Raphael Levy's been a staple on the Pro Tour for almost as long as Kai Budde has, but hasn't had the big finishes to match Kai's success. He's not really hoping to win the tourney today, as he's stuck at 4-2 and just trying to survive the round. He has a good chance, since he's playing with the famed Goblin Charbelcher combo deck - a deck that can routinely strip all mana from itself and then Belch you away on turn 3, and sometimes turn 2.

Kai Budde needs no introduction. He's playing the third variant on Tinker today - not the U/R version with Goblin Welders or the straight blue with a ton of Chrome Moxes and a Myr Incubator, but a more classical build featuring Upheaval and Clockwork Dragon.

Kai won the roll and went first, mandating that he would win the match. They shook hands and wished luck.

Game 1:
Kai kept his initial seven, opening up with the traditionally-busted Tinker start of City of Traitors, Grim Monolith, Metalworker. Raphael glumly laid island, but had nothing to match that amazing start; he knew the Tinker opponent's credo. Thou shalt not suffer a Metalworker to live long enough to get past summoning sickness.

Instead, he Brainstormed, muttering,"Um... yeah," as he put two cards back on the top of his library.

"You're playing Charbelcher, right?" Kai asked. "That must be why I drew this," he said, revealing a Seat of the Synod, a Tangle Wire... And a Damping Matrix, which completely shut down Raphael's win condition. Raph groaned. Kai then used the extra mana to Stroke of Genius himself for six, topping himself off to a full hand of seven cards, then laid the Seat and passed the turn.

Raphael laid a laid and a Talisman of Dominance, laying a Grim Monolith and passing the turn.

Kai revealed Matrix, Wire, and Metalworker, using the mana to cast the Matrix and Wire, putting down a Rishadan Port in the process. Raphael rubbed his forehead, as if suffering from a crippling migraine.

Unfortunately, his migraine was named Kai, and Tylenol is of no use in ridding your match of Buddes.

He verified that with the Matrix out, his Monolith could no longer untap - a danger, since the Tangle Wire was likely to tap it for him - and cast a Thirst for Knowledge using Monolith mana with the Wire's effect still on the stack. He mana burned for one, and then the Wire tapped everything he owned. He plopped down a fresh City of Traitors; Kai Ported it at the end of his turn.

Kai tapped his own Monolith, Matrix, and a Sitz der Synode, attacked with his Metalworker, laid a land to power the Port, and passed the turn. Raphael, with three counters on the Tangle Wire, could only watch as his turn whizzed by.

The Wire dwindled. Kai Stroked himself for six again refueling his hand to a healthy eight - perhaps too healthy for Levy's tastes. Levy, undaunted, took some more mana burn to play Mana Severance, removing all the land from his deck. Kai helped out.

"I just hope you don't play eighteen lands," Kai said as he pitched in to remove the cards from Raphael's deck. "That would be insane."

Kai Metalworkered again, revealing five artifacts, including a Gilded Lotus and a Thran Dynamo, then laid them both and another Metalworker, passing the turn with two Rishadan Ports and the mana to use them. He tapped Levy down to a single island and a Talisman, leaving no room to cast his Goblin Charbelcher.

"You're at twelve?" Raphael asked.

"You have a maindeck answer for the Matrix?" asked Kai, vaguely amused at the thought.

Levy laid a land and Tinkered away his Monolith for a Gilded Lotus. "Okay," said Kai, chuckling. "You already played a Mana Severance, right?"

Kai had near-infinite mana, and considered his options carefully. He attacked with his two Metalworkers, dropping Raphael to seven - Raphael, like many Tinker players, took a lot of damage from his own Ancient Tombs - and Tinkered a Clockwork Dragon into play. He laid his third Rishadan Port and tapped all of Raphael's two-mana lands, leaving him with a measly pair of Talisman, a Seat, and the Lotus to work with.

Good enough. Lotus gave Raphael the mana to Tinker in a Monolith, and the Monolith fueled an Upheaval.

The game restarted, Kai cast a Voltaic Key and discarded a lot of cards. Raphael spent his new second turn casting a Grim Monolith. Kai attempted his own Monolith, which got Force Spiked.

"Are you a winner?" Kai asked. Raphael nodded, as he dropped a Charbelcher into play and shot Kai for a lot. Kai leaned over and looked through Levy's deck before dying, the Charbelcher revealing everything.

"I could have just Ported your blue land," Kai said. "I could have won that in a different way."

Levy 1 - Budde - 0

"Matrix, Matrix," Raphael mused. "You had Matrix maindecked?"

"It should have won me that game, I think!" he said with a flicker of indignance.

The crowd asked who won. "Mr. Levy won game one," Kai said.

"After a turn 1 Metalworker!" Levy exclaimed proudly.

"My Strokes gave me nothing," Kai said. "When I Tinkered for the Dragon, I should have Tinkered the Matrix away for a Mindslaver," he said. "Then I could have Charbelchered and shot you. But I was afraid that you had nothing in your hand, and then it would have misfired and I'd be wide open."

Budde
In: Four Annuls, two Gainsays and the second Mindslaver
Out: Three Tangle Wires, two Masticores, Upheaval, and Urza's Blueprints.

Game 2:
Kai kept, and Xeroxed his first-turn play of getting a Metalworker, this time with an Ancient Tomb.

"Why, Kai?" Raphael asked. "Why? Why?"

"It's pretty good," Kai admitted. "But I lost game one with that opening!"

"It doesn't help me to feel better," Raphael mourned.

Metalworker revealed Voltaic Key, Gilded Lotus; the Key untapped the Worker, and Kai went for a second-turn Stroke for five.

Not to be outdone, Raphael played his own Grim Monolith to Tinker it away for a Gilded Lotus,

"You always Tinker for that, right?" Kai asked. Raphael nodded. "I Tinker for that all the time!" Kai said. "Well, you know, when I don't get a first-turn Metalworker."

Raphael played a Mana Severance, and then used an Ancient Tomb to play a Goblin Charbelcher.

"A good draw," Kai said. "Unfortunately, probably not good enough!"

"I know," Raphael agreed.

Kai revealed a hand full of artifacts to dump twenty-three mana into his pool, played Upheaval, laid Clockwork Dragon, Gilded Lotus, two Voltaic Keys, and a Metalworker.

"I have to kill you right now, right? No problem!" Raphael laughed. Just to speed up the process, Kai explained the math - a 14/14 Dragon by the next turn, assuming that he didn't draw an artifact, which would turn it into a 20/20-plus monstrosity.

Budde 1 - Levy 1

"I had a third-turn kill!" Raphael laughed. "He's 8-0 against me, you know," he said, looking at Kai. Kai nodded.

"Booster draft, Block Constructed, Type II...."

"But Extended?"

"Nah," said Kai, with all the confidence of a man who'll rack up another notch on in this format.

Game 3:
"I don't get to play first," said Kai. "But now I get to draw an extra artifact!"

"Watch me mulligan five times," Raphael admitted.

"So you're going to draw first?" Kai asked.

The look that Raphael gave him could have peeled paint.

"Grim, Metalworker," said Kai; he hadn't drawn his cards yet, but he was attempting to hypnotize his deck into producing the ideal start for the third game in a row.

Raphael kept after peeling off a very scary initial five cards, but the last two turned out to be lands. Kai kept as well.

Raphael led with a Talisman of Dominance, then a Port of his own, used the Ancient Tomb to cast a Grim Monolith, which fueled a Charbelcher.

Kai played a City of Traitors and then a Monolith, and used the Monolith to Tinker itself away for a Damping Matrix. Raphael used his remaining mana to Brainstorm at the end of Kai's turn, then laid a second Port and Ported Kai's entire land base on his upkeep. Kai, with two lands and a Damping Matrix in play, was safe from the Charbelcher - at least until Raphael could find an answer. Kai laid a Seat of the Synod and passed.

His next turn, Kai laid a Metalworker - which Raphael naturally Force Spiked. But realizing that with four lands and five mana, the whole"shut Kai down" thing wasn't working out, he Tinkered away his Monolith for a Gilded Lotus. The Lotus fueled Rishadan Port abuse, shutting down all but two Islands on Kai's side of the tables.

"You're at five?" Kai asked, once again noting the needletracks of rampant Ancient Tomb abuse. He thought for a solid three minutes before laying an island, Tinkering away his Seat for a 6/6 Clockwork Dragon.

"I'm afraid it won't be enough," said Kai.

"Why?"

"Because you're going to Upheaval."

Raphael smiled beatifically... But the spectators behind him, who could see his hand, knew that he didn't have it.

"I could have won this game," he lamented. "But I mis-sideboarded. I should have put in my Platinum Angel. I took her out after Game 2! My Angel, my Angel...." he moaned.

With an Angel, Kai would have had to cast Upheaval to win... And fight through Raphael's counters. But without, he could only eat a large Dragon.

Budde 2 - Levy 1