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This match features old school Type 1 player Jesse Pinchot with Fish against pro Mike Zaun with Food Chain Goblins.

Game 1:
Jesse needed to send his initial hand back, but kept the next six and opened with a Tropical Island, which Zaun destroyed with Wasteland. Crushed, Pinchot had to say "go" without laying a new land.

Mike played out a Bloodstained Mire for a Mountain but didn't have a Goblin. Jesse finally drew a Tundra, but Mike yet again had the Wasteland. Jesse had to pass without playing another land again, and Mike played out a second Mountain for a Goblin Recruiter. Luckily, Pinchot had the Force of Will, removing Spiketail Hatchling. He then drew a Mishra's Factory, which for once was not destroyed... But Mike did play a Goblin Piledriver. Jesse couldn't cast anything on his next turn.

Mike played yet another land and was actually able to hard-cast Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Jesse drew a Flooded Strand on his turn and searched out an Island in order to play a Cloud of Faeries and then a Time Walk. He played a Library of Alexandria on the Time Walk turn and enchanted the Cloud of Faeries with Curiosity to draw a card.

Mike tapped Kiki-Jiki during Jesse's end step to make a Piledriver, and then on his own turn he made another Piledriver and attacked with three 5/2's, taking out the Factory before blockers with Gempalm Incinerator - and to make things worse, Zaun took down the Cloud of Faeries with a maindeck Red Elemental Blast. Jesse didn't play anything on his turn, so Mike's next attack finished him off.

Zaun: "I should probably just shuffle my deck and remove the top card at random."
+4 Pyroblast
+3 Mogg Fanatic
-4 Food Chain
-3 Goblin Vandal

Pinchot:
+3 Chalice of the Void
+2 Rushing River
+1 Swords to Plowshares
-2 Null Rod
-1 Island
-3 Curiosity

While filling out the sideboarding setups, I had to move my laptop off of the judge's scorepad, which revealed a series of jovial smiley face doodles, which he then told me that I just had to include in the coverage.

Game 2:
Pinchot led off with Savannah and a Mox Sapphire to cast Standstill. Zaun fired back by destroying the Savannah with Wasteland. Jesse played a basic Island, but Mike also had a Strip Mine for it. Jesse cycled a Cloud of Faeries in response. Both players continued to simply play land for a few more turns, with Jesse cycling another Cloud and Mike cycling an Incinerator.

Mike eventually broke the Standstill with Black Lotus, Goblin Lackey, and Goblin Warchief Jesse took out the Lackey with Swords to Plowshares and took two from the Warchief. On his first turn post-Standstill, Jesse cast a Meddling Mage, which was REBed, and then another one which resolved, naming Pyroblast.

Zaun played a reduced-cost Piledriver to test for counterspells - and seeing that the coast was clear, went for Recruiter, who also resolved. He set up a stack of three Goblin Lackeys, a Mogg Fanatic, and a Kiki-Jiki, then attacked with everyone. Jesse blocked the Recruiter, but still took seven from the Warchief and 5/2 Piledriver, bringing him to a precarious eight life. He had no play on his turn.

Mike cast the Lackey, which Jesse countered with a hard-cast Force, and then played out a Mogg Fanatic and attacked Jesse down to a precarious two life... But Jesse did draw a Swords for the Piledriver on his next turn. Zaun attacked Jesse down to one and finished him off, but Jesse had the Stifle for the Fanatic.

But alas, Zaun had another Fanatic in hand to hit Pinchot for the final point.

Since Mike plowed through those two games in short order, we still need to wait for the results of the Miller/Laplante semi to find out who Mike will play against in the finals. The relatively brutal result prompted the table judge to drew a new, somewhat lewd doodle that we will not discuss further, as SCG is a family website. (Thankew! - The Ferrett)