==ISLANDHOME #28==
September 10th 2008
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
States is Back!
Shards of Alara Prerelease Info
Cubing: An introduction to Cube Draft, and the official Islandhome "limited cube".
Madonia Minute: Including details about the second Madonia Invitational!
Learn from the Worst: Mike Innace's tournament report.
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: FNM Booster Draft at Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Chaos Draft/Cube Draft at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
States is Back!
Shards of Alara Prerelease Info
Cubing: An introduction to Cube Draft, and the official Islandhome "limited cube".
Madonia Minute: Including details about the second Madonia Invitational!
Learn from the Worst: Mike Innace's tournament report.
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: FNM Booster Draft at Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Chaos Draft/Cube Draft at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
==STATES IS BACK!==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Only a few short weeks after Wizards' controversial announcement about the cancellation of States, they've announced that it will be run this year after all! States is a great opportunity for less experienced players to play in a large event. With no Pro Tour invites or anything on the line, there's less intense competition; everyone's playing for fun (not to mention the boxes and boxes of prize that will probably be paid out to the top 32 players), and the K-value is less than a Pro Tour Qualifier. Everyone who plays will get a free promo card, rumored to be Hypnotic Specter. If it's anything like previous States, everyone who makes top 8 will get a special foil full-frame promo card... and my guess is they're finally bringing the promo Mutavaults to the US!
So mark your calendars for November 8th, as the largest Standard event in the state is coming back to New York!
As most people know, Wizards is doing prereleases for Shards of Alara a bit differently than previous sets. Now stores get to hold individual prereleases instead of just big TOs like Gray Matter. However, prereleases at local stores aren't going to be half as intense as Gray Matter's prerelease, and the other day, Gray Matter sent out an email flyer explaining the differences. I'm reposting it here because I think it's important:
So mark your calendars for November 8th, as the largest Standard event in the state is coming back to New York!
==SHARDS OF ALARA PRERELEASE INFO==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
As most people know, Wizards is doing prereleases for Shards of Alara a bit differently than previous sets. Now stores get to hold individual prereleases instead of just big TOs like Gray Matter. However, prereleases at local stores aren't going to be half as intense as Gray Matter's prerelease, and the other day, Gray Matter sent out an email flyer explaining the differences. I'm reposting it here because I think it's important:
==============================
Dear Magic tournament player,
Wizards of the Coast has announced major changes in the pre-release program starting with Shards of Alara. Players will now have the opportunity to play in a pre-release at some of their local game stores as well as at Gray Matter events. But you need to be aware of the differences between them.
-
Most retail stores are only allowed to run one tournament of 24 players maximum. Once the 24 limit is reached, nobody else can play. Many players will show up at retail stores expecting to play and will be turned away. Gray Matter Conventions is allowed to order product for hundreds of players at each of our Shards of Alara event sites.
-
The special mythic rare foil card for Shards of Alara is expected to be very popular. Most retail stores are only getting 24 foils. Gray Matter Conventions will be getting hundreds of foils of Ajani Vengeant.
-
Retail stores are NOT allowed to run team events at all. Gray Matter Conventions will be running either 2-Headed Giant or Trios events at all of our Shards of Alara events.
-
Most retail stores will not have certified judges at their events. Gray Matter Conventions will have certified judges at all of our events. Most of our certified judges have judged, on average, over 100 events.
-
Most retail stores will not have dealers on site who buy and sell cards. Gray Matter Conventions will have multiple dealers at most of our sites which provide you a bigger marketplace for buying and selling.
- Gray Matter Conventions has been running pre-release events for more than 10 years. We know how to run large, well-run, fun events. Come join us Saturday, September 27th and Sunday, September 28th for the Shards of Alara pre-release.
==CUBING==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Last week I talked a little bit about the process of "cube drafting" - a big box of (usually) the best cards in Magic's history that you deal out randomized "packs" to each player, and then draft. If you've been around FNC or Brothers Grim lately, you might've noticed some people trading for random, powerful cards, and while sometimes they're for EDH, the new big thing is cube. A cube usually contains 50 cards of each color, 50-60 artifacts, 50-60 non-basic lands, and a smattering of multicolor/hybrid cards, usually around five of each color pair. Most cubes look very similar to each other in the same way that one Faerie deck can look the same as another Faerie deck - a few different cards here and there, but it's still a Faerie deck. It makes sense - there are only so many "best" cards in Magic.
There's usually a cube or two at Brothers Grim on Sundays, so in addition to Chaos Drafts, we'll be doing a cube draft as well! When my cube is ready, I'll be bringing it around with me everywhere. Rather than the best cards in Magic, my cube's made out of the best commons and uncommons from current Extended, before the October '08 rotation. It's full of limited staples you're already probably familiar with, such as Prison Term, Mulldrifter, Shriekmaw, Flame Javelin, Imperious Perfect, Murderous Redcap, Trip Noose, and Vivid lands, but also some cards from limited formats of yore: Calciderm, Fact or Fiction, Nezumi Graverobber, Fireball, Sprout Swarm, Consume Strength, Aether Vial, and the Ravnica bouncelands to name a few oldies but goodies.
Commons and uncommons have more synergy with each other, even ones from different sets, while the rares typically found in a high-powered cube are just bomby.
Oh and I need an Izzet Boilerworks, Golgari Signet, Frost Marsh, and a Highland Weald if anyone has any of those lying around!
I would like to congratulate myself on becoming the number one rated player in New York State. Honestly, this doesn't mean anything unless you're trying to pick up ladies or lead your fantasy hug league. I do have a drama filled tournament report, where I played a three year old deck to a 6-0 finish.
I decided after pulling out 75 percent of Paskoff's cards that I would play a Doran deck. I figured that the format has issues with a second turn nearly un-killable threat. I also refuse to play a deck without Thoughtseize if I don't have access to Cryptic Command.
Rd 1 the veteran Joe
Joe has been playing Magic for quite a while, he's more of a casual dueler, but he was bringing a red deck starting four Stigma Lashers and other anti-life gain cards. I was able to elude him on the back of Kitchen Finks and Oona, Queen of the Fae. The latter has no business in the deck, but I like having another win condition when the game is stalled out.
Rd 2 Mike Evans
Mike Evans decided on yet another burn deck. He was packing the now defunct Magus of the Moon and some Boggart Ram Gang tech. I played poorly the whole match, fortunately I was able to fend off his creatures and proceed to survive 2-1. Game 2 I was locked out under Magus, maybe I should have played basics.
Rd 3 Trocolli
Trocolli played ub Omar. The games took 5 minutes to finish, his deck has no answer for Bitterblossom.
Rd 4 Omar playing Swans of John Madonia
Omar fell asleep on the toilet so after waking him up, we got to our epic contest. The games were long and irritating. Teferi is always a problem for mid range decks like Doran. I felt that the matchup was in his favor, but the draws he had were inconsistent and my turn 2 Doran with Thoughtseize backup in game 3 got me to the 4-0 bracket.
Top 8 Nestor Nestor
He beat Innace so that made my life. He was playing a homebrew GW deck with every obscure card in creation. Game 1 was intense as I actually sat for a solid four minutes on Profane Command modes, I felt like his deck was geared toward the long game, so I wanted to force his hand and end the game quickly. I felt I made the right play and beat him soundly after he found ineffective creatures and I found Oona. Game 2 I mulled to 5 and proceeded to just beat down on double Finks as Nestor stalled on land.
Top 4 Jimbo
Quick and Toast was a bye for the Doran deck. My threats are too efficient and my real threats are immune to Firespout. After an intense clash of titans, we cracked a Mutavault sold it and watched Frank Barbato eat 1100 chicken fingers.
Top 2 Innace
Hurricane Madonia was in full force at this point, so I decided to let Innace become the FNC champion and knowing I'd have enough points to usurp the previous number 1 I didn't need to play anymore.
Props of the weeks:
Frank Barbato for putting Applebees out of business
Our waitress Saturday night
Willis
The Wurm for being a girl stealer
I like to announce the Madonia Invitational II
This is to celebrate FNC's two year anniversary as well to give back to everyone that makes FNC an enjoyable store to be in.
How it will work:
I'll formulate it as a City Champs type tournament
1st place 10 Madonia points
2nd place 7 Madonia points
3-4th 4 Madonia points
5-8th 2 Madonia points
9th-on 1 Madonia point
The next five Standard tournaments will count for this. The top 8 players will have their own tournament. 1st place will be a box, entry fee is the same five dollars you pay normally. Single elimination Winner takes all! The winner will also receive six months of tournaments free from the date of the Finals. That's a 250 dollar first prize!!
Anyone is eligible to play in the event, I will keep the standings for the events. Any ties for playoff spots will be decided based on number of events played and average finish.
Thanks for reading
-John Madonia
This Saturday at FNC, I took first place with the infamous Faeries archtype that everyone is oh-so fond of, that which I've been rocking for several weeks now. While most people would call first place a victory, I've been beating myself up over my round one loss against "Green/White Aggro". Firstly, this is the list of Faeries I've been using, which I haven't changed a single card in during the last 5 weeks or so:
4 Ancestral Visions
4 Bitterblossom
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Mistbind Clique
3 Scion of Oona
4 Terror
4 Rune Snag
4 Cryptic Command
2 Slaughter Pact
2 Remove Soul
4 Secluded Glen
4 Underground River
2 Sunken Ruins
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Mutavault
1 Pendelhaven
3 Swamp
8 Island
//
4 Damnation
4 Thoughtseize
3 Extirpate
2 Razormane Masticore
2 Flashfreeze
I'll talk about this list for a second, because most people comment on some of my spells when they see me cast them. You'll probably notice this is one of the few lists that runs Slaughter Pact and Remove Soul. With the majority of the FNC metagame being swarmed by Demigod Red variants and not-so-stock Kithkin lists, I figured it was right to play some more reasonable spells that get rid of annoying creatures. While Slaughter Pact is underwhelming when facing a Demigod of Revenge or even an Ashenmoor Gouger, it makes the Faerie player feel safe about Magus of the Moon, which is much scarier than the former. The Remove Souls are good for all three of those creatures mentioned as well (at least the first Demigod), and is very helpful when you stabilize against Kithkin and they drop a Cloudgoat Ranger or Mirror Entity.
You might also notice the lack of Faerie Conclave. Say I have three lands in play and a Cryptic Command in hand. My opponent has put some serious pressure on me in the form of Spectral Procession and some 2/2 guy and Wizened Cenn and I believe he has a Mirrorweave in hand, or even worse, under his Windbrisk Heights. On my fourth turn, if the fourth land I draw is a Faerie Conclave, this game might as well be over. Swap that draw step with a basic Island and I may have a chance at winning this game 1 against Kithkin.
In short, I lowered the curve, and excluded "Come-into-play-tapped" lands to make sure I can keep up with the aggro decks.
Now onto my FNC, 9/6/2008 tournament report.
Round one against Nester, playing Green/White "Aggro"
I put "Aggro" in quotes because I don't remember a typical time in Magic history when an aggro deck ran walls in its 2-drop slot. We are living in a time of Tarmogoyfs, Vanquishers, Marauders, Prowlers, etc... I'm talking about three power for two mana, people! An "aggro" deck that opens up something like "CIPT land, go...land, wall, go..." hardly seems like an aggressive strategy. Am I right?
Anyway, game one I had to mulligan to six. Which didn't seem so bad when I looked at three lands, an Ancestral Visions, a Bitterblossom, and a Terror. This game took much longer than it should have. I found myself on the business end of a Loxodon Warhammer by around turn 7, putting him at about 25 life and me at around six. I'm throwing all kinds of Spellstutter Sprites and Mutavaults in front of everything he equips the 'hammer to, hoping he'll run out of steam and my Scion/Blossom will win the race. I lose when he casts an Oversoul of Dusk and I don't have a counter for it. I might survive if I draw Mistbind Clique, which will keep him from equipping next turn, or if I draw Cryptic Command which will tap him down. I draw land, and we move on to game two.
I didn't quite sideboard correctly. In fact, it was downright terrible. I took out my Spellstutter Sprites and Mistbind Cliques for 4 Damnation, 2 Flashfreeze and 2 Razormane Masticore. My game plan was simply to make sure he didn't have anything on the board to equip a Warhammer to. It seemed like a sound game plan. Did I mention he wasn't playing Treetop Village OR Mutavault to combat possible Wrath effects? ::moan::
So game two I get to start with seven cards.
Yada, yada, yada. I win. But during this game I noticed he's playing two cards that seem absolutely abyssmal. Those cards are Wall of Roots and Thorn of Amethyst. I still don't know what reasoning there is for having Wall of Roots, but I imagine he wanted to play Thorn of Amethyst because it's got a shiny gold expansion symbol. If Cryptic Command cost 2UUU, it would probably still be the best spell in standard. He tried to play a Warhammer for three mana, under Amethyst "pressure" and I corrected him quickly. I don't like it when players think that cards like that only affect their opponent. Especially after I questioned his card choice and he defended himself as best he could. Then he forgot it was out and ignored its effect. ::louder moan::
Game three, I had to mulligan again, and this time I'm on the draw. I'm not scared of his deck, but no one ever feels OK when they mulligan. So my opening hand was something like three land, Terror, Bitterblossom, Flashfreeze, I think. He has the stellar aggro opening of Murmuring Bosk tapped, then turn two land and Amethyst. My second land drop used to mean I could cast any of those cards in my hand, depending on how his first two turns develop. A reasonable turn two play for a mage claiming to be green/white aggro would have been Wren's Run Vanquisher, Gaddok Teeg, Tarmogoyf, Safehold Elite, Knight of Meadowgrain, Ronom Unicorn, Wizened Cenn, Elvish Warrior, Grizzly Bear, Bramblewood Paragon, Knight of the Holy Nimbus...you get the idea...you know, any of those cards that deal damage to opponents. But not this time--it was Thorn of Amethyst. So while I could have dealt with any of the aforementioned plays and probably taken the game into my favor from turn two, I just have to play a land and wait longer. He was then able to play Wilt-Leaf Cavalier, Gaddok Teeg and Oversoul of Dusk. I used my Terror to stop his first creature, thinking I'd win the late game, but because of Teeg I couldn't cast my Cryptic Command when it was crunch time and I lost. And it was mostly because of the stupid Amethyst. We exchanged some words because we all know I don't like losing to players I should beat. I don't like when someone happens to have a card that fits nowhere in the synergy of their deck, and it just happens to mangle your current hand. It's different if I were playing like...Dragonstorm, and he sideboarded in Thorn of Amethyst to seriously slow me down. But no, somewhere in his brain, it says this card helps his game one strategy. Did I mention he doesn't have a sideboard? ::triple moan::
In all fairness, I could have used my own sideboard better. I don't blame my losses on luck...ever. In retrospect, Rob is right. Scion of Oona should have been the first card to come out. Then probably Rune Snag. If I keep Spellstutter Sprite and Mistbind Clique in the deck, I can try to control the board proactively. Four Terrors, two Slaughter Pacts and two Razormane Masticores ought to be enough to kill a Gaddok Teeg if I need to cast Damnation. Rob thought I shouldn't have even sideboarded Damnation, but it was my only answer to Oversoul of Dusk or his Troll Ascetics, if either happens to stick. I imagine he also had a Chameleon Colossus or two in the deck, which Damnation could have been good for. The moral of this story, however, is to learn from your losses and hope they never happen again. Because in the end, Nester didn't even top 8, and Faeries went on to win the tournament. But I'll bet Nester still thinks Thorn of Amethyst and Wall of Roots rightfully belong in his deck.
0-1 (1-2 in games)
Round two against JR, playing Black/White Kithkin
I don't remember much about this match. It went to game three, which was exciting I suppose. I never learned why he plays black in his Kithkin deck. He casts some cards like Unmake and the black/white Liege, but you could cast those cards just the same in Mono White. Last time I played him, he used that +3/+3 to black/white creatures aura, but I didn't see it in three games this time. Anyway, Cryptic Command pwned the "Dark Kithkin" deck.
1-1 (3-3 in games)
Round three against Frank Barbato, playing red.
Frank's opening each game started with something reasonable on turn one, and then a Howling Mine on turn two. I don't know if you guys know this, but blue mages LOVE LOVE LOVE drawing cards. But here's the more important lesson. Howling Mine is not a good card. Some simple math will show you that Howling Mine two-for-ones yourself. You cast Howling Mine, which does not affect the board in any way...ever, making your card advantage for the game negative one (-1). Now you say go, and your opponent draws an extra card. This makes his card advantage positive one (+1). Not only is that a two card swing in favor of your opponent, but he didn't have to spend any mana to do it. You might as well have cast Timewalk on your opponent. Wait, it gets better. Howling Mine NEVER balances out. Next turn you'll draw ONE extra card. Putting your card advantage at a whopping ZERO, closing the card advantage gap by one, until your opponent's next draw step, where it's back to two. Howling Mine MIGHT be good, if it could be cast as an instant, and you could cast it at the end of your opponent's turn. Even then, every time he draws, he's a card up on you. Don't play this card if you want to win tournaments. If you want to play the oh-so-exciting Turbo Fog, then yes, I concede that Howling Mine actually does fit into your strategy. When you're packing sixteen copies of Fog-like spells, and drawing five cards per turn, the player that has to attack to win cannot possibly keep up (most of the time). So OK, Turbo Fog players...you may still run Howling Mine without Mike Innace criticizing your card choice.
2-1 (5-3 in games)
Round four against Chianese playing Quick 'n' Toast
We draw so we both get into the top 8.
(2-1-1)
Quarterfinals vs. Evans playing a good mono red deck
Game one was a blowout. My turn two Bitterblossom did about 4 or 5 damage to me, and before I knew it, Evans has three cards in hand, five lands untapped and I have nothing in my hand but another Bitterblossom and some land. I don't remember how it happened. So Evans wins game one like twenty, to negative nine. I quickly sideboard out my Bitterblossoms for two Razormane Masticore and two Flashfreeze.
Game two was the most fun I had all day at the tournament. He has out a couple Figures of Destiny and a Mogg Fanatic or something when I drop my Razormane Masticore. Evans proves he's paying attention when he notices that my only blue sources of mana are Underground Rivers, so he alpha strikes into the Razormane Masticore, knowing that every blue spell I cast from here on out is like a free Lava Dart. I swing with Masticore and two Mutavaults, dropping Evans to eleven. I have three or four cards in my hand, Evans has none. Sounds like a good situation for me, right? Wait, I forgot to mention I am at one life...and Evans has a Flame Jab in his graveyard. This gives Evans about fifty outs to draw at this point. He can draw ANY burn spell, ANY land...even Mogg Fanatic or Keldon Marauders would finish me off as well. But he draws Blood Knight. Masticore kills the Blood Knight, while he eats another Cryptic Command. I draw a Secluded Glen, revealing Scion of Oona. I have just enough mana to cast that Scion, activate two 3/3 Mutavaults and swing for the exact eleven points of damage I need to finish him off. He has a land for Flame Jab on top.
AND THAT WAS ONLY GAME TWO!!
Game three, he kept a hand with just one or two lands and kept on drawing Demigods and Flame Javelines instead of land or two-casting-cost spells. And I'm onto the semifinals.
Semifinals vs. Travis playing the other blue/black control deck in standard (the one without faerie cards)
The only spells Travis cast during both games were Think Twice and Nameless Inversion. The Think Twice/Nameless Inversion combo wasn't enough to keep up, and Travis didn't get there.
Finals against...nobody...
Madonia dropped and took second prize, and I go home with some extra packs.
Final Record: 4-1-1 (5-1-1 if you count the finals, win by default)
Here's a little aside that's running through my head right now, and I'm not intending it to sound like I'm bashing Travis or anything, but maybe other people can get something out of this. I notice Travis has a very pessimistic attitude whenever I play him, and very often when I observe him playing other people. He also fools around a lot during his own matches. I know Magic is a GAME, and everyone wants to try to have FUN...but no matter how much anyone SAYS that, deep down, they would rather be Saturday's winner than have fun. Travis made it to the semi-finals and then just seemed to give up. Mostly because Madonia told him to. Madonia said something like "Innace can paris to two, and that will still be your worst matchup, Travis". Which is probably true, but couple that with the fact that Travis is convinced he can't beat certain players no matter what he does and you have a losing attitude. Travis will call it cockiness, but I call it a positive attitude. Maybe if some people at the store made some minor improvements to their strategies, they'd have fun AND win every so often. Fact of the matter is, Travis had a winning record in the preliminary rounds, which got him to a 3rd/4th place finish. He accomplished all that with a negative attitude, a bad deck and a not-so-serious outlook on a very skill-intensive game. If he chose to improve one or all of those things, maybe it'll mean a first place finish for him. And maybe if you're reading this, thinking you might also fall into the same category of Magic player as Travis...you can stop blaming your losses on luck and turn 9th or 5th place into 1st place.
I have one more piece of advice for the amateur FNC player. MAKE A SIDEBOARD. Between 50%-66.6% of your games are going to be played with a sideboard. Might as well bring one, right? Sideboards make good matchups better and bad matchups winnable. If that doesn't convince you, let's count how many top 8 players have sideboards at the next FNC Saturday afternoon tournament. If I could have a 25 card sideboard, I would. But some people don't even bring a fifteen card one!! What is that all about? And then they'll complain about losing, and shrug off the loss as being unlucky, or having a lucky opponent. That's not the case. Your opponent was probably better prepared in one or several aspects of the tournament. Perhaps he chose a better deck for today's metagame. Perhaps he mulliganed instead of keeping an iffy hand. Perhaps he was looking two turns ahead when you were only looking one turn ahead. Perhaps he had four miracle sideboard cards that hose your basic strategy. If a player complains about losing, I assume that means that same player cares about winning. There are many things you can do to improve your game. Calling an opponent "lucky" isn't one of them. After a loss, it's best to reflect on it. Go back a few turns and see if there were plays you could have made differently. Every match is winnable. Ask an observer if they noticed you make any mistakes. Ask YOUR OPPONENT if they noticed you make any mistakes. Build a sideboard for crying out loud. And if that isn't working out for you, change decks. Most people do better with certain deck strategies. Some players play control better than aggro, and vice versa. Maybe it's your time to switch. In the words of Elton John, "You gotta lose so you can win". Use your losses as learning experiences.
If you've taken nothing else from this article, I'll restate the most important part for you.
Every match is winnable.
Until next time,
-Mike
There's usually a cube or two at Brothers Grim on Sundays, so in addition to Chaos Drafts, we'll be doing a cube draft as well! When my cube is ready, I'll be bringing it around with me everywhere. Rather than the best cards in Magic, my cube's made out of the best commons and uncommons from current Extended, before the October '08 rotation. It's full of limited staples you're already probably familiar with, such as Prison Term, Mulldrifter, Shriekmaw, Flame Javelin, Imperious Perfect, Murderous Redcap, Trip Noose, and Vivid lands, but also some cards from limited formats of yore: Calciderm, Fact or Fiction, Nezumi Graverobber, Fireball, Sprout Swarm, Consume Strength, Aether Vial, and the Ravnica bouncelands to name a few oldies but goodies.
Commons and uncommons have more synergy with each other, even ones from different sets, while the rares typically found in a high-powered cube are just bomby.
Oh and I need an Izzet Boilerworks, Golgari Signet, Frost Marsh, and a Highland Weald if anyone has any of those lying around!
==MADONIA MINUTE==
Author: John "Metagame" Madonia
Author: John "Metagame" Madonia
I would like to congratulate myself on becoming the number one rated player in New York State. Honestly, this doesn't mean anything unless you're trying to pick up ladies or lead your fantasy hug league. I do have a drama filled tournament report, where I played a three year old deck to a 6-0 finish.
I decided after pulling out 75 percent of Paskoff's cards that I would play a Doran deck. I figured that the format has issues with a second turn nearly un-killable threat. I also refuse to play a deck without Thoughtseize if I don't have access to Cryptic Command.
Rd 1 the veteran Joe
Joe has been playing Magic for quite a while, he's more of a casual dueler, but he was bringing a red deck starting four Stigma Lashers and other anti-life gain cards. I was able to elude him on the back of Kitchen Finks and Oona, Queen of the Fae. The latter has no business in the deck, but I like having another win condition when the game is stalled out.
Rd 2 Mike Evans
Mike Evans decided on yet another burn deck. He was packing the now defunct Magus of the Moon and some Boggart Ram Gang tech. I played poorly the whole match, fortunately I was able to fend off his creatures and proceed to survive 2-1. Game 2 I was locked out under Magus, maybe I should have played basics.
Rd 3 Trocolli
Trocolli played ub Omar. The games took 5 minutes to finish, his deck has no answer for Bitterblossom.
Rd 4 Omar playing Swans of John Madonia
Omar fell asleep on the toilet so after waking him up, we got to our epic contest. The games were long and irritating. Teferi is always a problem for mid range decks like Doran. I felt that the matchup was in his favor, but the draws he had were inconsistent and my turn 2 Doran with Thoughtseize backup in game 3 got me to the 4-0 bracket.
Top 8 Nestor Nestor
He beat Innace so that made my life. He was playing a homebrew GW deck with every obscure card in creation. Game 1 was intense as I actually sat for a solid four minutes on Profane Command modes, I felt like his deck was geared toward the long game, so I wanted to force his hand and end the game quickly. I felt I made the right play and beat him soundly after he found ineffective creatures and I found Oona. Game 2 I mulled to 5 and proceeded to just beat down on double Finks as Nestor stalled on land.
Top 4 Jimbo
Quick and Toast was a bye for the Doran deck. My threats are too efficient and my real threats are immune to Firespout. After an intense clash of titans, we cracked a Mutavault sold it and watched Frank Barbato eat 1100 chicken fingers.
Top 2 Innace
Hurricane Madonia was in full force at this point, so I decided to let Innace become the FNC champion and knowing I'd have enough points to usurp the previous number 1 I didn't need to play anymore.
Props of the weeks:
Frank Barbato for putting Applebees out of business
Our waitress Saturday night
Willis
The Wurm for being a girl stealer
I like to announce the Madonia Invitational II
This is to celebrate FNC's two year anniversary as well to give back to everyone that makes FNC an enjoyable store to be in.
How it will work:
I'll formulate it as a City Champs type tournament
1st place 10 Madonia points
2nd place 7 Madonia points
3-4th 4 Madonia points
5-8th 2 Madonia points
9th-on 1 Madonia point
The next five Standard tournaments will count for this. The top 8 players will have their own tournament. 1st place will be a box, entry fee is the same five dollars you pay normally. Single elimination Winner takes all! The winner will also receive six months of tournaments free from the date of the Finals. That's a 250 dollar first prize!!
Anyone is eligible to play in the event, I will keep the standings for the events. Any ties for playoff spots will be decided based on number of events played and average finish.
Thanks for reading
-John Madonia
==LEARN FROM THE WORST==
Author: Mike Innace
Author: Mike Innace
This Saturday at FNC, I took first place with the infamous Faeries archtype that everyone is oh-so fond of, that which I've been rocking for several weeks now. While most people would call first place a victory, I've been beating myself up over my round one loss against "Green/White Aggro". Firstly, this is the list of Faeries I've been using, which I haven't changed a single card in during the last 5 weeks or so:
4 Ancestral Visions
4 Bitterblossom
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Mistbind Clique
3 Scion of Oona
4 Terror
4 Rune Snag
4 Cryptic Command
2 Slaughter Pact
2 Remove Soul
4 Secluded Glen
4 Underground River
2 Sunken Ruins
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Mutavault
1 Pendelhaven
3 Swamp
8 Island
//
4 Damnation
4 Thoughtseize
3 Extirpate
2 Razormane Masticore
2 Flashfreeze
I'll talk about this list for a second, because most people comment on some of my spells when they see me cast them. You'll probably notice this is one of the few lists that runs Slaughter Pact and Remove Soul. With the majority of the FNC metagame being swarmed by Demigod Red variants and not-so-stock Kithkin lists, I figured it was right to play some more reasonable spells that get rid of annoying creatures. While Slaughter Pact is underwhelming when facing a Demigod of Revenge or even an Ashenmoor Gouger, it makes the Faerie player feel safe about Magus of the Moon, which is much scarier than the former. The Remove Souls are good for all three of those creatures mentioned as well (at least the first Demigod), and is very helpful when you stabilize against Kithkin and they drop a Cloudgoat Ranger or Mirror Entity.
You might also notice the lack of Faerie Conclave. Say I have three lands in play and a Cryptic Command in hand. My opponent has put some serious pressure on me in the form of Spectral Procession and some 2/2 guy and Wizened Cenn and I believe he has a Mirrorweave in hand, or even worse, under his Windbrisk Heights. On my fourth turn, if the fourth land I draw is a Faerie Conclave, this game might as well be over. Swap that draw step with a basic Island and I may have a chance at winning this game 1 against Kithkin.
In short, I lowered the curve, and excluded "Come-into-play-tapped" lands to make sure I can keep up with the aggro decks.
Now onto my FNC, 9/6/2008 tournament report.
Round one against Nester, playing Green/White "Aggro"
I put "Aggro" in quotes because I don't remember a typical time in Magic history when an aggro deck ran walls in its 2-drop slot. We are living in a time of Tarmogoyfs, Vanquishers, Marauders, Prowlers, etc... I'm talking about three power for two mana, people! An "aggro" deck that opens up something like "CIPT land, go...land, wall, go..." hardly seems like an aggressive strategy. Am I right?
Anyway, game one I had to mulligan to six. Which didn't seem so bad when I looked at three lands, an Ancestral Visions, a Bitterblossom, and a Terror. This game took much longer than it should have. I found myself on the business end of a Loxodon Warhammer by around turn 7, putting him at about 25 life and me at around six. I'm throwing all kinds of Spellstutter Sprites and Mutavaults in front of everything he equips the 'hammer to, hoping he'll run out of steam and my Scion/Blossom will win the race. I lose when he casts an Oversoul of Dusk and I don't have a counter for it. I might survive if I draw Mistbind Clique, which will keep him from equipping next turn, or if I draw Cryptic Command which will tap him down. I draw land, and we move on to game two.
I didn't quite sideboard correctly. In fact, it was downright terrible. I took out my Spellstutter Sprites and Mistbind Cliques for 4 Damnation, 2 Flashfreeze and 2 Razormane Masticore. My game plan was simply to make sure he didn't have anything on the board to equip a Warhammer to. It seemed like a sound game plan. Did I mention he wasn't playing Treetop Village OR Mutavault to combat possible Wrath effects? ::moan::
So game two I get to start with seven cards.
Yada, yada, yada. I win. But during this game I noticed he's playing two cards that seem absolutely abyssmal. Those cards are Wall of Roots and Thorn of Amethyst. I still don't know what reasoning there is for having Wall of Roots, but I imagine he wanted to play Thorn of Amethyst because it's got a shiny gold expansion symbol. If Cryptic Command cost 2UUU, it would probably still be the best spell in standard. He tried to play a Warhammer for three mana, under Amethyst "pressure" and I corrected him quickly. I don't like it when players think that cards like that only affect their opponent. Especially after I questioned his card choice and he defended himself as best he could. Then he forgot it was out and ignored its effect. ::louder moan::
Game three, I had to mulligan again, and this time I'm on the draw. I'm not scared of his deck, but no one ever feels OK when they mulligan. So my opening hand was something like three land, Terror, Bitterblossom, Flashfreeze, I think. He has the stellar aggro opening of Murmuring Bosk tapped, then turn two land and Amethyst. My second land drop used to mean I could cast any of those cards in my hand, depending on how his first two turns develop. A reasonable turn two play for a mage claiming to be green/white aggro would have been Wren's Run Vanquisher, Gaddok Teeg, Tarmogoyf, Safehold Elite, Knight of Meadowgrain, Ronom Unicorn, Wizened Cenn, Elvish Warrior, Grizzly Bear, Bramblewood Paragon, Knight of the Holy Nimbus...you get the idea...you know, any of those cards that deal damage to opponents. But not this time--it was Thorn of Amethyst. So while I could have dealt with any of the aforementioned plays and probably taken the game into my favor from turn two, I just have to play a land and wait longer. He was then able to play Wilt-Leaf Cavalier, Gaddok Teeg and Oversoul of Dusk. I used my Terror to stop his first creature, thinking I'd win the late game, but because of Teeg I couldn't cast my Cryptic Command when it was crunch time and I lost. And it was mostly because of the stupid Amethyst. We exchanged some words because we all know I don't like losing to players I should beat. I don't like when someone happens to have a card that fits nowhere in the synergy of their deck, and it just happens to mangle your current hand. It's different if I were playing like...Dragonstorm, and he sideboarded in Thorn of Amethyst to seriously slow me down. But no, somewhere in his brain, it says this card helps his game one strategy. Did I mention he doesn't have a sideboard? ::triple moan::
In all fairness, I could have used my own sideboard better. I don't blame my losses on luck...ever. In retrospect, Rob is right. Scion of Oona should have been the first card to come out. Then probably Rune Snag. If I keep Spellstutter Sprite and Mistbind Clique in the deck, I can try to control the board proactively. Four Terrors, two Slaughter Pacts and two Razormane Masticores ought to be enough to kill a Gaddok Teeg if I need to cast Damnation. Rob thought I shouldn't have even sideboarded Damnation, but it was my only answer to Oversoul of Dusk or his Troll Ascetics, if either happens to stick. I imagine he also had a Chameleon Colossus or two in the deck, which Damnation could have been good for. The moral of this story, however, is to learn from your losses and hope they never happen again. Because in the end, Nester didn't even top 8, and Faeries went on to win the tournament. But I'll bet Nester still thinks Thorn of Amethyst and Wall of Roots rightfully belong in his deck.
0-1 (1-2 in games)
Round two against JR, playing Black/White Kithkin
I don't remember much about this match. It went to game three, which was exciting I suppose. I never learned why he plays black in his Kithkin deck. He casts some cards like Unmake and the black/white Liege, but you could cast those cards just the same in Mono White. Last time I played him, he used that +3/+3 to black/white creatures aura, but I didn't see it in three games this time. Anyway, Cryptic Command pwned the "Dark Kithkin" deck.
1-1 (3-3 in games)
Round three against Frank Barbato, playing red.
Frank's opening each game started with something reasonable on turn one, and then a Howling Mine on turn two. I don't know if you guys know this, but blue mages LOVE LOVE LOVE drawing cards. But here's the more important lesson. Howling Mine is not a good card. Some simple math will show you that Howling Mine two-for-ones yourself. You cast Howling Mine, which does not affect the board in any way...ever, making your card advantage for the game negative one (-1). Now you say go, and your opponent draws an extra card. This makes his card advantage positive one (+1). Not only is that a two card swing in favor of your opponent, but he didn't have to spend any mana to do it. You might as well have cast Timewalk on your opponent. Wait, it gets better. Howling Mine NEVER balances out. Next turn you'll draw ONE extra card. Putting your card advantage at a whopping ZERO, closing the card advantage gap by one, until your opponent's next draw step, where it's back to two. Howling Mine MIGHT be good, if it could be cast as an instant, and you could cast it at the end of your opponent's turn. Even then, every time he draws, he's a card up on you. Don't play this card if you want to win tournaments. If you want to play the oh-so-exciting Turbo Fog, then yes, I concede that Howling Mine actually does fit into your strategy. When you're packing sixteen copies of Fog-like spells, and drawing five cards per turn, the player that has to attack to win cannot possibly keep up (most of the time). So OK, Turbo Fog players...you may still run Howling Mine without Mike Innace criticizing your card choice.
2-1 (5-3 in games)
Round four against Chianese playing Quick 'n' Toast
We draw so we both get into the top 8.
(2-1-1)
Quarterfinals vs. Evans playing a good mono red deck
Game one was a blowout. My turn two Bitterblossom did about 4 or 5 damage to me, and before I knew it, Evans has three cards in hand, five lands untapped and I have nothing in my hand but another Bitterblossom and some land. I don't remember how it happened. So Evans wins game one like twenty, to negative nine. I quickly sideboard out my Bitterblossoms for two Razormane Masticore and two Flashfreeze.
Game two was the most fun I had all day at the tournament. He has out a couple Figures of Destiny and a Mogg Fanatic or something when I drop my Razormane Masticore. Evans proves he's paying attention when he notices that my only blue sources of mana are Underground Rivers, so he alpha strikes into the Razormane Masticore, knowing that every blue spell I cast from here on out is like a free Lava Dart. I swing with Masticore and two Mutavaults, dropping Evans to eleven. I have three or four cards in my hand, Evans has none. Sounds like a good situation for me, right? Wait, I forgot to mention I am at one life...and Evans has a Flame Jab in his graveyard. This gives Evans about fifty outs to draw at this point. He can draw ANY burn spell, ANY land...even Mogg Fanatic or Keldon Marauders would finish me off as well. But he draws Blood Knight. Masticore kills the Blood Knight, while he eats another Cryptic Command. I draw a Secluded Glen, revealing Scion of Oona. I have just enough mana to cast that Scion, activate two 3/3 Mutavaults and swing for the exact eleven points of damage I need to finish him off. He has a land for Flame Jab on top.
AND THAT WAS ONLY GAME TWO!!
Game three, he kept a hand with just one or two lands and kept on drawing Demigods and Flame Javelines instead of land or two-casting-cost spells. And I'm onto the semifinals.
Semifinals vs. Travis playing the other blue/black control deck in standard (the one without faerie cards)
The only spells Travis cast during both games were Think Twice and Nameless Inversion. The Think Twice/Nameless Inversion combo wasn't enough to keep up, and Travis didn't get there.
Finals against...nobody...
Madonia dropped and took second prize, and I go home with some extra packs.
Final Record: 4-1-1 (5-1-1 if you count the finals, win by default)
Here's a little aside that's running through my head right now, and I'm not intending it to sound like I'm bashing Travis or anything, but maybe other people can get something out of this. I notice Travis has a very pessimistic attitude whenever I play him, and very often when I observe him playing other people. He also fools around a lot during his own matches. I know Magic is a GAME, and everyone wants to try to have FUN...but no matter how much anyone SAYS that, deep down, they would rather be Saturday's winner than have fun. Travis made it to the semi-finals and then just seemed to give up. Mostly because Madonia told him to. Madonia said something like "Innace can paris to two, and that will still be your worst matchup, Travis". Which is probably true, but couple that with the fact that Travis is convinced he can't beat certain players no matter what he does and you have a losing attitude. Travis will call it cockiness, but I call it a positive attitude. Maybe if some people at the store made some minor improvements to their strategies, they'd have fun AND win every so often. Fact of the matter is, Travis had a winning record in the preliminary rounds, which got him to a 3rd/4th place finish. He accomplished all that with a negative attitude, a bad deck and a not-so-serious outlook on a very skill-intensive game. If he chose to improve one or all of those things, maybe it'll mean a first place finish for him. And maybe if you're reading this, thinking you might also fall into the same category of Magic player as Travis...you can stop blaming your losses on luck and turn 9th or 5th place into 1st place.
I have one more piece of advice for the amateur FNC player. MAKE A SIDEBOARD. Between 50%-66.6% of your games are going to be played with a sideboard. Might as well bring one, right? Sideboards make good matchups better and bad matchups winnable. If that doesn't convince you, let's count how many top 8 players have sideboards at the next FNC Saturday afternoon tournament. If I could have a 25 card sideboard, I would. But some people don't even bring a fifteen card one!! What is that all about? And then they'll complain about losing, and shrug off the loss as being unlucky, or having a lucky opponent. That's not the case. Your opponent was probably better prepared in one or several aspects of the tournament. Perhaps he chose a better deck for today's metagame. Perhaps he mulliganed instead of keeping an iffy hand. Perhaps he was looking two turns ahead when you were only looking one turn ahead. Perhaps he had four miracle sideboard cards that hose your basic strategy. If a player complains about losing, I assume that means that same player cares about winning. There are many things you can do to improve your game. Calling an opponent "lucky" isn't one of them. After a loss, it's best to reflect on it. Go back a few turns and see if there were plays you could have made differently. Every match is winnable. Ask an observer if they noticed you make any mistakes. Ask YOUR OPPONENT if they noticed you make any mistakes. Build a sideboard for crying out loud. And if that isn't working out for you, change decks. Most people do better with certain deck strategies. Some players play control better than aggro, and vice versa. Maybe it's your time to switch. In the words of Elton John, "You gotta lose so you can win". Use your losses as learning experiences.
If you've taken nothing else from this article, I'll restate the most important part for you.
Every match is winnable.
Until next time,
-Mike
==RULES CORNER==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Q. Does Pithing Needle stop my opponent from going off with Chain of Plasma and Swans of Bryn-Argoll?
A. I've gotten a lot of questions about Pithing Needle lately as people prepare in advance for Extended season in January, and it's very easy to figure out if Pithing Needle stops a card: If an ability is written as "Cost: effect", then it's an activated ability and Pithing Needle will stop it. There's one problem though, and that's if the ability is a mana ability. Any activated ability that generates mana and that doesn't have the word "target" in it is a mana ability, and Pithing Needle will ignore it.
Q. If I take my opponent's Avalanche Riders with my Sower of Temptation, do I need to pay its echo during my upkeep?
A. The wording of echo says "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost." Sure the most common way of a creature with echo coming under your control is playing it, but even gaining control of it will put the ability on the stack during your upkeep.
A. I've gotten a lot of questions about Pithing Needle lately as people prepare in advance for Extended season in January, and it's very easy to figure out if Pithing Needle stops a card: If an ability is written as "Cost: effect", then it's an activated ability and Pithing Needle will stop it. There's one problem though, and that's if the ability is a mana ability. Any activated ability that generates mana and that doesn't have the word "target" in it is a mana ability, and Pithing Needle will ignore it.
Q. If I take my opponent's Avalanche Riders with my Sower of Temptation, do I need to pay its echo during my upkeep?
A. The wording of echo says "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost." Sure the most common way of a creature with echo coming under your control is playing it, but even gaining control of it will put the ability on the stack during your upkeep.
==THE ISLANDHOME BLOG==
One of the things I wanted to do was have an archive of past issues online so I could refer people back to them as well as let new readers peruse old issues to see what all the fuss is about. So I've archived all the old issues on the blogosphere at islandhomemtg.blogspot.com. Go and relive all the past moments of glory!
If you've noticed, in the past few weeks I've been having a few more guest articles in Islandhome. With tournaments all weekend and work all week, sometimes it's hard to find time to sit down and write an entire newsletter, which is why I love it when I get article submissions! Not only does it give more introspective on the Long Island Magic community from those who are a part of it, it saves me work. ;) It's especially useful to get articles from players who are a part of the metagame, as judges are notoriously bad players.
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==GUEST ARTICLES==
If you've noticed, in the past few weeks I've been having a few more guest articles in Islandhome. With tournaments all weekend and work all week, sometimes it's hard to find time to sit down and write an entire newsletter, which is why I love it when I get article submissions! Not only does it give more introspective on the Long Island Magic community from those who are a part of it, it saves me work. ;) It's especially useful to get articles from players who are a part of the metagame, as judges are notoriously bad players.
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
October 4th - December 28th: PTQ Season for PT Kyoto
The next PTQ season kicks off October 4th, and the format is Shards of Alara sealed deck!
The next PTQ season kicks off October 4th, and the format is Shards of Alara sealed deck!
==STORE LOCATIONS & CONTACT INFO==
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 470-7984
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 470-7984
==FIN==
See everyone this weekend!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
-Brian Paskoff
L1 NY
L1 NY
No comments:
Post a Comment