Magic The Gathering - Malaysia

The 2009 Malaysian Nationals Coverage Report - Semifinals
Zac Hill vs Joe Soh


Joe Soh vs Zac Hill

Game 1

Joe won the dice roll by 1, and elected to start first. Joe kept his 7 while Zac sent his hand back for a 6-card hand. Joe started off with a 1st turn Figure of Destiny which quickly became a 2/2 and took 2 from Zac to send him to 18. When Joe tried to turn his attacking Figure into a 4/4 however it was promptly sent on a Path to Exile. A Kitchen Finks hit play for Joe, gaining him to life to put him to 22. Anathemancer took Joe to 20 but a Magma Spray ensured it won't be coming back for a second time as Zac took 3 to go to 15 with an attack from Joe’s Kitchen Finks.

A second Anathemancer took another 2 from Joe to go to 18 but Magma Spray does the work yet again for Joe. The Finks attacked in for another 3 damage to put Zac to 12, but was destroyed on Zac’s following turn after a Bloodbraid Elf fetched a Maelstrom Pulse for Zac. The Finks being the persistent Ouphe that he is came back with a -1/-1 count as Zac then held back his elf to stay on the defense.



Burn spells quickly took 6 points from Zac however, and the 2/1 Ouphe who gained Colossal Might took Zac down to 2 and after Joe played in quick successions a Kitchen Finks followed by a Bloodbraid Elf who brought along a Jund Hackblade and that was a lot more than what Zac could handle.

Zac Hill 0 – Joe Soh 1

Game 2

Zac took a mulligan to 6 while Joe is good with his opening 7 as the players quickly shuffled up and got ready for the 2nd game. Joe started off with a Noble Hierarch followed with a 2nd turn Kitchen Finks while although Zac started first, he's stuck with 2 filter lands while greatly hampered his play.


Joe Soh

Joe wasted no time to take advantage of the situation as his Finks and later on a Figure of Destiny which became a 4/4 took Zac to 9 after a few short turns with a little help from Noble Hierarch. Joe then played a 2nd Figure of Destiny which allowed Zac to destroy both the Kithkins with a Maelstrom Pulse, but it was for naught as Joe had even more hasty creatures in his hand to finish off the game that finished so fast, this writer couldn’t even catch up properly, launching Joe Soh into a 2-game lead.

Zac Hill 0 – Joe Soh 2

Game 3

Zac started the game but Joe had the first play with a Noble Hierarch while Zac had a Putrid Leech.



Another Noble Hierarch allowed Joe to attack with a 2/3 Human Druid but Zac chose not to block with his Leech with Joe having a red mana open. A Maelstrom Pulse killed off both the Hierarchs as the Leech took 2 off Joe to put him at 18. Ajani Vengeant made an appearance to help Zac out and promptly killed off the Ram-Gang that just came into play the previous turn who took 3 off Zac to put him on 17, but the Planeswalker was quickly sent away from the battlefield by Joe with a Puncture Blast as the Leech kept chipping off Joe's life totals to 14 as the turns went on.


Zac Hill

With damage on the stack, Joe tried to kill off the leech with a Magma Spray which Zac responded with a pump, paying 2 life but Joe had a Snakeform that he used to try to kill off the Leech but Zac’s Cryptic Command put an end with all that nonsense. A Bloodbraid Elf then cascaded a Volcanic Fallout for Zac which killed off Joe’s Jund Hackblade that just came into play not too long ago but not before Zac pumped his Leech to make it survive the fallout and that with the 3/2 haste and a incoming 4/4 and after taking 2 from the fallout was more than enough to convince Joe to pack in his cards to start shuffling up for game 4.



Zac Hill 1 – Joe Soh 2

Game 4

Joe was happy to keep his opening hand while Zac hesitated ever so slightly, but decided to keep anyway. A turn 1 Figure of Destiny, turn 2 Jund Hackblade took 4 life from Zac but Zac was able to mount a defense with a Putrid Leech which made Joe pause and think before casting a Noble Hierarch and made his Figure a 2/2 with his filter land mana and before attacking with a 4/3 Hackblade which traded off with Zac's Leech although Zac had to pay 2 life for the trade.



Zac had a Pithing Needle naming Treetop Village as Joe played and attacked with his 2/2 Kithkin Spirit and hasty Boggart Ram-Gang going to 9. Another Ram-Gang joined the fray which brought Zac down to 1 and although a Bloodbraid Elf brought along a Kitchen Finks to gain Zac 2 life, a Magma Spray made sure it was properly dealt with and there was nothing Zac could do against the oncoming onslaught that Joe was bring onto him, clearing the way for the former National Champion for a shot at becoming a returning National Champion.



Zac Hill 1 – Joe Soh 3

Joe Soh defeats Zac Hill 3-1 to secure his position as Nationals finalist and a shot to become a returning National Champion!