming champion, and I had won. I got semi mobbed by a few people, and was quite happy that it was finally over. I got my plaque, stood up, and got my two boxes, and said thank my thanks to everyone.

I lucked out in some ways, avoiding affinity the whole tournament. It's a horrible matchup for my deck - of course, that could change if you moved the Dark Banishings to the main deck, which would weaken the Goblin and White Weenie match up - something I didn't want to risk. (And I'm sure glad I didn't!)

Props and Slops time!

Props to:

• Brad, for letting me borrow the oblivion stones.
• Chris, Russ, Eric, Gabe, Trevor, Dan, Jason, everyone for rooting me on.

Slops:

• Nah. Who slops after winning?

Thanks!

Nathan Saunders