Magic The Gathering - Malaysia

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PTQ San Diego @ Eternal Magic (18 October 2009) Event Coverage - Semifinals
Terry Soh vs Yau Mun Yip


Yau Mun Yip

Game 1

Mun Yip won the dice roll and elected to go first, deciding to keep his opening seven but Terry was quick to send his back for a fresh 6 that got a quick nod. A Graypelt Refuge put Mun Yip to 21 before a Nissa's Chosen entered play on his 3rd turn. But Terry had nothing for 4 turns straight despite Mun Yip's Nissa's Chosen, later joined by a Timbermaw Larva attacked Terry to 12 after a couple of turns. Terry on his 5th turn killed the Larva with a kicked Torch Slinger. A River Boar joined Mun Yip's side of the board and with the elf, Terry went down to 8. A Lotus Cobra for Mun Yip allowed Mun Yip to cast a Bala Ged Thief off the Cobra, taking a Mountain from Terry. This however gave Terry a chance to kill off the River Boa with another kicked Torch Slinger. Although outnumbered, attacking no longer seemed to be beneficial for Mun Yip. Terry seemingly appeared to be flooded with lands, as he showed his opponent a Mountain and Swamp as Mun Yip cast a Joraga Bard to activate his Thief's ally trigger ability. Nonetheless, Mun Yip quickly overran Terry Soh as his army took his opponent down with the help of a Burst Lighting which he was able to cast thanks to a certain mythic snake.



Yau Mun Yip 1 – Terry Soh 0

Game 2

Terry chose to draw as Mun Yip joked how Terry is looking down on his decks that is lacking in threats. Mun Yip quickly sent his opening hand back for a fresh 6 which drew a cringe off Mun Yip, and back to the library that hand too went for a 5 card hand which he quickly kept.

Graypelt Refuge put Mun Yip to 21 as both players played lands and passed turns for a couple of turns before a Harrow from Mun Yip found him a Swamp and Mountain to cast a Bala Ged Thief, to force Terry to discard a Magma Rift.



Terry then cast a Crypt Ripper and considered attacking but held him back after all. A Punishing Fire sent the Crypt Ripper off to the graveyard as the Thief chipped Terry to 18. Mind Sludge stripped Mun Yip of his entire hand as the Thief chipped in for another 2 before Terry's Torch Slinger killed him off as 2 Tuktuk Grunts over 2 consecutive turns quickly sent Mun Yip to 6 after a couple of turns as Mun Yip drew little action beyond a Khalni Heart Expedition. Inferno Trap and Burst Lightning helped to delay the impending doom Mun Yip is facing down but it wasn't enough to keep away from the jaws of defeat as the players shuffled up for the decider.



Yau Mun Yip 1 – Terry Soh 1

Game 3

Mun Yip chose to start first and with both players keeping their opening hands, Mun Yip started with yet another land with life gain, as a Kabira Crossroads put him up to 22. Both players played artifacts in the form of a Trusty Machete for Mun Yip while Terry played a Expedition Map which was used soon after Mun Yip cast his Oran-Rief Recluse. A kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir made quick work of the 1/3 spider while Mun Yip set up his defences in the form of a Joraga Bard, forcing Terry to pass his turn without any action. A World Queller threatened to disrupt the balance of the game in favor of Mun Yip but not before Terry stripped Mun Yip of his hand yet again with a Mind Sludge.



The World Queller took lands away from both players but Terry went down hard to 13 as the Bard picked up the Machete to become a 3/5 along with the 4/4 Queller. A Lotus Cobra joined the Mun Yip's side of the battlefield for Mun Yip but a Magma Rift killed off the World Queller. The Bard with the machete continued to harass Terry's lifetotals however, knocking Terry to 10 before Lotus Cobra picked up the Machete form the Bard to become a 4/2. Terry summoned a Tuktuk Grunts but had to leave it behind on defense as once again as the Machete-wielding Bard tried to hit in for another 3. After much time spent in consideration, Terry put his 2 creatures in front of the Bard in the hopes of killing it off but as he feared, a Punishing Fire sent Terry's hopes of dealing with the 3/5 crumbling to ashes as he lost both of his creatures. Terry finally found answers for Mun Yip's threats as his kicked Torch Slinger killed off the Cobra as a kicked Heartstabber Mosquito killed off the Bard. Mun Yip tried to rebuild his board position with a Zendikar Farguide.



With his life being precariously low, Terry thought long and hard on how to carry his game forward from this point on and finally decided to go aggressive as he sent in his 2/2 flying mosquito before summoning a Crypt Ripper to hold the fort along with his Torch Slinger. The Farguide took on the Machete and swung into the red zone where he was met with both of Terry's creatures, with Terry pumping the Ripper to a 5/5. The Ripper and the Farguide both traded blows and were sent to the graveyard.



With the game now firmly in his control, Terry killed off a Tajuru Archer of Mun Yip's with a Marsh Casualties and with a Nimana Sell-Sword, the game was quickly over for Mun Yip as Terry's creatures quickly sealed off the game and knocked Mun Yip out of contention for the finals.


Terry Soh

Yau Mun Yip 1 – Terry Soh 2

Terry Soh defeated Yau Mun Yip 2-1 to book his place in the Finals!