Subject: My Team Tournament report Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 15:59:53 -0400 From: Hogan Long To: Dojo Dude -------------------------------------------------------------------- SUNDAY NIGHT AT NEUTRAL GROUND.... THE TEAM CHALLENGE. TEAM Recursive Deceivers (named after Jon Finkel's amazing final round deck) I am writing this report because Frank was so nice to have the Team Challenge and let me play in it... he likes tournament reports (as do I) and I felt his tournament deserved one. There were almost ALL the big names of magic there and though it was late there was a jovial feeling in the room (there was also a claustrophobic feeling too... lots of people where there!) First a few notes about the team: Hogan Long That's me! I am a decent sealed player... I play for fun and don't work the ranking as much as I could... my ranking ranges from low-1900s to high-1700 depending on my current streak. For some reason I can't seem to qualify for a Pro-tour - so I guess I am still a scrub. Maybe soon. I don't play constructed. Mike Pustilnick Mike is a fantastic player. Been on many Pro-Tours and came in 2nd in one. (Sorry Mike I don't remember which one that was.) Mike probably should have been Captain, but since I organized the team, I got that honor. Jonn Omarato Jonn is a Neutral Ground regular and a very good player. Laid back and nice, it is always a pleasure to play John. He always has a smile - one of the best sports at Neutral Ground. Pat Donovan Pat is a very good sealed and draft player. He is the most soft spoken player I've ever met. Originally from the south, if Pat were to say "Damn" you would be shocked that he was using such bad language. This report is divided into sections... first the card list, then the match reports, and finally the deck lists.... enjoy! Total Team Stats: Rounds 2-1 Matches 10-2 !!! Games 25-11 Player Records Hogan Long 2-1 (4-5) Mike Pustilnick 3-0 (8-1) !!!!! John Omarato 3-0 (7-2) Pat Donovan 2-1 (6-3) Round 1 vs B. Tings 2-2 (5-7) Hogan Long vs Jon Finkel 0-3 Mike Pustilnick vs Darwin Kastle 2-1 John Omarato vs Jason Opalka 2-1 Pat Donovan vs David Williams 1-2 Round 2 vs Ragin Asians 4-0 (10-2) Hogan Long vs Tony Tsai 2-1 Mike Pustilnick vs Lan D. Ho 3-0 John Omarato vs Melissa Lang 3-0 Pat Donovan vs Caroline Liu 2-1 Round 3 vs Discovery Channel 4-0 (10-2) Hogan Long vs Jeff Wu 2-1 Mike Pustilnick vs Albert Tran 3-0 John Omarato vs Michael Flores 2-1 Pat Donovan vs Charles Hwa 3-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------The Card lists ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here are the card lists... the deck lists are at the end of the report... so you can (if you want) see what decks you would have made first. 5 Abyssal Specter 5 Amulet of Kroog 5 Anti-Maric Aura 5 Armageddon 5 Ashnod's Altar 5 Brainstorm 5 Brassclaw Orcs 5 Cockatrice 5 Cursed Land 5 Dark Maze 5 Death Ward 5 Disintegrate 5 Flame Spirit 5 Flame Spirit 5 Grapeshot Catapult 5 Ironroot Treefolk 5 Juxtapose 5 Krovikan Fetish 5 Marsh Viper 5 Mesa Falcon 5 Mind Ravel 5 Pit Scorpion 5 Pyroblast 5 Raise Dead 5 Regeneration 5 Repentant Blacksmith 5 Sea Serpent 5 Soul Barrier 5 Tarpan 5 Terror 5 Touch of Death 5 Tsunami 5 Urza's Power Plant 5 Venom 5 White Knight 5 Wolverine Pack 5 Zephyr Falcon AL Balduvian War-Makers AL Bounty of the Hunt AL Feast or Famine AL Foresight AL Guerrilla Tactics AL Insidious Bookworms AL Noble Steeds AL Spiny Starfish AL Storm Shaman AL Tornado AL Viscerid Armor AL Whip Vine HL Aysen Abbey HL Cemetery Gate HL Dark Maze HL Dry Spell HL Folk of An-Havva HL Memory Lapse HL Rysorian Badger HL Trade Caravan IA Anarchy IA Ashen Ghoul IA Balduvian Barbarians IA Dark Ritual IA Disenchant IA Giant Growth IA Goblin Sappers IA Icy Manipulator IA Johtull Wurm IA Lightning Blow IA Nature's Lore IA Orcish Farmer IA Order of the Sacred Torch IA Order of the White Shield IA Pyroblast IA Pyroclasm IA Shambling Strider IA Shatter IA Shield of the Ages IA Soul Kiss IA Wooly Spider MI Adarkar Unicorn MI Armor of Faith MI Armor of Thorns MI Arnjlot's Ascent MI Azimaet Drake MI Balduvian Shaman MI Blighted Shaman MI Builders Bane MI Burnt Offering MI cadaverous Knight MI Civic Guildmage MI Dire Wolves MI Dirtwater Wraith MI Discordant Spirit MI Disempower MI Ekundu Cyclops MI Elvish Healer MI Femeref Healer MI Fog MI Fygja MI Granger Guildmage MI Grave Servitude MI Harmattan Efreet MI Horrible Hordes MI Hydroblast MI Incinerate MI Jabari's Influence MI Jolt MI Kaervek's Purge MI Mind Ravel MI Norritt MI Prismatic Circle MI Pykite MI Raging Spirit MI Reign of Chaos MI Rime Dryad MI Roots of Life MI Seedling Charm MI Shauku's Minion MI Sibilant Spirit MI Stalking Tiger MI Stone Rain MI Talruum Minotaur MI Teferi's Drake MI Thirst MI Thunder Wall MI Touch of Death MI Unyaro Bee Sting MI Urborg Pather MI Viashino Warrior MI Village Elder MI Wall of Resistance MI Wellspring MI Word of Undoing MI Zombie Mob ST Brush with Death ST Change of Heart ST Corrupting Licid ST Death Stroke ST Foul Imp ST Hammerhead Shark ST Hibernation Sliver ST Mobb Justice ST Primal Rage ST Rolling Stones ST Shock ST Skyshroud Troopers ST Spirit en-Kor ST Tortured Existence ST Venerable Monk TE Angelic Protector TE Apes of Rath TE Armored Pegasus TE Chill TE COP: Blue TE COP: Green TE Corpse Dance TE Crown of Flames TE Darkling Stalker TE Dauthi Embrace TE Dauthi Horror TE Dismiss TE Disturbed Burial TE Dream Cache TE Endless Scream TE Firefly TE Frog Tongue TE Gaseous Form TE Heartwood Giant TE Hero's Resolve TE Jined Idol TE Lobotomy TE Lowland Giant TE Manta Riders TE Mogg Fanatic TE Needle Storm TE Pit Imp TE Power Sink TE Rampant Growth TE Reality Anchor TE Rincher Beetles TE Rootwalla TE Saltari Monk TE Servant of Volrath TE Soltari Trooper TE Squee's Toy TE Talon Sliver TE Winged Sliver VI Betrayal VI Crypt Rats VI Eye of Singularity VI Freewind Falcon VI Infernal Harvest VI Mystic Veil VI Python VI Quicksand VI Quirion Ranger VI Raging Gorilla VI Remedy VI River Boa VI Scalebane's Elite VI Summer Bloom VI Tremor WE Argivian Find WE Coils of the Medusa WE Duskrider Falcon WE Dwarven Berserker WE Dwarven Thaumaturgist WE Empyrial Armor WE Fatal Blow WE Goblin Vandal WE Jangling Automaton WE Mistmoon Griffin WE Ophidian WE Phantom Wings WE Striped Bears WE Timid Drake WE Uktabi Efreet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------The Match Reports --------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All of the notes in this section were made by the players themselves.... I just copied them down verbatim for this report.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hogan's Match 1 against Jon Finkel (0-3) Sheesh, Jon had just won the pro-tour.... an hour ago I had been cheering for him... I kinda wanted him to win... as it turns out it did not matter what I wanted Jon's deck was amazing it seems that B. Tings took a different track then we did - they made one very very good deck and 3 OK decks. This deck was a black red beatdown deck with all the red direct d. and all the good back creatures... I had no chance - the skyshroud vampire beat me down every time. There were a couple of close games but Jon is just to good a player... in one game I could have burnt him to death if he did not trade creatures with me (mine was the worse creature) but of course Jon saw the possibility of being burnt to death. My only sideboard was the Shield of the Ages and as Jon said "That's just not as good as it used to be in Ice Age sealed." Game 1 JP 20 17 19 14 11 H 20 18 17 10 9 d Game 2 J 20 17 14 13 16 12 HP 20 17 15 11 9 7 3 1 d Game 3 J 20 19 18 17 HD 20 17 10 7 4 2 d Hogan's Match 2 against Tony Tsi (2-1) Tony was a very nice guy... though maybe a little forgetful about how many lands he's played in a turn. :) Game 1 TP 20 15 13 11 9 H 20 19 18 17 16 12 7 d Tony is playing a U/W deck. Things are going OK till he gets out THE RING (Alladin's Ring). Then he proceeds to pick off my creatures one by one till I none. Then kills me. Game 2 T 20 17 16 13 10 5 d HP 20 18 16 14 12 My deck rocks U/W. I sideboard anarchy, 2 blasts, the reign, and a shatter (fear THE RING). Things are not going so well... he has out a COP: RED, a Gossamer Chains, THE RING, and a 2/4 bander. All I could do is put out a creature every turn... and let THE RING kill it. I did this for about 3 or 4 turns to distract Tony from killing me with THE RING. Then, finally I get the anarchy. So I cast anarchy, Tony thinks and then casts a power sink - I red blast it. Then burn him out in the next turn. Game 3 TP 20 14 8 d H 20 Tony got a little land screwed which was not helped by my reign... He goldfished. Hogan's Match 3 against Jeff Wu (2-1) I don't have any notes for this match... I was kinda out of it at this point... it was late. Game 1 JP 20 16 9 2 d H 20 18 16 12 10 4 Game 2 JP 20 H 20 18 16 14 13 5 d Game 3 J 20 16 12 9 10 22 11 5 HP 20 16 14 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike's Match 1 against Darwin Kastle (2-1) I seem to have lost Mike's notes for his match against Darwin... a shame not to have the notes for this Pro vs. Pro match. Mike's Match 2 against Lan D. Ho (3-0) Game 1 L 20 18 10 8 d M 20 Game 2 L 20 16 12 10 8 6 d M 20 17 13 9 Chump block with disturbed burial pit gImp. Then crypt rat for 6 Game 3 L 20 18 14 7 M 20 18 Slow Green Black, played nothing till turn 5 Mike's Match 3 against Albert Tram (3-0) Mono Black Game 1 A 20 17 15 10 5 2 d M 20 19 18 16 11 6 3 Game 2 A 20 17 14 12 2 d M 20 15 14 10 Game 3 A 20 18 11 2 d M 20 18 14 10 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John's Match 1 against Jason Opallia (2-1) Game 1 Ja 20 15 11 6 d Jo 20 19 18 16 I go Turn 2 Dush Falc, Turn 3 Armor, Turn 4 Geddon - SCOOP!!! Game 2 Ja 20 18 16 14 12 10 6 Jo 20 18 13 6 5 2 d Bad draw. He goes creature, creature, creature. I never really catch up. Game 3 Ja 20 19 18 16 14 11 5 d Jo 20 18 17 14 13 10 4 10 Back and forth. Game turns in my favor on the 10th turn when I cast an Icy and win the race. John's Match 2 agains Melissa Lang (2-1) Game 1 M 20 19 14 8 1 d J 20 17 12 Armor on Duskrider Falcon, It's a BEATING!!! Game 2 M 20 19 18 17 16 15 J 20 18 16 12 10 8 10 8 6 4 d I drew nothing and get beatdown by Abyssal Specter and Daulthi Horror. Ouch. Game 3 M 20 19 12 5 d J 20 18 16 3rd turn Soltari Monk, 4th turn Armor - 'NUFF said. John's Match 3 against Michael Flores (2-1) Game 1 M 20 18 14 J 20 19 17 13 9 1 d I get beatdown by fast white shodow weenies. Game 2 M 20 18 14 9 6 7 3 4 d J 20 18 15 10 5 1 Game 3 M 20 22 21 19 17 13 8 1 d J 20 18 16 14 Close match untill I Iaburi Influence his 1 creature and then Armageddon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pat's Match 1 against Dave Williams (1-2) Game 1 D 20 18 17 16 15 14 13 P 20 19 17 15 (Dave plays deadshot) 1 ded Game 2 D 20 19 17 13 9 8 6 4 2 ded P 20 Village Elder and Rootwalla beatdown. Game 3 D 20 P 20 17 12 9 6 3 ded 3rd turn dave plays spike solder, 4th turn he played spined worm - ouch. Pat's Match 2 against Caroline Liu (2-1) Game 1 C 20 18 14 10 6 P 20 17 14 11 d Mountain goat, giant strength - no land Game 2 C 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 d P 20 17 14 13 Cockatriee handles llurghoyf Game 3 C 20 18 17 16 8 d P 20 17 14 13 11 8 Pat's Match 3 against Charles Hwa (3-0) Game 1 C 20 18 14 6 4 d P 20 No Land Game 2 C 20 15 13 11 6 1 d P 20 Tsunami Bog Mana Leak Kill Cockatrice 3 times Game 3 C 20 18 16 10 6 4 d P 20 18 16 12 4/3 river boa goes all the way ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------The Deck lists and analisis---------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The deck lists follow.... what is interesting is to see the amount of cards from each set we used... it is painfully clear that Homelands was the big looser here.... In fact, there was (from our point of view) practically no reason to have it included. The big winner was Tempest in the starters and Visions in the Boosters... not a big surprise. What was a surprise was what a good showing Mirage had. Weatherlight and Stronghold also had a high percentage - greater than I would have thought. Total Card Counts 5th 14+5=19 50% IA 16+5=21 55% MI 15+9=24 63% TE 18+7=25 65% HL 0 +2=2 25% AL 7 +0=7 58% VI 9 +2=11 73% WE 8 +2=10 66% ST 8 +2=10 66% Deck Card Counts 5th 4+5+3+2=14 36% IA 4+5+4+3=16 42% MI 5+2+4+4=15 39% TE 4+4+5+5=18 47% HL 0+0+0+0=0 0% AL 3+0+3+1=7 58% VI 1+2+3+3=9 60% WE 1+4+2+1=8 53% ST 1+2+1+4=8 53% Sideboard Counts 5th 1+1+2+1=5 13% IA 4+0+1+0=5 13% MI 2+2+2+3=9 23% TE 0+2+3+2=7 18% HL 0+0+1+1=2 25% AL 0+0+0+0=0 0% VI 1+1+0+0=2 11% WE 2+0+0+0=2 11% ST 0+1+1+0=2 11% Hogan's Deck 17 Mountains Creatures Flame Spirit Brassclaw Orcs Hill Giant Lowland Giant Mogg Fanatic Firefly Talruum Minotaur Raging Spirit Ekundu Cyclops Viashino Warrior Raging Gorilla Storm Shaman Balduvian War-Makers Goblin Sappers Balduvian Barbarians Orcish Farmer Dwarven Thaumaturgist Removal Disintegrate Incinerate Guerrilla Tactics Shock Pyroclasm Utility Crown of Flames Sideboard Reign of Chaos Stone Rain Shatter Shield of the Ages Anarchy 2 Pyroblast Dwarven Berserker Goblin Vandal Tremor Jon's Deck 16 Plains Creatures Mesa Falcon Repentant Blacksmith White Knight Grapeshot Catapult Order of the White Shield Order of the Sacred Torch Femeref Healer Freewind Falcon Jangling Automaton Duskrider Falcon Mistmoon Griffin Saltari Monk Soltari Trooper Angelic Protector Spirit en-Kor Venerable Monk Broken Cards Armageddon Icy Manipulator Empyrial Armor Utility Disenchant Lightning Blow Jabari's Influence Remedy Hero's Resolve Sideboard 2 Forest Death Speakers Wall of Resistance Prismatic Circle Scalebane's Elite COP: Blue COP: Green Squee's Toy Change of Heart Pat's Deck 15 Forests Quicksand Creatures Cockatrice Wolverine Pack Ironroot Treefolk Wooly Spider Shambling Strider Whip Vine Quirion Ranger River Boa Striped Bears Uktabi Efreet Rincher Beetles Rootwalla Apes of Rath Skyshroud Troopers Village Elder Stalking Tiger Heartwood Giant Land Getters Nature's Lore Rampant Growth Removal (! in green!) Tornado Unyaro Bee Sting Utility Giant Growth Bounty of the Hunt Armor of Thorns Sideboard Tsunami Venom Johtull Wurm Rysorian Badger Seedling Charm Roots of Life Needle Storm Reality Anchor Frog Tongue Primal Rage Mike's Deck 17 Swamps Dark Ritual Creatures Abyssal Specter Dirtwater Wraith Cadaverous Knight Urborg Pather Blighted Shaman Python Ashen Ghoul Pit Imp Dauthi Horror Darkling Stalker Corrupting Licid Foul Imp Servant of Volrath Removal Terror Feast or Famine Crypt Rats Infernal Harvest Fatal Blow Death Stroke Utility Soul Kiss Disturbed Burial Brush with Death Sideboard 2 Mountains 1 Swamp Raise Dead Dry Spell Kaervek's Purge Shauku's Minion Builders Bane Dauthi Embrace Jined Idol Thanks for reading this report and thanks again to Frank for a good time! Hogan.