Magic The Gathering - Malaysia

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GPT Singapore @ Decards Mar 8 2009 - Finals
Faruqi Uzair vs Nico Surinindran

Game 1



Nico started off the game with a Polluted Delta which found a Steam Vents untapped, took Nico to 17 after which he used it to play a Ponder and drew a random card off the top of his library after choosing to shuffle his library, not content with the top 3 cards of his library before he played another Ponder on his following turn, choosing not to shuffle his library this time. Both players spent turns building up their mana base until when Nico had 8 cards in hand, he started laying out cards face down and running through his possible plays in his mind.

A Rite of Flame attempt from Nico met a Spellstutter Sprite which Nico tried to Remand to bring back his Rite to his hand but it got countered by a Spell Snare instead. Nico then started his turn mulling over his options again but this time just played a Steam Vents and passed his turn. Faruqi Uzair then attacked Nico for 3 to take him down to 13 with his Sprite and an animated Mutavault. Nico passed his turn doing nothing yet again as Faruqi Uzair took 2 damage from playing untapped Breeding pool to go to 18 after attacking for another 3 to take Nico to 10.


Nico Surinindran

Nico then played a Desperate Ritual which was followed by a Seething Song, which chained into another Seething Song, each of the spells going through untouched by Faruqi Uzair, followed by a Metamorphose adding 2 blue mana to his pool of red, with another Desperate Ritual and Metamorphose – and finally casting a Mind's Desire with 6 storm copies which flipped over a Rite of Flame, Steam Vents, Lotus Bloom, Dreadship Reef, Peer Through Depths, Grapeshot and a Desperate Ritual. Nico then played his Rite and Ritual followed by a Peer through Depths, found another Grapeshot, cast the first one for 12 damage followed up by another 13 from his second Grapeshot to finish Faruqi Uzair off.

Nico Surinindran 1 – Faruqi Uzair 0

Game 2


Faruqi Uzair

The game started off with Faruqi Uzair playing an Island and a Chrome Mox imprinting a Trinket Mage while Nico started off with a untapped Steam Vents going for a Ponder which he chose to shuffle away. Then his opponent followed up with a untapped Secluded Glen and a Vendilion Clique taking away a Gigadrowse from a hand of – Lotus Bloom, Desperate Ritual, Seething Song, Rite of Flame, and Pact of Negation.

Nico then suspended a Lotus Bloom while his opponent took Nico down to 12 with his Clique. A Ponder from Nico is met a with a Spellstutter Sprite followed up with a Grapeshot, choosing to target the Clique twice and his Sprite, killing them all off. Another Clique sees a hand of Remand, Rite of Flame, Seething Song and Desperate Ritual along with a Pact of Negation – which Uzair chose to take nothing before his Clique further chipped Nico down to 9.



Lotus Bloom came into play for Nico and Nico played Grapeshot on the Clique twice to avoid being killed by the flying 3/1. Faruqi Uzair then played a Thirst for Knowledge, drawing 3 and discarding a Chrome Mox to the spell before adding a Miren, the Moaning Well and a Mutavault to his empty board before playing a Glen Elendra Archmage which met a Remand, which in return met a Mana Leak but a Pact of Negation from Nico ensured that the spell stayed countered. A sacrificed Polluted Delta took Nico down to 8, and he paid his Pact upkeep cost before playing another suspended Lotus Bloom and passed his turn. His opponent's Mutavault took Nico to 2 in 3 turns while Nico continued to build up his mana with his Dreadship Reef.



When Nico's Lotus Bloom tried to resolve it got countered by a Cryptic Command which also tried to bounce Nico's other Lotus. Nico sacrificed his Lotus in response for 3 blue mana, but after he drew blank there was nothing he could do but to scoop up his cards for the 3rd game.

Nico Surinindran 1 – Faruqi Uzair 1

Game 3

Nico started off with again an untapped Steam Vents and a Ponder, choose to rearrange his top cards of his library and drew, suspending a Lotus Bloom as well while Faruqi Uzair played an Engineered Explosives for 0 and passed his turn with an Island and a Riptide Laboratory.



Nico then tried to play a Peer Through Depths but met a Mana Leak. When Nico's Lotus Bloom was about to resolve, his opponent moved to destroy it with his Explosives, but Nico backed up the game state to attempt to Remand his Lotus Bloom on the stack, but it met a Spell Snare. Faruqi Uziar dug deep into his library with a Thirst for Knowledge, discarding a Mana Leak and Thirst for Knowledge in the process. Nico cracked a Delta to go to 17 to find another Steam Vents but that land got bounced into Nico's hand while drawing a card with Cryptic Command by his opponent, followed up with a Glen Elendra Archmage which later chipped Nico off for 2 to take him to 15.

A Trinket Mage came into play for Uzair, who fetched a Seat of the Synod, after which an untapped Breeding Pool took Uzair to 16 while he attacked Nico to 11 from his 2 2/2 creatures, followed by another 2 life points lost through his sacrificed fetch lands. After Nico's draw step, Uzair played a Vendilion Clique which saw a hand of 2 Gigadrowse, Rite of Flame, Desperate Ritual, Metamorphose, Pact of Negation and Seething Song, choosing Grapeshot after carefully writing down the content of Nico's hand.



After thinking for a while, Nico commented, "Let's try...", played Gigadrowse to tap away all of his opponent's blue mana sources, prompting him to float the mana, but then Nico moved into his combat phase, which forced Uzair to spend his mana on his Laboratory to bounce his creature back to his hand and burn for 1, as Nico went for it with a Rite of Flame, Desperate Ritual, Desperate Ritual, Seething Song and Metamorphose, and having nothing else in his hand, commented that it's all about the top card of his deck now, drawing the top card face down, covered it with another card, and slowly rub it open to see it, and the audience went wild as Nico drew the very card he needed, a Mind's Desire with the exact mana, of 4 red and 2 blue, for 6 storm copies.



The spell flipped over a Seething Song, Ponder, Grapeshot, Peer Through Depths, and a second Grapeshot that was more than enough to deal fatal damage to seal the game.

Nico Surinindran 2 - Faruqi Uzair 1

Nico Surinindran is GPT Singapore Decards March 8th champion!