Magic The Gathering - Malaysia

Decards @ USJ Summit GPT Taipei 2008 - Semifinals

Kuan Khang Jong vs Johan Jamal Yacob

Only two more rounds stands between 4 players and the crown of the tournament as well as 3 round byes to Grand Prix Taipei.



Johan Jamal Yacob dealt with his quarterfinals opponents handily as he utilizes cards from the Grixis shard to great effect as his creatures comes screaming out of the graveyard to torment his opponents with the unearth mechanic, with bombs like Caldera Hellion and Prince of Thralls along with double Death Baron.

Meanwhile, thanks to a lack Esper drafters around the table, Kuan Khang Jong managed to take advantage of all the quality artifact creatures that were undervalued by every other drafter on the table in the top 8, allowing him to assemble a powerful blue-white-black deck which includes double Master of Etherium and 3 Windwright Mage.

As the two players prepare to start their match, a crowd starts to gather to witness the outcome of the clash between what arguably is the two best decks of the top 8 in the tournament.

Game 1

Kuan wins the dice roll and elects to draw first. Johan mulligan and his happy with next next 6 while Kuan is happy with his opening seven.

Johan starts off the game with a Dragon Fodder on his second turn while Kuan plays a Tidehollow Sculler taking away an Agony Wrap from Johan's hand. Johan adds a Demon's Herald and a Courier's Capsule to his side of the board while Kuan doesn't keeps up with the game's momentum by playing a Windwright Mage. Johan, unperturbed, sacrifices his Capsule, drawing 2 cards from it and passes his turn.


Johan has unique tastes for his tokens

Kuan takes first blood, attacking with his Windwright Mage, gaining 2 life in the process before playing another Windwright Mage. Johan ready to start his unearthing shenanigans, plays his Corpse Connoisseur that he used to great effect last round in the quarterfinals. He initially searches out his Scourge Devil but after a couple moment's thought, settles on a Kathari Screecher to put into his graveyard instead.

Kuan then taps 2U to play an Etherium Astrolabe, and immediately sacrifices itself to it's ability to draw a card, and to enable his double Windwright Mages' flying ability thanks to the Astrolabe being the graveyard now and promptly attacks with both of them, which Johan is unable to block. The attack took him down to 14 while Kuan sits comfortably at 26.


Kuan Khang Jong

Not willing to slip any further, Johan fought back, playing a Bone Splinters, sacrificing a token to take back his Agony Wrap by killing the Tidehollow Sculler. He then attacks Kuan for for 5 damage with his 1/1 Goblin token, Demon's Herald and Corpse Connoisseur taking Kuan down to 21 to his 14 before adding a Executioner's Capsule to his side of the board. Kuan attacks with his double Windwright Mage but meets Johan's Agony Wrap, -0/-3 one, while -3/-0 the other, complete nulling Kuan's offense for the turn. Kuan plays a Vectis Silencers but the Human Rogue was sent to the graveyard by Johan's Executioner's Capsule's ability. Johan piles up the pressure, hitting Kuan for another 5 damage on the following turn, adding a Kederekt Creeper to his growing army.

Kuan passes his next turn, doing nothing, although he left his Windwright Mage on defence. Undaunted, Johan attacks with his Corpse Connoisseur and Creeper. Kuan blocks the Corpse, and plays Call to Heel to bounce it, saving it from the graveyard. Kuan then plays a Obelisk and 2 Windwright Mages, and double Windwright Mage. Johan sacrifices his Demon's Herald at end of Kuan's turn, and was disappointed that he couldn't just sacrifice a red, blue and black creature to use it's ability, but 3 separate creatures. He however has enough creatures to meet the requirements, searches and plays his Prince of Thralls.



Johan then unearths his Corpse Connoisseur, freshly sent to the graveyard not too long ago, finds a Scourge Devil to put into the graveyard, unearths the Devil an swung with all his creatures, two of them fresh from the graveyard taking Kuan down to 5 to Johan's 14. Kuan calmly plays an Oblivion Ring to take the Prince of Thralls out of the picture for now, and attacks with his Windwright Mage, gaining
2 life to go to 7 while Johan goes to 12. Johan simply passes the turn which Kuan then attacks with his Mage again. Johan took so time to consider his moves and finally decides to play Grixis Charm, choosing to kill off the 2/2 with the -4/-4 mode on the Charm. Kuan shrugs the slight setback off and plays a Tidehollow Strix. Johan however plays a Caldera Hellion to clear Kuan's side of the board, and was more than enough to earn a concession from Kuan.

Johan 1 – Kuan 0

Game 2

Kuan chooses to draw first again and both players decides to mulligan and both kept their 6 card hand. Johan makes the first play again with another Dragon Fodder on his 3rd turn while Kuan just passes his. The goblin tokes goes in to take 2 out of Kuan and Johan adds a Death Baron to his board. Meanwhile, Kuan flashes in a Etherium Astrolabe, and plays an Obelisk on his turn, passes without any solid play since the beginning of the game. Johan plays a Corpse Connoisseur digging out a Scourge Devil, attacks for 4 with the tokens and the Baron taking Kuan down to 14. Kuan just plays a Cloudheath Drake and passes his turn. Johan unearths the Scourge Devil in his graveyard and attacks with all his creatures with the exception of his Death Baron who he hopes will stick around longer. He hits Kuan hard, taking him down to 3 with Kuan's Drake taking down a goblin token.


Johan Jamal Yacob

Kuan desperate to get back into the game, plays Oblivion Ring, removing the Connoisseur from the game and passes. Johan thinks about his moves, attacks with his tokens and the Baron, which met his fate being blocked by Kuan's Drake, but then it was clear that the Baron was as good as dead anyway as Johan drew his Caldera Hellion which he played and killed Kuan's Drake while his Hellion survives the 3 damage which was dealt to all creatures, being a 4/4 thanks to the 1/1 Goblin token the Hellion devoured. Kuan barely shows any reaction despite losing board position, calmly sacrifices the Drake to his Astrolabe to draw a card while the Hellion's damage is still on the stack. Kuan then plays a Vectis Silencers and Etherium Sculptor. Johan, fearing the Silencers' deathtouch ability, passes his turn without attacking. Kuan sacrifices his Obelisk to draw a card via the Astrolabe again, before counting his mana carefully and attacks with his Silencers, doing his first damage of the game to Johan taking him to 19 to Kuan's 2 before playing a 4/5 5U Steelclad Serpent to hold the fort.

Johan then plays a Grixis Battlemage before passing the turn to Kuan who plays a Sanctum Gargoyle, taking back his Cloudheath Drake and passes the turn, possibly fearing the Battlemage's can't block ability. Johan simply passes his turn and Kuan attacks with his Sanctum Gargoyle, plays his Drake for 3U thanks to his Etherium Sculptor while Johan choose to draw a card and discard a card with his Battlemage at the end of Kuan's turn.

Johan then taps his mana and unearths the game breaking Kederekt Leviathan, demolishing Kuan's board presence, bouncing almost everything back to their owner's hands including returning Johan's Corpse Connoisseur, with the Oblivion Ring leaving play, which allows him put into graveyard and subsequently unearth a Dregscape Zombie and the 2/1 is more than enough to finish Kuan off despite Kuan having a Call to Heel to deal with the Leviathan temporarily.

Johan 2 – Kuan 0

Johan Jamal Yacob wins the Semifinals beating Kuan Khang Jong 2-0!